May 20, 2015 Praise God that we have collected enough money to begin repairs, starting with the most pressing matters and as more money is collected, we will complete the work. The Nepali government has ordered a country wide mandatory school closing for 15 days so every school can be [...]
Due to the recent earthquake in Nepal, our home there is in need of repair. If you feel led to donate toward our home in Nepal, please use the PayPal button below and specify "Nepal Earthquake Repair" where it says "Add special instructions to the seller" during checkout. Thank you! [...]
January 29, 2015 Every time I travel to Nepal, I see changes. This is a country on the move; a country trying to break into the 21st century and many of the citizens are working for improvement. My last visit was 10 months ago. In that short period of time the main roads around the city, from the airport, and into the main business districts, have been widened. The potholes have been filled and the rubbish hauled away. Nepal has been notorious for it’s piles of trash and waste filling the streets and storm drains, and now, trash is the exception rather than the rule! I haven’t seen any cows since my return. That may sound like a peculiar statement but in the Hindu religion cows are sacred. The roads in Nepal have always had an abundance of roaming or sleeping cows – animals with no fear of cars or awareness that moving vehicles had to dodge them at every turn. I don’t know where the cows are kept these days, but they no longer have the right‐of‐way on the city streets! Besides trash and cows, there is another thing that is blatantly missing – street children and beggars. Both of these disadvantaged people groups have previously held center stage in the city and outlying areas around Kathmandu. They were impossible to miss. Small groups of dirty, homeless children would be clustered on street corners, outside of hotels and restaurants, and knocking on taxi windows with the more assertive ones asking for a handout. Tattered beggars, mostly people with physical deformities, were prevalent around town as well. Today there isn’t a one to be found. I’ve been told the government has herded them away somewhere so they won’t be seen. Tourists and nationals alike felt uncomfortable being exposed to such ‘undesirables’. A first time tourist could visit Kathmandu and not see or comprehend the real poverty, the real story of this country. Progress is good, but I hope that as Christians we aren’t covering our eyes or hiding from the needs of others. “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: you shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:30, 31
January 26, 2015 Pashupatinath is Nepal’s most sacred Hindu site. Its temple to Lord Shiva, dating back to 400AD, is regarded as the most sacred in the world. Pashupatinath rests on the bank of the Bagmati River, which is considered holy by Hindus and Buddhists. Today, on this spot, was a small knot of people, giving respect by attending a funeral for a young girl named Shristri. In Nepal, all people are cremated; no cemeteries dot the countryside. According to Hindu tradition, the dead must be dipped 3 times in the Bagmati River prior to cremation. The body is placed on a concrete pillar where wood is stacked in neat formation, alternating direction with each layer to allow for air circulation. Marigold flowers and petals are scattered liberally on the final layer of wood before the chief mourner lights the funeral pyre. Hours later, the ashes are swept into the river and the chief mourner takes a holy‐river‐bath for spiritual purity. Shristri had a traditional Hindu funeral because she was from a Hindu nation but we praise the Lord that she had learned the truth about God, salvation and death. May she be raised up from this earth when Jesus comes to gather His own!!
We have new children at St. Devi's Academy - praise God! Now we need sponsors for each one of them! Is God calling you to sponsor?
First of all, I am very thankful to my sponsor, Jan, as you helped me to change my life by giving me a quality and better education. I always remember you in my prayers to the Lord. I pray with the Lord for a good and long life for you. [...]
Water is an issue in Kathmandu and India. In Kathmandu the wells run dry frequently, which is the case at St. Devi’s Academy. One of the attractions of Kalimpong, in the hill country of Northeast India, is water. But now, even in Kalimpong there is no water. It has not [...]
The child was frail and ragged that day As she crouched down low to make her way. The streets were typical of the seedy slums. She leafed through the garbage for any little crumbs. She dodged the puddles from the recent rain, As she tried to forget her hunger pains. [...]
Many of our children have a parent(s) who is an ‘unskilled laborer’. People have told me that if a child has a parent(s), especially a working parent(s), then the child should not be in our home. Let me explain what ‘unskilled laborer’ means. Many goods are piled precariously on 50 year [...]
There has been no power for days. I found a coffee shop with both power and Internet access so I spent the past hour checking emails while charging my laptop. On the walk back to my hotel I dodge cars, motorcycles, bicycles and hoards of people. I must be alert to avoid [...]