Melvins on the move Febuary 2008

Greetings from Lesotho,

It seems like the days come and go so quickly from one month to the next. We are thankful for your continued prayers for the Basotho and our family. God is working among the Basotho although their response is still slow. Please keep praying.

Work continues with the small group of believers we have been meeting with since October. Using Bible storying, the group has learned and experienced baptism and the Lord’s Supper for the first time. This is exciting. We have also started a new Bible study in a village near this group where “the saved ones” were not allowed in the past. We were welcomed by the “hand” of the chief ( second in command chief) and he offered a place for us to have the study. We are praying God will use this study to bring these Basotho to a clear understanding and acceptance of what it means to have a personal relationship with Christ. Along with providing some leadership training in the existing Baptist churches, we are still studying language two mornings a week. Hearing and reading Sesotho is becoming a little easier but speaking is still a challenge.

On the homefront, all seems to be going well. Zachary and Eli are halfway through their 2nd term at school and are looking forward to class trips in the next few weeks. Zachary will attend a live theater performance in Johannesburg, and Eli’s class will visit a nature reserve in South Africa. Zachary continues to teach softball at the orphanage each week, and Eli is now playing the guitar in one of the praise groups at the English church in Maseru.

Our family celebrated with Eli as he was baptized along with Basotho believers on February 17. It was a day to remember. The next few weeks will become very busy as we begin to make plans to host two winter (your summer) volunteer mission teams. A team of Baptist Collegiate Ministry students from the University of Louisiana/ Lafayette and University of Miami will be coming to Lesotho in May, and a team from our home church, Ironbridge Baptist in Virginia, will arrive in June. We look forward to how the Lord will use these faithful volunteers to reach many Basotho for Christ.

We want to add a special thanks this month to various ladies, individuals, and WOM groups from Southern Baptist Churches in Missouri who since the late 1980’s continue to pray for the Basotho and support the work with them in Lesotho and South Africa. They have also sent us many True Love Waits Banners to encourage and support our newly forming student clubs in schools all over the lowlands. The Basotho team has been blessed by their committed and long-standing prayer partnership.

Don’t forget to check out www.basotho.org from time to time to keep up with how God is working among the Basotho. Blessings to all of you.

Praises:

Continued teaching in the village of Motsekuoa,

New Bible study in area previously closed to the “saved ones,”

health and safety,

baptism of Eli and Basotho believers,

technology that helps us keep in touch with our families back home.

Prayer Requests:

Listening ears and hearts in the new village of Ha Sehlokohlo,

True Love Waits opportunities,

language learning,

volunteer teams as they prepare to come to Lesotho,