Dials Mayl 2009

May 13, 2009 Dear Prayer Partners, So often in America there are churches holding two and three services on Sundays. *We have some news of our own to share! We have gone to holding two services on Sunday too!!* In our last update we asked you to pray for three new areas that we have just began to work with the help from our South African mission friends Johann and Corney and team on their last trip. God is listening to your prayers…this Sunday morning we will meet at 10:00 a.m. with the villagers in Ha Sebeleli and at 1:00 p.m. with the villagers in Mokhoabating. We still need to do follow up in Mapeleng and make some decisions on when to meet with the people from there. In each of these villages, we have the support (and attendance) of their chiefs. But we still need your prayers. Here is how you can pray with us for these villages:: For God to raise up leaders . There are still about three more villages in this valley we need to survey and take the gospel. Pray God will work in their hearts even now and already be preparing leaders. Pray that God calls someone to fill our Boots and Saddles job request. This valley will be their primary area of ministry. Church at Mokhoabating Wednesday morning we went by request to Ha Seshote because so many people needed reading glasses. It is our desire to help people to be able to read their Bibles. Each person we fit walks away with a gospel track and a witness of Christ. Many of you have donated glasses for this ministry and we thank you. There is seldom a day we are out that someone does not approach us with the need of glasses. For us, it is great way to show the love of Jesus and to share with them how Christians in America love Jesus and love the Basotho and this is their way to show their love. Thanks to all of you who have played such a vital role in this ministry by sending your old glasses and in many cases they are new reading glasses. It is a ministry that will probably never develop into a church plant but it is definitely a way to share Christ. Thursday we went to Pakoeng. This week began our journey through storying through the New Testament. The story this week was the birth of Jesus. We also discussed some pretty serious issues such as putting trust in charms and mouti (medicines and secret concoctions of the lethuela or witch doctor.) We have been meeting here a year now each week and have gone through the Old Testament with them. We have talked much about the love of God and our need for a Savior. God is providing opportunities now to approach some very sensitive issues. Here is how you can pray with us for the village of Pakoeng: · · Pray for the Chief from Pakoeng. Both he and his wife have ongoing illnesses. Chief Sekonella is a very important part of our ministry in that village. · · Pray for the church of the sangomas who meet directly behind the Chief’s house. Pray that they will meet the One True God and be set free from deception and bondage from the evil one. · · Pray they will choose life by choosing to live for Christ. Sebelie, a friend, recently came to us about a problem he was having in his home. He lives at the back end of Chiena in Khotlo-Ntso at the top of the mountain. His mother in law is a sangoma. About four years ago the MO prayer walkers came and prayed over the village where this woman lives. I remember this woman because we had witnessed to her yet she did not receive Christ but she did listen to us and allowed us to pray for her. Today she is supposedly a very powerful sangoma in that area. At that time, I did not know Sebelie or his wife. She does not want Sebelie and his wife to serve Christ and has been making life very difficult for them since they have committed to Christ. About two months ago John shared with me about some problems he was having at home involving demons inside and outside his home. He said they were even attacking his child during the night leaving marks on her little body. We visited their home and I won’t go into detail but Sebelie went through his home and got rid of everything with any evil attachment...there was some powders in little plastic bags, beads, figurines, charms and more mouti (concoctions prepared by the sangoma, etc.). We explained the importance of spiritually cleansing his home and how having these things in his home was an open door for the evil one to enter. He took them outside and set them on fire. The moon was full and dark had come upon us…a little eerie but inside we prayed to the Father of Light who surrounds us with His love and protection. I saw Sebelei a few days ago and he says he has had no more demons in his home thanks to the powerful name of Jesus. They have committed to serving Christ and getting into Pastor Phoka’s church. Please pray for John and his family that they will continue to walk in faith and not in fear for God is not the God of fear but of power, peace and sound mind. John and his wife Friday Alan attended a meeting in Mokhotlong with the Bohlokoa chiefs at their invitation. Mokhotlong is the area