Lesotho (MNN) – In the mountain kingdom of Lesotho, a simple house near an airstrip is offering more than shelter. For patients traveling from remote villages for medical care, it’s a place of healing and Gospel hope.
The “Patient House” sits across the street from the air base used by Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF). Joe Adams, MAF Lesotho director and pilot, explains, “The patients come from the mountains. They’re very, very low-income people. They don’t have enough money to afford being in the city. They couldn’t rent a room for the night.
“So when they’re done with their medical appointment – or sometimes they’ve been discharged from the hospital – they have no place to go.”
(Photo courtesy of MAF Lesotho)
Working closely with Lesotho Flying Doctors, MAF connects remote clinics to hospitals that would otherwise take hours to reach by road. In some cases, the journey by vehicle can take half a day across rugged terrain. By air, it takes minutes.
Years ago, MAF helped start the Patient House to give patients a place to stay while waiting for treatment or a return flight home. Today, the ministry is operated by Lesotho Mountain Discipleship, a Christian group focused on discipling local believers.
“They keep the patients there, [and] we make sure they have food,” says Adams. “Some of them don’t know how to use anything but an open fire, so we have people that will cook them food with an electric stove or whatever we have in there.”
The Patient House also creates opportunities for spiritual encouragement. Every worker at the Patient House “is also a follower of Jesus and is there to also pray with [patients] and to share the Gospel with them as appropriate.”
Partners in aviation
Pray for those who stay at the Patient House run by MAF’s partner, Lesotho Mountain Discipleship. The house offers patients and their families a place to stay while they receive medical treatment or recover. (Photo, caption courtesy of MAF)
More than 80% of Mission Aviation Fellowship flights in Lesotho serve the medical needs of about 300,000 people living in remote mountain communities, many in partnership with Lesotho Flying Doctors.
Now, with a new leader at the helm of Lesotho Flying Doctors, Adams says the partnership has grown stronger.
“Karabo Lelimo, the leader of the Lesotho Flying Doctors, has been working at the Lebakeng clinic for eight years prior to being appointed as the director,” says Adams. “So he really understands what it’s like to be in the mountain context, to be supported by the aircraft, and be dependent on what is brought on the airplane. He’s also a fellow follower of Jesus – not everyone in Lesotho Flying Doctors is, but he is.”
Lelimo’s faith-filled leadership came out recently when he arranged for food to be delivered to the Patient House – something MAF has typically provided alone.
When Adams thanked him, Lelimo’s reply was simple: “Glory to God.”
For Adams, the moment represented something bigger: ministries working together to care for vulnerable people both physically and spiritually.
“It’s just amazing to have a partner like that in that position,” he says. “That is a blessing we’re thanking God for…. It’s really symbolic of how leadership is changing things.”
(Photo courtesy of Lesotho Flying Pastors, MAF)
Pray for patients served by MAF, Lesotho Flying Doctors, and the Patient House to know deeper spiritual healing in Christ. Pray also for the encouragement of MAF staff and their families.
“We can’t succeed if we try to do it in our own strength,” Adams says. “We need the Holy Spirit to guide us. We need Him to strengthen us and to empower us.”
Learn more about MAF Lesotho and support opportunities at their website here.
Header photo courtesy of MAF.
