Fall Trekking

I had a lot of fun this month trekking with some of our teens. It has been fun to introduce them to hiking, which I love, and seeing them develop their own love for it! The first time, I got together eight kids and we walked up a nearby mountain. It was a long walk, and some of them were not sure they could do it… but in the end, they were really proud of themselves, and I was proud of them, too. We had so much fun that day; they were begging me after that to go hiking again soon. So, we went again this week. But this time, our group had almost doubled in size! It was fun to watch the "experienced hikers" encourage and help the new ones make it up the mountain.

I was reminded that, as our life is sometimes a challenging walk of faith, we need to encourage each other to keep pressing forward, andremember that this present suffering cannot be compared to the good things God has in store for his children at the end of the road. And, we have a faithful leader, who loves us and paved the way—Jesus Christ, our Risen Lord!

"Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning it’s shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God… consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary or lose heart." (Hebrews 12:2-3)

Fall 2011 in pictures

S and G celebrated their birthdays for the first time in their lives this year!

Precious little ones... God loves them SO MUCH!

Our kids have been having fun this fall, jumping and running around in the empty lot behind our community center... We are still praying in faith for the funding for this property, and thanking God for those who have partnered with us for this miracle.

What you see here is a "ping." During Dashain holiday, these giant swings are set up all over the place, and kids young and old gather around to play on them.

We have the same birthday!

Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant will also be. My Father will honor the one who serves me."

Short Stories

The three following short stories are random excerpts from my exciting daily life here in Nepal in this past month. I hope you enjoy, and I hope these stories encourage you to look for interesting and funny things in the world around you... there are lots of things everywhere to laugh over, or cry over, as we have eyes to see.

Driving in Kathmandu
So, as I have been enjoying my new bike and driving around the city, I thought that it might be nice to share with you a mental picture of what the streets look like. It's a bit like off-roading, except that the road is the off-roading experience. Mountains, crevasses, deep chasms and cesspools... these are all usual road features. There are also animals (cows, dogs, chickens, ducks, goats) roaming around, piles of trash set up in random places, and pedestrians (who definitely believe they have the right-of-way) wandering lazily back and forth across every busy thoroughfare. And lastly, there are other vehicles. I don't think that most of these people passed the driving test. Honestly, I don't believe they took the driving test!
Anyway, it is exciting to drive around here, because every day feels like a video game. Who needs virtual reality games? Who needs "Fast and Furious"? Just move to Nepal, and you get to BE the virtual reality! If I haven't sold you on the pleasures of driving in Nepal yet, maybe this will encourage you: It is a great place to hone up your devensive driving skills. Every moment is a prime opportunity to practice defensive driving. If you've been mandated to take a defensive driving course, look no further than Kathmandu! We have it all, plus MORE: fun, excitement, animal theme park, dirt-biking, TV-thrills, speed... rollercoasters will feel boring to you after this.

Bus Boy
"Shmorshevaddaaddaaaaahhhh," he couldn't have yelled any closer to my ear without getting candy-flavored spit all over my eardrum! I turned to face him. A typical bus boy, probably about mid-teens, with sagging pants and all his shirt buttons undone. He had a huge lollipop in his mouth, which was making his speech a bit garbled. "Pardon? Did you say you are going to Baise Pati?" I asked. He shook his head, which means, "yes," in this part of the world. So, I hopped on his bus. Magazine pictures of girls were plastered all over the sides and the ceiling. With the volume turned WAY up, inside the bus, the effect was "Nepali pop music in surround sound." The driver turned around and stared at me. Typical bus-driver attire is: muscle shirt, shorts, tattoos (especially on the arms) and a constant cigarette. This guy fit the prototype. Meanwhile, the bus boy (the one who had yelled in my ear at first) wandered around outside the bus, looking for more victims. "Bagdol, Nakkhu, Baise Pati, Baise Pati, Baisi Pati!" People trickled on, and the bus started filling up. I settled back in my seat. I knew we weren't going anywhere until the driver was satisfied that he had enough passengers to make the journey worth his time. I looked out the window. A mini-bus flew past. When I say the bus "flew," I don't mean that it literally flew... it was merely speeding. A split-second later, a college boy flew past! When I say the boy "flew," I mean, literally, he did. He made a flying leap right past my window onto the back bumper of the flying mini-bus! Sometimes, buses don't wait for passengers around here. You have to be agressive when getting on or off. That sometimes involves running, lunging, leaping, diving... but I had never seen someone fly like this before! He flew at least two car lengths, I am certain.
I wonder how many people there are in this country (or in the world, for that matter) who could enter the Olympics and put all other contenstants to shame, if they only had proper training. Or consider our bus boy: he could be a great orator, if he could remember to speak without candy in his mouth. Or he could be something else. Maybe he is quite intelligent. Perhaps musically talented. But, how far will he go to reach his optential? Boys like him don't have a lot of options. If he is lucky, he will make his way up to becoming a bus driver.

