Sharing Life Together After the Earthquake

Sam and I thought we would be back in the States by now. Our 2 year assignment with ServLife International was ending, we sold most of our belongings, tied up loose ends, and were about to spend our last night in Pokhara before heading to Kathmandu for a few days and then flying back to the States. And then... the earthquake hit.

Sam and I quickly realized God's plans for us in Nepal were not at all done yet, he had us here for this specific time, so we cancelled our flights and extended our time in Nepal, for at least a month, to help in any way possible.

Of course there are many needs, and many people and organizations better equipped to meet those needs, but even before this disaster, Sam and I have always felt strongly that God brought us to Nepal for the relationships He put, and continues to put, in our lives, just as Ambika had said to us during our first visit, "We need brothers and sisters to come alongside us and laugh with us, cry with us and share life with us."

So that is where we began, with those He had already put in our lives. We visited our house helper, Kailii Didi, and learned she had not been able to get in touch with her father or mother who live in one of the worst hit areas. We knew a group of people who were heading out to that district in a few days and were able to get her parents names and a picture for those going to the area to take to ask around.

Wendy with Kailii Didi and her daughters

And while we later found out Kailii's parents were/ are safe and unharmed, I knew at that moment, before we knew any news about her parents, that we had already done what God brought us here to do. We had built real relationships, despite language barriers, cultural barriers and more, we were here sharing life together with all the beauty and messiness that entails- laughing, crying, loving, praying.

Ambika, Aama and the girls from
Peace Loving Nepal arrive in Pokhara

Of course, a huge priority for us was relocating our family, Ambika, Aama and the girls from Peace Loving Nepal, to Pokhara and out of Kathmandu, where they were living outside, afraid to go back in their house due to cracks in the walls and along beams from the first earthquake, with tremors continuing to come multiple times a day. In fact, the tremors are still continuing - 4 of them just yesterday! It took 5 days, due to the airport in Kathmandu being closed and the road between Kathmandu and Pokhara being blocked from landslides, but they finally arrived in Pokhara.

Aama enjoying a bed after
sleeping outside for multiple nights

After taking their first showers since before the earthquake, eating a delicious dinner, sleeping soundly for 12 hours and a big breakfast the next morning, we headed to one of the hospitals in Pokhara to visit and pray with people from one of the hardest hit districts. 

Here are a few stories from those visits to the hospital...

Wendy hugging a woman named Maya (means love) who was there with her teenage son who was injured. Five members of their family were killed in the earthquake. Even though she was not physically injured, she pulled at my heart more than anyone else. I spent extra time just sitting with her, talking to her as best as I could in my broken Nepali (with some help from Ambika), hugging her and letting her know it was okay to cry, as she kept trying to fight back her tears.

Ambika and Anipa with an 11-month old baby girl named Anuska and her mom. Their house collapsed on them and they were buried beneath the rubble for 6 hours before being dug out. Anuska's mother told us that Anuska cried for a little while, but when she stopped crying her mom was afraid she had died. Luckily, both Anuska and her mom are recovering nicely!

Gam Maya is 23-years old and 9 months pregnant with her first child. Her husband was killed in the earthquake. Her father is pastor of the church in their area.

Sarki is blind (he was blind before the earthquake). When the earthquake struck, the rest of his family were out in the fields, so he was not able to get out of the house to safety and something struck his head. He now has internal injuries and said whenever he lays down to sleep his head throbs with pain. Despite all of this, he was happy and smiling each time we visited, praising the hospital staff and saying that before he had only heard of Pokhara, but now he knows that it is a great place where the people care so much for others (we heard this same comment from several people during our visits).

Expressing our thanks to some of the nurses for all of their hard work.

As other groups came to care for the people in the hospitals, we became aware of another need not being met. We went to visit some rural homes just outside Pokhara, to talk with the families, see and hear how the earthquake had made their homes unlivable, share the Gospel, provide tents/ tarps, rope, rice, lentils, oil, salt and biscuits (cookies) and pray with and for them. 

This was the easy part -
with stone steps!

