Volunteers working in Egbe, Nigeria, are doing more than rebuilding a hospital
By William King, program coordinator for the Egbe Hospital revitalization project in Nigeria
I have volunteered on over 25 mission projects. I have met hundreds of volunteers and have been in their shoes. They come in all shapes, ages and vocations. But one thing comes through in all of them, and that is Christ!
They follow the Great Commission and they are the hands and feet of the church. They come with willing hearts; they bring relief and encouragement to those who have been beaten down.
Our project in the bush of Nigeria is not a disaster like Hurricane Sandy, but it is a mission base that had been so run down you could term it a disaster. Volunteers are not mudding out houses in Egbe, but they are building, teaching, and empowering.
Volunteers bring an eye for details and quality control that is very hard to teach and is immensely needed. We have a good-sized national staff, and volunteers come in to teach and show my staff how to do anything from build cabinets to how to correctly clean a toilet!
The desire to love and serve the people of Egbe blows me away through every new group of volunteers. Their willingness to do anything to follow the call is an encouragement to me time after time.
We have been reading through Galatians in our workshop devotions for the last few weeks. As we came to the passage about loving your neighbor as yourself it struck me that these volunteers are doing just that by loving the nationals so much.
Our team in Egbe would be severely lacking without the love and compassion that volunteers being with them. I can’t fathom the impact volunteers have had and will continue to have on the people of Egbe.
