ITS GRADUATIONS SEASON!

Psalms 126:3 - The Lord has done great things for us, we are filled with joy. 

Finally! We are here now! How amazing is it to see children grow up and reach certain milestones! The 26th  of November was a beautiful day filled with all sorts of great things and lovely memories, as we celebrated our children during their graduation ceremony. At Beautiful Gate, this is unquestionably a significant achievement that we celebrate big time. A preschool graduation was held at Sefate Sa Bophelo English Medium School to mark this momentous stage in their lives.

Throughout their preschool years, our children went through a lot of growth and development. We look at where these kids come from and where they are today, and cannot help but rejoice and praise God for the great things he has done! They have learnt a ton of brand-new abilities: how to take instructions from a teacher, to get to know classmates and collaborate with them (even make new friends), to learn and improve their handwriting, how to read, and how to be independent away from their housemothers.

Seeing our children sing and perform at their graduation and seeing those excited expressions on their faces when they received their certificates, was adorable and priceless. It was truly wonderful occasion! Well done our accomplished Graduates, we are SO proud of you!

And…they are on their way to primary school!

“Good plans shape good decisions."

“COMMIT YOUR ACTIONS TO THE LORD…” Proverbs 16:3

“Good plans shape good decisions. That’s why good planning helps to

make elusive dreams come true.“ – Lester R. Bittel

A fortnight ago, Board Members, Management and some representatives of staff of Beautiful Gate Lesotho came together at the strategic planning meeting that was meant to set clear goals and road map for BGL for the next three years.

What an awesome time we had, time to reflect, time to revive, and time to self-introspect! Thanks to our external facilitators, Dr. Vaughan Stannard and Mrs. Minah Koela from Beautiful Gate South Africa who did exceptionally well to facilitate the meeting.

It was such an eye opening strategic meeting; we started of by looking at our vision and mission, which was meant to enable us see if we are still on the right track. We found that we were indeed still moving in the right direction and this was augmented by the positive feedback received from our external stakeholders and partners about how well we are doing as an organization. This information from external partners was collected through questionnaires that we provided to them prior to the meeting. The feedback received from external partners as well as those at the meeting encouraged and spurred us on to continue glorifying God by loving on and caring for the orphaned, abandoned and vulnerable children of Lesotho, with theintention to ensure that these children are finally placed with forever families.

We thank God for all our internal and external stakeholders that took part in making this exercise a success. We truly believe that God used you mightily to share “wisdom that comes from above which is always pure, filled with peace, considerate and teachable. It is filled with love and never displays prejudice orhypocrisy in any form and it always bears the beautiful harvest of righteousness!”(James 3: 17-18).

Please keep us in your prayers as we implement all that we believe God has given BGL to do for the next 3 years ( 2022 – 2025), and that He will provide all the necessary resources!

A Long-awaited Celebration

Adoption ceremonies are the highlight of what we do at Beautiful Gate.  It always brings such joy to us seeing children going to their forever families. So, it was a delight for us to celebrate our first adoption ceremony of 2021! This particular adoption ceremony was doubly special as we celebrated our very own Ntate Thabo Tyler and Mme ‘Mathapelo Emily Robbert, our long-term volunteers since 2014, adopting their beautiful princess!

Due to lockdown restrictions, we couldn’t celebrate with them end of last year, but it was worth the 6-months wait. The weather cooperated magnificently: it was a lovely, sunny day! Everyone’s excitement was expressed with joyous songs of Praise to God, ululating, moving speeches, tears of joys and of course scrumptious CAKE.  

We never cease to be amazed by God’s wondrous works, that amidst lockdown restrictions, including international travel restrictions and many other challenges, He still shines His light and gives us hope. This adoptive journey was an arduous one for the Robbert family, considering that it was a ‘local’ adoption but we are thrilled and delighted for them that they are now a threesome. During their speech, the adoptive parents attested that adoption has been in their hearts even before they were married. 

Please continue to pray with us that God will miraculously open doors for more children to go to their forever families throughout this year.

OH WHAT A GLORIOUS, GLORIOUS DAY!

The highlight of all that we do at Beautiful Gate is Adoption Ceremonies and seeing children go to forever families! This past week, we celebrated adoption of THREE of our precious children (all boys) to the Netherlands. Oh what a glorious day it was indeed! Because of restrictions brought about by Covid 19, all of our adoption ceremonies are being held outside under the Gazebo. The weather cooperated and the skies were blue and clear, and it was beautiful!

But the greatest beauty of all was experienced in the joyful praise and worship; the smiles and ecstatic shouts of the children being adopted; the shared stories of the journeys the adoptive families took; and all the tears of joy shed! We are truly grateful to God for placing these three boys in loving, forever families. We don’t cease to be awed by how perfectly the children fit into their forever families.  We continue to pray that more and more children will find families whether through adoption or reunification.

A Glimmer of Light In The Darkness

As Covid-19 continues to strike, we continue to face struggles each day.  Borders are as good as closed which eliminates the possibility of teams coming to visit and eliminates our international volunteers from being able to come and serve.  We have been blessed to have some of the local community step up and offer their time to volunteer during this season but we are still seeking prayer and support as we are very short handed in this area.  With the Borders being so difficult to cross it has made international adoptions extremely hard.  We have many families patiently and anxiously awaiting the opportunity to come and receive their children.  

Prayers have been answered for one family.  The family had been waiting since the beginning of April to come and collect their child.  After numerous attempts, they finally found a way to make it to Beautiful Gate, to receive their son.  Due to travel restrictions and with the government making an exception, the father was the only one allowed to make the journey.  The long awaited day for the family and Beautiful Gate was finally a foot. 

