...X Y Zed!

Jaymasi!

So it's been a few weeks since I've been able to sit down at a computer. You get used to it.

The climb up "Angry Mountain" took about 8 hours to complete. I did the majority of it in true Nepali fashion, in flip-flops. Once we got to the top, Peter and I ate at the Pastor's house. We stayed the night in the church and the next morning we had fellowship. I gave a message on the body of Christ and how it's held together by love for one another. After lunch, we hiked down to the next village. It took about 2 hours, again in flip-flops. We stayed the night in the church that was there. That morning, Easter Sunday, I gave a message on the importance of the Resurrection. With out that single event, all that we do as Christians is meaningless and the Bible, just another stack of papers.

After coming down, I headed back to Kohalpur. I got there on the Nepali New Year's Eve. (Happy 2066 by the way!) We had a small "party." After saying my goodbyes I left for Pokhara. After staying a few nights in town, I moved into a village just outside of town. The name of the village is Gharmi, and it is where Mohan is currently building a training center for his Church Planting teams.

For the past week I have been volunteering at the local school teaching English of course. They gave me the title of "English Master." They are currently trying to persuade me to extend my visa for another year. While I am overjoyed that this door of opportunity has been opened, I'm trying to be wise about it. Please pray as I consider what coming back for a long term stay might look like.

I've also started writing about my trip, the things that have happened and somethings that I have learned. This is in addition to this blog and the journal I've been keeping. If I write about everything, I might have a book on my hands. hmmmmm

Greetings from Lother

Jaymasi!

So much has happened in such a short time. Where should I begin?

I managed, in my infinite genious, to erase all my pitcures from the first half of my trip. So what ever I have on facebook is all that I have. I did save a few to my mp3 player to upload later, but that still only leaves me with about half the pictures I actually took.

Chitwan Nat'l Park was pretty cool. Rode on an elephant through the jungle. Went on a jeep safari. I got close enough to a tiger to smell it's breath. It was a good time.

Now I am staying in Lother with another Tamang family. Ezekiel, the father of the famly, is a long time friend of Mohan. They use to do church planting ministries together back in the day. Peter, their eldest son, has been showing me around and taking me to villages in the area. He's one cool dude. He has become my Nepali counterpart.

Tomorrow we'll be climibing in the hillside for 7 hours to reach Sildhani, a village where Ezekiel helped start a church a few years ago. We'll be up there for two days, and then we will head down to another village Saturday evening. On Sunday, I'll be giving the Easter sermon.

Monday I will be heading back to Kohalpur to retrieve some luggage and say my good-byes to the Kamal family.

Some firsts I have experienced in the past week:
1) first time bathing in a river
2) first time washing my clothes in a river
3) first time seeing a rhino from the top of an elephant
4) first time looking down the throat of a tiger
5) first time praying over a pregnant goat

Quick Hello

Jaymasi!

First off I would like to thank my sister Kailee for helping me maintain a coherent blog. With out her you probably wouldn't be able to understand half the things I write as my English skills are slowly going the way of the water buffalo.

Second, thanks for all the comments. Time does not permit me the chance to respond to every single one of them. But thanks nonetheless.

Third, I'm heading south with the Tamang family to Chitwan on a family outing to the National Park down there. I'm looking forward to riding an elephant, that should be fun. From there I will either be heading to a nearby Church Plant team or I will just head straight to Kohalpur for another week. Either way, I'll be heading back to Kathmandu via Kohalpur in a week or two.

Fourthly, I've had some strange cravings of late. The strangest being grits. I happen to like grits, a lot, but I don't eat it often enough to have it be a craving. The other one is beef. Oh how I long for a nice juicy steak. LOL. Actually any identifiable meat would be excellent. In Nepal, when you buy meat, you don't really choose what part you get. When I was in a village outside of Kohalpur I sat down for dinner and was greeted by a chicken head. (Even though I ate fish heads, there is something about a chicken head that makes one loose their appetite.)

Fifthly, I hope all is well with you and yours. Feel free to e-mail me anything of importance (or non-importance). Family news. Job or school accomplishments. Your thoughts on the current administration. Something you read that you found really thought provoking. Whatever, I don't mind . I'm just feeling a little out of touch with (western) reality. andrewthepoet@gmail.com

grace and peace,
Andrew "Bal Bahadar"

A few pictures from February

A Himalayan sunrise. The view from the Frontier Missions Office - Kathmandu.

Pokahara.

Me on the way to a tibetan refugee camp.

Me in the Monkey Temple, Kathmandu.

There are more here:
Kathmandu
Pokhara