How many people does it take to make an IV drip drip?
So, I was sitting in the hospital with my little sister (we had to take her in for an extreme case of giardia). She was extremely dehydrated, feverish/chilled... so, I took her into the emergency room, and, Nepali hospitals being as they are, let me just make a long story short and tell you, it was a long night! As I was sitting on my little sister's bed (yes, ON the bed, not BY the bed, because all the other stools were taken), I scoured the room with my eyes, looking for signs of people getting up off of their stools to go to the bathroom, or talk to a nurse or something. If someone did get up, that was my queue to race over there as soon as their back was turned, capture their stool, and then race back over here and sit calmly upon it as if nothing had happened. It was like a massive game of musical chairs. Made the long time waiting for doctors and nurses a bit more exciting for everyone.
Anyway, I was out of luck at the moment, so I was sitting on the bed. Our neighbor (on the cot beside ours) was an old woman with some kind of stomach pain. She had her whole family around her... probably her brothers or husband's brothers, or something. They all huddled around the bed together. One old man in the group glanced over at us (me and my little sister on the bed) and with a horrified look on his face said, "Hey, young sister, don't you see that her IV drip has stopped!" I glanced up. He was right. I tried to get it going again by rubbing her arm, but I couldn't get it to go. "No! No! No! You are doing it wrong! I know how to do it!" He pushed me out of the way, and tried doing the same thing I had been doing. Didn't work. "You don't know anything. Here, do like this." said another of the old men, and he started waving her arm up and down. "Hey, both of you get out of the way, this is what you have to do." Before I could say anything, five old guys had surrounded our bed, all greatly concerned and fighting over my sister's IV drip! "Sirs, sirs, excuse me. Please, don't worry about this. I will manage it." It was a good thing the nurse finally came along and saved us. The rest of the day was a fun juggling act of playing three games at once: musical stools, hide-and-go-seek with the doctors, and "keep away" with the old guys and the IV drip.

As I said, daily life here in Nepal is exciting.

worship

“I know now, Lord … You are yourself the answer. Before your face, questions die away.” -- C.S. Lewis, Until We Have Faces.

I have been thinking a lot about that song, “One day every tongue will confess You are God, one day every knee will bow… but still the greatest treasure remains for those who gladly choose You now.” God is God. He deserves all glory and all praise. He is ultimately the only one who is worthy of worship. And he does and will receive worship, even from the unwilling. His very nature does not leave us any other option. But in his great love and mercy, he has given us the opportunity to choose to rejoice in him and worship him.

“Rejoice in the Lord always, I will say it again: Rejoice!” Philippians 4:4

Here again, (as is the case so often with God), a command was given, not to make our lives more difficult, but for our own benefit. I am beginning to understand these days how this command/opportunity to worship that he has given to us is in itself a demonstration of His love. He knows that we are ultimately fulfilled and completely satisfied when we choose willingly to offer ourselves and rejoice in Him. There is no greater thing. God IS the treasure. God IS the fulfillment of every longing of our hearts. When we of our own choice give God what God is due, we receive that sweet fulfillment that he loves to give to those who come near to Him!

“If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water." John 4:10

I think I am not as thirsty as I should be. C.S. Lewis wrote a good description of this when he said that it is a tragedy for a child to continue “making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea.” Our human problem is not that we reach for too much. It is that we settle for too little.

"Whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, it will become in him a spring of water, welling up to eternal life.” -- John 4:14

I see a lot of "worship" going on here in Nepal. They call it "Puja." Lots of rituals: waving inscence, offering small plates of food and flowers, chanting prayers, ringing bells... kind of reminds me of Christians standing up and sitting down and standing up and sitting down and clapping our hands and folding our hands and raising our hands in church. Not that any of those things are bad. But in the midst of all the formality, are we worshippers? Where is my heart in all of this? Do I know and remind myself of the essential qualities of God and rejoice in those things?

Am I formally worshipping a god of my own imagining (that's not so different from all the idols lining the streets here), or am I worshipping from deep within my heart the God of Truth, knowing He is Everything to me?

Do I look at prayer as a means to another end, or do I rejoice in the time I spend with Him because He is the end? I am beginning to understand this: being with Him, seeing Him -- there is no other end; He is arrival.

“A time is coming, and has now come when true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshippers the Father seeks.” -- John 4:23

Easter in pictures

Above and below: Of course, what is spring without picnics and flowers?

Above sign reads, "Jesus Christ died on the cross and came back to life again for the sake of the people of the world."

Above: The Easter rally was fun, encouraging, and worshipful.

Above and below: Dressed in our Easter best, and smiling faces. It was a wonderful day, complete with an Easter egg hunt and delicious curry lunch.

Teacher Training Seminar

I had a lot of fun participating in a teachers' training seminar in a rural mountain village a few weeks ago. I went to a very small, very rural new Christian school with a few other teachers from the school in Kathmandu where I teach English. We gave two days of seminar on how to teach phonics, early childhood education, how to use arts, crafts, games, stories, and music for enrichment, and basically how to have fun and learn at the same time. The seminar was a lot of fun; I really enjoyed being with the teachers, and was honored (and shocked) to discover through the experience that I really do have skills to contribute! I don't feel qualified as a "teachers' teacher"... but maybe I am. I felt really welcomed and appreciated. The time went by really fast, and seemed productive. Of course, we were invited to come back again and give more training. I would love to help with future teachers' trainings like this one.

