August 2014 Newsletter

Training Up Leaders in Africa

August 2014

“The potential for reaching every tribe, people, language, and nation and giving all the peoples of the world an opportunity to hear, understand, and respond to the gospel in their own culture requires an indigenous mission strategy.   There will never be enough cross-cultural missionaries and mission teams to reach all the people in the world.  The gospel must be shared and planted in a way that it can multiply among those who are receptive."

- Jerry Rankin and Ed Stetzer,

Spiritual Warfare and Missions

Keeping Warm

While all of our friends and families back home are busy dumping buckets of ice over their heads, we here in Mokhotlong are keeping the anthracite heater fired up and our cold weather jackets nearby.  The weather here is so confusing.  Everyone says winter is ending soon, but after a warm day will come a frozen one.  Just when we think we can unpack the short sleeves we’re back to the hoodies.  What an interesting life!

TEE Mokhotlong

Our Bible training program for pastors is going very well.  We have fifteen pastors enrolled in the program and nine of them are keeping pace, now studying books five and six of the curriculum.  The others have joined the program after we started in January or are studying at a slower rate (one of the advantages of TEE’s flexibility).  I can’t tell you how encouraging it is to see and hear how this work is affecting the pastors’ ministries.  Last Sunday, we visited the church of our eldest TEE pastor.  He told his church about his studies and was brought to tears when he spoke of our book on pastoral ministry called “The Shepherd and His Work.”  He said no book has ever opened up the Bible to him like that one.  Another pastor said that TEE is teaching him to preach the Bible’s message, not his own.  Several pastors have commented that before starting TEE, they would only pick a verse or two from the Bible and then shout and make a lot of noise about it in their sermons.  Our students have sort of labeled the program “Sekolo Sa Baruti” or “Pastors’ School.”  We have even overheard church members saying, “We heard that our pastor has joined some type of local Bible school and his preaching  has gotten so much stronger.”  Another of our pastors cheered, “I have never known how to study God’s Word like this before!  Now I will be able to help many of my people.  I can’t wait to preach to my church now!”  We praise God for giving us this assignment; this is some of the most fulfilling work we’ve ever done.

Earlier this month...

…I completed another of my semesters with Liberty.  Again, I tremendously benefitted from my reading and online studies for my courses.  I am over halfway finished with my degree now and, Lord-willing, am on pace to graduate during our home assignment in May of 2016.  For this fall, I am off of my formal studies and will be working on a few projects I’ve volunteered for.  My plan is to take my last three semesters in Spring 2015, Fall 2015, and Spring 2016.  We were also very blessed to learn that one of our supporting churches is planning to send their donation this year to a “Continuing Education” fund that AIM set up for us.  That means that my last semesters of seminary will all be covered!  What an answer to prayer!  Thank you, Lord and Fish Camp Fellowship.

Next month...

…we will be receiving five new members into our AIM Lesotho unit.  These are five single men from the US and South Africa who will be living as a team among the shepherds here in Lesotho.  This team means a lot to me in particular because of a research paper I was able to write on the shepherds for a seminary class last December.  Studying the lives of the shepherds helped me to combine mission theory with a real-life situation and to realize that the label “unreached people group” can  go beyond only race and language.  Instead, it focuses on any subgroup to which the gospel is not spreading because of some significant barriers.  The shepherds fit this category, even though they speak the same language as the Basotho people (who are 89% “Christian”).  The shepherds face religious, educational, geographic, cultural, and social barriers.  Thus AIM has been recruiting a team of single men to come live with the shepherds for two years and to share the gospel by a series of Bible stories designed to lead them to Christ using oral communication methods.  Please pray for this team as they endure the rugged mountain life for the sake of the gospel.  This is pioneer mission work! 

Kyle and Ellee...

…are very excited to be expecting a visit from Lollee in about five weeks.  Abby’s pretty excited to see her mom, too.  Ok, we all are!  It is very hard to be away from our families over here, so we love when some of our family is able to visit.  It will also be a late present for Abby whose birthday is next week.

We do request prayer...

