We are here at the ministry Africa 4 Jesus. We are seated with a perfect view of surrounding mountains in the valley of Malealea and are doing pretty well! During the day we walk to nearby villages, offering help to all the people that live there. We sweep, wash dishes, and do different chores they may not be able to do on their own. Each person also receives the gospel and prayer over their life from our team. In the afternoon, we pick weeds from the farmlands by hand and hoe. However, in the afternoons I have been teaching piano classes to a couple of very dear people! I have had a blast teaching music, and having a piano here has been healing to my soul. I missed playing very much.
Many things have stood out to me and caused major growth in the last week. The valley has been in a deep drought season, with their only source of water being underground. We drink this water and use it for bucket showers. We live with careful attention to how much water we are using, limiting showers and using outdoor bathrooms most of the time. Though we have the capability of running water at the base, nothing is able to flow because of the drought. God has answered prayers the last 3 evenings and has sent quite a bit of rain. We pray He continues to bless the valley and its crops in this way.
As we go door to door in ministry, the variety of houses people live in become more and more interesting. Most are huts that have the layout of a studio apartment but much smaller and made of clay, sticks, and wood. Many houses are built of cement. Some properties have several little huts for their kitchen, bedroom, and office. Some are more like houses with hallways and many rooms made of cement walls. However, most are clay huts. They are very small and usually have livestock in the area. Most everyone has livestock. Many do not have stoves and clean water is kept in buckets.
Today we helped an elderly woman clean her home. The dishes were not clean and the table had not been wiped down in quite a while. I could tell she had trouble doing daily chores, and if she did them she would not be able to stand for long. This woman lived alone, with nobody around to help her. I realized then how blessed our elderly people are and how much care we give them. Without anyone around, this woman will not be able to maintain her crumbling home. The walls were cracked and very old, with a torn up tile floor and many things that needed to be replaced. Chores are also very hard on the people’s bodies. They use short handmade brooms of straw and a certain type of plant to sweep their grass and clay floors. You constantly bend over to use them. Yet, some people with these brooms own beautiful cabinets and tile floors in their homes. It is like another world here, with a mixture of the familiar and unfamiliar.
Teaching piano in the afternoons has also been life changing in many ways. I have gotten to know Mama Faith and Sekulo. They have very raw talents. Mama Faith is an INCREDIBLE vocalist. Sekulo loves music and is very fast at learning piano. By teaching them I am getting to know the culture more and how hard the work is on their hands. I am also learning how eager they are to learn something new. They are finding a purpose and a new exciting pursuit. They have taught me about simplicity, how playing a scale really is exciting. Learning new chords that are very simple is a gift from God, and it is something I need to take more seriously. Being a trained musician in the states, I forget how blessed I have been in my learning and I never want to take the excitement away from someone else. Beginning a new journey of understanding in musical practice is incredible, no matter what level you are. There is something beautiful about the hunger to learn and the beginning of discovering something that will change your musical life forever.
Speaking of which, that moment has happened last Sunday. My whole life I have wanted to hear an African church sing. The sound is more beautiful to me than any professional choir in the world because here is something so raw and real about its roots. The notes are not perfect and it is not always in tune, yet I cannot wrap my mind around its beauty. Last Sunday, the church service changed me. I sat listening, feeling the tingling of the Holy Spirit through my veins. I thought back to the most difficult times in my life. Memories flashed in my mind of the moments when my joy, my dreams, and my music died. I looked up from my thinking. “Everything I have ever gone through in my life led me to this place.” Truly, every pain led me to sit in a place where my dead dreams were resurrected. I took in the lush harmonies. I even got to participate in them! I realized the power in music when it is from above, the power when it comes from the heart and passion of the Lord. When it is from myself and my own strength, it is nothing. The rawness I felt in my bones from the harmonies of the church literally healed my soul. It invited the Holy Spirit into a place I cannot describe in words. No music in my life could compare to what I heard and what I felt. My whole life I waited to hear that sound, and it was right in front of me. I no longer want to play music to prove anything or to put my ego on an unnecessary pedestal. No, something bigger is happening here. I must do this for the Lord and I must allow Him to touch the soul, the unreachable and unspeakable place He dwells. I am healing from bitterness toward my imperfections and the Holy Spirit used the rawness of the Sesotho language and the music to impact me deeply. I want to use my music to minister to others in that way. I want to make the connection between Christ and jazz, Christ and music in general. All praise and worship belongs to Him and is defined by Him. It is not defined by Hillsong or the church. No, it is defined by the humbled heart, the raw soul, the transaction of the Spirit in praise and adoration. It is the lowly heart He does not despise and the one that will bring the most praise and glory to Him. My life will never be the same. My music will never be the same. I am thankful to have more Sundays here.
Lesotho is another world I have never experienced first hand. This place is just the beginning of seeing the power of the Lord.
May His power bring you life as well,
Mary Beth
