New Newsletter

Just a note to let you know we have a new newsletter. You can see it at http://gsgault.googlepages.com

The "Group E-mail"

Hello again from Stephanie! It seems to be my lot right now to write the group email. This is being written in Ladybrand again. Today is Saturday. Mr. Howard has been here this week and that has been very nice.
Last Saturday Glenn had a committee or board meeting in the morning. Then in the afternoon he distributed more orphan packages--this time in Mazenod and Roma. Mr. Howard came in to Johannesburg that day. Uncle Piet and Aunt Hester picked him up. Unfortunately he lost his suitcase. We were all to be together at Uncle Johan's for supper Sunday night. On the way, we went to the Maseru airport to check if his suitcase had arrived (that's where it was to be sent), but it had not. We all had a nice time fellowshipping together. It was good to be with all of the missionaries and especially to see Mr. Howard again. He showed us all some pictures of his trip to Greece and of course pictures of his family, especially the grandchildren!
The suitcase came in Monday afternoon, so we took it into Ladybrand. Mr. Howard took us out for lunch, along with Uncle Piet. On Tuesday, Glenn needed to pick up more things for orphans and some things for the clinic work. He has been overseeing putting up the ceiling in the clinic addition, painting , hanging doors, cutting glass, etc.
Mr. Howard came to Matukeng on Wednesday morning. After lunch, he, Glenn, and Ntate Kali went to HaHlalele to present the school uniforms to the orphans there. I think they were quite excited about their new uniforms. (Each church has chosen three orphans to be helped this year.) That evening Mr. Howard spoke on anger in the Bible study.
We had a nice visit with him on Thursday. Kaitlyn really enjoyed when he read books to her. She is pretty social right now, although she can be shy sometimes. We went into Maseru for a lunch together and then visited more. The men were going to Mazenod for a committee meeting and were sure they would eat there so I stopped the supper preparations. They were right--Ntate Pheko's "boys" (some are orphans) had fixed a nice meal for everyone. Glenn and Mr. Howard both felt the meeting was very profitable. The national committee was encouraged by the fact that Mr. Howard took time to meet them.
After breakfast on Friday, Mr. Howard went back to Ladybrand. I believe he spoke to the school students and then visited more with the Ladybrand missionaries (he was with them on Tuesday also). Glenn worked on putting in a sink at the clinic. He also welded brackets or something like that to hold more solar panels. We were able to get two small solar panels which will double our power thanks to a refund from medical bills. (The lab charged us a big bill twice.) This solar power will mean we will be able to use our computer, printer, etc. with out running out of power all the time like we have had for a long time now.
This weekend was the Bible School. Glenn went last night. Now today we are in Ladybrand. Kaitlyn was supposed to get her chickenpox shot, but instead had an exam because she's had a cough for a while. She's on an antibiotic again since the doctor doesn't want her ending up in the hospital! We're doing our weekly business in town today. At 2 pm there is a school picnic. I think all the students, parents, staff, board members and family will be there. I don't know what the program is. Guess we'll see.
I'm going to wrap this up so we can send email before the picnic. We love you and pray God will bless you especially today!
Love,
Steph

P.S. The pictures are of Hope Christian Academy in Ladybrand, and of course Kaitlyn

Lesotho Update

Dear Praying Friends,
Thank you so much for your prayers through some very busy times.  I think the focus of our lives for the last week or two has been to get the ACE school in Ladybrand up and running.  It has been a team effort by all the missionaries, so it was really exciting to see it start Monday of this week.
Praise:

• Hope Christian Academy started on Monday this week with 13 students.  Though the devil fought at every corner, God answered prayer in surprising ways, and Satan was defeated once again!
• Help us praise the Lord for several recent new converts at Matukeng and Ha Motheho.  One young man has been attending the Bible Studies off and on for a year or two.  He always came wrapped in a blanket that covered most of his face.  During the first week of this new year, he came to Nt. Kali and told him we wanted to get saved.  He seems to be really serious, and is bringing several other boys to the Tuesday evening youth services.  We also are seeing some of the harvest from seeds the were planted well over a year ago when Nt. Kali pitched a tent at Ha Teko.  Two ladies who have been away in South Africa for more than a year returned home and are attending the church regularly.  They got saved in October during the tent meeting.
• The clinic is going to be evaluated by the government next month to see if we qualify to continue receive subsidy from them.  Please pray that God will give us wisdom as we prepare for these important meetings.

Prayer:

• In spite of recent victories, Satan hasn't given up in defeat.  As missionaries we have sensed a dark sense of oppression, and there seems to be problems from almost every direction.  Pray for our protection--physical, spiritual, and emotional.  Also pray that Satan will be defeated.
• Please pray for the pastors in Lesotho.  Pray for protection, unity, health, and spiritual depth.  Pray especially for Nt. Pheko.  He has been under a lot of stress over the last month, and ended up seeing a doctor because he wasn't feeling well.  It seems that the main problem was stress and a lack of rest.

News:

• In preparation for the clinic evaluation, Glenn has been busy finishing up the counseling addition.  Yesterday he hung two doors and installed two sinks.  The solar electric still has to be hooked up, but the work is almost done.  He has also had to oversee several changes to the plumbing and move several sinks in the older part of the clinic to comply with the government standards. 

May God bless you as you pray for these needs!  Don't forget to praise God for the important victories, too!

