Surkhet and All The Rest

Apologies for the no-blog! 

Since the last blog we have been to a country village, a village on the plains near the Indian border and a village in the mountains above Pokhara.

It would be far to comprehensive to write all of our experiences, so instead I will give a highlight of each week.

The country village was wonderful.  We were welcomed into the pastors own house for a 5 day stay, receiving God given hospitality and eating the BEST dhal bhat!  This week we worked with the Toilet Project, which we had fund-raised for at Christmastime.  We were able to bless the village with 20 toilets, 5 of which were in construction during the week.  As a team, we were not able to help out as much as we wished, but that meant that the local resources were used a lot more, which is always a good thing.  All in all, we can be extremely happy with what we did in this village, and so can all who supported us!!  We blessed many people with clean places to go to the bathroom, which creates better sanitation for many families.

The village in the plains was another amazing week.  We stayed in a house, which was also the church, and again were served by some of Gods children. The family, who also lived in this house, cooked for us the whole week, making DELICIOUS food, and a delectable treat called "cell rotti" which are the traditional Nepali rotti.  This week we had many highlights; visiting house fellowships and praying for many who were sick.  The best thing that we experienced?  An open air when we preformed our program for 700-1000 people!!! We prayed for at least a hundred, and handed out hundreds of bible tracks to the on lookers.  It was an amazing experience, and one that completely surprised us with the Holy Spirit.  Never before had we experienced so many who wanted prayer, and who got healed from it!!! We have many stories of miracles from this day. 

Lastly, we spent our final week up at the Frontier Mission Center, above Pokhara, with Oyvind, a field worker there.  Oyvind has a beautiful vision of building a resort up in the hills up there.  He has already begun his work, and he hopes to be finished in 2 years.  We spent the week doing practical work at his ranch and doing door to door house meetings in the surrounding village.  The door to doors was our highlight because we were able to share the Good News with so many!  One group lead someone to the lord, while others were able to pray for other residents.  It was a beautiful time of fellowship and sharing. 

Our team is now residing in Lakeside, Pokhara for our debrief time.  Over the next few days we will be looking back and reflecting on out time here, all we have learned, and how we are growing.  We will also be looking forward to the future and creating goals. 

PRAYER POINTS
-for God to continue work through us, even though we are done our ministry
-for God to show up in tangible ways.. for us to see his love and beauty in events and moments
-continued unity in our team
-safe travels back to Norway (we have very close connections on some of our flights.. please pray that nothing will be delayed!)
-keep Nepal and everyone we have met in your prayers, that they will continue to know blessings and Gods love for them!!


Blessings from us,
The YWAM Nordtun Team

Surkhet

Sorry All for the delay in blogging!! We have had a whirlwind time since arriving here a week and a half ago.



We arrived in Surkhet in the predawn morning after a 15 hour overnight bus ride from Pokhara.  We were greeted by some of the base workers and lead on a short walk to the Surkhet Base. 


Soon, we discovered that Pokhara was luxury.  The base here is filled with lovely people, who make the MOST amazing food, however, the amenities here are less than in Pokhara.  But really, who needs western toilets?  Not us!

The first 5 days we spent serving the base and the Surkhet city area.  We spent 3 days scraping paint off the concrete walls of the classroom, only to repaint them.  It was a fun job, but took us 3 times longer than it should have.  We all enjoyed serving the base and making it look beautiful.  In the evenings we also went and did open airs in some slum areas, and visited a youth night at the church.  It is fun to show who God is through songs and dramas, as well as have the chance of talking about him!  The team is loving the chance to Make God Known. 

Last Monday we left to go to the Dailekh district to a small mountain village.  It took us 9 hours of public bus (EXTREMELY bumpy) and a 3 hour hike to get there.  We arrived tired, but ready to work.  In this village we were able to provide the money for a Water Project for the Secondary School.  With our money, 600 students will be benefited with clean water facilities.  Thank you to all who gave for this project! We will have pictures to show you of the work in progress!

Unfortunately, because we are not used to building Nepali-style, we didn't get to help with the actual building of the Water Project.  That was all right because God had other plans for us.  We were able to intercede for the area, holding worship and prayer sessions on the hills surrounding the small village.  Also, we traveled to other nearby villages (walks/hikes ranging from 20 minutes to 2 hours) to hold Open Air meetings.  We found that some people in this region have never heard of God or Jesus!! Back home, this is almost unheard of, so we enjoyed the experience of sharing with people. 

For many in our group this was a dream come true:  Hiking into mountain villages to share the gospel.  It is inspiring to be a part of out teammates dreams coming alive!


On our last day we also were invited to witness baptisms.  What a privilege to see someones spiritual life change forever!



Tomorrow we head to another village, thankfully only a 2 hour bus ride away.  We also get a visit from a base worker from Norway!!! We are so excited!


PRAYER REQUESTS:
-pray for those who heard our message, especially for those with questions, who received a bible, or who accepted Jesus into their hearts.  Please pray for their future, that they would continue to know God and seek him.
- for those who were baptized.
-for the health of our team. A few of us have been sick since arriving in Surkhet.
-for safe travel to and from all the villages
-for unity in the team

Last Half of Pokhara

Alright!

