Picture Update

Hello friends and family!
We just wanted to share with you a few pictures that communicate some of our experiences here. We would have posted staff members pictures because they are such a beautiful part of our daily work, but there are 45 of them and couldn't fairly just choose a few of them.
God is continuing to guide and reveal Himself for which we are so grateful! Thank you again for your love and support.

Dress up day with the kids

Working on a car with the maintenance guys 

Jam pile on Grace!

The new girl on campus

Another new child to BG

Can't get enough of the cuteness!

Forever friends

Newborn arrival

Wheelbarrow rides

Whirlwind

Grace graciously agreed to share her personal blog post on our family blog post. So, click on the link below and enjoy some of Grace's perspective on our time here. Thanks for reading, praying and supporting. With love, Ron, Karen and Grace

http://lettersfromlesotho.blogspot.com/

Loving Care

The definition of care:  "The provision of what is necessary for the health, welfare, maintenance, and protection of someone or something."

We have had 6 new children admitted to Beautiful Gate in the last 2 weeks. As the weather gets colder here the more babies are abandoned. This is a difficult reality as we hear of the conditions that the babies are found in. One baby was found alone outside and suffering from hyperthermia, spent several weeks in the hospital before she came to us at only 4 pounds. Another newborn was found by some shepherds with no clothes on and only approximately 6 hours old.
It is a hard reality to wrap my brain around, that these beautiful children that I see before me were actually left deserted and forsaken. How can a parent actually take those steps toward abandonment and eventually abandon their own flesh and blood? From what we hear, often the mother is very young, maybe was raped and is ashamed. Or the mother has no means to care for the child. Whatever the reason, is must be a heartbreaking decision for them.

We are thankful for a place like Beautiful Gate to love and care for these innocent little ones.
You might wonder if some of the care staff might feel overwhelmed when so many children come to BG, (currently our numbers are at 69!) but they are happy. When a child is brought to one of our 5 houses, the housemother is excited for a new child to care for, they take them in as their own immediately. They are anxious to start to care for the needs of this child and show them the love they so desperately need.
The child instantly becomes part of the new household with 12-14 other siblings! The other children are excited too when a new one joins them. They are so proud to show the rest of us their new brother or sister.

This is such a good place. But it's not a place for long term. We ask for prayers for the adoption process here in Lesotho and with partnering countries. That the paperwork would go quickly and that these children will be matched soon with forever families. Pray for our social worker as she has the enormous task of making sure children are released for adoption or are reunified with family members. This takes a lot of time to investigate in the villages and ask around to see who might know something about the child and if the child has relatives.
Most of the children are happy but please pray for those who are withdrawn and sad. Many have not had the best start and their emotional well being is affected.

I am so impressed by the staff here. They do not complain when the load gets heavy. They smile and welcome every little one that God places in their care.

I stop my writing for a moment and I look out my office window...there is a housemother sitting on the brick circle hugging the children one by one. They are all lining up for their hug. Makes me smile!

The children are loved, the children are cared for, but we know that no one loves them more than their heavenly Father. We know He has these children in the palm of His hand. We trust in His sovereignty. Praise Him for His loving care!

Joy and Smiles

(this is a blog I posted for the Beautiful Gate blog page that I'd like to share here as well)

Psalm 28:7

The LORD is my strength and shield. I trust him with all my heart. He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy. I burst out in songs of thanksgiving.

My family and I have been serving at Beautiful Gate now for 4 months. As I reflect on my time here my mind keeps coming back to the word "joy".

Our day starts with people walking along the road smiling and waving at us. When we drive into Beautiful Gate's campus we are greeted with enthusiasm and a big smile from our maintenance guys. We then walk into the office after a few words with the guys and exchange greetings with the office staff. This is always a time of connecting and smiles. We enjoy a meaningful time of prayer and devotions with the staff and then will stop in to greet the Bo Mme in the baby houses. The Bo Mme are always happy to see you and greet you warmly. A perk to visiting the houses is seeing the smallest babies in their cots looking up at you and smiling!

Throughout the day there is often the sound of laughter coming from the staff offices and baby houses. They also make tea time a priority where we all can come together for a quick break and time again for relationships.

