Nancy Hudson, a missionary serving in South Africa, visited Fallowfield United Methodist Church on July 16 to share her experiences. Nancy is originally from New Brighton, Pennsylvania. She works with Christian Assemblies of South Africa (CASA) ministry. Fallowfield supports her monthly.
Nancy got saved in her 40s and immediately wanted to go into missions work. She was rejected by missions boards because she was a 42-year-old single mom and had neither Bible training nor a seminary degree. But when she met the International Fellowship of Churches director, he asked her go to South Africa for a three-month visit. She ended up staying for a year. She met her husband, an Englishman named John Hudson, in South Africa. They were later married in the United States.
When she arrived in South Africa in 1989, apartheid was a major problem. John and Nancy’s first church was under a mango tree, where five people gathered. Later they met in little huts where 20 to 30 people huddled around one candle. As the church grew, they built a plank church, then a brick church.
Soon after the brick church was built, John found out he had lymphoma. He died in 1997.
But Nancy kept on with her missions work. She has helped establish nine churches with more than 900 church members. Another church is currently in the works. Nancy assured us God provides for her church’s needs and her personal needs.
Nancy is also active in children’s ministries. Her “Help A Child” and “Help A Mother” programs are very important to her. The programs minister to AIDS mothers and orphans. There are eight preschools in her nine churches. The Lighthouse, her primary church’s name, has 50 children who attend.
Nancy said CASA is a happy ministry. She also works with a music ministry where they sing and dance together. They also dramatize Bible stories, such as Peter healing the lame man at the Beautiful Gate in Acts 3.
She left us with a challenge to reach out to those hurting emotionally, physically, socially, and spiritually. She believes the church needs to reach out because Jesus is coming soon.
Have a wonderful week. Blessings!