WHO AM I
I am a new graduate occupational therapist (OT) who will be working as a volunteer OT in Honduras. I was born and raised in South Africa, but immigrated to Australia in 2018 where I completed my degree. For those who do not know, occupational therapists focus on enabling people of all ages and abilities to complete the everyday activities that need to or want to do in order to live a fulfilling and purposeful life.
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For years, I have been deeply passionate about working as an occupational therapist in countries that do not typically have access to OT. This passion began on a mission trip with a group of Christian health science students to a rural area in South Africa, called Msinga. During this trip, God placed a desire in my heart to live a simple life and serve communities with my skills, providing unconditional love, care and dignity to every person, no matter their ability, race, or religion. However, shortly after my trip to Msinga, God called my family half way across the world to Sydney, Australia – far from all I thought would help me live out this passion and calling.
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As usual, God’s plan is much better. Looking back now, my time in Australia was purifying – it was a time where I learnt patience and built resilience. It taught me so much about myself, the world, communication and different cultures. It allowed me to explore and be adventurous, and helped me develop crucial personal and professional skills I will always use. I learnt to rely on God and surrender it all to him. Without moving to Australia, I would never have grown into the person I am today. There were some very tough, and at times very lonely, years but I showed myself I could live anywhere.
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During my time in Sydney, I was given an opportunity to spend a few weeks in a remote village in Nepal through a Jesuit organisation called Two Wolves Abroad. It was while trekking through the Himalayas that I was able to heal. I was reminded and reaffirmed in the calling to serve that God had placed in my heart. I am so grateful for all the people who have helped me along this journey over the last 5 years which has brought me to where I am today.
WHY HONDURAS?
Over the years, my parents have always turned to God when they needed to make big decisions in their lives. So, when I knew I had only one more year left to study and needed to start figuring out what my future looked like, I followed their example and turned to discernment. A wonderful friend and mentor at my church in Sydney spent time listening to me and guiding me through discerning God’s will in my life. I knew that no matter what I chose to do – whether it was stay in Sydney, move to rural Australia or go overseas again – God would use me for His glory. It was during this discernment process that I found NPH International. The more I looked into NPH the more it appealed to me. It was all I had wanted from an organisation and to be honest, it felt too good to be true.
ABOUT NPH
NPH International is a catholic not-for-profit organisation that creates homes for orphaned, abandoned and vulnerable children, elderly and people with disabilities. Their focus is on creating a family, instilling responsibility into the children and ensuring they develop skills to support themselves in the world. If the children do have the option to remain at home, NPH supports the families and surrounding communities. The organisation is over 60 years old started by a Catholic Priest who saw the need for a stable home with a family-centred ethos in Mexico. Now, the organisation has homes in 9 countries in Central and South America including Honduras where I will be volunteering.
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To find more information on the amazing work NPH do check out the following links: https://www.nph-newzealand.org/ OR
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THE REST OF THE STORY
Since finding the organisation in March, I connected up with the New Zealand fundraising office as there has previously been no Australian volunteers and so no existing pathway. I started learning Spanish in April and surrendered it all to God. Through the last 8 months God has paved the way – there were many times of doubt and fear that I would not be accepted or not be able to go for various reasons. I am so grateful that I have been given this opportunity.
I know I have a long journey ahead of me - a new language, country, culture, job, career - but one thing remains the same: the same God who brought me here will continue to be with me through it all. I have been so humbled by the encouragement and support of every person I have shared this opportunity with in preparation and I know I have an army of supporters all over the world praying for me and supporting me through it all. Hopefully this platform will be a way to remain connected to you all and share my journey.
THE NAME OF THE BLOG
The name “Faith over Fear” comes from the journal my mother gave me a few days after I accepted the role as a volunteer occupational therapist at NPH Honduras. It was during a time of lots of fear and feeling inadequate and unworthy of this opportunity. My mother had chosen it online and we could not believe how fitting it was. The journal has the words “Let your faith be bigger than your fear” and I truly believe those were the exact words I needed to hear and continue to need to hear during this journey.