8/2008 - Nepal - Some friends passed on some fun costumes! You should hear Elijah say, "batman, batman."
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Hello again dear friends! We're still here, we would sure prefer that we communicated more. There is just so much to do. Monday begins the last week of school before term break. Chandra has officially agreed to help out again several hours a day. She will take Micah with her. Ryan is not sure he likes the idea, but is comforted by the fact that it should only be a few hours. When we came here we knew there would be plenty to do, we just didn't realize how much of it would come and find us. As Ryan's reputation with computers continues to spread opportunities to help continually pop up. Just a few days ago our next door (literally) neighbor, a German doctor, called Ryan at school to ask for help having not realized he was her neighbor, after a long introduction Ryan said, "Hi 'E', you know I just live next to you." It is a blessing and honor to help, but it can be daunting at times when we never know when yet another task will arise. Thankfully we are surrounded by amazing people and amazing grace.
9/2008 - Nepal - The view from Jomsom. That peak is called Nilghiri, if I understood correctly.
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So about Mustang: Some of you may know that Ryan travelled to a remote area of Nepal a few weeks ago. Ryan has suffered a bit of cabin fever spending so much time in Kathmandu. We both really appreciate opportunities to get fresh air and exercise but there is not much time for that. The kids are worth it, but they do introduce some limits to what is reasonable. We do get regular breaks from work, but we need to actually break. So, Ryan had mentioned to a few friends here that he'd really like to participate in some remote missions work. The idea of travelling around the country to see the sights is not too appealing, but an opportunity to tag along for ministry was something Ryan had really been hoping for. So he was invited on a week trip to Jomsom.
9/2008 - Nepal - Women on the terribly washed out road to Jomsom.
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Jomsom is a popular trekker destination. There is an airport there, so folks can fly in from Pokhara and wonder around the very alien land from there. Despite being our destination it was the walk that was the point. It was visiting all the places in between, praying, and meeting people. It was 5 Nepali pastors, our friend Jason, and Ryan. The pastors were looking for places to plant a church(es), and by the end of the trip Ryan was convinced that God had the same in mind for them. Jason's mission had appointed these pastors years ago, and Jason's perspective was simple, "we're here to support you."
9/2008 - Nepal - In Jomsom a young girl carries her younger sister (bhaini).
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One of the most difficult places to do this are among Tibetans in the places where they live. These pastors seemed to understand this as well as anyone. There are Tibetans that love Jesus, they just very seldom have the opportunity to worship publicly in those remote areas. Many of them actually move to a place like Kathmandu where they can avoid the persecution that comes on many different levels. Ryan was told a story of a girl who converted to Christianity while away, and upon returning was punished. Assuming he understood correctly she was was forced to pay a fine (not sure if this was money or some other punishment) and return to her family religion. The story was apparently well known in the Jomsom area.
9/2008 - Nepal - The road to Jomsom, this place is called Ghasa, I think. A very happy little girl copies the smiley Ryan drew on her hand back to his hand. Then proceeds to dismantle the marker and cover her hands in brown ink.
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The Nepali pastors referred to these people with two words, first the Takhali, represent a large portion of the neighboring areas. The second was the Loba. Both are more Tibetan than Nepali. We met with a local pastor in Jomsom and after several years he is just now up to 20 people in his church. All ethnic Nepali. Their hope is big, but God is too. Upon returning it sounds like they got several very practical things from the trip. First, they identified a few cities that they think would be suited to begin a church, whatever the ethnicity, and second they identified a need to involve their congregations in outreach. It was nearly unanimous that the pastors would like to visit again, this time bringing members of their churches.
9/2008 - Nepal - Micah is on his belly now.
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So as you can see Ryan really did "tag along" and we're grateful for it. He got to practice a lot of Nepali, while spending time with some really neat people. Here's some Nepali for you spelled phonetically: polkha: "blister", teala: "callous". So it is reassuring that all of Ryan's polkhas will become tealas... :-)
On to the family: Everyone is doing very well, thanks to the Lord! Your prayers are sure appreciated and powerful. Alicia won the first citizenship award in her class for the year! She apparently was very welcoming to a new student, so much so that the teachers gave her a certificate. She told dada: "I was kind, careful, and caring."
9/2008 - Nepal - Alicia and Micah napping.
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Elijah is losing a toe nail. A certain big sister pulled his bedroom door across his toe. Poor guy. Anyway, a bit of his twoness is showing these days. We still are incredibly blessed, but pray for him, that he will work out his emotions well at this important age. He is a very popular young man around school and Nepali folks like nothing better than carry him around and do anything he wants. He is just trying to figure out how that stuff works.
Micah, is just as cute as can be. He laughed for the first time a few days ago. He is about to rollover, and he is still very considerate of mama's needs... well at least he seems to be.
9/2008 - Nepal - Elijah in the yard.
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Ryan is really glad break is approaching. He is planning for a week trip with the 12th grade class (his homeroom) early next term, and working on some big infrastructure development projects at the school at the same time. He has been very blessed by incredible and proactive support from two other staff members that will be joining the trip. The destination was to be Delhi but as the expenses and uncertainties mounted they had to change plans and rework them to include Chitwaan and Pokhara. Ryan thinks Pokhara will be a much less hectic destination, and Chitwaan will be neat. He hasn't been there yet. Lots of olyphants (gotta love LOTR) and rhinos, and the occasional tiger! Please pray that Ryan's homeroom has an awesome time. Many of these guys have been to these places many times over, but they are doing it with their class this time. So it should be a hoot!
Chandra, as you now know, is working at school again. She is still very thankful to be spending more time with her kids and that isn't really changing. It will only be a few hours a day. She has recovered completely from childbirth and per Ryan is looking pretty darn good! She even just got her hair cut!
So again, and always, we thank our Lord for you, in all of our prayers for all of you! You make this possible and we do these things together.
9/2008 - Nepal - The 5 pastors, a few look dressed for church, but they were dressed to trek.
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9/2008 - Nepal - These guys are clearing a section of the road. Yep, those are explosives!
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7/2008 - Nepal - We did promise to post picture of Ryan's modeling/training debut... so here ya go. He is speaking to a group of Nepali teachers. The young man to his left told him later that he wants to be the best teacher that ever was.
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Doubts - another song.
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