Doreen Draffin: Whithouse Presbyterian Church & NI Hospice Care
2008 has been marked by two significant events for me in Whitehouse - one memorable and the other a disaster “unimaginable”.
Let’s begin with the good news. It was the Habitat for Humanity Team Build to Malawi which I had the privilege of co-leading. By January 2008 most of the fundraising and leadership planning was underway. However, further skills were needed in house building, so as a team we benefited from practice days at Downpatrick and in the Shankill. In June, after a very meaningful dedication service, ten of us set off to Africa to broaden our horizons, some to experience mission outreach for the very first time.
No words are adequate to describe the impact of setting foot on African soil and experiencing the love of a Malawian welcome. The first days were spent with a missionary family experiencing what life is really like. We had the joy of attending a Bible College, meeting the students and staff, and sharing in their morning assembly, and also visiting schools and hospitals.
After a four hour journey we arrived in Embangweni where red mud paths replaced the tarmac. For the next eight days we would work side by side with elders and lay people on an arid, broken brick site. Within days the ground was cleared and walls were rebuilt. A new dimension to our own faith was also being rebuilt as we shared, debated and encouraged one another. Most amazingly, prayer became active and spontaneous for every need that arose, often uttered in silence in looking out for the entire team. We went to rebuild one home and returned seeing hope restored, not only in one family, but in a community whose love touched us deeply.
That same unchanging love of Jesus was to sustain us as a congregation in Whitehouse during the remainder of 2008. On Saturday, 16th August unforeseen disaster struck when our church was flooded extensively. My minister,
Rev. Liz Hughes, reminded the congregation that Whitehouse Presbyterian Church building is not the church – it’s the people who are the church. Within three weeks our worship service and all the organisations were relocated within our community. Now we felt the same love and care we had experienced in the “warm heart of Africa”, as others from various church denominations and schools welcomed us in.
God is good. I have experienced this with a double effect in my ongoing responsibilities within and without Whitehouse. My Hospice chaplains are very supportive by their prayers and encouragements. I am also indebted to the manse family for caring hospitality and am grateful for the prayer cards from PW Groups. I enjoy my work so much as a Deaconess, and in 2009 I look forward to getting back into our church at Whitehouse to be part of the team as God’s witness there.