Keresemese e monate! (Merry Christmas in Sesotho)
This morning, the brave ones woke up after sleeping beneath stars, that shine so brightly that we couldn't have imagined them before we came. The rooster greeted us at 4am to watch as the sky lit up slowly over the mountain peaks to show the celebration of Christmas morning. We continued to stare ahead in awe, as the Rosenberg children ran from their room to the lodge to see what Santa had brought everyone. Let us remind you, it was only 5am. But the doors were unfortunately locked because the parents had set the time of gift opening to be at 6am. So they wandered back to their beds and looked out their window as we were still watching the sky.
6am finally arrived! Almost all 16 joined the Rosenberg family and their matching pajamas around the tree. We were pleasantly surprised to see that Santa comes to all, young and old. From Santa we all received stockings full of South African candy and a pin of the American and Lesotho flags together. We all sat in utter and complete joy as Josh and Diane Rosenberg opened their presents from Santa. Diane received all cat themed presents, from leggings to a board game called Exploding Kittens, and Josh received baseball and NY Mets themed presents. He even wore his new armbands and a new shirt to continue out the day. Then, we were all given a little something from home. We would like to extend the thankfulness that we all shared as we witnessed a line of bright smiles and eyes filled with tears. Thank you to the Rosenbergs, Santa, and our family and friends at home for providing so much joy to start the day.
After a much needed breakfast and nap, we wiped off the sweat and dirt and dressed in our best. Our poor friend, Carly, was unfortunately unable to join us for church because she was renewing herself after a long day of heat exhaustion from the mountains. We walked through Ramabanta and we we befriended by two teenagers in the village who guided us to the chorus of singing. We even managed to pick up two children from the village that have been with us as we have done our work this past week.
Max recalled the roars of the chorus as they had reverberated through our souls. Each one of us looked at each other to see how it effected us. We all mutually felt the powerful presence that filled the church as each member of the community gathered together to celebrate such a beautiful day. Even though we couldn't understand the language, we all collectively were in the moment. Now looking back, we see that at that time we didn't yet fully grasp how truly powerful it was to be there with them.
We came back to the lodge and there was a big lunch prepared. We were joined by Jenny, the owner, and all of her family and also new arrivals that are staying here on the compound. Jenny even brought us a little piece of Lesotho, so that we can remember our stay here.
Later, a cool rain fell, furthering the end of a 6 month drought here in Lesotho. It was a Christmas miracle and the forecast even shows a continuation of hope. Once the clouds cleared, we gathered for the traditional game of Lesotho Christmas football! The game grew to be very competitive and the first game ended at 35-7. Surprisingly enough, we changed the teams and the ending score was still 35-7.. Yet another surprise, Max easily covered and intercepted from Mich. #MVP Even with all the competition, it was a fun and memorable experience for the afternoon.
After another delicious meal, Mich and Angela were brainstorming for the writing of this blog, but were distracted by the sight of colors shining through clouds off on the other side of the compound. We perched ourselves on some rocks and watched as the day came to a close. As the three of us look back on our day, this has truly been a Christmas that we will never forget. We still are in awe that we have this opportunity to spend our days in this place and with people that we have grown to call our Lesotho family.
Signing off,
Max, Mich, and Ang
A personal note from each of as some of favorite quotes have personally resided in our minds through this past week....
Max- "Happiness is best when shared." -Chris McCandles
Mich- "Look at everything always as though you're seeing it for the first time or last time: thus is your time on earth filled with glory." -Betty Smith
Ang- "The good moments of your life won't necessarily be the things you do, they'll be the things that happen to you." -from our favorite show, HIMYM