Into the wilds...

We're in Maseru again after another long journey with the aid of everything ranging from SClub7's, "Reach" to The Killers to Shirley Bassey's "Kiss me honey honey" (a real low point). Since I last wrote we've spent a few days in the middle of nowhere - up and down dirt tracks going round the mountains, which was great fun for those in the back of the pick up truck. My boys were allowed on there for one return journey in the dark, so all we could see was their white faces when our headlights caught them at the right angle - they were hyped!! While we were out in the villages we joined with the locals in activities like football, parachute games and visiting, then in the evening (which was exceptionally beautiful as the sun went down) we were very privileged to witness the popping up of a brand new church. They all crammed in to a tiny room and there was much expectation for the future together - the only downer was that they could only jump up and down on the spot as there wasn't much space! I should mention that at every place we go people are keen to pray for the town and church in Worthing. (Yes, really! They pray for the nations here as a matter of course.) Oh, and there was a bloke playing a makeshift banjo which was made with some kind of biscuit tin with a strip of wood for a fret board, and 3 rubbery strings!

The village where we were based was also very rural, and the community put us all up (the whole team) amongst themselves. I heard of one lady who shared her bed with a girl while her sister, who usually shares the bed, slept on the floor. We were lucky enough to be with a western family who served us so well. We were all in one room with a porta-potty and our only challenge was the pitch black (which turned out to be enough of a challenge for us this time around!) The family do have electricity from a solar panel, but they use it sparingly so we could hardly bleat, "we usually have the landing light on at home!". In the morning we went to fetch water with them and visited various pigs and chickens around their neighbourhood. They have a toddler and a small 3 year old and were just like us so I think our experience with them has been easier for our own children to relate to. Again, we tried carrying the water on our heads (!) and then poured it in to their big tank where it gets filtered. Phew - hard work. On the way we saw shepherds, a lizard, and a pile of cakes made from cow manure, used for starting fires once it's dried in the sun. Our hostess explained lots of things to us during the morning.

Here are some of those things:

There is no word for 'please' in Sosotho.

In their culture you don't offer things like breakfast or a drink or whatever, you wait to be asked. (The exact opposite of what I spend my energy telling our kids - they loved this!)

They take great care of their homes, usually emptying them out for cleaning daily (which explains the luggage piled up in the shacks we'd visited - they must keep all their stuff in there for easy removal).

The people hosting our team would probably have been cleaning all day, including polishing the insides of their pans for goodness sake.

They take great care of their clothes (which explains the iron and ironing board in our hostel at Maseru).

Finally, in the Bosotho culture, like many African cultures, people think corporately, not individually. There's hardly any 'mine' and 'yours'. This sounds idyllic but it means that somebody who tries to get ahead may be brought down by those around him - eg. A guy they know planted a whole patch of veggies, which his neighbour then burnt down. Every culture has its' challenges I guess.

It was a very special 24 hours for the Nichols but it was also really nice to leave the dust and mud, and get back to Clarens to get showered and eat chips - yey! When we arrived back at the farm the kids were SO excited to see the dogs there, Georgie and Bentley, I realised how sad they'll be to leave next week. Eeek!