We left early the 2nd day to visit the last village in the mountains. Much of the driving would be considered off road. For 2 hours we saw the most beautiful land. You had the mountains and trees along with a river and along the river banks rows and rows of Corn and other food growing not for money but for life.
As we rounded one bend there were around a hundred people just standing to the side of the road. Most were children, many had small flags, and there were 7 men on horse back with red blankets. As we got closer I started hearing the women making the shrill sound with their mouths that means something good is happening. I wondered what these people were so excited about. Then as we grew closer I saw that the flags had "Welcome Pastor Daniel and Family." To be honest I have never been welcomed like this in my life. This is something important people receive, not a family from Buckeye, AZ.
It was an incredible welcome, especially considering we were only there for a few minutes before moving on. Soon the 7 men on horseback began leading our vehicles in a small procession to the World Vision Center in that part of Lesotho. The whole way they were chanting something. When I asked the translator said that were quoting poems about great visitors, and telling people to be joyful. When we arrived there were another 100 people there to great us, and sing to us. We were always given chairs to sit even though almost no one else had a place to sit. A little while later we were off again to the village where sibusisso, one of the boys we support, lived. Down the road there was another group who only came to wave and greet us. As we got close, once again we were greeted by 12 more men on horseback leading us the remainder of the way. We found that all those on horseback were many village leaders from around the area. When we arrived we found near a hundred more there to greet us.
After all of this I had to ask the World Vision staff why the people here made such a big deal about a few visitors from America. He explained that for the first time the people saw that there were actual people supporting them behind just the money. For them it meant not only dollars were given, but in their minds a fellow Christian was showing they really did care.
For us in America where we have it easy having a fellow Christian from another country visit would mean very little. But where life is such a struggle on a daily basis it meant the world to have someone say they love them. I tried to touch everyone of them, I prayed continually that the peace and grace God had for me would rest with them.
How humbled I was to be the one God sent to this village to remind them that HE LOVES THEM!!! They are as important to Him as anyone in His Kingdom. And through them he reminded me how important it is that we as a body of believers encourage one another. Whether that means the village half a world away, or whether that is those down the road in lower Buckeye. We need to love those who don't yet know Him, because we may be the only light of the Father that they might see.
What simple act of kindness can you perform today to remind others of Christ's Love?
Daniel Scott
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