Blog 8 -- Worship in Pokhara

As I sit here sipping a hot cup of Masala tea, I am eager to tell you about our second day in Pokhara.  I have been so busy writing blogs for our read through the Bible in a year that I haven't had time to tell more about our Nepal trip.  Saturday, November 20, 2010, was quite a day for all of us and especially for me.

In Nepal, Saturday is their only day off from work.  So Saturday is their day to worship God and hold church services.  Of course, only 4% of the people in Nepal are Christian, so many others spend their Saturday working in their garden, gathering with family, or visiting the temples to worship the Hindu gods.
For us, the day began early as we awoke to get ready for church.  As I told you in my last blog, I woke around 2 am and prepared the Bible study I would share with the women after church.  Then I went back to sleep for a couple of hours before rising to get ready for the day.  We hadn't been up for long when we received word that Sasha was very sick.  She had been up all night vomiting and feeling miserable, so we weren't expecting her to make it to church that morning--which would have been so sad after all of her excitement to teach Sunday school and hand out the t-shirts she and Om Maya bought for the kids.  This would be our only church service while in Nepal, and we hated for her to miss it.

But God is good!  Sasha managed to get herself ready and make it for church that morning.  She was still feeling rather gimpy, but when you've flown half-way around the world you just don't give in too easily...especially when you're Sasha and there's children to dote all over.  :)

Michael and I went into town that morning with Rabin to a place where we could call our kids back home. The two of us squeezed into a tiny phone booth and enjoyed catching up with our precious kiddos.  Then we headed back to get ready for church.

Sasha and Gil came over, and we all walked a short distance down the road and around the corner to the church that Abraham and Om Maya planted 10 years ago.  We were so excited to finally be there!  We met the people and settled onto the floor for worship.  Then Om Maya's brother Arjun got up front with his guitar, and he and some others led the worship.  It was beautiful!  They were singing their hearts out, praising the Lord, clapping and raising their voices to God.  We loved it! 

An elder of the church who does most of the preaching and leading of the flock now that Abraham is gone got up and spoke (in Nepali, so I have no idea what he was saying) and led us in prayer.  They prayed just like the church-planters--all at once.  Such a powerful way to pray.  Then we had more singing as a young girl went around with the offering basket.

Finally it was time for Michael to preach and Sasha to go lead the children in Sunday school.

Gil actually started us off by bringing greetings from LifeBridge Church back in America and sharing a little about our church.  There were actually a few English-speaking folks there--some missionaries we had met at YWAM the previous night, some family visiting them, and some others that were visiting in Pokhara and had heard an American would be preaching that morning.  But for the sake of most of the group, Rabin translated for Gil and Michael.

Then Michael gave the message.  I don't know how he did it, after all the speaking he had done with the church-planters the last few days.  At least he had a day to rest in-between.  God definitely took over and used Michael to reach those people on the other side of the world with His message of love for them.

I didn't hear too much of the message because I spent most of my time over with the children, which was in another building.  It was true entertainment to watch Sasha in action with those children!  Ranjana (Rabin's sister) translated for us, and we enjoyed hearing them sing songs of praise to Jesus.

 Then we had fun teaching them "Jesus Loves Me" in English.  So precious!

Sasha read them a children's picture book about the birth of Jesus, which most of them had never heard before.  You see, most of these children have come to the church because of a phenomenal after-school program that Arjun and Pratisia (Om Maya's brother and sister) run at the church.  These children are poor, and many do not have basic school supplies.  So the church helps them in various ways.  This program was actually begun by Abraham and Om Maya while they were on staff at YWAM Pokhara, and you can read about the outstanding work of this after-school program at the link to their website from those days:  Abraham and Om Maya

For some of these children, this would be their first Christmas to celebrate as followers of Jesus.  Some of them were still seeking, not sure yet what they believe.  Needless to say, because of the after-school program and VBS programs done by this little church, children are coming to faith and then bringing their Hindu parents to church...and eventually some to faith in Jesus Christ.  Glory to God!  "And a little child shall lead them." (Isaiah 11:6b)  I love the way God works.

