changing habits
By Marieke Bakker
Since 2024, Bethesda, a seniors home, has been located on the Bethlehem site in Hammanskraal. It houses approximately twenty-six residents and is managed by our local team. I previously worked as a nurse in the Netherlands and therefore also help out as necessary, together with my colleague Nella Verschuur, who was also a nurse. But to be honest, I have had to unlearn more than I have learned lately. The culture is so completely different. For example, communication between people is very different from communicating in the Netherlands. What is not said is more important than what is said, and respecting the hierarchy is also important. Little by little I am getting to know the culture better and as a result I can also contribute more to the seniors home.
small steps
My work in the field as a field worker is very diverse, but when I have the opportunity I visit the seniors home and have conversations with residents and local staff. Last year we made small improvements. For example, there is now an individual file for each resident and we also discuss various topics, such as wound care. There are also certain times each week when the residents receive Biblical education.
Difficult conversations
It is often difficult to reach the residents. This is because I do not yet speak the local language well enough to have deep conversations and because the residents often suffer from dementia. There is also still ancestor worship among the residents. For that reason it is, humanly speaking, difficult to reach them with the Word.
Hope
I often have to think of the Bible verse, ‘Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them’ (Ecclesiastes 12:1). But still, there have been hopeful conversations during the past few years, and the Lord has given opportunities to share the Word. What is impossible with us, is possible with God. The Lord can bless a few words, even if they are spoken in broken language.
