October-November Newsletter

You can see our most recent newsletter on our website.  Click here.

Planting New Church in Lesotho

Hope International Missions is excited about our partnership with Mission Aviation Fellowship to plant a church in the village of Lebakeng, Lesotho.  We are going to this remote village at the invitation of the nurses who staff the government clinic there.   This clinic is only accessible by foot or air.

We made an exploratory trip with MAF a year ago.

--photo credit Josh Powell

Please pray for Rev. Kali Nthabi and the rest of HIM's pastors as we go through this open door.  We know that Satan will strongly oppose this effort to bring God's love and forgiveness to people steeped in witchcraft and ancestor worship.  Much intercessory prayer is essential!

If you would like to know more about MAF's Flying Pastors program, watch this video which features the ICHA church plant in another village in Lesotho.  

Deputation Schedule

Here is our tentative deputation schedule.  Please feel free to get in touch with us using this contact form if you have any questions or want more information about one of the services.

October 15    10:30am   Hamilton Heights God's Missionary Church, Chambersburg, PA
October 24    10:20am   Penn View Bible Institute Chapel, Penns Creek, PA
October 26    4:30pm     Hanover God's Missionary Church, Hanover, PA
October 29    10:00am   Newville God's Missionary Church, Newvile, PA
October 29    6:00pm     Penn Valley God's Missionary Church, Spring Mills, PA
October 31    7:30pm?   Ashville Allegheny Wesleyan Church, Ashville, NY
November 5  10:30am? West Broad Missionary Chapel, Columbus, OH
November 5  7:00pm    New Philadelphia Emmanuel Church, New Philadelphia, OH
November 8  7:00pm    Candy Run Wesleyan Tabernacle, Lucasville, OH
November 12 10:30am Neoga Home Mission Church, Neoga, IL
November 12 6:00pm? Palestine Pilgrim Holiness Church, Robinson, IL
November 15 7:00pm? Weisbach Community Church, Shoals, IN
November 19 10:30am Mt. Pleasant Pilgrim Nazarene, Mt. Pleasant, IA
November 19 6:00pm   Bible Holiness Church, East Moline, IL
December 3   10:30am  Bible Methodist Church, Ponca City, OK
December 3   6:00pm   Calavary Bible Fellowship, Oklahoma City, OK
December 10 10:00am Church of God Holiness, Olathe, KS
December 10 6:00pm   Church of God Holiness, Lawrence, KS
December 17 10:30am?Pilgrim Bible Church, Ottawa, KS

We'll be scheduling more services, so I'll try to update this before long.

America!

We left Maseru, Lesotho on Tuesday, the 3rd of October for the long journey to America.  Our route took us to Johannesburg, Doha, and finally Miami.  We enjoyed the flights even though the last leg from Doha to Miami seemed like it would never end (more than 16 hours.)  Steph's brother Jon and his wife, Joanna, met us at the Miami airport to take us on to Hobe Sound.

The immigration process took some time
because the embassy in Johannesburg issued
the wrong type of visa.  The official in Miami got that
fixed, though and Caleb is legally
an American now.

In God's good providence, Grandpa was in FL for a board meeting and
could welcome Caleb to America.

While we were at Hobe Sound, we helped with the annual Hobe Sound Bible Church mission convention.  I (Glenn) shared a very brief update Sunday morning, and the whole family took part in a pre-service Sunday night.  The messages on The Command, The Call, and the Commission were challenging and refreshing. 

We are so grateful to Hobe Sound Bible Church and FEA Ministries for the wonderful welcome back to America.  The apartment in the Manor was lovely and the Christian fellowship was wonderful.  We especially appreciate those families that reached out to us in so many different ways--meals, money for Steph and I to go on a date, babysitting, helping us update our wardrobe a bit, and so many other kind gestures.  We are proud to be a part of Hope International Missions and appreciate their focus on caring for missionaries!

