“The days are long, but the months are short.” —There is no more true statement when it comes to the race.
6 months ago, I had no idea what “Lesotho” was, much less where it was located. Much to my surprise I discovered that this little country holds a whole lot of beauty, peace, and love within its borders.
When we first arrived and crossed the border after a 30 hour bus ride from Zimbabwe, the first sign we see reads “Welcome to Lesotho: the Kingdom in the Sky”. We joked about the sign suggesting Lesotho was like Heaven being a kingdom in the sky. Looking back, I couldn’t think of a better way to describe the amazing beauty of the mountainous scenery and little slice of Heaven it truly was.
Team Stay Salty partnered with two other teams from our squad for the entire month, making one large 21-person team. We all partnered with Africa 4 Jesus, which is an organization that reaches out to the local community by connecting to members of the villages, hosting a church, and teaching in schools, including the on-base pre-school in which our team taught at each day.
Stay Salty’s main job for the month was to assist teaching 30 active and energetic preschoolers. It didn’t take much time for our hearts melt and grow attached to those precious little ones. Each day, we would sing songs, teach English phrases and words, do arts and crafts, and play lots and lots of games. Below, in my recap video you will see the precious faces of the kids who stole our hearts. Each one perfect in the image of God and each one with a unique and special purpose.
During the second half of the day, we would get our hands dirty and do some good ol’ construction work. The building for the preschool on the base is brand-new and and needed some improvements to make it suitable for 30 kids to run around inside. On other days, we would visit the locals in the surrounding villages in the valley. We would pray for the sick, play with the kids, and invite people to come to know the Lord.
In between ministry and intentional time spent with our teams, there was a lot of down time, so sometimes the days dragged on and on and seemed like we spent eternity there in that valley. But now, looking back, it seems like it just flew right on by.
This month was filled with sweet moments in which the Lord worked deeply in my heart. There were countless nights where I would look up at the breathtaking sky full of stars and He would remind me of the steadfast love He has for me and all of His children. I wish I could describe with words the mending and healing He did in my heart during this month.
“The days are long, but the months are short.”
We have now been here in the Philippines for about a week and a half now, and my heart just comes alive here. Saying goodbye to Africa was harder than I thought, but Asia has always been a place so dear to me, especially after the trip I took to Thailand and Malaysia 2 years ago. These next 5 months will be spent loving on local kids, embracing the culture, and following The Lord where he leads us here in Southeast Asia.
Check out this Month 6 recap video below!