The following day we went a bit further out to the district of Syangja. This time we took tents/ tarps, rope and New Testaments, as we had heard that these families had food and water. It was a full day of walking up mountains, talking with and seeing earthquake stories and damage, praying for and with people, giving some families tarps/ tents and rope, and even more families Bibles. Sam visited every damaged home in the village. 

At first I was a bit skeptical, as the areas we went to were south of Pokhara (the opposite direction of where the worst hit areas are), including the village where our taxi driver was born. It made me wonder if we were being taken advantage of as foreigners offering aid. As they day progressed, though, my fears quickly faded, seeing homes that were unlivable, people living in fear and more excited that we had made the long, difficult hike up the mountain out of concern and love for them than for the tents/ tarps.

Ambika and I talked more about it the next morning. She told me that she shared, "We are Christians. God loves us and by following Him we are learning to love better and that's why we are here, because we love you. We're not here to tell you what to believe. We have brought the Bible that speaks of God's love for us and for you. If you are interested, read it and see if it is true."

She said people kept saying, "We already know you are here because you love us. No one else, not even from our own VDC (Village Development Committee), has come to check to see how we are, and you came from far away and made the long, hard walk up the mountain on a very hot day to check on us." Every single person we asked let us pray for/ with them and accepted Bibles - some asked for additional Bibles. 

After visiting with many families, we had lunch at our taxi driver's parents' home - the most delicious dal bhat (lentils and rice) Sam and I have ever had! 

Local guys who did the hard work
of hauling tents up the mountain

Also, a few local guys helped us haul the tents/ tarps up the mountain. Two of those guys were either friends or family of our taxi driver, but one guy asked to help after we visited with him. We learned that he is extremely poor (by Nepali standards), his wife ran off and he's trying to provide for his children, one of whom is disabled, so at the end of the day, Sam discreetly went over to him to thank him for helping, and as he shook his hand he gave him some money for his help, not wanting to make a big scene of it or embarrass the man in front of others. A few minutes later, the man pulled Sam and the taxi driver aside, asking the taxi driver to translate, to express his heartfelt surprise and extreme gratitude, that this really saved them in this time of need. Sam let him know it was not him, but God who provided. 

Then, we began to head back down the mountain as a storm seemed to be rolling in. Along the way, we detoured to another small village... and by detoured I mean we were almost down the mountain, when we took a turn to go see a few more houses. We were all exhausted but agreed, thinking they were close by and easy to get to... until we started climbing back UP the mountain! By the time we realized this was not a quick detour, we were too far into it to turn around. 

Nepali women are AMAZING...
my heroes!

As Ambika, Sam, Anipa and I poured sweat, searched for our last bottle of water and mumbled about how tired we were, a Nepali woman carrying a huge basket filled with straw on her head came walking up the mountain behind us, not even breaking a sweat or breathing hard. I asked Anipa to tell the woman that she is my hero and I think she's amazing! Of course, the woman laughed, as that is just part of her daily life in Nepal and not anything amazing to her. When we got to the houses (which is where Amazing Woman lives), Sam and the guys went to look at the damaged houses, while Ambika, Anipa and I were taken to sit on one family's porch.

An elderly woman who took hold of my arm from the moment she saw me, saw how excited I was about a baby goat and promptly sat me down in a chair, put the goat on my lap and got a bunch of leaves for me to feed the goat. 

A young boy (maybe 8 years old) sat in front of me and we talked some. It was his goat and as the whole village came to watch me holding, petting and feeding the goat, the boy said, "go ahead, take it home with you". I will never be able to put into words all the emotions I felt at that moment. Truly one of the most precious gifts I have ever been offered. Don't worry, I didn't leave there with a baby goat, although I'd be lying if I said I didn't REALLY consider it!

A few of the people from the village
who came out to see us

Then the woman whose porch we were sitting on brought out dudh chiya (milk tea) for everyone - not just us, but pretty much the whole village who had come out to see us! The taxi driver joked that we had only brought a few tents/ tarps, but this woman gave the whole village tea! She replied that "Even if we are dying in an earthquake, I will make tea!"

