Living in Lesotho, and being immersed in the rural culture, its easy to forget how different things are from the 'real world.' Once you are here at Pulane for more than a few weeks, its just seems normal for children to be running around all day long, playing and making noise, climbing trees and chopping wood. Through our eyes, its easy to forget how special this place is.
Having had many visitors through the month of April reminded us of how special this country, its people, and its children are. One thing that has also stood out to us is how much fresh energy visitors bring in with them. And the PCC children just eat it up!
Caro joining us for an evening fire
April began with just one visitor, Caro from Pretoria. As a qualified and experienced veterinarian, she kept busy looking after our animals, and helping the local people understand how to better care for their own animals. She saved one of PCC's cats (Kevin, for those of you who have visited before!), taught our staff how to inject horses, vaccinated many dogs and cats, and did so many other useful jobs that I cant mention them all.
One of the projects Rachel, Rita and Lydia did. A prayer tree.
Three wonderful ladies from Ireland also visited for a couple weeks. As primary school teachers, they were in their element assisting our preschool, helping the children with after school extra lessons, and playing games with the kids. With the poor quality schooling here, the children really benefitted from this and we wish we could have full time teachers like Rachel, Lydia and Rita staying at Pulane (are your reading this girls?).
Thaba Putsoa making Byron earn his finishers patch.
Two of our personal friends visited too. Byron and #Ashleigh (our millennial friend who only reads 'short reads' with hashtags). We had a fun Easter weekend with them, enjoying the outdoor life Lesotho has to offer. Climbing, hiking, and Byron even did the FKT in a very respectable 4:56.
Judy, Joel, Emily, me and Jane
Emilys dad and stepmom, Joel and Judy, came for a visit just after that. Their second time in Africa, and first time in Lesotho was packed full of fun days playing with Jane, learning about Lesotho life, and catching up with us having not seen us for over a year.
Marc and his team from Vantage point Church in Rustenberg, after months of planning, came through to PCC with a team of 12 people. They were so helpful. doing a combination of practical jobs, like plumbing and playground maintenance, as well as spending time with our teenage boys, doing team building and ministry. We loved having such a strong and energetic team, and hope they will plan trips more regularly.
The Vantage point team were constantly keeping the children busy.
So, as you can see, its been a busy month! What a joy to have so many people interested and investing time and money in the work here in Pulane. We really appreciate it, and its amazing to see how each person brings different skills, perspective, and energy and applies it to help others. I really believe this reflects God's calling on all of our lives, to do what we love, well, to the benefit of others.
May looks quieter, and colder, as winter starts to creep in. Time to light the fire and keep the coffee brewing.