Humans of Malealea
Each ?morning Monday – Thursday? my team and I go and visit the people of the valley. I want to share some of their stories to show and hopefully help you, the reader, see that our struggles may look a lot different from the outside but when you dig a little deeper you’ll see that even on the other side of the world there are similar battles.
I don’t have names to associate with these stories because they are very difficult to spell and pronounce. With 2 mornings left of ministry we found out they all have a middle name that is the English name of their first name. So pro tip: if you ever come to Lesotho, ask for their middle name. But that doesn’t make their stories any less valid or important.
The woman battling cancer. This was one of the first houses we went to. A woman with children and grandchildren battling cancer in a place where she had to travel hours to South Africa which held the nearest hospital that could give her proper treatment as the clinic in the valley could only provide pain meds for this kind of attack on the body. We talked with her and learned that she has been battling this horrendous disease for 2 years and every part of her frail body was in pain. We laid hands and prayed with hope that the Lord would heal her, read her Scripture to encourage her and try to bring a smile to her sweet face. We have gone back to that house once since that visit and got to know her daughter who was visiting from South Africa. We didn’t see the woman again because she was at the hospital but her daughter took the time to chat with us, play games, and teach us how to make fat cakes (a sweet doughy treat we love!). Even while she had to bear the pain of watching her mother suffer, she still took time to invest in us, tell us a little bit of her story, and share a snack. Today was our last day of ministry and we went back to her house one last time. The daughter and her small children were excited to see us! We took pictures and told her we were leaving and then sat down to talk to her and see how she was doing emotionally and try to encourage her. She said she was overwhelmed taking care of her mom and two young children on her own and began to cry. We read her some Scripture and talked about experiences where we have experienced God in difficult times and prayed for her. We also gave her one of our Bibles, since she speaks English, so she could continue to find encouragement from the psalms. Her mother was in the bedroom so we were able to go in a speak with her as well! We sang for her and gave her encouragement by reminding her the Lord would use this trial to glorify His Name. We also had the opportunity to pray for her and give the family one last hug.
The mother and son. One morning we went to visit a house where the mother of the house was 73 and her son that was 35, whom she wanted us to marry! He is a shepherd and grew up in the village. We learned that she had 2 other children, grandchildren, and grew children that lived in town and South Africa. We also found out that some of her children had passed away (which is more common than it should be) and so had her husband. Also while talking with them we found out they were both born-again Christians but also that the son hadn’t been to church in a long time. We invited him to church the following Sunday, he didn’t come but we also aren’t done talking about him. When we asked how we could pray for them the mother told us of pain in her back and chest due to a heart attacks she had 3 years ago. She also asked for prayer for her son because he struggles with alcoholism – which we have found to be a common struggle. After praying we did her laundry for her, which they do in a bucket of soap water by hand because no washing machines here! Remember the son of this story because there’s more about him later.
The man, his wife, and dancing mom. The man of this house has been searching for a job for four years. Every morning he wakes up with doubt that he is going to be able to provide for his family in the way he would like. He has a a wife and 3 kids (unbeknownst to us, we had met and hung out with his kids earlier that day) and his mother that he has to care for. They have fields where they grow corn but no money coming into the house. After praying for him and encouraging him through Scripture we talked with him a little more and learned that he loved playing soccer and listening to music. He then went and got his wife who wasn’t feeling well. She was sick from the water because the tank that the water comes out of wasn’t clean. A simple fix that was making people sick. His mother comes in as we lay hands and pray healing over the wife. We talked to her for awhile and learned that her and her husband met in school and she moved to his village after they got married. In this culture when a woman marries a man, the man’s family becomes her family and she no longer gets to see her family much or talk to them. As we continued to talk to them, we learned that the older mother loved dancing and music so we asked her to sing a song for us! She not only did that but also got up and danced! She was a joy and the daughter-in-law, that was sick, looked so embarrassed!! Even in the midst of hard times, there was joy to be found in this house.
The man that lives alone. There is a certain danger that comes with living alone in a village. It is easier to steal from and take advantage of those who live alone. And when we met this older man, we found out he lived alone and felt God was protecting him. He told us that he had seen us walking around the village and was excited that we decided to stop by his house on this day. This man was an older man and had been battling a sickness that included severe stomach pains for about a year. He had been to the clinic but the doctors had tried everything they could and couldn’t find a cure. And he couldn’t afford to go into town to visit a real hospital. We asked him if he needed help with anything and he asked us to sweep his floor, which we did. A simple task that he had a hard time completing because his body was attacking him from the inside. We continued to talk with him and found out he loved gospel music, has family in the village that help look after him, and didn’t attend church because he was too afraid to make the walk – not knowing when the stomach pains would come. Hearing this, we asked if we could do a little church service for him and he seemed to really like that idea. So that’s what we did. We sang a few songs, read a few Scriptures, and prayed for healing in his body and Spirit. And at the end of our visit he let us pick peaches from his peach tree to eat and take with us! We were able to visit this man one last time today and he was excited to see us. He was just making lunch when we came up. We asked him how his stomach pain was and he said it was feeling better and comes less frequently! He also said he finally had enough strength to shepherd his flock! He incited is inside where we prayed for his home because he felt the presence of an evil spirit sometimes. He also asked us how to live a life for God – how he should act. We explained to him that God doesn’t save you based off your actions and read Ephesians ?4:17-5:20? to show him what it actions do represent the Christian life. We also explained to him it is more important to have a relationship with God than it is to act like He wants you to because when we have a relationship with the Lord, your actions will follow suit. And he lit up when we told him how much God loves him and wants him. It was a blessing to see God touch his son. We going out he can’t read so our translator invited him to a Bible study he does and we encouraged him to try and go to church on Sunday and find someone to read him the Bible! He desires to be in relationship with the Lord and we are praying the Lord allows the seed that was planted to be watered.
