MaNhlapo -
Mamasole Mary Nhlapo 1943 – 2015
The community of Meloding, Virginia will be burying one of its mothers on Saturday 11th April 2015.
Ministry
Mamasole Mary Nhlapo popularly known as “MaNhlapo” was one of the first members of
the Assemblies of God Church in the Free State having found God during the Back to
God crusades of the late Rev. Bhengu in the 60’s. She lived her life on the teachings
of the bible and contributions of the Rev Bhengu who taught the church to be self-
Having her house closer to the church led her to be continuously involved in making visitors or recruits as well as new pastors to the church to feel welcomed by inviting them to her home for after church meals. With the mines in the Free State recruiting labour from the deep rural of the Transkei and Ciskei (currently the Eastern Cape), the deep rural of Lesotho, Malawi Mozambique and Zimbabwe the church also recruited these souls from the mines. MaNhlapo a very good cook and host, will be preparing meals for these gentlemen in her house and some of the funny moments observed is when some of these gentlemen firstly struggle to eat with fork and knife and others vehemently refusing to eat rice because it looked like mouse droppings. Her ministry helped build the church and the community
Acts of Kindness
Through her life MaNhlapo opened her house to all sorts of people who needed help, whether it was a group of youth who came from far flung areas looking for jobs in the mines or a wife of a miner who came in from Lesotho to visit her husband who worked in the mines she will arrange, or a wife who has been abused by her husband and needed a place to sleep she will open her house to all of them. As recent as a year ago a very young couple who gave birth to a severely handicapped child found themselves not knowing what to do or how to take care of the child, they started fighting and neglecting the child, Mma as her children call her took the child in, when asked why she is doing that when she needs to take care of herself she simply said “While those two are fighting this child needs love and the least I can do is give this child love, he is already struggling as it is due to his condition” with other church women they rallied around Tshepiso and facilitated social grants and clinic visits for the child, Tshepiso passed after few months after returning to her parents but for his short life he experienced love he deserved. Few months earlier to Tshepiso one the mothers from another church not even hers had her husband, a pastor hit by a stroke, MaNhlapo packed her bags and went to help, she said she knew how to deal with that condition after nursing her own husband from two major strokes, she said she now had experience and she knew what energy is required to handle such situation. She helped because that is what she did most, she helped the others.
Family
MaNhlapo is survived by her husband of 50 years Samuel Nhlapo. She leaves behind two sons, 3 daughters and seven grandchildren. MaNhlapo valued education, entrepreneurship and creativity. She used to declare that as long as she has her two hands and a brain she will never go hungry. This is evidenced by her entrepreunial spirit whereby during grant payment days she will cook meals to sell at the pension point. She will then say after she has sold all her food “You see when everyone comes here to collect the little our government is helping us with, nna I come back with twice as much by just using my hands” There is nothing Mma has not sold says her kids, Blompots, pillows, food, you name it she always made sure there is enough food to feed and educate us.”
In her early fifties She went to a dreaking school and designed and knitted a wedding dress her first daughter was married in, this showed her creative and love for education side.
"Lala uphumule Mwelase”
