Mark and Julie - Adventures in Nepal

Dear everyone,
Well, Julie has done a terrific job detailing the first leg of our trip to Chitwan and Nawalparasi, and now it's my turn to wrap up the story and update you on our more recent history.

Before I get into all the details, I wanted make good on my promise of some 'Holi day' pictures. Thankfully, Julie and I managed to avoid getting dyed, but Prajwal and Debbie's son Deepak was not so lucky.

Needless to say, after seeing him and some other folks post-Holi Day, we were glad to avoid getting hit in our church clothes! Anyway, let's get back to our story.

So, having distributed blankets to some of the area churches in Chitwan, we made our way further West into the District of Nawalparasi, a region in many ways similar to Chitwan, but with a good deal less hills and a lot more forest/jungle area. There we stayed at the house of a local pastor and his family, and prepared for the upcoming area meeting. Julie and I were asked to share two messages each, all on the subject of Carrying each other's burdens, and taking ownership of one's spiritual walk. John was also asked to share a few sermons, in addition to translating ours as well. Practically speaking, that boils down to John Vanlal speaking approximately 90 percent of the time, so kudos to him! The meetings were long and interesting, the food delicious, and I can only hope it had an impact and encouraged the local Believers. Here's a few photos from the event!


Okay, so to be honest, this first one is actually from our trips to the villages, but I couldn't resist. This is a picture of a game that strangely all the Nepali children I've met know the rules to and like to play with me. It's called, "See how close we can get to the funny-looking white guy to examine him without him getting a picture or looking at us." Apparently, I won this round!




Here's a picture of yours truly giving a talk about Jesus' teaching about Him being the vine and us, the branches.





Here's my pal from the area meeting. He was the bravest of his friends (who he's gloating at from out the back window), sitting next to Julie and I and even touching my white hairy arms. He was impressed!






Meal-time at the area meeting. Amazingly, most Nepalis in this type of setting will relax and enjoy their meals while squatting. I tried this technique for a few minutes, and felt like an old man when I tried to get up, knees aching and ankles nearly locked. Different strokes for different folks, I guess!








This picture was taken to show off two different things - how humongous the cooking pots are for to feed this many people, and how awesome and tough-looking this lovely lady is!








In addition to meetings and sermons, they gave time for some traditional music and dancing put on by the youth, and that was a lot of fun.

Here's the wife giving one of her messages, a wonderful encouragement not to worry about God providing for us the things we need, but instead trusting in Him for everything. Nice work, Julie!






At the very end of the area meeting, we were given a couple of lovely gifts, like a hand-made wool scarf, some beautiful fans, but perhaps the coolest gift we got out of it was a wonderful sari (the traditional woman's outfit in Nepal) for Julie. Needless to say it was an exciting time for Julie, as this was her very first Sari, and I think you can see the excitement on her face as she wore it for the first time. The couple standing with us is the wonderful pastor and his equally wonderful wife whose house we stayed at. You'll have to excuse Julie for the midriff - you've heard what they say about what to do 'when in Rome!'




After the area meeting, our next job was to attend the graduation ceremony for a local church-sponsored women's sewing class. The ministry not only provides a way for women to have a good source of income and learn an invaluable skill for home as well as work, but also welcomes both Christians and Hindus (and presumably any other religious group who might want to attend if they are around), and is a great opportunity for evangelism and relationship-building. The women there at the ceremony seemed very proud of their accomplishment, and we were proud along with them for the hope that they had for a better life. After this ceremony, we were also able to go to a local shop and pick up several brand new sewing machines (thanks again to your EFM Christmas project donations) to start a similar sewing class in a different village, and we were also very excited to be a part of that!

So why am I only describing this portion of the trip? Well, I made a big boo-boo that day and left my camera at the hotel that day... my bad. Know that it was a great visit, and the sewing class ministry is a wonderful and effective one, even if I can't provide the photographic proof!

So after the whirlwind adventure that was our trip to Chitwan/Nawalparasi, we made the bumpy, slow, and thrilling journey back to Kathmandu where we've been until now. As you heard from the previous post, Julie is a bit worse for the wear, but she has been recovering pretty well from the trip. Her poor feet, although still pretty unattractive, are feeling a lot better, and should be nice and calloused by the time we have to make our next big journey. Recovery for her back has been slow-going, but we are really starting to feel like we're coming out of the woods, so praise God for that. She was able to go for a walk yesterday to Prajwal(Bob) and Debbie's house for dinner, and although she's a bit sore today from sitting as much as she did, it's a great leap forward in her recovery. Tomorrow we plan on visitting a local missionary who is a physical therapist, and she should be able to give Julie an alignment and some helpful advice for full and effective healing, so we are hopeful! We know your prayers have made all the difference in the midst of this process, so thank you!

That's all I have for now. I hope you enjoyed it! keep praying, reading, and commenting, friends! These are from Julie and I to you as a way of saying thanks!