that the Floras, our newest Team family, will be working once they complete language study in Maseru. The Bohlokoa people live in the valley of Ha Seshote all the way up to Mokhotlong and are a sub-group of the Basotho. This is the valley we have been asking you to pray for over the last four years, and is the location of “Phase Two” of the Lesotho Highlands Water (Dam) Project. They are going to pave a road all the way up the valley to provide access to the construction site. This will be a major project involving tens of thousands workers and will last as long as ten years. Many will be displaced by the construction and by the reservoir as it fills. As we have worked with the people of this valley already, we see this as God providing a strategic opportunity to bring this valley to Christ. Please pray for the Bohlokoa people in this area and the Floras who will be ministering and sharing with them. Pray that God will identify and lead them to His man of peace for the Floras. The new road will go directly up the valley in the center of the photo. Pray that as the people of this valley suffer the additional problems that the dam construction will bring…they will turn to the one true God. The Flora family are currently finishing up their 40/40 training and then will travel to Katse to spend the next 2 ½ months doing language study here in the mountains and getting used to the culture and the mountain Basotho. They will also be working with the teams that will be coming. Please pray for the Floras as they adjust to their temporary move and life here in the mountains. We have our winter volunteers from GA arriving on Saturday for two months, the Bell Shoals Team from FL arriving on Sunday and the Floras coming on the 25^th. Please pray for the work that will be done. Pray that God will do mighty things through each of them and in each of them. It seems that both teams are under spiritual attack so please lift them up for God’s protection during this time. We had snow here over last weekend so I guess winter is officially here however the days are still very nice. We are excited about sharing our beautiful African night sky with our visitors. We know that the beauty of the mountains also have a tendency to mask the huge spiritual need of the people who live here. Each Saturday we meet in the village of Ha Kanono. It continues to grow and we pray God is working in their hearts as we story through the Bible. Please pray that God will continue to draw them closer, grant them wisdom and understanding and visit them with His Salvation. On a more personal note, we would also appreciate your prayers on the following: · · For Babs’ brother John with cancer concerns – for physical and spiritual healing · · For Babs’ brother Chris still healing and in rehab from his accident · · For Babs’s sister with ongoing health issues. · · For safety for our son in Iraq. For good health for his wife Odette who are expecting a son, Julian, in September. ( Grandchild #7 for us!) · · For all of our family back in America. · · For ongoing health issues for us. Other prayer requests: · · For our team members: the Melvins as they prepare for stateside assignment; the Floras who are currently going through 40/40 in Zambia, for the Peppers who are still trying to get settled in Maseru (pray for suitable housing for them); and for the Bickers who are currently stateside. · · For Sefiri as he completes his final year in seminary and works with us in ministry when he is home. · · For the Bell Shoals mission team arriving May 17. · · For the Perryton, TX mission team arriving in June. · · For the winter volunteers (Gabe, Drew, Therron and John) from the Collegiate Missions, GA Baptist Convention out of Duluth, GA, arriving here on 17 May through mid-July. We have just heard from Gabe. He has herniated discs in his back and will not be coming with the team as intended. Please pray for Gabe...for a healing of his back so he can still join us at a later time, and for God to grant him peace and comfort in this disappointment. We have included several photos this week. This one is of “Pinky.” She says she and her family are *starving* this month because of lack of work. Now to us starving means…having nothing at all to eat but to a Mosotho it means having no papa. She holds in her hand an empty can. Next month she will be able to work for the area farmers in their fields. She will work all day for this can to be filled with beans. She will also have days when she will be paid R20 per day for her work (a little more than $2.00) For those of you who are worried that Pinky won’t eat, she has been given enough papa to carry her through until she can get work next month. Please pray that “Pinky” will be able to find work and be able to support her family. I realize we have given you much to pray about this week but we know you are up for the task. Thank you so much for standing with us on behalf of the Basotho. We just recently were notified that one of Babs’ devotions was selected, along with those from many