As we left, the elderly woman who took hold of my arm as soon as she saw me, walked with us, holding my arm for about half the way down the mountain, actually making it harder for me to walk, although her concern for me was so touching, I didn't want to say anything. When she finally said goodbye to me, she told both Ambika and the taxi driver to hold my arm and guide me down the mountain. Ambika tried to tell her I was fine on my own, but she continued to watch me with a worried look on her face, so I asked Sam to hold my hand until we were out of her sight. As soon as Sam took my hand, she turned around and began walking back up the mountain to go home.

We are now back in Kathmandu and preparing to go out to one of the other villages tomorrow, named Lele, that has not received any aid. The next day we will go with Lazarus to a village that was severely affected, and where several of our ministry partners are. I am both scared at the devastation I know lies ahead, as well as grateful that we are here and able to offer even the smallest bit of relief, comfort, concern and love for so many people during this time. 

Be Weak

I struggled deciding whether to post this blog or not. I've tried to be real, honest and vulnerable as I write these posts, but it's never easy revealing parts of ourselves that we don't particularly like, especially to so many people all at once.

"But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me." 2 Corinthians 12:9

It's no secret that I LOVE living in Nepal. I love the people, I love life here. Many people commented about how much we gave up to come here, but the truth is, coming to Nepal was, in some ways, one of the easiest things I've ever done in my life. Sure, leaving family and friends was hard, but I grew up living halfway across the U.S. from the majority of my family, seeing them once a year, or even less, so even that part doesn't feel that odd to me. Plus with email, Skype and Facebook, it's not like we're completely out of contact. And let's face it, I'm a minimalist, so selling our house, cars and belongings was more fun than a trip to Disneyland for me. 

The hardest parts for me have been things like raising support and relying on others for our income. Granted, God has made this much easier for us than for most, through LifeBridge Church, St. John's Lutheran Church and our amazing friends and family, but I've been working since I was 16 years old and was raised to be very self-sufficient and independent, so relying on donations was, and still is, hard for me. And here, Sam has the "main job" and I am the "trailing spouse", which just adds to my feelings of dependency vs. the self-sufficiency I am much more comfortable with.

And that doesn't even to begin to touch on how weird it is that reading my Bible, praying, attending and/ or speaking at women's fellowships, writing blog posts, learning about micro-finance, learning about Nepali culture, spiritual warfare, language learning, building relationships with people and God, etc. are all different parts of my work now. I'm sure many of you reading this are thinking it sounds like heaven, but for someone who is all about spreadsheets, productivity, lists, tasks and accomplishments, it is actually a very difficult mental shift to make. I have had to continuously fight my tendency to become legalistic, doing the things above as "tasks to accomplish" instead of out of a love for God and others.

I struggle with God taking away my identity of being "Wendy, the hard worker, the great student, a dependable and responsible person, etc." and placing me in an environment where I didn't know how or where to pay the electric or water bill (there's no online bill pay here and no mail service, it has to be done in person) and having to communicate with people in very broken Nepali, because even after more than a  year of trying to learn the Nepali language, I still can't "get" some of the most basic things like sentence structure or the various verb tenses. For someone who always enjoyed English classes, reading, spelling and school in general, this has been a huge disappointment for me.

Back in the States I drove for 25+ years... not an automatic, mind you, a stick shift... but here even learning to drive a scooter was too much for me, so now my options are to have Sam drive me places, ride my bicycle, walk or take a bus or taxi. Not the end of the world, but certainly another blow to my already bruised "independent" ego. In Nepal is it very hard for me to do most things outside the house, and I have to rely upon Sam constantly, which is hard for me to even admit, much less put in writing.

And the thing is, from everything I just said, it might sound like I'm miserable and hate it here, but that couldn't be further from the truth. I love it here and can't imagine leaving. I love the people and want so much to be able to communicate with them in their heart language, to be the "hard worker and great student, the reliable and dependable person" that I've always considered myself to be. I mean wouldn't all of that stuff make me a much better witness for Christ? But God has brought me out of my comfort zone of independence and strength to the place where I am. A place of weakness where I have to rely upon God daily. I often have wondered why He has me here... and I wonder if everyone else, God included, sees all my failures and also wonders why He has me here.

