Flora Family

Our First Volunteer Team has Gone Home…

November 22, 2009

Holly and Kurtis Jones arrived back in the US today. They have spent the past 2 weeks taking Jesus to the Basotho of the mountains. It was great to have them here and hard to see them go. Here are a few of the highlights of our time together…

• 8 villages…tons of people

• all kinds of weather…dust storm in Mok, thunderstorms, snow in the mountains

• tent blew down

• 30 health care workers given education on caring for their patients and reminded that healing ONLY comes from the one True God

• spoke at a primary school in Ha Tsela and a secondary school called Khotsong

• presented a lesson on sexual purity to 53 high school teens

• health clinics in 7 villages-screened the villagers for “high blood” as they call it

• loved on a baby who is HIV+

• dressed babies, put stickers on kids, gave away balloons

• fed shepherds peanut butter sandwiches

• spoke to a few sangomas

• fished for men and trout

• laughed with the children

• prayed for the sick

• loved on the women

• spoke to the chief

• ate together, prayed together, served together

• took Jesus to the mountains and the rivers and the rondavels and the valleys

• in the sunshine, in the rain, in the snow

• and it was all very good

Thank you Holly and Kurtis for coming. Our prayer is that God reveals His perfect will to you regarding your place of service. Listen…He will speak. 

Please pray for the Jones’ family as they go through the process of being appointed as missionaries with the International Mission Board. Pray that they will know where God would have them to serve. Pray for them as they continue to serve the homeless of Kansas City, Mo.

Having a great time…only thing missing is YOU. 

This week has been so busy, I am tired, but I have had such a good time. Here are the highlights of the week:

Sunday: Holly and Kurtis Jones arrive in Lesotho from the US

Monday: Tour Katse. Put 100 pairs of socks on 100 children.

Tuesday: Ha Kinini Village-morning bible study over 75 people were there. The women and men of the village performed the traditional dance. Afternoon True Love Waits with highschool girls and boys-53 were there, not counting the children and adults peeking in. Tuesday evening, Basotho meal with my friend, ‘Me Maphoda YUMMY!

Wednesday: Phoekoeng Village health teaching, preaching, and clinic-about 45 people there. I love this chief! In the afternoon we went to Ha Seshote and spoke to the village “cooperative”. About 15 were there including the Ha Seshote chief.

Thursday: Ha Tsela Village…NO idea how many people came! Tons! In the afternoon, small clinic at Ha Seshote and I visited the village chief’s mother. She is sick and asked to see me. She was a wonderful lady and I plan to visit her again next week

Friday: Lasebeli Village and Maquobatane Village-a GREAT DAY! Tons of people, tons of smiles. Same schedule for ministry

Saturday: Ha Kanono-great time of teaching…read the blog on Jimmy’s page about the little girl

A wonderful week. We have given away vitamins, first aid kits, toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap, and vaseline just name a few of the items we were able to share with the people. All things given in the name of Jesus. There have been questions, discussions, and the people have responded to the teachings of the ONE TRUE God. God is so faithful. Pray that the people are able to lay aside the traditional beliefs and accept Jesus as being the ONLY way. Pray that as we travel to Mok tomorrow that God gives us traveling graces and that the people there listen to the WORD as it is proclaimed. Pray that as we continue to survey the region of Mok that we are given wisdom regarding future ministry plans. Pray for Holly and Kurtis as they try to discern God’s will for their lives. PRAY FOR OUR LANGUAGE LEARNING….WE NEED TO BE ABLE TO SPEAK TO THE PEOPLE IN THE LANGUAGE OF THEIR HEART. After church this am we will go back to the village of the little girl, Ha Kanono to tell her family the news of her disease. Pray that the village will take the precautions necessary to protect themselves from getting typhoid. Pray that they will understand.

More later…gotta get going!

November 5, 2009

What do you do when you don’t know what to do?

It is a helpless feeling.  People come to you for help and you are so limited in what you can do to help them.  Today was one of those days…

It began at our village bible study.  One of the grandmothers that I had treated for an abcessed tooth came with 2 young girls walking behind her.  The girls were her granddaughters.  She asked me if I could help the 12 year old.  The little girl had been struck by lightening on Sunday afternoon.  She was burned on the right side of her body from her head all the way to her upper leg.  There were bandages on her, they were dirty and falling off.  

What to do?  I did the only thing that I knew to do.  I brought her home with me.  I put her in the shower and removed the bandages.  I cleaned her wounds.  I bathed her body.  I dressed her wounds.  Gracie brought her clean clothes from her very own closet.  I helped her dress.  We fed her lunch.  I gave her medicine.  I took her home.

A man…at our door.  His wounds?  You cannot see them.  They are deep, and they penetrate his heart.  His wife has returned to the home of her parents.  He told her that she could not bring the charms of the sangoma into their home anymore…he is trying to follow Jesus.  She leaves him and goes home…her mother is the sangoma.

What to do?  We invited him in.  We set an extra place at our dinner table.  My husband gave him wise counsel, based upon God’s Word.  He prayed with him.

What do you do when you don’t know what to do?  You just love people…Jesus showed me how. 

I have no idea what the date is…but I think it is Tuesday.

Living in Africa, I kinda loose track of time.  I don’t have the weekly church activities to help me keep track of the days of the week, so I often have to get up and look at the calendar so that I can know what day/date it is.  The calendar is all the way in the kitchen…I am too tired to get up and go check it.  Jimmy was kind enough to share his cold with me.  My head is hurting, my eyes are watering, and my chest hurts when I cough.  I wrote a very funny blog about his illness….I diagnosed him with the swine flu….but the internet went down before it posted.  Now I forgot all the funny things that I had written.  Now, back to my blog…

Time passes in Africa..the people don’t seem to get in too much of a hurry about anything.  That has been hard for me to get use to.  I am always hurrying about, rushing to get everything done. The African people have different worries that most of us could never understand.

Today, ‘Me Thato told me that she went to a funeral on Saturday.  (All funerals in Lesotho are held on Saturday by the way, she was so confused when I told her that my grandma’s funeral was on Friday.)  Do you remember when I wrote about the little boy that had been struck and killed by lightening a week ago?  This is funeral that she attended.  She talked about the grief of his mother and sister.  She then told me that the people of the village believe that the reason he died was that his parents had offended someone.  The belief is that you can “wish” a storm in to existence and that you can actually “cause” the lightening to come down and kill someone.   The people told her that the child’s parents offended someone, they caused the storm, that caused the lightening, that killed the boy…

Pray that God somehow uses us to teach the Basotho that …

God is love.  He is powerful, but He is also love.  God is not a god to be feared in such a way that you live your life being frightened of the dark, the lightening,  and storms…pray that they find freedom in living for Him!

October 30, 2009

For His Glory and Remembering Grandmommy

Today was my Grandmommy’s funeral. Most of my family are gathered at the Baptist church in Dayton, TX.  This morning I decided to just have good cry…Jimmy did what he always does when he doesn’t know what to do…he held me.  After a few minutes, I was better.  I received several emails from friends back home, encouraging me and loving me.  One friend in particular, spoke to my heart today….her email simply said, “Today, I am sending you a hug.” I needed it. Another friend encouraged me  to “remember” my grandma.  So I decided to do something that would glorify God and remind me of Grandmommy.  Jimmy  loaded my big bag of clothes that our girls had outgrown.  My best  friend, Jimmy, and I headed for our village. We left our girls at home with Me’ Thato. When the kids of the village saw our truck coming up the road they ran to meet us. Jimmy parked the car and then the fun began. I looked at each little child, assessing their need for clothes. As is the case in every village I have visited so far, they ALL need clothes. I took the child whose need was greatest first. A little boy, wearing a pair, or what was left of a pair, of blue knit pants. I took his pants off and put on some “new”, soft, clean, good smelling pants. One by one, the children came to me…I dressed them much as I would my own children. The smiles that they rewarded me with was my payment. One ‘Me who had come to see what the excitement was told me that we had made her so happy. As I dressed the children, I took time to remember my Grandmommy. I would have loved to have seen her dressing those babies. My grandma loved kids…all kinds. She was raised in a time when the color of your skin was important or significant. To Grandmommy it didn’t matter what color the child’s skin was. She was always worried if they didn’t have enough to eat or clothes to wear. 

I wish I could have been in Dayton today. I wish I could have been there to love on my mom, my sister, my brother, and the rest of my family. I would have loved to hug my Aunt Jackie and my Aunt Carolyn and tell them how sorry I was for their great loss. I would have liked to have seen my cousins and the rest of the family. Thinking about the day that I just experienced, I have realized that if I truly had a choice…I would have been in Africa, dressing a baby, wiping a tear, smiling at a mother… all for the glory of Jesus….and now, my Grandmommy is experiencing the joy of being in the presence of Jesus, and she wouldn’t trade places with us for anything!

October 29, 2009…You Ain’t  Seen Nothing Till You’ve Seen the Bo ‘Me Dancing!

Today was village day….there were 72 men, women, and children that attended our morning bible study at Ha Kinini Village.  When we arrive at the village the children start running…they have learned to recognize our truck and they begin jumping up and down clapping and then begin running for Me’ Tomo’s house.  Me’ Tomo/Tolerance continues to be gracious in allowing us to use her front yard as our meeting place.  Some of my favorite people were there:

Me’ Chicken…I can never remember her Sesotho name.  She is the lady who blessed us with a hen/Arlene…who by the way has yet to lay her first egg.

Me’ Thatch Burner…This is the lady who chose to burn the thatch we had provided to repair her roof.  This is a very long story, better saved for another day…Pray for her….she continues to come to listen to our stories.

Nkhono..Grandmother…this lady is a truly a joy to us!  She comes walking down the dirt road carefully, hunched over, using a stick for a cane…she speaks Afrikans and Sesotho..she chooses to speak Afrikans to us because she assumes we are Afrikaner because we have white skin.   She has only about 6 teeth in her entire mouth and one of the remaining teeth is so loose that it wiggles everytime she laughs…and she laughs all the time.  I love her, even though it is quite possible she was drunk today.

Me’ Has a New Baby….remember the picture I posted of the new baby.  This family has become very special to us.  Last week we helped this young momma go to pick up her little sister near Maseru. Their parents have died, and the little girl has no home.  Today she returned from Maseru without the child.  The government of Lesotho had picked up the little one before she arrived and placed her in an orphanage.  She will be returned to her sister after the school semester is complete.

