Prayer Request - Daniel, Clementina, and Emmanuel

It was a tough day today.

Tomorrow (Tuesday) I fly into the Lesotho mountains and won't return to Maseru until next Monday, so today was a lot of running around to take care of smaller purchases and make sure things are ready to go. It doesn't seem like we have that much to do at each site but looking at the amount of food and tools and other supplies we need to bring for 6+ days it has become quite a list.

This afternoon Daniel came to the MAF hangar. Our closer friends and family know that Daniel worked in our yard when we lived here in 2008. Daniel (his Christian name -- his Basotho name is Lebohang Theko) had come to the gate looking for work. Many other men had come begging for food or money, but he wanted to earn his keep so I hired him to wash the car once a week. After a couple weeks this changed to gardening 1 day a week. Then after our house was robbed over Easter weekend of that year we hired Daniel as a night gaurd. His employment ended when we left Lesotho in August. MAF hired him as a cargo loader for the planes, but he was not kept after a 90-day evaluation period. I was not overly surprised by this -- he was not an exceptional worker. But he was an honest, genuinely nice guy who was just trying to support his family in a very difficult place to get ahead.

I was very happy to see my old friend today since I tried to find him this weekend but they had moved houses. He wanted me to see his new place and I offered to drive him home from the hangar (he had come to see if there was "a letter from Mr. Traig in America").

Daniel and his family were so happy to have me at their house this afternoon. His wife Clementina cried and cried. Right when she saw the car coming up the dirt road and realized it was me she began to cry. She kept asking Daniel in Sesotho if it was really "Mr. Traig". She did not believe I had come back to Lesotho.

At their home I learned that Clementina was one of 1800 people let go from the large textile factory here in Maseru and is working "piece jobs" (what we might call "odd jobs") doing some kind of ironing at night "for the Chinese" (not sure what this means). She earns about 700 Rand a month (~$80) which is currently their only income. Their rent is now 120 Rand (~$15) in the new place. It is a very nice, newer single-room dwelling, slightly larger than their old home, but without electricity. It is further out of town, which combined with the lack of electricity cxplains why it is cheaper rent (the previous house was 225 Rand a month). During the time Daniel worked for MAF he was able to purchase some furniture for their simple home, and a bicycle for his son. He is a good father and as a married couple and parents they appear to be doing OK.

I brought them some clothing from the States, mostly stuff for Clementina from Laura's sisters. Clementina looked so nice in the new clothes and was eager to try them on.

They were so happy to see me, but quite sad to learn my whole family was not coming back to Lesotho. We talked about my wife and our children, how my family was doing back home and specific memories from Lesotho. We also talked about their current financial situation and Clementina sat with me and cried heavily. She does not speak English very well but it was clear that it has been a very difficult few months since she lost her job. Daniel began to cry as well so he left the house and stayed outside a while -- it is not really acceptable for Basotho men to display emotion.

Daniel understands it is his responsibility to support this small family, and he never asked me for money or specific assistance. But I gave them what I had in my wallet, enough money to cover the next 4 months rent. I made it clear it was to cover the rent. Clementina asked if she could please use a very small amount of it for new shoes. Laura gave her the shoes she was wearing when we left 9 months ago. I think they were her only pair. I agreed - she could buy shoes but the rest was to cover the rent so they would not have to worry about that for a few months.

Their son Emmanuel is now 3 and although a happy child he seems to be going deaf. He does not hear them call to him. Watching him interact with us it seemed like he cannot hear much if at all. They are taking him to Queen 2 hospital tomorrow because they opened a new ears/nose/throat clinic (of some kind... scary.) Tonight I talked to one of the PIH doctors who said hearing loss in kids is extremely common here, another disease of poverty that should not exist. The kids get ear infections and simple antibiotics would take care of them but they don't have access to the drugs, so the infections just keep occurring until the ear drums rupture enough that they get scarred and shrink and ultimately the child has permanent hearing damage. This sounds like his situation so I fear he will have permanent hearing loss. Hopefully there is still time to treat his ears and they can get him some meds at the hospital this week.

I was so happy to see them but it was very hard afternoon. This can certainly be a miserable place. I don't know how Lesotho will ever rise above poverty, and it hurts to see this small family suffer with things that should not have to exist in our world anymore.

Please say a prayer for Daniel and his family. Pray that he would find work to support his wife and son. For their health and the health of Emmanuel. And for continued strength in their marriage and parenting. Please pray for them because I don't see how they can survive without God's help in their lives.

Sorry, a bit depressing I know but again I appreciate you reading this. Have a good week and stay safe.