Of course, Sasha couldn't be around all those children for too long without handing out Pixie Stix (she could keep that company in business if she goes on too many more mission trips).  Then we handed out all the coloring books and crayons we brought--a total thrill for these kids.  Finally, Om Maya and Sasha handed out the shirts they bought for the kids.  Pretty soon there were kids running around with "Houston, TX" and "Jesus Loves Me" on their" shirts.  What a sight!  We definitely left our mark on that community.

After church and Sunday school ended, some ladies handed out Samosas (yea!) and this incredibly sweet and gooey treat made from honey.  It's like a funnel cake made from mostly honey, if you can imagine that.  Very sweet and very gooey.  Too much so for my liking, but the children devoured it.  I totally enjoyed the Samosas, however, which are one of my favorites.



Michael, Rabin, Gil, Arjun

 Then it was time for the women's fellowship.  The men and children hung around and visited with Michael and Gil while we were with the ladies, and Arjun gave his testimony for the guys.  But this was our time with the women, and since my passion is for sharing the Word of God with women, I had been eagerly looking forward to this.

What God had strongly put on my heart to share with these women he created and loves was this:  The Story of the Bent-Over Woman, from Luke 13:10-17.  I have to give Jackie Oesch, founder of the PLI Partner Program, credit for this, because she taught it to us on our first pastors' wives' retreat with PLI in 2006.  I have since had the joy of sharing this beautiful message for women at women's retreats and in Bible studies several times.  But this was my first time to share it overseas with women from a non-Christian background.

I'll share a re-cap of what I did with them so that what I share later will make sense.  God did something that overwhelmed me that day.  I still get choked up thinking about it.

I began with Psalm 42:11 (because Om Maya had shared with me the difficult lives of the women in Nepal)


Why are you downcast, O my soul?
   Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
   for I will yet praise him,
   my Savior and my God.


We talked about the things that can have us downcast in our soul, and how those things can cause us to become "bent-over."  The weight of our burdens, our sins, our damaged relationships, others' expectations of us, our inadequacies, oppression of the Enemy...many things can cause us to become "bent-over" in our soul.


Then we read the story of the "Bent-over Woman"


A Crippled Woman Healed on the Sabbath (Luke 13:10-17)


 ¹⁰ On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, ¹¹ and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. ¹² When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” ¹³ Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God.

 ¹⁴ Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue ruler said to the people, “There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath.”

 ¹⁵ The Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water? ¹⁶ Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?”

 ¹⁷ When he said this, all his opponents were humiliated, but the people were delighted with all the wonderful things he was doing.

Jesus saw her.  He called her forward.  He placed his hands on her and set her free.  What a Savior!

We also read Isaiah 61:1-3 and Luke 4:16-21--Jesus' job description in coming to earth.  He came to set the captives free.  That's exactly what He did for the crippled woman in Luke 13.  That's exactly what He does for you and me.  Removing our burdens and carrying them for us, washing away our sin and giving us His righteousness instead, Jesus sets us free.  We can now "straighten up and praise God."

Jesus didn't just heal her physical infirmity.  He healed her spiritual condition as well, setting her free from demon possession.  This is a common occurance in countries like Nepal.  We met many people who had been healed of demon possession or came to faith because of a family member or friend who had, so this story makes perfect sense to these ladies.

I then had us read through Psalm 40 in which David writes about God setting him free from the weight of his struggles, pulling him out of the pit and setting his feet on firm ground.

Then I had Om Maya ask them (she was translating for me this whole time), to share what has them bent-over.  I loved interacting with them in this way!  It was so amazing to hear women on the other side of the world in a completely different culture share their struggles.  We are all in this together, dear ones, no matter where we are or how we look.

We looked again at Isaiah 61:3 to see what our loving, redeeming God does for us.  Then we turned to Ephesians 1 to read Paul's description of our value to God.  In case you don't know, here is how you are described:

v. 3 - blessed

v. 4 - chosen, holy, blameless

v. 5 - predestined

v. 6 - adopted, recipient of God's grace

v. 7 - redeemed, forgiven

v. 9 - enlightened

v. 11 - chosen, predestined

v. 13 - marked (with the Holy Spirit)

v. 14 -  God's inheritance

vv. 6, 12, 14 -- for the praise of His glory!

That's some pretty amazing stuff God says about you, don't you think?

