Puja

Today is a holiday in Nepal. The Hindu religion does not have a special day of the week where people gather and worship, but this is done connected with the holidays. Each one is different, and the way of celebrating is different. Some are huge affairs and continue on for days or even a week. On this occasion, members of the community gathered around the little shrine across the street. A variety of acts were performed, including keeping the bell ringing, preparing food and offering it to the idol, a little dancing and shouting, chasing the dogs away from the food, lining up for a blessing of sorts from the man (in this case, not a Hindu priest) who seemed to be officiating. Folks passing by often paused to bow or participate for a few moments, then went on their way. Some of the people weeemed very involved and some were only spectators. I have no idea what they were hoping to accomplish or the significance of the various acts. I have been told that most Hindus also do not know, but they just follow along. Our parter, with whom I am living, kept his kids home from school today because all of these things are part of the Hindu worship and they were practiced in the schools as well. I started to write another paragraph, comparing this to similar situations in the Christian world, but I think most of the readers "get" it. While you are thinking about that, do return to the fact that every Hindu is a person uniquely created by the same God who created you, who knows him like He knows you, loves him like He loves you. But the Hindu man is bowing down to another god.

Prasansa

Promod is a Nepali man, who I met years ago. How many years,I just cannot remember. He worked as a waiter in one of the restaurants where I often ate. I am not sure why he told me that he was a Christian, but that information was shared and from then on, he always came quickly to my table, with a huge smile when he saw me. He may or may not have been my waiter on any given occasion and I never gave him any larger tip than I would give to anyone else. I did not want to have a financially motivated relationship with him. For a long time, he did not know exactly what I do here in Nepal, but later on, as we talked more, we learned that he attends the "big" church where we have a sponsorship program. I have not seen Promod for a year or more. I thought I was just missing his days scheduled to work when I happened to be in the restaurant. But today, I learned that he has been in the Bible program of the church and is now ready to move out into the area he has been assigned to work. He will be using personal witness and relationship building to plant a cell group, gradually growing into a church. The church committee chose his daughter as one of five new children to come into our sponsorship program. She is a beautiful little girl, named Prasansa-- the Nepali word for Praise. Promod will receive a bare survivial stipend from the church for a while as he builds his church to the point where it can support him. Prasansa is 5 years old and should start Kindergarten in April, but her parents cannot pay the fees without sponsorship help. The church uses Allow as part of their support "package" and I find it a special privilege. Please pray with us for a sponsor for Prasansa and the other four new children, all in similar situations.

Worship in Nepal

At the place where I live in Nepal, there is a little Hindu shrine just across the street. The practice is to ding the bell to alert the god, kneel and pray for a time, then take some of the red powder and apply to one's forehead. The busy tme is early morning from about an hour before dawn continuing for at least a couple hours past. Today, I saw a small boy worshiping in the middle of the day. This is unusual, but perhaps he had a problem. Tomorrow, I will worship with the Nepali beleivers who follow the Lord Jesus Christ. Following that, I will be taking pictures and filling in progress reports for sponsors. This church has 5 new children who need to come into our program. Every one of these kids will be under the discipleship of the church, as well as enrolled in school on our dime. Some will grow up as faithful beleivers and some will fall away- just as in the US. But every one will know the WAY to Salvation by faith in Jesus and this is our goal. It is likely that the little Hindu boy knows nothing or very little of the gospel. Some of them will grow up to be godly leaders who will draw others. This is the secondary goal. All of them will have an education and, because they are in our program, their basic needs for food, medical care, etc will be under watch and generally met. This is the third goal. I love this job- making a difference in so many lives.

Four more Missions

"I have four more missions," my soldier son, in Iraq, told me. He is expecting to return to the US soon, but the exact date cannot be known. One thing he does know is that he has four more special assignments to complete. Four more times, he needs to do-- whatever it is that he does-and then his part of the plan is finished. Hopefully, he and the others in his unit will start packing up and preparing for the trip home. I wonder how many more "missions" I have? This summer, I had one-- to Guatemala and Nicaragua. As a result, our team did some things that we hope left blessing and encouragement for some people who need it. Now, I am preparing for another mission-- this one to Nepal. It is going to be a busy time. We have plans that we hope will influence eternity. How many more "missions" will I have? I hope the answer is a LOT. I hope there are many, many more assignments for me where I can be the hands and feet and voice of my God and He uses me to move yet another piece of His plan into place.

