A Glimpse at God's Way

After a twenty minute walk to a taxi station made up of a small pile of rocks, a forty minute wait, a forty-five minute taxi ride, and a ten minute walk, I am finally here in an internet cafe and able to write a few thoughts down! This first week here in the Kingdom of Lesotho has been absolutely incredible. The scenery is completely breathtaking. I really, really, really have missed the mountains of Colorado, so the mountains here are a sweet thing to be surrounded by. I cannot wait to post pictures of this part of His Creation that has swept me off of my feet. The partners that we are involved with here are just as awesome. We are working alongside a group of people that are striving to change Africa's way of farming community by community, country by country. The idea of plowing has been instilled in the hearts and minds of the people here. However, this method is tearing the land apart. It has increased the terrible problem of erosion in the area. I will be able to go into further detail about specifics of how and why later, but there a much better way of farming has been discovered- Farming God's Way. This consists of three main components: Don't plow, crop rotation, and covering 100% of the land with mulch. The University of Tennessee is one of the partners in Growing Nation's (the name of our partnering organization) hope to scientifically prove how this method is drastically better than what the Basotho (pronounced Ba-soo-too, the natives of the country of Lesotho) have been taught for hundreds of years. We have been studying the facts and the method itself and it is beyond obvious how farming this way can improve all of life for not only Lesotho, but Africa as a continent. It is an unbelievable honor to be included in the work the Lord has begun in this place.
This week was a really nice week of work as well. As a team, we have been helping build a home for a couple partnered with Growing Nations that is assisting us in our itinerary for our time here. There has been a lot of digging, but I have had the amazing opportunity to put my Hilton Engineering skills to work and help with the plumbing, paneling, and eventually tiling of the house! It is so fun to see the way that God puts pieces of the puzzle together with out us even having an idea.
These next two weeks, however, are going to look a little different. Growing Nations has started a resident student program. Young adults from the community enroll in a year long program that teaches them exactly what it means and what it takes to farm God's way. This includes them staying at the property that we have been staying at for weeks at a time, and then going back out to their communities and villages to teach them this method. Well now, we get to go with them! I have been assigned a host brother; his name is Mapei (pronounced Ma-bay). We will be living in a community called Majakaneng. He is shy, but has begun to warm up to my silly sense of humor and ability to laugh at almost every situation. He is the oldest of seven kids! He has three brothers, and three sisters. I am so excited to meet them! I will be assisting him in fertilizing and planting seed and learning how to live life like a Basotho!
I am so in love with this place and in love with the work that God has set out before me.
Pray for good rain, we need it here!