Mariha in Lesotho

The rains have finally let up, and we are enjoying some of the glorious days that mariha (winter) in Lesotho can bring. Bright sunny days; cool yes, but great for going for a walk.

Wendy and I have found a way through a nearby village that does not feel like we are walking through peoples houses. Village areas can be quite intimate. Running water tap means running, or walking, to get it, and it is not uncommon to see women in their pajamas or house coats walking to a nearby tap. With houses that have only one room the visiting takes place outside. So when we walk through a village area we are often walking through a men’s card game or gambling session. Or women doing the family laundry. I am often uncomfortable, feeling that I am wandering through someone’s private space. So when we can find a way through a village that actually follows a road I no longer feel like an intruder. At any rate, on the other side of this village, is a mountain, and a most enjoyable hike it is.

The mountain from our house.

Once through the village we only meet curious folks wondering why two lekhooa (white people) are clambering over the rocks and picking their way up a small trail. The mountain, like so many in Lesotho, is actually a plateau, and on top is a planted forest of gum and pine trees. In this land of few trees, I love the wind sighing in the pines up top - a reminder of home, and warm sunny days wandering along forest trails in the mountains of Alberta. The flat terrain up top also allows one to wander away from the plateau edge and there amidst the trees, the sights and sounds of the city recede; a place to relax, reflect, and let time stand still for a moment. I find it a wonderful place to spend a warm and sunny winter day.

Another mountain seen from our house that is also a fun hike.

Back down in the city and in our house winter is another matter. I have previously mentioned that the warmth of the shorter winter days is not sufficient to drive the cold of the winter nights from the houses. Our living space consists of two rooms that we keep heated, the kitchen and the bedroom. So the open space of the mountain top also provides a welcome respite to the reduced space down below.

Early morning frost, mariha in Lesotho.

Looking forward to summer in Canada, before returning to Lesotho for spring.

~ Benno ~

Shades of Joy

Joy comes in many shades...

A few weeks back it presented itself in many gorgeous shades of green and earth tones of brown as we headed way out into the rurals of Lesotho to visit a young gal from Holland who has recently married a Mosotho. It was joyous to see this young and courageous couple tackling all the challenges of their new life together, trusting God. So lovely to view the rolling mountain upon mountain and valley upon valley with all the tiny villages perched throughout.

Then, better yet, to view pure blackness strewn with shining white specks: a pure night sky full of stars. No electricity does have a few benefits! And quiet! Did I mention the sound of absolute crystal pure stillness that just fills a soul with peacefulness... What colour is stillness? What colour is peace? I think it is the most gentle powder blue imaginable. Wonder... Wonder full...Wonderful! A wonderful weekend it was!

Then, on Thursday last, joy came in mud-brown ;-) and the great fun of another hiking trip (kind of...) with the IB 1's. I decided that we'd never get around to hiking trips if a)I wait for them to plan or b)I wait for the rain to stop, so I suggested that we do a Tuesdays for Two thing where we do a two-hour small hike up the little knoll in town every Tuesday just to get in condition, have a chance to discuss plans for longer hikes, gauge who's up for longer hikes, and slowly build their mandatory 50 hours of activity they need to graduate with their diploma. (Two hours a week DOES add up, over time!)

Anyway, we couldn't go last Tuesday because I had Parent/Teacher meetings so we scheduled for Thursday. Of course, Thursday comes and it's pouring all day but those crazy kids are packed into my classroom ready to go--no less than twenty-five of them! I say, "Oh, you guys, it's raining. This is crazy. You guys are crazy. You don't want to do this, do you (hoping...)?" Yep, they did. So I stalled them until at least the rain let up, then we headed out for what was actually a three-hour hike since, of course, there were slower ones.

All-in-all it was such good fun and a highlight of the week. Having to help very reticent young adults who were really quite fearful of a couple of scramble spots but convincing them that they COULD do this was rewarding. (Considering Basotho ARE mountain people, most of the ones I've met aren't! They are very fearful of heights or anything close and I've had some express that we white people do crazy things like climbing mountains just because... ;-)

But it WAS fun! The kids all got to the top and started singing and dancing! Then we headed down...(Did I mention, it had started raining again!) A good part of the way home we were jumping puddles and trying to avoid too much mud, and then these kids started singing and dancing again for most of the way home. I was just absorbing their joy! Some of the tunes I recognized but with one I was just chuckling when they were singing ... Sesotho, Sesotho... something something....Wendy...something... Yeh, that's the only word I could understand, so I laughed and told them it was creepy to hear them singing when the only word I recognized was my name ;-) (I also thought it was quite funny that they'd decided somehow that they should call me Wendy versus Mrs. Fath which is what they normally call me ;-) Anyway, the song was about conquering the mountain with me ;-) Oh, yes, I get my rewards! Joy--muddy, rain-soaked joy!