Traig

Need a bigger wrench? Find a wheelbarrow...

In the previous post I said I would share some pictures and information about the VSAT installation in the village of Manamaneng. (You can click on the pictures for a larger version)

Manamaneng is the 8th VSAT installation in Lesotho for Partners In Health. 7 of these sites, including Manamaneng, are very remote. It would be *possible* to drive to some of them, but they are mainly accessible by MAF airplane. The remaining site is Botsabelo Hospital, a facility in Maseru dedicated to the treatment of MDR and XDR Tuberculosis. I will be working at Botsabelo in the next couple days, and will post information on that soon.

The VSAT dish in Manamaneng was a special project for me because I had to leave this site unfinished when we moved back to the U.S. in August, 2008. A couple weeks before that we had four students from LeTourneau University in Longview, TX (www.letu.edu) visit the MAF program in Lesotho. Two of the students, Mary and Libby, stayed with our family. At the time all four were studying to become missionary pilots, but I had the privilege of taking all of them to VSAT projects in the mountains, to show them one of the activities that MAF is supporting here in Lesotho. And, quite honestly, to put them to work…

Mary and Andrew joined me for a day in Manamaneng where we set the pole mount for this dish. Manamaneng is a harsh place. The airstrip and clinic sit above 7700’ in elevation and the wind and cold can be very bitter. The soil there is incredibly shallow. We were only able to use shovels for about 5-6” and then we had to break up rock the rest of the way to our desired depth of close to 3’ for the concrete footing. I let Andrew do most of the rock breaking. Oddly I think he enjoyed it.

The other challenge facing us at Manamaneng was that PIH was not currently operating at this clinic – and the difference compared to PIH clinics was noticeable. They didn’t even have a pick or shovel or any other tools at the clinic, and we had to fly in everything we needed including bags of cement mix. We even had to haul wheelbarrows full of wet sand uphill from the river below the clinic so we could mix cement. At other PIH sites they typically have some cement available, as well as basic tools and necessities for maintaining the sites or doing projects on the clinic grounds. Next week I will be in four very well equipped sites and you will be able to tell the difference just from the photos.

When we left the site on the afternoon of July 23, I did not think I would ever return to Manamaneng to see the completed installation.


On this trip the dish at Manamaneng was my first priority. The remaining dish components had been flown to the site last week by MAF pilot Christiaan Haak. Christiaan was our pilot on Tuesday as well and on the flight into the site he commented that for me this dish would be no problem, as nothing had been done since I left. Hearing this was sort of bitter-sweet. I was grateful to return and finish the work I had started, but a little sad that the project stopped last year.

I immediately thought of something my friend Mark Young told me when I said goodbye to his family back in Spearfish. It was something like “people over here don’t realize that in the environment you are going to you can’t just walk away and expect things to stay working. Like a juggler keeping the balls in the air, step away and things start to fall apart.” A very true statement. Not that this VSAT project or anything else in Lesotho can’t function without me here, but a reminder of how dedicated people are needed to continue the progress in this country.

When we landed at Manamaneng and I saw the installation site the words of both Christiaan and Mark really sank in. The site was almost exactly as I left it months ago – the only change was significant rust on the mounting bolts.

I was really struck by the sight of the rust. This was the best steel we could purchase in Lesotho. It was ridiculously expensive by American standards. Yet when left alone to the elements of time and nature it was quickly being destroyed. Another rainy season and the mounting bolts would have been useless for their intended purpose as the nuts would have been completely fused in place.

What a great picture of so many things in our life. Nothing stays constant – with time all things will break down if you aren’t doing something to maintain them. It is true in our physical health, our businesses, our relationships with our spouses and our family and friends, even in the progress of African nations (all nations for that matter). And it’s true in my relationship with Jesus Christ.

I can’t just sit idle, going through the daily motions and expect to stay close to Christ. Time will open the door for Satan in his various forms to corrode away that relationship. The enemy knows if I don’t pay close enough attention he can add a little rust every day and before I know it I will be completely bound. Where there was once something shiny and clean and ready to be used for great work there will become a useless thing, with no eternal value and even minimal worldly value.

These steel mounting bolts were just months away from becoming a useless thing, a hindrance for anyone walking across the clinic grounds as they could trip or get cut on the rusting metal. That which was put here to bring something good to this place could have become part of the problem instead. What a great reminder for me to focus on my relationship with Christ. I was put here for good, but if I let that relationship go idle I will become part of the problem instead. Possibly even a hindrance to others. I need to be vigilant, watching for the signs of rust building up in my life. I think this realization was one of the reasons God brought me back to Lesotho and I am thankful for it.

