Jeffrey’s Bay, South Africa. Nestled within a small beach town where western surf culture and traditional African culture coincide, lies the coolest community I’ve ever been a part of. GLA— short for Global Leadership Academy— began as a school a little over 10 years ago, and has grown into much more than that. It’s campus now hosts all grades up through high school, a church, countless Bible study groups, missionaries (both long and short term), community events, and so much more. This place has shown me what it truly looks like to be the body of Christ.
The school is literally one of the best in the entire country, continuously placing in the top percentiles on federally administered exams. In addition, over a third of the 300+ students at GLA are on scholarship, which means that over 100 children are gaining the opportunity to escape the systematic oppression and cycles of poverty which they have faced their entire lives. Not only could this change their lives, but their families’ lives at well!
While I’ve been here, the other guys and I have done numerous construction projects around the school, ranging from simple beautification to clearing bush land for expansion of the school. One of my favorite projects was getting to mark property lines and begin development on a new village being built on campus. The homes in the village will be occupied by teachers, students, missionaries, and community members. The housing will be affordable, sustainable, and interracial— all of which are fairly uncommon here in South Africa.
Another one of my favorite projects was creating compost using a specific recipe of various decaying plant materials, along with a healthy portion of cow manure. What I loved to think about while learning about this compost was how perfectly the LORD made our entire planet so that every single thing works in perfect harmony to create a continuous cycle of sustenance for the creatures created in His image— us. The compost we made will soon span multiple hectares of farmland of a needy African family nearby, and could produce more than 4 tons of corn! Not only will this feed numerous hungry Africans, it will also provide a living for the farmer and his family, as well as provide him with fertile soil for years to come.
In addition to doing construction, I had the privilege of working in the school’s own coffee shop, called School Beans, serving candy, sodas, slushees, toasties (grilled sandwiches), popcorn, and, of course, coffee. I really enjoyed doing this ministry for a couple reasons.
Firstly, I was able to help the school make money, which they will use in ways that give back to the people of their community.
Secondly, I got to speak with students, teachers, administrators, friends of GLA, and anyone else who came into the shop. I got to hear awesome testimonies of the LORD’s will and the obedience of incredible people. I got to finally meet a lot of the people whose school I had painted, varnished, and built skylights and walls for. It was incredibly rewarding and I thank God for that opportunity. I even got to make coffee for the mayor!
Finally, my boss. She is from Zimbabwe, and she came here to South Africa to provide for her parents, her husbands parents, and her own family. She is incredible. Her husband was in a bad car accident and has just been able to get back to a limited work schedule over a year after the accident. She serves the people at GLA every single day with the joy of the LORD, and served me the same way. She taught me how to make coffee, how to work a cash register, how to make the best grilled ham and cheese, and she taught me how to give. She gives everything she has to her kids, her family, and those around her, and does so with a smile on her face. She has dreams of going to school and becoming a lawyer so that she can defend wrongfully convicted men who otherwise wouldn’t get representation. I can’t wait to see where the LORD uses her next.
When we weren’t working at the school, we got to explore JBay a little bit, which for me usually meant going to the beach!
Jeffrey’s bay is home to world surfing championships every July-August. It boasts some of the best surfing waves in the entire world. So, naturally, me and some friends had to try it out. Nearly every Sunday, we took a lesson at a local surf school, and I have to say, we weren’t half bad! We met some amazing people through it all and I can’t wait to try surfing back in NC!
One weekend I went bungee jumping at the tallest bungee bridge in the world, Bloukrans Bridge, and it is maybe the craziest thing I’ve ever done. The bridge is 216 meters high!
I was also able to visit the township where many of the black Africans in JBay live. It is honestly difficult to see the way in which many of these people were living when not half a mile down the road is someone’s beautiful vacation home. There is still a great deal of work to be done in South Africa to address and eliminate the insane wealth disparity. While I was there, I was able to talk to a couple people and got to hear the story of a man and his family. He interrupted his monologue to go buy another beer at the corner store before returning to tell the rest. It was a sad example of the hold that drugs have over many impoverished communities simply because of a lack of opportunity for work and subsequently for a better life. We did get to pray for him though, and that the LORD would provide for him and his family. After meeting that man, we got to try some local cuisine- fried fish and boiled cow intestines! The fish was solid, and I’d be lying if I said I wouldn’t eat the cow stomach again, but the rest of the intestines I could go without!
Honestly, the work we did in South Africa was hard. It was often grueling labor under the hot African sun. With that said, I came to appreciate our ministry so much more as time went on. After serving in Guatemala where we were constantly praying for miracles over the sick and injured, feeding hungry families, and doing so much more “front-line” work, it was hard to switch gears so drastically. However, the LORD showed me that what we were doing was on the front-line of his kingdom. Every penny GLA saved through our work was another scholarship going to a kid living in the township. Another child receiving high-quality education and daily discipleship from teachers who love their students almost as much as they love God. It’s the entire lineage of that child not being held down by the oppression of the past, but instead growing up in an environment where they are truly free to dream. Knowing this made every difficult, mundane, or even tedious task so worth it. As Maximus said in Gladiator, “What we do in life echoes in eternity.”
I thank Jesus for my time in South Africa. I thank Him for the things I learned and grew in, for the opportunity to give my time and energy to such a worthwhile cause, and, most of all, for the community that I got to be a part of!
oh, and the beach…
“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.”
Ephesians 3:20-21
“Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.”
Romans 13:8-11
“And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. As it is written: “They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor; their righteousness endures forever.””
2 Corinthians 9:8-9
