Saturday March 22nd
We made our way back to the church this morning to
distribute the team jerseys. The campers were super excited to have new
uniforms but they had to wait patiently until Pastor James arrived as
well. We started with making breakfast
which consisted of preparing sandwiches with fat spread, ‘margarine’ and
shredded bologna. Jordan and Rylan
helped as well and we also made juice for them as well. We then packed them into our van, about 20
passengers at a time in a 9 seater van and made our way back to the Maoeng
village where PJ lives. Jordan, Rylan
and I were pressed into being referees for the 3 team tournament. It was supposed to be just a fun outing, but
one coach took it very seriously putting a lot of pressure on these rookie
refs!
In the afternoon, Rylan, Sharon and the girls made their way
to the LXP youth program at Godfrey and Elizabeth’s in the Nkoeng village. There were about 80 youth and children there
and they played memorable games like ‘do like I do!’ I then made my way back to the tournament
where every game ended in a tie which was perfect for me as I could tell them
that they were all champions! The one
coach unfortunately didn’t see it that way and just had a difficult time
accepting that. It was a joy to bless
all the teams with 4 soccer balls each.
I then made my way back to pick up the team from LXP and reconnected
with some of the youth there from the camp I went to in the fall. We then went into Butha Buthe and splurged on
pizza. While waiting there we noticed a
large group of students return from an athletic competition and they were
dancing and jumping around so we joined in the flash mob with the students from
St. Paul’s HS. The youth group started
around 10pm and so I dropped Addi and Carla off and the youth night regularly
goes to about 2am! So, we heard them
arrive home around 2:30am! The
mosquitoes kept us awake until they arrived!
Sunday March 24th
It was another passionate, celebrative worship service
today. There was Selena leading the
music with all her heart as we sang “The Lord God Almighty, He Reigns!” They sing and sing and sing until it really
sinks into your soul and feel it in your spirit! I was on to preach again and spoke on, ‘how
to get people to change’. I focused on
speaking life not death, Proverbs 15:4; changing a negative spirit with the
opposite spirit (the orphan spirit being replaced by acceptance and our
adoption into God’s family); enabling positive change through the power of
blessing, Numbers 6:24-26; 2 Corinthians 3:17,18 as well as being heirs not
slaves from Romans 8. I then finished by
challenging them that we can only give away what he have received ourselves and
to go deeper into the river, Ezekiel 47!
We then had prayer ministry and 2 people received Christ as their
Savior. There was also prayer for
healing and any needs. I had the
opportunity to pray for one young man who when I asked his name said his
‘English name was minister because he wanted to minister to others! I just loved his faith and it was a joy to
pray into that!
After the service we made our way to Sediba Lodge in
Clarens, SA where Matt and Sheila lead the Cave Church. They blessed us by opening up a beautiful 3
bedroom lodge to us on a small lake and it was a taste of heaven to have a
retreat there. We went swimming, took a
kayak and rowboat out for a ride and had a blast! Matt then loaded us up into his pick up and
we made our way to an entrance to their game reserve! Sheila led us on a hike through the 600 acre
property where we saw zebra and wildebeest up close. The leader of the wildebeest snorted us down
but then ran away.
Monday March 24th
We woke up this morning and had another swim, enjoyed bacon,
sausage, eggs and coffee for breakfast before heading into Clarens for some
souvenirs shopping at the ‘rock shop’.
Sheila stopped in to visit us and share a great vision that the Lord gave
her for both Sharon and I as well as a word for Rylan that the Lord had
awakened her in the night for.
We then rushed back
into Lesotho to do a drime presentation for a school in the Ngoajone village in
a remote area in the foothills at Rehauhetsoe HS (means received with
grace). A teacher, Pitso, had seen the
drime on Sunday and requested our visit. After our performance, a young girl
was rushed up to Pastor James and was resting on the floor like she had
fainted. After prayer, she had shared
with PJ about a demonic attack that had come upon her during his invitation. We
prayed in agreement over her and it was another reminder of the spiritual
battle we are in. We then visited with
the students, took pictures and played some volleyball with them.
Afterwards we
were off to do a village outreach also in Ngoajone with a lady pastor named
Mabene. She has lost her husband
recently, but continues to run an amazing ministry out of her home and it is a
branch church of AFM. We performed
outdoors by the use of a generator and the lights of our van after downing
another large bowl of sorgham. Jordan
describes it as apple sauce with a strong hint of BBQ sauce. After performing the drime and PJ’s message,
many came forward for prayer and all of us including our kids were involved in
prayer ministry and it was awesome for me to watch their faith in action laying
hands on those they prayed for. We then
arrived home around 8:30pm for a late supper prepped by M’e’ Matsepo that
included pasta and a hamburger mix along with salad.
