Hi!!! My squad and I have finally made it to beautiful South Africa. My team, along with 3 others, are living in Jeffreys Bay! It’s a super sweet beach that apparently has some of the best waves in the world. Also sharks, there are lots of sharks.
The people of this country have already welcomed us with open arms! We feel so incredibly blessed to be here, and I am already falling in love with this place. The presence of the Holy Spirit is so evident here, I cannot wait to see where He leads us!
Let me tell you about our ministry. My team and 2 others are working with Global Leadership Academy, which is a private Christian high school in Jeffrey’s Bay. We are living on a compound a few feet away from the school. For our first month, we will be working on finishing building a missions house and a few classrooms! Thats right, manual labor everyday from 8-4! We are absolutely loving it.
The story behind this school and missions house is such a testimony of God’s goodness and unfailing provision. The land the school is on was all donated. The school was built solely off of fundraising. The missions house was also built off of fundraising, and has such a beautiful story.
One of our “mums” at Global is named Wendy, she cooks us food and loves on us and brings such a motherly presence to the place. She had a son named Austin, who went on a trip similar to the World Race called Global Expedition. He travelled the world for 11 months and his life was completely transformed by the Lord. He returned from the journey a new man on fire for God. He began working for Global where he met a girl who was on Gap Year named Rebecca. According to Wendy, the fell madly in love in an instant. Their affection for each other grew along with their desire to share Jesus with the world. A little later, they decided to get married and become international missionaries. They set the date for their big day, and the easiest way for Austin to stay in the states was for them to have a court wedding. They went to court and made it official. Their wedding would be in September, but in August they were in a fatal car accident. Both Austin and Rebecca passed away.
Wendy said there was a hole in their family after that. They missed Austin and Rebecca so much, and were so broken. As they grieved the loss of their son and new daughter in law, Wendy was reminded by her husband Roger of something Austin told them when he returned from Global Expedition. He told them that he felt God was calling them to work for Global. As they remembered this, they decided to listen to God’s call. They packed up their lives in Cape Town and moved to Jeffrey’s Bay. Soon after they moved here, they were told that Global was building a missions home for future missionaries to come and stay in, and they wanted to dedicate it to Austin and Rebecca.
Today, Wendy says that God is good. He does provide, and does not abandon. He restores brokenness. He transforms.
A year and a few months later, we get to come and put the finishing touches on the missions house. We feel so honored to be a part of such a beautiful story. As we finish this house, I pray that missionaries for generations to come will be impacted by Wendy’s testimony of God’s goodness through tragedy. He never fails us. So much good came from such a tragic situation. He ALWAYS brings beauty from ashes.
I am so pumped for these next 3 months. I hope to post a blog soon all about our host and the awesome guys we get to work with at Global. So blessed to be a part of the Global family, I now have 3 new mums and like 4 new brothers!!! Please be praying for the Lord to move through us in this place. Pray for my team to have open hearts and a hunger to see lives changed by the gospel here. Pray that we would form strong bonds founded on love for Jesus.
Thank you so much for your continued support! I only have $1,200 left to fundraise by January, then I will be fully funded!!! Please prayerfully consider donating so the I can continue spending the next 6 months serving the Lord’s people and sharing His love! Thank you guys, I love you.
-Paige