other missionaries across the world, to be included in Beth Moore’s follow up book to Voices of the Faithful, Voices of the Faithful II. It should be coming out in July in the book stores. So that was a surprise to us…albeit a nice surprise. You are such a vital part of the ministry that goes on here. Each heart that hears…you are a participant because you pray, you give and you come. Thank you. They need YOU and so do we! Whether you can come to share Christ’s message in person or you pray from your own home…we love you as our brothers and sisters in Christ and we count you as friends. As always, thank you for loving us and for allowing us to love you. Don’t forget to visit our website. There is still time for you to participate in the 30 Day Virtual Prayer Walk – “Pray for the Basotho.” Blessings for a beautiful week. In His Name, Alan, Babs, Daniel and Mohau The Dials of the Maluti Mountains of Lesotho, Southern Africa www.basotho.org www.prayforthebasotho.org www.missionteaminc.org May 1,2009 Dear Prayer Partner Friends, “Rea lumelisa ka lebitso le letle la Morena Jesu Kriste, Ke Konyana ao Molimo.” We greet you in the glorious name of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God. We have just returned from Johannesburg where we met with many other missionary families in the Southestern Cluster of Africa. It was great seeing old friends that we only see once or twice a year as we attend these meetings. The missionary community is rather like the military community we once knew in that there is a kinship because of our “likeness in Christ” that binds us no matter how far apart we live from one another, no matter how much time passes between our visits. While the adults were in worship and training, our children were being loved on by volunteers from two wonderful volunteer groups from Central Georgia. I cannot tell you how they touched our hearts as we witnessed their love for Christ in the way they taught and loved our children. The worship team was wonderful and it was emotional for us to worship as a group with those we love and share in our mother tongue. To the two pastors and volunteers and their churches who supported their labor of love for us, we are grateful. Your words of wisdom and encouragement have left deep impressions on our hearts. Thank you for blessing our family this past week. Easter weekend we shared our beautiful mountains with our dear mission friends from Bloemfontein in South Africa. We worked in two new areas - Mapheleng and Ha Sebeleli. This team has been vital to softening the soil for the gospel and new church planting in many villages here in Lesotho, both the highlands and the lowlands. They also do ministry in Mozambique and in their own towns. This team of 50 was our largest yet by far. For many of them this was their first mission trip. Daytime we broke up into smaller teams for hut to hut evangelism and at night showed the Jesus film. The response was great! The Team arrived on Thursday and departed after worship and breaking down camp on Easter Sunday. We always feel a sense of emptiness by their departure because of the fellowship we enjoy with old friends and the joy of new friendships. While their departure is somewhat sad for us, it is also joyful because it means the beginning of follow up for us which began the following morning. Our first visit was with a group of three ladies, visited the day before by one of the small evangelism teams. At the close of our visit, 11 others had joined our group and one more had prayed to receive Christ. Friends from another South African Baptist church had gifted us with some New Testament Bibles and study books which we shared with this group so they could immediately begin to study God’s Word while we were away in Joburg. Over three years ago, we became burdened for this area as we traveled with Sefiri on this cut through road that led from Ha Theko to Mphorosane just before the intake tower of the dam. All along that dirt road are many villages and to our knowledge, there has never been any evangelical presence. However, there is a cult religion which seems to dominate that area as well as the practice of African Traditional Religion. Because these two new villages have some distance between them, we will need to identify a central location for study and worship. There are many elderly people who also want to meet with us and traveling to another area will make it very difficult for them to attend. It is easy to feel overwhelmed at times because we want to be everywhere at once in order to minister to everyone but we have to consider where the most will be reached with the gospel. Pray for God’s leading and direction and how to resolve this problem of distance between the villages. While working in this area, we also met many people from a village just beyond the next mountain who expressed a desire for us to come and visit. Please pray that God’s Holy Spirit will already be working in that area and that He will appoint a divine time for us to enter with His message and