As the little boy walked into the room and met his father, his eyes lit up.  A giant smile wrapped his face from ear to ear as he ran and jumped into his father’s arms.  This was one of the most heart wrenching moments I have ever experienced in my life.  As we talked with the father, we could instantly tell that these two were going to be a perfect match.  Both of their personalities are very outgoing and fun loving. We look forward to hearing stories as the family settles into their new life.  

This has been such an answer to prayer that we are encouraged to keep praying for adoptions to become a lot more frequent.  In the beginning of the year we said this would be the year of adoptions.  Then Covid-19 hit and everything was shutdown.  We are so blessed to see things starting to open up and restrictions being lifted.  We are also very pleased to announce that during the last few months we have reunited two children with biological family, and we’ve had one local adoption.  We pray that this is just a start of what is to come in the remainder of the year!

Making Sacrifices to Make It Happen

A reflection on the COVID-19 related challenges of recent months from our Operations Director, Mme Lindiwe Kirstein.

COVID-19 has turned all our lives upside-down. All over the world, everyone, individuals and organizations alike, need to find a new “normal” to operate in. We are all aware that as “the going gets tough,” the ones that tend to suffer the most are the poorest of the poor and the vulnerable. Beautiful Gate, as a non-profit organization dependent on donations to survive, has also not been exempt or spared. We have had to find ways to still continue to take care of our 75 children, our staff, and our volunteers as best we can during these difficult times.

 Our Management team, staff, and volunteers have been wonderful in the many ways that they are willing to make sacrifices to make it happen. First, Management had to make difficult decisions regarding how to maneuver the lockdown and still provide quality care to our children, while, at the same time, taking precautionary and protective measures against the spread of COVID-19 and still being compliant with set government lockdown rules. This resulted in ALL our Care Staff having to be “locked-down” on campus for weeks without going to their homes/families and all other staff working from home except the Nurse and others that periodically came to provide service they couldn’t provide remotely. The solidarity, unity, joy, and dedication displayed by all during these trying times was remarkable to behold.

Several of our staff and volunteers graciously took on the added role of teaching pre-school while schools have been closed during the lockdown.

Second, our partners, donors, and friends all around the world reacted swiftly to our frantic requests to wire funds to cover our lockdown needs and supplies, as well as extra staff needs. We are so aware that they are equally under pressure to get themselves ready for lockdowns and all the challenges ahead, but they heeded our cries for help and came through for us. Because of these sacrifices, we were able to survive the last two months of lockdown with no glitches. They truly exemplified 1 Timothy 6:18-19: “…use their money to do good. They should be rich in good works and generous to those in need, always being ready to share with others. By doing this they will be storing up their treasure as a good foundation for the future so that they may experience true life.” We praise God for your sacrificial giving.

 Third, as the lockdown has eased and we’ve all returned to work, it has been a hectic and stressful time of reassessing and reevaluating plans, operations, and budgets to ensure that we will be able to make it through the difficult times that are yet to come. A number of plans had to be canceled or postponed, several cost-cutting and cost-reduction measures had to be adopted (an exercise that we will continue to undertake for the next several months), new fundraising avenues and income-generation has scaled up, and an interim, short-term, extra-tight budget has been drawn up. Most of these will be shared in more detail with supporters, donors, and friends of BG to know how to be praying and supporting us during the coming months.

Bundling up and adding extra layers of warm clothing to help reduce spending on electricity during the cold winter months.

One example of the many sacrifices that our staff, volunteers, and children are making is a significant cut in heater usage this winter. Electricity is one of our biggest expenses during winter, as we would have our space heaters on from morning to dusk. Everyone who has been to Lesotho knows how freezing our winters are, especially in the mornings and at night. During the day, when we have sunny days, one is better off outside than inside the house or office. Our staff and volunteers agreed to have heaters on only two hours in the mornings in the offices and three hours in the baby-houses. Our Care staff has opted to use paraffin heaters, and they buy the paraffin themselves.

All these sacrifices, to me, are acts of worship that I believe God is pleased with. As it says in Hebrews 13:15-16: “Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.”

 Thank you everyone for going the extra mile and willingly making the sacrifices that have allowed us to continue offering our service to orphaned and vulnerable children. God bless you all!

Warm Memories

It has been a quiet couple of months for us at BG without our usual volunteers or outreach teams (well, as quiet as a campus with 75 children can be). As we continue to pray for worldwide resolution regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, we also look forward to the day we can have guests and visitors on campus again. In the meantime, our hearts are warmed as we reflect on past outreach teams and the blessings they bring to our lives and hearts. We hope you enjoy looking back with us through the following reflection from our friend, Sarah Munson, who served with our last outreach group in February.

In February my mum and I returned to Beautiful Gate for a week-long trip with a group of volunteers who had yet to experience BG.  It is always so hard to describe to people who haven’t been to Beautiful Gate what an amazing place it is and I think everyone on our team would agree that until you have lived through a week at Beautiful Gate, you can never fully understand how much it will affect you.  It is always very special to see a group of people come to understand and share the love that we feel for this incredible care centre.  After having talked about the experience and the orphanage with them for so long before the trip, it was lovely for them to finally witness it for themselves and make their own connections with the children and staff.  One member of the team summed it up perfectly, explaining that she never thought the kids would affect her the way they did.

It’s always very special for me and my mum to go back to Beautiful Gate, having visited several times before, and with me having spent five’ months there during my gap year.  My heart feels so full seeing the children that I am always thinking about when I’m at home and I feel especially thankful when I learn about an adoption or successful reunification with a child as it is a true testament to the amazing work of Beautiful Gate and it deepens my faith and trust in a God who I know is always watching over Beautiful Gate.

