It has been four years since Word & Deed became involved in the Nakekela HIV/AIDS Care Centre in South Africa. Looking back, we truly can say that the Lord has been pleased to prosper this essential project. It has served the community well, filling a gaping hole in the step-down care of terminally ill HIV/AIDS patients, particular regarding their spiritual well being. Without the assistance of Word & Deed, we would not have been able to get this far, let alone progress. Some very meaningful advances have been made.

Management consolidation has taken place under clinic manager Babette Grobler’s capable leadership. She has done a marvellous job in streamlining the day-to-day running of the clinic since Joke Parre’s (the project’s pioneer) departure. The multi-faceted nature of organizing this work required a person particularly gifted in this area of ministry, and Babette is a gracious gift of the Lord appointed to this position. Nakekela now functions as a well-run unit, with staff in every department knowing their duties and functions. Babette is also training Dorcas Mathibela, one of our care workers, in office management. With time, we hope that Dorcas will assume many of Babette’s managerial duties at Nakekela.

Nursing care, managed by Emma Masanabo, remains one of Nakekela’s outstanding strengths, a fact that contributes to the burgeoning reputation of the clinic in the local community and beyond. Because the standard of care is so high, there is great demand for the admission of terminally ill patients. Over the past year or two, good relationships and regular interaction have developed between Nakekela and the local clinics, the local hospital, and the various health authorities. Nakekela now functions at full capacity, using all twelve beds. The need, however, far outstrips the supply, and we have been forced to use a waiting list. An ongoing problem remains the late admission of patients who, for a variety of reasons, have delayed seeking appropriate help and are terminally ill when they arrive at the clinic. Although some, by the Lord's amazing grace, are “brought back to life,” others die within a few days. One of the greatest challenges for us at Nakekela, and for those involved in AIDS management in general, is early diagnosis and treatment. Yet patient denial and superstitious beliefs still preclude this essential aspect of patient management.

Some exciting developments have taken place in supplementary services. Riana Hattingh has joined the team at Nakekela and provides basic physiotherapy and occupational therapy. One positive outcome of this has been arts and crafts days, on which patients are taught basic skills such as drawing and making gift cards. Some of these “works of art” adorn the walls of Nakekela and numerous of these gift cards were sold on our recent tour of North America. Riana also provides essential debriefing counselling sessions for the various staff members at Nakekela. Many of them come from broken homes and traumatic backgrounds and this simple biblically based counselling is immensely helpful. In doing this, Riana is also teaching these same staff members basic biblical counselling skills that can be used with the patients.

A support group has been established on Friday mornings, which former patients in the community are encouraged to attend. Attendance has been good and patients are benefiting greatly from these meetings. Time is set aside for Bible reading, singing, and prayer. There is time for mutual sharing and some volunteers who have attended these meetings have taught basic skills such as arts and crafts.

Due to extra funds from Word & Deed, Sonja now has access to X-ray facilities and specialised sputum tests. These contribute greatly to a quicker diagnosis of tuberculosis, the major cause of death, and so improve patient outcomes. Sonja also has obtained her dispensing license from the South African Health Professions Council, giving her better control over the management and dispensing of medicine.

We truly can conclude that this project is prospering under the Lord’s sovereign care and provision. The project serves the community well, has a very good reputation, and serves as a beacon of light where darkness abounds on all sides. It is a well-known fact in the KwaMhlanga area that this is the Lord’s establishment. Whatever healing or improvement takes place, the Lord is openly acknowledged, which the patients come to see and confess. Some lives are saved in the process, but more importantly, some souls are saved too. In so doing, we are in a small way imitating our Lord Jesus’ ministry: “And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people” (Matt.9:35). There is no greater privilege than serving the Lord in this way and we encourage anyone who might be interested in longer term mission, to do as the Lord said to His first disciples, who asked Him, “Rabbi, where dwellest thou?” He simply said, “Come and see” (John 1:38 – 39).