Gaults in Lesotho

Aquarium Keepers or Fishers of Men?

2012-01-17T16:06:00.001+02:00

The following quotation has really made me think:

"Watch out for the signs of a dying Christian life. Ask yourself, Am I sharing my faith? Do I have only Christian friends? Do I hang around the dead, the diseased, and the lost? If you and the members of your church have forsaken your duty to reach back into the world, I can promise you your church will start to divide, to backbite, and to fight over nonessential Chrtian issues like hymnal selection and carpet colors. You will become keepers of a Christian aquarium instead of fishers of men. Your church will be on the way to spiritual death. In fact, I can prophesy in any church or to any believer without fear of being in error that if you choose not to evangelize, individually or collectively, your church will fossilize."

--William Fay in Share Jesus Without Fear

Camping with Kaitlyn

2012-01-07T15:02:00.000+02:00

This first week of January has given us a little time to rest, catch up, and spend some time together as a family after a very busy November and December. This week I (Glenn) took Kaitlyn camping on a mountain on the van der Merwe's farm. S.W. van der Merwe joined us just before dark and left again early in the morning to bale alfalfa on their farm. Sorry I didn't

get a picture of him. We had a lot of fun.

We slept right up at the top of this mountain in the picture. There is an overhanging cliff hidden by trees just under the top of the mountain.

We had a campfire and roasted hot dogs and marshmallows. You can see the overhanging cliff here.

The sunset was just incredible!

This is the van der Merwe's farm from up on top. They own more than 1800 acres but most of it is leased at the moment. S.W. has around 100 head of beef cows on their part. He keeps really busy raising enough food for them for the winters.

Overview of December

2012-01-06T12:00:00.000+02:00

December was busy, but enjoyable. Here are several pictures showing some of the activities of the month.

Thabiso, Kaitlyn's friend, graduated from preschool on Dec. 3.

Kaitlyn and Thabiso with his mother, 'Me Manthabi, back home after the graduation

The girls had fun decorating the Christmas tree one night.

On Dec. 17 and 18, we attended the wedding of Bro. Majola, one of the pastors in Lesotho, and Sis. Pinkie, one of the church youth.

The new couple, Ntate Majola and 'Me MaT'soanelo

It was nice to celebrate Christmas with the other missionaries on Dec. 24.

On Christmas Day the Church of the Bible Covenant had a one-day conference.

Shepherd boys singing at the conference

January 1 was a special service at Matukeng with people from 3 congregations attending.


After the service, there was a feast to honor Thabiso's graduation.

Gaults in Lesotho Newsletter

2011-12-30T14:24:00.002+02:00

You can read our most recent newsletter by clicking on the following link:

http://www.gsgault.com/Newsletter_Archive/2011_12Dec.pdf

Our apologies that it took a while to get this up on our website. It was hacked. :-(

Do you receive a paper copy of our newsletter? You can help us be better stewards of the resources God gives us by subscribing to it via e-mail.

To subscribe, click this link:

http://www.gsgault.com/cgi-bin/dada/mail.cgi

Select "Gaults in Lesotho Newletter" and type your e-mail address. You will be sent an e-mail to confirm your subscription.

If you subscribe by e-mail, please e-mail us your name and mailing address so that we can take you off our snail-mail list. Our address is gsgault (at) gmail (dot) com. Thank you!

This same link above will also let you subscribe to our Prayer and Praise updates. Just select "Lesotho Update."

Knowing Jesus

2011-12-05T16:03:00.001+02:00

I found this quote from Oswald Chambers in a book that I'm reading for my masters degree.
"Beware of anything that competes with loyalty to Jesus Christ...The greatest competitor of devotion to Jesus is service to Him...We count as service what we do in the way of Christian work; Jesus Christ calls service what we are to Him, not what we do for Him."

Pastors' Retreat 2011

2011-10-19T11:40:00.002+02:00


The weekend of the 14th to the 16th of October we held a wonderful Pastors' Retreat at Franshoek Lodge near Ficksburg, South Africa. (Thank you so much, Oom Andrew, for making this retreat possible!)

Almost all of the pastors that HIM works with in South Africa and Lesotho were able to attend.

Dr. Randall McElwain from Hobe Sound Bible College was the special speaker. He presented powerful, clear lectures on "Holiness in the Bible."

Franshoek is in a beautiful mountain valley.

There was plenty of good food, thanks to the capable staff at the lodge.

All the pastors and we missionaries learned a lot and grew closer to God during this special weekend. Thank you so much to each person who contributed towards this project. If you want to contribute towards next year's retreat, click here. Make the memo or description of your contribution "Africa Pastors Training."

New Mission Vehicle

2011-10-06T06:39:00.001+02:00

Recently Hope International Missions was able to purchase this vehicle for our use in Lesotho thanks to a generous donation from a from kind person in Colorado. In the past we hauled visitors and TLC teams in the back of our pickup trucks. This vehicle will make it so much safer and more comfortable! We are so grateful!

For those interested in technical things, it is a Toyota HiAce with a 3.0l turbo diesel engine. It seats eight people, but the law in Lesotho allows us to add an extra seat to carry up to 10 passengers without a special license. Please pray that it will provide reliable transportation for ten years like the Isuzu pickup it replaced!

Vacation 2011

2011-09-26T15:06:00.001+02:00

After a very busy six months back in Lesotho, God has given us an opportunity to get away for some rest and family time. We are in a pretty area just outside of Bethlehem, South Africa.

One night we made smores!

Kaitlyn enjoyed crossing this little gully on a fallen tree. She needed a helping hand, though.

Kristell loved the corn on the cob we grilled!

Kaitlyn loves to read. Kristell will listen for a few minutes, but her attention span is pretty short.

Ladies' Conference

2011-09-03T21:12:00.001+02:00

The Ladies' Conference in Lesotho was the last weekend of July. There were around 35 ladies on Saturday and close to 50 on Sunday. The services were very good.

Ntate Molise preached Sunday morning. As you can see, the church was decorated beautifully for the conference.

Ladies from a mission in South Africa singing a special song.

Kristell's 2nd Birthday!

2011-08-15T21:22:00.001+02:00

Kristell turned 2 on July 27. The following day we had her cake with the other missionaries in Ladybrand, South Africa.

She is very fascinated with horses and cows right now so she really liked the cake.

She tried over and over to blow out her candles, but didn't succeed. I'm going to try to put a little video on the blog sometime soon.

When we all started singing to her, she dissolved into tears. It was hilarious!

One of the gifts we gave her was this little Sotho broom. She really enjoys using it.

The previous day, Kristell's birthday, we were in Johannesberg after taking two interns back to the airport. We took the girls to the zoo for a special treat. I think these are nyala, but I'm not sure.

Gemsbok

Peering down to see the polar bear. The zoo had a very nice selection of animals.

Loving the animals. As you can see, the weather was beautiful in the afternoon.

I tried to get a picture of Kristell hiding from the monkeys, but I was too late. I'm not sure why she's afraid of monkeys!

TLC team in June 2011

2011-08-09T22:34:00.002+02:00

Yes, we have neglected our blog recently. We had guests in our home from the last week of March through the last week of July! Needless to say, life was a bit busy! I think we already put pictures of the Mission Helps team and their work. Here are some pictures of the time with the TLC team to start with. We will try to post pictures on the blog more frequently (no promises!).

Here is Karrie Cruey, posing in her new Basotho hat!

Josh Glick, as well as Karrie, Jeremy Hopkins and Diane Wood, cleaning out the fire pit. The team helped with several practical projects, including painting, making church benches, and pouring a porch for Rachel's house.

Kayti Shaw painting the security doors on Rachel's house.

Josh and Jeremy painting bench legs.

Mary Cruz finishing the porch.

One of their ministries was to sing and give their testimonies at church services. They were a blessing wherever they went!

The last week the team was with us, they participated in a VBS held in the village of HaMotheho. This was the first time to have a VBS in this village. The team helped by telling the stories (Kristel Glick above), teaching Bible verses, and teaching English choruses to the children.

Jeremy and Josh doing an object lesson.

The children loved the attention (from Diane and Kayti)!

They also loved the prizes for coming every service and learning verses. This girl chose a coffee mug.

On the last day all the children got a Scripture plaque, snack, and candy, even if they didn't get any other prizes.

This girl proudly showed me everything she received.

Ausi Mastefan and 'Me Manthabi prepared traditional Basotho food

for the team to try.

Thabiso and Kaitlyn enjoyed the meal very much. Kaitlyn is very proficient

in eating with her fingers!

Both Kristell and Kaitlyn enjoyed the team, although it took Kristell longer to warm up to everyone. Here Kristell is with Josh and Kristel.

We enjoyed our time with the team. They were such a blessing to us!

Mary Had a Little Lamb

2011-07-10T09:09:00.000+02:00

I'm taking a theology class through Liberty University right now. I've really enjoyed studying the incarnation. Normally I'm not into poetry, but I really liked this little poem so thought I would share it.

Mary had the little Lamb, who lived before His birth;
Self-existent Son of God, from Heaven He came to Earth.
Micah 5:2

Mary had the little Lamb; see Him in yonder stall --
Virgin-born Son of God, to save man from the Fall.
Isaiah 7:14

Mary had the little Lamb, obedient Son of God;
Everywhere the Father led, His feet were sure to trod.
John 6:38

Mary had the little Lamb, crucified on the tree
The rejected Son of God, He died to set men free.
1 Peter 1:18

Mary had the little Lamb -- men placed Him in the grave,
Thinking they were done with Him; to death He was no slave!
Matthew 28:6

Mary had the little Lamb, ascended now is He;
All work on Earth is ended, our Advocate to be.
Hebrews 4:14-16

Mary had the little Lame -- mystery to behold!
From the Lamb of Calvary, a Lion will unfold.
Revelation 5: 5,6

When the Day Star comes again, of this be very sure:
It won't be Lamb-like silence, but with the Lion's roar.
Psalm 2:12 Revelation 19:11-16

Marv & Marbeth Rosenthal - Copies of this poem may be used without written permission from the authors.

Our New Floor!

2011-06-05T16:21:00.001+02:00

We have needed to put a new floor in for a long time. The cement under the original tile was rotten, and the tiles would break and come off. We checked several options, but finally decided the best way to fix it was to remove the old tiles, spread a bonding liquid on the rotten cement, and put in ceramic tile. Here Glenn and Kaitlyn are chipping off the old tile--Kaitlyn was a hard worker!


Preparing the old cement for the new tile. Our neighbors helped us--they were a huge help because it was a very big job.

Daddy laying the tile.

Here you can see the new floor. Glenn is cleaning the grout off. I think it only took 4 days from beginning to end. We really thank Daddy and Mama for all their hard work to make this happen!

