It's hard to believe we have been in Nepal for more than three
weeks! What a crazy, adventurous three weeks it has been.. It feels like we
have had to relearn everything: using the restroom, showering, cooking,
disposing of garbage, transportation, communication.. On a deeper level, we're
learning to love each other deeper, we're learning just how GOOD and faithful
God is, and personally, I'm learning the importance of seeing in the Spirit and
praying with the Spirit and not trusting what I see. It hasn't really been
easy, but I'm so grateful for this time. Also, we found a great place to sooth
our homesickness: The Lazy Gringo..REAL texmex!
Get in my belly!
A couple pictures from Boudha Stupa..
God has led us to such amazing
opportunities, including spending time at a children's home and a school, praying
bold prayers at the nearby stupa, still helping with the feeding program at
Banquet House, and the one we are most excited about: He led us to a beautiful
church family right near our house! We were all walking last week and a boy walked up beside Uriah and said
"Jaimasi" (which is the Nepali greeting between Christians). After a
moment, Uriah realized what he said and replied, "You're a
Christian!" And the boy said he was and he invited us to his house to meet
his family. That is where we learned about this church, called Fresh Fire.
Guys, we attended the church for the first time last week
and it was possibly my favorite things since we've been here. It is a small
church of maybe 30, and they meet in a single room in one of the buildings
about ten minutes from our home. They have welcomed us and loved on us with gifts
and much shared food and tea. We were able to pray for the sick among us and
God healed several because He's just awesome like that! Today, we joined them
for a prayer meeting, where we worshiped and prayed for the country
and for the church and for the sick and the lost for two hours!! Then we stayed
for tea and donuts and we got to laugh and joke and get to know our new friends. We already deeply love this body. I've never
felt so blessed to be a part of something, even just for two months. This is the CHURCH!!
God is also doing cool things through Uriah and his friend
Ezekiel from the church! They both love Jesus and are bold. Here's Uriah's testimony: "Today we asked the
Holy Spirit to lead us through Mandikhatar and highlight who he wanted us to talk
to, encourage, and pray with. We came to a lady who was 87 years old and had
some back issues. We walked with her to her destination and prayed with her
once she had a place to sit down. As we were speaking with her, her caregiver
came up and began to ask who we were and what we were doing. Ezekiel explained
we were led to her by the Holy Spirit and we wanted to pray with her. He then
invited them to come to church with us tomorrow. They will be there she said!!
As we continued walking Ezekiel took me to where his pastor works. He teaches English
at a Christian organization near where we live. Once we arrived his pastor
walked over to me and said, "Welcome! Do you mind sharing with my English
class a bit about who you are and why you are here?" (SAY WHAT!!!) I said yes,
of course, but was a little caught off guard! Turned into me preaching to this
class learning English for about an hour and a half. Crazy times!! After that
the pastor, Ezekiel, and I spoke about the church's vision and what is to come.
It was so fun just being able to listen and encourage and pray with
them!!" In the words of our DTS friend Johan: "COME ON, JESUS!"
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| Uriah and Josh |
One last bit of news is that the crazies to the left are
currently planning to take a motorcycle trip to Tibet in February! You read
that right--motorcycles. (Yikes!) It will probably be a short trip, but they're
really REALLY excited about it. They will be going with a group of guys and a guide,
and they look forward to seeing more of Nepal and experiencing a little bit of Tibet,
as well as the opportunity to release more of God's presence in that place. I'll be sitting out and enjoying an introvert weekend and
probably eating some more Lazy Gringo. Bueno. :)
Please pray with us:
-For the Church in Nepal..that they would be encouraged, strengthened,
and bold in sharing their faith as God guides. And for continued peace for
Christians in Nepal (no government pushback)
-For those who don't yet know Jesus.
-For health in our team..we've been fighting colds and stomach issues
since we got here.
-And finally, for Josh and Uriah in their planning and preparation for
this trip to Tibet. They need to raise some funds, get visas and receive God's favor for
crossing the border hassle-free.
THANKS for reading and supporting us! Don't forget, we'd love to hear back from you.. Let us know how you're doing and how we can be praying for you! Much love<3
Uriah has started spending each morning leading a Bible
study with a few men from our church, Fresh Fire. He also had another great
opportunity to preach on Saturday. He spoke about faith and seriously killed
it! :) He has also been hanging out a lot with his friend, Ezekiel. They do "treasure hunts" (ask God highlight someone to
pray for) and spend time at the local snooker/pool rooms. He also has been
playing badminton with some of the local kids in the area! 