I have found myself in this place repeatedly since coming to Nepal, and I have dealt with it in different ways at different times, joking it off, ignoring it, denying it, talking to my pastor back in the States, getting advice from dear friends and expats here, reading "All Is Grace: A Ragamuffin Memoir" by Brennan Manning, trying to power through in "my own strength" by studying the language harder, learning how and where to pay the electric and water bills, getting a washing machine, etc. And some things helped, like talking with others, reading "All Is Grace" and getting that washing machine, but after a few days or weeks the feelings would resurface, so I began searching the Bible, asking God to lead me to a passage that would "speak to me" to tell me what He wanted from me, and fervently praying for God to help me, hoping for some verse or a sign from God that would encourage me. Instead, there was silence.

Then, a few weeks ago, I was reading the book, "Missionary: An Unexpected Journey of Following God's Call to the Other Side of the World" by Christopher Marco. In one part the author shares his doubts and questions about himself, his motives and basically losing faith in himself.

As I read that part, tears fell from my eyes and my chest felt tight. If I was honest with myself, I could relate to what he was saying more than I cared to admit, and it stung. I wanted God to help me, to take away my feelings of failure and show me my areas of strength, but instead it seemed as if God was doing the exact opposite... showing me my failures! Maybe I should have been content with His silence!

I cried without even fully understanding why. Then, Sam asked me what I was thinking and feeling and I just kept saying, "I don't know. I don't know. Going back to America would be easier in some ways, but I don't want to leave Nepal. Am I being selfish wanting to stay? And why do I even want to stay if I'm such a failure here? Or is the stick that I have always measured success with, the proper one, I have to look at this and say no, I need to measure myself against the word of God, not what the western world dictates success by. I know God called us here, but has He changed his mind?" That night I went to sleep feeling heavy and confused.

The next morning I woke up and nothing had changed, so I decided to read some more of the Christopher Marco book. As I began reading the next chapter, the author talked about reading Ephesians 2:1-10 again and again, which says:

"And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."

As the author read it, he began thinking that maybe God had wanted him to get to the end of his own strength, to see his need for Him and that he is saved by grace, not works. That is when he asked God, if he brings nothing to the table, then why would God save him? And realized God saves us because of how great He is.

The author went on to tell of how he repeated this pattern for months... feeling selfish, insufficient, etc., then going back to Ephesians 2:1-10 to rediscover the truth... over and over again, hundreds of times, as God was slowly teaching him "this walk of dependence."

And again, I related more than I care to admit to what the author was saying, and part of me didn't, and doesn't, like admitting that something so simple and basic to my faith could be such an issue for me, that it is something that I struggle with, "get" and then struggle with again. But part of me sighed with relief... here was a missionary to Asia who I could relate to, someone who had to keep rediscovering this same truth over and over again. And the thing is, as I read his story, I did not see a selfish, insufficient person, but a man who kept turning to God again and again, allowing an amazing God who loves him to use him, and through his weaknesses, I was able to see and feel God's love for me, as well as be encouraged by the fact that another missionary who struggled was eventually able to learn another language! 

So, have I "got" it yet? I'm just beginning to find out for myself what "It" actually means.  Some days I am content and even awestruck by God's incredible love for us... for me. Some days, I catch myself striving to earn His love, and still other days, I strive and don't even realize it until later. Becoming weak is a process that goes against pretty much everything I have grown up learning. When was the last time someone told you, "Be weak" when you were going through something difficult? I can't recall ever hearing that. 

We say, ""Be strong", but why? To make others feel less uncomfortable with our hurt and weakness? To put on a good show to make God look good, that as Christians we have no worries? Think about a time when you were hurting or feeling like a failure, maybe even something you are going through right now. What if someone came up and said to you, "Stop trying to be so strong! Be gentle with yourself, and allow God to be your strength. Cry out to God with your pain, your fears, disappointments, hopes... all of it. Allow God to hold you and comfort you. Let God tell you how much He loves you, and not because you are strong or successful, but simply because He is God and God is love. 