I taught the bible story that tells of Jesus calming the storm.  Jimmy then preached about how the Christian life is not a fearful life.  Following our teaching we pray with the people, then it is time for the “Flora Mobile Health Clinic” to begin.  I took blood pressures while Jimmy shared Christ with 3 young men who are soccer players.  He gave them the evangeball…Saturday we have a date to watch their soccer game.

Sometimes Teardrops Sound Like Rain…

October 28, 2009

Today I am a mess.  I don’t want anyone to think that I am fragile or depressed.  I’m really ok, just sad.  Somedays my blog page becomes my sounding board.  If I was back in the states, you might receive a phone call or I might ask you to sit with me a while.  After I would have shared my story of the day and reason for my tears I would feel much better.  Living on the other side of the world, it is impossible for me to call you (I simply cannot afford it), so if it is ok, will you just bear with me for a minute or two and I will reveal the feelings of my heart…

• I miss my kids.  Our youngest son, Joshua and his precious wife, Stacy, sent me a birthday photo album that they had made of all of their summer events.  Pictures of fun times in Texas with all of Jimmy’s family, trips to the zoo, the Alamo, and of Josh skiing.   We had so much fun looking at the pictures.  It made me miss them more.
• I miss my kids.  Kelly, our Jason’s precious wife, sent me a birthday email complete with pictures of her and our son.  One of the pictures show Jason in his police uniform.  She remarked about how handsome her husband is…her love for him causes us to rejoice!  It makes me miss them more.
• I miss my kids.  Sara, our Jim’s precious wife, emailed me a wonderful email about the day’s events of pumpkin carving with our 3 grandchildren and our son.  Her emails are always complete with such description that sometimes I can almost hear and see it.  It makes me miss them more.
• our grandchildren…JD is growing so very fast.  Last time I saw him, I carried him everywhere, now he is running, climbing, and into everything.  Abby is now reading, has finished her first unit in Math with great scores, she is growing taller.  Ellie Kate….cried last night when Sara put her to bed.  She was having a hard time sleeping because of the rain.  Sara went into her room and laid down beside her for a while.  The conversation between Ellie and her mom went something like this…

Sara: “Ellie, why are you crying?”

Ellie:  “I am crying because of the rain.”

Sara:  “Why does the rain make you cry?”

Ellie:  “The rain sounds like the rain at Mammie’s house when it rained on the window….I miss Mammie.”

Today, I am crying because I miss my kids…and because my grandma’s funeral is on Friday.  I am crying because of the enormous amount of emails I received on my birthday from precious, precious, friends.  I am crying because of the birthday cards that came in the mail, written by the hands of people that love me…me.  I am crying because of the packages we continue to get in the mail that are packed with love, put on a plane, flown across the ocean, delivered to our mailbox, and opened with such excitement by our entire family.  I am crying because you care enough to write, you care enough to send packages, you care enough to pray.  I am crying because I have waited a lifetime to get here and desperately love the job that God has called me to do.

I am crying because…the Basotho are lost in darkness and struggle in life on a daily basis.  I am crying for the Basotho family that will bury their little boy this week, the one that was struck by lightening last weekend.  I am crying for the many families that lost their herd of goats and sheep, that died in the rainstorm that was full of cold rain and hail.

I am crying for those who don’t have enough to eat, that are dying of AIDS, that live with an unfaithful spouse, those who cannot provide clothing and shelter for their children.

 Ok, now I feel better. Sometimes just talking about things makes me feel so much better

Now, it’s time for me to get up…wash my face and get going…I’ve got a job to do! 

October 27, 2009

My Grandmommy

First of all, thank you to all of those who have sent a note saying that you are praying for my family.  It has been very difficult being so far away from my family during this difficult time in our lives.  My Grandmommy, Sammie Lee Lockhart, went home to be with Jesus.  I am so thankful for the wonderful memories that she has left in my heart.  Grandmommy was born and raised in Alabama, Beaverton, Alabama.  If you talked to her for just a minute you could tell that she was from the south by her accent.  I’ve been told by my mom that the day I was born, 52 years ago, was a happy day for Grandmommy.  I am the oldest of the grandchildren and her and Grandpoppy were pretty excited, I guess.  I have grown up hearing stories of them buying “Carnation Milk” by the truckload to help feed me.  Tonight, as  I think about her and her homecoming, I remember why I loved her so very much:

• before my grandpa came to know Jesus, he was a heavy drinker.  My Grandmommy remained faithful to him in very difficult times.
• she modeled sacrifice
• she loved to laugh
• she taught me to can vegetables and make jelly
• she made great mac and cheese
• she could grow anything
• she loved flowers, dolls, babies, and to be outside
• she loved her family, even with all of our warts
• even when she became sick, she tried not to complain and never wanted to be any trouble
• she liked to watch… “Dallas” and the original  ”OJ Trial”
• she blushed and said, “stop it Stacy”, when my grandpa would kiss her in public
• she had a thin, yellow gold wedding band that she wore everyday
• her heart literally broke in two the day my grandpa died
• she loved Jesus and loved to go to church
• she loved the Gaither Homecoming videos and listened to them over and over and over again

Today, as she sits at the foot of Jesus I imagine that she is overflowing with joy…I know that there is no more pain…no more Alzheimers’s….at peace.

Please pray for my mom Marcella, my aunts Carolyn and Jackie…my uncles, my sister, my brothers, and my cousins as they meet together in Texas to celebrate the life of Sammie Lee Lockhart, my Grandmommy.

October 24, 2009

Life

Must have something to do with a birthday quickly approaching.  I have been thinking a lot about life.  Or maybe, it is because we are attending another African funeral today,  this time a 14 year old girl.  It could possibly be that for some strange reason I have been missing my dad, he died in 1993.  For whatever reason, I have been thinking a lot about life…and death.  Jimmy and I continue to struggle along learning language and looking for as many opportunities as possible to tell people the story of Jesus.  The people of Lesotho live a life that is full of cause and effect.

The child died because….the sacrifice wasn’t good enough.

The crops failed because…of the curse of the balimo.

I have HIV because….it was my destiny.

There is not enough to eat…because I am not worthy to live.

There is no concept of understanding of life from the Christian’s perspective. 

The child died because they were very sick and there is no access to health care.  The Great Physician made the decision that this child deserved “eternal healing.”

The crops did not fail because of a curse from false being or a dead relative.  The crops failed because the rain did not fall.

You do not have HIV because that is your destiny.  You have HIV because of your choice or your husband’s choice to be unfaithful to your marriage partner.  You do not understand the importance and significance of God’s plan for one man to be with one woman.

There is not enough to eat because you must keep your livestock in the event that someone dies.  It is your responsibility to feed whoever comes to the funeral, regardless if you know them or not.  If someone dies, you slaughter your livestock.

There is not enough to eat because the rains did not come, the corn did not grow, there was no harvest, and there is no more meal left from last year’s crops.

This week the enormous task that is before us is weighing upon my heart again.  We have a few churches from the states that have scheduled mission trips within the next few years….a few.  They will come and they will “broadly sow the seeds of the gospel.”  They will go home.  How is it possible for my family to visit every village in the Mokhotlong region, share Christ, and then disciple and follow up on every person who has accepted Christ when the volunteer teams or our family has shared?  The only solution that I have been able to come up with is this…it is going to take MORE of YOU to come to Africa and help us.  As we consider the life of the Basotho and their death without Christ, is it possible that you could sacrifice $1500 for an airline ticket, and a few days of your life to:

Feed a few shepherds a hot meal and the Word of God?

Be involved in teaching night classes to shepherds who have bedded their flocks down for the night?  Can you teach someone to read, do simple math, understand the Bible?

Speak to a group of high school students about the dangers of HIV/AIDS?

Build a barn to house a goat ministry for orphans and widows?

Fish for trout, while you fish for men walking along the banks of a river?

Can you sit beside the women washing their clothes by the river and talk to them about the River of Life?

Can you explain to someone how to share their faith?

Can you help train young pastors?

Can you play games with a child, make them laugh, feed them a healthy meal, and clothe them?

Can you tell a Bible Story?

Do you have the skills to help someone improve their health?

CAN YOU LOVE PEOPLE?

CAN YOU DEMONSTRATE FOR THE BASOTHO, THAT LIVING THE ABUNDANT LIFE, THAT CHRIST DIED TO PROVIDE, HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH FEAR?

Life is forever…Death will happen…help us help them to understand.

October 21, 2009

Happy Birthday to Me’Thato! 

Yesterday was Me’Thato’s 26th birthday.  Me’Thato is our house helper and friend.  She has been helping us in our home since May and we have grown to love her very much.  She is the one who translates for us on Tuesday mornings when we go to Me’ Ma Tomo’s (Tolerance) home for bible study. She also translates for me on Tuesday afternoons.   Me’ Thato and I have also started meeting with a group of 25 high school girls, we are teaching them about God’s plan for sexual purity.  Me’ Thato lives with her parents in Katse.  She has a 2 year old son.  Her husband works in Roma, near Maseru.  He lives with his mother.  Me’ has accepted as she calls it, “the Basotho way of life.”  In order to survive they live apart from each other working at the only available jobs they could find, seeing each other every 3-4 months.  Our family invited Me’ Thato’s parents, nephew, and son to dinner yesterday to celebrate Me’s birthday. The girls decorated the dining room with balloons, streamers, and signs that we had brought with us from the states.    Jimmy, the girls, and I made her favorite American foods:  fried potatoes and sausage, fried chicken, mac and cheese, homemade bread, fruit salad, and chocolate cake.  This was the first birthday party and birthday cake she had ever had.  We had a LONG discussion about how many candles would go on her cake.  I said 26, she said 25…”because I am now finished with 25.”  Since it was HER birthday, we had 25.  After dinner we let her open her gifts.  Her family could not believe the gifts she received.  Here are a few highlights from the gift opening event:

Thato:  ke a leboha hoholo!  Ke rata…everything!  Thank you very much, I love….she loved everything…the new hot pink outfit, complete with matching purse and 10 rand plastic bracletes.  She exclaimed that the deodorant was precious, she had finished her last one 3 days ago.  We knew EXACTLY what she needed, wanted, and loved…according to Me’Thato.  Ke a leboha….ke a leboha…ke a leboha.

