This week, we have been busy.  Holly and Kurtis Jones from KC, Missouri are here.  Holly and Kurtis are in process with the International Mission Board and are trying to decide where it is that God would have them serve.  Holly is a Registered Nurse and is hoping to be able to use her nursing skills to serve the poorest people of the poorest villages.  Kurtis has a passion for helping others.  Together, they make a great team.  Pray for them as they continue to seek God’s will for their lives.

We have spent the week visiting several villages in the Katse region of Lesotho.  Our plan for the villages has been the same, everywhere we have gone.  Holly and I have taught on a variety of health issues:  children’s health, HIV/AIDS, wound care, hygiene, and the importance of clean water, just to name a few.  Kurtis and Jimmy would then follow with preaching.  Our girls spent their time jumping rope and chasing children.  In every village, Bekah finds a new baby that she carries around.  Following the preaching, Holly and I would set up our “clinic.”  We would take blood pressures and we taught Gracie and Anna how to measure the children to make sure that they were growing and were not malnourished.  Unfortunately, there were many with high blood pressure, many that were malnourished, and some dying of AIDS.  Today, we visited the village of Ha Knokno.  We have visited this village before and the people were so happy to see us.  When we had finished the teaching and the guys had finished the preaching, we prepared to begin the clinic.  Holly and Kurtis had brought vitamins for the people of the village and they were excited to get them.  One of the women asked me to follow her to her home.  As I entered the house, I saw a small girl lying on a mat on the floor.  The ladies told me that she was sick and had been very sick for 8 days.   She was so weak that she struggled to lift her head.  As I examined her, I realized that her abdomen was very distended.  She was unable to eat, she had diarrhea and had been vomiting.  She had a temperature.  Her mother, who has to work in South Africa in order to feed her family, had been called home on Thursday.  The grandmother’s eyes were full of sorrow.  I made the decision that she must go to the hospital.  Jimmy took the little girl, her mother, Sefiri, Holly and Kurtis to Ma Mohau Hospital.  The diagnosis:  typhoid.  The little girl most probably has the beginning of peritonitis and would have died within a few days.  As I sit here tonight thinking about the events of the day, I am reminded of God’s great love for His children.  He loved this little girl so much that He sent missionaries from the other side of the world to care for her. 

How great the Father’s love for us…His love’s beyond all measure…His love is impossible to comprehend…it encourages us to keep going, to keep telling, to keep loving…all for HIS glory.

Today was Holly and Kurtis’ first day in the village and tonight they are a little overwhelmed with the needs that they faced. They had brought with them about 50 pair of socks. We had about that many pair put back that had been donated to give to the children. Thank you Kleier family. The children all got in line and waited for their turn. Kurtis lifted each child up on the tailgate of the truck. My job was to see what size socks they needed. Holly and Kurtis put the socks on the children. Jimmy helped with crowd control. The picture that we have posted is representative of so many of the feet that we saw today. Their feet look this way because in the event that their shoes actually last long enough to become too small, they continue to shove their feet into them….why? It is the only pair that they have and there is no money to buy more. Some of the children’s toes looked as though they were curling under. It is hard to see the needs and to realize that you cannot meet them all. After the 100 pair of socks were given away, there were another 100 without.

Now just for fun….and for you reading enjoyment.

 There is a nkono/grandmother/very old lady in the village where we spend our Tuesdays that is addicted to candy. Apparently she has had this addiction for quite a while..she only has about 6 teeth in her entire mouth and one of those is loose. Today, Nkono was complaining of pain. Jimmy gave her some ibuprofen and explained to her how she should take them. In Sesotho, by the way. Later he noticed that she was sucking on one of the Ibuprofen….he confessed that it was his fault. He told her take “ngoe joale” (one now). She was simply following his instructions.

Finally, I could not resist showing you this picture. This is the little baby that was born about 3 months ago. Holly brought clothes from the states to share and had a great time dressing this little guy. You will notice the beads that he is wearing. The family says that the beads represent the family’s clan. We have been told that it is the way they introduce their child to the ancestors and the clan demon. Pray that the family continues to come to our bible studies and that they begin to understand that life is only in Christ Jesus.