We got to pet sting rays at an aquarium in Stuart

 Now, today, the 13th of October, the next segment of our journey begins--this time by train.  We are taking Amtrak from West Palm Beach, FL to Washington, DC.  Stephanie's brother Jeff will pick us up there and help us pick up the Mission Helps van that we'll be using while we're in the U.S.

What's happening?

It's a busy time with SO much happening in our family!  This past weekend was the annual youth conference for HIM's churches in Lesotho and South Africa.  Rev. Rob Loper from Hobe Sound Bible College was the special speaker.  The Lord really helped him and the other speakers to reach young people with the message of holiness. 

Next weekend is HIM's pastors' retreat.  Christian friends at Eingedi Retreat have agreed to host us for the weekend.  Please pray that God will use Rev. Loper to refresh the pastors' spirits and give them a challenging new vision for the future! 

On Tuesday the 3rd of October we'll be boarding a plane to take us to America. Please pray for this long journey and EVERYTHING we have to finish before we leave!  This week is going to be packed!

What Did You Do Yesterday?

What did you do yesterday?  I renewed my driver's license.  It took six hours.  Actually it took 16 months.  My license expired back in May 2016.  The machine that makes the driver's licenses was broken down, so I've been driving using paper temporary licenses that have to be renewed every six months since then.  The machine is finally working again, so when I went to renew the temporary one I got the real thing.

And it took 6 hours!

To get a license that is already 16 months old!

I feel cheated!

Training Leaders in Lesotho

I (Glenn) have served on a non-denominational committee in Lesotho that has translated and printed a simple Sesotho Bible School curriculum.  Our goal has been to prepare material for and train Church leaders who do not have the opportunity to attend traditional campus-based Bible Schools.  All the books are translated, and almost all of them are printed now.  Over the last few years the committee has "shifted gears" from translation and printing to teaching this curriculum.

This past weekend we held a seminar for students.  During the course of the weekend, they write exams over the courses they are working on, listen to lectures, and participate in group activities.  We also plan devotional and fellowship times to encourage and help them grow spiritually.

The theme for this seminar was Legal Matters that Affect the Church.  The government of Lesotho graciously sent two speakers from the Law Office to address this topics.  One man spoke about how to register a church with the government of Lesotho including how to write a constitution.  The other speaker explained laws that affect marriage in Lesotho and shared the legal process for a pastor to become an "marriage officer" recognized by the government.

Practicing filling out a marriage certificate

I was asked to give a closing message on "The Gospel and the Law," Since not all of the students come from evangelical churches, we wanted to present the message of salvation in an understandable way for these people.  I focused my conclusion on Ezekiel and Jeremiah's prophecies about Jesus taking our our rebellious heart of stone and giving us a new, tender heart with His laws written on it.  I was encouraged as I spoke to see that the message was reaching the hearts of at least some of the people.  

Special Praise!

Thank you so much for praying!  Our interview at the embassy went very smoothly, and Caleb's visa was approved.  His passport will come back in 7-10 days with a visa in it.  The Lord willing, we plan to go to America around the 3rd of October to complete the citizenship process, visit our families, and do deputation.

God is so good, and we are blessed to have prayer supporters like you!

Special Prayer Request

Dear Praying Friends,

We would like to ask for your special prayers as we go to Johannesburg next week for Caleb's visa.  The medical exam will be on Monday and the actual visa interview will be at the embassy on Thursday.  We don't know how long it will be before we actually receive the visa.

Prayer points:

• Pray for wisdom as we gather and fill out all the forms and necessary paperwork.  
• Pray for our protection as we travel and stay in Johannesburg.  Parts of this huge city are dangerous.
• Pray for clear communication and understanding between us and embassy officials, especially regarding whether we are exempt from filling out one form.  
• Pray that the visa will come quickly.  From what we understand, the embassy will keep his passport until a decision has been made.  The passport will be returned by a courier service.  Until we get his passport back we can't go home to Lesotho.
• Praise the Lord that we have successfully gotten this far in a long journey!  God has helped us with many steps already!

