Singing to the Lord
They say that singing lifts the heart; that it helps to chase the worries away. That alone is reason enough to want to sing praise to God! But there have been plenty of other reasons for rejoicing lately. At the end of December I visited my favorite place in Lesotho: Maletsunyane Falls. With the river’s plunge of over 600 feet down into the canyon (above) and the surrounding awe-inspiring scenery, it doesn’t take much effort to think of an appropriate hymn or song. For me, the lyrics of How Great Thou Art come to mind: O Lord my God, When I in awesome wonder, Consider all the worlds Thy hands have made…Then sings my soul, My Savior God, to Thee, How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord,” (Ephesians 5:19b)
They say that singing lifts the heart; that it helps to chase the worries away. That alone is reason enough to want to sing praise to God! But there have been plenty of other reasons for rejoicing lately. At the end of December I visited my favorite place in Lesotho: Maletsunyane Falls. With the river’s plunge of over 600 feet down into the canyon and the surrounding awe-inspiring scenery, it doesn’t take much effort to think of an appropriate hymn or song. For me, the lyrics of How Great Thou Art come to mind: O Lord my God, When I in awesome wonder, Consider all the worlds Thy hands have made…Then sings my soul, My Savior God, to Thee, How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then, at the beginning of January, there was some actual singing: the annual Choral Music Competitions for youth choirs of the Lesotho Evangelical Church in Southern Africa (LECSA). This event, an annual affair since 1977, is very competitive with professional adjudicators. The two-day event had three different levels of 
competition and attracted around 30 different choirs from among the LECSA parishes in Lesotho.
A week later we rejoiced at the visit of Rev. Sandra Gourdet, the Africa Secretary for Global Ministries. During her visit she met with the leadership of the LECSA, including the Moderator Rev. Tseliso Masemene and visited the LECSA seminary here in Morija. Sandra has served over 40 years with Global Ministries as a missionary and in the Africa Office. The one downside to her visit was learning that she will be retiring at the end of the year. We thank God for her years of ministry and wish her God’s blessing in the years ahead!
We continue to sing praises to God for the progress that is gradually being made, little by little, up in the mountains on the Bolahla primary school project. As you can see, one of the two blocks is just about ready for a roof. We are hopeful that the walls will soon start going up on the adjacent block.
There was plenty of hymn singing on the last Sunday of January at the annual LECSA worship service held at Matsieng, just down the road from Morija, with Lesotho’s Royal Family on the grounds of their home. In attendance were many dignitaries including the current and former Prime Ministers and Their Majesties the King and Queen of Lesotho. The service, which was led by the LECSA Executive Committee, has become a special event for beginning the New Year and holding the Royal Family in prayer, as well as the entire Basotho nation.
Finally, a few notes can be sung for the recent launch of the LECSA website. If you’d like to learn more about the LECSA, as well as view a variety of photos, you can go to http://lecsakereke.wordpress.com.
There is much to be thankful for! And as Paul’s words in Ephesians continue on from those above, may we be “always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (v. 20)
Yours in Christ,
Mark Behle serves with the Lesotho Evangelical Church. He is working to identify development projects, assist the church in preparing project proposals and coordinating project implementation.