Orphans and Widows

Today was a real good day of connecting with many of our Nepali friends that we have been pouring into for the past several years. It began with pastries and orange Fanta on the patio of Hot Breads. Kamal is an 19 year old boy who has been living on his own since his mother died when he was 8. His father had already left the family with another woman and no one knew where he'd gone leaving Kamal and his twin siblings Sagar and Nisha (who many of you know) on the streets to fare for themselves. i was able to get Nisha into Shanta's house several years ago and have been supporting her ever since, but it wasn't until two years ago that we were able to find her two brothers. Now we are trying to help them with housing and steady work. Tomorrow both Kamal and his brother will loose the housing they have had due to the house boss closing down the building. They have been living there free of charge in exchange for working some hours in a restaurant and now they have no place to go. We arranged a time to go look for some possible rooms nearby their work, and we will see what we can do to get them a place to stay. After we met with Kamal we all went to visit Sanumaya. i knew from yesterday, that she was in need of some food, so on our way i bought 35 kg of premium long grain rice and a couple dozen eggs. The rice will be enough to feed her and her two daughters for a couple months. (not a bad investment for a mere $20) They saw me as we were walking towards her tea shop. Sanumaya got a big grin on her face and her daughter just laughed. i think the grin was because i was carrying a huge sack of rice on my shoulders and she assumed it wasn't because i wanted Dahl Bhat, and the laugh was because you never see white people carrying bags of rice on this side of town and i guess i stand out a little bit. :-) As we sat and talked with Sanumaya and one of her daughters, Sapana, i learned that neither Sapana or her youngest daughter Sarmila were attending school. When i asked why they had stopped, she explained that she had lost her job caring for her house bosses 5 cows due to some of her physical difficulties, and that she has not been able to make enough money selling tea to pay for the house rent, food, and the school fees. We talked for a while, and i told her that i would take care of the school fees if the girls would want to go back to school. Sapana lit up with a smile, and Sanumaya said she wanted them to be able to go back to school but had a significant concern that really sheds light on the plight of so many children in this country, especially here in the Thamel area. You see, both her daughters work doing house cleaning during the week. The youngest one brings in 1500 NRP while the middle daughter 2500 NRP (equivalent to $55) each month. Without that income, they would end up loosing their home and could not afford any other room and still have enough money for food. So she asked what she could do? Educate her daughters or not eat seems to be a pretty big dilemma right? My heart broke. This little woman works at her tea shop from 6 am until 9 pm 7 days a week and still cannot make enough to pay for food and housing. She works very hard and loves her kids so much, but has no education and after her husband died has struggled to survive. On Sunday i will take her to church with me and introduce her to Pastor Raj Kumar and make the necessary arrangements to take care of her house rent as well as her kids school fees ($20 a month). Please pray that as we seek to eliminate the pressure of meeting some of these physical needs, that God would work through this local church community to meet some of the emotional and spiritual needs of this family. Their oldest daughter, Paraboti, who many of you know, is now married and living in her husbands village with their 4 month old baby daughter. Please keep them all in your prayers as we seek to be the hands of Jesus with those who need a bed to sleep in and food to eat, as well as those who just need a mom and dad to tuck them in at night instead of having to worry if they will have a place to be tucked in at all. And most of all that they would come to know the love of Christ, the one who provides.