Mistaken Identity

Has anyone every thought you were somebody else?  It happened to me just last week.

On my way to church last Sunday, I saw an elderly gentleman who volunteers at our clinic walking to church with his grandson.  I gave them a lift the rest of the way to the church they were going to.  As we drove I tried to start a conversation with the five-year-old.  He smiled broadly, but never said a word, even when they got out.  After I left them, the boy asked his grandpa, "Where's Jesus going now that he left us here?"

edit:  There may be a cultural aspect to this post that wasn't clearly explained.  Several people seemed to have misunderstood!  The reason the boy mistook me for Jesus was because of my white skin and brown beard.  That's the way Jesus is normally portrayed in the images at his church.  😊

Lesotho Update

Dear praying friends,

Please join us in prayer and praise!

Praise:

• Last week while Stephanie was cooking supper, the valve that controls one of the burners on our propane stove came apart and large volume of propane was blowing out into the inside of the stove.  Other burners were lit when this happened!  It just "happened" that I came into the kitchen as the valve came apart.  I raced outside to close the propane tank while Stephanie hurried the kids out of the kitchen.  We clearly felt God's providential protection over us and our home.  There would have almost surely been an explosion within seconds if it weren't for God's intervention!  We are so thankful!
• Join the van der Merwes (HIM missionaries in South Africa) in praising the Lord  for an unusually good harvest on their family farm this year.  The depend on this to live and support their ministry.

Prayer:

• The Motovilov's are in America and have begun their deputation.  Please pray that the Lord would supply their financial needs!
• Pray for the Marais' as they sell Bibles in Zambia.  The work is not easy and their health is not good.  Also pray that each Bible would bear fruit!

If you haven't seen any of the Engage Africa videos, here's a link to the first one.  It starts out with Rev. Kali's testimony.  If you are needing ideas for a missionary service, this Engage program is excellent!  For more information, you can go to the website.  There is an email address near the bottom of the page if you would like more information.  

Sincerely,

Glenn, Stephanie, Kaitlyn, Kristell, & Caleb Gault
Director, HIM Africa

Engage Africa

Have you heard of our mission organization's Engage program?  It is a well thought out program about your church and the Great Commission.  Each month you can receive a professional quality video featuring an aspect of Hope International Missions' work around the world.  You will also receive bulletin inserts, a leaders guide and other material to help you make a meaningful missionary service.

Right now the featured region is Africa.  I am really impressed with the footage Lucas Wilson and Joshua Powell got in the short time they were here last year--traditional dancing, some unusual clips of African traditional religion, testimonies from dedicated Christians, drone footage of the Qeme Plateau, and much more!. I would encourage you to watch the first video then go here to find out more about the program.  If you like what you see, please make a donation on that page to help out with the production of these videos.  Even small gifts make a big difference!

Furlough Plans

Many of you have been praying that we would get a visa for Caleb to come to America.  We don't have it yet, but we are definitely making progress!  Our interview appointment is scheduled for the 24th of August at the US Embassy in South Africa.  There are no guarantees, but we expect to be granted a visa soon after that.  Then we have to make a trip to America to actually get his citizenship.

By faith we are scheduling our furlough from October to some time in March.  Our family is spread from Florida and Louisiana to Pennsylvania and out to Colorado, so we'll be covering quite a bit of the country.  If you would like us to visit your church (or you personally,) we'd love to hear from you!

July 2017 Newsletter

You can read our most recent newsletter by clicking here.