Rachel's House--Almost Finished

2011-06-05T15:58:00.000+02:00


Daddy painted the bedroom and living room/kitchen walls a light brown.


Rachel chose Kiwi Burst green for the bathroom paint.

Daddy did a really nice job on the pantry.

After my parents left, I've been doing some of the final finishing-up work. Rachel got a nice set of second-hand cabinets that we customized to fit the kitchen.

I've also been working on getting her solar system set up. The panel and batteries are installed, but I still have to finish the wiring for the lights and a few outlets. Saturday I put up mini blinds and curtain rods, so she should be able to move in sometime this week.

Our 1st Grader

2011-05-08T17:06:00.003+02:00

Last Sunday night we had a little Kindergarten graduation celebration at our home for Kaitlyn. We invited our neighbors that live here at the clinic with us.

Here's Kaitlyn on her first day of 1st grade. I think she's enjoying it quite a bit, but a few times I heard her say she just wanted to go back to kindergarten. She's still a little young for first grade, so we're not planning to push her too much.

Easter

2011-04-26T18:22:00.002+02:00

We had a blessed one-day conference on Easter Sunday. This year we only had a one-day conference since the church is raising money to build more classrooms for the school we were given at Popenyane.

Friday we dyed Easter eggs with the kids.

Here's the kids hiding their eyes while Nana hides the Easter eggs.

Kristell had lots of fun finding eggs. She didn't break too many!

Rachel's House--More Progres

2011-04-26T18:13:00.003+02:00

Rachel, Mama, and Kristell cleaned the plaster and mortar off the window frames.

The first coat of mud is done on the drywall. Also Daddy built the shelves for a pantry and closet. That was a lot of slow, tedious work, but we all think it turned out really nice.

Here's a closer view of the pantry. The sink will be just to the right of the pantry under the window. Daddy wants to paint pantry shelves before he puts the last piece of sheetrock on.

Today Daddy started putting glass in the windows.

Bro. Mahlomola put wood preservative on all the planks outside.

Rachel's House

2011-04-17T16:45:00.005+02:00

On April 1st, a team from Mission Helps came to help build a house for Rachel Cutler here at Matukeng. We are amazed at how God worked through this team of expert builders to get a house put up in eight working days!

Here's the team. From left to right they are Forrest Wheeler, Dave Weaver (team leader) Jon McVey, Jonathan Lucas, Steve Mease, and Dave Holderbaum.

Before the team arrived we poured the footer.

Day 1: They built trusses and Steve Mease started laying up the walls.

Day 2: The big push was to continue laying up the walls. By evening, Steve had this front side done and we cast one window sill.

Day 3: It rained all day! Around 4:30pm, the clouds lifted and we a dug 100+ foot trench for the sewer pipe.

Day 4: Steve finished up laying the blocks except for one gable end. Forrest Wheeler and Dave Holderbaum worked on plumbing. We cast some more window sills.

Day 5: The team put up the trusses and continued with plumbing.

Day 6: Jon McVey and Steve Mease plastered inside. The rest put the tin on the roof. I worked on leveling up the floor so we could pour it Monday.

Day 7: Sunday--we went to Popenyane for church. Pastor Pitso Thaisi is sitting on the front row.

Day 8: Jon McVey finished the plastering first thing in the morning, then we poured the floor. Here's Jonathan Lucas using a homemade bull float.

Day 9: Forrest Wheeler and Dave Holderbaum finished up the plumbing. Jonathan Lucas worked on putting conduit in for electricity. (We don't have electricity here yet, but when/if it comes it will be easy to wire the house. The rest of the team built the interior partitions.

Day 10: The last day the team worked here, they hung the ceilings and put sheet rock on the partition walls, and some other finishing touches. There's still lots to be done, but we are amazed at how much was done in only eight working days.

My parents flew in the same day the Mission Helps team flew out of Johannesburg. They will be helping to get the house finished up. Please keep praying for us!

Ha Motheho

2011-03-13T15:37:00.002+02:00

Today Kristell wasn't feeling well, so Steph stayed home from church with her. She's had a cold, fever, and seems to be teething. I took Katilyn with me to church at Ha Motheho. When we left this morning it was cloudy and a bit cool, but I thought it would warm up. It didn't and Ha Motheho is very exposed to the wind and colder than Matukeng. After church we were supposed to go to a house where there had been a death and hold a short service. 'Me Matoka (the mother of 'Me Manthabi who works in our house) took Kaitlyn and Thabiso by her house and put them in blankets to keep them warm as we walked to the house.

Pictures

2011-03-07T19:56:00.004+02:00

Here's a few pictures to give you an idea of what's going on in our lives.

Kaitlyn is such a great traveler. We bought her this backpack just before we left America. She loved it and did such a great job of carrying it through airports in New York City, London, Johannesburg, and Bloemfontein. It wasn't too heavy--just some extra clothes, toys, etc.

We spent the first weekend we were home with the van der Merwe's in South Africa. While we were there, S.W., their oldest son, was getting ready to plant some oats. Instead of oats he planted a tractor! This was the wettest summer in many years in South Africa. Every thing is green, but a lot of bridges and roads washed out in Lesotho.

Kaitlyn and Kristell were playing house with a sheet stretched over the table. You can see Kristell is pretty spunky! She loves to climb--chairs, tables, steps, stools, anything she can find to gain altitude.

I thought it was a wastebasket. She thought it was a hat!

The church here at Matukeng planned a surprise "welcome home" service for us this Sunday. We didn't know anything was going on until we got to the church and found it all decorated.

This was the message written on the bulletin board. You can see why we are so happy here!

Kaitlyn went up with the Sunday School children, but she didn't know the song they were singing. She'll have to start practicing every Sunday afternoon with them again.

After the service was over, everyone shared a nice meal of rice, beans, and fried chicken. We were very touched by their love and care!

Back Home in Africa

2011-03-04T10:19:00.003+02:00

Hi everyone,

It's been a LONG time since we've updated this poor blog. Hopefully we'll do a little better now that we're back in Africa.

Our trip back home went fairly well inspite of being VERY long. We flew from JFK to London Heathrow where we had an 11 hour layover. Then we flew from there to Johannesburg. After going through immigration and customs, we flew on to Bloemfontein where Aunt Hessie van der Merwe picked us up. It was really nice to spend the weekend with them on the farm before going back to Lesotho on Monday.

Since we've got home we've mainly been unpacking, putting away, and working on immigration. As you think of us, please pray that we'll be able to get our permanent residence permits for Lesotho in the next few months. Before we get the permits, we have to have a background police check done by the Lesotho police which takes several months. Hopefully once that's done we'll have the permits in another 2-3 months. At least we were able to get 6-months "permit pending" stamps in our passports.

Kaitlyn and Kristell have been enjoying playing outside and of course Kaitlyn is having a great time with Thabiso. Kristell is getting to know our friends at Matukeng, but she's still a little shy. Her main things right now are eating carrots and swinging. I'm supposed to preach at Matukeng this Sunday.

I'm sorry that I don't have any current pictures to post. I forgot to download them from the camera last night. I'll try to post some again, maybe still this weekend???

This picture is during Seabreeze Campmeeting at Hobe Sound.

Immanuel: God with us!

2010-12-30T17:42:00.003+02:00

I am so glad that Christmas is about Immanuel, and that God is still with us. Here's a few pictures from our time at my parents in Divide, CO.

We celebrated Christmas with the Gaults on Monday the 27th.

Deer wander all around my parents house. We enjoy watching them. We've also seen foxes.

For Colorado natives, there's nothing more beautiful than aspen trees against a blue sky!

Merry Christmas

2010-12-25T19:15:00.002+02:00

I used the switch for kindling and now we're burning the coal.
Thanx, Santa!
Merry Christmas from Divide, CO.

The Curly Slide

2010-10-02T22:11:00.003+02:00

Kristell really enjoyed this slide while we were in Kansas.

I enjoyed working on my old truck. My brother-in-law owns in now, but he's selling it. :-( You can see it needs a bit of TLC, but it still runs nice after we rebuilt the carb and put a new fuel pump on.

Our Deputation Schedule

2010-10-02T21:45:00.001+02:00

You can see our deputation schedule at this link.

Will Walk for Goldfish

2010-09-22T14:52:00.003+02:00

Kristell is starting to take a few steps. Goldfish crackers are a big incentive!

London

2010-09-03T22:02:00.003+02:00

Here's a few pictures from our visit to London on the way home from Lesotho:

West Minster Abbey

Big Ben and the House of Parliament

London Bridge

One of the Queen's guards

Some stranger took this picture for us. We were standing on a bridge across the Thames river beside Big Ben

Prayer and Praise Updates

2010-08-03T15:28:00.002+02:00

Dear Praying Friends,

Here's a quick prayer and praise update:

Praise:

'Me Mapheko's health is gradually improving. She is not yet able to return to her job, but she is able to do light house work, go to church, etc. Praise the Lord for this! Please continue praying for her complete healing.
Praise the Lord for a good one-day ladies' conference this past Saturday.
Shelby Tollett was a tremendous blessing during the two months he was here. Thank the Lord for all the things that he got done in a short time!
Volunteers from the church have almost finished building the last two walls around the conference center. Praise God!

Prayer:

I just received a text message from Pieter and Hester Marais. They have been in Zambia and Botswana on the Bible distribution trip since the beginning of June. For several weeks they have been struggling to transfer money between banks in Zambia and Namibia. Please pray for them and this situation! Thank you!
Mr. Howard, HIM's Africa Regional Director, is planning to visit the field the third week of August. Please pray for safety as he travels and wisdom from God as we hold meetings and discuss the work here.
We will be traveling home to America for furlough and deputation on the 22nd of August. We have a very long list of things to do before we leave. Please help us pray for strength and wisdom to get everything done.
Pray that God would revive us missionaries and the national leaders. We need a fresh touch!

We depend on your prayer support. Thanks for being so faithful!

Glenn, Stephanie, Kaitlyn, & Kristell Gault
Hope International Missions

Zambia 2010

2010-07-06T10:03:00.005+02:00

Here's a few pictures and highlights from the annual Bible distribution trip to Zambia. We sold Tonga, Lozi, Bemba, Nyanga, and English Bibles in Choma and Monzi, Zambia. These are a couple of the more major towns on the road between Livingstone and Lusaka. Altogether 10,000 Bibles sold this year.

Here's S.W. van der Merwe (son of HIM missonaries Johan and Hessie van der Merwe) walking through an open-air market in Choma selling Bibles.

This year there was a total of six teams who went to assist Uncle Piet and Aunt Hester with the Bibles. From left to right in this picture is Christelle Coleman, Gert Louw, and Brian Coleman. They are friends of the mission from Ladybrand, South Africa.

