Have you ever noticed that some people’s name just seems to fit them? Like, “He couldn’t be anything other than a Bob- he’s just a Bob.” Well let me introduce you to my friend Gloria- who is glorious! She is the sunshine, raying down contagious smiles, and radiating warmth from her inner being. Like the sun, you know if you’ve basked in Gloria’s presence because she is one of the most genuinely joyous people you’ll ever met and she gives world-class hugs! Gloria is also the cleaning lady at Ithemba. She’s tremendously hard worker and we are so blessed to have her!
A little while back we found out that Gloria’s small shack had been flooding due to an abnormal amount of rain we’ve had in Jeffrey’s Bay this winter (northern hemisphere readers just remember the season are opposite). Just imagine how terrifying it must be to wake up in the middle of the pitch-black night, feeling as if the cold water beneath you was destroying and washing your entire existence away. If you are lucky, the driving rain will subside the next day and the sun will come out to dry your world. If not it will be another cold wet night.
And so, while we can’t always “change the world,” we can change someone’s world. That’s what we endeavored to do, HOME MAKEOVER, ZA EDITION.
The project mainly consisted of waterproofing her shack’s roof, one of its sidewalls, tiling her floor, and building a cement barricade around the exterior of the house to divert water. With the help of the group from Brentwood, TN, and with the help of the “Tarquinio men” (Gavin, Luke and Father Tom), Gloria is officially sleeping in a dry home!
How tremendously blessed it is to give, especially to someone as wonderful as Gloria, who constantly reminds us what it means to serve others.