…for the shepherd team as they begin their work and for the continued success of TEE.  We thank God for His faithful provision and love each of you who prays for us and gives to help us serve here.  May the Lord bless you all richly this day!

- Jonathan, Abby, Kyle & Ellee St.Clair

jastclair@aimint.net

June 2014 Newsletter

Training Up Leaders in Africa

June 2014

“AIM’s call has always been to the inlands, to the regions beyond, to the other sheep, to the places where there is no gospel . . . we are called to pioneer the church, not to take over the church.  We need to get in, plant the church, and move on.”

- Dr. Luke Herrin,

AIM International Director

Leadership Forum 2014

Winter in Lesotho

 Hello, friends and family!  It’s that time of year in Lesotho - time for frozen water pipes, fired-up heaters, and lots of hot tea and coffee.  This time brings us both challenges and blessings while we make repairs on the house, care for sick kids, and enjoy snuggling by the fire watching Curious George and World Cup football.  We thank the Lord for His constant care for us and for the beauty of snow, a reminder that He has washed away the scarlet stain of our sins and made us “as white as snow” (Isaiah 1:18).

Two Conferences

Since our last update letter, I have had the opportunity of attending two different conferences which were both a huge encouragement to me.  The first of these was our first TEE Mokhotlong conference for our Basotho pastors.  This one-day conference is the part of our TEE curriculum that allows the pastors an opportunity to fellowship together, write exams to complete the books they have studied, listen to a lecture by a guest speaker, share a couple of meals, and spend time in prayer for each other’s ministries.  I was so blessed to see our pastors’ enthusiasm for their study of God’s Word.  All of our pastors who were able to attend passed both exams.  The most fun part of the conference was when they received their final test scores and started comparing to see who scored the highest.  It was a friendly spirit of competition, especially when a husband and wife would both take the test (Ntate Mpesi scored higher than his wife on the first test and she scored higher than he on the second!).  By taking and passing their exams, I feel like the pastors’ confidence in the program and their own studies has grown significantly.  They are  asking if they can recruit more people to study and want to make TEE T-shirts.  One pastor suggested that we take on a group ministry as TEE, instead of as individual churches.  It is encouraging to see the pastors take real ownership of the program and be motivated to study God’s Word further.  May God allow this spirit of Christian unity to spread!

My second conference…

…was AIM’s biannual leadership conference in Nairobi, Kenya!  I was very honored to be invited to this conference, for most of AIM’s international leadership have been serving in Africa for many years.  One man there had been with AIM for 45 years!  Our main goal during the week was to sharpen our mission’s focus.  AIM exists to plant the church among the unreached people groups of Africa.  At points in our history, we have branched out into many ministry areas and occasionally lost our focus for the unreached.  Our new international director, Luke Herrin, is working hard to restore that focus and help us to align all of our ministries to express that priority for the unreached.  We support this renewed focus wholeheartedly!  This is why we left Mexico and came to Africa.  Those who have never heard the gospel must be given the highest priority in mission efforts and our work, in particular, is to catalyze the local African churches to help reach the unreached on their continent.  I have heard this expressed before as triage.  It is not that those who have rejected the gospel are less important to God, but those who have never heard it should be given “more urgent” care, as in the case of large medical emergencies.

Abby and the kids…

…spent the week in South Africa with some of our team members from England.  This worked out well, because they have two boys about our kids’ ages and two older girls to help care for the kids as they had a “jolly old time” being together throughout the week.

Last month we celebrated...

Ellee’s first birthday!  We invited our Basotho neighbors over for dinner and cake and had a great time doting over our girl.  It is so exciting to watch as she grows and learns new things every day!  She is crawling all over the house now (usually following Mama!), chatting new phrases (“Uh-oh…”), giving kisses, and busily playing with her baby dolls and her big brother.  Thank you, Lord, for our sweet girl.

We are trying to stay warm…

…by making stews, soups and chili!  It really helps that our anthracite heater doubles as a cook-stove.  We will get a lot of use out of Abby’s cast iron pot this winter.

Thank you for your prayers and support…

…of our ministry.  Please pray for our kids’ health right now (cold / upset stomach).  Also pray for me (J) to be diligent in completing my semester (ends August 15).  Please contact us by email how we can pray for you as well.