Lesotho Update

Dear Praying Friends, Thank you so much for your prayers as we traveled to Namibia in June to host a TLC team and help with Bible distribution.  Because of other obligations, our time there was short.  There is still much work to be done with the Bibles this year.  Please pray for Bro. & Sis. Pieter Marais as they carry on.  They were planning to travel from Oshakati to Katima Molilu just across the border from Zamiba today.  They will be going into Zambia as soon as they have Bibles, export papers and everything else ready.  They'll be selling English and Lozi Bibles in the Western and Southern Provinces of Zambia for the next few weeks.  Please support them with your prayers! Also, the Motovilov family have completed their first term in Africa and are traveling back to America for furlough and deputation next week.  Please pray for them as they fly, re-acclimate to America, and begin their travels.  Sincerely, Glenn, Stephanie, Kaitlyn, Kristell, and Caleb Gault Director, HIM Africa

Bible Distribution Trip to Namibia #3

Well, I had hoped to update our blog a little more often, but between being very busy and no much internet access, it just hasn't happened until today, our last day selling Bibles.

The team:  Pieter & Hester Marais (team leaders), the TLC team,
Erik Grant (inter from HSBC), the Motovilov family, and the Gault family 

Our camp in Ongediva, Namibia

The Bible sales have honestly been a little disappointing.  Quite a few have sold, but nothing like past years in Zambia.  In Namibia we are working in partnership with the Bible Society of Namibia, so they set the prices and we just help to sell the Bibles.  Their business model is a bit different than Hope International Missions.  They emphasize sustainability of their organization, where as our emphasis has always been to get Bibles to people as affordably as possible.  The price they have set is a bit high for the average person to just buy easily, so the volume hasn't been that high.

On the bright side, Hope International Missions, through a very generous donor in South Africa, made it possible to print Oshindonga and Oshikwanyama Bibles after they were out of print for some time.  Even though the price will require people to save up their money to buy, at least the Bibles are available.  The Christians in this area are rejoicing about that!  We are also very thankful for people from Hobe Sound Bible Church for their generous gift that made it possible to purchase 30 Bibles to give to a solid, Bible-believing church in Oshakati to be used in their outreach ministry.  It was a joy to deliver these Bibles to one of the elders of this church this morning.

The Motovilov's "Bible Shop"

Passing out tracts at the hospital

Selling Bibles in the Open Market at Oshakati

Going out to sell Bibles on the street

HIM's youngest Bible salesman

Photo credit for most of these pictures:  TLC Namibia

Bible Distribution Trip to Namibia #2

Monday and Tuesday nights we have stayed at Urban Camp in Windhoek.  The Bible Society of Namibia  recommended the place and helped us set up the booking.  Today we had a little time to relax since the TLC team doesn't arrive until tomorrow.  We really needed it!  We haven't had a minute to sit still and think since I got back from my sister's wedding just over a week ago.  Tonight we went out for supper and enjoyed some authentic Namibian cuisine.

Zebra steak

Oryx schnitzel

Bible Trip to Namibia

I don't know how often I'll be able to post, but I'm going to try to update our blog now and then with news from our trip.  Some of this is excerpts from family emails, so the updates might not be very formal.

On the 8th of June 40,000 Bibles arrived in Windhoek, Namibia

We picked​ up Erik Grant in Bloem on Saturday, the 10th of June in afternoon. He is here for a missions internship from Hobe Sound Bible College. From Bloem we drove on 2 hours to Kimberly​. We spent the night at the African Evangelical Band mission home there. The missionaries there are Ian and Marezelle Waterson. Ian is a close friend to Jannes van der Merwe. It was my first time to meet his wife. Ian was on an outreach, so he wasn't their. His wife and her mother, who was visiting, graciously gave us a place to stay and breakfast Sunday morning.

In the arid parts of South Africa and Namibia, there are few tall trees for the weaver birds to use for their nests.  Instead, they use the telephone poles and build "multi-unit condos" on them.  There were hundreds of these as we drove along!

Weaver bird nests

Sunday we drove on to Namibia. The border crossing was uneventful, but not nearly as streamlined​ as we are used to between South Africa and Lesotho. I think it took more than an hour. We slept last night at Grünau at the Grünau Country House. The budget rooms ​were clean, plain and affordable. Overall, we were very satisfied with our short stay there and felt we got excellent value for money.  