When we talked about the description in v. 13, "marked" (which in some translations is "sealed"), I had them turn to Revelation 22:4.  This one about took my breath away when God allowed me to "get this" during my early morning preparation for this study.  Remember, nearly all of these women were former Hindus.  Some were very recent converts.  For all I know, some of them may have not yet converted.  They may have been there out of curiosity.  They may not have yet been marked by the waters of baptism, not ready to take that huge step of publicly renouncing the gods of their ancestors, dying to their old selves and becoming yoked with the one true God instead.

How do you know a Hindu when you see one?  Right--the red dot on their forehead; and if you have recently been to a temple to worship, the Hindu priest has marked you with a thick substance that looks like a red wax seal (that, of course, you had to pay him to do...and it gradually falls off).  They are "marked" by their religion so there is no doubt to what belief-system they belong.  

Now read what God says about those who belong to Him through the blood of Jesus Christ:

"They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads."  (Rev. 22:4; emphasis mine)

When this hit me, I was overwhelmed with the goodness and grace of God.  These former Hindus, who had been marked all their lives on their foreheads because of idol worship, will one day have Jesus' new name on their foreheads forever!  They will not have to pay a dime for it, and it won't ever fall off or fade away!  HE HAS SET THEM FREE!!!

Only after our visit to the temple later that day and especially the next week in Kathmandu would I fully understand the depravity of idol worship and the extent of evil from which they had been rescued and set free.  Actually, I'm sure I don't fully understand it yet, and I don't think I want to.  What I saw was more than enough for me.  (You can read my blog on Dec. 6, 2010, "Blog 2 -- Hinduism and our Trip to the Temple" for more on that.  Just look at the archives on the left and click on "2010.")

So God had led me to close this whole time of women's fellowship with Revelation 7:9-17, which many of you know is the verse that has been part of my email signature for a few years.  This verse is so important to me, because I know Jesus won't return until all peoples have heard the Gospel, and that we will surround the throne with believers from every nation.

What was I thinking?!  I could hardly get the words out, I got so choked up!  Here I was, reading about being around the throne with people from other tongues, tribes and nations, and I was actually sitting and doing what I love most--sharing God's Word with women--from another tribe, tongue and nation!  I LOST IT!

The Great Multitude in White Robes (Rev. 7:9-10, 16-17)

 ⁹ After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. ¹⁰ And they cried out in a loud voice:

   “Salvation belongs to our God,
who sits on the throne,
and to the Lamb.”
 ¹⁶ Never again will they hunger;
   never again will they thirst.
The sun will not beat upon them,
   nor any scorching heat. ¹⁷ For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd;
   he will lead them to springs of living water.
And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”


Whew!  Somehow I managed to pull myself together after the first few verses and keep my composure through the rest of it.  But I will never read those verses the same again.  That's for sure.  I actually had them read some of it with me.  Wow.  I love God.


Then I spoke Jude 24-25 over them as a benediction, and we were done.


That was the most incredible thing I have ever done in my life.  I don't mean that what I said or did was incredible, but rather the experience of what God allowed me to be part of that day was incredible.  I hope to get to do it again some day.



We found Michael and Gil, visited briefly with some folks, and then headed back to the Lama's home.  Michael and Gil were ahead of us a little, because Sasha and I were giving some last "high five's" and hugs to the children.  Then I headed down the road, and finally Sasha followed behind me. 


I turned the corner onto the main dirt road, and...


I was frozen.  Shocked.  On the verge of tears.


I turned to Sasha and called her name.  She asked me what was wrong (she later told me my face looked like a ghost).


Walking down the road toward me, hobbling on a cane, was a BENT-OVER WOMAN.  I don't mean a woman with a hump in her back like older ladies I've known and loved.  I mean bent over at a 90 degree angle.  Now what are the chances of that happening right after I finished teaching on the Bent-over Woman to a group of former Hindu women on the other side of the world?

HALLELUJAH and GLORY TO GOD!  He got my attention that day.  It was as if He was saying to me, "Well done, daughter.  You did what I asked you to do.  I love you."


When Sasha turned the corner and saw her, she started to cry.  We both could hardly talk.  I went over to this elderly woman and said, "Namastay," to her.  She looked up as best she could and smiled warmly at us.  She was obviously so pleased to have someone speaking to her.  I placed my hand on her back and tried to speak kindly to her, which I knew she didn't understand a word.  Then Sasha got her permission to take her picture.


