A Warm Welcome Back
“May the God of peace…equip you with everything good for doing his will…” (Hebrews 13:20-21)
“May the God of peace…equip you with everything good for doing his will…” (Hebrews 13:20-21)
On the 1st of August, a week after our school had re-opened for the 2nd term, I was warmly welcomed back to our Scripture Union group Friends of God. Balloons decorated the science lab where we met and one of the students had written “Welcome Back Ntate Behle” on the chalkboard (“Ntate” is Sesotho for “Mr.”), along with a reference to Hebrews 13:20-21 and the SU motto, “Pray, Read & Share”. I like to think I know my bible but I sure wasn’t able to think of what the words were of those verses. They were shared eventually during the meeting and I will remember them as the passage is noted on the beautiful mug I was presented with that afternoon by the SU members and Mrs. Lerato Salemane.
Mrs. Salemane (left) joined the teaching staff of Masitise last August and has been helping me ever since with our group. She was a student here at Masitise about ten years ago and was in one of my SU groups. For most of my years here I’ve been working alone with our SU members, so I’ve been delighted to have such a dedicated co-worker to share the work. During my absence the group has prospered under Lerato’s guidance. A good number of boys are now attending and overall attendance has nearly doubled. I am very thankful that God has blessed us in this way. We’ve had over 50 students attending on Sunday afternoons and over 40 attended the recent rally with SU groups from other schools in the area. Lerato also accompanied about a dozen students to the annual SU high school camp last December which was held just after I had left for the States.
One of the things I brought back with me from the States is a beautiful wooden candle. This was a gift from Rev. Felix Ortiz-Cotto of the Global Ministries staff in Indianapolis. He had brought it from Ecuador and after hearing me speak and seeing the SU badge with the lamp symbol (based on Psalm 119:105) he thought it would be a great gift for our SU group in Lesotho. So I was pleased to present it to the group and they were excited to learn of its origin.
The lab where we meet is almost too small for us now. We meet as a large group for most of the meeting but still break up into small groups for our bible studies as is the SU method. In their groups they discuss some prepared questions based on the bible passage and then we share some of the responses when we gather again as one. Another feature of our meetings is a “Know Your Bible” time when students look up verses to search for answers to questions to help familiarize them with the books of the bible.
One of our SU members, a young Form A girl named Mphonyana (“small gift”), is in the local hospital recovering from burns suffered when she fell while carrying very hot water at the dormitory. We’ve been visiting her and when we were there a few days ago she was obviously feeling much better as she expressed her displeasure that the doctor has said she cannot be released as yet. She has been there for two weeks now and is anxious to get back to school. Please pray with us for her to soon be well enough to return to school.
Scripture Union encourages its members to develop habits of daily prayer and bible reading. I think daily doses of scripture are the spiritual equivalent of those Powder-milk Biscuits advertised from time to time on the radio show A Prairie Home Companion. Both of them “give you the strength to get up and do what needs to be done.” By nourishing our spirits with God’s Word, we will be equipped for doing God’s will. As the author of Hebrews says in those verses on my new mug, “…may God work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.”
Yours in Christ,
Mark Behle
Email: mark37438@yahoo.com
Mark Behle is a missionary with the Lesotho Evangelical Church. He is a Mathematics teacher at Masitise High School, Lesotho.