Taste from the Psalmist...

...My heart and flesh cry out for the living God...

Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage...

Hear my prayer, O Lord God Almighty; 

Listen to me, O God of Jacob...

O Lord Almighty, 

blessed is the man who trusts in you.

...Love and faithfulness meet together;

righteousness and peace kiss each other...

The Lord will indeed give what is good,

and 

Our 

Land 

Will 

Yield 

Its 

Harvest.

...You are forgiving and good, O Lord,

abounding in love to all who call to you.

...I will sing of the Lord's great love forever;

with my mouth will I make your faithfulness known though all generations.

I will declare that your love stands firm forever...

Righteousness and justice are the

Foundation

                 For

                     Your

                            Throne;

love and faithfulness go before you.

...It is good to praise the Lord

and make music to your name,

           O Most High,

to proclaim your love in the morning

and your faithfulness at night...

One Foot...

One foot in front of the other.  You've seen them...the clips of marathon runners and Olympians wobbling up to the finish line.  Left foot forward, shaky knee, gasp, collapse, pull with all their force to extract the right foot up from where it is cemented and place it forward.  Step by step, foot by foot, dignity lost, yet pressing on.

You've had those days.  One foot forward.  You've sat there barely able to breathe.  Other foot forward.  Your mind spinning from the chaos.  C'mon just one more step.  Knowing that what propels you is Divine, so. You. Step. On.

We have those days too, us on the field.  Pulling that foot up out of it's cemented spot, grunting and gasping, yearning for what is ahead, not thinking you can do it, but then you see those left toes sneaking out past your eyes and planting themselves in front of you.  Gasp.  Collapse.  Stand up.  One more step.

Straining to yank the foot out of the tar with a most minute measure of energy reserves, your mind collapses also.  Back to the Basics.  Back to "Why am I doing this?"

"Ama tell the world, tell the world that I'm brand new, I don't deserve you, but I'm a witness that you did this.  A slave to myself, but you let me go, cleaned up my soul, gave me new life.  Christ came and he rescued me."

My mind collapses on this, these words from Lecrae, these words from a sinner like me.  Step forward.  Ama tell the world.  Step forward.  I'm brand new.  Step forward.  I'm a witness that you did this.  Press on.  Step forward.  Christ's transforming power propels me.

DIY in the Body of Christ...

Check out some Do It Yourself aspects of our life in Lesotho.  Practical ways the body of believers pulls together to live in community and love: 

 MAF wife, Megan Harrell, started our home school Friday co-op.
We do science experiments and art projects together once a week.

 Jacobjan is from Holland and his family serves in the medical field here in Lesotho.   He is a God-send to some of our MAF families when we don't know who to call or what to do.  Today, he examined Elaina and gave her some medicine for ear pain she has been having.

  Leaky walls?  No worries.  Round up a handy husband and a handy MAF friend, Ron Grant, to get the job done.

We are grateful for the people God has placed in our lives here who
 pull together as the Body of Christ to serve one another in love.

Life at the Hangar...

Check out a typical day at the MAF hangar...

MAF's hangar can currently fit 3 of our 5 airplanes inside.  That's a bummer when it hails here.  We are currently drawing up plans for a new and larger hangar not far from our current location.

Sam has been working on the plane that you saw outside the hangar.

Meet Joe.  I think Sam's goal is to see how much he can pester him on any given day :)
Pestering includes, but is not limited to: serenading, airsoft gun wars, and endless teasing.

A quick stop in the finance office to say hello to Kim, who has become "auntie" to Sawyer and Elaina.

Joe fails to miss Sam's airsoft pellet yet again.

Meet the maintenance guys.  Walt, Roger, Roger #2, Joe, Sam, Thoahlane, and Retabile.
Roger, Sam, and Joe are the longterm maintenance specialists for our program.

Sam hears an MAF plane come in from a trip to the mountains.

MAF pilot, Danny, lands after bringing back a dentist who has been
working out in the mountains for the last several days.

Ministry Plan 2014...What is MAF doing in Lesotho?

Recently, we met with our MAF team to create our Ministry Plan for 2014.  It was an exciting time of collaboration with our team mates for Sam and I.  We got to hear more in detail the heart's desires of individuals on our team as well as current ministry thrusts we are each seeking both within the MAF aviation frame as well as on our own out in the community.

While our purpose in being here is to reach isolated people in the mountains through aviation, there are a variety of creative ministry thrusts happening here in the capital city of Maseru.  For example, one of our national staff is pursuing seminary classes on his own time and walks to a far away training facility once a month to do this.  He has completed 5 of 25 classes so far and his end goal is to be more equipped to reach his own people.  Another one of our national staff is working with his local church to build schools and meet the needs of OVC (orphaned and vulnerable children...whom are plentiful here).  One of our expat staff families is partnering with their local church to also reach OVC through an intensive soccer ministry outreach and discipleship.  Sam and Sawyer have joined this outreach and we are amazed at its effectiveness.  One of our expat mechanics uses his downtime in the hangar to do projects for the military guys who we share an airbase with.  Another one of our national staff visits the local dump and prays with the homeless living there.  Another expat family has a heart for new missionaries in town and goes out of their way to show them around, invite them over, give cultural tips, and generally ensure a smooth transition for future success and longevity.

While every program may have its weaknesses and difficulties, Sam and I continue to be grateful for this team and for the diligence we see in so many of our team mates to either SPEAK the Word of God or SHOW the love of Christ in this community according to the gifts and talents God has given them.  It takes faith, diligence, and collaboration to work together until the last one has heard that Jesus Christ came to reconcile humanity to God.

Ministry Plan Meeting 

Sam and Ntati Sefiri, MAF's hired pastor and evangelist, became fast friends and accountability partners.