I have not had so much fun in a very long time.  It was such a HUGE blessing to watch her and listen to her.  My girls are still talking about it today.  When it came time to light the candles she could hardly wait to blow out the candles, in fact we had to light them twice because she didn’t wait and blew them out on the first word of us singing, “Happy Birthday.”  When I explained that she wasn’t suppose to blow them out until we finished singing, she said, “Well let’s light them again.”  When she blew them out the second time she said, “Now, year 25 is finished.”  It was a night of tons of laughter, surprises, love, and celebration.  Wish you could have been here.

I saw her…DANCING!

October 20, 2009, again

There is so much to say and so much that I want you to see.  It is impossible, I have decided, to truly express my heart and paint a picture of Africa that you can truly understand.  The people are diverse, the mountains majestic, the darkness dark, the pain accepted, and the task that God has place in front of me…impossible.

I was sitting in a village in Mok, the first time that I saw her.   At first I thought it was a small child approaching me.  When I looked closer I realized it was a woman.  She was so dirty.  She is unable to walk so she sits ON her legs and drags her body up and down the mountains.  She wears gloves, gardener gloves, on her hands hoping to offer some protection from the jagged rocks.  She decides where she wants to go, pushes her hand forward and pulls, push…pull, push…pull.  Her entire body weight is pulled across the filth of the roads and ditches.  She doesn’t wear knee pads or any kind of protection on her legs.  A thin dress is all that covers her.  I approach her and look into her eyes.  She is unable to focus on my face.  Her eyes are crossed, red, and running.  She holds out her hands requesting a sweet.  As I place it in her hands and look closely look at them, I am reminded of another pair of hands.  These hands received the 5 loaves and 2 fishes, blessing them and feeding a multitude.  These hands snapped the whip in the temple when the people had forgotten the significance of the House of God.  These hands healed the woman who had suffered for so many years with an issue of blood.  The same hands that commanded the sea to become calm were pierced with a nail….the blood was shed…the body was resurrected…the price was paid…for the lady on the road who is unable to walk.  Imagine her joy when she hears the story. Imagine her joy when she believes.  Can’t wait to see her dancing before the KING! 

October 20, 2009

I REALLY Am in Africa…I still can’t believe it.

Yesterday we returned from our 4th trip to Mokhotlong.  It was a really good trip and we feel like things are finally starting to come together….I am actually starting to feel like a missionary…at least that is what I think feel like. I haven’t been one for very long, so I may be feeling like something else and just don’t know it.  While in Mok we had the opportunity to speak to the “health support council”.  This is a group of men and women that provide in home care to those who are dying in their villages.  There were about 25 sitting on the ground in front of me as I spoke.  After the meeting I was asked to speak to the village health care workers and was led to a building where about 15 women had gathered.  Not all of these were village health care workers, some had entered the room just to see what was going on.  When it was time for the question/answer portion of our meeting, a lady sitting in the back of the room raised her hand.  She wanted to know if I would be willing to work with her in the villages…she was the village witchdoctor.  After I stuttered around for a minute or two, I told her that I would be happy to be her friend, but that she needed to understand that ALL healing came from God…there is NO other person living or dead that has the power to heal.  She smiled and clapped acting as if she agreed with me.  Luckily, I have had no ill effects from the meeting, so fortunately it seems that she didn’t put a hex on me.

Leaving the meeting, I went to the truck.  There was a young man, less than 20, sitting in the backseat of the truck.  He was waiting to see me.  He was having horrible stomach pains…the cause?  You aren’t going to believe this one…Two witches entered his bedroom during the night and gave him poison to drink.  Yep, I said witches.  There are many who live in the villages of the Maluti Mountains that are convinced that they have seen flying witches (the ones on brooms) flying in the middle of the night.  Many admit that they have been moved from their home to another location by the witches. 

Africa….dark…spiritually dark…traditions based on fear and confusion…lost…needing Jesus.

October 12, 2009

A Man

He knocked on the back door of the house, in the middle of a rain storm.  His name is John.  He is a quiet man, maybe 3o years old.  He is married and has a young daughter.  We first met John while he was working for the Dial family, as their gardener.  He is the man that helped us unload all the boxes from our crate.  Today he was very sad and seemed to be embarrassed.  He kept his head down for a while refusing to make eye contact.  We talked about the weather, the storms, and the crops that had been planted.  Finally, John told me the reason why he had come to our house.  His wife needed desperately to go to Thaba Tseka and he needed to borrow the taxi fee.  Jimmy immediately opened his wallet and gave him 50 rand.  John thanked him…then we heard the rest of the story.

John has no parents.   They both have died.  John is now responsible for the raising of his siblings, I think he has 7.  He feeds them, dresses them, and pays their school fees.  He works hard at a Monday-Friday job that has now turned into Monday-Sunday.  He was promised overtime for his weekend work, but has not seen it.  He walks 1 1/2 hours to work and then again when he goes home.  I asked John if his family had food, he again ducked his head and said, “No, M’e…there is no more food and I had nothing to bring today for my lunch.”  While Jimmy made him two sandwiches, I packed two bags of food.  Rice, meal, beans, bread, peanut butter, apples, oranges, onions, carrots, and tomatoes.  John continued to talk, asking us to help him.  He is having trouble sleeping.  Most nights, he gets little or none.  Why?  Demons.  John’s mother-in-law is a sangoma.  Her trinkets and charms have made their way into John’s rondavel.  Along with her charms, darkness has entered.  John tells stories of doors slamming, windows opening, and banging on the roof.  Every night when John is almost asleep, the commotion begins.  I know what you are thinking…demons?  Demons are real and demons terrify those that they have chosen to prey upon.  Sangomas…what part do they play?  For a small fee, they can make the demons disappear.  They are Satan’s hands, eyes, and mouth in the Maluti Mountians…they become rich because of the poverty of those who live around them.  They become powerful because of their neighbor’s weaknesses.  They work best in the dark and are afraid of the LIGHT.  Please pray for our friend, John.  John is a young husband, father, and brother trying to live for Jesus…and Satan is ticked.

Pray for Jimmy and I as we minister to John.  We plan to visit John’s home next week, visit his wife and daughter, spend some time with his siblings, and get rid of a few demons….we’re taking Jesus with us.

October 10, 2009… Don’t Know What to Do…Glad God Does

This morning I went to check on “patient”.  Remember the lady with the abcessed tooth?  I climbed the mountain, again, this time without my translator.  I hoped that I could make them understand what I needed to know.  My “patient” was sitting outside her rondavel.  There were 2 other women sitting there beside her, and one man.  Fortunately for me, one of the women spoke a little English and with my little Sesotho we were able to communicate.  The antibiotics had worked!  She was feeling great, sleeping well, and very thankful.  I counted the pills remaining in the baggie and she had been following my directions, everything looked great.  One of the ladies approached me.  She had a much bigger problem.  She is HIV+ and so is her husband.  She is taking her antiviral meds, he is not.  He is very weak and sick.  She just returned from Pretoria…maybe a 8-10 hour ride in a taxi.  She went there to find work to help feed her 6 children.  She found a job, but is now trying to decide what to do…go to work and leave her children in Katse…don’t take the job and go hungry.  A huge decision requiring a huge sacrifice.  She asked me to speak to her husband…could I convince him to return to the clinic and start on the meds?  I followed her to the house.  The house, I soon noticed was the one I try avoid everytime I go into the village, they have MEAN MEAN dogs.  She promised me that I would be safe with her…let me explain something.  Many people in Africa have dogs, they need them to help protect their livestock from thieves.  These dogs are skinny, really skinny…nothing to eat but the leftover scraps of papa and most of them have BIG teeth.  I spoke to her husband, he promised to go with Jimmy and I on Tuesday to return to the clinic.  I am pretty sure he now has TB.  I went down the mountain…another lady approached me.  This one was in horrible pain, clutching her right breast.  Thankfully, the lady who speaks some English had come with me…I asked what was the problem.  They took me inside a rondavel.  The woman lifted her blanket and her faded shirt…her right breast was basically just raw flesh and ulceration.  The woman has breast cancer.  Her cough led me to believe that the cancer was probably in other places.  Her eyes begged me to help…her pain has left her exhausted from lack of sleep.  Every movement of her body causes the pain to increase.  I am trying to find a way to fly her out of the mountains to the hospital.  Please pray that I am successful, I do not believe she could survive a trip down in an overcrowded taxi. 

As I headed for our truck, yet another lady came up to me.  Her face horribly swollen and red.  Another abcessed tooth.   I promise to bring medicine back at noon.  I wave at Tolerance as I prepare to leave.  She motions for me to come and see the little boy standing by her side.  His mother attends our bible study, Tolerance is concerned about him.  Under his left arm is a huge area of raw cracking skin and rash.  It extends down his side, he winces as I lift his arm to take a closer look…..

Fast forward……it is now 5pm.  Today, I checked on my patient, she is better.  Prayed with a woman dying of cancer.  Met a lady on a dirt path, HIV+, prayed with her.  Was led to the home of another woman who is HIV+…she hopes that I convince her husband to return to the clinic with me to receive his antiviral therapy.  Provided more antibiotics to yet another Basotho woman with an abcessed tooth.  Taught my daughter, Anna…who wants to be a nurse, how to clean a wound, dress a wound, teach a mother how to care for her son.   Visited the new little baby that was born and took his mother a copy of the picture I had taken.  Took a bag of apples to “my friend” who gave me Arlene.  Brought Tolerance’s daughter to our home…bathed her, lotioned her, turned her over to Grace, Anna, and Bekah.  They dressed her one of Bekah’s dresses, painted her nails, put a bow in hair.  Jimmy made grilled cheese sandwiches and she had lunch with us.  Then we went to the river…my husband taught a young shepherd boy how to fish.  He gave him some line and 3 lures.  Later, we found him on the hillside and gave him the fish that Jimmy had caught.  He was headed up the mountain to share the fish with 2 other shepherd boys, tonight they will eat.

I left out the part of my day when I called team members and asked them to pray for me.  I left out the part of the day when I cried…don’t know what to do to meet all of the needs around me…I am so thankful God does.

