Pictures of Clarens on a cold winters morning...

Shadowing Shepherds!

The valley (Mahlasela Pass) that we plan to base the team in is currently very quiet with only 2 or 3 shepherds living there because it is the winter.  So my most recent trip into Lesotho involved 10 hours of driving to explore new areas that might have a larger winter population, but that is still accessible from Clarens with a passable road.






While no better location was found, the the long trip did confirmed a few things:

1 - Mahlasela Pass could have over 100 shepherds living there in the summer, each with 100 to 200 sheep and goats!  There could be upto 7 shepherds in each tiny hut!
2 - Next winter our team can follow their 'host' shepherd to his winter location!
3 - As our team shadow the shepherds, walking, learning and talking they are going to live the most extraordinary lifestyle!
4 - Shepherds are epic! Bear Grylls has nothing on these guys!

This is Thabang (Be Happy). I met him while trying to find a quiet place to go to the toilet!  Anyone who knows Lesotho will know that there is nowhere you can be alone.  You can stop anywhere and you can be sure a shepherd will appear.  What's amazing about meeting Thabang is that he was just outside a small village 50 miles from Mahlasela Pass, but it turned out I'd met him in March 2013 on the survey trip.  This was his first time staying in the village for 7 years because one of the cows was pregnant.  He showed me the tiny hut he stayed in and where the stock owner he worked for lived.  By the time you read this he'll already back at the cattle post in Mahlasela Pass, perhaps for another 7 years without returning to civilisation!  While the team wont live at his actual cattle post they will be close by and no doubt get to know him over the 2 years.  We pray that one day he may hear the gospel and respond as a result of the work the team will start.






This is Ntsu.  He became a shepherd as a small boy in his village, looking after cows, and then at the age of 14 he was sent to the mountains to look after sheep and goats.  He shepherds nearly 300 animals and is now 62 years old!!  He stays in the mountains summer and winter, lives on his own and rarely goes to a village to get maize.  We met him around mid-day and he said he was about 3 hours walk from where he stayed, meaning he had at least another 3 hour walk back that day with the animals, all at an altitude of around 3000m and all on mountainous terrain!  "Where I stay there are no roads or villages for hours in any direction" he told us.  The thousands of shepherds who live like Ntsu will only ever hear the gospel if the shepherds themselves become a mission minded people.  Lets pray that the legacy of this team will one day reach people like Ntsu with the gospel.




Back at Mahlasela Pass, this was my bed for the night.  Thankful for my -15C sleeping bag the Shepherds only survive the winter nights by waking every hour or so from cold and then adding more dried cow dung to get the fire going again!

We parked the car at a random little house in the valley, where it turned out the resident couple owned the cattle post we wanted to stay at that night.  The lady's sister owned the sheep and goats and she was able to give us permission to base our team at this cattle post which is the largest in the valley.  There are 7 huts (motebong) and in the summer they each can have up to 7 shepherds in.  2 of our team will build their own hut at this cattle post.


The shepherd we stayed with was 48 years old and has been a shepherd for 40 years.  He had no food left, so was thankful for the maize we had with us that he was able to cook and share.  We left him the whole bag to keep him going until his supplies arrived!



In the morning we thanked our host for his hospitality as he set out for the day with his 208 sheep and 34 goats and we started our walk back down the mountain to the car.

Happy Birthday Zeke!

Here are some pictures from Zeke's 3rd birthday celebrations, including playing on his favourite tractor, opening presents (virtual reality style, with Grandparents joining in via Skype) and a Land Rover cake!!

Christmas in July!?

We used to celebrate an extra Christmas, in July, when we lived in Maseru as it's never quite the same having a braai (BBQ) on Christmas day because it's too hot to sit inside!  So we decided to continue that tradition now we're back in the southern hemisphere.  July is probably the coldest month (it's reached -17C at night for a week!) so we managed to find a turkey and even crackers!!  Happy Christmas everyone!!