March of the Ants

In Nicaragua, we visited the island where we have started a sponsorship program for children of pastors. While waiting for the ferry, one member of our group leaned over a brick wall at the water's edge and spotted a colony of ants on a mission trip. Soon, all four of us were bending over to watch the ants. There must have been hundreds of them rushing horizontally along the wall, each carrying a bright green piece of leaf. A roughly equal number moved quickly in the opposite direction, presumably on a search for a leaf load. They walked in an organized line at a steady pace for quite a distance along the wall before they disappeared from sight. The bright green pieces of leaf fluttered so slightly as they moved and-- well, the whole picture of their project was impressive. Since I have not studied ants very thoroughly, I am not sure whether they intended to eat the leaves or build a nest with it, but whatever their intention they were purposefully and passionately pursuing the goal and they were working together. I felt a strange desire to help them-- perhaps (for example) by moving the plant they wanted closer. I wonder how one goes about communicating and motivating hundreds of ants with this plan for the day? And how does one do the same thing with human beings?

What is your favorite part of the trip?

Americans come on a mission trip to Guatemala in order to have a good time. Maybe the good time is being in another country or traveling with friends or just doing something different. Maybe they want to be part of a building project or feeding poor village kids or developing a relationship with a child in the orphanage. But underlying it all is (or should be)love for the Lord, a desire to serve Him, a longing to DO something to promote His kingdom and a deep sense of following Him with a special project. My favorite part might have been hearing "How Great thou art" in the Spanish church or watching a hungry child lifting his plastic container to receive a scoop of good food from a member of our team at the feeding center. I also loved the motorbike. Up and down the mountain I went, to fetch forgotten items, bring water, check on the sick, move people from one work site to another. For liability reasons, I am the only one allowed to ride it, but this trip, I begged permission for my Nepali partner as well. It would be a little bit nuts for me to do all the driving when his experience was so far beyond mine. His help was a blessing with such a big group. We completed a greenhouse which will provide vegetables for the orphanage, the elder home and the feeding centers. It is a joy to know that the project will continue giving long after we are gone. May the Lord multitply it and use it. Tomorrow, we will be attending church in the village where we did a project last March. we will be presenting a guitar and a box of Bibles to the church and sharing the worship with them.

Nepal meets Central America

The summer team trip to Guatemala and Nicaragua was planned about a year ago. We have been working through deadlines for deposits, ticket purchase, project planning for the last few months, long before the decision was made to bring a Nepali partner back for the summer. I had no plans to take him to Central America, mostly because of the cost, but it was also nice to have someone to "man" the office while Tamara and I are both traveling. New information and tasks come into the office regularly, but the volume of work that we had at the end of May has been divided and conquered. We are not just caught up, but comfortably ahead with everything that is vitally important. Another worker in the office makes an amazing difference. I do not even want to think about the time when he will be gone. Anyway-- I digressed from the story.... Two of our Guatemala trip participants were compelled to cancel due to a medical situation. They welcomed us to use the funds already committed for someone else. The cancellation meant that there was no adult with the group of teens on two of the flights. Our organization had one ( Nepali) adult who could be added to the team to supervise the kids. The financial issue was solved, and the need for work to continue in the office was not urgent,but a visa problem remained. With an American passport, one can enter Guatemala without a visa. Another group of nationalities need a visa, but can apply by mail. Nepal is not in that category. Application in person is required and the Guatemala consulate is not in Lynchburg. But-- thankfully, it is not in the heart of the nation's capital, either. A trip to Silver Spring, Maryland, on a little side street that can be found only by GPS was necessary. We presented the required items: passport pictures, color photo copy of the passport and multiple entry visa to the United States, $25 fee. He was given a short form to fill in-- mostly contact information here and in Guatemala. We were finished. No interview. No questions. No problems. We were promised the passport would begin its journey back to us,in the envelope we provided within 48 hours. The next day, I should not have been surprised when it became possible(schedule wise) for him to continue with us for Nicaragua as well. However-- he would need a Nicaragua visa. Would that mean another trip north? I called the consulate. Does he have a tourist visa or a resident visa for the United States? Answer: tourist visa. Resident visa would have been easier. With a tourist visa, they needed a police report, a health record, among other documents and process time was twenty days minimum. And, so the trip to Nicaragua seemed impossible, until as the conversation was ending, the girl asked one more question. "Are you going to any other Central American countries? Does he have a Guatemalan visa? He can go into Nicaragua on a Guatemalan visa." Who would have thought? Does the God of heaven want this Nepali servant of His in Central America? Yes. Why? I don't really know yet. Can God move His people, even those who have no money at all, to the place where He wants them to be? Yes, He can.