Here's another market picture. Usually when we arrive in a new area, we set up a little shop at the tailgate of the truck like in the last picture. A few people stay at this "shop" and the rest of us go out with backpacks of Bibles through the markets and the towns selling Bibles.

One day S.W. and Shelby sold a Bible to some street vendor who paid all in hundred Kwacha bills. You can see the handful of money--280 very dirty, worn out bills! The money takes a little getting used to! We sold the Bibles for 28,000 Kwacha or about $5.75. If we meet a person who genuinely wants and Bible but doesn't have that much money, we sell to them for what they can afford. We try to never turn away anyone who really wants a Bible.

One Sunday we were invited to a little church in a village about 20 miles away from where we were staying. Here's the pastor, an interpreter, and S.W. testifying. I was asked to preach. The people listened carefully and seemed to understand the message about the importance of having a pure heart.

Overall, the people of Zambia seem very industrious and innovative. Imagine making a living welding window frames with this homemade arc welder!

On the way home, we spent a day in the Chobe Game Preserve in northern Botswana. I'm going to try to post some animal pictures later this week. As the full moon was setting in the west, the sun was rising in the east. It was spectacular!

Animals, both domestic and wild, are a constant threat on the roads in Africa. Most people in America have seen deer crossing signs, but what about warthog crossings????

Crawling

2010-05-27T15:03:00.001+02:00

The Kids

2010-05-19T07:21:00.005+02:00

A couple weeks ago Kristell started wrinkling up her nose and sniffing to get attention. We encouraged her, and now it's pretty dramatic:

While we were on vacation in Kimberley, South Africa, we made s'mores one night. Kaitlyn really enjoyed it!

Yesterday we went to a train museum. They had the cab of an old steam locomotive in the museum with all the controls still work able. It was very interesting.

Ladies' Retreat

2010-05-17T14:28:00.006+02:00

Oops! I wanted to post these pictures last week (thanks Amrie for some of the pics), but couldn't get some of them to post. Sorry. (I'm still learning how to put things on the blog. Glenn has been the one doing most of the blogging.)

Here's our group from the retreat, left to right--
Amrie Geise, Gwen Geise, Stephanie and Kristell Gault,
Hessie van der Merwe, Michelle Waterson.
Notice the scarlet leaves which covered one whole wall of the mill building we stayed in.

We went to a place called Don-Don, an old mill.
We stayed in a part called the Old Shop

which had been renovated into this lovely guest house.

Aunt Hessie grilled for all of us one night--
the mutton chops and sausage were delicious!

We all had a very nice time talking, laughing,
praying, walking, and relaxing together.

Kristell really enjoyed the walk!

Thank you to each one who gave so we could have this
special weekend!

2010-04-26T12:25:00.004+02:00

Where did fall go? I took this picture of the girls just last Sunday. It was a beautiful day. But our nice, warm fall weather turned cold the last few days! The temperature was in the 30's first thing some of the mornings. If the sun shines the world warms up, but when it's overcast it feels like winter weather. :( Yesterday we all wore jackets to church. I know it's inevitable, but I do not like cold and winter!

I have wanted to organize a retreat for our team ladies for several months now. It's finally working out, and this weekend 5 of us will be going on a little retreat. Please pray that it will be a relaxing time for us. Some money has already been promised to cover the expenses, and we trust that more will come in. If you feel that God wants you to give towards this retreat, you can send the donation to HIM, marked "South African Ladies Retreat". I'll be posting some pictures of the retreat next week.

Thank you to each one of you out there that prays for us here in Lesotho. We appreciate you so much!
Stephanie

Fall Fotos

2010-04-15T15:03:00.005+02:00

At the end of March there was another church wedding, this time up in the mountains. The day started out so rainy we weren't even sure we'd be able to ford the river to get to the village, but in the end the day turned out beautiful. You couldn't ask for a more beautiful setting for a wedding (below)!

We've been enjoying fall weather. The days are still warm, but the nights are sometimes chilly. Kaitlyn enjoyed raking leaves a few days ago. Kristell didn't like sitting in the pile of prickly leaves, but she LOVES being outside. Kaitlyn had a lot of fun jumping in the pile before we hauled them away in the wheelbarrow.

This is Kristell on Easter Sunday after the conference. You can see that she's pretty good at sitting up now. She still falls over once in awhile, but it's rare now. She hasn't even tried to learn to crawl yet, but she likes standing up. Maybe she'll be one of those that cruises before she crawls?

2010-03-14T17:01:00.002+02:00

Hi everyone,

Some of you knew that I (Glenn) had an ear infection that messed up my balance. I'm just writing this little note to let you know that the round of antibiotic seems to have done the trick and I'm fine now. Still keeping really busy between mission work, mechanical work, and a systematic theology class.
Glenn

PS. I attended the wedding of these friends last weekend. Bro. Chele attended the Bible School for four years, and I've worked with Sis. Ntsitiseng on the finance committee of the church for several years. They seemed really happy!

Out of the mouth of babes...

2010-02-28T15:53:00.004+02:00

One night at supper last week I asked Kaitlyn what she had done that day.
Kaitlyn: Me and Thabiso played van!
Daddy: Oh. Did you drive somewhere?
Kaitlyn: Yes. On the way the van got an oil leak.
Daddy: Oh no. What did you do?
Kaitlyn: Thabiso got out and opened up the "oil leaker" and threw some more oil in!

I wish all mechanical problems were so easily solved!

It was another busy week for us. We held a tent meeting at Ha Setho on the other side of the mountain from where we live. Because of the Systematic Theology class I'm taking, I only went two nights, but God really helped in the services. It was clear that the Holy Spirit was talking to people and convicting them of their sins. I think several got saved, but we'll see for sure how serious they are after the excitement of the tent is over. One young man from there came to church here at Matukeng this morning. I think Nt. Liau (who lives close to Ha Setho) will probably begin holding services in this village when he's not at work in Thaba Tseka. (He works two weeks on, two weeks off.)

Philip and Amrie Geise just got back from deputation in America Friday night. There was a little welcome home get-together for them Friday night and Saturday at Uncle Johan and Aunt Hessie's farm. Steph spent Friday night there, but I had to go to the Bible School, so I went Saturday morning. It's really nice to have them back!Kristell really enjoys eating solids. Sweet potatoes, carrots, rice cereal and pears are great, but butternut squash didn't go down so well!

The Bad and the Good

2010-02-21T17:24:00.004+02:00

Hi everyone,

It's been a busy, interesting couple weeks since we last wrote. Dentist, pediatrician, Valentine's day, a trip to Pretoria, homemade peach jam, Kristell with a fever, a broken timing belt, and hours of studying for a systematic theology class. In spite of a few bad things, God has been so good to us!

Two weeks ago Kristell saw the pediatrician. He is very happy with her progress. She's right on target with the development for her corrected age. (She was born two months early, so the doctor subtracts those two months from her actual age.) We thank the Lord for the miracles that He worked to spare us tragedy and many problems. The same day, the dentist looked at a lump on Steph's cheek just in front of her ear that he said needs checked out. We've seen our doctor about it since, and he referred us to yet another doctor in Bloem. We have to go there tomorrow (Monday). It is most likely nothing serious, but we'd appreciate your prayers as we walk through the unknown. The lump has shrunk considerably this week, so we are trusting that God is healing whatever it is.

Last week on Monday Ntate Kali and I made a long trip to Pretoria, South Africa (about 700 miles round trip) to exchange a tent there, get tracts, and look for parts for a motorcycle that someone gave him. We left at 3 in the morning and didn't get back until nearly 10 at night. It was a tiring day. Fortunately Ntate Kali is a good, safe driver, so I didn't have to do all the driving.

The following night as we came back from Ladybrand, our little Volkswagen Golf broke a timing belt. We saw God's hand of providence in that it happened when we were almost home. It could have happened the day before in the dangerous inner city of Johannesburg. God is so merciful! I took the head off and found that the damage is much less than it could have been. Two valves are bent, and there may be one rod that's bent. I'll have a machine shop check it for sure. Please help us pray for wisdom to fix it and that God will provide the right parts! This car is a "gray market" import, so sometimes parts are hard to find. Fortunately "gray market" used engines are also available fairly reasonable, so that is another option that I'm considering.

Steph canned 15 bottles of peach jam Wednesday last week. That was a long day's work between taking care of the children and canning. It's been a good year for peaches here. Our neighbor, who has been very strongly against us and the church here in the past, just invited us to come pick peaches from his tree. Some of the reason is the bumper crop, but God is also at work in his heart. Pray for his salvation! He has really changed a lot over the last six months.

Kristell is starting to sit without being propped up. She still is really wobbly, but you can tell she's pleased with herself.

Kristell is 6 months old!

2010-02-07T20:53:00.005+02:00

Kristell turned six months on the 27th of January. Just yesterday I looked at how big she was and couldn't believe that when she was born I could comfortably hold her in one arm. God has been so good to us!

She likes to swing outside especially if the other children are playing where she can see them.

By comparison, Kaitlyn (above) was sitting up shakily by the time she was six months and was quite a bit bigger. But their faces do look similar.

Last week while I was studying in my study, Kaitlyn came with her tea set and tea tray to ask if I would care for a cup of tea. She's definitely picked up on that part of the South African culture.

Today Kristell fell asleep on my lap. She really likes her dummy/pacifier, but if it's not available, then a thumb will do.

From the ministry angle of our lives, we've been keeping busy. I taught the last lecture of the hermeneutics class that I've been teaching at the Bible School on Friday and next week they will take the final exam. I always feel like there is so much I didn't cover in a class like this and wish there were a few more weeks for more lectures. That's not an option, though. Time marches on!

Today there was a new lady in church who got saved a couple weeks ago. Her younger sister got saved through Stephanie's children's services several years ago. I didn't get to talk to them much, but I think the older sister came to the Lord as a result of the witness of her younger sister. It's encouraging to see how God is working in the lives of people here.

Tomorrow I'm going to a workshop in Maseru on helping people to start income-generating projects. One of the biggest challenges with helping orphans is how to help them become independent, help themselves, and not always be looking for handouts from others. I am hoping that I can find some answers and ideas through this workshop which is sponsored by African Inland Mission.

Tuesday we have dentist appointments in Bloemfontein and Kristell has her 6-month check-up with her pediatrician. I'm sure it will be a super busy day.

Thanks so much for your love, prayers, and e-mails!

Not much

2010-01-24T16:47:00.007+02:00

Here's a few little newsy items from our lives recently.