We walked away in total shock.  What just happened?


I have that photo on the end table next to the chair where I sit to have my time with the Lord each morning.  Most people probably think it's a strange photo to have in our living room.  I think her photo is the most beautiful one I have. 

Hindu children looking in on the mornings worship activities

Rabin and Ranjana Lama--our interpreters (the son and daughter of the family in whose home Michael and I stayed...in their room)

Blog 7 -- Day 1 in Pokhara

It is time to share more with all of you about our trip to Nepal!  On our third day there, we woke up very early to head to the airport (which is really NOT necessary in Nepal, because flights are NEVER on time but usually delayed by a few hours.  We got rather used to this, and personally I enjoyed not being in such a fast-paced, time-conscious country as America).  So Day 6 of our mission trip (without a shower yet!) was another day of travel. 

This trip was beautiful!  The Himilayan Mountains are so tall that we could see them out the window of our airplane during the entire flight from Kathmandu to Pokhara.  Pretty amazing.  The only not-so-pretty part?  Asha throwing up on me.  I think she had so much drainage from her runny nose that her body just needed to get rid of it.  Oh well.  When someone that cute regurgitates all over you, you just don't mind.

We arrived at the Pokhara Airport--a very small airport where there is usually only one or maybe two airplanes on the ground at a time...and sometimes none at all.  It was nice to walk right up to a table and collect our luggage.  Then we met Om Maya's younger brother Arjun, who had two taxis waiting for us, and we were whisked off to the homes in which we would stay.

This was a beautiful drive!  Pokhara is completely different than Kathmandu--not nearly so crowded, noisy and dirty.  Kind of like the difference between New York City and Colorado Springs.  The further we drove, getting into the more rural part, the more beautiful it was.  Om Maya pointed out the house where she and Abraham used to live when they worked with YWAM Pokhara and pastored the church they planted there.

Finally, we slowed down on some dirt roads next to very rural homes that belonged to the family Michael and I would stay with.  Fresh air, farm animals, bee hives and beautiful scenery thrilled our senses!  Now this is what we were looking forward to experiencing in Nepal!

We met Bir and Somjana Lama, Abraham's brother-in-law and sister, in whose home Michael, me, Om Maya and Asha would be staying.  We also met their son Rabin and daughter Ranjana, who would do the interpreting for Michael (preaching) and Sasha (children) at worship the next day.  Purdimaya, a friend from church whom Sasha and Gil would stay with, was there also to welcome us.  They served us...you guessed it (if you've read previous blogs)...dahl bhat and chicken for lunch, with a delicious homemade pickle relish.  It's actually not anything like American pickle relish.  It's a relish made from pickled peppers (and I'm not sure what else)--some versions spicier than others, and very delicious!

Then...drum roll please...I got to take a hot shower!!!  Yes, they had a hot water heater in their home, praise God!  Now, you need to know that a Nepali hot shower is nothing like an American one.  You do not stand under a shower head with hot water flowing continually all over your body.  You fill a large bucket with hot water, then use a cup with a spout to scoop it up and pour it over yourself.  I'll tell you what, though, when it's been six days without a shower, it feels like luxury. 

Asha got a bath too...but a little differently than the rest of us!

Unfortunately, after my shower and Om Maya's shower, the electricity went out (which frequently happens in Nepal).  So no one else from our team got to take one yet.  I felt bad for them, but since I had throw-up on me from Asha and they didn't...I didn't feel too bad.  Later on, we discovered it had just been the breaker.  As Om Maya frequently said, "Oops!"

 

That evening we went to the YWAM base for their "Friday Fun Night."  Om Maya really enjoyed seeing some of her old friends there.  Michael was roped into the games immediately, so we all had fun watching him play their goofy games.  Then we had a surprise treat--the YWAM staff was hosting a traditional Nepali meal that night, like their ancestors!  We went into a candle-lit room and sat

 on the floor in one huge circle.  Plates and bowls made from leaves were set before us, and...you guessed it...rice and lentils were served onto our plates.  We also were given chicken and rabbit to eat with our dahl bhat, plus a strange addition that looked really out of place--M&M's.  Several community drinking containers were placed around the room, and we were shown how to drink out of then without touching our lips to them.  And of course we ate Nepali-style...with our hands!