Every time you pass someone or enter a room, a warm greeting happens. The staff will stop what they are doing to look you in the eye and greet you. These times of connecting always brings a smile to my face because they make you feel so loved and valued.

And then there are the children; they bring joy in abundance! Their laughter, their trust, their exploration and play creates joy in our hearts as we interact with them. And of course the hugs bring instant joy and smiles!

The love the staff has for the children brings a smile to my face too! Even the maintenance guys care for them.

The children, staff members and Bo Mme sing and dance with their whole hearts and joy radiates from them! This is always something that makes me smile! If I had it my way, I would request they sing and dance for me everyday!

There are times when the staff and children dance together. Just this week our driver was washing our transport van and was playing music as he worked. The children began to come to the fence to watch him work and before you know it some of them were dancing to the music. One child even came to the driver to dance with him. This is traditional dancing and these children know just how to move....what a joy it is to watch them.

Today we spoke with a local woman who works with at-risk teenage girls. She shared that they all had gone on a special outing and where elated when they saw their own names in print on their place cards. In the United States, place cards with our names on them are not a very exciting thing, but to these young girls, this made them feel so special and loved. True joy.

The joy that these beautiful people have comes from their trust in God and comes from a heart of thanksgiving. (they live the verse above) They are the most thankful people I know. The smallest of gifts are a treasure to them. Many of their lives are very painful and difficult but they continue to have thankful hearts that are full of joy. They express themselves differently than many of us, they show what they feel without reservation. There is so much expression on their faces and in their voices that you begin to feel what they feel.

Maybe we can learn from them? Maybe we can stop being reserved (slow to reveal emotion) and show our thankfulness and joy more often? Maybe we could dance and sing more?

The joy they have is contagious. I pray that we might all experience the goodness of God in the simplest of things and experience true joy! And I pray that the joy that we have will be contagious to those around us.

I am blessed to be serving at a place like Beautiful Gate... where the predominant expression on my face is a smile! :)

Blessings,

Karen Boersema

Quarterly Report

The children love rides on food distribution day! The beautiful staff we have come to love!

Greetings from Lesotho South Africa!  We now have 3 months at Beautiful Gate under our belt and this is our first official quarterly newsletter!  In ways it seems like we've been here longer and in ways it seems like we are still so new. It has been 3 wonderful months of learning and blessing. We continue to experience God’s presence in Lesotho and rejoice at seeing His hand at work everyday! We are blessed with wonderful jobs and wonderful opportunities to connect with the people here. We have enjoyed special chapel services, connecting with staff, observing adoptions, receiving new children, reaching out to neighbors, rocket stoves with the maintenance men, staff devotions, praying, singing, and hugging! And without a doubt, enjoying times with adorable children on the playground! We have experienced God’s peace and joy here and we give praise to Him for that. There is a contentedness among the Basotho people and it is so inspiring. Yes, there have been some frustrating times and things that just don’t go as planned (like randomly being without water or electricity, or the car registration office running out of paper so you can't get yours completed for days or more) but these types of things are not unusual here and it seems to work best just to relax and accept it! We hope and pray we can become more content each day like the Basotho!  God has confirmed our call in many ways. One way is that the Bo Mme (housemothers) continue to say how much they love and appreciate having a pastor on campus. Another way that God has confirmed our call is the peace we have in being here.  We continue to praise Him for giving us all that we need. We want to thank all those who have joined in this work and made this calling possible by your generous support. We are deeply grateful!  __________________________

This was the first little boy that was brought to BG soon after we arrived. It's a blessing to watch him with his adjustments and development since he's arrived.  Grace enjoying her time with the kids!