I am also VERY thankful we were able to break the nuts free and from that point the project went great. Since this site was accessible only by plane it was receiving a very cool Patriot “batwing” dish (designed to fit entirely into a Cessna 206). I just love building this batwing – it is a very attractive machine. Although rather difficult to construct in the wind we were still able to finish the assembly in incredible time and had the site online within 8 hours. I included several photos with this post. Some photos of me working on the dish of course, and there are pictures of Jeremy Keeton bolting down the panels as well. Jeremy and I work great together, I am really happy to be here with him and just our time talking about Lesotho and his other experiences in the world is making this a great experience. I hope to work with Jeremy again in the future, wherever he happens to be in the world at that time.

The pictures should prove I am actually doing something over here :-). One shows a PIH nurse up there with me (I originally thought he was the doctor but Jeremy corrected me). He was acting concerned for my safety so he was bracing me from slipping down the dish, but really he just could not wait any longer than necessary to have that thing operational. Between patients he would come out to the site and monitor the progress. I guess a month without communication to the outside world was getting to him... the medical team had quite a stack of emails to go through when we brought the dish online.

And the picture of the guys with the wheelbarrow is great. This was happening below me while the nurse was bracing my feet. If you look closely you can see what is going on there. We told them to find a "pipe" to use as a wrench extender to tighten down those large nuts. Honestly they searched for a very long time and that was the only pipe they could find. Again a great example of the challenges of working in such a remote part of the world. Every pipe in the area was already being used. This was the best they could find!

The PIH team was again so pleased to have another site online and will greatly benefit from the communication it provides. The dish gives them Internet access and with it they can email drug and supply requests, medical inquiries, or just personal messages to stay connected and not feel so alone up there. They can communicate with MAF for flight schedules and report weather conditions at the clinic airstrip. They can research medical conditions online and use Skype to talk to the rest of the team around the country as well as family back home. I cannot express how happy the doctor was to have this system in place, it will improve his life in the mountains but more importantly will improve the patient care he and his team are able to provide.

We had some signal issues to resolve on Wednesday but were able to get the dish running very well just minutes before the plane returned to take us back to Maseru. For the second time in nine months I said goodbye to Manamaneng, but this time I felt much better about leaving. The job was done -- we finished what was started up here. And the people in this village and surrounding area will be better off for it.

And looking back a couple days I know I am better off for it as well. God is still working in me and he brought me back to Lesotho for a reason. I think he wants me to see that I should examine my own life and find those things I am not maintaining. Get rid of the rust and build something useful in its place. Be his hands and feet for a while again, here in Lesotho and when I get home to South Dakota.

I am looking forward to posting more from Lesotho but the day is passing quickly and I need to visit some old friends here. God Bless you today and thank you for sharing this experience with me by reading my thoughts and looking at these photos. This project has obviously impacted me and I hope it gets you thinking as well.

Blessings from Maseru,

Traig

2 Illegal Border Crossings Later...

Hello friends and family!

If you are reading this you probably know I am back in the Kingdom of Lesotho in southern Africa. I was invited to return to Lesotho by Partners In Health (http://www.pih.org/) to assist with another VSAT dish installation and to upgrade the networks at the previous VSAT sites. I will again be based in the capital city of Maseru but will spend the majority of this trip at the remote clinic sites or in a Cessna airplane travelling between those sites. I will return on May 13.

The last 5 days have been hectic, and full of interesting stories and emotions as expected. Here is a summary of the high (and some low) points of my first couple days:

Saturday, April 25
First was the miserable trip to get here. It takes a solid day of flights to get from Rapid City to Johannesburg, South Africa. On the longest leg from Atlanta to Joburg I sat next to an Indian man returning from Las Vegas to his home in Johannesburg. I struck up a conversation and quickly learned he was an educated man, spoke almost perfect English (one of his 4 languages), and had been in Vegas for the NAB show. He was born in Kenya and moved south through Africa to follow his career with Apple (yes, as in iPod). He now owns 3 businesses in the Joburg area that specialize in video post-production equipment. At our stop in Dakar he pulled out his iPhone and made some calls, checked his email. (I pulled out my crummy Motorola and attempted to change the clock since now it is just a fairly expensive pocket watch - useless as a phone on this continent...)

So you get the idea -- this guy is an educated, successful, affluent business man. Although he isn't wearing shoes, which is pretty gross considering he uses the bathroom more than once on the flight. Along with, oh, about 300 other people on the plane. And there was turbulence, if you know what I'm saying.

