"We are here to be the hands and feet of Jesus.."

Some of you probably already know that we made it to Nepal 11 days ago!! People here are still a little traumatized from the earthquakes (understandable). A lot of people are still camping out in tents because their houses are cracked, or they are just afraid to sleep in them.

Two days ago we returned from 7 days working and camping with about 20 others up in the village of Dandagaun with Iris Nepal. The houses in the village are made of rock and mud with heavy tile shingles, and nearly every house that we saw was destroyed. Our task was to help the villagers tear down remaining walls and to collect wood and rocks from the rubble. It was hot and sticky and hard work, but it wasn't for nothing. Our purpose is to be the hands and feet of Jesus, and to love fully, starting with their physical needs.  A lot of the people would come to our camp because they had injuries or even itchy bug bites:).  We had a camp "nurse" to administer care, and we got to pray with many.

Here are a few memorable things/thoughts from our time in the village that I have collected:

-God healed a man with back pain!! Yeah, God!
-The flys are really annoying but they make great alarm clocks!

-The camp dog's name was "Cat".
-Nepali food 2x/dayx7days.... Oh, yeah!

-We met some really, really incredible people who challenged us and inspired us in many different ways...Body of Christ.

-This quote: "Service unto men is service unto God." -quoted many times by some amazing teenagers, who came from difficult backgrounds but have encountered Jesus and were changed by Him and now minister so passionately.

-The same teenagers taught me how to cut potatoes properly. 

-Spiders in Kansas are wimpy compared to the giant speed jumping spiders we met in while camping!

Since returning, we got caught up on rest, laundry, and grocery shopping on Saturday, and yesterday we visited a lot of friends! (Yay!) Today we are networking and finding out what is going on around the city and where we can plug in and serve. It's so amazing just to be in the middle of everything and to see God working. The Nepali people are incredibly strong and joyful in spite of their circumstances, and we are just praying that they will respond to Him.  Thank you for praying with us!

Here are a few photos: 

Many tents were set up at a popular roundabout in Kathmandu.

Uriah got interviewed by BBC News in Thamel!

After a week in the village, we treated ourselves to some chicken & rosemary sandwiches at Soma!

View from the village

Worshipping at camp in the village!

Bhoudda Stupa, where we spent so much time at last time, was cracked at the top.

Love this...

Tent in the rubble