Village after village, child after child, too many to count….all waiting for someone to come and tell them about Jesus.

Will you come and help us?   The task is too great.

jflorafamily@gmail.com

News Update:  Arlene Flora, hen, just layed her second egg!  We are so proud.

They are just ordinary teenage girls. Lots of giggles, cautious to let you know their real feelings. Once a week, we meet with some of the high school girls that live in the Katse area. We started with about 20, yesterday there were more than 35, and even a few young men were brave enough to come. We meet in front of ‘Me Tomo’s rondavel. Some sit in the dirt, some on a rock, most stand. We talk to the them about God’s Plan for their lives and for marriage. Last week, I promised them that a really handsome man would come. He’s the man that God chose for me. I told them that God also has a someone that was created especially for them. We talked about how important it was to love Jesus first and most. So yesterday, the girls were excited! They were ready to meet this man. When we arrived in the village and the girls saw our truck they all began to cheer and clap. I introduced my husband, Jim Flora, and he began to tell them what a godly young man looks for in a young lady. He held their attention well, the girls did not move and were very quiet as they listened. The preacher had a blast! The girls had several questions about relationships, expectations, and a young man even asked what he should look and act like if he is following Jesus. Pray for these young ladies. Their life is not an easy one. It will be difficult for them to stay pure. It will be a miracle if they have a “happily ever after” kind of story.

The days are beautiful, but it has been raining every night.  Again, we aren’t complaining.  We received an email from another church in the U.S. about a mission trip here next year.  They have been to Lesotho several times in the past working with the Dials, so they will be a great help.  The church is Bell Shoals in Florida.  They were actually here working in Katse when we arrived in May.  Teams are beginning to sign up.  We have a couple from Missouri this weekend, Teresa’s sister from Texas and Delinda from Hamlin Memorial Baptist in Missouri in December, another team from Hamlin in May (our oldest son will be on this one!!!!),  one from First Baptist Perryton, TX in June, and now the one from Bell Shoals in either late June or earl August, if everything works as planned.  Now, with all this being scheduled, we really need for you to PRAY, PRAY, PRAY!!!!   We have teams scheduling to help us in Mokhotlong, but nowhere to live yet.  The government still has to release the land, and the IMB has to approve our strategy so we can have a place to live.  Pray that the government releases the land.  Pray for us as we finalize our plan for moving to the Mokhotlong Region, and pray for our plan to be approved as it moves up the chain at the IMB.  Just for fun, I thought I would post a picture of the land we are waiting on to be released.  If all goes as planned, this is where we will put our house.

Not the close part of the picture, but the mountain in the background.  Sorry we do not have a better picture.  This one only shows about 1/3 of the land.   Keep praying!!

Until BOHLE have heard, Jim

After yesterday’s post, everything else would pale in comparision, right?   Well, the news today is that Arlene has gone on strike.  A one-egg wonder!  I wonder if she’ll lay another one.  Seriously, I know she’ll be okay, she was probably younger than I thought when we got her.

It is raining again in Lesotho, but we aren’t complaining.  We have been consistently praying for rain, and the people in the village know that we have been asking you to pray with us.  By the way, Thato said that there were several ladies and a ton of kids at her church Sunday that have been attending our Tuesday morning Bible Study.  It is about a 45 minute or an hour walk for them, but it’s good to hear they have started attending church.  Keep praying!

