Last week I took a visitor from our headquarters up to our
Foya base to see some of our projects; we arrived at 9:00am. Our first visit was to see some of the WASH
projects and as we were leaving the base I heard that one of our WASH had left
ahead of us out to the field. When I
pressed them to tell me more she said that the WASH staff member had left the
base at 5:00am in the morning in order to catch the beneficiaries in the
village before they left for their farms.
I was humbled by our staff’s commitment to their work. I have managed many people in various jobs but
I am continually floored by the work of our amazing staff here in Liberia. They are so committed to their work and it is
because their work God continues to do great things through SP in Liberia.
When we reached the community we were introduced to our
community development facilitators, CDF’s, Liberian staff that are assigned to
a cluster of villages to coordinate the work that SP does in each community in
the cluster. But more than this, these
staff love, care, counsel, share the good news of Jesus and disciple community
members whom they live with. That’s
right, these staff commit to leave their homes, family and comforts and live in
the rural villages where SP works; they are true missionaries. While Ma Zoe and Varfee (CDF’s) showed us around
it was clear the community love them and they love the community! I love my Liberian staff, they teach me every
day how to be a better leader.
This morning we had our 16 mile run as we continue to train
for the London Marathon. My wife/coach,
fellow runners Jamie and Joni, Rusty, Jamie’s husband, all left at 5:30am and
headed out to a dirt road outside of town.
It is then 4 hours of work by all these people around me to get me through
the 16 miles. It might be having drinks
and GU ready and in hand, it could be a smile while passing in the opposite
direction, driving the support vehicle, telling me to get my butt going, or
holding up a towel while I change my clothes (that would be my wife’s job J).
The bottom line is there is no way I
could have gotten as far as I have in my training without my team.
Any good leader would say that he or she is only as good as
the staff and team around them. As a
leader I have proven this statement over and over again. A leader needs to set the vision, recruit a
team that can achieve this vision and delegate outcomes and then let them do
their job. In the end we can all
celebrate what we as a team have achieved.
A true leader will relish watching their team succeed more than their
own success. Leaders need their teams.
In three weeks I will attempt to complete the 26.2 miles at
the London marathon. It has and will
take a team effort to get to the finish line.
I am doing it for many reasons but one is to raise money for the
projects that my team implements in Liberia, projects that transform lives now
and for eternity want you to be part of this great team!! See links below to help our team.
If you are from the US/Canada, please use this link to donate:
If you are from the UK, please use this link:
http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/KendellKauffeldt
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