That's quite a different message. At first it sounds funny, but as I've started trying this more and more, I find that it doesn't sound as funny as it once did. It is actually soothing. And as I let God hold me and comfort me, I get to hear his voice.

I'm not sure I'll ever fully "get" it, and that's probably good, because then I would most likely become all proud of myself for being such an awesome student, and start depending on myself instead of God again. This is an amazing walk that God calls us to, to find out what life looks like when you put everything in and under Christ - a lifetime walk with everlasting results.

 

Sanne, the first HOPE Fund

Sanne

The HOPE Fund that Wendy and I are currently revamping had it's start in Nepal in a village named Sanne, in the Dhankuta district of East Nepal in 2008. Due to some very unforseen circumstances, I just returned from my first trip there. This was a village that my pastor, Michael, had previously visited a couple years ago. It was neat following in his footsteps and sleeping in the same home where he slept. I was truly blessed to see what God has accomplished through our church planter and through the HOPE Fund.

I can't help but to think I should have come to Saane almost 2 years ago. There is so much I could have learned. So many lessons we have learned by studying Microfinance research, we could have learned by studying this program. Our two first HOPE Funds were run very differently and we found some interesting things. Many things we added to our new program, they were already doing them in Sanne.

This fund started with little capital, $1800, and with this small amount, 46 loans have been given. I was able to interview some who had just received loans as well as others who had been some of the first to receive loans.

Our first interview was with Bhim Bahadur Pulami, who received his his first loan in 2008 where he started a furniture making business which included training and equipment. Before the HOPE Fund, he had no land of his own and no way to start any type of business for himself, and no collateral to get a conventional loan. His family had no money and they were struggling to even survive. Bhim is now a proud land owner, has built their family a nice house and has sent his children to school. Bhim now sends money every month to his daughter who is in medical school. He has a thriving business and is truly one of the best examples of what we want to accomplish. Fighting poverty by empowering people through small loans to be able to create wealth to change their families status and to feed and educate their children. Bhim's family has completely changed and he completely believes in Jesus!


Pastor Bhakta (left) has done an amazing job here, bringing Christ to the people and changing people's lives as well as through the numerous micro loans which have allowed hundreds of people to come out of extreme poverty and are now living lives which includes kids being fed and sent to school. Those who had no land now are landowners and thriving in their community.


Having seen the results of loans that were given out 6 years ago, the fruits speak for themselves. I just feel so privileged to have seen what has been accomplished, and know that even years after I depart Nepal, the HOPE Fund we have improved, will continue to change countless lives. Praise be to God for his grace and love he has for all of the peoples of this world. 

This is the man who was the VDC leader of Sanne for years, he has now come to Christ and preaches at the church! This all came about because he was asked to be a board member for the HOPE Fund in Sanne, and after time began to see the truth and find the love of God.

We also did an audit while we were there, gathering all of the financial and personal data of the loans that were given. Wendy will spend the next week at least, putting together all of the details and making sense out of it. Thank God for my wife that has so many talents, abilities, and patience!

This is the Pastor's entire family that was present just before we left to begin our trip back. Speaking of the trip out to Sanne and back, I could easily write a funny blog outlining the difficulties and adventure. Some time soon I will post about traveling, especially on local busses.


Thanks to all of our supporters who make this all possible. Donations

Bandh in Pokhara

Unless you keep up with Nepali news, you may not be aware that Nepal is, and has been, governed under the Interim Constitution of Nepal, since January 15, 2007. No, you didn't read that wrong, the "interim" constitution has now been in affect for more than 8 years, after numerous deadlines to have a permanent constitution completed have come and gone. See how much you miss when you don't keep up with the news in Nepal? :)

The most recent deadline was January 22, 2015.

Why do I mention this in a blog post? Because in an effort to be heard, and hopefully get their agendas included in the constitution, many different groups resort to calling nationwide and area-specific bandhs (strikes) in the days and weeks leading up to the deadline.   

Wendy's in Pokhara?!
It's not a "real" Wendy's,
just some restaurant with a Wendy's sign,
but I'm going to have to go check this place out
one day when there's not a bandh!

