Everyone wants pics after the LXP after school program at St. Phillips School.
Saturday March 15th
We started our day by meeting with Pastor Alex, a friend
that we met last time that we visited here in the fall. Alex runs the Royal
Beauty Salon and a spice shop in the same plaza. He has a real heart for people who have been ‘expelled’
from their churches. He welcomes the
broken and disillusioned to his church.
They simply show love and grace and reach into the hearts of those who
come. The theme for his church is 2
Chronicles 7:14. After a time of
visiting and sharing, Addi and Sharon got their nails done and along with Bryn
and Carla, they found some great dresses at a shop nearby.
We hiked up Sebothoane in the afternoon and packed a lunch
for our trip. It was hot and a very
challenging walk in the heat of the day as we started from a lower point. We met up with a young man who we gave a
Canadian name, Elijah! He led us up the
mountain and it was there we met up with a group of children returning from
school. They sang to the girls and it
was a great moment for them. We had
lunch at the top, drank our Stoney’s and the kids had Mountain Dew of
course! At the end of our walk we
blessed Elijah with some pay, a soccer ball and uniform and he was thrilled.
In the late afternoon we made our way back into Hlotse to
play with the children that we had met up with earlier in the week and played
and had snacks together. Once again our
girls were met by some very forward young men who were making marriage
proposals with us. They were turned down
to their dismay.
Sunday March 16th
Church @AFM Butha Buthe
This morning we packed up and loaded our van complete with
our mattresses and blankets and gear and made our way to BB. We arrived early at the church and the
worship music began shortly after. It
was loud and passionate just as we remembered complete with whistling. It was a mix of Sesotho and English. A challenge was presented on giving and then
Pastor James called Sharon to come forward and introduce our family. I was asked to preach and so I spoke on Mark
1:9-15 on identity, desert and power. I
also took time to speak on the word for time in this passage and spoke on
‘kairos’ moments and shared about our story.
We then had prayer ministry for healing and then for the baptism of the
Holy Spirit. It was moving as children,
young adults and adults all came forward.
Well the service was shorter today, only 3hrs long. We then made our way to Pastor James’ home
which will become our home as well for the next two weeks. We visited and had a late lunch prepared by ladies from AFM. We had lamb, beef, papa,rice and bean
salad. We laughed, shared and just
relaxed. We then watched the sunset from
the office/ sun room upstairs. We
settled in and then had a late evening soup full of vegetables, potatoes and
ground beef.
Monday March 17th
Today we got off to a late start as PJ had to go into BB to
pick up construction materials. As the rest of us waited we met a young man
Jeremiah, who had euros but no way to exchange his funds. So, we did it there
on the spot for him and blessed him. He
showed me his work as he worked in a warehouse that sold used clothing from all
over the world. We also had a surprise
meeting from Pastor David, the dancing pastor from our last visit. He came to our van and just preached his
convictions about the Lord and it was great.
He then took time to pray for us.
So, at around 11:30am we arrived at the Lerobane foster home where we
unloaded the roofing supplies for the piggery.
The girls and I went down to the river with some of the workers and dug
out the gravel and loaded it on the shore.
It would be used to mix with the cement for the floor of the
piggery. We worked until later that
afternoon and came back to PJ’s home. I
travelled with PJ to the Khapung village where he led a Bible study in the home
of a family there. We then arrived home
around 7:30pm and were greeted by a great feast as Sharon had splurged on a
bucket of KFC! M’e and Sharon had also
made beet, potato and bean salad along with rice. We then introduced Tsepo and Clonie to
‘screaming dice’ in the evening and then presented the fund that Sharon had
raised to bless PJ and M’e Matsepo for their home. It had come to $8000R. They were humbled and so thankful.
Tuesday March 18th
This morning Jordan and Rylan joined me in the river as we
went back to the Lerobane foster home.
We continued to dig out gravel from the riverbed and loaded up the
‘bakkie’ for more mix for the cement. We
also joined some of the men back at the site who were breaking away a large
rock in front of the entrance. So,
Jordan and I joined in with the pick axe and sledge and burned some testerone
with them. At around 12:30pm we made our
way back into town where we caught up with Sharon and the girls who were doing
a grocery run with M’e. We got home to eat
tuna sandwiches, cheese and crackers and then it was off with LXP to St.
Phillips school to join in with their after-school program. They did ice-breakers with the kids, ‘go
bananas’ along with a teaching focus on values.
The students were broken into groups as Carla and our kids led the
groups. The focus was on Matthew 12 and
a tree being known for it’s fruit. We
talked about the roots of the tree that led to what is displayed on the tree.
