Funeral

This morning was the funeral for Bro. Tankiso. The service was held in a local community hall. Rev. Tsikane Pheko, the national chairman for our churches in Lesotho, preached the funeral message. He did a great job connecting and communicating with the people. This is Rev. Pheko.

And this is little Tshepo, Bro. Tankiso's only son. On the front of his shirt is a picture of his Daddy. Please pray for Bro. Tankiso's wife and this little boy. Only God knows what the future holds for Tshepo.

And lastly here is a picture of the food we were served. It was delicious. We ate beef, carrot salad, and red beets among other things. It was all very good.

Thank you to all who were praying for us. The day went smoothly and God helped me as I spoke a few minutes at the funeral. We pray that hearts were touched through the messages that were given.

Cold!

This week we've had a cold front come through leaving snow on the mountains in Lesotho and lots of cold here below. At night the temperatures have been dropping into the upper 20's. You can see Micah trying to get warm while looking at a book. Thankfully someone gave us quite a lot of wood so we are able to keep one room comfortable.

Bro. Tankiso Nkhaboli

Monday morning (6/15/09) Bro. Tankiso passed away. Earlier this year he had been diagnosed with HIV and he had begun treatment, but apparently he waited too late to start the ARVs. Bro. Tankiso has been my friend since we arrived here back in 2006. He attended my discipleship class faithfully and was a blessing in the church. I remember how happy he was last year when I had the privilege of baptizing him. Right before we returned to the U.S. in March last year Bro. Tankiso looked at me and said: "I'm saved. I know I'm saved". He went on to say that someday he would preach. He did begin to preach last year, but his last message was in December 2008. He spoke about trusting God. He was scheduled to preach at the end of January this year but by then he was already declining physically. I remember on different occasions that Bro. Tankiso told me that God was dealing with him about certain issues in his life and that he was going to stop doing whatever it was that God had spoken to him about. Bro. Tankiso was a changed man. He loved to tell me about how God had transformed his life. He loved to talk about how great God was. Just about a week before Bro. Tankiso passed away I was encouraging him to not lose his faith and hope in God. He whispered back: "I can't do that".

We already deeply miss Bro. Tankiso. Sometimes he called me his spiritual father, though we were about the same age. I was his mentor, but he was always a blessing and an encouragement to me. We just pray that God will give us many more men like Bro. Tankiso. Join with us in praying for his wife and family.

Finished

At the beginning of May I posted a picture of a partially completed paving project. Well here is the finished product. Some of the school children even help with laying the last section. I think the teachers are happy now to have a place to park their vehicles out of the fierce African sun, though it is not too bad now that it is winter. The temperatures at night have been below freezing. Right now it is very cold and raining. Maybe there will be snow in the mountains of Lesotho! Wow! I went from writing about laying pavers to snow in the mountains. I better stop! It is almost time for Bible study.

10 Years!

It is hard to believe that ten years have come and gone since Gwen and I stood together in front of the altar and said our vows. This past year has probably been the best year of our ten together. We have both been seeking God more and He has been adding His blessing to our marriage.

Different Wheels

We are so thankful for the group of people who gave money to buy another vehicle for our use while we are here in South Africa. It is a 2006 Toyota Avanza. For the past year and a half we have been driving an old 1978 car, with a lot of issues. It has been broken down many times, we have had to push and pull it to get it started and when the weather is cold we have to find a ride with someone else because it just won't start. Thankfully we now have reliable transportation which seats 7 people. We've already put it to good use taking people to and from church.

Week-end in Lesotho

This past week-end we had the priviledge of being in Lesotho with Glenn, Stephanie, and Kaitlyn Gault. The boys really enjoyed playing with Kaitlyn and her friend Thabiso. On Sunday we attended a special church dedication service in a village a few miles from where the Gaults live. The service started around 10:30am and ended after 4:00pm. I believe there were more than 6 different choirs that sang many different songs, a couple of solos, and there were two messages, plus several other speeches. You can see one of the choirs below and Pastor Kali.