- Jonathan, Abby, Kyle & Ellee St.Clair

jastclair@aimint.net

AIM’s Global End:

“With priority for the unreached, Christ-centered churches among all African peoples.”

April 2014 Newsletter

April 2014

“What will it look like then, when a local church, no matter the size, embraces the big vision of Jesus? The scorecard changes radically. Greatness is no longer measured by seating capacity.  Greatness is measured by sending capacity.”

- Jerry Rankin and Ed Stetzer, Spiritual Warfare and Missions

Back Home in Lesotho

Hello, friends and family!  We’re happy to send you this update from our home in Lesotho.  We’ve just come back from a month-long trip to the United States where we had the privilege to see many of you and meet new friends as well.  Our time in the States was extremely busy and extremely fast, but also extremely sweet.  We got to spend a lot of time with family and it was so fun to see Kyle and Ellee playing with their relatives that are usually so far away from us!

Missions Conferences

During our time at home, we were able to attend three different missions conferences in Alabama, South Carolina, and Illinois.  We had many opportunities to share our ministry to pastors in Lesotho with Sunday School classes, seniors’ luncheons, pastoral staff dinners, children’s clubs, and church congregations.  People seemed very interested and asked many questions, I think because few are familiar with training national pastors, fewer have heard of TEE, and still fewer know anything about Lesotho.  We were also able to spend a good amount of time with other missionaries, hearing of their ministries around the world and asking questions about the lessons they’re learning in their own contexts.  

Most of our time was spent traveling.  We saw Abby’s grandparents in North Carolina; my brother’s and sister’s families in South Carolina; my brother and his wife, my sister and her guy, and Abby’s sister in Florida; Abby’s aunt in Alabama; my parents and grandmother in Missouri;  Abby’s grandparents and relatives in Georgia; and our church families in Ilinois and South Carolina.  We were especially grateful for Abby’s family, who took two weeks off of work to travel the country with us.  This more than doubled our time to spend with them and made our travels easier and much more fun!  Most of our stops were determined by which place had a playground for all the kids to run off their energy.

Kyle’s Birthday... 

…was extra special this year, as we got to celebrate together with our families.  Last year was hard for us to be alone, celebrating our happy boy with only the three of us together.  This year Kyle enjoyed a “Monsters” party and received lots of small, flat, packable toys we could bring back to Africa.  It was also very special to see Ellee meet most of her family for the first time.  She took many pictures together with people and spent much of her time playing with her new cousin, Jeremiah, whom we also met for the first time.  

Meanwhile in Lesotho...

…the TEE program has continued on without me.  Before leaving, I asked my Sesotho language teacher if he would continue meeting with the pastors while I’m gone.  He did and has done an excellent job!  In my absence, four more students have joined the program and the group has completed the first two books in the TEE course.  That means we now have 10 local students in our group and 2 distance-learning  students studying in nearby regions.  We are now planning our first Mokhotlong conference for our pastors to write their exams and proceed with the course. 

This summer will be a busy one…

…as I’ve just registered for my next semester with Liberty.  My five classes will be divided into 8-week blocks, but because the summer is a shorter term, I’ll have two weeks that overlap.  Also, in June, I’ve been invited to AIM’s biannual international leadership conference in Kenya with two other men from our Lesotho team.  While I’m very excited about that week, I will still have assignments to do for seminary.  Please pray that the Lord will multiply my time and energy in the midst of this busy schedule!  We also have hopes of receiving some family visitors within the year, but that will certainly bring a relief rather than an extra burden.

God has been providing...

…for our needs in remarkable ways.  During our trip home we received many financial gifts, new supporting families, and a new supporting church.  Our support is around 100%, but if you are looking for any missionaries to support, we do know a few we could recommend!

We pray for you all...

...and would love to know how we may pray specifically.  If you have any special needs in your life that we may lift up before the Lord, please write us at the email address below and we will pray for your needs as a family. God bless you all and thank you for your investment in us.  Please continue to pray for us in our language learning.  Molimo o le hlohonolofatše!

