The Magazine

As a child in a Methodist church I used to collect for J.M.A (Junior Mission for All); it taught me about people who gave to help others and those who received that help and passed it on.

In my youth I was part of an extraordinary organisation called Endeavour Training; our motto was “people matter most” and as individuals we were encouraged to give our time and skills to other people and learn that we grew and developed ourselves as we invested in the lives of others.

Life moved on, I married, had two sons, rediscovered faith along with my husband but then…divorce. I was completely broken and felt such a failure. I gave up wearing my cross as I believed I was a terrible witness. One day, walking alone, I met a lady, Sarah, who gave me a prophecy. She said: “I see you surrounded by African ladies, you are all dancing and smiling and you are happy.” I accepted this word and hid it in my heart; it was lovely but I had no idea how this might happen.

In November 2013 I heard Janet and Les Clarke talk about work their work in The Gambia. I listened and it was as if God was speaking into my heart. I chatted with Janet afterwards and it seems I was an answer to her prayer for help; so I became involved with G.A.T.E (Gambian Aid Through Education).

At first it was mainly helping with the fundraising events but eventually, in January 2015, I made my first mission trip to The Gambia. Much of our work is in receiving donations of money, clothing, seeds and sponsorship from people in the UK and channelling that help to the people in The Gambia who need it most.

It’s physically very hard work when we are in The Gambia, but the rewards of the joy brought to the people we help far outweighs anything we go through. The people we work among are predominantly Muslim but they are people first and I learned many years ago from a French nun, in a rubbish dump in Egypt, you have to earn their trust by showing practical love over long periods before you share your faith.

God’s love becomes real when through me it touches another because, as St Theresa of Avila says:

“Christ has no body now but yours. No hands, no feet on earth but yours. Yours are the eyes through which he looks with compassion on this world. Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good. Yours are the hands through which he blesses all the world. Yours are the hands, yours are the feet, yours are the eyes, you are his body. Christ has no body now on earth but yours.”