 

The staff were all dressed up in traditional clothing, the men wearing a curved knife around their waist, in clothes similar to a toga.  The women had on beautifully colored dresses and saris.  It was an incredible experience.  Bir and Somjana were both there because he is on staff at YWAM.

We walked home that night with a beautiful sky full of stars and the

mountains peaking down upon us from behind the trees.  I slept hard for a while--it was so peaceful in the Lama's home.  Then I woke up around 2 am with thoughts running through my head of what I would say to the women later that day when I taught the women's fellowship after church.

I can hardly wait to tell you about our time at church the next day!



a friend of the Tamangs, on our walk to YWAM, separating the rice from the chaff







Blog 6 -- 2nd Day in Kathmandu at Church-Planters' Conference and Children's Home

After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of Him to every town and place where He was about to go. He told them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest field. Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. Heal the sick who are there and tell them, "The kingdom of God is near you." The seventy-two returned with joy and said, "Lord, even the demons submit to us in Your Name." "... do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven." "Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. For I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it." Luke 10:1-3, 9, 17, 20, 23-24

Then He opened their minds so they could understand the Sc

riptures. He told them, "

This is what is written: The Chris

t will suffer a

nd rise from the dead on the third day, and

repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preac

hed in His name t

o all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. Y

ou are witnesses of these things. I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you ha

ve been clothed with power from on

high."

Luke 24:45-49

The apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders among the people. And all the believers used to meet together in Solomon's Colonnade. No one else dared join them, even though they were highly regarded by the people. Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number. As a result, people brought the sick into the streets and laid them on beds and mats so that at least Peter's shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by. Crowds gathered also from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those tormented by evil spirits, and all of them were healed. Acts 5:12-16

Those who had been scatte

red

pr

eached the word w

herever they went. Philip

went dow

n to a city in Samaria and

pr

oclaim

ed the Christ there. When the crowds he

ard P

hilip and saw the miraculous signs he did, they all paid close

attention to what he said. With shrieks,

evil spirits came out of many, and many paralytics and cripples were he

aled.

So there was great joy in that city. Acts 8:4-8

In Lystra th

ere sat a man crippled i

n his fe

et,

who was lame from birth and had never walked. He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly at him

, saw that he had faith to be healed and called out, "Stand up on your feet!" At

that, the man jumped up a

nd

began to walk. Acts 14:8-1

0

"It feels like we are

living in the book of Acts," was Gil's insightful quote after our first day in Nepal. Gil had the p

rivilege of interviewing 15 of the church-planters during our two days with them, and it

was fun to watch his excitement about their stories. In fact, he was so

moved by their stories that he felt he must speak to them at the conference the next day. He wanted them to know how much t

heir sacrifice and labor for the Lord had encouraged him, even though we were the ones coming to Nepal to encourage them. I dar

e say Gil's faith will never be t

he same again. I can hardly wait to re

ad all those stories when he gets them typed and put together. I will be sure to share some with you!

What I can share, however, is that what God is doing among the believers in Nepal loo

ks very much like the early church in the book of Acts. When you first hear about people being healed and demons being cast out, you think, "Yea right. That sounds like something embellished to gain converts and im

press people." Either that, or you think that must

be a rare experience that happened

to a few people.

But when you encounter one person after another,

after anothe

r, after another who all share the same kind of miraculo

us stories--and then you begin meeting these people who were healed or had a demon cast out of them--your eyes become wide-o

pen to the fact that this is the reality of the new Ch

ristian church

in

Nepal. It was so incredible to be right in the middle of it! I will share some specific stories in upcoming blogs.

So on our second day in Kathmandu, Michael did more teaching with the church-planters, Gi

l

spoke words of encoura

ge

ment

to them, and Sasha

and I

went

to the Children's Home to paint. Mark was

so g

racious to

le

t the ladies (i

ncluding Bhakti) do the work while he looked on to encourage, take photos, and inspec

t our quality.

Hmmm. Well, he

did mix the paint for us (which wa

s thick as molasses and ne

eded water added to it), and finally picked up a brush to help later that afternoon.