January 2010 Peak Team

This past January God put together a phenomenal team of students for the purpose of taking the message of the love of Christ to the people of Nepal, both in the remote areas of the Annapurna region, as well as in the big cities of Kathmandu and Pokhara. The team came from all over the US as well as our first international team member who came all the way from Bolivia. The team was very diverse in personality, but one thing was certain, they all were deeply in love with Jesus, had a desire to share that love with others, and as a team their diversity came shining through in a culmination of giftedness that made sharing Christ a powerful experience. When it came time to plan our outreach event for over 480 students at a remote mountain village school, Kelly’s creativity came to life, Claudia’s gift of evangelism was definitely loosed, and Kate kept us all focused, organized, and on track. The result was several days of clearly communicating the gospel of Jesus Christ with all of the students, the faculty, and many other members of the community. The relationships continued to deepen during our time there and God continued to lay the foundation for continued ministry in this village.
We have been going to Ghandruk for many years now and are beginning to see a powerful moving of the Holy Spirit there. Up until 2 years ago there were only 3 know Christians within a 6 hour walk of this village. Last year a home church was started about an hour away. This year there is a church that has been started a stones throw from the big buddhist monastery we have been praying over for many years. This church has about 25-30 regular attenders and just had a huge Christmas celebration where the entire village was invited. Many of the people we have been investing in attended this celebration and were asking more and more questions about what it means to be a follower of Christ. We are so very excited to be a part of what God is doing here. Our Peak Team did an amazing job of furthering the gospel in this community and i am so excited to be back there this coming May to do some teaching at the church, some discipleship with the villagers, and continued prayer with our brothers and sisters who call this place home.
We had a chance to sit down with one of the elders of the church on our last night in Ghandruk. As we sat around the bon fire behind our guest house we were able to pray for him and the church, pray over our friends who were there who do not yet know Christ, and continue to shine the light of the love of Jesus with them. One of the requests that was shared that night was for more biblical training and discipleship for the leaders of their church. They do not have any formal training or seminary degrees. No libraries or resources in their language. i will be working on getting them those resources through Desiring God ministries/Packing Hope, and will be planning some trips to help with ongoing training. Join me in praying as we seek to eliminate this need!

So He made a whip out of cords, and cleared the temple area...

This past January i had something happen to me that i had never experienced before but anticipate will occur more and more in the future. It both breaks my heart and induces a bit of a holy rage within me. As many of you know, much of the work we do in Nepal is with many of the young girls who are at risk of being trafficked into the brothels both in Nepal as well as places like India. Many of these girls come from poor families and are working to help the family make enough money to pay house rent, buy food, and maybe someday have enough to enroll in school. One one of the last nights in Kathmandu, i had been spending some significant time with two young girls aged 13 and 14 who were selling small purses to tourists in the Thamel district. Earlier in the evening, one of them asked me if i could buy them some break to take home for their families. i said i would come back that evening before they went home and get them what they needed.

At about 9:30 pm i headed back into the busy streets of Thamel to take these girls to the bakery. On my way to the main intersection, where the girls would stand selling their bags, i was approached by a young boy in his late teens. assuming he was about to offer me "hashish" which is a very common occurrence in this area, i simply ignored him. As i walked, he matched my pace and whispered into my ear, "Would you like a nice Nepali girl?". Expecting something totally different, i was entirely caught off guard by the words he had uttered into my ear. i had been offered a lot of things during my time in Nepal, but no one had ever been so bold as to offer me this. i simply ignored the boy and kept walking. He continued walking beside me, and kept rephrasing his questions in hopes that i would accept his offer. The anger rose inside me as i thought of the girls on the streets who we work so hard to save from this very thing. Finally, i stopped, turned to face him, looked him in the eyes and told him i plain and simple language that i was not interested and that he needed to "go away". i then turned and continued walking. To my surprise, my "warning" was unheeded and he continued to hassle me. i stopped three times telling him i was not interested and that he needed to go away. Finally, on my last attempt to put an end to his badgering, he got close to my face and said to me, "...but they are very young, very beautiful, and very good Nepali girls.".

i have often imagined what Jesus was thinking after He left the temple courts enraged at what He saw. i have imagined what was going through the mind of our Lord when in John chapter 2 it tells us that He went and made a whip of cords, which takes a bit of time i would think, and went and "cleared the temple". Moved by a righteous anger, He responded with actions that sent a clear message that this was not the way His Father intended things to be, and that this would not be tolerated.

