This is a photo project I did for the school magazine and I wanted to share it with everyone. I think it shows a really clear picture of the hurt and love that I feel for the people of Nepal. Each one of these people in these pictures represents a place that touched my heart. I call this set "In their Eyes"

Looking Back: Where We Were Living

So I have realized that I have said very little about where we were living while in Nepal. We stayed in two cities. This is the first one that we were in, Kathmandu. It is the capital of Nepal and is, in one word, overwhelming. We lived in a hotel while we were there. The picture below is of the roof of the hotel. They put this beautiful tent up just for our use and it was where we spent most of out time while at the hotel. I loved it up there because it had an amazing view of the city on all sides. This roof was 7 stories up.

This is one of those great views I was talking about. This is the sunset from our roof-top on one of the last nights we were in Kathmandu.

This is Sara and I on a street outside our hotel. It is hard to tell from the pictures, but the streets are crazy! The first few days that we were in the city we were all overwhelmed by the chaos above us. It is hard to tell what sign goes to what buildings because they are just strung out over the road. Eventually you get the hang of it and then I found it fun. I really did enjoy the mystery of finding new places to eat, get laundry done, shop and email home. But as I said...this picture doesn't do the insanity justice.

He's the God of this City

This is my last post from Nepal. Sorry I haven't kept up on this this last week. It has been a lot of sessions with my team as we prepare for the transition home. God used us in amazing ways in both Pokhara and Kathmandu. We have learned so much about this amazing country and how to love it. God has blessed our ministry here and I look forward to hearing how God continues to work here.

I will share more stories and pictures when I get back to the US and recover from jet lag. We leave tomorrow morning for the airport. As a team we will have a 2 hour flight to Delhi, 6 hour layover there, 14 hour flight to Chicago and then I leave my team. Then I have a quick transition to my flight to Seattle and then to Portland. I will be back in Washington by 1pm on the 6th!

Thank you for all your prayers while I have been here! They mean more than you know.

Namaste for the last time!

Heading to Pokhara

Well a lot has happened this week. We went to a Leper Colony yesterday and God really used us to bless these people who hardly ever get attention from the outside world. They didn't speak any english so our translators had to help us, but a few of them have a relationship with Christ and they wanted to tell us all about it. It was so cool to not understand these men, but still be able to see Christ in their eyes. It is so easy to see the Light in this darkness.

I'm learning that the mission field is not an easy one. Obvious, right? Well it has been a lesson in trusting that God will provide the strength to get through every day. Even when I am so tired I really don't want to do anything at all. He is my strength in my weakness and through me I hope that the Nepali people will see Him.

Today was really fun and exhausting. We went on a hike through the mountains and got to marvel at God's creation. They mountains brought us above the clouds and then we got to walk through a rain forest, cliffs, corn fields, sheep herders and some small villages. It was long and tiring to walk up and down through the mountains, but the views were breathtaking and I took tons of pictures (which I will upload when I get the chance).

Please be praying that our 6 hour bus ride to Pokhara will be a safe one tomorrow. We are excited to see what God is going to do in and through us in the new place. Pray that in every encounter we will be able to glorify Him who sent us!

First Week of Ministry

So this week has been a roller coaster week of ministry. We have gone four different villages and today we went to an orphanage. It has been a wonderful week! God has shown and taught me so much about His heart for the world and how He can even overcome huge language barriers.

This is a woman that I got to share Christ with a couple days ago at a village called Hill Top village. She spoke absolutuly no English so I had to communicate through a translator. She was very interested in what we had to share with her. She said that her people had never heard this news about this God who had created her and loved her without asking anything in return. She is 40 years old and a mother of 1 and grandmother of 2. She said she wanted to accept Christ, but it would cause so many problems with her family and it would make her husband angry. I prayed for her through the translator and then talked with her for a little while. She is a great example of how afraid the Nepali people are to accept this religion. It is truly a total lifestyle change for them in every way.

Yesterday we went to a village that Royal Servants has never been to before. It didn't start out as the most promising day because is started raining as soon as we got there. We had to sit in the shelter of one of the very common town temples for about 45minutes. When is stopped raining we went out in groups of 4 and 5 to pray over the village. Then we went out and invited everyone to see our performance. A huge crowd ended up coming out to see us perform. Then we had a lot of really good conversations afterward. People in this town had lots of questions and seemed very educated compared to places we have been to before.

This is a very sweet grandmother who stuck close with me for most of the time we were in this village. She couldn't understand anything I said but she was so honored that I wanted a picture with her. When she saw this picture of herself she laughed and smiled for almost 10 minutes. She was showing her grandchildren and friends the picture that she had with the "American girl"

I had a wonderful time at the orphanage today! Everyone there was so happy and wanted to show us everything about their home. This girl wanted to show us her bedroom and then all us girls ended up having an impromptu dance party which included a traditional Nepali dance, one of the stomp routines that Royal Servant's dance team does, and a country western jig. It was so much fun! The boys played outside with the futbol.

The girls at the orphanage all wanted to do our hair so we basically had a salon.

This is a girl who I met at the orphanage today. She is such a sweet girl and we hung out together most of the afternoon. She has been in the orphanage for about 13 years. We are going to email and write letters so I hope to keep this relationship going.

When it Rains it Pours

I didn't think I would get another chance to update before we start our ministry here in Kathmandu, but I'm glad I am. It just rained harder than I have ever seen (and I live in Washington). I'm soaked all the way through, but it feels really good cause it is so hot and muggy. We just went out for an amaizing Indian/Nepali dinner for really cheap. I'm loving all the different foods here...it is almost my favorite part so far.

Today we went out for some more sight seeing. We went to two other temples. A Hindu and a Kumar temple. The Kumar temple is where they have a little girl who is the goddess. We got to see her and it was really sad. She is not allowed to smile and she is only about 8 years old. She was selected at the age of 5 and is there until she is about 12.

Please pray for our ministry as we start tomorrow. Not sure right now what we will be doing, but pray that God will use us to our full ability. That our team will work well together and that we would make an impact for Him.

I'm loving Nepal! The more I see the people the more my heart breaks for them. I have never seen such darkenss in my life. I'm really learning how to love like Christ and I hope that my team will be a bright light in this darkenss.

Have a good night!

Finally in Nepal!

Hey everyone! My team is finally here. Training camp was a great experience this year. Really hot and humid, but totally worth it. I have four lovely ladies in my discipleship group and they all get along really well.

We had a long trip to Nepal. We had a 14 hour flight from Chicago to India. Then a 12 hour layover in the airport there where I slept soundly on the flour. Then we had a 2 hour flight to Nepal where it was 11am. I think I am finally over the jet lag-thank goodness! It was kinda rough the last few days.

The hotel we are staying in is wonderful! And I'm not just saying that. It really is way nicer than I expected. I have my own bed in the room that I share with one of my girls. We have our own bathroom with a shower (that is not a typical American shower) and a western toilet (that is a real blessing).

Yesterday we went to the Muslim, Monkey temple here in Kathmanu. It was very interesting. We had to climb 365 very steep stairs to reach the temple and that got all of us panting for breath.

Kathmanu is a very spiritually dark place. We have not gotten to do any ministry yet because we are learning about the people and culture. Please be praying that God would guide us to the right ministries in His timing.

Everything about this place is intriguing to me. The food, the traffic (CRAZY!!!), the language, everything...I do love it all though and I think I am adjusting well.

Please continue to pray for good health for myself as well as my whole team. I hope to be updating this at least once a week.

Namestay!