Anyway, the foot/bathroom thing aside, it broke my heart to hear him talk about the condition of his country. The crime is out of control in Joburg. He lives in Randburg which I knew was a decent suburb but said they now expect to get robbed at least every 6 months. The robberies are becoming more violent and his neighbors have been shot or had wives raped during the crimes. He sleeps with a gun next to the bed and has had to shoot warnings into the yard to drive away criminals.

He said the government and police corruption is horrible and has allowed the crime to become organized. They will now rob entire neighborhoods in a weekend. And they have systems for marking the houses based on the tactic. Sidewalk chalkings or something simple like a Coke can by the curb means robbery. A 7-up can if you will be carjacked. He talked about how safe he felt in Vegas and Atlanta -- how you could get up early and jog in the morning without looking over your shoulder or wondering if someone saw you leave the house and was now inside robbing you or hurting your family.

His businesses have to pay something like 62% tax on every dollar earned. "What is the government doing with all my tax money??" He asks. "They have no public schools -- I pay $5000 a year for my daughter to go to school. We have no police. In America you call the police they are there in 3 minutes. My shop is robbed I will be lucky if they come in 4 hours...." He went on to say something like "I should be proud of my country - to say I am from South Africa the strongest country in Africa. How can I be proud of a country that treats its people like this?"

Over an 18-hour flight we obviously talked about many of the challenges facing South Africa (and Africa in general). And I kept thinking I wonder how he views Americans after being in Las Vegas -- the ultimate monument to excess. All the money we waste (myself included) when he has to struggle so hard to get ahead only to be robbed, carjacked, and shot at. At the end of the flight I was physically and mentally exhausted. (And thankful I wasn’t staying at his house that night.) It was nice to sit next to a friendly guy on such a long flight but I just felt sad for him and his family and the little hope he had in the future of South Africa.

Sunday, April 26
That sad feeling didn’t last long when it was replaced by a sort of sinking, panicked feeling as my card was rejected by the ATM machine. Thanks Great Western Bank. Airplane peanuts for supper. Nice.

Ok honestly I could not complain too much -- I was put up in a nice hotel which had a free airport shuttle and a great free breakfast. And contrary to the online reviews, the lobby did not get robbed by 4 armed gunmen.

Monday, April 27
By 7:00 AM I was again well fed and already heading back to the airport for my final flight to Maseru, Lesotho. I still had no cash. Thanks Great Western Bank. No tip for the airport porter. Nice.

Only 1 of my 3 trunks didn’t make it to Lesotho. 66% -- not bad considering it was a direct flight. (no worries, it has since arrived. It was full of donated children’s clothing and I paid a fortune in extra luggage fees to get it here so I was glad it made it!)

The 2 trunks that did make it had several hundred dollars worth of network gear in them and despite carrying a very nice letter from Partners In Health I was told I would have to pay a tax to bring them into the country. Let’s see… 14% and another 20% of the excess value over 3000 Rand. Hmmm… I did some figuring in my head and concluded that the tax I owed was going to be significantly more than the ZERO Rand I currently had in my possession. Thanks Great Western Bank. No cash to pay the import tax. Nice.

It was going to take some convincing to get past this customs issue so I retrieved Jeremy Keeton (IT Specialist with Partners In Health) from the airport lobby. We tried to explain this equipment was a gift to the Lesotho government and finally Jeremy pretended to call someone at the Ministry of Health and that did the trick, she let it slide.

30 minutes later Jeremy and I committed an international crime as we drove right back into South Africa without stopping to get my passport stamped. (We needed to get to Bloemfontein to purchase some 220 volt power supplies.) Why didn’t we stop? 1.) There was a long line at the border and you know how pesky long lines can be. 2.) I didn’t want to explain why I just entered the country and am leaving again less than an hour later. And 3.) in the 6 months we lived here before we were NEVER stopped at the border to check our passports. Kind of scary really -- we could have been driving weapons grade plutonium into that country and they could care less.

The trip to Bloem was quick and mildly successful and we were back in Lesotho by supper time. 48 hours, 5 flights, 11,000+ miles, 66% of my checked luggage, and 2 illegal border crossings later (1 each way) and I was finally unpacking in Maseru and ready to plan for the work ahead.

Well that only gets you up through the first 2 days and since it is now Wednesday night there is obviously more to write about. I have spent the last 2 days in the mountains installing a new VSAT dish and tomorrow will post more to the blog and include some photos of that project. Right now I need to get some sleep. Thanks for reading, I know this is long but haven’t had time to post it in pieces -- they will get shorter as I catch up!

God Bless and stay safe everyone,

Traig