You never know how much you miss something until you have to do without it! Our refrigerator gave up the ghost the first week of January, and it took almost two weeks to get it repaired since it works off of propane instead of electricity. The only person I have found who can work on this type of refrigerator is a jack-of-all-trades in the tiny village of Tweespruit, South Africa, about 50 miles away. I don't know if it actually took two weeks to clean the carbon out of the little tubes on the back of the fridge, or if he was so busy fixing cars, selling gasoline, and patching tires that he just didn't get around to working on it. Anyway, we're glad that it's back and working again!Here the new school year starts in January instead of September. Thabiso is back to school (preschool for him) along with most of the rest of the children in the village, so it's been quiet around our place. Steph is doing preschool/kindergarten work with Kaitlyn again, too. She really enjoys it most of the time, but her attention span is still developing. In the afternoons she usually plays with Thabiso. I think their favorite activity is pushing each other (or better yet being pushed by an adult) on the swing in the oak tree outside the front door.
Last week on Wednesday we visited Steve and Gwen Geise out at the farmhouse where they moved. It's a very quiet, relaxing spot in the country, and we enjoyed spending the night with them. As usual, there was plenty of mission business to discuss, but we also enjoyed a barbecue, homemade cinnamon rolls, and a short walk around the farm. The kids really enjoyed playing with legos and riding bikes.

This coming week promises to be a busy one as usual. I am hoping to start the process of getting indefinite residence permits for Lesotho. If we can get them, we won't have the hassle of renewing them every two years, and we will also be able to get a 6 month's border pass that will save us hours of standing in line when we go to South Africa. As the Lord reminds you, please help us pray that this process will be successful. Thanks!

Kristell's Favorite Christmas Present

2010-01-10T17:01:00.005+02:00

I think this video and followup picture are pretty self-explanatory!

More Pictures

2010-01-10T15:48:00.005+02:00

We opened Christmas presents on Monday before Christmas. Of course Kaitlyn enjoyed that! Again this year she wanted to play with her first present instead of opening the rest. She lives for the moment!

Christmas Day we went to the van der Merwes. We really had a nice time with them, the Cutlers (who were visiting us and the work in Lesotho), and the Steve Geises. A highlight for Kaitlyn was horseback riding with Uncle S.W.

As usual we had a Christmas conference. The services were good and it was also nice to catch up with friends. This is Me Mafelepe and their boy Reabetsoe. If Kristell hadn't been born premature, they would be the same age. He has definitely passed her up in size though. We think he'll be big and tough like his daddy who is a policeman.

Bro. Cutler spoke three times at the conference. They were missionaries here back in the 80's.

Sis. Cutler worked at the clinic here at Matukeng before there was a bridge across the river into Maseru. Their life involved much more sacrifice back then than ours does today.

Ready for conference.

Kaitlyn really enjoyed Rachel (l) and Anna (r) Cutler. Rachel has applied with HIM to come to Lesotho as a missionary.

Saturday after New Years, Kaitlyn was invited to the birthday party of Puseletso Letuka, the child of the former chief (Ntate Lioane) of our village. She turned one on the 2nd of January. A boy in the back row is holding her. Kaitlyn had a great time with the other kids.

Today Kaitlyn went with me (Glenn) to church. Steph has been sick and running a fever with some kind of a nasty cold or flu, so she couldn't go. Kaitlyn enjoyed dressing up in her "church hat" and "church shoes." She did a great job of sitting still on the front seat while I preached!

Pictures

2009-12-21T10:18:00.004+02:00

Here's the house where we stayed while on vacation.

The mountains around Clarens, South Africa are beautiful. I enjoyed watching this big anvil shaped thunderhead form at sunset. The mountains in the background are in Lesotho.

Thabiso loves driving his "taxi." Kaitlyn enjoys going along for the ride.
Maybe we'll put some more pix up soon, but we've been busy.

Miracles, Blessings, & Providence

2009-12-21T08:35:00.002+02:00

Over the last several weeks it seems like we've been especially blessed by God. Here's a few things that we want to praise the Lord for:

Recently we've had to go to South Africa quite a bit. November and December are busy months at the border of Lesotho. It's not unusual for the lines to get your passport stamped to be an hour long this time of year. Several times recently when we had deadlines to meet, God providentially arranged for us to get through the border quickly.

One Friday afternoon when I was hurry to get back to Lesotho for the Bible School, there was a very long line. I took all our passports and was planning to call Steph and the girls when I got near the front of the line. I had only waited a few minutes when a police man came to the man about 5 people in front of me and told everyone from that man back to follow him in a line. He led us down to another office quite a ways from where we were parked. I knew Steph would not be able to find us there, but the immigration official kindly stamped all four passports saying she had seen us many times at the border. We got through the border in about 10 minutes instead of 60!

The first week of December we had a meeting in Ladybrand, doctors' appointments in Bloemfontein, then we took a little vacation. We were planning to be in South Africa nine days, but we can only get a 7 day visa for South Africa. On our way from Bloem to our vacation, we intended to go back into Lesotho and then stamp back into South Africa to get another seven days. That day I wasn't feeling well, and we completely forgot to stop by Lesotho on the way. I didn't think of it again until I was standing in the line to stamp out of South Africa having overstayed our visas by two days. As I stood in the line I prayed for God to work some kind of a miracle. Normally at best the police will open a file which takes a long time and often they fine people as much as $100 per day. There were two immigration officials on duty. I could see the first one and knew that I didn't want to go to her. I got in the line for the other window without knowing who was working there. Miraculously, it was one of the border post managers whose wife attends the church in Mauersnek and serves on the school board. He normally works in an office somewhere and almost never stamps passports. I doesn't attend church, but is very friendly and helpful to us missionaries. I told him what happened and he just said "No problem." It was clearly a miracle that he was stamping passports at the window I "happened" to choose!

Last Thursday when we were in Ladybrand we took some plates of Christmas goodies to a few friends there. I went to a place of business to arrange with one of the owners to visit her after work and give her the plate. When I walked in she greeted me and before I could arrange with her she said she was so glad were in town; she had something at her home she wanted to give us. I told her I had come because we also had something for her. In the evening we visited for a bit, gave her the plate of goodies, and she proceeded to fill our cool box with about 25 pounds of beef--steaks, ground beef, sausage, soup bones, etc. We are SO blessed!

So you can see that God is at work in our lives. We are humbled and very grateful for His providence, miracles, and blessings. We are experiencing the wonder of Immanuel!

2009-11-24T16:56:00.005+02:00

It's been a LONG time since we've put anything on our blog. That should be some indication that it's been a busy few weeks. Here's a little idea of what we've been up to.
The big event this month was Kaitlyn's fourth birthday. She chose to go to the zoo in Bloemfontein. Her favorite animals were not the monkeys and lions but the snakes and eagles! We invited Aunt Muriel Louw (the lady we stayed with when Steph and Kristell were in the hospital) to go along with us. Uncle Attie was away teaching agriculture. We had a lot of fun!
Kristell is growing and getting more fun every day. She weighs more than 11lbs now. She doesn't like to lay on her tummy which is good motivation for her to turn over. She's succeeded several times now. Steph is almost sure she was trying to laugh last night. This morning she tried again, but she just can't seem to get the sound out. It's cute to watch!

Of course Steph's main thing in life is being Mommy to two girls. Kristell is a bit more fussy than Kaitlyn was, so Steph is always busy. Somehow she managed to do this butterfly birthday cake for Kaitlyn between everything else. It turned out very nice.

The big project in my life lately has been working on the tabernacle at Ha Matala. There was a group of six volunteers that helped on the project, so I mostly had to coordinate things and make sure materials were there. We had several really hard days of work together, and the project is on hold for the moment waiting for more money. We hope to finish up at least one side before Christmas. Being field director also comes with its challenges and responsibilities. Life is never dull for sure!

The Week In Review

2009-11-07T15:18:00.003+02:00

It's not often that I (Glenn) have free Saturdays. Usually there's either a meeting or a funeral to attend. Last week was an exception, though. So we all worked in the garden. Steph's mom left money to buy flowers for a flower bed along the sunny side of the house. We put in marigolds, petunias, moss rose, alysum, snap dragons and a couple others. A lot of them will either reseed themselves or survive the mild winters here. It looks nice. Thanks, Mom!

My major focus right now is the tabernacle at Ha Matala. Between money that came in through Hope International Missions and money raised by the church in Lesotho, we have enough to build most of one side. I think as people see progress they will be encouraged to give more. We poured the foundation on Friday and hope to start laying the blocks Wednesday next week.

Kaitlyn will turn four next week. Her big interest is still reading and writing. The other day I coasted through a stop sign on a back road in Ladybrand. She read the sign and made sure I was aware of my mistake! It seems like she's grown up so much in the last 4 months. Sometimes she acts so mature, like an 8-year-old, then a few minutes later she has dissolved into tears like a two-year-old.

Kristell is almost 15 weeks old now. She picked up a cold a little over a week ago. It seemed to just hang on and we were afraid it was going to settle into her lungs, and she would get worse. The doctor prescribed antibiotics, and she's mostly over it now. She's getting more alert and putting on a lot of weight. She started out almost off the bottom of the growth charts, but now she's around the 30th percentile. Thanks for all your prayers!

Summer Time

2009-10-24T12:57:00.001+02:00

This is the first year that Steph's roses have really bloomed well. We've been enjoying them a lot!

Our Girls

2009-10-24T12:47:00.003+02:00

Kristell's smiles are coming easier. She's more fussy than Kaitlyn was, but she's slowly getting into a routine, so things are going better.

Kaitlyn has really grown a lot over the last few months. It's hard to believe that our little girl has gotten so big! Her main interest is reading right now. She tries to read the cereal boxes, books, signs, and everything. She gets really frustrated most of the time, but every once in a while she'll figure out another word.

Team Meetings

2009-10-24T11:57:00.005+02:00

This last week Mr and Mrs. Howard were here for their annual Regional Director's visit to the field. We really enjoyed being with them and want to thank God for His presence and help in the different meetings we held.

All of the missionaries were together for a team meeting at the house where Philip and Amrie live. We had a good time together and made some important decisions. We also enjoyed a DELICIOUS meal of pork ribs provided by S.W. van der Merwe. He slaughtered some pigs he had been raising, and we were blessed to enjoy some of the meat.

In Lesotho Mr. Howard spoke at a pastors' seminar on the topic of marriage and the home. His practical advice and solid use of Scripture were a blessing to the pastors during a time when Satan is especially attacking the home and people's marriages.

Thanks to all of you who prayed for us during this important time. We really appreciate your support!

Smile!

2009-10-18T16:28:00.003+02:00

Kristell is starting to smile a lot more, but they're hard to catch with a camera. Here's the tail end of one.

Rainy Day

2009-10-12T15:00:00.005+02:00

A lot has happened since I last updated our blog! I'm not sure where to start and what to leave out.

A big thing right now is that the rainy season has begun. Saturday night and Sunday during the day we got 7/8 of an inch of rain. During last night (Sunday night) we got 2 inches. I wouldn't be surprised if it has rained another 1 1/2 during the day today. It's a soggy world out there!