Things always change a lot when we are away and we were excited this time to be able to meet the new Chaplin, Mike and his wife, Denise, who helped provide us with a warm welcome and traditional meal on our first night.  Of course, it is always nice to catch up with old friends and we are forever thankful for the warm welcome always guaranteed by Lindiwe, Peter, Tyler and Emily, especially after we missed Lindi and Peter on our last visit. We were also blessed being able to see Jillian again, one of the long-term volunteers, as we had spent time with her previously during a short-term volunteer trip in July. It was quite special being able to see her at both the beginning and end of her BG journey and we hope to meet up with her when we eventually get a chance to visit everyone in Michigan.

A week always seems very short during a trip to BG but we managed to squeeze in some amazing memories as we always do.  We enjoyed leading Chapel and acting out the ‘Feeding of the Five Thousand’ which seemed to go down well with the kids who ate up all the bread!  We had lots of rain during the week but it didn’t stop us from having some great dance parties during playgroup and we especially enjoyed Mme Agatha showing us her moves to the Cha Cha Slide, and doing the Kids Bop Cupid Shuffle with the children – a song which was played regularly in the car during our trip. It’s always hard saying goodbye, and as much as we hope to be back next year everything has become very uncertain recently. However, we can rest assured in our faith and knowledge that Beautiful Gate is providing love and hope for so many amazing kids.

Since being home, my family and I have been trying to find new ways to support Beautiful Gate. Now we are in lockdown, fundraising has become slightly harder, but this just means finding more creative ways to raise money. In our house at the moment, we have created a swear pot for my dad which so far has raised over £50!  Lockdown has given many people time to reflect and consider what is really important in life.  For us as a family, we have really appreciated this time together and we know that God remains in control but what has become particularly clear to us is that we should be living more simply so others can simply live. Times like this really make you appreciate family and friends and we know that Beautiful Gate will be forever part of our family.

Uncertain Times Call for Measured Reactions

Amidst the chaos and craziness in the world today, it is worth examining ourselves and our reactions to the worldwide crisis that is the COVID-19 pandemic. Over the past weeks and upcoming days, we at Beautiful Gate are engaging in conversations about how best to practice smart, precautionary measures, while maintaining a balanced trust and reliance on God and His ways. Below is a personal reflection from our chaplain, Ntate Moruti Rehlohonolofalitsoe Mike, that he wrote last week. May it be a blessing to you at this time, and perhaps give you an alternate perspective in which to see the world’s current circumstances.

Today here in Lesotho, Africa, we face uncertain times just as much of the rest of the world around us does.  We awoke to news that South Africa is closing 35 of its 53 border crossings, is revoking many visas, is closing their schools, is banning all gatherings over 100 people, and is imposing travel bans on a number of countries.  As of right now Lesotho has not made it known what its stance is going to be on COVID-19, but being completely encompassed by South Africa, we naturally expect a similar response.  Now many would be thrilled that their government is staying out of the decision-making process, that there has not been a run on toilet paper and that there are no travel restrictions currently in place. And yes, there is at the very least some part of me that finds satisfaction in the ‘freedom’ to make my own decisions.  At the same time while we watch much of the rest of world suffer through a relatively unknown virus that has the real potential of death (especially for the elderly and those with reduced immune systems), reduced freedoms, restricted travel, no toilet paper, media induced fear and turmoil, as well as closures of churches, schools (forced homeschooling) and businesses…my heart breaks and my soul laments.

The bigger issue that I see from afar is actually how we as Christians are reacting/responding to this crisis.  Are we facing it in a God honoring way?  Are we reflecting His likeness, His image in a way that brings Him glory? Are we preaching the gospel to a lost and now dying generation/people group?  Are we willingly giving up our rights to love our neighbors? Are we willing to lay down our lives to save those around us?

Church, we have been called to love our Lord and to love our neighbors.  Unfortunately, much of what I see on social media and the news is anything other than what we are called to be doing.  I saw an article today that stated that Italy has decided to not treat those over 80 years of age and that fall into certain health situations.  Basically, stating that they need to spend their time and energy on those whom have the greatest chance of survival.  At first, I was angered by the response, and truth be told I am still at the very least frustrated if not angry over the fact that this people group has been deemed less than worthy of life, but I also weep and mourn for them.  At the same time I am unbelievably saddened that Christians are not standing up and giving up their ventilators, their medications, their hospital rooms, their doctors, their treatments to save another, that they aren’t loving their neighbors (Matthew 22:39), that they aren’t laying down their lives for another (John 15:13).  One might try to respond by saying that they don’t believe that is what the Bible is saying or that that is not what God expects.  My response would be: really?  Because if we are Christ’s followers, we know where our inheritance is, we know where our home is, we know who our God is, we know where we are going when we die.  So we have hope, we have the truth, we have Jesus as our Savior, and the most unloving thing that we can do is keep that to ourselves, take the care that others need (especially if they don’t know Jesus) and thereby sentence them to hell for eternity.  Isn’t that the opposite of loving our neighbors?  Isn’t that the opposite of laying down our lives for another?  In fact, Jesus says in John 13:34-35, “A new commandment I give you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.  By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”  The point that Jesus is making is that the gospel will go forth through our actions.  Yes, this verse is primarily directed at Christ’s disciples loving one another but it is by no means exclusively directed at them only and we do well to be called/emulate His disciples.  Another passage that conveys the same message is Romans 13: 8-11, “Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.  For the commandments, ‘You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,’ and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’  Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.”  As well as, Luke 10:25-28, “And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, ‘Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?’  He said to him, ‘What is written in the Law?  How do you read it?’  And he answered, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all of your heart and with all of your soul and with all of your strength and with all of your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.’  And he said to him, ‘You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.’”