~ Wendy ~

Heros

On a weekend in early May we traveled deep into a part of Lesotho that was new to us. We traveled past the rocky desolation of the Mafeteng area, beyond the desert succulents of Quthing, over lofty mountain passes enveloped in cloud, and back down to the Senqu River into Qacha’s Nek district, near Lesotho’s southern border with South Africa. Unlike some other trips, this one was on tarred roads (of varying quality) that wound through the landscape for 355 kilometres, and six hours. We traveled with an Australian friend, and he did the driving so I got off easy. We were off to visit the first room-mate Wendy and I shared a house with when we arrived in Lesotho four years ago.

Four years ago she was a volunteer at Beautiful Gate. She was one of many wonderful people we have met from the Netherlands, and we shared the Beautiful Gate staff house with her. Later she joined YWAM (Youth With a Mission) Lesotho, committed to living and serving in Lesotho. Some 6-8 months ago she married a Mosotho man. It was his home village of Tebellong, where they live, that was our destination. To reach there home there was one last barrier to cross.

They lived across the Senqu, the largest river in Lesotho, at a location where there was no bridge. We paid the boatman our fare, and he rowed us, not to the netherworld, but to a land of fields and villages.

The boatman.

Wendy, always on the lookout for a prospective student.

This one, at the landing, in front of a month's supply of groceries.

We had another fare to pay however, to get to these Elysian fields. This time the fare was for a truck to bounce us and our hosts and their months worth of groceries up, and up, out of the river valley to the fields and villages lying on a plateau above the river.

Ready for the ride up a very steep and rough road.

By the time we arrived it was getting late and it was straight off to a ‘guest’ house where we were served a simple Basotho meal, before heading to our beds. Dark, no electricity, no heat, so bedtime under, toasty warm blankets was barely past seven. (The couple we were visiting lived in a one room house, with no room for visitors.)

The next morning I was up early and thoroughly enjoyed a ninety minute hike up a mountain behind where we stayed. A perfect before breakfast hike it was, pushing my aerobic abilities while providing intriguing route finding challenges through a couple of cliff bands. It was the kind of exertion that leaves one feeling that it is great to be alive. It is a place I hope to return to, just to spend a full day or two exploring the mountains. After a breakfast of lesheleshele and bohobe, it was a 45 minute walk back to spend an enjoyable visit with our hosts.

The view over the fields (and cows) from our accommodation.

She continues to adapt from a western lifestyle to a much simpler, though more labour intensive lifestyle. He has spent the last number of years learning and practicing conservation agriculture (CA), and is developing a market garden and sharing CA practices with other interested farmers. Together they share their Christian faith within their community, seeking to serve and lead by lifestyle and example. After visiting for the day, as we walked back to our lodging for the night, I thought about her choices. She loves Lesotho, and its people, and was willing to give up a western lifestyle to be with and serve them.

I was trying to get the coordination correct to work this zero tillage planting device.

It was like rubbing one's head and patting one's stomach at the same time.

The next day we trekked back to their home to say our good-byes and then it was down to the river. Our trip across the river was as uneventful as the initial crossing, and we were soon on our way back over the mountains, past the aloe succulents, and towards home. We had one more stop; to visit another young couple. She is from Canada, he from Ireland. They met in Lesotho, and are building a life together here. She caring for orphans and other vulnerable children, he helping to construct buildings for NGOs serving orphans and other children. They recently relocated to a small city in the south west of Lesotho, where she will be managing a children’s centre intended to provide short term care for needy children. They have two delightful little Basotho girls that they have adopted.

Again I reflected on the commitment of this young couple, eschewing the opportunities and comforts of home to make a difference in a place more needy. It is one thing for someone like me with the security of a pension, and some savings, to think of going to another country, but these couples. Their commitment is to being Jesus’ hands and feet to others first, rather than their own comfort and security. They, and others like them, are my heros.

From Holland to here.

~ Benno ~