As you can see from the pictures, Kristell is growing and doing well. She still sleeps a lot and she still thinks that night is the best time to be awake to socialize. Last night she gave me a couple really good smiles. Steph has gotten a few, too. Fortunately when the lights go off, she settles down pretty quick and sleeps again. I know Steph will be really glad when November comes so that she can let her sleep longer than four hours between feedings. The doctor said we must religiously wake her every three hours in the day and every four hours at night to feed her for the first three months. Murphy's law says that by then she will be so used to eating every 3 hours that she'll wake us up instead of us waking her, but at least she's healthy!

Another big thing is that Steph's mom is here with us. She has been a HUGE help with getting adjusted to another child. We've really enjoyed being with her, and all the food she's cooked has been delicious! I don't know how we would have made it with out her! She leaves a week from today. I'm sure Dad will be glad to have her back, but we're going to miss her a lot!

Kaitlyn will miss her a lot, too! Today the two of them baked peanut butter cookies. Grandma has also been helping Kaitlyn about every day with some kind of preschool activity. Today they painted with water colors.

I don't have any ministry-related pictures to add right now, but I've been busy. One of the things that I'm enjoying at the moment is teach a hermeneutics class (proper Bible interpretation) at the weekend Bible School. It is very challenging because of the vast difference in educational experience of the students. Some are in college, others only went to school for a few years. Also there are virtually no Bible reference materials in Sesotho, not even a concordance.

We have been holding prayer meetings every night here at Matukeng in preparation for tent meetings and evangelism in the surrounding villages. God has been working in all of our lives, and it's exciting to see the congregation growing spiritually. As a result of the focused prayer meetings, several back sliders have come back to the Lord.

Last week we took Mom to the Pilanesberg Game Preserve up towards Pretoria and Rustenburg. We had a really nice time and saw lots of incredible animals. We were especially blessed to see a large male lion, but he was so far away that we couldn't see much more than an outline even with binoculars. From the game preserve we went over to Pretoria and Johannesburg to take care of some mission-related business there.

Here is Kristell's two-month-old picture.

These black-backed jackals are scavenging a rhino or elephant carcass.

Another Praise Report

2009-09-23T17:33:00.005+02:00

On Monday the eye doctor gave us a good report on Kristell's eyes. The doctor said it's not unusual for babies who were on ventilators to have some unusual blood vessels and problems with the optic nerve, especially when they had some brain bleeds. We praise God for this miracle!Kaitlyn loves her little sister, and they are enjoying playing together. Kristell often will stop crying when Kaitlyn sings to her.

2009-09-16T12:19:00.005+02:00

Besides caring for Kristell and Kaitlyn, we've been busy trying to get caught up with life in general. Our house is gradually getting back to normal. Getting all the mission-related things caught up will take a bit longer, but we're making progress.

Yesterday (the 15th of December) was the day Steph's doctor had tentatively scheduled the c-section for Kristell. It's hard to believe that Kristell was already seven weeks and a day old!

Last week on Thursday Kristell had her 6 week check up. The doctor gave us a very positive, encouraging report. She has gained on average 43 grams a day since she got out of the hospital. At her appointment she weighed 2.9 kg. (approx 6lbs 6 oz.). All of her reactions and reflexes were normal and, best of all, the doctor said he didn't see even subtle signs of any brain damage. We are SO grateful! The pediatrician wants to see her again at three months after she has another brain MRI.
Kristell is filling out well, and even has the beginnings of a double chin. She's kind of in between newborn size clothes and the preemie size. We are so thankful she is doing well! Thank you for praying for us!

2009-09-09T07:27:00.004+02:00

Uncle Joe left on Friday. We really miss him!

Kristell was six weeks old on Monday.
She's gaining weight well!

Home Sweet Home

2009-09-01T16:51:00.004+02:00

We're finally back to Lesotho after almost two months away! It feels good to be home, but I think we're experiencing a little culture shock after living in an upscale retirement community in a big city for a while. We miss the electricity and especially the washing machine!

We're really going to miss Grandpa and Grandma Louw. They were SO good to us!

Sorry that it's been a while since we've put anything on our blog. Here's a few "one month old" pictures.

Kristell is doing so well and really putting on weight. You can see how much her legs have fattened up below. The doctor said she should gain an average of 20-30 grams a day. On average, she's been putting on a little more than that since she got home from the hospital. On Monday she weighed 2260 grams. I think that's almost exactly five pounds.

Addicted?

2009-08-25T14:30:00.002+02:00

When Kristell was still in the hospital, we noticed that one of her daily medicines was caffeine--and lots of it, too, every morning! I was curious and looked into it on the internet today. This article provides a good summary of what I learned.

So go ahead and enjoy your coffee. Kristell had the equivalent of 6 cups every morning!

Home at Last

2009-08-19T14:33:00.006+02:00

When Kristell was first born one of the nurses told us we would need lots of patience and lots of prayer while she was in the hospital. She also said that we should count it a miracle if she gets out of the hospital before her due date (September 24.) Thank you so much for lots of prayer. We have seen a miracle!The doctor was satisfied with her progress and discharged her even though she hasn't gained back to her birth weight of 2000 grams. (I think she weighed 1940 grams this morning.)

Shhhhh, baby. Don't cry!

The NICU and pediatric high care unit were all painted up with these wall murals. It was a cute place, but we are SO glad to be home with Kristell! We plan to spend a week or two with still here in Bloemfontein with the Louws.

Progress

2009-08-18T21:40:00.002+02:00

Kristell gained 50 grams yesterday, and the doctor is pleased with her progress. Unless something changes, he plans to discharge her tomorrow. We can't wait to have our little girl home! Thanks for praying for us!

Kaitlyn's Favorite Day

2009-08-16T10:24:00.005+02:00

Sunday is the only day Kaitlyn can go into the high care unit at the hospital, so of course they are her favorite days. Today she really enjoyed getting to hold her little sister for the first time.
Kristell is doing well. The doctor said she is "thriving" now. All she needs now is to gain weight. She weights 1870 grams and has to weight 2000 grams before she can get out of the hospital. On average the doctor expects her to gain 20 grams a day, so we're guessing that it will be around a week before she gets out of the hospital. Yesterday she ended up getting two baths, so she didn't gain any weight. (A bath uses up a lot of a preemie's energy just to stay warm.)

Thanks SO MUCH for your prayers!

Kristell's First Bath

2009-08-14T18:44:00.004+02:00

Kristell did NOT enjoy her first bath! She didn't mind having her hair washed quite so much.

Even though she didn't like the water very well, she was so content and alert when it was all over. A good scrub lightened her hair color quite a bit and brought out the reddish tinge in it more.
Thanks so much for your prayers! God is answering. Kristell is growing stronger and doing better every day. We hope that she might get to go home sometime next week, but she still needs to gain some weight.

MRI Results

2009-08-12T14:52:00.004+02:00

The doctor told Steph this morning that the MRI showed two very small bleeds in Kristell's brain. He is 95% sure she won't have noticeable brain damage. If there is any problem it will likely be with her fine motor skills. We are praising the Lord that nothing too negative turned up. Thanks for praying!

A few people have asked how a newborn baby drinks from a cup. Here's one of the nurses helping Kristell drink.

2009-08-11T14:42:00.002+02:00

This morning Kristell went for a brain MRI to determine what and if there is brain damage from the asphyxia she suffered at birth. We haven't heard what the results are yet. Yesterday morning she pulled her own feeding tube out, so she's only getting nutrition from nursing and from a cup the times when Steph can't be at the hospital. She gained 10 grams today. Thanks for your prayers!

Stretch

2009-08-09T12:16:00.006+02:00

Somebody wanted a picture of Kristell with something in it to give a better idea of how big she is. Here's a couple. The Leatherman is about 4 1/2 inches long.

Spotlight on Kaitlyn

2009-08-08T12:17:00.004+02:00

Today we took Kaitlyn to a park not too far from the hospital. It's an old park and it has a HUGE slide in it. Kaitlyn loved it! (So did Daddy and Mama!)

Clothes at Last!

2009-08-08T07:21:00.004+02:00

Yesterday Kristell was moved from the NICU to a neonatal high care unit. Now she gets to wear clothes! We looked in several stores in Bloemfontein trying to find clothes for preemies. There's not too much available, but we found a few cute things. This stage should only last a couple months, so she doesn't need much.Please pray that she will master the hard work of nursing. I think the stress of the move set her back a little, but also her sucking reflex hasn't developed yet, so she's still not quite sure what to do to get her nutrition. She has a feeding tube in again just to make sure she doesn't loose weight.

Unhooked

2009-08-06T15:28:00.004+02:00

Yesterday was Kristell's first day without radiant heat. She was so snug and contented under the blankets that she didn't want to wake up to eat. She was NOT happy when we took the blankets off!

Today she's completely unhooked. All the IVs, the feeding tube, blood pressure cuff, and everything is off! We are praising the Lord that she is doing so well! The only thing still on is a sensor on her foot that monitors pulse and oxygen saturation of her blood. She had another brain scan yesterday that came back normal. We are so thankful! The pediatrician is very pleased with her progress, too.

Yes, I am proud!
Thank you so much for praying for us!

More Progress

2009-08-04T22:08:00.004+02:00

Kristell is doing well and the rest of us have been busy! Sorry that it's been a while since I posted anything here. She's doing fine breathing room air. I didn't ask the nurse for sure, but I think she's off the phenobarbital because she's been much more alert the yesterday and today. Stephanie and I both got to hold her today, and doctor wants Stephanie to start nursing her starting tonight. She took about one swallow and fell fast asleep. (It's a LOT more work than having nice warm milk pumped straight into her stomach.) I'm going to try to post a video here from today. Thank you so much for praying for her and for us!

Pictures

2009-08-02T18:53:00.002+02:00

Today was a big day for both Kristell and Kaitlyn. Kristell is off all the breathing assistance, and Kaitlyn finally got to see her baby sister. Kaitlyn was very excited and I think a baby sister is now a reality in her mind.

What color is that hair? It's definitely brown, but it's still a little hard to tell exactly what color since she hasn't had a bath yet.

Here's a little better look at her face. Her cheeks and temples are still red and irritated from the tape that held the breathing tubes and everything, but she looks a little better than when she had on the alien helmet and sun glasses. Her grasping reflex still hasn't developed yet, but once in a while her hand will close over a finger, an IV line or something.

Answer to Prayer

2009-08-02T11:33:00.002+02:00

Thank you so much for praying for Kristell and us. This morning they took her off the CPAP machine and she's breathing fine all on her own! This is a big step! She's getting a little more milk now--a teaspoon every 3 hours. I'll try to post some pictures later today.