Now, i am not Jesus, and do not claim that my actions always line up exactly with how Jesus would do things, but i do know that the anger and rage in my heart over the fact that statistics now say that in the small tourist area of Kathmandu, knows simply as Thamel, now house more than 30,000 young women who work in brothels as prostitutes was and is a righteous anger. i know that the anger of knowing that one young lady we got off the streets a year ago and into school has now resorted to working in such a place in order to "help feed the family" is a holy anger. i know that as i was on my way to pour into the lives of 2 young lady's in an attempt to show them the love of Jesus and the hope of a different life that the anger i now felt rising up within me was both a holy anger and a righteous rage. Now whether the actions that came where like those of Jesus might be up for debate, but there was a clear message sent to this young boy that this was not the way things were supposed to be, nor will this type of activity be tolerated at least by this particular "tourist".

Over the course of the next 3 days not only did i have opportunity to talk with the girls about this situation, but also several shop owners who witnessed the "interaction". i also had a couple exchanges with that young boy and hope to have an ongoing conversation with him when i go back in a few months. What this did do is increase my awareness of how desperate this has become, and remind me of how very important the work is that we are doing on the streets of Nepal. Over the next few weeks i will share with you some specific stories of young women who are at risk. i will tell you their stories, their circumstances, and how you can be praying specifically for the work we are doing. In some cases there are very specific things you can do to help get them off the streets, into schools, and provide a better life for them and their families. But please know that your support and prayers are such a huge and much needed blessing to continue the work that we are doing.

With an "impressionable" memory left on the "minds" of all those involved in this unfortunate situation, lets remember to pray for both the boys and the girls that are being lured into this devastating and destructive stuff happening all over Nepal. If you want to know more regarding the trafficking taking place in Nepal, please visit our partnership in Nepal, www.peacerehab.org
God Bless, and thanks so much for your involvement in this ministry!

Thanks,
Your sometimes imperfect (or not) representation of Jesus

For the Love...

God rests in His love Zephaniah 3:17 explains. He has no more complaints against us; He has extinguished every one of them in the Son of His love. “Divine wrath is silent, because love has hushed it. Divine justice is silent, because love has satisfied it. Sin is silent, because love has condemned it. Satan is silent, because love has vanquished him. God’s love has silenced every voice but its own.”

Oh what power the love of God,
To silence wrath on sinful clods;
Love pierced the heart of His own Son,
To hush the voice of ev’ry one!

Oh what power the love of God,
To satisfy and silence law;
Love bruised His Son in my own place,
To justice fill and give me grace!

Oh what power the love of God,
To banish sin and fill with awe;
Love stopped to serve and judge my case,
To draw me near to see His face.

Oh what power the love of God,
To vanquish Satan with His Rod;
Love conquered him -- my enemy,
To put to death all enmity.

Oh what power the love of God,
To rest and never be at odds;
Love stills all voices but its own,
To reign forever from its throne!

From the book Growing Up In Grace, by Murray Brett

Cap Haitian, Haiti

i just returned home from a return trip to Cap Haitian in northern Haiti. Amy Mulvihill, one of our team leaders and Peak instructors joined me as we spend several days working with Open Door Haiti. The ministry that is taking place in the village of Bois de Lance where the ministry is located is nothing short of amazing. Several work teams had been there working hard on the medical clinic, doubling it capacity and helping to create an on site laboratory so the blood work does not have to be sent out. They have also completed a tiled and painted computer lab. This is the only one of its kind as far as the eye can see. They are now working on an irrigation line that will bring much needed water to several acres of fields that they will use to provide food for those in the community that have need. So as you can see God is doing amazing things here.

Amy and i spent the first day working at the clinic. Amy helped to organize medical supplies, while i did rotations with the Dr. and got a better grasp on what medical and health needs the people in the village have. We talked about the prevalence of TB, Malaria, and that almost every person who walks into the door is suffering from a Urinary Tract Infection. The need for community health education is something we are working to help with through teams of nursing students from the Universities we work with as well as adult medical professionals who can go in an teach on community health issues.

The next day we headed up into the mountains for a time of worship and prayer. i wanted Amy to get a glimps of the villages up in the mountains where we hope to take Peak Teams to do relational outreach, and connect them with Open Door Church and Pastor Wiljean. Amy was able to get a great look at some of the villages and meet many of the locals, and a ton of kids!!