• Jonathan, Abby, Kyle & Ellee St.Clair

jastclair@aimint.net

January 2014 Newsletter

January 2014
"To fulfill the need for theological education, Lesotho TEE seeks to bring biblical training into the context of the people, providing study books to work through at one’s own pace, in community study groups with other LTEE students, while continuing to serve in the ministry to which one has been called of God."
- LTEE Vision Statement
Happy New Year!
...from the St.Clairs in Africa! We hope you all had a blessed Christmas season with your loved ones. A new year always provides reason to reflect on the past and pray over the future in a new way. As we are only about a week away from our first anniversary in Africa, we are certainly recounting the blessings of this first year and looking forward with anticipation to what God will do through us in 2014.
In early December...
...Jonathan finished his third semester online with Liberty. He now has four more semesters to complete before he will have earned his Master of Divinity degree with a focus on missional studies. It was a long and packed semester with school, our move to Mokhotlong, and our conferences in Maseru for TEE and Johannesburg with AIM leadership. We're very thankful to have a break now from the pressure of assignments and due dates.
Life in Mokhotlong
We are still thoroughly enjoying our life here in the mountains. Jonathan works regularly with his language tutor and is making great progress on Sesotho, albeit a very tough language. Unlike Spanish, which has so many similarities to English, Sesotho is very foreign to us in its structure and sound. But taking time in the afternoons to spend studying and practicing Sesotho with a local man is proving to be effective for gaining understanding. Our neighbors and the people we come in contact with are friendly and welcoming and we feel very much at home here.
TEE (theological education by extension) will be launched here in Mokhotlong on January 11th. Jonathan is busying coordinating the details for the launch, securing a venue and making the necessary phone calls, etc. He was also to develop a full curricular plan (31 pages!) for LTEE as a final project in a seminary class. By now, he has visited nearly all the churches in Mokhotlong to make them aware of the program beginning. There is a lot of excitement from the Basotho for the program to begin. Our friend and local pastor, Ntate Ntsimane, told Jonathan recently that his church members are eagerly anticipating the start of TEE! Because the program will be led in Sesotho, Jonathan will be using a translator at least in the beginning. Weekly meetings, ministry outreaches and quarterly conferences will be some of the requirements for the TEE students. We are excited to begin!
Our Family
Abby has made contact with our local orphanage and has been approved to be a volunteer there once things come back to normal after the holidays. Touching Tiny Lives is working primarily with infants who are extremely malnourished and have lost one or both of their parents. Once health has been restored for the little ones, TTL works with the local communities to place the children back into the villages with a new primary caregiver - typically an aunt and uncle or a grandparent.
We had a nice Christmas which we spent with our new friends from Holland and also our Unit Leaders from South Africa. We were able to Skype with our families back in the States and had a few gifts from grandparents for Kyle and Ellee to open. We enjoyed a fairly traditional Christmas dinner and it felt good to continue on with some of our regular traditions with our children. It was tough to be away from home on such a special day, and as parents we shed a few tears. But, we were surrounded by the love of our new friends and in all, we had a blessed holiday.
Both Kyle and Ellee are doing well and growing up faster than we can believe. Kyle is eagerly anticipating his third birthday on March 2 and talks daily of our upcoming trip to the US. He can't wait to see his grandparents, great grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins! We are looking forward to visiting with our family, friends and participating in the three conferences we have been invited to attend. We are also eager for our loved ones to meet Ellee; it's hard to believe she'll be 9 months old before she meets any of the St.Clairs! We arrive in Atlanta on Feb 19 and have a full month of conferences and travels planned. We're greatly looking forward to seeing all of you who are at Cornerstone and Millbrook!
Over the past few months, our support level has still been fluctuating between $300-$500/month short. However, we have been blessed by how the Lord has provided in unexpected ways. Still we pray that the difference will be made up and that our support level will become more consistent.
We thank God for all of you...
...who support and encourage us through prayer and finances and feel honored to have served here for a year already. In 2013, we moved ourselves and all our stuff ten times, which as you can imagine was quite exhausting. We were so blessed by how God provided a home for us in Mokhotlong even when it looked as if there were no homes available and are so thankful to now be settled once again. As of yesterday, we have finally packed away all our suitcases and actually have a wardrobe to put our clothes in. I (Abby) never want to spend another year living out of suitcases! We have seen the Lord provide for us, stretch us, change us and teach us during this year. Most exciting was welcoming our daughter into the world this year and watching her grow these past seven months! 2014 has a lot to live up to, but at least we hope the coming year will be more settled than the past!
- Jonathan, Abby, Kyle & Ellee St.Clair
jastclair@aimint.net