Two Pictures

2009-07-31T17:03:00.000+02:00

Cool Shades?

2009-07-31T10:06:00.003+02:00

Steph is being discharged today (Friday). We're really glad she's out of the hospital, but it's really strange to leave Kristell here! Kristell is doing well. They took her off the ventilator yesterday. Now she's on a CPAP machine that assists her breathing a little, but doesn't do it for her. She's starting with a little jaundice, so she's wearing shades and catching some rays. Yesterday the pediatrician said it looks like it will be a longer haul than he had first hoped. We don't know how long she'll be in the NICU, but it sounds like it will be a while. The nurse told us we should consider anything short of September 24 (the due date) a miracle, but God specializes in those!

Three Days Old

2009-07-29T18:14:00.002+02:00

We praise God that everything is going well here. Steph has been up and around today and to the NICU twice. We were hoping that she would be discharged tomorrow, but I think the doctor wants her to rest and recover a little longer. Kristell is about the same. She sleeps all the time, but she does move or respond a little when we talk to her. We think some of the medicine she is on makes her drowsy. There's not much new to take pictures of, but this picture shows her long fingers. Thank you so much for praying!

From the NICU

2009-07-28T15:54:00.004+02:00

Steph is up today and feeling a little stronger this afternoon. We went to the NICU to see Kristell together. Of course that was a very emotional time. She was having a little difficulty breathing, so the doctor had turned up the ventilator a little bit to support her. Overall it seems like she's doing well. Her breathing is good enough that they put her on her tummy for part of the day.

Praise the Lord!

2009-07-27T22:08:00.005+02:00

Just a quick update to let you know that the pediatrician is very pleased with Kristell's progress. He said she "took a dramatic turn for the better" today. She is breathing 21% oxygen (the same as the rest of us breathe), and the settings on the ventilator are being turned down because she's beginning to take over.

This is Kristell's place in the NICU. Most of the time she's covered up with bubble wrap to keep her precious body heat in.

Kristell Madeleine

2009-07-27T10:42:00.002+02:00

Kristell Madeleine was born by emergency c-section around 3:00am Central Africa Time! She had a rough introduction to this world, but we thank God that the doctors were able to resuscitate her and she is stable now in the NICU. She weighed 2 kilograms. I think that's around 4 lbs 6 oz. She arrived 9 weeks early. I'm sorry that we don't know how long she was yet. When a baby doesn't breathe and has no heart beat, some of the details slip by! Praise God that Stephanie came through the operation as well as can be expected.

Please pray that Kristell will gain strength quickly and will learn to breathe on her own!

Welcome back!

2009-07-23T16:10:00.001+02:00

Hi,

It's always a bad sign when the nurse in the hospital says, "Welcome
back!" Even though we got a good report from Steph's doctor yesterday,
she had quite a bit of bleeding in the night, and the receptionist at
the doctor's office (we're pretty sure it's the doctor's wife) wanted
her to go right to the labour ward to have things checked out. The
doctor came from the operating theater to check on her and quickly
decided to have her admitted. It seemed like one of the big reasons
that influenced that decision was that Steph was having some low back
pain and tightness or very mild contractions. The bleeding hasn't
stopped quite as quick as it has in the past, so overall we're glad that
she's in a safe place.

Well, I don't have much more news than that. We'll try to keep you
updated.

Love,
Glenn

Update on Steph

2009-07-22T15:19:00.002+02:00

Hi,

Steph had an appointment with her doctor today. We were so thankful that he said everything is going as good as can be expected. The ultra sound shows that the placenta is not moving (bad), but baby weighs approx. 1.9 kg now (good). He said the pediatricians are quite comfortable with a baby being born once it has reached 2 kg, so she's getting close to that mark now. He wants Steph to move around the house, but stay home and take life very easy, still. Her next
appointment is in two weeks.

We don't have much other news besides that. Thanks so much for your
prayers.

Glenn

Lesotho Update

2009-07-20T18:43:00.001+02:00

Dear Praying Friends,

We are still having some technical problems being able to send out e-mails to large groups. While we are trying to resolve those, we will at least put a prayer update on our blog.

Praise:

Though Stephanie still has complications with the pregnancy, praise the Lord that the baby is doing fine and that she is out of the hospital still. Also praise the Lord for the Louws who have graciously taken us into their home while we must stay near the hospital in Bloemfontein. As you think of it, pray God's rich blessing on these dear Christians.
Glenn went back to Lesotho on Saturday and found the ladies of the Matukeng church holding a fasting and prayer service. We are very encouraged with the way some of the Christians are growing spiritually!

Prayer:

Please continue to pray for Stephanie and the baby. The doctor made it very clear that the situation is dangerous and that Stephanie was be within minutes of the hospital and take life VERY easy. She can be out of bed, but not out of the house.
Pray against a concerted attack by Satan against the pastors in Lesotho. Some of them are growing spiritually and doing very well, but others are really struggling. Please pray particularly for one pastor who is going through some very difficult times spiritually and in his home.
A tent meeting is in progress this week in the town of Roma near the church. Pray that God will unite the believers through this effort and bring sinners to salvation.

Thank you so much for the tremendous prayer support we have experienced since Stephanie began having problems. We deeply appreciate it and we can feel God working!

Glenn, Stephanie, and Kaitlyn Gault
Hope International Missions

Steph out of Hospital

2009-07-15T16:33:00.002+02:00

Hi,

Just a quick note to let you know that the doctor discharged Stephanie from the hospital. He said she MUST stay in Bloemfontein until the baby comes. The ultrasound showed that the placenta is not moving up, and the doctor says that it is unlikely to move up now. He said that typically the bleeding mostly stops for a while, then starts again around the 34th week. It can be much more serious then, but baby will be much more ready for the world by then.

We are staying with Attie and Muriel Louw for the time being. They have been so good to help us out during this time. Pray that the Lord will bless them in a special way! Below is a picture of their house.

Thanks for your prayers!

From the Labor Ward

2009-07-12T13:42:00.003+02:00

Hi,

Nothing new from Steph at the moment. The doctor said he MIGHT let her out tomorrow if we stay in Bloemfontein, but we're not getting our hopes up. The bleeding still hasn't stopped, and a nurse was just telling us that placenta previa can turn very dangerous with very little warning.

Here's a few pix:Kaitlyn and Heidi (the Louw's schnauzer puppy) love playing tug-o-war.

Nana left this set of "Pocket Ponies" for Kaitlyn when they were here. It sure came in handy for "such a time as this!"

Since TLC was here, combing hair has been a big thing to Kaitlyn. She learned a lot of new techniques from the girls!

Lesotho Update

2009-07-11T16:36:00.001+02:00

Dear Praying Friends,

Probably many of you already know that Stephanie has been having some complications with her pregnancy. We have felt your prayers and want to thank you.

In short, the doctor has diagnosed her with a placenta previa which is causing some bleeding. So far the baby is doing fine, but the doctor has Stephanie in the hospital on bed rest. Because of the stroke associated with when Kaitlyn was born, she is on Clexane, a blood thinner. Now the doctor is trying to balance a problem with bleeding against the danger of stroke. Please pray that God will keep His hand on Stephanie and the little one, and that the doctor would have wisdom to find the right balance between these two dangerous problems.

Sincerely,

Glenn Gault
Hope International Missions

Steph still in Hospital

2009-07-09T15:23:00.002+02:00

Hi,

At the moment things are going worse for Steph, but we still thank the Lord that the baby is doing great and the situation isn't yet threatening to either Steph or the baby. In the night last night she had worse bleeding so she is on complete bed rest in the hospital. From there there's really not much more news. The doctor just says we have to be patient and very careful. Every day counts right now because it's a time when the baby is really growing a lot.

Of course the turn for the worse was a disappointment. Yesterday the bleeding had stopped and the doctor seemed somewhat hopeful that he might release Stephanie today or tomorrow knowing that we have a place to stay within fifteen minutes of the hospital. I assume now that
she'll be in the hospital into the first of next week at least.

Thank you so much for your prayers. It seems like the trend is towards the worse, so we really appreciate knowing many people are praying for us and that God is in control.

Love,

Glenn

Update on Steph

2009-07-08T16:53:00.004+02:00

Hi everyone,

I think most of you know already, but Steph's back in the hospital in Bloem again because of more bleeding. :-( Fortunately it's still not serious, but it must be monitored. The doctor said the baby weighs between 1.5 and 1.6 kilograms now, and he hopes it will reach 2 kg at least if it is born before full term. It seems that there is still a good chance that the problem will fix itself, so we must just be patient. I assume she'll be in the hospital several days again, and we'll probably stay in Bloem until we're fairly sure the problem is fixed. Hopefully that won't be until September!!!!

Love to all,

Glenn

Steph

2009-07-06T13:10:00.001+02:00

Hi Everyone,

Just a quick note to let you know that Steph is out of the hospital and
we are back home at Matukeng. We are much relieved that she got out.
The doctor wants to see her in just over a week and he told her to take
it easy. She's not supposed to lift anything heavy, exercise, etc. I
think kind of jokingly the doctor said she could make tea and knit or
crochet.

Maybe later we can write more, but this will let you know what's going on.

Thanks so much for your prayers!

Glenn

Update on Steph

2009-07-05T12:29:00.002+02:00

Hi everyone!

We were hoping maybe Steph would be released today, but her doctor is off, and I think he'll want to see her before they let her out. So she's in another day. The bleeding has stopped and both her and the baby are doing great. The doctor said the placenta is not covering the cervix at all, and he hopes that it will move up like it normally does. The problem occurs when the placenta is too low and the stretching uterus starts to pull a little bit of it loose causing the bleeding.

Kaitlyn and I stayed with friends (Uncle Attie and Aunt Meriel Louw) who used to live in Ladybrand but have moved to Bloemfontein recently. They live in a retirement community/game park. It is very nice. We saw springbok, gemsbok, and red hartebees this morning before breakfast.

Love to all and thanks for your prayers!

Glenn

Steph in Hospital

2009-07-04T11:32:00.001+02:00

Hi everyone,

I'm at an internet cafe, and I'm not sure I have everyone's e-mail
addresses correct. Feel free to pass this on to anyone who would be
interested. Mr. Howard, could you please pass this on to Michelle
Asbell. I don't have her e-mail address.

Thursday night Steph had some bleeding. It wasn't a lot, but her doctor
wanted to see her asap on Friday. He put her in the hospital for
observation until the bleeding stops. She has a placenta previa, but it
is only a grade 1. The placenta is not covering the cervix at all, but
it is lower than it should be. This problem should fix itself
hopefully. There's nothing the doctor can do to treat it, and there's
nothing Steph could have done to prevent it. At the moment it is not
terribly serious, but if the placenta doesn't move up like it should,
then it could result in serious bleeding. If that happens, then of
course the doctor will have to take the baby. Fortunately the baby is
far enough along that with the neo-natal ICU in Bloemfontein at the
hospital where we go the baby has a a very good chance to live even
now. Every day improves that outlook.

