Creating the Balance

Since the move to Butha Buthe (its been 5 days) we have already started a dance team with some teens from a junior youth class. We are dancing to My Love, Justin Timberlake...whoop whoop. (side note I saw Nick Jonas do a video with The Administration on SA television and he was too adorable...how old is he again, maybe he'll be a younger version of me's John Mayer) BB is a much bigger town, it has a KFC and working internet cafes. I am living with a wonderful Julia. She turned 22 friday and we are SO ALIKE. She is petite and outgoing and way forgetful lol. Since I have come we have never left a house without one of us saying "wait I forgot my wallet" or "where is my phone" or etc lol. I am so glad to have a close female friend with a warm spirited personality. I have definitely run into some friction from women here when they see I'm not Basotho but Julia is fantastic and I hope we can be friends for a long time.
We live with her grandma and 3 young boy cousins. Its more simple than the farm. The roof leaks when it rains and some form of the bucket has become my new best friend. No running water so we collect water in a bucket, we bathe in a bucket (well basin), we wash clothes in a bucket, and we pee in a bucket. Don't worry all different buckets haha. Julia and I sleep in the same room. I sleep on the floor and she sleeps on the bed. Ofcourse my beautiful host family offered me the bed but Julia had a bad toothache when I first came so it was great timing for them to let me sleep on the floor as I requested. As my Americorps friends know I can sleep pretty much anywhere, and Taylor keeps me warm :)
I have already started helping her with children and JY classes on afternoons/weekends. I'm still planning the schedule for the days though I know I only have a month. I found out I have a package in Maseru!! So very excited to get it ASAP and see who its from. Please send all mail to Maseru now that I've moved (PO BOX 936 Maseru 100, Lesotho)
The odd thing is they all have TV with like 5 or 6 channels. There are a lot of soap operas, African ones and Days of Our Lives, Young&Restless, also Oprah and Tyra show, Knight Rider (ooh David Hasslehoff) etc. I have been on tv overload even these last few days so hoping to spend more time outside reading. You know the thing I love about Lesotho is that I think the country is in such an ideal stage. Many people idolize the United States without understanding the mistakes we have made. Many developed countries are so far gone that we would have to go backwards to realign ourselves. But Lesotho is still at the point that they can take the beautiful things from their past and our present to make a wonderful future and not just mimick us. For instance they are getting a lot of shops here. They use plastic bags and I see Basotho people drop trash on the ground all the time. They could eliminate plastic from the very beginning and use their old traditions of basins and wheelbarrels. These advances need to come with education so they aren't wondering in 2 years why they can't drink water from the river. I hope to use balance that they have here in my life. When I get a place, I can boil rain water for my family, and have a garden, and a solar room where we can feel the sun and see the night's sky, and at the same time take advantage of the things I love about America, like having a dance/art room and taking advantage of education through internet, books, and t.v. I think people tend to feel that they have to hold fast to their cultures but what my mummy (and friends/fam along the way) have taught me is that culture is owned by people. We have the great choice to hold on to the things that define us and let go of the things that don't have substance to build a culture that our children will then take to the next level.
Still reading the Bible, Old and New Testament at once. Reading the epistles of Paul, he is pretty consistent in his writings. The only thing that is difficult is the balance between deeds and faith. Paul says that we were living under the law of God before and now we can be freed from the law through faith in Jesus Christ. At the same time they say that anyone who says they believe in Jesus and do not follow his commandments doesn't really believe. I can understand how people get confused by some saying you can get into heaven by pure faith in Jesus and others feeling that you need faith and actions. I think its important that Paul says we should die to sin and flesh and live to God as Jesus did, and that if we live after the Spirit, it is no great struggle to follow the word of God.
So through all the confusion with writings I know that the great importance as written by the prophets in the time of Moses and Jesus' apostles is having faith. And I can say that I have faith in God and faith in His principles, so I'll have faith I can work out the logisitics too. :)

"Observe My commandments, for the love of My beauty. Happy is the lover that hath inhaled the divine fragrance of his Best Beloved from these words."
With open arms and open heart,
Spread hope,
Andrea Hope