October 9, 2009 

I HAVE REALLY SEEN AFRICA!

  Yesterday, I really saw Africa.  Our friend, and great translator, Sefiri went with me last night to see the “roof lady”.  I needed to find out for sure from the “roof lady” why her roof was not finished and what happened to the thatch we had provided for her.  The result of that conversation is a very long story and really pretty sad.  The important part of the visit is this…when returning to the truck one of the ladies who attends our bible study called out to me.  She is the friend who gave me Arlene.  My friend had something to show me.  She took me to a rondavel that was just down the mountain a ways.  Inside there were about 15 people.  Men standing around the perimeter and  women knelt down sitting on their legs.  There were two men to one side playing drums, African drums.  The women were doing a traditional “shoulder” dance and singing.  WOW!  If you have ever imagined what Africa must sound like, this was it!  It was one of the most amazing things I have ever seen or heard.  They were singing a song in unison and each were holding a short stalk of corn.   The song they were singing was a celebration song for the harvest.  When they saw me enter the rondavel they recognized me and all began to smile….it was as though they had prepared the performance for me.  I wished that Jimmy and the girls were there to experience it.  When they finished we all clapped, my friend announced to everyone, in English, “my friend, my friend”, as she tapped my shoulder.   It was a HUGE blessing that I will never forget.

On a different note, today I climbed a mountain along with Me’ Thato to see a woman who had been suffering for a month with an abcessed tooth.  I had given the women some ibuprofen yesterday and had unpacked the antibiotics I brought with me from the states and wanted to give her some.  She had visited the local clinic several times, only to be told that they had no medicine to give her.  This woman had explained yesterday evening that the pain was “driving her mad” and that she hadn’t slept for days.  Her face was swollen and she had a cloth wrapped around it to keep the wind from brushing against her face.  This morning she told me that she slept free of pain last night for the first time in a month.  Her grateful eyes expressed a thank you that needed no words.  She took her antibiotics, repeated the instructions back correctly, smiled and climbed further up the mountain to her home.

I stood on the mountain and looked around…cows grazing, children running and laughing, the wind blowing the new leaves on the trees.   I saw the freshly plowed fields, the shepherds watching their sheep, the women walking from the river with their full buckets balanced on their heads.  Today I realized, all the sacrifice that any missionary makes…any pain that any missionary feels…any loss that any missionary experiences is so small in comparison to the price Jesus paid for the sins of those I was called to serve.

What Do You Say?…October 7, 2009

It is Oct 7th isn’t it?  I kinda loose track of time here.  I know that it is Wednesday because it is trash day.  In 6 days we should have some more news about our land request.  If the government decides to continue the hold on land distribution, I have no idea what we will do, but God does.  Please continue to pray. 

Jimmy mentioned in his blog last night about our day yesterday at the village.  We are really starting to feel comfortable in our role as missionaries in Africa.  We have a little language learned, are beginning to understand the culture.  Probably the most difficult thing for me to “adjust” to is the acceptance of poverty, pain, and suffering.  Here are a few examples:

The little boy that is now coming to our bible studies that is obviously not going to school and his only coat is a man’s suit coat that is absolutely torn to shreds.

The little girl that always has tears in her eyes and snot on her face.  She is never clean and yesterday had on a very thin dress…torn to pieces, covered by what was left of a knitted sweater.

The 2 out of 16 ladies that were at our bible study yesterday that are HIV positive.  One on antivirals, one not.  The other 4-6 that want to be tested and will go with me today to the clinic.

The grandmother that speaks only Afrikans and wants so bad to talk to me.  Even our translator has NO idea what she is trying to say.

The children:  always hungry…some eat dirt while they listen to our story.

The woman who is ALWAYS asking for something…she is the one whose roof we are having repaired. She never sees me that she doesn’t ask me to bring her something.

Then on the other hand you have Tolerance…never asking for anything….always grateful for everything…living life with a struggle that I don’t know if I could handle.  One kid on her back and one on her hip.  Only has mealie meal in the house, so that is their meal, every meal…papa.

When I asked her yesterday what need she had that I could help her meet, this was her response, “Please…a bible.  I want to read for myself about God.” 

What do I say?   I say….” When I go down the mountain, if I can find a bookstore that has one in Sesotho I will get one for you.”  I think about all the people that I know or have met that have a bible and have HAD a bible for most of their lives.  There are those who don’t know what it has to say, and really don’t care.  If someone asks to see it, they have to try to remember where they put it…did they leave it in the car after church last Sunday?  If they can find it…they may have to dust it off first.  Could be it is in the cedar chest where they store “important things” like the dress they wore home from the hospital or their Certificate of Baptism.

The WORD of God.  The LIVING Word.  The Bread.  Instructions for Living.  Warnings.  The story of our Savior.  The history of our people.  The plan for our future.  The teachings of those who touched Him and walked with Him.  The TRUTH. 

What do you say when someone asks you for the Word of God instead of food for their family?  You take them some food and promise them the BREAD as soon as you can get your hands on one.

Homeschooling Two Haitians and and Indian

I hope that my title doesn’t offend anyone.  We still laugh from time to time about the drunk Basotho man exclaiming loudly, “You have an Indian in your car!”  Since homeschooling seems to take up the majority of my time, I thought I would tell you just what I think about it after 6 months of homeschooling in Africa.  This is what today’s homeschool schedule looked like:

Table time with Mom for Grace and Anna, while Bekah works with Dad on her A,B,C’s….Rebekah is making progress toward reading, but still occasionally writes her name backwards.  I have been told that it could have something to do with the fact that she is left handed.  Gracie and Anna are working on a History Pocket from the Colonial Times.  Today they had to make a map of Jamestown and write a newspaper article about the “Lost Colony.”  In creative writing, Anna and Grace wrote a story about a lady with a long nose.  Rebekah’s creative notebook is for drawing bible truths.  Today she drew a picture that represented:  “The Bible says, “Do not be afraid.”  She drew herself in bed sleeping.  Last night she was AFRAID…the light burned out on her night light.  For geography we are studying Africa, today we identified the flags for each country on the continent.  We are reading, “One Hundred Dresses”.  This story talks about a little girl that had only one dress, but imagined having 100.  The message is that you should never make fun of anyone and makes the children reading the story think about the words that they say and the effect that they have on others.  We are making a lapbook on friendship as we read this book.  In science, we are learning about the skeletal system, Rebekah included.  Gracie is doing algebra in math, Anna fractions and roman numerals.  Today in bible time we talked about our body being the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit.  We are raising silkworms as a science project.  We now have 4 that are healthy and growing.   We are anxious to see them spin their silk cocoons.  We have learned how to get them to spin a silk heart and are going to try it out.  Did you know that a silkworm moth could possibly lay hundreds of eggs?  We read that we can actually store them in the refrigerator for 5 years!   We have a hairy caterpillar and 2 snails in a jar.  Our house helper Thato looks at me like I am a little crazy sometimes. Rebekah’s science project with her dad involved digging in the dirt, putting dirt in a jar of water, shaking it up, and then watching in settle into 4 different layers.  She loved it!  Gracie has completed her first rag run.  Anna is cross stitching a surprise for my birthday present.  They both are learning to cook and according to their dad, they are pretty good cooks.   Homeschooling is a lot of work.  It has been hard not having the local library close by and the circle of friends to encourage and support me.  Thankfully, we have the internet most days and our small library of books that we brought from the states.  God continues to confirm this call upon my life.  The lessons that my children and I learn together are valuable.  For those of you who are teachers, check out our Mission Track about teaching our children for a week combined with teaching the children of an African village.  It  could be a lifechanging experience for you and for them!

October 3, 2009

Death

Today we went to our first funeral in Africa.  As Gracie put it, “It was a great cultural experience.”  To me it was more than that.  A man had died.  He was a friend of our language tutor and lived in a village near Ha Seshote.  The man’s wife…a sangoma.  Our languge tutor asked Jimmy to speak at the funeral.  His exact words were, “These people do not understand the resurrection of Jesus, I want them to understand.”  Jimmy agreed to speak.  I am always ready for something new.  The girls were a little afraid.  We left at 10am to pick up Ntate Edward.  When we arrived at his house he told us that he had decided that we didn’t need to arrive at the funeral until 12pm,  “Basotho are  always late,” he said.  For the next two hours we listened to stories about his time in the war, his experiences in education, and retelling of his life stories during the apartheid.  At noon we started down the paved road toward the village.  We left the paved road and drove STRAIGHT UP a mountain.  I was very thankful that Jimmy was driving, and not me.  We arrived at the funeral.  I knew were there when I saw several people sitting in chairs, wrapped in Basotho blankets, and the tent.  There are businesses that come to the home and set up the “funeral” stuff.  Tents and chairs.  As we approached the circle of people, we passed the tent.  There was a man lying inside, on his back.  We thought it was the man who had died, and then we heard the man snoring.  We were greeted by the son…he had been drinking.  He thanked us for coming.  As I looked around, I noticed several differences between African funerals and those in the US.  Lying on an old tarp were the remains of a goat, a sheep, and a cow.  It is African tradition to slaughter your chosen animals in order to feed the funeral guests.  This is expected and many times there is a huge crowd of people coming to eat, they may or may not even know the person who has died.  There was a dog that kept trying to get to the animal remains and a man with umbrella that whacked him when he approached the tarp.  There was a little boy with a 6 foot stick trying to hit his brother.   A donkey was braying, two ducks were “flirting”, a rooster was crowing, and pots and pans were rattling.  We were asked to form a line to enter the house where the wife and the casket were.  As we entered, our eyes had to become accoustomed to the darkness.  We filed by a casket made of particle board with huge “fake” gold handles.  There was a little window at the head and a candle sitting on top.  The wife was sitting on the floor behind the casket.  We returned to our chairs of honor outside.  Several men brought the casket outside and set it in the middle of the circle on kitchen chairs.  There was a young man who appeared to be the “MC” of the funeral.  He gave permission for anyone to speak that desired to.  After 1 and 1/2 hours, it was Jimmy’s turn.  He cut loose preaching….he shared the GOSPEL boldly and clearly.  He told the people that there was a consequence to our sin and salvation in Christ.  Some of the people seemed annoyed, some slept, some seemed uncomfortable.  When he had finished, a lady stood and reminded the people of their traditional beliefs regarding their ancestors.  I wondered…”what about this man?  What did he believe?  Had he ever heard the story of Jesus? ”  As we left the home of the now widowed sangoma, I wondered…will she believe?

