Pray with Lesotho, May 8, 2022
Lectionary Selection: Acts 9:36-43
Prayers for Lesotho
God of deep love, of boundless grace, of fierce hope, this Mother’s Day week we give thanks for those who brought us into life, who carried us and loved us even before we were born. Thank you for those who have nurtured and drawn out your spirit in us, who have held us as we discover whose we are and how you are calling us to be. We trust that you are moving in our lives.
We pray for those all over the world who are waiting to give birth, especially for those who are waiting in hospitals and health centers in Lesotho, away from the comforts of their own homes and families. Wrap them in your loving presence, and give them hope, courage, and strength as they, co-creators with you, bring new life into the world.
We give thanks for your faithful servants in all parts of the world who make up the living body of Christ. For healthcare workers who serve at remote posts. For volunteers who use their gifts to serve the church. We pray that LECSA’s new leaders elected at its most recent synod meeting in April serve as lovingly and compassionately as your disciple Dorcas (Tabitha) and that our Basotho siblings continue to witness signs of the Resurrected Christ in their midst, in the work of the church and in their daily lives.
Amen.
Mission Stewardship Moment from Lesotho
We celebrate that the Waiting Mothers’ Shelter at LECSA’s Mohlanapeng Health Centre (MHC) has been in use for almost a year! Finished in June 2021, construction on the shelter began in 2019 but progress was slow due to the pandemic. Funding from Global Ministries made the project possible. As a new mom myself (our son, Samuel, was born in the past year) this project is particularly close to my heart.
MHC’s Waiting Mothers’ Shelter serves as a temporary home and respite for women who are waiting to give birth as well as those who have recently delivered. MHC is located in the mountains of the Thaba-Tseka district of Lesotho and serves 14 surrounding villages, some very remote. It provides much-needed perinatal care, as well as other important healthcare services to people in the region.
Because the terrain is so rugged in Lesotho and communities can be so remote, some women choose to leave their homes weeks before their due dates, travel to the health center, and stay at the shelter so that they are near medical care at the time of their labor and delivery. The shelter itself is a small, simple structure that includes seven beds and a bathroom. Currently, there are four women staying there, although the number is, of course, in constant flux. The mountains of Lesotho get very cold during the winter months – it occasionally snows! So keeping patients warm at the health center, especially mothers with new babies, is always a challenge from April to September. The shelter is usually warmer than the other wards on the health center grounds, so MHC is also using the space to house women and their babies after they have delivered.
LECSA has prioritized Waiting Mothers’ Shelters at all three of its main health institutions. Actively working to decrease infant and maternal deaths by providing quality perinatal services to women, including those who are in remote mountain communities, is one of the concrete ways in which the church is living into its call to extend the love and compassion of the Risen Christ to those who are most in need.
Prayer and Mission Moment by Danielle Murry-Knowles
Mission Partners in Lesotho
Global Ministries Mission Co-worker in Lesotho
Danielle Murry-Knowles serves with the Lesotho Evangelical Church. Her appointment is made possible by your gifts to Disciples Mission Fund, Our Church’s Wider Mission, and your special gifts.
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