As I write this post, my next mission trip is still more than a month away. This has been my longest continuous stay in the United States for some time. Though I am certainly eager to get to Nepal, my first stop will be in Bangladesh-- where I have not been for almost a year. I will visit each of the three children's homes there and we will have a gathering of the children in the Bangla Pastor's children program. It will be a lot to pack into one week and it will be HOT, but I am looking forward to it. Then, I will go on to Nepal, where I have a relaxed schedule for about ten days. Lord will certainly fill my days and there is a lot I need to accomplish, but no specific task or conference is on the program. I will spend most of the time in Kathmandu, with the five children's homes and two church programs we have there. There is some advance preparations for the medical clinics to be done, such as choosing, purchasing and organizing the medicines. Then, as soon as the calendar turns the page to November, our medical clinics start. The doctors will arrive from the US and we will begin a very intense schedule of traveling and holding medical clinics in different rural villages-- many of which never have access to medical care. Our Nepali pastors will be busy at the same time, distributing evangelistic literature and talking and praying with the people as they wait for their turn to see the doctor. THEN I will make a quick trip back to the US for less than two weeks before returning to Nepal for the Women's Christmas/sponsorship trip-- which will probably be added to the annual schedule. The team of women will be filling and distributing Christmas bags to all of the children in the program-- using the contributions from donors to the Christmas Fund. As we visit each children's home or church sponsorship program, we will be teaching from the Christmas story. Most of the children are from Buddhist or Hindu backgrounds. If they have come within the past year, they have probably never heard the story of the Lord's birth. What a privilege to be the first one to tell them how the very best gift in all the world came to us. And finally, we will do our sponsorship tasks-- taking new photos, updating our information on each child and trying to encourage each one to write a letter or draw a picture for his or her sponsor. It is a lot of work and I used to do it alone, but there are too many children now. I am thankful to have the team to help. Contact us if you would like to go in 2013.