As we made our way home, walking along the side of the road was a woman with a baby on her back.  Another lady was beside her carrying the drum.  The women were in the traditonal Basotho dress…their hair was beaded….they were both sangomas…witchdoctors…

They are people, created by God, loved by Him, provided for with the sacrifice of Christ upon the cross…lost.

Headed for an eternity of darkness much like the life that they are living today.

October 1, 2009

Trivia for Tonight 

Thought I might take the opportunity to answer some random questions that we have been asked recently. 

• What it the weather like where you are living? Remember, we are living on the opposite side of the world. Your summer is our winter. Your fall is our spring. Right now it is spring in the mountains, raining, and sweatshirt kind of weather. The Basotho are wearing their blankets and stocking hats. It will be interesting to see if they wear them all summer. In some of the pictures you see children with only shirts and others bundled up. The children who are dressed only in shirts have no other clothes. Also remember that the children that are not potty trained go “bottomless” until they are.

• What are “muck boots?” Muck boots are warm, insulated, rubber boots. Mine happen to be purple thanks to the Erwin and Richardson families from Hamlin. Today was the first rainy, cold day that we had and I wore my boots for the first time. They are perfect for wet, muddy, mountains.

• What is a “chalie?” A chalie is the blanket that the Basotho woman wears over her clothes, tied as a skirt. It is made out of wool or a wool mix. I have 3. Most are plaid. They are really warm. I have become addicted to mine and wear one everyday. In the villages, it is necessary for the women to wear a skirt or chalie over their pants. It is culturally unacceptable to go without it. Your chalie is pulled tight and tucked at the waist. I am not very good at tucking mine and wear a large gold safety pin that my mom sent me. Normally when I go into the villages the women are adjusting mine to make it look right. I never was very good at style.

• What is a sangoma? The sangoma is often referred to as the Basotho doctor. They are quacks with a capital Q. The convince the people that they have the ability to contact deceased ancestors, cure any ailment, bring prosperity, just to name of a few of their claims. The typically are recognized by the abundance of beads that they wear in their hair. I could go on forever about sangomas. By the way, Jimmy will be preaching his first African funeral this coming Saturday. The man who died has a wife still alive, she is a sangoma. 

We are always excited to hear from you. Keep the mail coming and ask anything, anytime. 

Almost forgot…Calvin is starting to crow.  The first night he said, “UR”.  Night two he said, “UR, UR”.  Night three, he said, “UR, UR, UR.” Last night he said, “UR, UR, UR, UR.”   He still needs to work on volume and tune.  Keep you posted on chicken progress.  Waiting for Arlene to lay an egg.

Sept 30, 2009

How do I explain?

How do I explain how it feels to hold the hand of a small little African girl?  This little girl caught my attention among the 33 other children playing with my girls on top of our mountain.  Why did she stand out?  I think it might have been the nurse in me.  Everytime I see a child, I naturally seem to assess their health.  This little one is sick.  She was dressed in a short sleeve shirt, thin from many washings at the river.  She had on a small skirt, ragged and dirty.  No shoes, no blanket, no jacket.  I bet the wind was blowing 40-50 miles per hour on this day.  Her hair has been cut very short as is the custom among the Basotho.  There are  little patches of dirt on her head.  Her skin was so dry.  Most probably, her mother has no money to buy the lotion she needs to care for her child’s skin.  There was dried papa on her face.  I noticed her thin hands as I placed an orange slice in them.  Remember, the children always receives a gift with both hands open and extended.  That represents a non-verbal “please”.  I picked her up and placed her beside me on the tailgate of the truck, I could feel her bones…barely covered with flesh.  She weighed practically nothing.  She looked into my eyes, not with fear, but with a look of indifference.  The realization that this child most probably is dying of AIDS entered my thoughts.  How do I explain the emotions that I felt? 

I can’t.

September 29, 2009

Sometimes, you just need to cry…

Today is one of those days.  This morning I greeted Thato, my friend and our house helper, as she arrived at our home.  She normally arrives at 9am sharp, eats breakfast, and heads to the bathroom to wash our laundry in the tub.  This morning she was not her normal, cheerful self.  We had been out of town since Friday morning and Thato continued to work as usual at our home.  She told me that she had come to work each day, but had been very sick.  She went to the clinic yesterday and then came to our house and completed all of the jobs on her “to do” list.  She worked all day long while she struggled to even walk.  She most likely has the flu.  This morning she told me that one of the taps in her village has dried up.  The mountains are so dry, please pray for rain.  Before coming to work, Thato had walked to the only other water source in her village to get the day’s water for her mother and father.  She arrived at the well at 5am.  She stood in line for 3 hours before she was able to fill one of her buckets.  She placed her bucket on her head, walked home, then headed down the mountain to our house.  I felt like crying.

I finally convinced Thato to go home to rest.  Before taking her to the top of her mountain, we went to our village to check on Tolerance and her family.  Tolerance is sick too.  She is weak and coughing.  Her children, all 4 of the youngest, were playing in the dirt.  Tolerance got up from the mat on the floor of her rondavel to meet me.  No matter her circumstance, she is always happy to see me.  I explained to her that in America, friends take care of friends.  I promised to bring her family a meal in time for dinner.  She thanked me.  When my girls and I took the food to her home, I was overcome with sadness.  Tolerance was lying on her mat.  One of her babies, who is now also sick, was lying beside her.  Two of the other children were eating some kind of dried onion, that they had placed in a metal cup.  It took my eyes a while to grow accustomed to the darkness in side the rondavel.  I searched for a plate and served my friend, Tolerance her dinner.  She ate gratefully.  The children crammed their piece of cornbread into their mouths.  More than likely, this meal was the most substantial thing they had eaten all day long.  They especially enjoyed the chicken and rice.  As I left their home, I thought about the times in my life when I have been sick.  My husband was often there to care for our children.  My friends delivered warm food to our door.  The doctor was just a short drive away and the medicine that was prescribed brought healing.  My African sisters deal with sickness, hunger, sorrow, and pain daily.  For just a minute, I can lighten their load and lessen their pain.  When I drive away, they are left alone to deal with their life as an African woman.  A life that is so very hard that unless you see it, you cannot understand.  Tonight as I think of Tolerance and Thato my heart pains and my tears fall.  I am so blessed and so undeserving of those blessings.

Remember the newborn baby that I told you about in an earlier post?  Here he is!

Good News…Bad News…Sept 21, 2009

The good news is Jimmy’s stitches can come out today…the bad news, I can’t get the things out!

The good news is we did pretty well at our language review today….the bad news is, we know the words if they are written on an index cards, it is a different story when a person is speaking to us.

The good news is Rebekah completed an entire day of kindergarten without crying…the bad news is, she still can’t tell me the difference between and “L” and a “N”.

The bad news was Ntate Edward wasn’t home when we went to visit…the good news is his wife was dancing and I joined her.

The good news is Gracie was proposed to on Saturday…the bad news is the man is at least 40 years old and was drinking joala.

The good news is the man we hired to repair the widows roof began the job…the bad news is he had NO idea what he was doing.

The good news is our translator and friend, Sefiri joined us for dinner…the good news is tomorrow is village day…the good news is we are making our third trip to Mokhotlong…the good news is I used my blue dishes tonight…the good news is we love our new truck…the good news is we skyped our grandbabies this past weekend…the good news is everything is looking very good in the process to obtain our land…the good news?

The good news is Jesus Christ died for the Basotho…the bad news?  They are dying daily without Him.

CHURCH…Sept 20, 2009

Today we attended a local Baptist church that is near Katse.  The service began at 12pm and was finished around 3.  This “church” actually meets in a building.  It is a cinder block building complete with paned windows.  There are no pews, but plenty of white plastic chairs.  The windows are closed and  a paper doilie is taped to each pane, it kinda gives it a stained glass appearance.  The front wall, behind the white wooden pulpit, is painted lime green.  The women sit on the left side of the room and the men on the right side. The children sit in chairs in front of the women.  The children move in and out of the building continually, most of the time  slamming the heavy metal door.  No one seems to notice the loud banging as the door closes.  The babies cry and the mothers expose their breast to feed them,  again..no one seems to notice.  The music is loud and requires lots of movement.  The songs are all in Sesotho, I recognize a few of the tunes.  During testimony time there are many “hallelujahs and amen”.  Maruti Pohka brings the message.  Our family is introduced and welcomed…we kinda stand out in this crowd…matter of fact, we kinda stand out in any crowd.  The pastor’s wife burst out in song often and without prompting, the people echo her words.  Her small daughter stands at her feet, not yet potty trained she Pee-pees on her momma’s feet.  Again, no one seems to notice.  I closed my eyes and listened to the sounds around me.  The words I could not understand, but the message was so clear…God is mighty, He is everlasting, His Son is our salvation…Amen

Missing a Few Things…Sept 19, 2009

Sorry I haven’t written in such a long time.  My life has been CRAZY busy and I have not had the strength to pick up my fingers to press the keys on our keyboard.   We anxiously awaited the arrival of our crate and it came.  There were moments over the past few days that I wished I had never seen it.  Opening the crate has presented several dilemmas that were often difficult to solve:

Where does a person with very limited closet space store over 300 rolls, double rolls, of toilet paper?

In order to pack more efficiently and conserve our space, Jimmy mixed clothes with dishes, toothbrushes, lotion, shampoo, and dish towels.  Each box had to be opened, each of the girl’s clothing item had to be tried on, and I had to find a place for each dish in a kitchen that has very limited cupboard space.

Some of the clothes were already too small.  Anna has passed the 14-16 size and moved right into the Jr. size clothing.  Gracie has finally left the 10-12 and moved to the skinny version of a 14.  Rebekah left the size 4 way behind and is now wearing a 6.  Thankfully, Jimmy and I had no majory body changes and can still wear all of the things we packed.

We survived the move with only 2 things breaking.  Two of my beautiful blue plates that Bev had bought for me.  I was sad for a minute, but then thankful that I still have 14.