Chaplain's Update Ron has been enjoying getting to know the staff and has been encouraged by how well they seem to be receiving him as their new Chaplain. Many have come to him for prayer and council in God’s word and we have heard them say how much they love having a pastor and how they need instruction in God’s word so desperately. Some of the staff have requested his written sermon and scripture from weeks past so they can study it further. What a blessing to see their hunger for truth! The staff has been praying and asking for a pastor for a long time and it is a joy to see God answering that prayer in Ron. Each morning Ron visits the baby houses to say hello to the Bo Mme and the infants. They all seem to enjoy his visits very much and it gives them opportunity to share concerns and prayer requests. These connections are very helpful in regards to the area of shepherding and getting to know those he serves. Some challenges and areas of growth would be how to best serve the staff in their own language and with their own music and worship style. Ron uses a translator for Wednesday chapel and Sunday services and relies on the Basotho to help lead the singing. This has been going well but still hoping to fine tune these worship services to best serve their needs. Ron has a desire to teach the children the truth of God’s word as well.  With a large percentage of them averaging 2 years of age and understanding very little English, this provides a great challenge. So we are praying for wisdom on how best to serve the spiritual needs of the children.  All in all, having a Chaplain on campus seems to be a blessing to the staff and we pray for leading and further connections to each other and to God’s word. Ron also enjoys connecting with the maintenance guys and sharing some of his rocket stove and heating ideas as well as simple car repairs and maintenance. God has blessed these relationships as well! Karen's Corner Karen’s title is Operation's Manager and she continues to seek to define this role at Beautiful Gate. She has many opportunities to connect with staff and children and to be engaged in a variety of areas on campus. From taking photos when children are united or reunited with their families to helping to plan adoption ceremonies, play group curriculum, corresponding with volunteers, getting them set up for arrival at BG and assisting in management meetings. One addition to the playgroup curriculum that is exciting to Karen is introducing simple Bible verses. The children repeat after their teacher verses like, "A friend loves at all times" and "Be kind to one another" . We pray that hiding God's word in their little hearts will bear fruit some day. Neighborhood outreach is what God seems to be putting on Karen's heart and she is seeking wisdom as to how to proceed with that. She will need a translator to commit to this, one who has a passion for it as well. There are audio Bible's in the Sesotho language available and produced in Holland, Michigan that she is hoping to use in this ministry. We look forward to seeing what God will do with this! Grace's World Grace works tirelessly each day with the children from 8:00 am to 5:30 pm. She prepares meals, does the dishes, hangs laundry, gets the children ready for school, dresses them, disciplines them, works with the babies in a structured time to help them with milestones and give them one on one time and gives them as much love as she can. She has a full day and is understandably tired in the evening. She enjoys participating on the worship team at the church we attend and spending time with that group as well as the volunteers from Beautiful Gate. It's a blessing that Lesotho feels like home for Grace. Our prayer is that the staff and children at BG will grow in their faith and experience God's love, light and grace more and more each day! Thank you again for your support, we appreciate all that you do that allows us to further God's kingdom here in Lesotho!