The hospitable woman. In the afternoons we would typically weed the fields of someone in the community. We learned that a couple the fields we helped weed, was a n elderly woman from the village we were visiting! One afternoon, before she had even met us, she made bread for all of us as a gift! And man, it was good. The next week, our team went to visit her and we had the privilege of learning her story. As soon as we entered her home she offered us juice and a seat at the table, even though that meant she had to stand. She cane to church every Sunday and her actions alone told us she was a faithful servant of the Lord. We asked her to sing us her favorite song in Sesotho (the language) and we sang her one of ours. We then asked her to share her testimony with us. She told us that she started believing in the Lord after her husband did. Because when the Lord saved her husband who would get drunk and beat her, stopped doing so and his character completely changed. His testimony of who Jesus is, led her to believe. And ever since then there has been no turning back, even through the hard times, including death of family members and a struggle she is facing right now. When asking how we could pray for her, we learned that her sons are not saved and if there is one thing she wants to see while she is living on this earth, it is for her sons to be saved. She said she would throw the biggest celebration for them! Along with that, we learned that her youngest son was currently and jail and struggling with sins that appears impossible get out of. Even with 2 of her children trapped in the darkness of sin, she carries an undeniable peace form the Father with her. And encouraged us to continue having faith in the Lord.
The Shepherds. There’s a lot to learn from the shepherds. They can connect with God in a way few can because of their ability to fully understand what it means to be a good shepherd. And the Good Shepherd looks over them as they look over their flock (literally). We met a lot of shepherds in our time here, it seems to be the main profession of the men of the village. They do not get paid for shepherding, yet faithfully taking their flock through the mountains in order to get them to the nutrients they need, so that their family can have livestock. The problem is, the shepherds are not exactly the most popular people in the village. They struggle with alcoholism, feeling valued, unfaithful wives, and a connection with those around them outside of the shepherd community. Most of them don’t attend church because they have to shepherd their flock so they are not involved in a community that encourages their faith – unless they unite and encourage one another. Some of the shepherds we have encountered have been drunk but excited to spend time with us and allowed us to talk and pray with them. Others have made us their version of popcorn which was quite delicious. And some have invited us to their home to teach us how to cook a traditional meal and fellowship together by playing games, learning traditional dances, and eating. While the shepherds may not have much, they are willing to share with us what they do have and they are a lot of fun! There is one group of shepherds in particular I want to tell you about. Today we encountered three shepherds who were working on building an outhouse for a man in the village and one of those was the 35 year old man mentioned earlier. We learned that two of them had wives that ran away and we already know the one struggles with a deep rooted alcoholism. We talked to them for awhile and began to ask them about their relationship with the Lord. Challenging them by asking them for their favorite verses and passages. One of the shepherds went to get his Bible and the door flung wide open. He asked us for Scripture that would encourage them to have strength and trust the Lord, the trinity asked questions about the history and validity of the Bible, and were very encouraged when our translator told them that the Bible was for everyone. They thought it was just for white people because those are the people that are pastors at the churches and tells them what the Bible says. We assured them that this was not true and encouraged them to read the Bible for themselves. All the whole, the cement they were using to build was drying out and their 3-week old calf was drinking the water they were using to make the cement. But they didn’t care – something inside them was craving something bigger than them. At the end of our time with them, they told us they felt different and that their perspective of the Lord had changed. Hopefully this was a seed planted in good soil that the Lord will continue to water and grow. He is a faithful God so I have no doubt these shepherds will be used to change the heart of their friends and family. These shepherds are even planning on coming to visit us on our last day here to ask more questions and fellowship together. The shepherds are not to be overlooked or forgotten, they hold a value that they are not even aware of.
There are many other people we met and stories that could be told. These stories don’t even begin to do justice to the people of Malealea Valley. And even though a lot of us didn’t even know that Lesotho was a country before the World Race, we can see that when we dig a little deeper the people’s struggles are not much different from ours. They deal with loss of loved ones, alcoholism, questioning who the Lord is, sickness, loneliness, jealousy, disunity in families, slowly losing eyesight, and more. But they also have times that are full of joy and love and seasons of abundance with the family that surrounds them. The Lord cares about and sees the people here as worthy and carrying a purpose and so do we.
Malealea, Lesotho, you took us by surprise in the best way possible.
Please continue to pray for my team and I as we prepare to leave this amazing place! AFRICA4JESUS is a unique place that the Lord’s favor is clearly upon. Pray for their ministry and the people in the villages that are facing life everyday, just like us.
