Making a Difference - In Small Ways

Sometimes I would like to be able to share stories of what great things God is doing at the Mustard Seed.  Yet, maybe it is in the little things that differences are truly made.  Over the last few weeks, a number of incidents have reminded me that it is in little things that the Mustard Seed is truly serving the girls that we work with, especially those who do not have an adult caregiver.

One of our girls lives at a mission in a village about a thirty-minute drive from Maseru.  Her school teachers have spoken of what they sense as her lostness.  She has aunts and uncles somewhere but their struggles are such that they have little to offer her and she, in a real sense, is abandoned.  It was a pleasure to visit her at school one day recently.  I was warmed by her delight and seeming joy that someone came to see HER. Someone came to ask about how she was doing in school.  Someone came to invite her to spend a day with the other Mustard Seed girls.  We do not get out to see her often, but it seems that when we do, she truly feels connected and part of something.

Another girl, faced with some medical problems, the kind a girl wants to talk with her mother about, was able to connect with her Mustard Seed big sister.  She had someone she could turn to, someone who appropriately passed the need along to me, so that we (the Mustard Seed) could get her to a medical clinic.  A young girl with no parent nor caregiver to turn to, but who had a Mustard Seed big sister that made a difference.

When people have a need here, the cultural practice in terms of asking for something, is most often, indirect.  It has taken me a while to realize that there is often more than just a conversation happening.  I am learning there are times I must listen for the request inferred in the conversation.  Recently one of our girls called.  She reported that on the same day she had a school exam and the need to take her younger brother to a medical appointment.  I am also learning that if I will listen patiently or just ask the girls how I might help, the girls will share a plan they have thought out.  She had a plan, and no, it was not for me to write her test.  She couldn’t get both things done on her own, but with a bit of outside support she had a plan to complete both tasks on the same day.  We confirmed my part in her plan, and her life is just a bit easier because someone was there.

Another family, another grandmother.  Her granddaughter has missed a year of school because there were no funds to pay school fees.   The grandmother is a poor woman, caring for three of her grandchildren, wanting the best for her granddaughter but not knowing where to turn.  I did my best to explain what the Mustard Seed could offer and what was needed to apply for the school bursary for orphans.  She was so grateful - during the next visit she had me sitting on a blanket to cushion the chair she offered, while she sat on the bare cement floor.  With the little direction the Mustard Seed was able to offer her, she is getting together the documents that will allow us to submit an application for funding and hopefully see her granddaughter in school.  She also has a grandson ready to enter high school, and while the Mustard Seed does not work directly with boys, the application process is the same, and we will make sure his application for high school funding also gets submitted.

A final example: the grandmother and caregiver of one of our girls recently died.  The girl is attending a boarding school.  She had no money to pay the transport to get home to her village to attend her grandmother’s funeral.  She had no one else to turn to other than the Mustard Seed.   We will make sure she gets home for the funeral, and a number of Mustard Seed members will also attend.  The girl now faces a much more uncertain future.  We will try to connect with other family members who might support her.  However, without the grandmother, it may be that the Mustard Seed will now become the primary source of support and connection for another girl.

When I am tempted to wonder if the Mustard Seed really makes a difference, these stories remind me that while it may be small things we do, and for only for a small number of girls, what we do is important to those we serve and truly does make a difference.  I want to thank each of you who have contributed in some way to the Mustard Seed.  Whether you have contributed words of encouragement, financial support from time to time, or a personal visit to Lesotho, together, as God’s hands, we are making a difference in the lives of girl orphans in this small corner of the world.  Thank-you.

~ Benno ~