We really enjoyed the interesting scenery along the way. From Kimberly on it was semi arid or desert. Around Upington along the Vaal and Orange rivers there was quite a bit of agriculture in spite of desert like conditions​. I was especially surprised to see extensive vineyards​. The Khalahari desert of Southern Namibia is very dry. There was some goat farming, but it looked like the only thing to eat was rocks!

Between Grünau and Keetmanshoop we went through some very interesting mountains​. Mostly just piles of boulders. It looked like igneous or metamorphic rock. A few miles east the mountains looked more like the sandstone plateaus of the Free State.  Wonder if it was some kind of a seam or extrusion. The elevation along the big rivers was less than 3,000 feet but we climbed back up to around 5000 feet in those mountains.
​

.

Both the sunset last night and the sunrise this morning were spectacular. As usual, pictures didn't do it justice​.

Springtime in the Rockies

Kaitlyn, Kristell, and I (Glenn) flew to America for a short family visit beginning Tuesday this week.  We'll be attending my sister's wedding, and making a trip to Kansas to spend a week with Stephanie's parents.  As you can see from the picture below, Colorado has given us a lovely spring welcome!  At the moment winter in Lesotho is warmer than spring in Colorado, but the snow is absolutely beautiful!

We had a seven hour layover in Frankfurt, Germany, so we took the subway into the city and spent a couple hours looking around there.  We especially enjoyed seeing this tower that was built more than 600 years ago!

Thank you so much for your prayers and your financial support!  We are deeply humbled by your generosity that made it possible for Kaitlyn, Kristell, and I to be a part of Joy's wedding!  May God bless each of you!

Kaitlyn liked this giant rubber ducky.

Kristell is smarter for having sat beside
Einstein in the airport 

Caleb's Immigration Application

Yesterday we filed our petition for Caleb to become a U.S. citizen.  The Department of Homeland Security made an exception for us, and we were able to file through the U.S. Embassy in Maseru rather than the very long process of mailing it to a lock box in America.  The consular officer who processed the application said if my police background check comes through clear, she believes our file will be in order and Caleb will get a visa.  She will be sending the file to the Embassy in Johannesburg for a final decision once those results are in.  Once Johannesburg has the file, we understand it will still take 3-6 months.  We have no idea why it should take that long, but governments are pretty much the same the world over!

Thank you so much to all the people who have helped us get our file ready.  A few names immediately come to my mind:

• Bryan and Anita Geurink from Beautiful Gate.  Thank you for sharing the information you had on immigration.  It was a big help to point us in the right direction on what to include in Caleb's file!  
• Ms. Masealimo from the Ministry of Social Development. From start to finish, we have been very impressed with the way Ms. Ntebo and Ms. Masealimo and the Ministry of Social Development handled our adoption.  Special thanks to Ms. Masealimo for getting a letter written and signed for us when your department was VERY busy hosting an international workshop!  The adoption (which involved the Government of Lesotho) was DEFINITELY easier than the immigration phase which involved the U.S. Government!  
• Ms. Malefa from Small World Adoption Agency  Thank you so much for getting information for us and staying in touch even though you had no obligation to help us!  We're impressed!
• Everyone who has and is praying for us!  

Two Years with Caleb Ts'epo

Can it be?  Already two years?  Only two years?  Thank you God for giving us Caleb Ts'epo.  He's a VERY special part of our family!  And perhaps the most special part of two years with Caleb is that we can apply for his immigrant visa now.  Please pray that everything will go quickly so he can go meet the rest of the family in America!

This boy loves anything that moves!  Trucks, tractors, bulldozers...
His Oupa Piet would say he's a "petrol head like his daddy!"

Fixing his motorcycle.  Good thing he has a sister to jack it up for him!

We celebrated the day with pizza!

Photo credit: Engage Media Team, November 2016

Class of 2016

The graduation ceremony for the Covenant Bible College Class of 2016 was held as part of our annual Easter Conference.  Only four graduates managed to complete the four-year course!  We are very proud of their hard work and perseverance!  Join us in praying that they will be fruitful in God's Kingdom work.