discipleship training. We struggle with having enough time for all the work that is calling out to us. The physical and spiritual need is so great everywhere we go. This is just one example of the great need for short-term and long-term missionaries here in the Maluti Mountains. Please pray that God will burden the hearts of people to answer His call to the Great Commission. We need you. Currently we have a job request called “Boots and Saddles,” rightfully named because it is extreme work going into isolated villages with the gospel. They will go by foot or horseback doing surveying, evangelizing and discipleship training. It might mean days of camping and trekking into areas isolated where no other outsiders have ever visited. Maybe you are an “Extreme” type of person! If so, pray about coming to work in the Maluti Mountains sharing Christ with those who do not know because they have not heard. Thank you for praying. We pray you will be compelled by the Holy Spirit to come! As we left our mountains for our meeting in Joburg, our mornings and evenings were beginning to get chilly but the days were still warm. When we returned home after only being gone for one week, our daytimes had also become cold. The weather channel on TV had predicted snow twice already. So far, it has only been rain and cold but I know the snow will soon come. This morning as I enjoyed the beautiful view from my back doorstep and drank in all God’s handiwork, I observed the clouds that were fast approaching me. I watched as they soared over each mountain and rested on the reservoir below our home. Slowly they rose to engulf me. For a while it was difficult to see much beyond my own yard but soon it had passed past and the sun once again shone bright. I was reminded that it is much the same in real life application. Sometimes we stand amidst the clouds of life that come upon us. We cannot see much beyond our own self but soon it passes and once again the sun shines. Sometimes while we are in the cloud, we cannot see ahead and we don’t know what lies beyond, but if we trust God and lean not on our own understanding, He will direct our paths, even though we cannot currently see. Soon…the sun shines again and all is clear. There are three categories of people here…those that have just passed out of the cloud, those who are in the midst of the cloud and those who have not entered the cloud yet. Perhaps you are one of those who are standing in the midst of the cloud and you can’t see the way because the cloud dims vision. We encourage you today to stand on God’s faithfulness and promises. Proverbs 3:5-6 tells us that if we trust Him and not our own understanding, that He will direct our paths. God’s promises are true and you can depend on Him to keep His Word. During our annual meeting last week, we sang a song called We Will remember. The song said…when I don’t know what to say, when I don’t know what to do, when I don’t know where to go…I will lift up my hands and praise God. So if you’re in that cloud and you don’t know what to say or do or where to go…lift up your hands and praise God and trust Him. Trust me, the cloud will lift and the sun will return. Thanks to all of you who pray for us and the Basotho and who prayed through with us the virtual prayer walk in March. You can still visit the website and we pray you will continue to stand in the gap for our beloved people. Here are some additional praises and requests: · · My brother John continues with chemo. Please continue to pray for his healing. · · My brother Chris is doing better but remains in pain and is still in rehab. Please pray for strength and healing. · · My sister has multiple health issues. Please pray that God will meet her physical needs. · · Pray for these new villages we are working and for those areas we yet need to go with the message. · · Thank you for praying for Alan’s health. They have temporarily taken him off the medicine for his arthritis which made him very ill. Pray that a effective treatment plan will be established for him without extreme side effects. · · Pray for Sefiri as he studies Hebrew and Greek that God will gift him with an understanding and ability in these languages. Pray for him as he works to complete his final year in seminary that he will finish well. Pray with him to meet a godly woman prepared by God just for him…a woman who seeks after God’s own heart and who will share His vision and calling to reach the mountain Basotho for Christ. Pray for God’s provision of work and income after graduation providing for both his physical needs and also fund his missionary work to reach isolated mountain villages with the gospel. · · Pray that God will raise up leaders in the areas we are working so that they will be Titus 2:2 learners and leaders. Once again we thank you for loving us and for allowing us to love you! We pray God’s blessing on each of you and pray that God give you an enlightening week in His mercy and truth! Be blessed. In His Name, Alan, Babs, Daniel and Mohau The Maluti Mountain Dials, Lesotho