Sunday, January 4, 2009

Road Trip, Day 3

Today we took a tour of Semonkong Town with Catherine, our guide. Catherine has an amazing story, but I don't feel like it's mine to tell here on this blog. Needless to say, even in a small village in remote Lesotho, people have broken hearts and need Jesus. Catherine is an amazing woman. Pray for her; she has a difficult life.

Catherine took us to a dress shop which makes traditional Basutho dresses: the high school: the police station (can you see it?): the sheep shearing station (wool is one of the main exports of Lesotho): the health clinic:and the airport (there is a doctor who flies in once a week): In a small town like Semonkong (whose population is no more than a few thousand), Catherine said that about 60% of the people are HIV-positive. There is a funeral every weekend for someone who has died of AIDS-related complications.

We passed a shop that sold horse saddles, book shelves, and caskets: I think one of the saddest things I've ever seen happened at the end of this day: we saw a man on a horse riding up the mountain to his village, having just come from Semonkong, balancing a baby-sized casket on his horse.

"But the Lord said, 'You have been concerned about this vine, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. But Ninevah [or Semonkong... or wherever you live] has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people... and many cattle as well. Should I not be concerned about that great city?' " - Jonah 4:10-11

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