After we returned, Rylan was quite keen on playing soccer in
the field by PJ’s house and so I went with him. We played soccer and then soon were joined
by the Maoeng village team. I took shots
and eventually got the nod to play with them.
Rylan pretty much led his own tribe of followers with the GoPro video. I
played with the team right till dusk. We
returned home where Sharon and M’e had made a cabbage lasagna and their efforts
were slowed down by a loss of power so supper was later but still amazing as
always.
Wednesday March 19th
This day began by doing laundry together. We also took time to do family devos as we
were challenged by reading from the book, ‘Beyond Four Walls’ and the call of
the church to be missional from Matthew 28:19,20. We talked about the people of the AFM church
and how they were such a great example of living this out. We were then off to do work with LXP but that
didn’t happen as we were stopped by the police on a road check. It turned out that license, ‘disc sticker’
expired on Feb 28th. I
started to scramble and they allowed me to get my phone to make a phone call as
they were ready to fine me $1100R and take the van to the police station. We were able to walk back to the house and I
called Pastor James who took time to speak with the officers. Thankfully he bailed me out and there was no
fine, just return the van back home and get a new vehicle sticker for the van.
Well, easier said than done, but PJ had friends just over the border in
Clarence, SA.
Sharon and I along with
M’e and PJ made the trip to visit Matt and Sheila Silcock. We had a great visit with them as they have
an amazing ranch and ministry there with the Cave Church, right in a cave. They were a real godsend as Sheila was able
to share with Sharon about the Zoe Zoe ministry they have which will be an
excellent resource for what we are stepping into at the Manor when we return to
Canada. The showed us the cave, how the
acoustics work in there along with the etching of images from the 1600s in the
wall from cavemen of course! Matt hooked
us up with his Toyota 7 seater and we were back on track. However, it was too late for us to work with
LXP so our kids had an off day to work on homework.
Heading back to Lesotho from Clarence, SA - photo by Sharon!
I was able to give PJ all of the solar audio players generously donated by Grace Community Church that will be used to load the Bible and messages to take to villages where there is low literacy and for use in outreach.
Thursday March 20th
Today we started out by rehearsing our drimes and then made
our way out to minister with LXP in the Nkoeng village. On the way, guess what, another random police
check and this time we were busted again.
We needed to have ‘triangle’ reflectors in the vehicle in case of
emergency! Again, I am scrambling to
find them and in the course of the conversation they ask us what we are
doing. We share that we are off to do a
Bible study and that peaked their curiosity.
The officer asked for a Bible because he said that he was a bachelor and
needed to read it every night to keep his life on track. So, Brynley offered her Bible and we were off
the hook. At the village, Godfrey split
us into two groups and we ministered to seniors there. In our group we looked at Matthew 5:1-12 and
talked about hunger and appetite for spiritual things. We then walked to Godfrey and Elizabeth’s
home where we had sandwiches with them.
Godfrey shared how he and Elizabeth met and we looked at their wedding
pictures. Afterwards we made our way
back to one of the senior’s home where we took part in the rebuilding of one of
the walls of his home that had washed away in a recent storm. We had to find the right shaped rocks from
the hill around his place and took part in mixing the mud with donkey dung for
the perfect ‘cement’! Addi and Rylan
played with the children who returned from school….just another day in Lesotho!
The wall is almost complete!
Friday March 21st
The piggery is completed at the Lerobane Foster Home!
I dropped off the team today in the Nkoeng Village as they
participated in a preschool program with LXP and then PJ and I crossed the
border to return Matt’s Toyota and get my updated ‘disc’ license. Following that, PJ and I visited a gov’t High
School about the opportunity to perform our ‘drimes’ (drama to music)
there
next week and were given the green light for that next week which was really
exciting. We then visited the Lerobane
foster home to see the completed work on the piggery and it looks superb. After a quiet afternoon, I became the taxi
service for the youth and children attending the High Power Soccer Camp at the
AFM church. I ended up taking two loads
of children and it was a blast. They
just pile in as much as possible. I
pumped up a ball for them at the church and they were set . They watched a
soccer movie in the evening on the Ultimate Goal as it used testimonies of
athletes along with the presentation of
the gospel. After some ice breakers, we
performed drimes and then Selena gave a message to the kids. At 11pm, I took our crew home before the
soccer tournament starts tomorrow!
on the trail in Nkoeng Village!
House visits and Bible studies in the village!
No comments:
Post a Comment