October 2013 Newsletter

October 2013
"Ntate, the Bible says that God resists the proud. But I am so proud that you are here! Is God going to resist me?"
- Ntate Ntsimane to us during our first week in Mokhotlong
Our New Home
After many months of transition, we have finally settled into our new home in Mokhotlong, Lesotho! (pictured above) It is a beautiful little town high in the mountains (9, 842 ft. above sea level) overlooking the Senqu River, which is not very impressive at the moment. We have been without rain since April and the whole country has begun rationing water. One of our prayer requests in this letter is for rain - "Wots and Wots of Wain fow Wesootoo," as Kyle prays before every meal and bedtime.
In my recent seminary classes...
...I was studying hermeneutics and theology of global engagement. Interestingly, they happened to correspond very closely. A main focus of hermeneutics was to emphasize the importance of recognizing the preconceptions and preunderstandings we bring to the biblical text, lest they subtly color our interpretation. Global theology's main focus was to examine how one's culture shapes his worldview and affects what he sees even in his reading of the Scriptures. Our current lack of rain has allowed me to see a living example of this. Every Basotho pastor with whom I've spent any time has mentioned praying for "the latter rain," a phrase I usually brush right past. Even now I'm only vaguely familiar with it and think of it as just a downpour of refreshment.
For the First Time In My Life...
...I've really seen the necessity of rain and how dramatically it affects people's livelihood. Certainly our farmer friends in Illinois have had a greater appreciation for rain than I have had. Here in Lesotho, we live in a highly pastoral and agrarian society. This drought is far beyond our inconvenience of taking fewer showers or washing our clothes less; it causes the Basotho's livestock to starve and their crops to wither and die. People's whole livelihood here is tied to the land and the weather. Because of our differing cultures, then, the Basotho believers see God more fully as Provider, Sustainer, and Life-Giver than I do. Please join us in prayer to the Lord of the Harvest for "the latter rain."
Ntate Ntsimane Motsoang...
...and his family have become our adopted family. He is the pastor of Harvesters Bible Church here in Mokhotlong and has laid the groundwork for the TEE program. His wife 'Me Matsolo is the assistant principal at a local high school. They have several children and all have made us feel very welcome - even renting us their house for our time here. We don't know much about their children for, as is typical with Africans, "family" is much larger than "nuclear family." Some are theirs, others are of relatives who have died, and a few others they have taken in to feed and care for. We have already grown to love this family so much! They are our dearest friends here and I can't wait to get to know them better.
TEE is set to begin...
...the week of January 19-25. We will be having an official launch on January 11th, where Ntate Mpakanyane and the other TEE leaders will come to Mokhotlong for a weekend conference with our first students. I'm so excited about the potential for this program! Many of the leaders at Harvesters have been asking about the program and are eager to sign up. Please be praying that members of other churches in town will also join our studies. The need for theological education is enormous here and our desire is to train up leaders across denominations. Over the next months, I am visiting all of the different churches in town and looking for opportunities to share TEE with the pastors. My goal is to make TEE a deeply significant training program and trust that God will bring in the leaders that He wants.
Our family...
...is loving life in Africa. While I'm busy finishing my semesters of school, Abby is busy painting and setting up our new house. Kyle is busy playing around the house and yard, meeting the Basotho children, and chattering all day. Ellee is busy sleeping, eating, and rolling around. I'm amazed how Kyle picks up languages. He'll probably be speaking Sesotho better than we before long.
The Lord has also been providing for our support. Thank you all for your faithfulness in giving to and praying for our ministry here. Our support level had gone down a bit from people being out of work, but God has moved others to give - both in monthly support and one-time gifts - and they have more than made up for the difference! He is always faithful and we are grateful for His provision and your care. We are already looking forward to seeing many of you next March for missions conferences in SC and IL. Kyle is counting down the days until his birthday, when he can go on an airplane and see all his family again. We love you!
- Jonathan, Abby, Kyle & Ellee
jastclair@aimint.net

