Dear friends, I write this letter to you on the back of a very busy few weeks. Thinking of the past 9 months and the next three months that lie ahead, I know that only God can carry us through. October 2014 we arrived here in Semonkong not knowing the road that laid ahead for us, but the past 4 years has been an amazing journey in the grace of God. Serving the Lord for only a few years here amongst the Basotho people we are starting to identify with the words of the beloved and very humble apostle Paul: What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ-the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. I want to know Christ- yes, to know the power of His resurrection and participation in His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead. Phil 3:8-11 Last week we hosted the annual veterinary outreach with 28 vets and 5 th and 6 th year students from Onderstepoort blessing the people of Semonkong through the treating of their animals. This is a crazy week because up to 9000 animals are treated within the space of four days. To make things even more interesting this year was first time that the 4 th year undergraduate and post graduate animal science students from the National University of Lesotho joined the outreach. They were also joined by the World Horse Welfare. It was busy and Mariëtte ended up cooking for 80 people. Not quite what she initially signed up for. If this was not enough we also had a snowfall in the middle of the week, but everyone was up for the challenge. The team also managed to visit the Semonkong Children Centre twice. The one evening we played games and did some activities with the kids and the second evening we all watched the Jesus film together.
Oh it feels so good to be able to walk outside with short sleeves. This past winter and autumn was really tough on us. The weather really got to us and at times made us feel really depressed. Even though winter is traditionally not so busy, it turned out to be very busy. I focussed a lot of my time and efforts on discipleship and teaching more specific on small groups, Bible school and Sunday services. I also managed to direct a lot of my time to my Theology Studies which was great. One church service that stood out for me was at our church in Ha Shebetlela. This village is situated between rugged mountains which are not accessible by car but only by foot or by horse. In the past I had done it by horse but this time I did it by foot. It is a 2 hour hike up and down the mountains. Cobus joined me and I struggled to keep up with him. I must admit I am not getting younger. We had such a blessed time with the people of Ha Shebetlela and they were so eager to learn from the Word of God. It really blessed my soul. This coming weekend I will challenge the mountains again but a little pain is worth the joy of fellowship with my brothers and sisters. We are now entering a particularly busy season with various teams coming to assist with our work and pastors trainings taking place. During the week of the 24 th of October the pastors in our Firewall/Harvesters training will start with phase C here in Semonkong. Over the last six months they had planted 21 new churches. I am very excited to hear what has happened since our last training. On the 16 th of November I will start a new training stream in Maseru for other pastors and in the same week do visioning for pastors in Maputsoe in the north. Go d is opening up new doors. Please keep me in prayer. Thank you to everyone who is always so faithful in praying for us. This past weekend I had the privilege to install our brand new solar batteries to the worth of R20k. For the first time in four years we are able to go through a week without having to rely on a generator. This is so liberating. We are so thankful to the family who bought the batteries for us. We haven t even met them. We are truly thankful for the blessing that God bestowed upon us. And that s not all. Two weeks ago I was planning to replace two of the tires on my vehicle for they were seriously finished and unsafe to say the least. To be honest all four tires were in a bad state as they have worked very hard here in the mountains and I received them as second hand in the first place. Nevertheless God is faithful and yet another family decided to donate towards the rest of the set. Last week I had the special privilege to fit four new tires to my car. I felt so blessed. Another testimony is that ntate Motsomai, whose studies we sponsored through the agricultural project, managed to pass his exams and proceeded unto his fourth and final year. We are so proud of his efforts.
During the month of August a team of grade 11 learners, teachers and Chaplin from Heronbridge College in Johannesburg joined us for a week and specifically focussed on Calvary Primary. They helped with the construction of new staff toilets, erected climbing frames and trained the teaching staff in an educational Lego program and gross motor development activities. At the end the school was blessed with all the equipment and Lego worth thousands of Rands. The staff and learners from Heronbridge College made a great impact on Calvary Primary through their unselfish service to the children and staff of and we are looking forward to their return next year. Over the past two months a fair amount of my time has gone into the planning of the pilot construction phase of the Semonkong Hospital Trust working closely with the architects. Plans are in place to start the construction of the first building in January 2019 which in the interim will serve as a 200m2 multifunction building (MD rooms; small team accommodation, training facility, etc.) and in the long term as the veterinary clinic. A lot of time and research has gone into the designs and various important techniques such as natural heating will be tested that might potentially be incorporated into the hospital design. This obviously inflates the cost of the building but an opportunity like this cannot be missed to gain valuable information. This pilot phase will create numerous jobs and a lot of time will be allocated to the up skilling of local unskilled and skilled labourers. I will also teach people the necessary carpentry and metalworking skills to manufacture doors, frames, windows, etc. I am so excited that many years of labour behind the scenes can now become a reality. Please trust with us as we trust our Lord that the necessary finances and building permits will be in place. I will send out a brochure with more details regarding this project and how you can partner with us through your support.
In preparation for the construction we have launched a stone collection project employing more than 20 people from various villages to brake rocks from the mountains and to transport it to the hospital site. Recently we had the privilege to visit the Van Der Linde family on their farm in Ladybrand. The Van Der Lindes farm with vegetables, maize, sheep and cattle, and even though they are very successful commercial farmers I believe the most valuable thing that they do is the ministry work on their and neighbouring farms. We had joined their weekly hour of prayer and Sunday service. On their farm they have church in a 90 year old missionary church which they restored beautifully. I felt so blessed to share the Word to the congregation in such a historically rich church building. We left this beautiful family refreshed and inspired to continue along the road the Lord has chosen for us. Please pray and intercede with us as we are 1) entering the preparations of the agricultural season. This season we would like to double our efforts and try out a few new vegetable types. We trust that God will bless our efforts and give us opportunities to bless many people through job creation and agricultural training. The agricultural department of The National University of Lesotho has also shown interest to potentially partner with us with student training and research and development. 2) The hosting of various South African teams from October until December. 3) Strength and wisdom as I train pastors from various parts of Lesotho. Over the past 6 months 21 new churches were planted through them. May God unlock their potential to plant many more churches and train up new pastors. 4) Construction of the SHT pilot phase veterinary clinic. 5) Financial provision for the various ministries and projects. 6) Personal protection, financial provision and staying focussed on the Lord for His guidance every day of our lives. Thank so much for your support. Your friendship and prayers keeps us going. Many of you play a vital role in our lives. There are times that the enemy sows doubt in our minds and God uses you to encourage us to persevere. We are so blessed to partner with you for the glory of the name of our Lord. Much love, The Snymans