The only furniture we have moved into the house is our sofa, 2 chest of drawers, a dresser, and two plastic storage sets of drawers.  They are packed full of clothes, Barbies, toy animals, and Polly Pockets.  The girls spent the entire day yesterday playing with their things.  They would run to show me each new outfit their Polly Pocket would wear.  The dolls went to the prom, got married, and had a family all in the same day.

Many of you have asked about the place we are living, the weather, and our plans for the future.

We are living in a nice community built several years ago by the Lesotho Highlands Development Administration.  These house were built for engineers from all over the world to live in while the Katse Dam construction was going on.  When the dam was complete, the workers moved on.  Our house is small, but has 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, a dining room, very small living room, and a kitchen.  It came complete with furniture, not our choice, but functionable.  The yard is beautiful.  There is a security wall that surrounds it.  There are actually nice trees growing and sidewalk.  This is the civilized portion of Katse.  To enter the development you pass through a security check.  Once you leave the neighborhood the road takes you to the taxi stand at the top of the hill.  That is where “Africa” begins.  It sometimes makes me feel guilty to know that at night I am living in a clean, comfortable, warm home when the Basotho that surround me are living in rondavels burning sticks and dung to stay warm. 

Our plan, if the IMB can get some sort of house built in time, is to move to Mokhotlong in December.  We would love to be able to find something to rent closer to our region and move soon, but rentals are very hard to find. We did have an offer from a lady in a village to live in her cinder block house for a mere 2000 rand, but there were skylights (not intentional) in the kitchen, no electricity, no heat, no water, and plenty of critters.  The IMB tries to find in their words “suitable and safe” homes for their missionaries.  They do not want the majority of our time to be spent surviving, but in ministry.  They would prefer for us to live in a “western style” home.  We will have to see what happens.  There aren’t very many of those where we will be living.  So it looks as though building a home is the only option.

On the top of the mountain where we will live there is nothing but rock and a little dirt.  We will have to build a barn for the horses, and pens for the goats.  Jimmy spends a lot of time wondering how he is going to drive posts into the rock.  If anyone is headed this way, make sure to pack your hammer. 

The title of this blog is “Missing a Few Things.”  As I unpacked and repacked each box I realized that there were a few things missing.  I did not pack a cheese grater, my dish drainer, a cutting board, and Rebekah’s baby stroller.  Those were probably some of the things that I sat aside when Jimmy said, “There is no way all this stuff is going to fit in 700 cubic ft space!” 

The more important things that are missing are:  JD-I know I put him in a box one day when I was packing…where is he?   He is growing up and I am missing it all.

 Abigail-I am missing her first year of school- real school, her curls, her giggles, and her little hands in mine.

Ellie Kate-Oh, how I miss her songs and her questions.  Her big brown eyes and chubby little fingers taking a sample of the pudding, the syrup, or anything sweet.

My sons…my daughters (I always leave off the “in-laws” part, they are MY daughters)

My mom and mom-in-love

My sister and brothers

My church and worship with them

My friends and so many

Sometimes I actually ask myself, “What are YOU doing in Africa?”

then I remember, “We’ve a Story to Tell”, I must “Trust and Obey”

Remember, your job is to keep PRAYING!  Gotta go feed some shepherds peanut butter sandwiches and the WORD OF GOD.

If you only knew…

Sept 11, 2009

If you only knew the actual feelings of my heart you would understand today’s note much better.  I have discovered that I have great difficulty expressing the thoughts I have…sometimes there are just no words to adequately express them.  I think the best way to help you understand is to just list the activities of yesterday…

Unpacking boxes from the crate that some of you helped me pack in America

•  Remember, Ms Ann and Mr Jim, the beautiful blue sheets you gave me?  Yesterday, I unpacked them.  When I saw them I immediately thought of you and thanked God one more time for the imprints of love you have left upon my heart.
• Muck Boots-All the Erwins and the Richardson Family….if you remember, I chose purple.  I can’t wait to wear them to the village for the first time.  The women will try to talk me out of them, my feet will be warm and dry.  The scripture talks about “beautiful feet that takes the message of Jesus to the mountains”…mine will be “exceptionally beautiful” because of your generosity.

There were so many other things, and we have just begun. 

Yesterday, Part Two

Can’t remember if I have told you about the lady in our Katse bible study that was expecting her third baby.  Everytime we would meet she would ask me to pray for her and the new baby. The baby boy arrived and is now one week old.  The first time I saw him,he was less than 48 hours old.  Last Saturday, I went alone to their village to deliver some mealie meal to my friend.  When I arrived, the grandmother came running up the mountain to greet me.  She was yelling something in Sesotho that I interpreted as the “baby is here!”  I was escorted to the great-grandmother’s rondavel.  As is their custom, the baby is delivered by the great-grandmother and stays with her for a period of about one month.  The father is allowed to visit, but cannot stay.  Over the door of their home, just under the thatched roof, they place two long sticks.  This lets the village know that a new baby has been born.  When I entered the rondavel, my eyes had to adjust to the darkness.  Lying on a mat on the floor was the mother, and the infant.  Mom smiled at me and handed me her newborn son.  This is a huge honor. She trusted me enough to let me hold her most precious possession.  They asked me to “check him out”.  They think I am a doctor most of the time and forget that I am just a nurse.  I examined him from top to bottom, with the grandmother holding a candle for me to see.  He was perfect, from his little black curls all the way to the white soles of his feet.  We said a prayer of thanksgiving.

Yesterday, I returned to check on the baby.  This time I carried gifts.  In JoBurg I had bought a pair of blue booties, a tiny hat, a shirt and pants.  When I came to the village, the children all came running with their arm opened wide for a hug.  It helps to get hugs from children in Africa if you always carry “sweets” in your pocket.  They truly do love me.  This time when I approached the rondavel the children told me that the mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother were inside a different hut.  This one has the walls of stone, but no roof.  I said, “Koko-which means knock knock” and they responded with “Kena” which means come in.  The picture inside should have been painted in a museum or at least printed in a famous magazine.  This was the scene that greeted my eyes:

mom on the dirt floor, one year old asleep on floor-belly up, dressed only in a shirt

grandmother sitting on the floor holding a bowl of beads, a pile of dung beside her, and a spool of thread

great-grandmother sitting on an animal skin

newborn baby in mother’s arms

They were so excited to see me!  They had a child carry in a small stool for me to sit on. As is their custom, the guest sits on the “choice seat” while they sit below them.   My translator, M’e Thato sat on a barrel of oil.  They held the baby out for me to hold.  His little cheeks are chubbier than last week. They have shaved the front 1/2 of his hair. They have braided tiny white beads into the remaining hair securing them with thread and animal dung.  He is wrapped in his mother’s frayed chalie with his older brothers shirt hanging on him.  His lips are full, his eyes are closed tight. He is beautiful.  Again, I was asked to “check him out”.  He is perfect.  God has answered our pleas for a healthy child, and He even made him beautiful as a bonus.  We talked about the faithfulness of God.  We talked about how He created every part of this little one. We talked about their responsibility to him.  Before long, another woman of the village joined us.  I explained to them what a “hen party” was, a group of women, talking, celebrating the arrival of a new baby, laughing, smiling, and enjoying the beautiful day together.  I hated to leave.  When I left the rondavel, with promises to return soon, the grandmother followed me out.  She made me a promise:  next time I come, I leave with a chicken! 

 Wish you could have been there.

September 2, 2009

Time Flies…

It has been almost 8 months since we moved from Missouri. It has been almost that long since I have held my grandchildren. Time flies…

It seems that the Basotho tell time in a very different way than I do. I live life with a wristwatch on my arm and a clock on the wall. I get up each morning and start the day thinking about how many minutes I have left until the next activity. The Basotho don’t really seem to be in a hurry for much of anything. Lack of time keeping is a concept that I cannot seem to grasp. Last week, when we were in Maseru working on obtaining our South Africa VISA, it was payday for the workers in that city. The workers get paid once a month. You would not believe the lines at the banks! There were at least 100 people in each line. There is no telling how long the people have to wait to cash their paychecks. A Basotho friend told me that the sad thing is, the people stand in line for hours to get their money and then often are robbed on their way home…sometimes even killed.

It seems that the mountain Basotho tell time according to the planting season. It is time to plow, it is time to plant, it is time to harvest…

When I think about time…I think about the lives of the people that I meet each day. Because of the HIV/AIDS crisis here in Africa, most of the people that I meet have very little time. It has been estimated that at least 1 out of every 4 people I meet are HIV positive. Some say the numbers are much higher. When a person is tested and is known to be HIV positive they must begin antiviral therapy as soon as possible. This is not a cure for the disease, but has been proven to help them maintain a better quality of life for a longer period of time. A friend of mine needed to be tested. She is a Christian, her husband is not. She is faithful to their marriage relationship, she fears he is not. Yesterday, I took her to be tested. We drove to a village clinic a ways from Katse Village. The clinic in Katse will not test and if they did, they have no antivirals. The good news…she tested negative. The bad news…it is still possible that she has HIV. We will travel again to the clinic in December. Time….flies for the person who does not know Christ and is living in a place where HIV is the norm.

Eternity…is forever.

GA Recognition Service, African Style

August 15, 2009

Sunday Night, two GA’s, an assortment of missionaries to Africa, and a handful of kids…dining room…you should have been there. 

One of the hardest things that Grace and Anna  had to give up was their GA group at Hamlin Baptist.  Before moving to Africa,  their GA leader gave me their Adventure books so that we could continue having “meetings.”  On August 15, Gracie received her 5th year charm and Anna her 3rd.  Thank you Karen for sending their charms to us, they were so surprised.  Dressed in our Sunday best we sat in a circle in our dining room, the Dial family, the Pepper family, and the Floras.  Gracie and Anna each shared a testimony of what GA’s means to them.  They also shared their GA motto and scripture.  Here is a copy of our program:

Luke 2…Shepherds and YOU…what is the common factor?

August 30, 2009

8-and there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby keeping watch over their flocks by night. 9-an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.  10-but the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid.  I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.  11-today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you, He is Christ the Lord.”

15-When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” 16-So they hurried off and found Marry and Joseph and the BABY, who was lying in the manger.