So, church, let me ask you, can the world see that you are His disciple in how you are loving people during this threat of COVID-19?  Can they see and feel your love/His love, your desire for their best and their well-being?  Can they see His grace and mercy through what you post and your responses to people in the public forum?  Can they see love through your willingness to give up your rights to gather, to go out to eat, to go shopping, to go to church or stay home to protect others?  Can they? Can they really?

 I am certain that if we are to emulate Christ, we will be seen in such a way that people will hear the gospel preached without us even having to say a word. By way of example, if/when I become infected with COVID-19 and you need the ventilator that I am on, the hospital bed that I am in, the doctor who is treating me, the medications that I am on…you can have them, because I know where I am going, and it is perfect.  As Paul said, “For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain (Philippians 1:21). This body is my temporary home, and I will gladly give up my rights for you, even to the breath in my lungs…especially if you are not a Christian and have not put your hope, your trust, your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.  He lived the life that I could not and did not live, He died the death that I deserved, in order that I would have eternal life. These are measured reactions…this is what loving one another is about…not my life but yours!

Ready, Set, Go! 2020 Outreach Team Kick-Off

With a new year comes a new round of outreach teams at Beautiful Gate Lesotho. 2020 is quickly shaping up to be our busiest and most engaging year of outreach service that we have ever experienced. With nearly every month of this year already booked, we are looking forward to meeting new friends, welcoming back old ones, and building up long-lasting relationships with our extended Beautiful Gate family around the world.

As we moved into January we didn’t waste any time. Our first outreach team of 2020 arrived in the second week of the year, and what a team it was! We welcomed a group of students from Grand Rapids Christian High School (GRCHS) in Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA who chose to spend their Winterim (their school’s January term) serving with us. Between the students, chaperones, driver, and a couple other visitors traveling with the group, we had 22 extra faces around campus for the week. Furthermore, this was our first collaboration with the GRCHS community. We welcomed back out long-time friends, Mike Verkaik and Tim & Patty Spykstra, who served as chaperones and introduced this new group to Beautiful Gate and Lesotho at large.

The team was only with us for one, short week, but they made every moment count. As with most every team we host, the GRCHS group spent much of their time serving alongside our care staff and interacting with our children. They learned firsthand how hard our staff works to provide the best quality care we possibly can for the 70 children we currently have in our care. At any given moment you could find one of the students washing dishes, hanging laundry, sweeping out a room, changing a nappy, feeding a child, or helping out in playgroup. Additionally, each day part of the group also helped with our ongoing construction project of our new playgroup facility, Abba’s Playhouse. Within just a few days, the team had the entire exterior of the building painted, and then they helped clear away some construction rubble and began installing ceilings in the verandas.

Another highlight from this group’s time in Lesotho came as a result of a great deal of rain we received. Many people may have felt disappointed to experience such rainy weather, especially after having traveled halfway around the world to a new place for the first time. Not this team, though. They rolled with the punches! One day, during afternoon playgroup, the children (who remain inside during rainy weather) were entertained as several members of the group found joy in treating the quickly flooding playground as a makeshift water park. Many of the students (and even their teacher chaperone) jumped, splashed, and even slipped n’ slid in all of the puddles new temporary ponds. It was the very definition of fun.

All in all, we had a wonderful time hosting the GRCHS team. It was a great group to kick off the new year, and we are so excited to have made a connection with a new community. Thank you to each and every member of the GRCHS outreach team. We are so grateful for the marks you left on campus and on our hearts. We are excited to see how God continues to build our newfound relationship in the years to come.

Christmas Miracles

Christmas is already a magical time of year for us at Beautiful Gate as we prepare to celebrate Jesus’ birthday! The staff looks forward to a change of pace during the holiday break. The children count down the days until they can play on the jumping castles (bounce houses). The volunteers generally enjoy experiencing the holiday in a new culture and context. Each part of the Christmas season feels like little miracles – God’s reminders to us of His unending, faithful love.

This Christmas, however, stands out a bit more than past celebrations. While we happily embraced all of the usual expressions of festivity, this year God seemed to go above and beyond to dazzle us with His good gifts. Not one, not two, but THREE of our precious children were welcomed into their forever families this Christmas season (one opted out of being pictured below). God gives really good gifts each and every day, but for these three children and their families this was undoubtedly a VERY special Christmas full of God’s abundant miracles.

We are so grateful to our Abba Father for allowing us to be witnesses to His perfect timing. What a gift (literally!) to see these children and families receive the BEST Christmas present they could have hoped for. The gift of the Christ child is certainly unbeatable, but this was a pretty phenomenal second. We are grateful, too, for the adoptive families who commit to pursuing, raising, and loving these children. We live in a broken world, and the adoption process is not an easy one in any way, shape, or form. Regardless, we have the privilege of seeing God’s love win out time and time again when families endure the long waits, financial strain, and legal hoops and are finally united with the child(ren) they have fought so hard to welcome into the family. God is SO good!

Join us as we praise God for His incredible faithfulness. He never ceases to go over and above our expectations with His love and generosity. Pray with us, too, for these children and their new families as they return home, make big transitions, and begin the next phase of the amazing journeys God has them on. We cannot help but be encouraged as we close 2019 on such a high. To us it is a reminder from God that He is at work and His work is always good. Here’s to a 2020 filled with more year-round “Christmas” miracles.

