A Great (And Busy) Friday

Today was so busy I just can’t keep it to myself!

We started our day by going to Lucky 7 (the closest shop, it has simple foods and hygiene items – very small) up the mountain in Khokhoba. It was going to be a big shopping trip.

There is a church in America (Hamlin Baptist Church) who has committed to donating money to Jim and Teresa Flora every month to go towards a feeding project in Lesotho. And glory to God, do you know what they wanted to spend the money on? Our precious children at the Care Centers. You see, the Centers are open Monday through Friday in the afternoons. For many of the kids, the meal they eat at the Center is their only one for the day. That means, Saturday and Sunday, they are left hungry. Teresa approached us this week about using the money for weekend food packs for the kids!

We were so happy!

With the help of Teresa and the workers at Lucky 7, we got all the food for them and started distributing the food this weekend. All the kids were told to bring their backpacks so they could “smuggle” the food home. If other kids or even adults saw them just carrying the food, it may get stolen. NOT OK.

So, at Lucky 7, we bought 38 bags of mealie, 38 bags of beans, 38 bags of rice, 38 boxes of soya-mince, 38 cartoons of milk, and by far the kid’s favorite, 38 packages of cookies. It was quite the handful. The workers at Lucky 7 were very helpful and I think this will help us build relationships with them as we will continue to see them each and every week.

We went to drop the food off at Khokhoba Care Center. The BoMme (women) were elated! They all agreed this was such a good thing for the children and were very happy to help out.

Then we headed to Khohlo-Ntso where we had planned to do a home visit for one of the girl’s Mme (mother, pronounced ‘May’). We dropped off the food at the church and picked up MeMasekola, MeManeo, and the girl herself (who yes, was skipping school and was already at the Center ready to play).

This little girl, I will call her “D”, was born with (what we suspect is) fetal alcohol syndrome. Her mother is known for her alcoholism. D has an older brother and a younger brother. Last week, during the night, a man came into their roundavel and began beating D’s mother and little brother. His reasoning is unclear – there had been some gossip going around that may have caused his anger, but that is no excuse. The little brother, maybe 2 or 3 years old has injuries on his head and a broken arm. The Mme, has many injures on her head, her neck, and her back. Can you imagine?

We went to visit her to bring some encouragement. D was so happy when we took the turn onto the dirt road towards her home. You can see in this picture, she ran ahead to greet her Mme and tell her we were coming.

I had been warned that every time Allison tried to visit her, she was always too drunk to talk with. I had set my expectations low going in, just not knowing what to expect. When we walked in, she sat up from the bed and greeted us with a smile. Wow, I thought, she isn’t intoxicated, she will actually hear what we have to say. What an answer to prayer. We introduced ourselves and not ten minutes into our talk, Mme told us that she wanted us to take D as our own child. Heart. Break. Oh we wish we could. Tyler even told me later, “I would take her in a heartbeat.” But we had to say, “no, Mme, we cannot take her from you. She loves you too much.” Shew.

Tyler shared with her Romans 8:18-31. She listened so intently as MeManeo translated for him. I sat on the floor and entertained the banna (children) with my white hands. Haha! They were clapping my hands, playing with my fingers, and enjoying the attention I was giving them. Goodness they were cute. When Tyler finished sharing with her, she told MeManeo that it encouraged her very much. What an open door! She was sober and got to hear and understand some of God’s Word and it meant something to her!

It was a great visit and we plan to go back next week. D was so happy! When we were leaving she told us bye and we had to correct her, saying, “no, come with us, we are going to the Center!” She came running out of the house yelling bye to her Mme. So sweet!

We got back to the Center and some of the children had arrived from school. The Flora’s have a team here this week with a free afternoon that needed to be filled with banna. The children had learned a dance at school for the 50th year of independence for Lesotho! They wanted to show it to us and the team from America. What a special treat for us!

The team shared the story of Daniel and the Lion’s Den and brought puzzles for the children. The kids had a blast! As they worked on their new puzzles, we pulled aside one at a time to bring us their kit (backpack) to fill with the dijo (food) for the weekend. They were so excited! Their backpacks got so heavy!

The children shared a meal together prepared by the BoMme. And then it was time to head home. But not before one last picture.

We took some children home that live far away. Oh the sweet smiles they give us when riding the car. It will melt your heart and make you want to pass their village and just take them home with you.

We left that side and were heading home when we saw on the road a group of children with big heavy backpacks walking towards us on their way home. Our children from Khokhoba! Sweet Thabang even jumped up in the air when we saw us stopping. They all piled in our car and we took them home. I asked them, “Why is you kit so heavy? What is inside?” They all smiled big and Motsilisi and Tsepo listed out every item of food. Wow!

They won’t go hungry this weekend.

Praise the Lord!

With Love,
Tyler & Rachel