Ministers and Basotho adoptions

Well, it is official that we have a new Prime Minister, Thabane. Many are hopeful that he will bring change to Lesotho and many are feeling happy and optimistic. He has already made a few important decisions about the way the government spends money and has saved the government thousands of Maluti (Lesotho's currency) by these choices and he has not been afraid to confront corruption. If he remains this way, he could be such a blessing to this country so please pray for him, that he would follow God's lead and not fall into the temptations that so easily ensnares leaders! Thank you so much for your prayers during the election time here in Lesotho. It was a time that was tense and many feared the worse, but God heard and answered the many prayers offered up on Lesotho's behalf.
Today all of the ministers were announced and sworn in. It looks like the department of social welfare has a new minister. We are praying that this new minister will be in favor of adoptions and work on a few of our cases that have been stalled for awhile.
During the month of May, I had the privilege of going to a matching meeting and at this matching meeting there were several children who were matched with local families. It has been a blessing to see the interest of Basotho families in adoptions. In the year and a half we have been here there has only been one local adoption to a Basotho mother. There are an estimate of 360,000 orphans in Lesotho so there are plenty to go around locally and internationally and it is beautiful to see families from all over the world as well as Lesotho coming to rescue these innocent and vulnerable children who through no fault of their own are found without a family.
These last 2 weeks have been extra busy with these local families coming to visit their new babies/children. It is nice that since they live so close, they can visit and bond with their child as they wait for the paperwork to go through.
I know many people who read this blog are matched or are waiting anxiously to be matched to a basotho child. There are over 300,000 orphans here in Lesotho and I know the wait is long and hard, but you are making a huge difference in their lives and giving them a hope and a future.
God bless you!

Prayer for our friends

We want to share a burden that is on our hearts and while it does not relate specifically to Beautiful Gate, it affects our family. We have some friends whom we attend church and bible study with back in Zeeland, MI that are in need of a miraculous healing. Lindy, the wife and mother of 3, has been battling cancer for over 3 years. She started with breast cancer and for awhile it looked like she had beaten it, but then it moved to her brain. She had a special surgery for the 6 spots on her brain, and they were shrinking and things were looking very good, but then cancer showed up in her lungs and new spots in her brain. She has had multiple chemo, radiation, tests, tests and more tests, horrible side effects- pretty much every single one imaginable and now she has been having fluid build up in her heart and lungs and is in the hospital. Our hearts long to comfort her and her family as they fight this battle, but we are unable to do more than pray and try to send encouraging emails.
So we are asking for you to pray with us please. Pray for her husband Dusty who has been trying to work, be a supportive husband and father and keep his faith strong for his family. Pray for Lindy that God would provide her healing so she can live long on this earth and raise her precious children. Pray for her children, and her parents and other loved ones who are supporting her and Dusty. They are such a beautiful and amazing family and we long for her health to return so they can enjoy being together as a family, pain free and cancer free! Our family has been praying everyday for over 3 years especially Mercy who prays for Ms. Lindy every single time she prays (usually 2-3 times a day).
If you would like to read more about their story so you can pray more specifically, you can scroll down my blog and you will find a spot for blogs I follow (on the right) and the VerBeek blog is the 4th one down. Thank you for your prayers,
Anita, Bryan, Elijah, Faith and Mercy

Snow in Lesotho

For your viewing pleasure and much to the delight of my 3 children...



I do not remember the last time I heard my kids shouting so loud or saw them get dressed so fast as when Bryan told them it was snowing!!!




It got very dark outside and then the big fluffy snowflakes started coming down.





We headed into South Africa today and this was the view of the Lesotho Mountains (yes there are snow covered mountains, not just clouds in the distance) as we were driving by...AMAZING!! God's creation is stunning!



Stress Relief

Moving to a foreign country, becoming a teacher, becoming a co-director, having extreme days of highs and lows, and many other things have caused me to have a bit of a high stress level than I was used to. I know you are all surprised by that right, hahaha. I have tried to deal with my stress through over-sleeping, over-eating, not managing my anger properly and other such non-effective ways of handling stress.

Last month I went to the doctor because I had a ton of red itchy spots all over my chest, back, armpits, and stomach. The doctor told me that I have eczema. I find that odd as I have never had this diagnosis before and I thought it was something that was more of an issue while young and something most kids grow out of. The doctor gave me a shot and a prescription for a cream I can use. He told me that there is nothing that is known that causes it or that will make it go away but I should take a multivitamin, use a daily moisturizer, and reduce my stress (I almost laughed out loud at the last part).


My front yard before

 So...In an attempt to reduce my stress, the kids and I have started a new project. Something I have been missing for 1 1/2 years and been wanting to find a way to get back into. Since we have recently moved to a new spot on campus, I have made a vegetable garden for us. For most people that may sound crazy as a stress reducer, but I have been gardening for almost 5 years and there is something about digging in the dirt and pulling weeds and then harvesting produce that makes me forget about my troubles. And it is small enough that it will not be too much of a burden.


