I never thought that losing my job would have led me here.
I walk through the airport security and greet the guards on duty—they know me by name. The voice on the intercom announces the last boarding call for a flight to Johannesburg.
Two of my employees greet me as I enter the shop. They wouldn’t be here if I hadn’t lost my previous job. I’m learning that life is like a map, and only God sees the full picture of where he is taking us. I thought I knew the full picture.
But that was
before I lost my job.
I came home that day, overwhelmed by disbelief and fear, unaware that God was orchestrating a series of events that would go far beyond what I dreamed possible.
Unable to find employment but needing an income, my hands busied themselves making beaded jewelry that I began to sell. Then, the year before the World Cup came to South Africa, there was a contract available at the Durban International Airport to open a shop selling African crafts.
It was a leap of faith.
I didn’t have the money or the experience to open a formal shop in an airport as busy and important as Durban’s. But God was working behind the scenes. He brought people who were able to help me in the areas of business that were new for me.
When every bank rejected my request for a loan, a woman I barely knew felt God tell her to give me the loan I needed to open the shop. And I did open it—just before the 2010 World Cup.
In just the first month,
I had turned over more money than I’d made in the
previous 10 years combined.
Today, I purchase products from 50 other entrepreneurs to sell in my shop. I never dreamed that I would be able to impact so many lives. With every step of my journey, I see how God has always been one step ahead of me.
He is the one who
takes us beyond what
we can even dream of.
MANDISA
African Souvenir
Business Owner, Durban
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