I wore my 72 shirt that day, knowing that I would probably g

et paint on whatever I wore (and I knew I could get a

nother

one back home), and boy did Nepal ever leave its mark on

our 72! My shirt has to be the most authentic 72 shirt of them

all now!

In case you don't know, our LifeBridge 72 shirts are bas

ed on

the Luke 1

0 passage quoted at the beginning of th

is blog (when Jesus sent

out the 72), and we wear them when we are out serving and loving in Jesus' name

. Mine now has the true m

arks of service and love...and Asian Paints. :)

Around noon, we loaded up in the taxi and went to get Michael and Gil for lunch. I was so thankful that a lunch had been prepared for us at Lazarus' church so I didn't have to go to a restaurant covered in paint from the top of my head to the tips of my toes! Lazarus sure did get a surprise when he saw u

s covered

in paint. We enj

oyed yet another meal of rice and lentils with chicken (dahl bhat; dahl--lentils, rice--bhat; this is the third me

al of it now--every lunch and dinner so far). I forgot

to mention that we went back to that great little internet cafe for breakfast and to talk on the internet with family, so at least we had Americ

an fare for breakfast both mornings.

After lunch, Michael went with us to the Children's Home

while Gil stayed to interview more pastors. As I mentioned in my last blog, little Bikash totally warmed up to Michael. Michael picked him up when we first arrived at the home, and Bikash melted into his shoulder and stayed that way for about an hour. Then Sasha held him the same way for a while, then it was my turn. Bikash now likes white-faced foreigners. :) In fact, the poor little guy cried every time we set him down. It broke our hearts to leave him later that day!

While painting at the Children's Home, I got into a conversation with Bhakti about some

health issues of hers. She showed me a rather large, dark scar on her leg from a bus accident years ago, and then explained how fortunate she is to be alive and still have that leg. Imagine the traffic of a large inner-city, but withmost people actually walking in the streets or riding bicycles amongst all those vehicles (along with some cows and goats), no emissions regulations, no posted speed limit, no lines to designate lanes (there are no lanes--you just drive straight at each other until the last minute, then somehow pass around each other, kind of like "chicken"), and the rule that you must honk your horn so people know you are coming up behind them, and you will have a pretty good picture of the typical road scene in Kathmandu.

Bhakti explained to me that when a bus hits a person walking in the streets, the driver will quickly throw it into reverse and back over the person because it is less expensive to pay for a funeral than for medical bills. Can you imagine? When she was hit many years ago, God graciously provided someone to get her out of the way quickly so that her life was spared. The doctor didn't give her much hope for her leg, though, saying he would have to amputate.

She was so ill from the effects of the accident, because it also injured her abdomen. Yet she shared the story of how God came to her in a dream while she was sleeping. She saw God massaging her leg. The next day, when the doctor examined her leg, he gave her the good news that it would heal and not need to be amputated! She still has that scar and some abdominal pains every now and then, but she is a healthy woman caring for nineteen children every day! Glory to God!

Besides painting, Sasha and I also had fun placing some goodies on the children's beds. One of the beautiful older girls

named Sangita took us around and helped us with this task. We hung out with the kids in the study room, too, which was fun that day because they were done with their exams. They were all in such high spirits! Michael got to interact with them as well, and he took that precious video of them singing to him (in the last blog). Mostly, though, he held sweet little Bikash.

Sasha's pixie sticks were always a hit!

We didn't want to leave, but we knew we had to get back and get ready for the closing worship service with the church-planters. So we sadly said good-bye (we would have to do this so many times in the coming days while traveling around Nepal, and it was the hardest thing we had to do). Our driver whisked us (as much as you can whisk down bumpy dirt roads around cows and goats) back to the hotel, where we changed clothes--Sasha and I trying as much as possible to get all of the paint off our arms and feet and out of our hair. We had all of five minutes to do this!

Then we headed back to be with the church-planters for a beautiful time of worship (video clip) and fellowship. I absolutely love the way they worship and pray! They sing with passion for the One who has saved them, whether they know the song or not. When they pray, they all pray simultaneously for a while. Then everyone will gradually stop until it is almost silent. At the end, one designated person will pray to close the prayer. These are no short prayers either, and they are beautiful! I absolutely loved doing this every time we had prayer. It is not intimidating, like praying out loud as we do, because everyone is praying at the same time. So no one knows what anyone else is saying. You can just pour your heart out to God while everyone else does the same! There is something so incredible about hearing all of those voices joined in prayer together.