Tuesday March 25th
This morning I woke up early to spend time alone with the
Lord and God gave me Exodus 34:19, a passage reminding me of the consecration
of the firstborn and the call to redeem!
So, it was a great moment to share those thoughts with Jordan on this,
his 20th BDAY. We
celebrated his BDAY by granting his wishes.
We made our way to the Nkoeng village where I promptly led us through
these crazy thorns that stuck all over our clothing. From there things did get better as I met a
local who was willing to allow Jordan to ride his donkey and he got a solid
ride all through the village, up a trail and back to the soccer field. We then hiked up the local mountain which had
some good places to scale and allowed us to have a breathtaking view. From there we made our way back down and I
drove Sharon to the ladies LXP retreat.
In the afternoon we did our drime presentation at St. Phillips HS and it
was a ZOO! They were full of excitement
and energy and Piet had to settle them down after Retabile led them in ‘go
bananas’. The youth here got such a
charge out of hearing the ages of our kids, especially Addi and Rylan. We then had a quick turnaround and made our
way over the worst of dirt roads with massive ruts to Halepotisa, another
village where a lady by the name of Mamoqothole leads a church in her
garage! It was a packed out joint and we
had to perform our drimes outside to a group of about 80. After another invitation by PJ and prayer ministry,
the group broke out into a spontaneous worship dance session and we joined
in. A young group of guys also had a
stick like a staff that they pumped in the air and so Rylan and I took turns as
well. After receiving more sorgam and dry corn, we made our long drive home
arriving back at 10:30pm for another wonderful supper prepared by M’e. Tonight it was squash, salad, rice and
sausage waiting for us. We then broke
out with a Happy BDAY cake for Jordan and Carla.
Wednesday March 26th
Today Sharon was off first thing to the ladies LXP
(Leadership Experience Lesotho) retreat where she spoke on the diversity of the
body of Christ from 1 Corinthians 12. I
went to the church to meet up with Pastor Apollo and others who were working on
building the second floor above the prayer room. It will be used for offices for the pastors
as well as administration. Makhunoane, a
pastor of one of the branch churches joined me as I went to St. Paul’s HS to
ask for permission to perform our drime presentation there. We had a funny moment on the way up as he was
trying to tell me he remembered me from the fall and he started telling me
about fishing. I was nodding, but
definitely didn’t do any fishing until he continued to work hard at pronouncing
and said ‘vision’. He had remembered my
message on vision! It was a good laugh
for both of us. At St. Paul’s, I spoke
with the deputy principal, Thabo Selokoe, and within minutes permission was
granted for Friday. It was a huge answer
to prayer for Matelo Mamello, a teacher who attends the AFM church as well as
for myself. I just kept believing that
we have a God of open doors!
I then picked up Carla and our kids and we travelled with
Mak and PJ to the Makateng Village where Mak leads a branch church for an
afternoon visit. On the way I realized I
had forgot my laptop and felt sick.
However, God works all things out for good and it turned out to be a
very small group of mainly grandmothers so we improvised. I asked who would share their testimony and
Carla and Addi did. Carla spoke of
overcoming fear in her life and Addi shared on the courage to share her faith
and growing closer to God especially in part since meeting Maggie in
Guelph.
We then raced back to Belo HS near Caledonspoort to perform
our drimes to the most disciplined group of students yet. We performed in the science lab and then PJ
spoke to the students there and led them in a prayer of invitation to receive
Christ. God certainly was moving in that
place and the teacher there thanked us and talked about our hearts being
unified.
Afterwards we made our way to Hlotse for a quick visit to
the Leribe Hotel followed afterwards by ministering in drime for Pastor Alex’s
congregation. Sharon and I met Alex on
our first missions trip here this past fall.
The congregation was meeting in their, ‘Royal Beauty Salon’. It was a tight fit for drime. Sharon took an elbow to the nose from Jordan,
but she was ok!! They were a really
inspired group and there was many hallelujahs, AMEN! They treated us to fish and chips
afterwards. On the way home we drove a
young man with the English name, John, home.
He was hilarious. He kept
referring to Sharon as ‘mammie’ and me as ‘father’. He asked if he could sing for us in the van
within minutes of leaving and then he spoke the whole way of his dreams,
passion and business in selling clothing.