He is Risen Indeed!

The news is that Sri Satya Sai Baba died on Sunday, April 24^th. He had quite an international following, including many devotees here in Nepal. He died at age 84 of multiple organ failure. Now his body is being kept in a transparent box at one of his ashrams in Puttaparthi, South India. I quote from the BBC news report: “Sai Baba will be remembered as someone who inspired millions to lead a moral and meaningful life.” For the complete article, visit http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-13184124

And in case you were wondering, my title, “He is risen indeed” does not apply to Sai Baba.

So, how is Jesus really any different from a man like that? Is he any different to me? Or to you? Or is he just another great spiritual leader who inspires us to lead moral and meaningful lives?

I was reminded of the sobering truth just last week: the vast majority of Hindus see Christianity as just another of the many ways to God. Faith is the end in itself. It doesn’t really matter what you believe, as long as you believe in something. I was talking with our neighbor lady (thanks to Naye befriending her two grandsons who live with her!) and as our conversation turned to Jesus, she smiled and said, “Yes, we have many religions, but the same god.” Really? Is Jesus just another Sai Baba? Is “faith in faith itself” enough for us? Is that all we need?

As we celebrated Easter, I was thinking again about how significant it is that Jesus’ grave was empty. Have you ever thought about how foundational this is for our faith? Easter is unlike any other day in history! This is the day we remember that Jesus Christ rose from the dead!

The claims Jesus made about himself are significant. He said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6) and in the same conversation, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.” (John 14:9) Jesus didn’t claim to be “a god.” He said “I am the God.”

In the weeks leading up to Easter, I had a lot of fun with our children’s church on Saturdays, going through the many different old Testament prophecies that Jesus Christ fulfilled in his life, death, and resurrection. It made me realize afresh: Jesus really was a very unique person in history.

Jesus’ death was significant. He died a horrible, gruesome death. I don’t know that any religious group could be proud of retelling such an aweful death story. “Our leader was mutilated and mocked; he died the death of a criminal.” What could possibly be beautiful about a bloody cross?

The movie, Passion of the Christ was shown at our church on Saturday night (the day before Easter). We saw God’s amazing answer to our prayers when the church was PACKED full of viewers, many of whom were our unbelieving Hindu neighbors who were entering the church for the first time! Everyone was very respectful and sober throughout the movie. Although it is an aweful story, something about the crucifixion of Christ is really beautiful. Jesus makes it beautiful. There on that cross, Mercy and Justice were satisfied and point again to Christ. This grace that we find in Him is altogether unlike anything other religions have ever preached about.

But more significant than the death ofJesus is the resurrectionof Jesus. I quote Saint Paul, “If Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God… But He did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised… if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.” (1 Corinthians 15:14, 15, 17) Everything we believe hinges on this resurrection. If it’s not true, we who have given our hearts and souls to this gospel are to be pitied more than anyone. How sad to waste our lives for a lie! “If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.” (1 Corinthians 15:19)

Is it true, or isn’t it? Is Jesus Christ worthy of our faith or not?

“This is what was written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day. And repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.” (Luke 24:46-48)

The grave is empty. It was empty that morning, and it remains empty today. “Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep… for as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.” (1 Corinthians 15:20, 22)

On Easter Sunday, area churches gathered for an Easter celebration. It was a wonderful and joyful gathering. I was so encouraged by the worship, and seeing Christians join hands and hearts in prayer, praise and celebration of our Risen Christ.

Finally, Jesus’ gift to us, the Holy Spirit of Power, is significant. The Holy Spirit living in us is so precious, so vital, so real. Do you know Him? He wants to know you, and fill you, and work through you beyond your wildest dreams!

Do you believe in miracles? I will tell you about a miracle that happened this month. She is a little baby. The doctors told our Hindu friend “Debbie” that either she or her baby, or both were going to die. There was no possibility of a healthy delivery. She was too weak and had too many health problems. When her siblings announced this to our church, we began to pray. And we also began to visit her and encourage her. A few weeks ago, “Prasamsa” was born, a healthy and beautiful baby girl. And Debbie is also fine. Do you believe in miracles? They come in all shapes and sizes. A newborn baby. A powerful healing. A group ofweak and selfish people whose hearts have been touched by the love of God, transformed by the Holy Spirit, and made able to reach out in love to address the pain of people around them.

How could I respond to the neighbor lady’s statement, “Yes, we have many religions, but the same god.”? Unfortunatelly, my Nepali is not so good. But, I do know how to say, “No.”

“No, Jesus is different. He is not the same as Hindu gods.”

More than different; He is His own category.

Above: worshipping and praising the risen Christ at Easter rally, 2011 in Kathmandu.

A month in pictures