As far as we can tell the bleeding has stopped. Steph's doctor is off
this weekend and a partner saw her this morning and said everything
seems OK. I doubt if she will be discharged until Monday, however. The
doctor may limit her activity at least some once he discharges her, and
I'm sure he will be seeing her pretty often. We'll try to keep in touch
one way or another to let you know what is happening.

Steph is feeling fine and doing well emotionally. She said she got a
good night's rest last night in spite of the nurses checking her and the
baby every four hours. Fortunately Kaitlyn is a daddy's girl, so we're
doing fine, too. I tried to do her hair this morning and that didn't go
so well. It looked about the same after I finished as before! :-)

Love to all. Thanks for your prayers!

Glenn

Brrrr!

2009-06-26T17:49:00.002+02:00

Last night it snowed quite a bit in Lesotho. At Matukeng where we live, most of it melted as fast as it fell, but some stuck. Here's a picture from the village where we held an outreach today. The sun shined all day, but the wind was bitter cold!

TLC Lesotho 2009

2009-06-24T16:48:00.004+02:00

We've been having a great time with the TLC team that came to Lesotho. They have been a HUGE blessing!

The TLC team helped us with an outreach where we're planting a church at Mphatane. We passed out tracts, the girls held a short children's service, and we held an open are service.

Matt, Joe, and John played Candy Land with Kaitlyn. She loves the team!

TLC has been a huge help with several projects that we just haven't had time to get to. They painted the carport, ran a water line to the pig pen and we're still trying to get the leaks in the plumbing to the apartment sink to dry up.

The 4-day VBS was a great success here at Matukeng. They also helped with a children's service at Ha Motheho.

Here's the team that did the children's ministry.

Kymberly really enjoyed her "Super Bowl Sundae!" She LOVES sprinkles and ice cream!

Today we climbed to the top of the plateau behind our house. Yes, that is snow on the mountains in the distance!

The looooooong lost group e-mail

2009-06-13T08:12:00.005+02:00

Hi everybody,

From the frequency of our communication with you, you probably already guessed that life has been a bit hectic for lately. I suppose it's more a problem of priorities so I won't make any more excuses.

Tuesday I left Matukeng about 3:00am to go to the airport to pick up Joe (Steph's youngest brother) and the TLC team. I was a little late arriving for Joe because of construction and traffic jams in Johannesburg, but he said he had only been waiting five minutes for me.

From the airport we went to a mall to kill the day until the TLC team came in in the evening. Neither Joe or I are shoppers so we bought a packet of french fries and sat at a restaurant for several hours talking. Then around 1:00 in the afternoon we went to an Indian curry buffet for lunch. We both really enjoyed the food and had a nice time talking there too. After lunch we checked into the Baptist mission guest house where we were to spend the night. We both slept for about an hour there before leaving for the airport again to pick up the TLC team

The TLC team leaders are Matthew Thompson and Angela Haynes, both from Hobe Sound. We've known them both since college, so it's really nice to
be with them. The rest of the team members are John Miller, Rachel Grate, Kayla Shannon, Kimberly Rynearson, Jennifer Worrell. They are a great team and we are really enjoying being with them.

Yesterday we went to Mphatane (one of the newest church plants) for an outreach with youth from the church here. God really helped as we passed out tracts and held a short open air service. All the TLC team testified and I preached a short message. The TLC team also spend time with the village kids, taught them some songs, loved them, etc. A lot of the people responded to the Gospel invitation. I felt like it was very profitable outreach. The chief of the village was drunk but very supportive. He didn't go forward at the invitation, but I heard him praying the simple sinners' prayer that Nt. Kali led the people in. He said he would help us find an empty house to hold services in. The deceased witch doctor's family lets us hold services in their house, but they live in the edge of the next village which is much smaller. It would be better if we had a house specifically for the church and in
this larger village.

Today we're going to work on some simple projects around here, get ready for the service tomorrow at Ha Thafeng, and prepare for the VBS that starts on Monday. Also Joe will be leaving with Uncle Piet for Zambia on Monday, so I need to get a few camping supplies out for him to take along.

Well, that's the news for today. I'll try to put a few pictures on our
blog to go with this if you want to look there. The address is
http://gaultsinlesotho.blogspot.com

Glenn

News from Lesotho

2009-05-09T20:36:00.003+02:00

Hi everyone,

It's a sunny but chilly Saturday afternoon in Lesotho. I wonder if it snowed up in the mountains somewhere recently. In spite of a clear sunny day, the wind has a cold bite to it.

I finished up the class I've been taking yesterday. I enjoyed the class a lot, but I'm glad it's over! I have a to-do list as long as my arm to get done this month. When I take these classes I seem to only get the necessities done. Anything that can be put off gets put off. Now it's catch up time!

Last weekend we visited Philip and Amrie Geise. We had a really nice time with them. Since Friday was a holiday in South Africa, we went there Thursday afternoon after they got out of school. Friday we went to a farm show in Bloemfontein. We arrived there late because we slept in, so we missed some of the better shows like seeing horses, but we still had a lot of fun looking around. Besides animals, there were displays of farm equipment, motorcycles and four wheelers, art contests from area schools, and lots of flea market type stuff. Saturday Steph
and Amrie relaxed around the house while Philip and I went for a hike. We went to a farm about 8 miles from Ladybrand and hiked down into a beautiful canyon that has a waterfall at the head of it. There wasn't any water falling, but little springs were trickling out of the rocks
everywhere. It was very beautiful and therapeutic. We had planned to go back to Lesotho Saturday night even though I didn't have to preach on Sunday, but around supper time we decided to spend the night again and go with them to the church at Manyatseng Sunday.

Saturday afternoon Philip had loaned his truck to one of the pastors to move some of his things from the farm where he used to live to Ladybrand. Shortly after we made the decision to spend the night, Philip got a phone call that somebody had run into his truck and the back axle was knocked out from under the truck. We hurried off together to see what could be done. Fortunately no one was hurt seriously, but the pastor's brother's son did spend the night in the hospital. The car that hit the truck hit it right on the back wheel and drove the back
axle almost to the bumper on one side. We managed to beat it back into place and tightened up the badly mangled u-bolts again enough to get it home. The big challenge was that it didn't have any brakes and the drive shaft was also pulled out. Eventually we used our Golf and a tow
rope to pull it a few miles back to Steve and Gwen's house very slowly. The last four blocks to their house is down hill, so we hitched a "whoa rope" from the front of Steve Geise's Mercedes to the back of Philip's truck to be the brakes to go down the hill. By then it was getting late and we were all pretty tired. We got a good laugh out of our tow train.

Monday morning I took our truck back to Ladybrand for them to use, then Wednesday we worked on his truck. We replaced the spring center bolts, u-bolts and all the bushings on both sides. We also had to repair the parking brake cable, the brakes, and a few other things. Amazingly there was very little sheet metal damage on the vehicle. The man who
hit him supposedly deposited money into Philip's bank account today to cover the damage. I suspect that the wheel bearing and the u-joints will eventually have to be replaced, and we wonder if the frame wasn't tweaked out of shape a little somewhere since the truck sits a little
higher on one side than the other. Fortunately the amount the man paid will cover those repairs and paint that side of the truck.

Today Steve and Gwen were planning to visit, but their whole family is down with a nasty stomach flu. Instead of visiting with them, I ended up going to a funeral here in the village. It was a strange funeral to say the least. It seemed that the young man who died was estranged from his family here. I don't really know what the problem was, but between the drunkenness and family problems the funeral was a little tense. The father of the man who died left the funeral midway to go get some more alcohol in the village. He came back at the end of the service so drunk he could hardly stand up. Ntate Pheko preached the funeral, and the people of the village listened very attentively. The hunger for the Gospel in Lesotho is very encouraging.

Friday night Nt. Kali took a group of ladies to Mapoteng to encourage the ladies of that congregation. They held an all night prayer meeting there and came back real early this morning. Nt. Kali turned the truck around in a spot that turned out to be a marsh. The truck was starting to get stuck so he backed up into some bushes to get to solid ground. Unfortunately, the bushes had been cut down and had grown out again. The branches looked very soft and harmless, but unfortunately there was a big limb hidden by the new growth. This nasty snag broke out the back window of the topper of the truck. I'm not sure where I'll find a replacement for that! Maybe I'll have to just find some plexi-glass and cut a custom one.

Well, I'm rambling so I'll close.

Love to all. Thanks for your prayers!
Glenn

Prayer Request from Lesotho

2009-04-29T12:56:00.000+02:00

Greetings from Lesotho! It definitely feels like fall here. It's cloudy again, and that adds to the chill.

First of all we want to share several answers to prayer:

Praise:

The Easter conference was a great blessing. Many people found spiritual help.
The last time we asked you to pray for a young mother who was in physical danger. We praise the Lord that He has protected her, and the man who was stalking her has been banned from the village by the chief. She has stood strong spiritually and told the truth through the whole situation. It has been an excellent witness in the village where she lives. Thank you so much for praying!
Last weekend we had a much needed rain. It has been dry again since January, and we had thought the dry season had already started. This fall rain will help people's gardens grow well until the frost comes and contribute to good nutrition throughout the winter. Praise the Lord!
Stephanie got a good report from her doctor last week. Both she and the baby are doing fine! Thanks again for praying for us!

Prayer:

PLEASE intercede for the pastors here in Lesotho. Several of them are going through difficult trials right now that could seriously affect God's Kingdom. We need your prayers in a special way right now!
Pray for us and the rest of the missionaries on the Southern Africa team. We need God's constant grace to maintain good spiritual and physical health. We also need divine wisdom for the many decisions we face.

News:

We are looking forward to hosting a Touching Lives For Christ (TLC) mission team in June. We will be working together with youth from the church in Lesotho to hold a VBS and have outreaches in several villages. I'm sure they will also help with some "hands-on" projects--painting, maintenance, and maybe making some church benches.

We appreciate your prayers! God is at work!

Glenn, Stephanie, and Kaitlyn Gault
Hope International Missions

Easter Conference

2009-04-13T08:03:00.004+02:00

Rev. Thabang Khasipe from Ladybrand was the special speaker.

Kaitlyn enjoyed the children's services

It was a time to get re-acquainted with old friends. This is Ntate Mokoena with Poloko and Kaitlyn

Of course there were LOTS of choirs and the services were long. Sunday the service started at 9:30 and ran until 2:45!!!

Lesotho Update

2009-04-08T21:32:00.001+02:00

Dear Praying Friends,

Thank you so much for your consistent prayer. The month of March was very busy, and so far it looks like April will be no different. Here's a little prayer request update so that you can support us more effectively in this spiritual war.