September 2013 Newsletter

September 2013
"I am fired up about TEE."
"I am very happy for the questions designed to help my old mind."
"I am very much blessed to be in this TEE program. A lot of us have learned what is the will of God and what salvation really means."
"I appreciate the community of love that is shared among us."
"I am thankful for the people who had the vision to start this program."
- TEE Student Feedback
We're moving!
After months of transition since arriving in Africa, we are so excited to be almost settled into our permanent home. Our prayers were answered with a rental home available in Mokhotlong and we hope to move in the coming week.
Due to housing needs...
...we moved out of the house we have been living in here in Maseru to make space for an incoming family. Although we were not quite ready to make the big move to Mokhotlong, we were blessed with friends who have a small guest apartment we which could use for the interim. We have a moving truck coordinated to help us get all our possessions up the steep mountain roads as soon as we are able to make the move. Currently, we are waiting for two last pieces of furniture to be delivered as well as finalization of Kyle's and Ellee's volunteer visas here in Lesotho. We expect those things to be ready this week but because this is Africa, well, we won’t be sure until it happens! We were so thankful that Ellee’s passport arrived very quickly after we were able to apply for it despite warnings of a lengthy wait for her Report of Birth Abroad papers. From start to finish, it only took about one month to receive all her necessary documents and we are thankful for the freedom to cross the border into South Africa again whenever necessary.
TEE Program Work
Late last month Jonathan and the Maseru TEE committee held one of their quarterly seminars for the enrolled students. They had ten of the students present to listen to lectures, write their exams, fellowship together and work towards completing their TEE course. Praise the Lord, each of the ten students passed their exams this time! Jonathan was able to help write and format the exams and is making great progress in his learning of the local language.
Also last month...
...Jonathan began his third semester with Liberty Online. His classes take a lot of time and energy but he is thoroughly enjoying all he is researching and learning this year. He is taking three classes during this eight week mini-mester and will have a week-long break before beginning his next two classes for the following eight weeks. During that week, we hope to take a small family vacation to catch our breath before he starts again!
We were so blessed...
...to be invited to mission conferences at both our supporting churches during the spring of next year! The timing couldn’t have been more perfect. With one conference in late February/early March and the other in late March, we will also be able to visit our families in the middle. We expect those weeks to be a bit hectic, traveling to visit family in SC, FL and MO and also to IL for one of the conferences, but we are thankful for the opportunity to reconnect with so many of our beloved family and friends back home. March 2nd will be Kyle’s 3rd birthday and we are very much looking forward to celebrating together with his cousins!
Speaking of the children...
...Kyle is growing and changing right before our eyes and is still such a blessing to our hearts. He thoroughly enjoys playing with his toys and friends and he brings such a sweet and excited spirit into our days. His loving and protective heart towards his sister is also a blessing to witness. Ellee is still doing great and is developing a little personality of her own. She makes us laugh when she smiles and coos and kicks her feet incessantly with excitement! She is about three and a half months old now and I can barely believe how fast time is flying!
Once we arrive in Mokhotlong...
...we will have a few house repairs to do and Jonathan will be forced to try his hand at plumbing. We’ve been told a water pipe has burst, so we'll repair them as soon as possible. Until then, we do have a water source in the yard which apparently isn’t frozen. During our months in Mexico and Africa, we’ve become pretty accustomed to hauling buckets of water into the house for daily use so this won’t be anything terribly new. But, of course, I hope the problem is solved quickly so that I don’t have to wash laundry by hand for too long! I was so blessed to have a washing machine installed last month that I’m afraid I’ve become a bit spoiled by it.
We do request prayer...
...as we begin settling in Mokhotlong. We know hardly anyone there and are praying we will be able to make some lasting friendships to enjoy as we work in the mountains. We also expect our support to drop by about $300/month next year. We are so thankful for each and every one of our prayer and financial supporters and we trust the Lord to provide for our needs.
May our Lord bless and keep you!
- Jonathan, Abby & Kyle St.Clair
jastclair@aimint.net

June 2013 Newsletter

"Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain . . . Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward."

