PITCHING IN

Hello friends! Hope that you had a lovely Christmas and that 2026 is a wonderful year for you.

Did you know that God wants everyone who loves Him to be part of helping other people learn about Jesus? It’s not just some people that He wants to do that! It is every single one of us- even if we are very young, or very old. God has made us just like we are so we can be part of that huge job. Maybe you are good at speaking? Or maybe you are good at running? Or maybe you paint beautifully or sing really well? Maybe you are good at Maths or a wonderful dancer? God has given you those skills so that He can use them to play a part in building His kingdom. All the different skills fit together to make the job of sharing the good news of Jesus with the whole world.

I have a special friend. His name is Hayden. Since he was a little boy he has liked making, fixing and building things. He is really good at it. God gave him those skills. Now, he is using those skills to help spread God’s love. I interviewed him this week so you can learn some more about him and how his skills are being used.

1. Where did you grow up and go to school, Hayden?

I grew up in a town called Westonaria. I was born there and stayed there till I finished school at Westonaria High school.

2. What were you like when you were a boy and teenager?

When I was little, I loved taking apart all my cool toys. I always wanted to know how they worked. When I entered my teen years I started to enjoy making big things at home. One time I found lots of scrap roof sheets and built a shack for me to sleep in.  That was the first time I started using power tools! I was only about 13 years old.

3. How did you end up working in Zambia?

Shortly after giving my life to Jesus, I started to feel a burden to share the gospel using the gifts that God gave me. I went on a mission trip to Zambia with two other people. I “fell in love” with the people there and wanted to serve God there with the gifts He gave me. Lots of very good friends and family helped sponsor me to be there and together we continue the good work we get to do in Zambia.

4. Can you tell us a bit about what it is like in the part of Zambia where you live?

We live in the western part of Zambia where the Lozi tribe come from. The people are very friendly and love meeting new friends. It’s also always hot; we don’t always have good electricity, and we have to pump our own water from the ground. It’s very nice and green there and we love our mango season. In some areas where we go, they grow all their own food and farm their own cattle. They don’t need to go shopping.

5. What sort of things do you do in Zambia?

I get to do many different things with the skills I have. I help fix electrical problems on our base and I install solar systems to help us have more electricity. I keep our water system running smoothly and make sure everyone always has water. I also run a fish farm. I help look after our main church youth group in Zambia. And during team season we go into the villages to help teams spread the gospel to people who might have never even heard about Jesus before.

6. Why do you do those sorts of things?

By helping people have running water, they have more time to focus on doing work for God. Without better electricity, our Bible translating team and many other departments can’t do the work they are there to do.  By running a fish farm, we get to teach the people in the community a new skill, create employment and sell to other farmers. We use the money we get to pay for other things in our base. 

7. Do you like what you are doing? Why/why not?

I love what I get to do because this is where God has called me to be, and I can use my skills and the things I love doing to help grow God’s kingdom.

8. How does you using your skills and interests help more people learn about Jesus?

There are so many different examples I can think of, but two of my favourite ones are: 

One, when we built a big church roof for one of our village churches. The number of people coming to church grew so much that they needed our help to build a bigger building for them. We were able to help build them a place where they could meet without being affected by the hot sun or the heavy rain.

My other favourite thing was helping to build our kids' church building in Mongu. It’s the size of a big school hall. We still need to do a bit more work on it, but soon kids will have a safe place to pray, worship and learn about Jesus.

9. We have been learning about the people at Wycliffe who help more people have the Bible in their own language so that they can understand it properly. Do the people where you are in Zambia have their own Bibles in their language?

Yes, they do. Lots of the people there cannot speak much English, so they are so grateful to have a Lozi language Bible. They can learn who God is through reading His word in the language they can understand. They wouldn’t know God like they know Him now if they never had those Bibles

10. Is there anything else you would like to say to the children who are reading this?

We are all part of one body, and each part is vitally important so that the body can work properly. Every person has a gift, and every person has a calling. If we’re missing an arm or a leg, our body will struggle to function properly. Whatever gift God has given you is important and he can’t wait for you to use it.

Lots of love to you all-important parts in God’s plan.

Aunty Gill xxx

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