Class of 2016
L to R:  Prof. Kali Nthabi, Pastor Ntutsoe Namane, Miss Lintle Maseka,
Mr. Ts'eliso Qhobosheane, Pastor Manti Matmane, and Prof. Glenn Gault 

Rev. Manti Matamane was the valedictorian.  He is HIM's
pastor at Mazenod.

After the service everyone was invited to enjoy a meal.
Samp (hominy), pumpkin, beets, pork, chicken and another salad
were on the menu.

The service was well attended.
Many people sat outside the tent on the ground.

Answer to Prayer

A clear answer to prayer!  The transformer was replaced today--
Good Friday!

Lesotho Update

Dear praying friends,

Autumn greetings from Lesotho!  Our weather seems a little mixed up at the moment.  Normally fall brings cool, dry, sunny weather.  The last couple days we have had the cool, but not the dry or sunny!  We've had an inch of rain since the weekend and no sunshine.  It's supposed to get down in the 30s later this week with a chance of snow in the high moutains.  I guess we'll see.

Praise:

• Ntate Kali was the main speaker at a weekend prayer conference at Hobhouse in South Africa.  He said that the Lord really blessed the services and some backsliders came back to the Lord.  
• Last weekend Pastor Lehlomela invited family, friends, neighbors to a celebration to dedicate the house he built.  There was a short evangelistic service at the beginning, and a number of people expressed an interesting in seeking the Lord.  You can read more on the previous post of our blog.   https://gaultsinlesotho.blogspot.com/2017/04/house-dedication.html   

Prayer:

• As I'm writing this, Stephanie is in Germany on her way to spend a few days with her mother.  Although her mother's health is still fairly good, we felt it was good for her to spend some time with her.  Please pray for her travels and for the children and I here in Lesotho.  Update:  She arrived safely and is enjoying time with her parents.
• Please pray for us as we prepare to apply to the U.S. government for Caleb's immigration visa.  We can apply after the 28th of April.  (We will have lived with him for two years then--a part of the requirements for him to get U.S. citizenship.)  Please pray that the U.S. embassy in Johannesburg will decided to process our application in South Africa rather than making us send it to America.  If they process it in South Africa, it will still take 3-6 months.  If it goes to America, it can take a year or more!)  Also pray that our application will be complete and correct on the first try and that it will be processed quickly.  Update:  I just got an email yesterday saying that the Department of Homeland Security has given approval for our visa to be processed in South Africa.  We have an appointment with the Embassy in Maseru, Lesotho on the 4th of May to submit the paperwork.  Please keep praying! 
• Please pray for the annual Easter Conference in Lesotho this weekend.  We started last night Thursday) and go through Sunday afternoon.  We really need a special outpouring of God's Spirit!
• Lightning struck some of the electrical wires and transformers in our area on Monday afternoon.  We've been without electricity since then.  The electric company says one or two phases are blown on the transformer and the process with the private contractor to fix it won't start until sometime next week!  Talk about customer service!!!  The joke in Africa goes like this:  Question: How did people light their houses at night before they had candles?  Answer:  They used to use electricity!"  

Thank you so much for your faithful prayer support!

Sincerely,

Glenn, Stephanie, Kaitlyn, Kristell, and Caleb Gault
Hope International Missions

House Dedication

This past Saturday we were invited to join Pastor Lehlomela for a special celebration as he dedicated his newly-built house to the Lord.  The celebration began with a short church service and ended with a meal for family, friends, and neighbors.  I was impressed by his vision and hard work--it's unusual for an unmarried young man in Lesotho to have this kind of foresight!

The service was held in the tent.  Pastor Kali preached a Gospel message.
Quite a number of people raised their hands in response
to the invitation indicating they had an interesting in seeking the Lord.

Brother Lehlomela Liname.  He pastors the new congregation at Ha Matjotjo. 

I think at least 100 people came.

Cutting the ribbon

We enjoyed samp (something like hominy), chicken, beet salad, and
another vegetable.  Delicious!