- Psalm 127:1a,3 (ESV)

Our Little Blessing...

...Ellee Renée St.Clair was born on May 24, 2013. She weighed 6 lbs. 7 oz. and was 19.5 inches long. So this family of three is now a family of four and it's wonderful to be able to speak of "our kids" now instead of only "our boy." They make our lives so much happier.

Medical care in Africa...

...was a bit of a concern for us, before we moved here. We came having no idea, really, about the availability of hospitals, the quality of medical care, or the number of trained physicians we might find. As always, God has answered our prayers and we have been very pleased with the medical facilities and care we have received in neighboring South Africa. Our main prayer requests were that Abby would have a safe delivery and that Ellee would be born healthy. Now, Abby has recovered very well and baby Ellee is just fine, too.

God's Perfect Timing

As we began planning for the birth, we had decided to drive to Bloemfontein a few weeks before the due date to ensure that we would be near the hospital and not need an emergency delivery in Lesotho. Abby would tell you that she really had no specific reason for choosing May 22nd as the day for us to go. But God had His plan and His timing set perfectly. We had arranged to stay at a guest house in Bloem for about four weeks in total. We arrived the evening of the 22nd and that night Abby started feeling contractions. On the morning of the 23rd, we went to the hospital to visit some of our teammates who had been in a bad car accident and were being treated. Just as we were leaving the hospital, the contractions increased and by suppertime, it was clear that we needed to get back to the hospital and await the delivery. By early morning, two weeks ahead of her due date. little Ellee was born. It was neat to then be able to call our families in the States to give them the news! We are so grateful to God for His leading and for working things out according to His perfect timing. Again and again, He shows us that He is in control and will take care of our lives as we seek to serve Him here.

Meanwhile in Lesotho...

...we have felt some significant opposition from the enemy against our team of AIM missionaries. It seems that Satan is attacking our team through medical emergencies and physical suffering. In an earlier prayer letter, we told you of the death of one of our team leaders from an undiagnosed condition. Since that time, nearly everyone on our team has been to see a doctor for various reasons. One team member was treated for an unknown viral infection. Another had an operation done. I've been to see a doctor twice with a painful, swollen abscess on my nose. Our unit leader injured his hand in a biking accident. The couple I mentioned above was going to Namibia to celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary, when they had a scary accident that rolled their Land Rover and put them both in the hospital. The husband has a few cracked ribs and various minor cuts, while the wife received a severe laceration on her head and some damage to her arm, requiring a skin graft and other care. In fact, Abby's hospital trip was the only planned and normal visit of us all! Please join us in thanking God for His protection, which we never want to take for granted!

Shortly after Ellee's birth...

...some of our friends who are missionaries with OM drove down from Pretoria to visit and took some new family pictures for us. As you can see, they did an amazing job! It was great to spend time with them, as God has brought us on very similar journeys.

Our plans...

...have been to move to Mokhotlong in August. We are waiting still on our housing to be settled there and hope to know soon when we can move. Please pray with us that all of the details will come together so that we can finally settle in for the next few years. I'm able to be involved with the TEE program while here in Maseru, but most of my TEE work will start after we move up to the mountains.

Thank you to all...

...who are keeping up with us on Facebook, bringing our prayer requests before the Lord, and giving to our financial needs. It is a blessing to have so many brothers and sisters supporting us in this work. Please continue to pray for our language learning. We are certainly making progress, but we both find the language much more difficult than Spanish was for us. It will certainly take a lot of work and the gifting of the Holy Spirit to master Sesotho. May the Lord bless and keep you all! We love you all!

- Jonathan, Abby, Kyle & Ellee St.Clair

jastclair@aimint.net