Genuine Friends

October is often a reunion month for us here at Beautiful Gate with our friends in Belgium and England. Over the past few years Andrew Pimm and Jenny Dobson, our BG Representatives in Belgium and England respectively, have joined us to serve and deepen relationships with our children and staff. Oftentimes Jenny will also bring a small group as an outreach team. It is always such an incredible blessing when these friends come to visit, as they genuinely know the heart of BG and serve selflessly in ways that make an incredible impact. This year Jenny has graciously written up some of her reflections of the trip.

Another yearly visit to Beautiful Gate – this time with a team ranging from 9 years old to 70+.  Every visit I make is different and it has been such a delight and pleasure to see Beautiful Gate develop from its early  beginnings when I first visited in 2007 to the thriving and nurturing place it is today.  My team, apart from Christian were all first time visitors and they fell in love straight away. They loved the babies, the children,  the staff, the accommodation and the country.  I am always so happy when my friends love it as much as I do.  Emma spent most of her time in soft play with the babies and she lost her heart to many of them as she watched them develop in the safety of the soft play area.  Tracey, Nick and I spent much time in playgroup and enjoyed helping to stimulate the children with various activities ranging from play dough to paint. Tracey and Nick took children into the library for some quiet 1 on 1 time which they, and it seemed, the children loved.  My school children had donated a lot of dressing up clothes and it was such fun to see the children get so much pleasure out of dressing up. Christian and Terry got stuck into putting up a ceiling with Francis in the new playgroup building and rose to the challenge of moving the old therapy building from its abandonment in the grounds to the front of the campus.  Noah, our youngest member of the team loved playing with the children and enjoyed engaging with the children in the school opposite. He also loved helping his dad with maintenance tasks, especially popping out to the builders merchants.

I always love visiting Beautiful Gate and serving with you is such a pleasure and truly lifts my heart. As a verse of a remembered hymn from my youth says ‘True happiness is love expressed in service, true holiness  - compassion deep and strong. In giving of myself I find contentment, and so forget how hard the way and long.’  It is so true that in giving of ourselves we receive so much. Thank you Beautiful Gate for all you give to us and for welcoming us to come and serve our God by working along side you. You do a wonderful job and we are in awe of all that you do.  We love you, we love Beautiful Gate and all it stands for, we love Lesotho and we love the God we serve together.  May God bless you all.  Jenny x

In addition to everything Jenny’s team was able to accomplish, Andrew blessed our campus with the gift of a netted structure around our gardens in order to keep out birds and other pests from eating our vegetables. It was a somewhat spur of the moment contribution that adequately displays the generosity Andrew, Jenny, and everyone who accompanies them consistently lavishes on Beautiful Gate.

Thank you Andrew, Jenny, and everyone else from the England team. We so appreciate all of your hard work, generous contributions, and loving encouragement. Above all, we are grateful for the continued relationship we have been able to cultivate over the years. We pray God will bless each of you richly throughout the next year, and we look forward to seeing you next October!

Rekindling a Relationship

It is always fun after outreach teams have come and gone to reflect on how faithful God is. He has raised up such an incredible network of support for Beautiful Gate around the world. He works in individuals’ hearts and brings together each team for His purposes according to His perfect timing. And through each team experience, He teaches, encourages, and prunes us (team members and BG staff/volunteers alike) to be more effective contributors to His Kingdom. What a mighty God we serve!

In August we had the pleasure of hosting a group from CrossPoint Church in Chino, California, USA. CrossPoint and Beautiful Gate have had an ongoing relationship for many years, but this was the first group to serve with us in some time. It was so wonderful to see some of the passion for what God is doing in and through Beautiful Gate rekindled in the hearts of our CrossPoint brothers and sisters.

As is often the case with our outreach teams, this group served passionately, wholeheartedly, and selflessly the whole time they were here. They cared for and encouraged our childcare staff, loved our kids with the love of Jesus, and participated in hard manual labor without complaint. In addition to their work with the children and staff, the team helped with the ongoing construction of Abba’s Playhouse, our new playgroup facility. They dug out ditches around the foundations that will eventually be filled with concrete as a porch. They also willingly led our weekly chapel service with songs and a fun skit.

We are so grateful for the ways the CrossPoint team blessed us so richly during their time in Lesotho. Thank you all, for serving our community so well. Thank you for being flexible and helping to meet the needs we actually had as opposed to the needs you thought would be pressing for you. Thank you for your generous hearts and contributions to helping make Beautiful Gate the best version of itself it can be. We look forward to what God has in store for this relationship in the future, and we can’t wait to see you here again!

Returning

Our outreach team for July was an absolute pleasure! All five of the ladies who made up the group have been to Beautiful Gate at least once before. Two in particular, Emma and Sarah, served with us as long-term childcare volunteers. It was such a joy to interact with them again and to witness the staff and children welcome them “home” with open arms and hearts.

Instead of summarizing all of the ways this incredible group of women utilized their time while in Lesotho, we are excited to give Sarah and Emma an opportunity to express in their own words what it was like coming back to serve at BGL after some time away from their volunteering experiences. We hope you enjoy getting a glimpse into their hearts!

From Sarah:
The 18 months between leaving Beautiful Gate in 2018 and going back again for our short term visit felt like forever. Every time I saw a post on Facebook or someone asked me about Beautiful Gate, I would instantly want to go back. With starting university and moving away from home, it felt like so much time had passed by but as soon as I saw the kids again it felt like that time instantly disappeared.
Although they looked a little older, and some had lost their baby fat (much to my disappointment), they were still the same kids with the same unique and amazing personalities. The naughty ones had become slightly naughtier and the shy kids slightly bolder but they still had the same hearts and ability to make you fall in love with every single one. Day one and I was ready to quit university and stay forever!
The days went by too quickly just like I knew they would and I tried to hold onto all the moments I could with these beautiful children but the time to say goodbye snuck up on me and all too soon we were packing our bags and heading back to the airport. It’s never easy saying goodbye, especially when you can’t promise the children that you’ll see them again but one thing is for certain, part of my heart will always remain at Beautiful Gate.