Adding a raised bed and then squaring it for planting



The kids are helping to plant the cabbage which was donated by one of our maintenance staff



Happy little planters after they planted and watered the cabbage



Finished with planting, we are trying spinach and sweet peas in the second bed

So, here is to happy, stress reducing gardening :)
Anita

Politics and moving

I am not sure if a local staff can even explain the complexity that is the elections in Lesotho. I am not even going to try because I would not do it justice. What I will say is that 2 parties were very close in the final election and now have a chance to join with a party that was less successful in the vote and combine to beat the other party and name their Prime Minister. There is a great deal of debate in the Parliament about this right now and the parties involved have until this Friday to select their new Prime Minister and begin running the government. Things have been peaceful in the city so we went out to the store and to church and everything seems to be running smoothly and as it should. I can not thank you enough for all your prayers and encouraging emails while we waited in uncertainty. We have been told that as long as the army and police stay out of this (they have sided with different parties), all will stay peaceful, so that would be one more prayer request to keep the peace.

A small update on BG and our family. We have moved into a house that is still on campus, but closer to the preschool. It is a 2 bedroom duplex and the other half (which is separated by a wall unlike our other house where we shared a kitchen) of the house is going to be used for volunteers. The original intent was for families who were adopting to use these houses while in the bonding phase, but DSW (Dept. of Social Welfare) has told us that families may not stay on campus so we are putting the house to use. Our former house is getting a nice paint job and the play group is moving into one half and big teams coming to volunteer will be staying in the other half. We are excited about the move as winter is approaching and it will be very nice for the playgroup to be inside for the cold months. I have been busy (hence the lack in keeping up with the blog) unpacking and finding homes for all our things inside our new house as it is a bit smaller that our previous one.

One thing I am learning is that we do not NEED all the space we thought we needed as a family. We used to live in a 4 bedroom house with a basement and a 2 stall garage and we had SO MUCH stuff. Now we live in a 2 bedroom house (like an apartment) with no garage and no basement. The kids bedroom is our school room and Bryan and my bedroom is just big enough for our double bed and a bookcase. We are cozy, but we are happy. Although, I think the kids fought less when they had their own rooms :) There is nothing wrong with my 4 bedroom home in Zeeland, but living here really makes me think about how much we have verses how much we need.

Political Update - to the best of my knowledge

Well, elections happened on Saturday and things went well. There were no reports of intimidation at the poles and that was a good report.
Yesterday, Bryan was talking with the staff about the election results and they told him that the precincts in the mountains are still needing to report their results. There is a close race and a new party was leading as of yesterday, but the current Prime Minister is expected to win those mountain precincts. The staff told Bryan to head into town and get some supplies because if things are going to get heated, then it will begin on Wednesday when the official results are in.
From my understanding, if the current Prime Minister wins, the 2 main rivals are going to join together and count their precincts as one and try to have him step down. If he is able to step down peacefully and just be a member of Parliament without fighting back, then all will be well, but if he wins and will not step down peacefully, we do not know what will happen.
So anyway, all this information is subjective and we have no idea what will actually happen. Just wanted to keep you all updated with what we "know."
Thank you for your prayers,
Anita

Keep Praying Please!

This morning at 7:10, we had a knock on the door and there were 3 of our Bo'me standing outside the door. One was shaking and she explained to Bryan that she had been mugged this morning at the bus stop while she was waiting for a ride to Beautiful Gate. One man walked by going one way and another man walked by going the other way and the next thing she knew they both came up to her and grabbed her purse. She tried to fight them and keep hold of her purse, but it was dark and being a holiday, there was no one else around to help her fight them off. They wound up throwing her to the ground and ripping the purse off her shoulder. She was shaking as she told the story to Bryan. He made sure she was ok and then prayed for her before she went back to her house.

After I got dressed I walked to the house to see if she was really ok or if she wanted to go home (sometimes they are a little shy around Bryan). She told me that she was fine to stay but was just having some pain in her shoulder. I went home and got some ibuprofen and gave it to her and we talked a little more. Her attitude was amazing and she said that she was just happy that they did not kill her. She also laughed because while she was getting ready to come to work, she had a feeling to hide her money, so she hid it in her bra :) They only got R15 and her phone charger so she was happy that she did not have much else in her purse. She is such a lovely lady who loves the Lord with all her heart.

Please keep praying for Lesotho and especially for our staff this weekend as they get ready to vote. Pray for peace and calm in the city both now and after the results are in. Also, please pray that God will fill the hearts of all of us with the kind of love and positive outlook like the staff member who was mugged. I am trying not to worry about our staff too much, but it is hard to lay that burden down.
Anita