Sunday was a great day! i was asked to give the message in Church, which was an honor, and a ton of fun. Wiljean is an excellent interpreter, very gragarious and animated like me...so it was great!! We also experienced a couple local markets. One market, that in some ways would be like a farmers market in the states and in many ways nothing like the ones in the states, was just outside the walls of the church. The hustle and bustle of the local market is always a ton of fun to be a part of, especially when you the only non-local in the market :-) We also went to a market near the ocean where they have some arts and crafts. This is always a great cultural event that the students will enjoy being a part of.

Also while we were there Amy sat down with the pastors wife to begin to plan out a womens conference that they have asked us to help facilitate. This would take place a year from this December and would include up to 1500 women from all around Haiti. Amy will be putting together a team of women to go and train, encourage, and pour into the Haitian women from Open door as well as their two daughter churches and their surrounding communities. An incredible opportunity to share the love of Christ. The theme will be on Being Wholly His. What does it look like to be a Godly woman? What does it look like to be a Godly wife and mother? A Godly neighbor? All of these questions and more will be on tap for this conference.

The next day we jumped on a plane and headed back to the Cities. It was a very quick but very productive trip. We now will begin to plan out some possible spring break trips with college and university students as well as teams of medical professionals who would like to give of their time and talents to minister to these people. So if you are interested in being a part either as one who sends or as one who goes, please do not hesitate to give ma a call or email me at holywseat@hotmail.com.

Thanks so much for all you do to make this ministry happen. Your financial support, your prayers, and your love and encouragement are so very vital to not only the longevity of this ministry, but to my spirit as i seek to serve Christ the best i know how. God bless, and Much Love to all of you...Thanks so very much.

scotty

Heading Back to Haiti!

The second weekend in November Amy and i will be heading back to Haiti. Amy will be meting with pastor Wiljean's wife to discuss the possibility of doing some womens ministry training with the ladies from the church. Amy has had a passion for training and discipling women and God has opened up some significant doors for her here in the States and is now seeking to take this training to some of our partnerships overseas. It is an exciting opportunity that will open up a new genre of ministry for 212 degrees. i will be building a low initiatives course for the school of youth ministry, working with the health clinic there in Bois De Lance, and heading into the mountains making some relational contacts for our future Peak teams. Please keep us in your prayers as we travel, for safety and for all the logistics to go smoothly. We are very excited about the future of this partnership and the real diversity of ministry that God has provided for us. The potential for Kingdom impact is huge and we are so very thankful to Open Door Haiti USA and Pastor Wiljean of Open Door Church for allowing us to come along side and be a part of the great things God is doing there and to have the chance to go into these un-reached mountain villages with the message of the love of Christ. We will keep you posted on all that is going on, and thanks in advance for your prayers!!

scotty

Pastors Training in Nepal

Many of you know about the pastors training that we did last year in the rural areas of the far west Nepal. Well two of our trainers are back in Nepal doing a follow up to last years training, and the ministry has been fantastic. Tom and Dee Johnson are from Spokane, WA and are in Nepal right now finishing up a two week stretch. i just received an e-mail from Tom today that i wanted to pass along to everyone.

Scotty!!

Greetings from KGH in KTM. We are here after a week in Dhangadhi. Raj Kumar, Samjhana, Dee and I went over and had a three day conference with Pastor Pushba Raj, et al. All went as planned and our time with everyone was very sweet. A primary difference this time is Pushba Raj had the conference at his church. Yes, that little lean-to room we visited. he tore off the wall on one end and put up a huge tent; added some lovely potties outside, dug a few holes to cook on and we were ready for a few hundred people for three days. it was a great time.

then back to ktm and a day at Raj Kumar's bible school. we sat in a class of fourteen students and listened to the testimonies of about ten of them. words fail in trying to describe how moving that was.

today we are finalizing prep for the conference here. tomorrow we begin the three days at rk's church. Then a couple days on the road visiting pastors and home.

we are taking rita etal to dinner tonight. they send their greetings.

wish you were here!

T & D

Thanks for your continued prayer for this and all the ministry here at 212 degrees.