A Day In Our Lesotho Life

We have only a week left in this tiny country of Lesotho and with our daily routines feeling just comfortable enough to be reminded that we leave soon; I thought to give everyone a glimpse into what a ministry day looks like here at Africa for Jesus- Lesotho.

My day starts with a rude 6:30am awakening as Ericka and I pledged to workout every ministry morning (it was her idea). After a short, and often painful, workout we gear up for what our host, Peter, calls our fellowship walks. At 7:30am every morning, Peter takes us 11 racers, his family, and their four dogs about a mile up and back the rocky road outside our campus to ensure that we are “not being lazy & sleeping in.” (He claims the walk is for our good, but I think he just likes spending time with us.) This happens to be my favorite part of the day. Coffee in hand, a beautiful scenic view, and a good walking terrain. Perfection. 

After the fellowship walk, we come back and make breakfast around 8am. My routine is a bowl of yogurt loaded with granola and a banana with peanut butter (yes, there is PLENTY of delicious pb in Africa- Praise God). We then get dressed in our very stylish missionary attire which consists of long skirts and tennis shoes, sometimes covered with a raincoat for the wetter days here. Vogue is thinking of doing a specialty issue on our fashion sense and I don’t blame them. 

We gather around with Khomo, our translator, at 9am and pray together before adventuring to our ministry for the day. Khomo never start or ends ministry without a corporate prayer and it’s a sweet reminder that we should begin each day relying on the Lord to provide ways for His name to be glorified and praised. 

Then, off to ministry! Our trek is usually between 1-1.5 miles throughout the mountainous terrain of the Malealea Valley. Khomo leads us into one of the 15 surrounding villages and we venture into the homes of native Lesothians in hopes to encourage them with God’s word. We spend about three hours knocking on doors and sharing scripture, testimonies, and encouragements with anyone who will listen. We have seen people come to Christ, be revived in the faith, and some have even joined us on Sunday mornings at Church in the Valley. 

After our trek back home, it’s lunchtime in our very hectic home. You see, we share our living space with a family that lives on the property consisting of mom, dad, and twin 10-month-year-old boys (adorable). Alongside them, there are also 4 students that we live, teach, and do ministry with. More over, our living space includes a preschool; which means we get to share lunch time with about 30 kiddos who dance and play jacks around our home. If you think that could be a lot, in addition to the family, the students, the 11 of us racers, and an entire preschool- we also share our lunch time with anyone from the community who comes to visit which usually includes a handful of women, our translators, and can’t forget the occasional dog who wanders into the kitchen uninvited. So, to say the least, our lunch time is hectic and lively and filled with laughter while a line of people wait for the gas burners. My lunch usually includes 2 boiled eggs with seasoning, an apple with peanut butter, and hummus with chips or veggies. Perfection. 

After lunch, we have a bit of free time before our next scheduled work time at 3pm. This time varies depending on my moods, but has recently involved me sitting in on Jaime’s (our host’s son) workshop and watching him hand craft beautiful knives and rings and other crafts he decided to create that day. It’s fun watching from inception to finality all the things he hand-makes with ease and a lot of joy. It makes me wish I was crafty or practically skillful in the least bit, but alas, I guess that’s why we are the Body of Christ. 

After I have annoyed Jaime with enough question-asking to last a lifetime, it’s just in time for me to embark on our afternoon of work. This time could include absolutely anything in Peter’s sight. We have done things from moving rocks, organizing donated clothes, discipleship teaching, farming classes, cleaning the preschool, and tending to Peter’s personal garden oasis in his backyard. The options are endless but always include laughter, music, and some humiliation as free labor means you get me as your demolition team. 

Our next task is dinner, which starts around 5pm for those that step up to the challenge. A meal that always involves pasta or rice, veggies, chicken (for those who aren’t vegetarian), and beans for little-ole-protein-deficient me. Post-dinner could include a worship night, team time, or a movie through the church projector that Jaime so kindly throws up for us. A saving grace for a movie-lover like myself. By the time all this is over, the campus is dark and stars hang above us in startling accuracy as there is not enough electricity to sustain our bedroom LED lights when night rolls around. 

When the darkness hits, it’s bed time in this sweet valley of ours and then we’re up the next morning to do it all again. 

I hope you enjoyed a small glimpse into life in the Malealea Valley. In a life that is full of distractions and unimportant entertainment, it’s been sweet to slow down, take in the beauty of the mountains that surround us, and focus on the pureness of God’s creation that we often take for granted. This place will surely be missed, and thus another home in the books for this nomad that I won’t ever be able to forget.