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!

Off to Training Camp!

So this is my last post from the US. Next time you will be hearing from me will be from Nepal! Tomorrow I leave for Training Camp where our team will be meeting up. This first week will be just Staff (college age leaders) and our team leaders. We will start to learn the dynamics of the group and how we work together before the students arrive. The students (high school age) will arrive next weekend and I can't wait to meet them! Being a D-Group leader (small group leader) was pretty much the best part of my trip last summer to Ireland and I am so excited to do it again!

Please be praying that...

-these next two weeks for safety traveling from Washington to Chicago and then to training camp.

- We would all have lots of energy at Training camp.

- I would have wisdom to lead my D-group.

- The rest of my funds will come in by June 30th

I look forward to updating you all on the events of camp from Nepal!

Provision

1 Peter 5:6-11 really stands out to me today as I think about how great God's power is and how He really will provide for my needs. This passage talks about how if we put ourselves under His mighty hand He will protect, comfort and provide for all our needs. And because He is here we can cast all our fears and anxieties upon Him. This weekend I really needed to do that because I still had so much money to raise for the trip. I knew in my head that God was going to provide, but I still carried those fears of "what if...". This weekend some of you may have see that I was commissioned for my trip. I was so grateful that Gateway did this for me and Sarah because it just showed me that I'm not in this alone and that the Body really is behind us. I ended up getting over $700 in support just this weekend. That means that I only have a little under $1000 to raise and I know that God is bringing it in. I really have no worries now that it will get covered in full!

I want to thank everyone who supported me financially this weekend! I don't even know some of you and to have to help me in this way means so much. I wish I could thank you all in person again, but that just isn't going to happen right now. Just know that your gift is helping me follow God and His plan for me. I couldn't do it without you.

And to everyone else who is on my prayer team; I want to thank you as well. I feel the weight of this trip and knowing that there are friends out there praying for me is so encouraging. Thank you!

I'll post one more time before I leave on Friday morning for training camp. Please notice that I put up information about writing me while I'm in Illinois. I don't have an address for where to write me in Nepal yet, but I'll put that up as soon as I can.

Ten Day Count Down!

Hey there everyone! Today marked the beginning of the ten last busy days I'm home before I take off. I can't believe it is so soon! I have so many things still to do and get done. Pray that I will have energy to get all of it done without stressing out.

At this point I am still $2,162 away from the goal. As I have said, I have complete faith that it will come in. If you are interested in making any donation, even if it is just a few dollars please go here. I'm so grateful for everyone who has joined me both financially as well as in prayer for this trip. I can't wait to meet my team and start ministering to the people of Nepal!

Namasté (Nepali for "goodbye")!

A Successful Memorial Day

So as the trip draws near I'm finding that I have way more to do than I anticipated. With that in mind, I'm going to keep this update short so that I can go to sleep and start the busy schedule again. Today was a very successful day (as the title of this update would imply) of purchasing nearly 90% of the items for the trip. Sarah (my good friend who is going to Nepal with me) and I started out at Walmart and I am proud to say that I got almost everything on the list for under $70!

I was happy then, but the day was just getting started. Thanks to Sarah's wise mother's advice we headed to Value Village and found to our great delight that there was a 50% off sale! Now this is always a good find when arriving at a store. But when you find an amazing pair of Columbia capris that are marked at $5 and then cut that in half...lets just say it made my day!

Thats the update as of today. Happy Memorial day!

Exactly One Month

Well, in a month I will be leaving for Training Camp and I can't wait! I get emails twice a week from the finance department at Reign Ministries and I got on this morning. I have about half way to go on my fund raising. Please be praying that the money will come in. I have been working hard since I got out of school last week so I can say that I'm doing my part. God has been so faithful in bringing work my way. I literally have been working every day this week and I'm so grateful! I didn't know how I would be making money once I got out of school because there aren't many places that want to hire someone for a month.

God really has been providing for this trip. In April I got a scholarship though my school (Multnomah University) for $200! To add to this I have had an amazing show of support from both my friends and family. There have been some amazing stories of those who didn't even know I was going on a trip, but God just placed in on their hearts to give me money. This is just evidence to me that God is a God of provision and blessing! He will provide for the needs of those who trust in Him. I know that sounds "churchy" but from me it is just becoming a way of life.

Last week I booked my domestic flight to get home from Chicago at the end of the summer. The way Royal Servants trips work is that all the teams fly into Chicago at the end of the trips and then each person goes the rest of the way home on their own. I will be flying into Portland around 1pm on August the 6th. That was a big thing to get off my long list.

To-do List:
-Mail various forms into Royal Servants
-Get shots (not super excited for this, but really, who ever is?)
-Go shopping for all my supplies for the summer

I'll continue to put stories of how God provides for this trip. I hope it is encouraging to you because I feel selfish keeping these blessing to myself. I hope that God is blessing and encouraging you as you trust in Him!

32 Days

In just a little over a month I will be getting on a plane in Portland to fly to Chicago, IL. This will be the start of my adventure in Nepal. I go to Chicago for training camp. This is where my team will learn how to work together, understand each other and prepare emotionally and spiritually for our trip.

I will be keeping this blog up to date throughout the trip. Please "follow" this blog and continue to pray for God's provision, wisdom and vision for this trip and my role in loving the people of Nepal.

Thank you!