17-When they had seen Him, THEY SPREAD THE WORD concerning what had been told them about this child, and ALL WHO HEARD IT WERE AMAZED AT WHAT THE SHEPHERDS SAID TO THEM

This morning I am sitting on the couch, alone.  I am thinking about the job that God has called us to do and what that involves.  This is how we see it…we are to take the message of Christ to the people of Mokhotlong Region in Lesotho, Africa. Every mountain, every village, every person.. what does that mean?  How can we do it?  God has spoken to Jimmy and I concerning this question.  Here is what He has said…

• meet the women “By the River”…
• provide nutrition in body and SPIRIT to the widows
• meet the physical and spiritual needs of the young mothers who are dying of AIDS
• take the story to the shepherds
• touch the life of a child
• invest in the life of a young man, modeling what it means to live a godly lifestyle 
• teach youth that TRUE love CAN wait…and possibly save their life
• teach mommies how to care for their children and show them what they must do to keep them healthy
• teach mothers and widows how they can make nutritional food using the resources provided for them by Southern Baptist around the world
• take away the pain, if for only a moment

As we continue to plan our ministries for “our mountains” we sometimes become overwhelmed at the task that God has set before us.  If you have read Jimmy’s last note, you know that God has placed in his heart a strategy for reaching the people of our mountains. 

A strategy….this is where you come in…

• could you possibly sit by a group of women who are gathered by a river washing their family’s clothes and tell them the story of how Jesus washed your sins away?
• could you, who are widows, come to Lesotho and spend time in a hut sharing the pain of your heart?  Could you possibly tell the story of the Comforter?  Could you teach the woman who is struggling to make a living? Could you show her how to knit a winter hat so that she could sale it in her village for a few rand…enough to feed her children one more day?
• is it possible that YOU would have the courage to carry a bucket into the home of a woman, dying of AIDS.  You would open the bucket and you would find clean sheets for her to lay on, the things you would need to teach her family how to bathe her and care for her wasting skin and body.  You would tell them the story of a place where there is no more pain, no more suffering, and NO MORE AIDS.
• Remember the shepherds?  Would it be too far of a stretch to believe that YOU could come to Mokhotlong dressed in your jeans, flannel shirt, and hiking boots and that you could carry with you a new blanket, a shepherd’s bag, a meal, and a recorder that speaks of a loving SHEPHERD named JESUS?  The same JESUS that was lying in the manger many years before.
• Do you have hands?  Could you use those hands to throw a ball, skip a rope, wipe a tear, touch a cheek…Jesus had time, do you?
• A young man, maybe a shepherd, with such potential, with such promise.  Could you spend 5 days with him?  Could you teach him the basics of Christian living?  That he should be faithful to his wife when he is married, that he should honor God above all, that he should walk in a way that points others to Jesus…could he possibly be the appointed one to take the message of Jesus to the people of his own village?
• maybe you are a young person who didn’t “wait”.  Is it at all possible that you could sit down on a mountain side with a group of teens or maybe visit their school and share your story…could you warn them about the consequences of a life that is not pure…regrets, sorrows, and in Africa-a very real possiblity of a life leading to AIDS…and death.

have you ever been effected by sickness, death, fear, heartache, hunger, sorrow?  Has GOD cared for you, loved you, held you, encouraged you, spoken to you, believed in you? 

Then just like the shepherds, YOU too have a story…why not come and share it?

I hope today that you are making worship a priority, we plan to.  We are going to church on a mountainside with 5 little shepherd boys.  We are giving them nourishment for their body and  provision for their soul.  We will feed them a warm meal and cool drink.  We will sit together on the ground on a blanket.  We will spend some time laughing at our attempts to communicate, then Jimmy will pull a recorder out of his bag.  He will push a button and words will be spoken, in the language of these little  ones…the STORY will be told, the message will be clear, and…

all who hear it will be amazed at what had been said to them….and just maybe…they will share what they have learned.

If you are interested in serving alongside of us in the mountains of Lesotho for a week, maybe two or longer…see our homepage for volunteer contact information….your pony is waiting.

Sangomas…and a few other things.

August 29, 2009

Lately, we have had a few encounters with a few sangomas.  Sangomas, if you remember, are African witchdoctors.  The first sangoma of the week was at a village in Mokhotlong.  I think we told you about our day there and the ladies that gathered to hear our bible story.  One of the ladies was a sangoma.  I noticed her right off because of her head.  She was wearing the traditional headwrap that most African women wear.  What caught my attention was the fact that there were two coins peeking out from her headwrap.  I assumed that she was carrying money under her wrap and the coins were slipping out.  I asked our translator to tell her.  When he did, she smiled and pulled her wrap off.  Under the wrap was a sangoma headband with the coins attached to the rows of beads.  She then showed us the beads on her wrists and ankles.   As I told the story of the power of God, and explained that there is NO one or NOTHING as powerful, a “mini-tornado” came down the mountain.  It was a very strong whirlwind, so strong that it was carrying a pretty big piece of tin.  Some of the people ran as the duststorm approached us.  I used this opportunity to tell the people that God controls the wind and that the small wind was nothing compared to His power.  Believe it or not, that was only the first whirlwind that we experienced during that bible story time.  The sangoma left when Jimmy and I talked about how powerful God was.  Sangoma’s make their living by convincing the people that they have great power over many things.  They take money from the people promising them health, wealth, and just about anything else.  They are considered to be the mediator between the people and their dead ancestors.  In order to satisfy the ancestors, the sangoma performs rituals on behalf of the person who came to them for help.  As we left the village that afternoon, I could hear the drums of the sangoma beating…

Today, we met another sangoma, this time it was a man who needed a lift.  When he got into the back of the car, I noticed his beads.  I also noticed that he was drunk.  In his hand he carried a jug of joala.  I guess we are now official bootlegger associates.  The man was very kind and tried to teach us more Sesotho…although his words were very slurred. 

Jimmy and I love to drive the roads and visit with the people.  It is so much fun to stop and talk to them, or should I say, try to talk to them.  Today,  we visited Tolerance’s house.  She was working in the fields so the children were home, all alone.  The little girl who is probably 7 or 8 was left in charge of the three younger children that includes the baby.  When we pulled up to their house she had her little sister on her back.  The children all know us now and are so happy to see us.  I spent some time rocking the baby to sleep.  He is the one that use to be afraid of me and cry whenever I came around.  Today, he melted into my arms and layed his little head on my chest.  He was so cold.  He was dressed only in a shirt.  I wrapped him in a blanket, held him close, and he fell asleep.  When he was placed in the bed in the rondavel, we went to the China store to buy more “sweets” for the children.  There I found a pink and yellow baby outfit…definatetly “Made in China”.  There is a young momma in my Tuesday bible study group that is pregnant.  Her baby is due any day now and we are both hoping for an “ausi”..little girl.  Jimmy and I took the gift to her rondavel.  She wasn’t home but the children who were following us told us that she was down the mountain in the field.  I looked down and saw her running 900 miles per hour up the mountain towards us.  When she got close enough to see what I was holding she began clapping her hands and jumping. Jimmy was afraid she was going to go into labor and we would have to deliver her baby.  She could not believe that we had brought her that “precious” gift.  She thanked us over and over again.  Alongside of her was another lady.  The one who had the abcessed tooth last week.  She thinks that I am a miracle worker.  I had given her ibuprofen for her pain.  God healed her mouth.  Tuesday, we will talk about how God is the healer.   

After 5 months of being in Africa, we continue to see God’s hand working in our lives.  The picture of the day explains why I love the little children so very much…

What a Day!….August 21, 2009

33 years ago today, I married the man of my dreams.  Good looking, smart, funny…perfect for me.  I never would have dreamed the day I married Jim Flora that I would spend August 21, 2009 grocery shopping in the lowlands of Lesotho, Africa.  What a day we had!  What did my husband give me for our anniversary?  A new freezer!  Buying appliances in Africa is quite an adventure.  We went by the appliance store this morning and received a “quote” for the freezer I picked out.  This afternoon we went to pick up the freezer.  The one we had chosen had a defective handle, which was discovered after the cashier had entered everything into the computer.  The saleslady, the salesman, the door guard, and two cashiers decided that we needed a different freezer. This was fine with us, but presented a problem that obviously was huge.  The freezer they chose for us was on sale for 200 Rand less than the one they had entered in the computer.  After discussing the problem for approximately 15 minutes, they decided that they could not refund the difference, and I would have to choose something else to buy to make up the difference.  They suggested an electric kettle.  The kettle was purchased for 159 Rand leaving a balance of 41 Rand.  The saleslady then “told” me that I needed a “carpet.”  A carpet is a little throw rug for the doorway.  I agreed and she let me pick out the one I wanted.  Another problem, when they added everything up they realized that the price on the carpet was wrong.  I couldn’t have that particular carpet.  The saleslady took it out of my hand, went to the other side of the store, picked out 2 carpets, and handed them to the cashier.  Everything balanced and they were happy.  I was too, they were so much fun.  As I tried to leave the store with my kettle and my carpets, I was stopped by the door guard.  He said I couldn’t leave until I signed the “ticket”.  I had no idea where the ticket was or where to get it.  He took the carpets from me.  Minutes later, the saleslady moved to another desk and proceeded to stamp a stack of papers with a rubber stamp.  Rubber stamps are big in Africa.  She asked me to sign her stack of papers, handed me my  carpets and my kettle, ordered my freezer to the trailer, and off we went. 

I must mention that not only did I get a new freezer, today I was a winner at Kentucky Fried Chicken.  When we go into South Africa to do our monthly grocery shopping we normally treat our girls to KFC.  They have gone through withdrawl from fast food restaurants.  Today, after I paid the 187 Rand for our bucket of chicken the KFC worker handed me my receipt and a “scratch” card.  She told me to scratch off the card to see what I might have won.  I won a 200 Rand cash prize.  My chicken was free, and I actually made 13 Rand on the deal.  We had a bucket of chicken, Jimmy got a free Coca-Cola, and the little beggar boy outside the door was treated to a chicken sandwich, fries, a mini loaf of bread, and a box of juice….I was happy, Jimmy was happy, the girls were happy, the little boy was happy, and the KFC workers were REALLY happy…you would have thought I had just won a MILLION dollars.

Today, when you say your goodnight prayers, pray for my Jimmy.  Pray that God continues to grow our love for each other…can’t wait to see what will happen in the next 33 years!