Thursday March 27th
Today it really hit me that our time in Lesotho was almost
done and I thanked God for all the open doors and prayed for a few more! I visited the Likila HS and met with the
deputy principal, Mr. Motsamai and within minutes had permission to do a
performance here as well. It was also very helpful that I was recognized by a
teacher that attended the AFM church as well.
I spent some time with the students and watched a geography project in
action and the classic volcano explosion….my kind of class! I then picked up some ‘oats’ on the way home
as porridge has really taken off with our kids while here. We took an afternoon trip into Clarens, SA
with M’e Matsepo as we had to pick up Rylan’s trumpet that he left at the
lodge. It was a great afternoon off and
we enjoyed hearty burgers at the Highlander Inn as Sharon went for the salad
and sandwich combo with M’e. They had an
amazing salad with feta, roasted butternut squash and avocado. We then joined a family from the church for
dinner in the evening.
Friday March 28th
Today’s verse! 1
Corinthians 15:58 Stand firm, let
nothing move you. Always give yourselves
fully to the work of the Lord because your labor is not in vain. It was a good reminder for our last day of
drimes that nothing is ever wasted in God’s economy. After more ‘oats’ for breakfast, I ran to the
church to pick up sound equipment and on the way met Stephen, a teacher in the
technical subjects from the Butha Buthe HS.
He also serves in the youth ministry and is a carpenter by trade. We had
a great talk and he introduced me to the principal there about a presentation
there, but this Saturday unfortunately the students were not in school; however
an open door was there for the taking if time was on our side. We have been received so favorably wherever
we went.
At 11:30am, we presented at St. Paul’s to a packed out
student body of around 500 students in the outdoor plaza area. It was a perfect spot for us to perform. Our kids and Carla all gave their Sesotho
names and told them what they loved about Lesotho. Piet from LXP did an amazing
job giving the youth an opportunity to respond and over 80% raised their hands
in desiring to give their lives to Christ.
LXP has been here doing an after school program on purity in the past and
they now have a meeting with the principal to restart that which is excellent.
Drime performance at St. Paul's HS
After a quick lunch, we were off to Likila HS to present
there and there was more time for icebreakers that Addi and Rylan led. They did ‘go bananas, ‘she picked the ball’ and
a song, ‘Higher’ with them. There was
another fantastic presentation of the gospel made by Clonie, another LXP leader
and again, an overwhelming response. LXP
will have the opportunity to do an after school program here as well.
In the evening we made our way to Qalo Village which means
‘beginning’. Pastor David is growing a new
congregation here and has great faith and vision and is such an inspiration to
me. He shared how he often takes
funerals here and every time he prays to see the dead raised! After our presentation here, PJ spoke to the
group and our whole family again engaged in prayer ministry for all those who
came forward
Lots of love shown after our ministry at the Likila HS
Having a great moment with Pastor David before the outreach in his Qalo village takes place.
Saturday March 29th
1 Corinthians 16:9 A great door for effective work has been
opened for me! I really resonate with Paul’s
words today as we have come to our last day in Lesotho. Today we visited the Tlhakuli foster home
that Addi did a fundraiser for bunkbeds and bless them with soccer jerseys and
a ball. We had the boys take each other
on in a game of mini-soccer and then the girls as well. It was such a joy to bless them and pray over
them. Makhauta is continuing to gain
weight and her health looks great…so encouraging. In the afternoon, we had a great time of fun,
laughter and the opportunity to perform our drimes with LXP led by Godfrey and
Elizabeth and their team. We finished
with a time of celebrative worship singing, “I am a friend of God.” We then made a quick KFC run and we were
blessed with traditional Lesotho hats from Pastor Alex. We then travelled with him to the potential
site where he will begin the Royal Beauty training school. When we arrived home a family in the church
was making a surprise BBQ for us at the home of Pastor James. Later in the evening our kids joined the youth
at the AFM church and kicked up the dust as the worshipped in dance and singing
with incredible rhythm and passion late into the night
Mini soccer match at the Tlkhuli foster home!
Godfrey leading worship!
LXP Youth!
Worship dancing with the LXP youth!
Sunday March 30th
There was lots of tears and hugs as we said goodbye to the
Qhobela family early this morning. We
left around 6:15am and spent the day driving down to Beaufort West where we are
now at the Backpackers Inn. We were
able to see some monkeys on our way down through the desert like landscape.
Tomorrow we are off on a safari run through the Karoo National Park before
making our way to Capetown for a week to see the sights!
If you made it to this part of my blog,
congratulations! Thanks for following
with us on an adventure of a lifetime for our family!!
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