For such a time as this

CONGREGATIONAL STORY

For such a time as this

Heather Williamson reports on how the congregation of Ballywillan has managed to raise £100,000 for orphans in Swaziland, despite the lockdowns.

It all started with one of our summer visitors to Ballywillan, who said to my husband, the minister, “Stephen, my nephew runs a programme that looks after orphans in Swaziland. They have a choir coming to Northern Ireland, would you like them to come to Ballywillan?”

And so they came, the Khulula choir. They brought their African joyous expression of worship in song and dance and the congregation loved them. A few years later, they were back, and the same summer visitor was saying, “Stephen, you and Heather need to go and visit Swaziland.” He said this for five years before in February 2018 Stephen and I had the opportunity to visit with Challenge Ministries Swaziland (CMS).

Set up and run by Kevin and Helen Ward (Kevin’s dad was originally from Lisburn) to look after street children who had been abandoned during the height of the AIDs epidemic in Southern Africa, CMS was by then looking after 400–500 orphans. Young men and women who had been abused, or addicted, were welcomed into residential centres. These young adults were introduced to Jesus Christ, encouraged to get to know him personally and then move forward with him as the priority in their lives, while also learning skills that would hopefully keep them off the streets in the future.

We spent a week visiting with them in the men’s centre, women’s centre and Potter’s Wheel Church, with its outreach into the community. CMS have established what they call ICBCs (In Community By Community), where a church plant is set up with a local pastor, a pre-school and, in a few areas, a health clinic.

We had heard about their main children’s home, an entire town, previously a disused mining town, high in the hills close to the border with South Africa. About 400 children live here in small groups of six children to each house, with a live-in ‘auntie’ to look after them. In this town are three schools (nursery, primary and secondary), a bakery, a water bottling plant, a honey production project and a dairy farm, as well as a health clinic, church and a tourist lodge. It is difficult to get to by road, so therefore a perfect place for vulnerable and sometimes abused children to be looked after in safety and security. We had difficulty imagining this place but it really was a haven of peace and tranquility, and as for the scenery, it was so beautiful!

We came home enthused by what we had seen, not only in what they were doing but in the Christ-like way it was done. Many in the congregation were challenged and moved by what we were able to share with them. Early in 2019 another couple from the congregation also travelled to Swaziland, returning as enthusiastic supporters of CMS.

Then in October 2019 a ‘motley crew’ of 13 members of Ballywillan spent a couple of weeks working with CMS in a variety of projects, taking in first-hand their ethos of Christian service and evangelism. Little did we know what was to lie ahead

The year that followed has been truly amazing; a special partnership grew...turning our thoughts and prayers from ourselves to those most vulnerable…

for all of us. Thanks to the generosity of the congregation, we were able to take some money with us and were able to help with a few small projects, but felt that somehow there was more to be done.

Fast forward a few months to April 2020, the coronavirus pandemic swept through the world including Africa. We were in lockdown, with church buildings shut, and only allowed out of our homes to exercise, shop and work, if absolutely necessary. A message from CMS arrived to say that with most of the world in lockdown they had lost 75% of their funding, meaning that they only had enough money to look after the children for a few weeks.

The team, all 15 of us, felt unanimously that the message from God was ‘for such a time as this’. The year that followed has been truly amazing; a special partnership grew, with fundraising events almost keeping pace with the generous giving from all members of the congregation and friends. We seemed to have a special purpose, turning our thoughts and prayers from ourselves to those most vulnerable in a very small country thousands of miles away.

One of our most successful fundraisers was the great BLINC bake off. At the beginning of the pandemic, a ladies’ WhatsApp group had been formed: Ballywillan Ladies In Network Church. Now these ladies were encouraged to bake, take photos and submit their finished creation to one of the team, making a donation in the process. This proved immensely popular and a lot of fun. Kevin and Helen Ward judged the competition with winners in ladies’, men’s and children’s categories. In the process £20,000 was raised to help CMS continue their amazing work.

By Christmas, the spin-off from this was the obvious recipe book. We had summer and Christmas virtual concerts; a ‘bob-a-job week’ where talents were used to make things and give lessons; BBQs; special meals; car washes – you name it we did it! Folks enjoyed navigation rallies/ treasure hunts, (once we were allowed out a little); eBay, Gumtree and other sites were inundated with things to sell; we had sponsored Bible reading, cycling and running. But behind and above all of this, the congregation gave, gave and gave again.

In December, partnering with Ards Elim and some other churches also interested in CMS, we helped fill a container with rice, cooking oil, clothes and all sorts of essential requirements. By the end of April 2021, a year after we were asked for help, we had raised

…behind and above all of this, the congregation gave, gave and gave again.

£90,000 which had helped keep CMS functioning with the basics for the children and young adults they look after. The total has now surpassed the £100,000 mark.

We continue to support CMS on a monthly basis, but the benefits of this partnership have not just been financial, nor have they all been on the CMS side. During the past 16 months we have had regular Zoom prayer meetings with our partners in CMS; we have prayed for the country of Eswatini (the new name of Swaziland), for their work, their families, their partners in health who have worked tirelessly throughout Covid. But we have been so humbled by how our partners have prayed for us. They, who have so little by way of healthcare and no vaccines until recently, have prayed for our health service and for our spiritual, emotional, social and physical health.

In the latest wave of Covid, CMS has lost several members of staff and some students. Their response is to redouble their prayers as they maintain all the health advice. We have had the privilege of walking that prayer journey with them and benefited so much from it.

So what does the future hold? Who knows? Thankfully the Lord does, and he will supply the needs ‘for such a time as this’.

Heather Williamson is married to Stephen, minister of Ballywillan Presbyterian Church.