 August 19, 2009…Page 2

On Sunday, we met some shepherds.  It seems like everytime we have a Sunday picnic, shepherds show up.  This time there were 7, a variety of ages.  There was one little boy that caught my attention, he had a huge smile and laughed a lot.  We fed them a ham and cheese sandwich, gave them an apple, and a peanut butter bar.  They especially loved the peanut butter bar.  It was pretty warm on Sunday and the chocolate chips in the bars had melted.  When I placed the bar in their hands,  melted chocolate was all over their palms.  They did like any little boy would do, licked their hands.  Their hands weren’t not typical little boy hands.  Their hands were worn and weathered, Crusted dirt around their nails.  They laughed, jumped, and gave us “high fives” as we taught them to play a game of “hand/baseball” using a ball that Jimmy and I made from the breadsack.

Yesterday, Jimmy met two of the same little boys on the airfield.  One of them was allowed to sit in the pilot’s seat, it was the one with the big smile.

Today, we returned to the picnic spot to see if they would come.  Babs brought winter hats and gloves.  I took peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and cookies.  The weather today was drastically different.  It is freezing with a harsh wind, and snow on the mountain tops.  We stopped the car and Jimmy honked the horn.  We saw cattle and sheep on the mountain, but no shepherds.  He honked again, this time louder and longer.  I looked near the top of the mountain.  Running FAST were two little boys, shepherds.  Their worn blankets flapping in the wind.  We waited as the ran, I held my breath hoping they would not fall.  When they made it down to the bottom, I saw my little shepherd boy, the one with the big smile.  We greeted them, fed them, and Babs fitted them with hats.  I put new red gloves on the worn little hands of my shepherd.  I hugged his thin little shoulders, realizing that his worn blanket covered a sleeveless, thin t-shirt.  His pants were thin and torn.  I had no idea what to do…till Anna offered him her sweatshirt….and Gracie offered him hers…

Anna is minus one Missouri hoodie, the shepherd is warm and smiling…God is pleased.

August 19, 2009

A Hopeless, Helpless Feeling…

This morning I woke up thinking of a young woman that came to our village bible study yesterday.  I have seen her before, she is always early and seems really excited to be there.  Yesterday, she was late.  She came at the very end of the story.  When I went to greet her, I discovered why she was late.  Her face was swollen on the left side.  The swelling started just under her eye and went all the way down to her neck.  She had an abcessed tooth.  When I looked into her mouth, I saw that her gums were infected as well. 

In Lesotho, the mountain people, must learn to deal with their pain.  They have no access to a dentist, in fact, most do not even have a toothbrush.   There is no such thing as taking the day off, the work must be done regardless of how you feel.  The people do not have to make the choice of taking Tylenol or Ibuprofen, they have neither.  They cannot change their diet to make it easier to eat, their only choice is papa and vegetables. 

When I go into the village I take along a small bag with gloves, dressings for wounds, Tylenol and Ibuprofen.  The line to receive the Ibuprofen can become very long once the word is out that the nurse has medicine.  My supply will only last a short while.  For today, I can hopefully help ease the pain of the young woman’s mouth, tomorrow….I have no idea what I will say.

Please pray for me as I go to Maseru to apply for my Lesotho nursing license.  I have no plans to go back to a nursing career, but would love to fly on occasion with the Lesotho Flying Doctor

August 12, 2009

Mulligrubs for Just a Minute

August 12, 2009

 We left this morning to take Jimmy to the Katse airstrip.  Jimmy was to fly to Maseru today, along with our team leader Alan, to take care of the VISA stuff.  The airstrip in Katse in on the very top of a mountain.   You literally have to drive UP a mountain to reach it.  When we arrived at the top of this mountain, the wind was blowing 7 bijillion miles per hour.  A biljillion is really fast and strong.  The plane Jimmy was due to board was a very small, Mission Aviation plane.  I was not exactly crazy about my husband getting on that plane.  I know absolutely nothing about flying a plane, but when the pilot keeps talking about all the “knots” and throwing grass up in the air to judge the “crosswinds”, I’m thinking things may be serious.  As they talked and decided if it was safe to take off, I silently prayed that Jimmy would NOT get on that plane.  I wondered if the story would get back to the International Mission Board if this missionary wife layed down on the runway in front of the plane.  They wouldn’t run over a missionary, would they?  Well, they decided it was too risky, Jimmy got back in the car, we headed down the mountain….no one had a clue that I had prayed the trip away. 

I spent the afternoon baking.  The Pepper family is coming to visit this weekend.  Larry and Sally are members of the Basotho team. They minister in the lowlands.  Larry is the Lesotho Flying Doctor.  It will be a good time.

Tonight, I’m sitting in front of the computer screen thinking about Abigail.  Abigail is my 5 year old granddaughter.  Tomorrow is her first day of “real” school.  I would love to see her.  I have been Abigail’s Mammie and full-time babysitter since she was first born.  Her Nana would come and keep her on Thursdays, but every other weekday, she was ours.  I can remember her laughter, how smart she is and how she loves to learn.  I have spent many, many hours swinging her on our front porch swing…counting cars and listening to birds.  One of the most difficult things I have ever had to do was to say “good-bye” to Abby.  How do you explain to a 5 year old that you are leaving?  How can you make them understand that Africa is very far away and that 3 1/2 years is a very long time?  Tonight, I have the mulligrubs.  The mulligrubs are something that you feel.  You feel them mostly when you miss something so bad that your heart literally hurts.  My grandma first described them to me.  Fortunately, the mulligrubs are not contagious and most of the time they do not last long.  Sometimes people though get the mulligrubs and can’t get rid of them, they try to hide them, drown them, and often times they try to give them away.  I have chosen to deal with my mulligrubs in a different way….when I miss my Abby so much that my heart is hurting, I remember why I had to leave her….this is why…

For God so loved this little girl, that He gave His one and only Son, that if only she would believe in Him, she would not perish, but she would have everlasting life…Abigail, Mammie has a story to tell, and someday you will understand.

August 11, 2009

If you were here…

If you were here today you would have gone with us to the village near Katse Village.  You would have heard us teach the children to sing “Every Move I Make”.  You would have laughed at the bo Me’ that stood next to me doing the motions and making the sounds I made.  It amazes me that the grown men and women participate in every activity without embarassment.   They are just happy to be there.  If you were here with us today you would have loved watching Gracie, Anna, and Bekah open their beauty salon in the new village for the first time.  Bekah was in charge of the lotion, she had everyone greased up before we left.  If you were here with us today and you were sitting next to me on a rock beside Tolerance, you would have seen tears of joy trickle down my cheeks as I watched my husband fulfill his dream as he shared the story of Christ with the mountain people.  In the middle of the message you would have noticed the little boy hitting the others with a stick and the rooster chasing the hen right in front of the preacher.  He didn’t see a thing.  If you would have liked you could have helped me pass out chocolate chip banana bread to all who were there…it was “limanati” (good).  You could have held the little girl on the side of the mountain as she cried because she was too little to follow her brother down the mountain to my car to get the sweet.  I couldn’t stand it and took her sweet to her.  You could have listened to the laughter, to the requests for prayer.  You could have gone down the road to see my new little friend….she is little…she is old…and she loves me.  Everytime she sees me come to visit her she claps her hand thanking “Jehovah”.  Yes, she prayed to God…as she washed her sangoma beads in the pan of dirty water.  You might have helped me pray over the pregnant young mother, asking God for a healthy baby and easy delivery.  You would have noticed the beads around her youngest child’s waist.  She tells me she believes in Jesus, but she continues to pay the witch doctor, just in case. 

If you followed me home, you would have sat at our table with our 83 yr. old language tutor and our precious house helper.  You would have laughed when you saw their plates piled high.  After lunch we would have learned a million more Sesotho words and listened to our tutor talk about his frustrations in raising the 7 orphans that he has taken in. 

Tomorrow…if you decide to visit, it will be another day of dreams fulfilled, new things learned, opportunities taken, new friends, tons of smiles….and you can see for yourself the look on the faces of the Basotho as they hear the story of Jesus….some for the first time. 

Just a Little Girl…August 10, 2009

There’s a little girl that has touched my heart.  I have a thing for little girls, and little boys, and big girls, and big boys, and…

Sometimes I think that God has given me a little too much love in my heart.  Every child I see that needs a momma, I think…I could take them…then I SNAP to my senses and remember, I have already done that 3 times.  There are actually two little girls that impacted my life yesterday.  The first little girl, I have met before.  In fact, I have been to her home many times.  Her momma’s name is Tolerance.  Tolerance does what she can to provide for her children.  What she has is not enough.  The middle little girl is always full of life and smiles when I see her.  She anxiously waits to see what “sweet” Me’ Teresa pulls out of her bag.  When I offer her a “sweet” she takes both hands, cupped, and receives the gift.  She is never afraid, maybe a little timid.  Her mother has asked me before if there is any way I could help with her fees for school.  This little girl does not get to go to school because her mother cannot pay the fee and the little girl does not have clothes or shoes to wear.  I tell her I cannot help.  There are hundreds of children in this village and surrounding villages that would have the same request.  When you agree to pay a child’s school fees, often times you have literally adopted the child as your own.  Yesterday, we decided that we would do what we could for this child…she needed a new pair of shoes.

We loaded her up in the car and took her to the “China Store.”  Thirty minutes and 10 dollars later there was a very happy 8 year old with a new pair of shoes.  The other little girl…she was so tiny.  Her eyes are what caught my attention, her eyes and her clothes.  In her hand she held a “brick” of papa, most probably the part that was hardened on the bottom of the pan from the morning meal.  Every now and then she would take a small bite of it.  She held it tight in dirty little hands, that is until I offered her a piece of banana.  She eagerly took the banana and crammed part of it into her mouth.  After I had given her the banana, she followed me everywhere.  As she walked behind me I heard her begin to cry, a “my heart is hurting” cry.  I turned to see that she had dropped her piece of banana in the dirt.  I quickly gave her another piece and was rewarded with a smile.  The life of a child in Africa….does God know?  Does He care?  Many people have asked that question…I don’t have to ask, I know.  Yes, He knows…yes, He cares…that’s why He sent me…to buy shoes, to offer bananas, to touch a life…for my Jesus.