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

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?

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...

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

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.