On another note, we continue to hear about tightening the belt at the International Mission Board.  The financial crunch that hit last year really affected giving to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering.  If you have been keeping up with SBC news, you know that the appointment of new missionaries have been restricted for this year, and now budgets for 2010 are being reduced.  We received an email from our Cluster Leader today saying the money just did not come in this past year.  He encouraged us to remember that even though money might be tight, the Lord’s arms have not been shortened, nor has He been stripped of His power to move.   We also know that churches back home continue to tighten their belts also, and sacrifice to make sure the gospel goes forward on the opposite side of the world.  Please pray about what the Lord would have you give this year to the Lottie Moon Missions Offering.  It is the major thing that keeps us rolling.  And remember, 100% of what you give goes directly to keeping us here, doing what we do.  Without you giving, my clutch could not have been replaced.  Without your gifts the tires I will be replacing very soon would not be replaced.  In fact, without your gifts, I wouldn’t even have a truck!  Through your gifts, you partner with us in sharing the gospel in the mountains of Lesotho. You equip us to “GO!”   Thanks ahead of time for your gifts!  Please continue to pray for the leadership at IMB.  They are having to make some very tough budget calls, and they do not take the job lightly.  Most of us have been there at one time or another, either at church or at home, so we know how those decisions weigh heavily upon their hearts.

Still no word on the land.  We will be traveling to Mokhotlong again in another week and a half, and maybe we can find something out then.  We are still working on strategy to be submitted, along with housing plans and everything we believe we need to effectively live, travel, minister, share the gsopel, and make disciples in the Khubelu valley.  I am having to sharpen my pencil quite often!  You can take that both ways!

Until Batho ba BOHLE have heard, Jim

Arlene Layed an EGG!!!

We have been watching, coaxing, pleading, begging, and waiting.  Today, when we took a trip to the dentist in South Africa, our very talented hen, Arlene, layed her first egg!

I bet you thought we got the land, didn’t ya?

I know this is the first post I have had in a few days.  I will try to fill you in.  We headed for Mokhotlong on Sunday morning, hoping to meet our team leader and Cluster Leader there on Monday afternoon.  The plan was to show them around, talk about our plan for reaching the Basotho, show them the land we hope will be released to us shortly, and begin to talk about housing  possibilities once we receive the land.  It didn’t go exactly as planned.  We were about an hour from Katse, and we were pulling the camp trailer.  The road makes a long, fairly sharp descent to a bridge across the reservoir.  Just before I topped the hill to head down, I was going to downshift to control my speed down the mountain.  The camp trailer was loaded for a few days of camping, and it has a roof-mounted tent.  It is fairly heavy, and it will push you down the mountain pretty fast if you are in too high of a gear.  Anyway, when I pushed in the clutch to downshift, the pedal went all the way to the floor, and I got into neutral, but couldn’t get into first.  Fortunately, we were going pretty slow, so I got on the brakes and coasted slowly to a place were I could pull off of the road.  After a little assessment, the only conclusion I had was that there was something wrong with the clutch.  I thought maybe I had broken the clutch cable or something had come loose.  The Dials were on their way down the mountain behind us, and pulled up a few minutes later.  After a litle discussion, I told Alan that I could drive it down, but I would not be able to get out of first or second gears.  That’s what we decided was best.  It was a long trip, and it was raining in the pass, with visibility at about 30 feet.  I got it into the shop on Monday, and while I was taking it to the shop, Teresa received the news that her grandma had passed away.  I was sad I wasn’t there just to hold her when she heard the news, but I held an extra few minutes when I got back.  We were stranded in Fickburg, South Africa for 2 nights while the truck was being repaired.  Fortunately, that is where the Dials live, so we were able to stay with them.  Our Cluster Leader also came and stayed one night.  We discussed strategy and housing options. We never did make it to Mokhotlong.  The clutch had to be replaced.  We headed back Tuesday afternoon.  Please pray for Teresa and her family.  She is struggling with not being able to be there to help, and as most of you know, she is a “do-er” not a sitter.  We are thankful that we have a God that watches over us, even when we live on the other side of the world.  As you drive these mountain roads, you can look down and see cars and trucks that missed gears or lost brakes.  It was inconvenient and unexpected that we had to have a clutch replaced, but it could have been so much worse.  It was only inconvenient and unexpected, nothing more.  Aren’t we glad that NOTHING ever takes God by surprise?

Until ALL have heard, Jim