From Emma:
Being back in Lesotho was so refreshing. I loved every moment of being back with my mothers, the kids and my close friends (who are more like family). 
While I was away there have been a lot of change in the kids at Beautiful Gate. There have been countless adoptions and reunifications which can both be bittersweet. Overall, it really changes the dynamic of some of the houses and of playgroup. It was really special to see how some of the younger kids that were there last year had matured over the year and have taken on the roles of “big brothers and sisters”. 
The house that I was in last year, Khotso 2, had 6 of the same kids out of the 14 while I was a long term volunteer in it. Because Khotso 2 had changed so drastically, I was able to volunteer in the same house again. I loved being able to work with my housemothers again and to spend quality time with them and reconnect with the kids that were still there. It was funny because even though a whole year had gone by, it felt almost like I had never left.
It was also so much fun to catch up with some dear friends of mine. We were a Mother / Daughter Team so it was my mom and I and then we met my roommate Sarah with her mom, Gill, and sister, Zoë, at Beautiful Gate. Our time overlapped for almost a week and it was really good spending time with them each night. As well as the volunteers that we were able to have over a few times. 
We didn’t plan too many excursions while we were there. I wanted to stay nearby and spend as much time as I could with the people that had impacted my time as a volunteer there. My time with everyone was so precious and made this trip so meaningful.

Thank you, Sarah, Emma, Gill, Zoë, and Dani. We so appreciate your love, support, and service. It was wonderful reconnecting with each of you during your time here, and we look forward to the next trip! And thanks again to Sarah and Emma for giving us all a little insight into what it’s like to live and love in Lesotho.

Two Terrific Teams

This quarter we were blessed to host two outreach teams, both from Michigan, USA. In April we had Christina and Melissa Terpstra serving with us, and in June we welcomed another team from Holland Christian High School.

The Terpstra team was a special blessing for our Beautiful Gate family. For those who don’t know, Christina Terpstra, or better known as Terp around here, has been a part of the Beautiful Gate Lesotho community for a long time, most notably as the North American Ambassador. For several years, Terp lived six months in Lesotho, organizing outreach teams and helping wherever she could, and six months in the US, traveling throughout the States and Canada to raise awareness and funding for BG. Needless to say, the staff and many of the children who remember her were very excited to see her again. Terp’s sister-in-law, Melissa, has also served at BG previously on church outreach teams.

Because their team consisted of just the pair of them, Terp and Melissa were able to spend lots of quality time rekindling and further developing relationships with BG’s staff and kids. It was neat to see them witness how BG has grown and changed over the past couple of years. They also happened to be here over Easter, and participated in our celebration by providing lunch. It’s a real treat when old friends come to visit, and we truly enjoyed having them with us again.

June is simply known as Holland Christian month at Beautiful Gate. For the past several years now our good friend Mike Verkaik has led a team of students from HC to serve alongside our staff and interact with our children. It is always fun to watch these groups of high schoolers experience the Basotho culture, one so different from their own, and quickly fall in love with the simplicity, joy, and genuine unconditional love they encounter.

Most HC teams hold to a fairly similar pattern (i.e. serving alongside care staff, looking after the children, leading Wednesday chapel, oftentimes putting on a Vacation Bible School, touching base with other local ministries, exploring the beauty of Lesotho, etc.). Despite the recurring nature of the schedule, it probably goes without saying that no two teams are identical. It truly is the individuals that make up the personality and character of each team. Luckily for us, responsible, hardworking, and servant-hearted are attributes that always accompany HC’s teams.

In addition to helping in all the aforementioned ways, this year’s HC team also helped with the initial construction phase of our new play therapy/child development center.

The longer we welcome outreach teams on our campus, the more it becomes clear that God is doing a global work for His Kingdom through Beautiful Gate. We are so grateful for the people who come to serve with us, giving of their time, finances, and abilities. With all the support we receive, we have been able to do abundantly more than we ever could have hoped to achieve on our own. Thank you to both the Terpstra team and the Holland Christian team for blessing us!

Dear Daughter, Sweet Sister

Being a witness to a fulfillment of God’s plan is always an incredible blessing. It’s a reminder of how faithful our Heavenly Father is, and it reinforces the simple truth that He is in control of all things. So often for us at Beautiful Gate, however, those fulfillments are accompanied by bittersweet goodbyes. This doesn’t change the fact that God’s plan is perfect and good, of course, but it does make our hearts ache for a time.

This week we have said farewell to two very special individuals from our BG family.

Yesterday, we celebrated God’s incredible grace in the life of a child who has kind of become a staple of Beautiful Gate. Anyone who has set foot on campus over the past six years knows Mpho Grace. As one of the longest standing children in our care, we have had the opportunity to watch Grace grow, reach milestones, and develop a personality beyond what we normally see as kids come and go. As she’s gotten older, it has become a persistent prayer of every staff member and volunteer (and Grace, herself) that God would provide a forever family for this dear daughter. And our God not only hears our prayers, but He answers them, too!

Grace’s adoption ceremony was the epitome of bittersweet where the sweet FAR outweighs the bitter. Though it is certainly sad for us to say goodbye after caring for her for six years, it is so obvious that the Clausing family is the answer to all of our prayers for Grace. Our hearts overflow with joy!

