Father, let my heart be after you
This month has been a month of discovering who I am in Christ and desiring to learn more of his heart for me. I’m recognizing how I had created my life at home to be comfortable, which resulted in contentment where I was & slow spiritual growth.
This month has been uncomfortable in so many ways. Sleeping on old mattresses on a cement floor in the freezing cold, using outhouses on the other side of the base, and literally hiking mountains daily. My team was able to learn more about each other and study the Word together. We found out that no electricity or running water means whispering at 9:30 when we go to bed because it’s dark. And laughing so hard it hurts when pushing the stalled truck up a mountain after filling water jugs at the natural spring just down the hill.
At first, ministry was also uncomfortable. Every day we hiked to a nearby village, Ha Koepe, to serve the people there. Our main goal was to build relationships and show Jesus in our actions as we served them. We washed dishes, started fires, swept, washed clothes, and cooked. You name it, we probably did it. The very first day we helped a group of women make traditional Sethoto beer!
One of the highlights of ministry this month was meeting Deepy and her son Thami the first day of ministry. Throughout the month I was able to go back and visit her at least a couple times a week. She is a believer, and I was able to pray with her and encourage her in her faith. She is such a strong, joyful woman. She made an impact on me by how loving and open she was to share her life and time with me.
Our ministry hosts, Pieter and Keila and their two sons Jon and Jaime, went out of their way to serve us and welcome us into their family. Pieter’s heart for the Lord and for serving the valley was so obvious in his words and actions. Just a few years ago, he and his family moved from South Africa to Lesotho to plant a church and discipleship school. He has a heart for sharing the truth of Jesus and the gospel to the people of the Malealea Valley. He explained to us what he has learned about the people of the Malealea Valley in the past 7 years of ministering here: they are bound by the act of religion and are spiritually dead, going through the motions of being a Christian but not actually having a relationship with Jesus.
This month has been so incredibly amazing. I enjoyed every moment in Lesotho at Africa 4 Jesus. We were treated with so much hospitality and love. Month One has set the bar so high for the rest of the Race. My entire squad (all 56 of us racers, our 3 squad leaders, our squad mentors, and squad coach) are meeting in Durban, South Africa next week for debrief. Then our squad is headed to Swaziland for Month Two of ministry! I’m not sure exactly what we are going to be doing- but I’ll keep y’all updated when I can!
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“Come, let us walk in the light of the Lord.” Isaiah 2:5