In His Service,
Glenn, Stephanie, and Kaitlyn Gault
Hope International Missions

Happy New Year

Hi everyone,
Hope you are all doing well, and, as the Basotho say, "cut the New Year well." We had a nice time at the farm. We got their Sunday evening around 6. We had supper, visited for a while then had a short service around 10:30. The plan was, according to S.A. tradition, to hold the services from 11:45pm to 12:15am as the new year came in, but several people were sick, and everyone was tired, so we did it earlier. I think just about everyone was in bed asleep by 12:00.

Wednesday last week Nt. Kali and I finished hauling things back from the conference. We took a load to Matukeng, and then a load of mattresses back to Uncle Piet's house. On the way back to Matukeng, we picked up two outhouses that are no longer being used at the old conference grounds on Uncle Johan's farm. One of them will go to Ha Motheho, and the other to Ha Seleso. In Maseru, we also bought most of the things for the orphans' Christmas gifts.

Friday Nt. Kali and I went to Ha Hlalele to give Christmas gifts to the orphans from Malimong and Ha Hlalele. The 3 most needy children from each congregation were chosen to receive the gifts. Each one received a hygiene package (soap, toothbrush and paste, lotion, laundry soap, shoe polish, and deodorant for the older ones), clothes (most will get a new school uniform), and then something special based on their age, sex, needs, etc. Most of the ones in school will get a school bag/backpack. Others will get a soccer ball, a wash tub, or another toy. I had hoped to be back to Matukeng by 11:30 or so, but nothing EVER happens fast at Malimong or Ha Hlalele. I think it was nearly 2:00 before we got back!

Saturday we worked around the house. Actually all week Steph was very busy putting things away, organizing, cleaning, throwing away, etc. I cleaned up the front porch, worked in the study, and did some filing. We had a nice picnic supper on the front porch. It would have been perfect accept for a cool breeze that made our hot food cold in no time. We enjoyed our selves, though.

Sunday was a big day. We had been invited to the Roma church for a special celebration for the Sunday School children. The theme of the service was "The Importance of Children in the Church." The highlight of the service was the graduation of 5 youth from the children's Sunday School into the youth department. Often we seem to lose youth at this critical juncture, so Nt. Matsaba (the pastor) had this special celebration to encourage them and formally accept them as youth. Each one who graduated had to say a Psalm from memory. They received a graduation certificate and a gift from the church. I preached on the theme using verses from the story of Samuel. I also talked a little bit to parents about the importance of discipline and godly parenting using Eli and his sons as a negative example. After the service a nice meal was served to everyone. The service was very nice and VERY long! (I think 4 1/2 hours plus the meal!)

After the service there, we hurried back to Matukeng, loaded a few things, and went to the farm for the New Years celebration. We had a very nice evening visiting with fellow missionaries, and people from Uncle Piet's Afrikaans Bible study. Supper was rice and potjie. Potjie is a vegetable and meat stew cooked in a black iron pot. It gets it's name from the Afrikaans name for the black pot--potjie pronounced poikey. For dessert, someone brought a delicious apple cake.

Yesterday we just relaxed. I worked on Michele's computer, wrote an e-mail or two, took a nap, went with Uncle Johan to check on the cows, played outside with Kaitlyn, etc. Steph relaxed some too, but also baked and decorated a birthday cake for Micah and Kaitlyn. Geises' never had a chance to celebrate Micah's first birthday back in November, and Gwen had brought special decorations from America ,so we decided to use them. It was lots of fun even though it was about 2 months late.

Today we're in Ladybrand. Steph had blood work done again, and we have business to do. On Friday Kaitlyn has an appointment with the pediatrician in Bloem for her 12 month check up. (She was in the hospital when it was supposed to happen.) Steph also has a dentist appointment to get a broken tooth fixed. It will be a long, busy day. Wednesday I'm planning to distribute orphan Christmas gifts at Matukeng and Ha Motheho.

I guess that's the news from our world. Hope you all had a great New Years celebration.

Love to all,
Glenn, Steph, Kaitlyn

Lesotho Update

Dear Praying Friends,

We hope that each of you had blessed Christmas and New Year celebrations.  We thoroughly enjoyed being with our "family" of missionaries and friends here in South Africa and Lesotho during this special time of year.  Thank you for your continued prayers.  You will see that most of these prayer requests are not really new.  They touch the heart and soul of what God has called us to do, and Satan is constantly attacking them.

Praise:

• Help us praise the Lord for the good Christmas conference.  The new tabernacle was a wonderful blessing, especially because we had lots of rain of the Christmas weekend. 
• Praise the Lord for a generous offering that was given so that orphans in Lesotho could receive Christmas gifts!

Prayer:

• Please continue to pray that Hope Christian Academy in Ladybrand, South Africa will receive the necessary permission from the government to open on January 15.  There have been some promising signs, but this week will be crucial.  Plans to open the school are going "full speed ahead," andwe have no alternative location for the school if we don't receive the necessary permission.  We are pressing forward by faith.
• Help us pray as a new year begins at the weekend Bible School in Lesotho.  Pray for the teachers, students, and the translation work that is necessary to prepare materials.
• Pray for God's blessings on the national church in Lesotho.  Especially pray for the pastors as they sacrifice to bring the message of Salvation and Holiness to the people of Lesotho.  Pray that they will grow deeper and deeper spiritually, and that they will work together as a strong team.

News:

• I have really enjoyed helping buy and distribute the gifts for the orphans Christmas.  I still have several congregations to get to even though Christmas has come and gone already.
• We are really looking forward to a visit from our regional director, Mr. Jim Howard in January.