Michael gave a great closing message to all the pastors gathered. It was hard to believe our time with them was coming to a close after only two days! These were some pretty amazing men.

Holy Communion was a very beautiful experience that night. Michael consecrated the elements as usual, then he and Lazarus handed out the bread and juice (Christians in Nepal do not drink alcohol at all) to every single person. We all held our elements in our hands until everyone had theirs, then we "ate and drank" at the same time, all 50+ of us. What a picture of the unity of believers!

When it came time for the benediction, all the men got out of their chairs and knelt down on the ground with heads bowed as in prayer, so our team followed suit. Then Michael spoke the benediction over them. Wow. Such a powerful way to receive those precious words from God.

Lazarus and his wife presented each person on our team with some gifts. You will see in the photo at the beginning of this post that we were adorned with beautiful garlands made from flowers. This seems to be a common practice in Nepal for special guests. The men received topis (the traditional Nepali hat many of the men wear), a Gurkha knife (the official military knife of Nepal), a Nepali drum (yea!--the one thing Michael wanted to get while we were there!) and a Nepali flag. The ladies received a Nepali flag and a photo album covered in beautiful Nepali cloth--perfect for all the photos we would be taking.

After the service we shared a meal and a great time of fellowship up on the roof. In addition to another delicious meal of dahl baht (four meals in a row now, excluding breakfasts), we were treated to fried chicken--Nepali KFC, as Lazarus joked (not really--those hard-working women on the roof fried that delicious chicken for us). Lazarus and his associate pastor (who is from Korea, I believe) explained to us that a KFC recently opened in Kathmandu. It is their first ever, and one of his kids waited in line for four hours to get a piece of fried chicken the day it opened!

Someone also told us they have a Pizza Hut, and of course we found Coca Cola and Pepsi products all over the country, even in the remotest places. As Joel Vestel mentions in his book Dangerous Faith, Coca Cola has managed to infiltrate every place on the face of the earth (he has been to many of the remotest, too). Yet there are still people groups and countries in which people have never heard the name of Jesus Christ. How messed up is that?

It tells me that we as the Church need to rise up and do a more outstanding job of spreading the Word of the Living Water than a mere soda company does with marketing a product that will just make them thirsty again. "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." (John 4:13-14) We need to get busy offering this Living Water to the millions of people whose souls are still thirsting for the only One who can fill and satisfy them! See Isaiah 55 for more on that.

As we closed our time with the pastors, we handed out the bags of toiletry items LifeBridge folks had purchased for them (thank you to each of you who took those bags and filled them--it really blessed these men). Then we said our good-byes and our "Jay Mahsee"s (men speak this greeting/farewell, and then shake each other's hands, but they only speak the greeting to women...no touching of hands or hugging, which was hard to get used to but we knew we needed to follow custom).

So Sasha and I hugged every woman and child we had the chance to because we are huggers by nature. :) Sasha especially hit it off with the woman in charge of cooking the meal. I thought that woman was going to kiss her all over her face! I think Sasha hit it off with pretty much everybody on our trip. She is definitely a good person to be with if you want to get to know everyone. We loved that about her!

We went back to our hotel, met for a debriefing to share powerful stories from the day and read more notes of encouragement from our church family, and make plans for our departure early the next morning for Pokhara. We had much rearranging to do in our luggage because we needed to only take a small suitcase and backpack with us to Pokhara and then to the remote villages. So we all stayed up for a while trying to rearrange and cut back to the bare necessities, hoping we would have enough clothes and supplies to get us through the next six days. I have never packed so light and simple!

I was so proud of the work for the Kingdom that Michael did on this first leg of the trip. I know he already felt as if he had been "poured out like a drink offering," to quote Paul's words, and he deserved to feel so. If he had done nothing else for the remainder of the trip but the teaching of those 40 church-planters who are taking the message of Jesus Christ into new territory for the Gospel, that would have been beyond sufficient. I have no doubt these words were spoken from God's heart to Michael's: "Well done, good and faithful servant." (Matt. 25:21)