This week also brought the end to another one of our international volunteers’ commitments. Over the past six months, Ausi Marissa has lavished every child, staff member, and fellow volunteer with incredible love, deep compassion, and unconditional grace. Her smile and laugh have spread contagiously through campus, and she has been a true source of light and life to everyone she meets. In both fun-loving and heartbreaking times, Ausi Marissa’s strength and peaceful nature have given others strength and peace to carry on. We will without a doubt miss this sweet sister’s comforting presence on campus, but we are also very excited to see what lies ahead for her as God continues writing her story.

We thank God for the privilege and opportunity it is to care for such amazing children, and to work alongside such phenomenal volunteers. Join us in praying for Mpho Grace and her new family as they enter a season of big transitions. Pray, too, for Ausi Marissa as she returns to life in the US, and as she humbly seeks God’s guidance for the future.

A Team of Kingdom Builders

As March quickly comes to a close, we want to take the opportunity to shine a light on the incredible outreach team we were able to host this month. We were pleased to welcome another team organized by our partner ministry, Oceans. The team was composed of individuals from all over the US. Some of the team members knew each other prior to coming on the trip, while others had never met before. Additionally, a few people had been to Beautiful Gate in the past, while several were coming for the first time. You would have never known that to be true, however, as the synergy between everyone on the team was so open, positive, fun, and full of love.

While at Beautiful Gate, the Oceans team engaged in all the usual ways our outreach teams tend to, but they did so with their own unique brands of love, compassion, energy, and perseverance. Our care staff was blessed to have eager helpers with the day-to-day chores in the baby houses. The children were ecstatic to have another group of willing and energetic people to play with. The maintenance team was encouraged as team members came alongside them to finish the last phase of our ongoing bathroom renovation project (you know they were joyfully serving the Lord when they installed toilets with huge smiles on their faces). And the whole campus was bolstered spiritually as the team led us in Word and song during our Wednesday chapel session.

Above and beyond all of the seemingly “ordinary” ways the Oceans team served our Beautiful Gate community, one particular situation stands out. While hosting the team, we were also privileged to have a past adoptive father from the Netherlands serving with us at the same time. During his time here he was able to interact with many of the team members, specifically those working on the bathroom project. Day after day he witnessed the light of Christ in these strangers he had only just met, and not long after his roving heart found the truth and the love it had been longing for for years. Kneeling on a dirty bathroom floor, installing a toilet, this man gave his life to the Lord. Needless to say, everyone was overjoyed and we celebrated with him over his new life in Christ.

The Oceans team reminded us again of how powerfully God works in and through His beloved children, if only we are humble and willing to be used. We are so grateful for the incredible ways each team member manifested the Kingdom of Heaven in their words, actions, and interactions. We are also excited about the many seeds that were planted during this trip, and we can’t wait to see what God does in the future. Thank you, Oceans Team, for listening to God’s call and sharing His love with us in fantastic ways.

Farewell, Ausi Britney

Bittersweet farewells are consistent occurrences here at Beautiful Gate, and I’m not just referring to when children are adopted or reunified. So many people play their own part in making life at BG what it is on a daily basis. Some of the most enthusiastic support comes from our long-term volunteers. They give up their time, their energy, their finances, and all that is familiar to follow a call God places on their heart, and be a part of the BG family for a significant period of time. They receive no material reimbursement for their sacrificial spirits (though that certainly doesn’t mean they leave their experience empty-handed), so their faithful service is almost always directly rooted in a deeper heart desire to glorify God as they care for vulnerable children.

Recently we had to say goodbye to one such volunteer who, over the course of seven months, shared her heart, joy, and laughter with everyone on BG’s campus. Below, Ausi Britney shares a brief reflection on her time in Lesotho:

When I first got to Beautiful Gate I had no idea what to expect. I had never been there before, but for some reason God was calling me to go spend 7 months there. Once I stepped foot on campus I found contentment in being there. My days at BG were not easy... being away from home, long work hours, and for most of my time I was the only volunteer, so I had no one to go home and vent to about my day. However it was all worth it; it gave me a chance to bring glory to God in a different way: playing with the most adorable kids, and working beside the world’s most amazing house mothers and BG staff. I found out that my love for kids is not what brought me to BG like I thought. It was God giving me a chance to glorify him through giving love to orphaned and neglected children and to Lesotho as a country. My experience was so incredible, and I am so happy to have found another family and home in Lesotho, Africa.   

Thank you, Britney, for the unwavering love, affection, and generosity that you shared with your Beautiful Gate family! You are dearly missed already, but we are so grateful for the time God allowed you to spend with us. We continue to pray for God’s wisdom to lead and guide you into whatever adventure He has in store for you next.

Time Flies When You're Having Fun (And When You're Working Hard)

Isn’t it amazing how you can spend so much time planning for something and then, in what seems like the blink of an eye, it is over? Somehow, January is already finished, and with it our first outreach team of the year has come and gone.

January brought us a team from Canada representing both Crossridge Church and Discipleship International (DI). Beautiful Gate Lesotho’s relationships with both Crossridge and DI have been growing and expanding over the past several years. We have had members of Crossridge visit and serve at BGL, others have adopted, and many support BGL annually at a run-walk fundraiser. Likewise, DI supports BGL as a fundraising collection point in Canada, as well as allowing team members to teach their discipleship courses to our staff.  

This year’s team consisted of 12 people, half of them being 12 years old or younger. Led by returning couple, and Beautiful Gate Representatives, Mike and Chyrlle Dunne, the Funk and Robinson families followed the call God placed on their hearts to serve together as families in Lesotho. This was a very unique and blessed group to have on our campus. 

