Faithful Mr Martin
Teaching online doesn’t compare with sitting in the same room, discussing things and sharing different points of view. It does have advantages as well though, one of them being the re-connection with old friends like Letsema Martin from Lesotho. The Nichols family lived near him for a while, and he was always so kind to them, right from the first visit in 2010. He would take time to explain things, and was very gracious when mistakes were made. Pam writes, "We also had a lot of fun together, like the time we were showing him a photo of Evie’s beloved guinea pig, ‘Fairy’ who we had left back at home. Letsema admired Fairy for a while and then asked ‘so when will you eat it…..?’ Cross-cultural friendships can be difficult but also they can be hilarious fun too!”
Anyway, a few months ago Letsema signed up for the theology course online so we asked permission to share his story and introduce him to you.
“I grew up in a rural area of Lesotho as a shepherd, in a Catholic Church. In my life nose bleeding had been troubling me, and some people encouraged me to smoke cigarettes to stop it, but it never stopped. I went to initiation school because where I’m from, that is when you are recognised as a man, but it never brought me as much satisfaction as being a born-again Christian.
“I grew up with a fear of divorce because it was happening a lot in my village. I also had a fear of witchcraft as I was forced to consult traditional doctors. I got married and my wife was the first person to introduce salvation to me. I received Jesus into my life, my nose bleeds stopped, and my fears of divorce and witchcraft left me. I am a free man, satisfied with who I am.
“I started reading my bible, and I got baptised with water and the Spirit. I recognised my gift as an evangelist but I took it lightly at the time. I was working as a security guard in one of the security companies here in Maseru. One day 3 men came to my working place to steal money and one of them pointed his gun at me and pulled the trigger but it failed to shoot. I pointed my gun at him and commanded him to throw his gun down. He did so, and I arrested him. When the police arrived they tested his gun and it did shoot. From that time I made up my mind to serve God with my life no matter what challenges are in my life. Til today I have never regretted serving my Lord Jesus Christ.”
When asked why he would take the time to study the bible, Letsema answered, “For me, the bible is God’s word, a mirror to help us to see in God’s heart. It helps us understand his thoughts about us, and gives us wisdom to help us on our daily decisions – marriage, business, everything. There is no question that the bible has not answered.”
When asked how we can pray for him, Letsema said, “Please pray for my business – the economy is not good now, and my house is not yet finished. Please pray for our finances. Our vision as a family is to have a greenhouse to produce vegetables and organic salads and to start a snack bar in town – we don’t want to buy vegetables and green salads any more! These crops on the left are in the greenhouse. They look more healthy than the ones in the open space:
So let’s pray for Letsema – a faithful man of God, teacher, farmer, family man and father to many in his community. If you have known the Nichols family a long time or even visited Maseru, you might remember Maheru, his eldest son who has physical difficulties with his legs and feet. Well, can you believe these photos, he is training to be a chef! Amazing! So please pray for him too…. Go Maheru!
