When Jim and Teresa Flora, International Mission Board missionaries from Hamlin Memorial Baptist Church, Springfield, Missouri, think about their work and ministry in the mountains of Lesotho, they automatically think of how their children are involved.
They are quick to say they rely on the prayers and encouragement of their three grown sons and their families in the United States, but daughters Gracie, Anna and Rebekah are a part of each day’s work.
On a typical Saturday when the family heads into a rural village, Gracie reviews the Bible story she will teach, Anna makes sandwiches with the bread she baked Friday night and Rebekah loads balls into the truck and reviews the games she will play with children.
When they arrive the girls engage the children while Jim greets a young pastor and Teresa, a registered nurse, checks on several villagers who have been sick.
Jim loves seeing the uniqueness in his daughters and the ways they are using their gifts.
“They have some of their own ministries,” Jim explained, like Gracie who took the initiative to learn and then teach simple sign language to the church family of a deaf girl.
Working together
The girls also are helpful when church teams come from the U.S. The logistics of hosting short-term groups is extensive, but Jim and Teresa said they couldn’t reach these mountains for Christ without the support.
The girls’ faces light up with smiles as they greet visiting friends and spend the days beside them in ministry — helping in medical clinics, serving as guides in the villages and helping volunteers navigate the harsh living conditions of Lesotho.
Teresa said, “We want to model for (the girls) doing things that you think you can’t do, stretching yourself, being in the uncomfortable places and letting God bail you out. We want to encourage them to see God working that way in their lives.”
Teresa has held babies as they took their last breath and the whole family has grieved the loss of friends. Starving children continue to break their hearts. Violence against women is a constant concern. Teresa confessed that a few moments have led her to say, “Lord, can we keep doing this?”
Jim said the Lord continues to sustain them and renew their call. They understand the importance of the task.
Jim and Teresa agreed that the hardest part of living in Lesotho is being far from family in the U.S., which now includes six grandchildren. But neither feels reservations about raising their daughters in a remote location where violence against women is common and HIV/AIDS is a leading cause of death.
They are careful in their daily life and work but do not live in fear.
“Part of [God’s purpose for us] is reaching the nations,” Jim said. For their family going was the only option.
The Flora family thanks God for the faithful giving to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering and through the Cooperative Program as well as the continued prayers of hundreds of churches. But they also want to encourage more churches to send out missionaries and teams to join in the work.
(BP)
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