As with most of our teams, the group helped out with the day-to-day childcare tasks in the baby houses and our playgroup program. Unlike most teams, however, the younger members of the team were able to not only help care for the kids, but play with them and enjoy them on more of a personal, peer level. It was absolutely awesome to see the younger kids from the team playing side by side with our BG children.

Above and beyond caring for our children and serving our staff (as if that weren’t enough in and of itself) the team also gave of themselves in numerous other areas. Each day, as some of the group helped in the houses, others were helping us in the finishing stages of our bathroom renovation project. All of the bathrooms now have a fresh coat of paint that brightens them up and makes them feel new. In the afternoons, Mike and Chyrlle facilitated discipleship courses for our staff to attend. They were able to learn new techniques for reading and memorizing scripture, prayer, and discipling others. After discipleship training, the whole team provided a Vacation Bible School experience for our school-aged children. Finally, the fathers on the team organized and, together with the other team members, led our Wednesday chapel time.

All in all, the Crossridge Church/Discipleship International team was a great group of people to kick off our team schedule for 2019. They worked hard, pushing through bouts of sickness, and really showed the servant heart of Christ in all they did. It was an absolute pleasure to host them and we look forward to seeing what God has in store for all of them in the future. Maybe some of them will come back to spend some time with us again. We certainly would be grateful if they could.

Sharing the Light of Christ: 2018's Final Team

And that’s a wrap! Team season 2018 is officially finished at Beautiful Gate Lesotho. It’s hard to believe how quickly this year has flown by in so many ways.

 Our final team of the year was a group from Lighthouse Family Church in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. This is the second team the church has sent and we are so grateful to continue growing this relationship.

 During their time on outreach the majority of the team spent time in the baby houses assisting our care staff and volunteers. There were enough team members that all the aspects of our playgroup program were fully covered as well. That means even our infants, who generally stay in the houses throughout the day, had daily interaction, stimulation, and play.

 The other members of the team spent the week renovating the exterior of our long-term volunteer housing. Initially they were just scheduled to paint the building, but they went above and beyond, repairing cracks and doing some preventative work to protect the house from future water damage. All of that, and they managed to complete the project in full in just a week. They worked so hard and it definitely paid off. We are so grateful for the updates they made.

 Lastly, one of the team members shared a portion of his testimony and words of encouragement at our weekly chapel service.

 All in all, we are so thankful and appreciative of how the Lighthouse Family Team served us so selflessly. We look forward to the next time God brings us all together.

 We also want to say thank you once more to all of our teams from 2018. It has been such an incredible year of sharing together in God’s Kingdom-building work. Our hope and prayer is that every individual who has served on a team at Beautiful Gate has experienced the love of the Father in a rich and impactful way. Thank you all for a great year!

Representing the Father's Love

In October we had the privilege of hosting not one, not two, but THREE of our international Beautiful Gate Representatives. It was a real glimpse of God’s Kingdom on earth as our friends from Belgium, England, and Australia joined us in Lesotho, and came together to make the Father’s love known on our campus. In addition to utilizing all of their unique giftings and specialized areas of service, all three groups joined forces to fundraise for our ongoing bathroom renovation project in the baby houses. Thanks to them, this project is fully funded and will be able to be completed in the near future!

Andrew Pimm, our Belgian Representative has been blessing us at BG for several years now. Every time he comes he brings peace, joy, and love to children and staff alike. This year he continued forming special bonds with the housemothers and children in Khotso 1, as well as playing a fatherly role in our playgroup program.

Jenny Dobson, our Representative in England returned to Lesotho with her friend Christian. Like Andrew, Jenny has shared incredible love and passion at BG numerous times over the years. In addition to further developing relationships in Khotso 2, Jenny also spent a great deal of time on playgroup. Her methods of helping the children develop their imaginations, especially through dress-up, are always a highlight of her visits.

Christian was also a returner to BG. During his time this year he partnered with our maintenance staff to help hands on with the bathroom renovations. He helped install new sink basins and taps, installed curtains to provide privacy in the toilets, and designed and built new baby baths that will be installed once renovations are complete. We are grateful for the hard work and overwhelming generosity he poured into this project.

Last, but certainly not least, we welcomed back Barbara Quinn, our Australian Representative. Barbara, too, has invested in our BG community a great deal over the past few years. Along with her came friends Rosemary and Shane. This was Rosemary’s second visit and Shane’s first. Beyond spending time with the care staff and children in Nala, Barbara and Rosemary spent time acquiring many items to donate to our BG community. They were able to bless us with a variety of donations ranging from new school water bottles to a sewing machine for our campus. They also enjoyed blessing the children at playgroup with special snacks in the afternoons and our staff with a braai/barbecue one day at lunch.

Shane also joined our maintenance team, helping with routine maintenance around campus, as well as lending Christian a hand with the bathroom project. He worked hard and was able to establish some new friendships with the maintenance guys.

 While this short blog post doesn’t do justice to how these individuals have impacted us here at Beautiful Gate, we hope it provides a glimpse into why we treasure them so much. We so appreciate their contributions, both financially and in service, but even more so we value their hearts as they lavish the Father’s love on our children and staff. We are also so incredibly blessed and humbled by the work they do in Belgium, England, and Australia to tell their communities about what God is doing in Lesotho through Beautiful Gate’s ministry.

 Thank you Andrew, Jenny, Christian, Barbara, Rosemary, and Shane. There are words adequate enough to express how truly grateful we are to all of you. May God continue to equip you to be radical Kingdom-builders. We eagerly anticipate the next time we get to see each of you here in Lesotho!