Lesotho is a small country/kingdom nestled inside South Africa. We are working with an organization called Africa 4 Jesus. It’s a ministry that works with the surrounding villages and has planted a church that focuses on evangelism and discipleship. I have been told by several racers that this was their favorite month on the race and I am beginning to understand why. I have been here a week and I am already dreading leaving in two short weeks.
I am in the middle of a mountainous valley and it is unbelievably gorgeous here. I look out my window and see just mountains and fields and the most beautiful scenery I have ever seen. And the stars…oh the stars!! I can’t even describe how bright and lovely they are! That’s just the physical beauty, there is so much more. I want to give you a glimpse into my month so far.
Our ministry day starts at 6:30am with a thirty-minute walk up and down the dirt roads. Then we are given about an hour before breakfast to spend with Jesus. I treasure this time so much and I am so grateful for it, especially since it is scheduled into our ministry day. After that we have traditional porridge or oatmeal that is graciously prepared by the staff that work here. Then it’s off to our village.
Our village is about a 30-40-minute walk up and down the dirt roads. We spent the first couple of days meeting the precious residents asking them if we could serve them in some way or pray for them. We did everything from sweeping dirt trails with a tree branch (yes a tree branch you read that right ??) to dishes, fetching water, and playing with people’s kids and donkeys. We got to pray for and with each of these people.
Day 2 we hadn’t really been to hold any in depth conversations with anyone yet and were a little discouraged. We came across a house that welcomed us right in. Inside was a man that was happy to meet and see us, as were all the people we met. We made small talk once again and asked him if we could do anything to help him. Once again we were given a task. We helped him fetch water, did his dishes and cleaned his kitchen. Don’t get me wrong I was happy to serve, I just didn’t see how we were going to share the gospel or start a spiritual conversation with just small talk and doing dishes. Then God showed up and changed my thinking all together. After the tasks were completed we asked him if we could pray for him. God said I’ll do you one better. The man replied that he wanted to know and accept Jesus he just didn’t know how. I got the pleasure of sharing the gospel with him and leading him in a prayer to accept Jesus into his life and heart. The joy just overflowed out of this man! It was so beautiful! We talked to him about reading the bible and getting involved in the Africa 4 Jesus church community. He is planning on joining us on Sunday.
After that the Lord restored my confidence and I was reminded that God was there in all those conversations. He works on his time, not mine. He called us to have some surface level conversations and love these people by serving them with things they needed done and He will show up when the time is right and boy did He!
The next day we did much of the same and got to pray and start building relationships with the residents of the village. We met a sweet lady named Camila and her friend Victoria. Camila had fallen and her ankle was swollen pretty bad. We got the opportunity to pray for her and she wanted us to come back so she could teach us how to make a special Lesotho bread cake. The next day we came to see her and she didn’t have time to do the bread because her ankle was healed and she was running all over town. God had healed her and she was praising him for it! We will go back next week and see her again and make the bread.
After lunch we help with chores around the ministry and get to spend time with the sweet staff members that work here.
God has been teaching me a lot about praying in the authority of Jesus and believing that He will heal and work in people’s lives. Seeing this with my own eyes this week was so incredible. God doesn’t always work the way we ask, but when he does I can’t tell you how amazing it is! To see it firsthand is indescribable. He is good, no matter what. But it brings Him glory to work through his children.
It’s been a great week! I am so excited to see what God has in store in the next 2 weeks here in Lesotho.