Eight Weeks in Our New Home

    Today marks the 8th week that we have been here at Beautiful Gate, Lesotho! Sometimes it's hard to believe that this is our new life for the next 2 years [or so :) ]. I think the best way to describe what we have been going through since coming here is adaptation. As anyone living in a new culture knows, the one thing you can be sure of is change. When Karen and I came here a year ago we didn't necessarily go through too much culture shock. We lived at the Maroon House on campus with the other 19 volunteers from Michigan, so we were always surrounded by familiar faces. We did some site-seeing of the surrounding area as well as trips to the Village of Malealea. And before we left last year we went to a game preserve for a 2 day safari. It seemed a bit like going on a vacation or doing  just another mission trip.
    Being here this time feels a lot different. We live off campus now and instead of walking across campus to start our day we drive about 10 minutes to get to "work". We don't live with 19 other people this time. Now it's just the 3, make that 4 of us living in our house. Our first item of adaptation actually came before we left Michigan. Our housing for at least the first year was lined up before we came to Lesotho. We were going to rent a house from a South Korean missionary family that would be leaving just before we arrived. The change came just three days before we left when we found out the the husband was sending his wife and two daughters back home ahead of him while he stayed on just past Easter. It wasn't exactly what we were figuring on but we trusted that God was going to use this as a way to grow us. As it turns out, we have quite a nice, very generous, and rather humorous house mate that has been very useful in helping us to understand some of the quirks of the house as well as helping know more about the area and culture.
    We have also had to adapt to things like the power going out in the house on a somewhat regular basis...mostly around thunderstorms. We also regularly deal with our water going out as well. I have already pondered the question: "what would I rather have...no water, or no electricity?" I'm still undecided. I would choose no electric if we had gas to heat our water or a gas stove...but we're making adjustments to not having that luxury either. Then there was our vehicle. We purchased a two door Mitsubishi SUV before coming here, knowing that we would definitely need our own car. But within 2 weeks of our getting here our car was no longer drive-able. Back home I know of a few great mechanics and can purchase whatever part I need from the Auto Zone Just down the road and within a few days I'm on the road again. Here I don't know any mechanics, and it took me a while to find someone that a few people recommended. And after three weeks of it being at the shop we finally got our car back. But God blessed us with a car that we could borrow right up to the day we found out that our car was done...praise God!
    There have been many things about being here that we have needed to adjust to. But one thing that we were used to was seeing God at work in everything. Even before visiting Beautiful Gate a year ago we could clearly see how God was at work to make this a reality of His plan. God has been training us and shaping us all of our lives so when we were ready to say yes to His call, everything was in place. We saw God clearly bring a couple to the same point in our spiritual walk so we would both be ready for missions. God provided the seminary training needed to fulfill his call for another shepherd. God equipped and trained a mother and secretary to be the operations manager of an orphanage. He took the heart of a teenager and set it on fire to serve Him wherever He called.
    We saw God take care of the easy things like selling a house that we were seriously upside down in. (That's an amazing story all by it's self!) We watched God bring in all the necessary money for our first year here in just a little over three months! And we were given such peace from God as He spoke so clearly to us that He had everything under control and going just as He had planned it.
    Things are definitely different here on the other side of the globe. Our friends here have a different language and somewhat darker skin than us. And although we are apart from our family, God continues to bless us with new and growing relationships. Things ARE different here but God is still the same. We've had to go through a lot of changes to get here, but our God is unchanging. The scenery here is quite a change from back home, but it was created by the same amazing God who makes the pristine snow of Holland, the brilliant colors of the tulips and the white billowing clouds that travel the seas. We live in a world that if full of change but it's much easier to handle with your feet on a solid Rock.
    It's only been eight weeks in our new home. We can't wait to see what he can show us in two years.......
 

Beautiful Staff

I want to share a portion of my perspective on the staff here at Beautiful Gate. I have been observing the staff for the past 4 weeks and I have been so impressed and so touched by their hearts. The more I get to know them, the more I admire them and praise God for their lives and the privilege to work with them each day.

Every morning the office staff and anyone else who is available, meets for devotions. Everyone takes turns reading scripture and a short devotional. The person who reads will then share his or her reflections and then we all get a chance to share our thoughts and we conclude with a time for prayer requests and thanksgivings and then have at time of prayer together. I am amazed at how easily they share their hearts and how beautifully they express themselves. They are real. They are transparent. This is one of the best devotional groups I've been a part of and I have already learned so much from them and from their example. They love the Lord and they know His word. I have noticed that they take God's word seriously and always look at it as their challenge to continue running the race with perseverance. They realize that God is speaking to them on that particular day, on that particular verse. I am so impressed and inspired.....They take Him at His word.  I want to live in that simple truth that God is real. He speaks to us and instructs us through His living Word and that He is always actively speaking into our lives.

I am impressed with the rest of the staff here as well. I see the joy in their hearts when they sing with the children and at chapel and for special ceremonies. Hearing the staff sing is definitely a highlight for me as they sing with such enthusiasm and with such beautiful harmony! 

The times I have heard them share their hearts I see that they too love the Lord and His Word. I spoke with a weekend housemother regarding having a church service on Sunday's for them on campus since they can't get to church on a regular basis. She said to me, "I praise God for the hearing and instruction of His word, even if it's for 5 minutes, it's what I need so badly."

They desire the teaching of the Word, praise God for that! It is a joy to see how Ron's position as Chaplain has filled this need and how he is such a wonderful fit here.  The staff have regularly come to him to ask for prayer, to share and to seek guidance in the Word. Prior to our coming, the staff had been asking for a pastor and spiritual leadership and they have welcomed Ron in his position as Pastor so freely and with much acceptance. This is such an affirmation from God in His call for us to come here.

Beautiful Gate has a beautiful staff!  I am blessed to be a partner with them in this journey to serve and to grow together. 

~Karen