Praise:

The last time we wrote, we asked for you to pray as we held the funeral of a converted witchdoctor. God answered prayer, and several people have responded to the Gospel in that village. Most of the family did stand against all forms of ancestor worship. Praise the Lord for this! This past weekend, the extended family came to conduct the final ceremony for the ancestors in connection with the funeral. Bro. Mahlomola went there to preach on Sunday and assist the family through this difficult time. When he arrived, he found a drunken celebration going on in one room of the house. In the other room the converted members of the family were fasting and praying for protection and the salvation of the rest of the family.
We also asked you to pray especially for an HIV positive orphan that Rev. Pheko is carrying for. God is answering prayer for her! Monday I saw her, and she looks so much better. Praise God for His physical touch, and keep praying for her. Except for a miracle, there is no cure for AIDS.

Prayer:

Please keep on praying for the weekend Bible School. We are so encouraged with the new group of students who are attending! Pray that they will be able to apply the lessons they are learning to daily life and ministry. Pray that God will call some of them to be full-time pastors! Also pray for us teachers.
Our annual Easter conference starts tomorrow (Thursday) and runs through Sunday afternoon. Please pray that God will graciously pour out His Holy Spirit on us.
Please pray for a young mother from the Matukeng congregation that is in physical danger at the moment. The details are complex and personal, so please just breathe a prayer that God will keep her safe and help her stand strong spiritually during this difficult time.

News:

Probably all of you have heard through our newsletters or blog, but we are expecting another child in September. We are excited, but please pray for Stephanie and the baby's health!

Thank you for your faith-filled prayers. God is at work!

Glenn, Stephanie, and Kaitlyn Gault
Hope International Missions

We're Expecting!

2009-04-05T17:46:00.002+02:00

You can check out the pregnancy ticker at the bottom of our blog!

'Mesa

2009-04-05T16:56:00.005+02:00

In Sesotho, the name of the month that corresponds with April is 'Mesa. It is derived from "ho besa" which means to roast. It is the month when the corn is ripe enough to roast and eat. Since God graciously gave us rain this summer, we have a nice crop of field corn in the clinic garden. Towards evening some nights we light a fire and start roasting corn for supper. It's yummy! We wish you could join us around the fire under the stars to talk for an hour or two while we roast and eat fresh corn!

Sunday Afternoon

2009-04-05T16:20:00.003+02:00

Hi everyone,

It's been a very long time since I wrote e-mail. I guess things have
been going a little crazy around here and probably won't stop until
after Easter. I'll try to remember a few things of interest from the
recent past to give you an idea of what we've been up to.

Probably the big thing lately was that Nt. Kali and I made a trip to KwaSizabantu over near Durban to pick up a motorcycle that was given to him. The cycle is a bit of a project, but may still have some potential. It is a Yamaha the same as mine but styled more as a dirt bike. They are a popular bike in South Africa, and have been used by the police a lot. It has three major problems: The exhaust system is completely rusted out. Supposedly there is something wrong with the transmission (I doubt this is serious.) And it doesn't have a title. Since 1994 it has been used to get around the KwaSizabantu campus the owner never licensed it. Now we have no idea how to go about getting a license for it. The man who gave it to Nt. Kali also gave him $200 to help get it fixed up, so maybe we can find a used exhaust for it and put it back together. The motor was rebuilt, but never used and the bike was completely put back together after that. It sat outside more than a year, hence the exhaust and a few other parts were rusted out. I'm fairly sure the transmission problem is just from sitting. I think I'll start by draining the oil out of it, rinsing it good with diesel, then refilling it with new oil. I suspect that will solve the problem. That of course is when I get some free time!

We left about 6:00am Monday morning with the Golf and trailer. We met Nt. Matsaba at the border and had an uneventful trip. It is a beautiful time of year in the Free State because the cosmos are blooming all along the road until we dropped down into the more subtropical area towards the coast. The road we traveled crosses the Drakensberg or Maluti mountains just to the north of Lesotho. We drove through a beautiful
national park called Golden Gate National Park where we crossed the highest passes. We really enjoyed the mountains and also saw a lot of antelope--blesbok, zebra, and another one that I don't know the name of. The baboons were also interesting.

The time at KwaSizabantu was very nice. Their large auditorium which was capable of seating 10,000 people burned to the ground last year. This was very discouraging to them since it was the heart of their ministry. (They don't plant churches as much as we do. Instead they hold conferences and people come to them for spiritual help instead of them going out to plant churches in villages. God has blessed their ministry and they have done a LOT for God in Southern Africa.) From what I understand, they cleared the rubble and then around the beginning of
February started rebuilding. The main structure of the new auditorium is made from laminated wood beams. This structure and the roof system were completely prefabricated in Austria. It was then shipped to Durban and trucked to the mission and then assembled there. They were putting the finishing touches on the building when were there, and plan to use it for the first time on Easter Sunday. To rebuild this massive a structure in two months is quite a miracle in Africa! If you check our blog, I'll post some pictures.

The main reason I'm so busy at the moment is that I'm taking another class from Liberty University. Actually this is the second one this year. They are only 8 weeks long, but there's quite a bit to do during those eight weeks. I thought this one was going to be easier because it
only has two short textbooks, but I misjudged it. There not a lot of assigned reading, but every week there are two writing assignments that require some research. The name of the class is Biblical Foundation of Leadership. I'm really enjoying it and finding it especially applicable to life.

Yesterday I worked with volunteers at Ha Matala on the tabernacle there. We want to close in the open pole barn to make a nice conference facility. Several months ago we dug the foundations, and piled the dirt inside the tabernacle. I had really hoped to get the foundations poured and the the walls up to floor level before the Easter conference, but we had so much rain that we could not work on it. When we get a lot rain, that area turns into a marsh even though it's on the side of a hill.
The foundation trenches that we dug were brim full of water for several weeks. It has finally almost dried up, but there is just not enough time to pour the foundations and build the walls before the conference begins next Thursday. We spread the dirt from the foundation holes out and packed it with a compactor. Maybe later this month we can get the foundation poured.

Well, I guess that's my news. Blessings from God to all of you!

Glenn

Church Dedication

2009-03-26T13:33:00.002+02:00

Hi everyone,

Everything is going well here. It's been one of those busier times, but I think things are getting back to normal again. We are in Ladybrand today taking care of errands and we had to get some more heparin for Steph. Tonight we are going out to the farm for homemade pizza with the other missionaries. We'll enjoy that except both Uncle Johan and Aunt Hessie will be gone. Aunt Hessie went for a week of ACE training so she can help more at the school and Uncle Johan is checking out the possiblilities of teaching agriculture at workshops different places in the Free State of South Africa. Since he can speak three languages fluently a company has been after him for a while to teach for them.

Earlier this month the church at Ha Seleso was dedicated. It was a nice service both because God's presence was there and because it was a time to remember and celebrate all the hard work that went into building the church. Here's a picture.

Hope you all have a great day!

Quotes

2009-03-16T17:50:00.002+02:00

I think these quotes are pertinent to our day!

"As a strategic leader, Joseph (in the the Bible) prepared for the lean years and the years of plenty. Few political leaders have followed his example since. Rather, there is a tendency to raise the standard of living in the years of plenty, extend credit during the lean years, and slow the economic recovery of the nation in an attempt to balance the books later." --Elmer Towns

"A politician thinks of the next election; a statesman of the next generation." --J.F. Clarke

Sunday in Lesotho

2009-03-15T16:03:00.005+02:00

Today I was thinking about a few of the differences between church in America and church in Lesotho. One difference is how people get to church. Most people in America come to church by car. No one has a car at the church where we normally attend. People walk to church. Some come down the little road that leads to the clinic. Others, especially from the neighboring village of Ha Teko, take a short cut through the villages, across a small creek (during the rainy season) and then emerge from between the rows of the neighbor's corn field.

Another difference is that we only have a morning service. It starts with a prayer meeting from 10:30 to 11:00. From 11:00 to 1:00 (at least) is the worship service. It is not unusual for the whole congregation to stand for the half hour prayer meeting and then for another half hour of singing at the beginning of the worship service. We still aren't sure whether people just like to stand or if it's because the low backless benches aren't comfortable to sit on! :-)

After church is over there is often time for seekers to ask questions or pray with the help of the pastor and a few elders. Around 1:30 or so the choir practices for forty-five minutes. While the choir practices, someone will have a short Sunday School class outside with the little children and teach them a new memory verse which they will say the following Sunday morning during the worship service.

This morning I was struck by how different the testimony time is in Lesotho when compared with America. It's not unusual for people to give victorious testimonies of how God delivered them from a life of demon possession or how God saved them from the oppression of ancestor worship and superstition. Another common theme is God's faithful providence in providing for financial needs in spite of great poverty.

Of course the people are different, too. Mr. Canon, who is blind and has a mental handicap, showed up an hour and a half before church in his knee-high rubber gum boots. (I think they're the only shoes he owns. You can just see his boots on the left edge of the picture.) He sang loudly and quoted a variety of his favorite scriptures as he felt his way from door to door begging for food. (For some reason he didn't come to our house this morning. Maybe he got enough food on the way?!?) Miss Keneiloe is an assistant nurse at the clinic. Before she came to church she made sure all her TB patients took their medicine at the clinic. We were all happy to see Mrs. Hlalele back in church. She got saved last October out of a hopeless life of witchcraft. For several weeks recently the garment factory where she works forced her to work on Sunday. It was good to see she's still doing well spiritually in spite of this challenge. There was a new lady that visited for the first time, too. She came to Pastor Kali during the week for prayer and promised him she would come on Sunday. I was glad she stayed after the service to seek the Lord.

I was still thinking about some of these differences as I began to preach this morning at Matukeng. I looked up from my sermon notes at the end of the introduction to realize that a young girl who has been attending church for several months but who is still unsaved was beginning to have a satanic seizure. The message ended abruptly as she was carried to the front of the church for prayer. Although the power of Satan seemed to be broken at least in part as we prayed for the girl, it didn't seem like a complete victory was won. Please pray much for us as we daily confront the power of demons with the all-sufficient power of Jesus Christ!

Converted Witchdoctor's Funeral

2009-03-05T08:02:00.005+02:00

This past weekend the choir from Matukeng went to the new preaching point at Mphatane to help with the funeral of the converted witchdoctor. We were not only able to help and support this new family of believers, but it was also a wonderful opportunity to preach to more than 150 people from the surrounding villages.The Matukeng choir is singing just outside the tent on the left.

This is part of the crowd that gathered for the funeral

Here the village men are back-filling the grave. I took this picture with my cell phone, so it didn't turn out so well.

Lesotho Letters

2009-03-05T06:42:00.002+02:00

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