During bandhs most businesses shut down and vehicular traffic is not allowed, except emergency vehicles, so it essentially brings the effected area to a standstill. Of course, the small shop owners who can't/ don't open during bandhs lose business and are most impacted, and those who do open risk retaliation (usually throwing rocks or even arson) from organizers, as do non-emergency vehicles that ignore the bandh.

Sam and I experienced several bandhs during our time in Kathmandu. It was usually pretty empty on the streets, although more and more people were starting to ignore the bandhs and would risk driving or opening their shops; however, we never witnessed any violence or demonstrations.

So a few weeks ago bandhs were called in Pokhara, and on the first day of the bandhs, Sam and I decided to go for a walk to check things out. We were in for a surprise, as it was nothing like the bandhs we experienced in Kathmandu.

Instead of empty streets, it was like a huge city-wide festival. It was a beautiful sunny, yet cool day and everyone was outside in the streets playing football (soccer), badminton, hackey sack, riding bicycles (which is allowed) and stopping to talk with friends... or make new friends with strangers! 

Normally dodging vehicles is par for the course when we go for walks, so with no vehicular traffic we were ready to enjoy a stress-free day of walking, not realizing that instead of dodging cars all day, we would be playing a continuous game of dodge ball (avoiding wild soccer balls) all day. I was pretty impressed with myself for not getting hit (I was never that good at dodge ball as a kid), but then Sam took things to a whole new level by not only not getting hit, but also managing to kick a ball or two back into the game!

We ran into 3 different groups of our friends while we were walking, and heard that a few restaurants were open down near Lakeside (since it is the tourists area) so that's where we headed. 

As we walked, a little girl came up to us asking for sweets, which we didn't have, but she was carrying a make-shift bat and ball, so I tossed the ball to her (a surprisingly good throw for me) and she tried to hit it. She missed, but from the huge smile she gave me and Sam, she looked like she had just hit the winning home-run in the World Series. I knew how she felt... between my extraordinary "pitch" and my success that day at dodge ball, I was feeling like quite the sports superstar myself!

Down at Lakeside, we ate lunch, walked around some and then walked back home... about 11 miles round trip. That's right, sports superstar and fitness queen all in one day... who says God doesn't do miracles these days?

On our way home, there were some teenage boys walking in front of us. One of the boys threw a piece of paper on the ground. As we passed the piece of paper, Sam picked it up and said, "You dropped something" just as the boy threw another piece of paper on the ground, which Sam also picked up and again commented. This time the boys turned around. I wasn't sure what to expect, but Sam just held up the papers and smiled at them. They looked uneasy for a moment, and then Sam asked them how they were doing. They kind of cast their eyes down, not sure what to say and meekly said they weren't good, he had embarrassed them, but Sam just started talking to them and soon we were all walking along talking as friends. 

Shortly after that, we saw a car pull out onto one of the main roads from a side street and a bunch of guys started yelling at the driver and chasing him off the road. At first Sam and I thought it might be bandh organizers trying to enforce the bandh, but we quickly realized it was just a group of guys playing football (soccer) who were upset that their game in the middle of the road was interrupted! Luckily the driver quickly pulled off the road and the game was able to continue without incident. 

Unfortunately, the same can't be said for the Maoists, the Constituent Assembly and a constitution for Nepal, but that's another story that is best left to the media to cover. Click here to read that article, "Brawl Disrupts Drafting of Constitution in Nepal" from the New York Times. 

Goodbye 2014, Hello 2015!

2014 Comes to an End

We were able to celebrate Christmas with the precious girls from the Peace Loving Nepal girls' home, as they visited Pokhara for a week during their winter break. While we surely missed our family and friends back in the States, this was surely a great Christmas gift!

Aama & Wendy in matching pajamas! 

And this time Aama, who is 89 years old, was able to make the trip to Pokhara. Ambika told us Aama looked out the bus window the whole time (about 5-6 hours) excited to see all the trees, the rivers and the small villages they passed along the way. Aama also did more walking than she has done in years, took her first boat ride on Phewa Tal (Phewa Lake), enjoyed crepes for the first time at a restaurant by the lake and was able to breathe without wheezing for the first time since we've known her thanks to the cleaner air in Pokhara! By the time they went back to Kathmandu, Aama looked years younger. It was an amazing blessing spending what could be our last Christmas in Nepal.

