During the month of July we had a whole squad month! Whoop! The whole squad came together and we spent the month in Jeffrey’s Bay, South Africa. While there we partnered with Global Leadership Academy. We split up into teams and worked on a variety of projects, from work projects at their school and in the community, to helping tutor children, working in a coffee shops, helping with fundraising for current initiatives, and helping with needs of the mission home.
I was a part of the work projects during my stay. One of the projects we worked on was a soup kitchen in the middle of the neighboring community, something that has been years in the making, speaking with community leaders and receiving approval after two years of back and forth. So neat for us to be a part of kicking off the initiative!
Our team spent our days preparing the ground and laying the foundation for the building. From digging trenches, to mixing concrete, to laying bricks, to laying a concrete slab for the building, to building relationships with the locals. At the end of our time, we were able to leave a strong foundation behind. You can see the progression from beginning to end in the pictures below.
It was an amazing experience. It was also humbling to know that our role was to lay the foundation for others to come behind and continue the work. Very excited to see the continuance of the work!
The initial goal is to provide 1 full meal to 100 kids daily, where kids often don’t receive a full meal each day. The long term goal is to provide 1 meal a day to over 1,000 kiddos! It is an amazing opportunity for GLA to connect with the community and be in the very heart and center of it, spreading love and the Good News! Very exciting!
If you do care to partner with the initiative, they are looking to raise $3,060 (which they are currently on their way) for the build as well as the ongoing payments for food for the children. I really do believe in the organization. It was amazing getting to interact with the staff and it is exciting to see the work that is being done by the organization!! Here is a link to learn more if you wish to partner! https://sites.google.com/view/soup-kitchen
All in all, South Africa was an amazing month for me and I believe strongly that God had us there for a reason. I believe the work God did through us not only in the community and at GLA, but also in my own heart, will continue on for years to come.
The bottom is a fun picture of what I did most days after our work day! 🙂
