In January we blogged about the outcomes of our work in 2022. We shared with you the number of outreach sessions and the number of contacts made and, while these figures show the breadth of our work, they do not reflect the depth of the work that we do.
For example, the statistics don’t demonstrate the time our volunteers took a woman back to the hospital so she could continue to get treatment (she had walked out earlier in the day). The figures don’t reflect the first time a new volunteer came out with the team and was amazed at the amount of hugging when we met up with two of the women; neither does it reflect the times that we pray with them; neither do they illustrate the time when one of the women thanked us just for listening and being there.
It is often these small acts of service that are such a crucial part of the Chaplaincy service we provide. A team member told us that a woman had remarked to her that we often did what we said we would do for them (such as a referral). The team member could see that what to us may seem a small action, is seen so significant to the women. Their reaction to the Christmas presents was another example of this (so much so – that we are still being thanked weeks after Christmas).
We give thanks for these opportunities to serve. In our first Mustard Tree team meeting of the year we reflected on some words from 1 Corinthians 14:33. ‘For God is not a God of disorder but of peace.’ We live in a world of constant change and we want to bring peace into the lives of those we work with. Please pray for us also to feel peace as we seek to keep our service provision simple, effective and focused on what each person needs in order to thrive.