Everyday in Nepal brings new challenges and opportunities, as well as learning and teaching opportunities - often combined! We are not here to teach our ways, as Westerners "knowing it all" (because we certainly don't!), but to be open to forming friendships with mutual learning on both sides. After being in Pokhara for 7 months, we finally invited some of our neighbors, none of whom are Christian, over for dinner and celebrations on New Years Eve. We were able to share with them about Christ and our beliefs while still respecting their Hindu and/ or Buddhist beliefs.It was a celebration with song, dance, dinner and laughter. The girls from the Peace Loving Nepal Children's home came and shared their love and sang song after song for us, and Ambika shared some of her testimony. The Bible tells us that the world will know us by the love we have for one another, and I believe this shined through on this amazing night. It was a demonstration of love, and the neighbors have expressed a desire to get together much more often.

So many times in life we do something, and everyone says "we should have done this sooner!" Well, this was one of those occasions. Our neighbors stayed and talked about life and shared stories of blessings and hardships, truly starting to get to know one another. We were unsure if they would be uncomfortable in our Christian home, and we were careful not to shout our beliefs at them, while still clearly letting them know how we felt and what we believed. Our fears were apparently totally unfounded as more than half of the guest stayed for several hours after dinner was complete. The pictures at the end are those who remained after our meal and entertainment came to an end. In a community based culture like Nepal, it seems we are finally starting to "get it"... and we are truly having a blast sharing our lives with others.

At the end of last year, we told of unexpected challenges. Well those have not gone away, but God's grace is bringing us through in huge ways! Our main "job," while being here is the HOPE Fund. While this started a bit bumpy and did not move along as quickly as we had hoped, all of this has now changed.

Wendy and I are in high gear with the HOPE Fund, which has been totally reworked and fleshed out as we did a huge amount of research. I'm very proud to tell you all that we now have about a 60 page Operations Manual (complete with forms), outlining all of our procedures and steps, from selecting a village all the way to an exit plan, and moving on to another village. 

Wendy has been amazing and we have really come so far, learning to work with one another and being around each other almost 24/7. When we came here, the HOPE Fund was my main job and Wendy helped in other things, but we finally figured out that she was desperately needed by me and by the HOPE Fund! This gave her a new purpose and has revitalized us both. 

While we have been hard at work and swamped with paperwork, I have not been able to visit any villages in 7 months. Later this month, I get to start traveling to the villages again, living among the villagers for much longer periods than I have previously had the opportunity to do. This is such an exciting time, creating a new program, and starting it in two villages by March/April. Preparations are already being made, and much work has to be done prior to funds actually being given in a village. 

The first few visits to the villages I felt so ill prepared, not knowing much information, and having difficulties getting information, on the previous loans. But now, I feel like we have been completely educated to be able to make a real difference and truly have a program that helps the poorest of the poor. I'm not sure if I have ever been more excited in my life! This program is our infant and to get to be a part of seeing it grow and transform is going to be a huge win for us all - God, ServLife, ourselves, supporters, and the Nepali people.

2015 Begins

What will 2015 look like for us? We are not completely sure! We would love to finish extremely strong with the HOPE Fund and our two year commitment with ServLife, but by no means do we want to leave the field in Nepal. 

Lazarus and Martha

 The leadership from the local NGO came to Pokhara on the 3rd of January and we were able to have an amazing time as we continued to work on the HOPE Fund with Lazarus and Peter. They gave us strong words of encouragement and we all really look forward to our continued friendship, no matter where God ends up having us. We made a commitment to not look to far into the future until we complete our current task, so we are all in anticipation as to what God's plans for us are in our future work in Nepal.

Our HOPE Fund documentation should be complete in March, and at some time after this point, we will be coming back to the States for a time of rest, and to wait upon God and see what his plans are for us in the future. 

May God bless you all in this New Year!

P.S. Wendy has found a new love for dogs, becoming very attached to Assa, our 9 month old German Sheperd. This pictures explain it all...