Guess what everyone?! The Lord provided the rest of the money I needed just like I knew He would and I am now FULLY FUNDED! The Lord is so good and I’m learning that more and more everyday.
I am alive and well in Lesotho! If you look at a map, Lesotho is the little tiny country inside of South Africa. It is entirely mountainous and even is called ‘The Mountain Kingdom’. We arrived at the center we are staying at in Malealea Valley at night. It’s a kind of community center run by a family from South Africa with a preschool and a common space where church is held. I couldn’t see much of the landscape around me, but that didn’t matter because the stars were absolutely magnificent. I’ve never seen a sky so bright and abundant with stars in my life. It completely blew me away and that night, I decided I loved it here.
I woke up the next morning to a completely new world. The morning sun shone bright on astonishing mountains all around me and vast, hilly fields stretching farther than I could see. It looked like something straight out of a movie. I still can’t believe I get to spend two months in such a breath-taking place as this.
Malealea Valley is a rural place with several spread out villages and beautiful fields everywhere. I often hear the steady clang of bells and look out the window to see a herd of cattle being coaxed along by a shepherd. The lifestyle here is slow-paced and simple. In the morning, we run a day-camp for local kids on their summer break and in the afternoon, I have time to rest, read, play games, go on walks, and plan for the next day. We sleep on the floor of a preschool building on campus, take showers every other day, and use the ‘long-drop’ toilets. There is no wifi and the only store is a tiny convenience store just down the street that sells things like lollipops and laundry detergent. Life is simple and I love it.
Before coming here, I thought I was going to have a lot of trouble adjusting to this culture of ‘rougher’ conditions and separation form the rest of the world. After being here for about a week, I see how it is going to be way more of a culture shock for me to leave this place.
I feel so incredibly blessed to be able to live here and be a part of this life and this community for two months. I am starting to believe that this life, this simpler, more laid-back culture, is more of the life that God intended for us to have. It seems so much easier for me to thrive spiritually, emotionally, and physically. In my culture, I have so many comforts in life. I have a nice bed, my own room, all the clothes I could want, wifi, a washing machine, clean running water, my own phone and laptop, so much food, and money to buy whatever I need or want. In the moment, these things seem better because they feel better than what I have right now here in Lesotho. They make me feel more comfortable and I sometimes wish I had some of those things. Ultimately though, I think these luxuries, however comfortable and life improving, have in some ways slowly been bringing harm.
First off, a lot of the material things I have and habits of my culture are destroying our environment. After seeing other parts of the world, it’s one of the things I’ve become the most aware of and passionate about. Our earth cannot sustain the way we are treating it. I think that’s something you become blind and insensitive to when you’re living completely immersed in a culture of comfort.
Also, I believe it harms us as people. I’m not saying I think these worldly comforts are inherently bad, because they are not. I think the value we attach to them in our hearts and the dependency to them we develop is the bad thing. It makes us believe that through having all this stuff, we are secure and ok when really there is only one thing that ensures our safety, wellbeing, joy, and sense of purpose in life. These comforts, when held in the wrong place in my heart, distance me from intimacy with my Father, the one thing I really, truly need to live. When I’m living in a place like Lesotho without the comfort or distraction I’m used to, it’s so much easier to see this one real truth that is so often hidden under layers of comfort like Netflix and ice cream. (By the way, those are the first two things I’m going to indulge in when I get home. Yes, I’ve thought about it J)
On the other hand, I know that God is everywhere. God does not confine himself to solely the beautiful landscapes of Lesotho. God is moving and changing and healing and doing beautiful things in city streets, in office buildings, and through technology. Every place has it’s problems, as well. Despite the simple lifestyle, people who live here are broken and hurt and have a lot of burdens, just like anywhere else in the world. Here, it’s just easier for me personally to set aside everything unhealthy I put value in and feel and see and hear from God.
I feel so privileged to not only be able to be a part of Lesotho for this season, but to come from and belong to a different culture at the same time. I am able to appreciate the difference in the two very different cultures more than someone who has lived their whole life here could. I think of it being like if I took a hot shower and a cold shower; they are two completely different showers but I’m able to experience the good things and the bad things that come from being immersed in each of the temperatures. Each day on this trip, I am being blessed with a broader perspective of the world. I am able to see more clearly how my own society and culture is just as broken and flawed as the rest of the world’s. We might not have the same struggles as other places, but we are poor and lacking and in need of change in many, many areas. Belonging to a different place, I have more influence and opportunity to bring the good things I learn here back with me and implement and share them with my own society to make the world a better place. I feel just as blessed to live out every day here without those comforts as I feel blessed to return to those things and hopefully begin a healthier relationship with them.
Please be praying for the ministry we are doing here! As I mentioned before, we are putting on a day camp every day for the local kids here. It is their summer vacation, and it’s fun for them to have an activity like this to go to everyday. Our goal each day is to make them feel loved, cared about, and want to come back the next day! Something we’ve become really passionate about is getting to know the teenagers, especially the girls, and mentoring them. It’s pretty amazing that we get to be here for two months and have time to really build relationships. God is doing incredible things here that are greater than I could ask for or imagine and I’m so grateful for that!