So our time in Pokhara is at an end.  We are leaving tomorrow (Monday) morning to go to Surkhet, which is more west of here.

The last half of our time here has been great.  We have continued to work with Ram, who coordinates street/slum kids ministry here in Pokhara.  We have had a wonerful time playing with the kids and sharing little drama skits about God.  We have also had a chance to bless them with prayer and gifts!  Thank you to everyone in Norway who knitted warm woolen socks for the children we met... they LOVED them!! We took many pictures, but again, I am in an internet cafe that lacks a way to upload any (sorry).  Be assured that their faces were alight with joy and happiness.  What a great blessing you have given!!

We also had the privilege to attend a House meeting (somewhat like a small group) and a Bible study, as well as a local church service.  At each, a member of our team shared a testimony/devotion/story/sermon about God.  All were wonderful to hear!!  Thank you to Rachael, Lars, and Tegan for sharing at each of these!

On Friday (I think.. all the days are running together) we also had the chance to go to an Alcohol.Drug Rehab center.  There our fearless leader, Olga, shared her testimony about coming to the Lord.  At the end she asked if any of the "clients" wanted to receive Jesus, and two people put up there hands!!  Per Henrik, Lars and Jon all prayed for the two men and were able to share about their faith.  It was wonderful to meet them, and we plan on giving them Bibles so they can continue their spiritual journey.

All throughout the week we have been so blessed by Mirjams guitar playing.  She has been leading worship for every meeting and prayer time we have had.  What a blessing she is for this team!  Thank God for giving us someone who can move people using music!

We have had many highlights this week, and many times when Jesus has made himself present to us.  We have seen Rachael healed from a nasty stomach mess, people come to the Lord, and heard of Jesus' love in many different ways.

Also, our team has been extremely blessed by the 3 others that are at the Pokhara base.  The Nashville, Brazil, and Honolulu team are all inspiring to talk to and share with.  Please keep them in your prayers!


We say adios to Pokhara with sad hearts, but are also looking forward to the time we have in Surkhet.  Thank you so much Pokhara base for your wonderful hospitality!  We hope to see you again!


PRAYER REQUESTS:
-please pray for the children we met.  Pray that they will continue to know and seek God.  Pray also for Ram, the leader of the childrens ministry.  Pray that his cup will be refilled and that he will reap the harvest from his good work!
-pray for our new friends from all the other teams.  Please just ask for blessings on their outreach's!
-pray for safe travels between Pokhara and Surkhet
-and continued health on the team!

Blessings!! Huge and marvelous!

YWAM Nordtun Team 

The First Half of Pokhara

Pokhara.  What a difference than Kathamandu!!! As much as we enjoyed our time there, Pokhara is a beautiful reprieve from the pollution and noise.



We arrived here on Wednesday, Jan 11th at about 4PM after a 7ish hour bus ride from Kathamandu.  We were very blessed with a "super deluxe" bus, which meant padded seats and just enough leg room for our 6ft 2 Norwegian. 

The first thing we all noticed about Pokhara was the air.  It feels lighter up here!! And there are a lot less people, therefore the city is a bit cleaner and less noisy. 

We are staying at the YWAM Pokhara base, which is roughly 5 buildings, all made out of concrete, that are located in a section of Pokhara called Lama-something (sorry about the spelling..).  It is nice out here, because we are a little removed from the city. 
The base boasts a large dining hall, dorms, and a bathroom building that has (YAY) one western toilet.

The last few days have been a whirlwind.  We had a wonderful time working with slum kids, as well as a great hike up one of the close by hills.  The kids are just like any other kids...dirty and smelly :P  It was so much fun to connect with the kids here!  We put on a drama about Jesus loving children, got to pray with them, and finally, face painted hearts, suns and flowers on their faces.  We also had a chance to lead worship at a family service that was put on by the base.

Sunday brought us a beautiful day!  We got to go to a tourist part of town, Lakeside, and do a treasure hunt.  Like Kathmandu we were split into teams and then sent out to find the "treasures" that God led us to.  Some cool stuff happened:  One of the teams brought a young girl to the Lord and also had the chance to spread the gospel to some other people they met.  It was a very encouraging day for all of us.

Tonight we get a chance to go to a House Meeting, which I gather is similar to a small group meeting. We have been asked to share testimonies there, and it should be pretty cool.

PRAYER REQUESTS:
-for God to continue to give us strength and unity in the team
-Please pray for the continued health of the team.  A few people have been struggling with cold like symptoms.
-for those this week that are sharing/preaching/giving testimonies, please pray blessings over all they have to say.

Thanks!  God bless!!
YWAM Nepal Team

Kathmandu

Here follows our account of 4 days in Kathmandu. 



Unfortunately, I arrived a day late, so I am only going to write about the last 2.5 days.



Our contacts here was a couple, YogiBear (Nepalese) and wife Sally (English) and Ellen (Swedish). 

Well, I got there on Sunday, Jan 8th, at 4 PM.  After a multitude of hugs us girls headed out with Ellen and Sally.  Immediately we were all very grateful for Sally and Ellen's presence in busy Kathmandu.  It is quite a stressful city to walk in, if you have never done it before.  Olga, Mirjam, Rachael and myself were artfully shuffled into a fabric shop where we hurriedly picked out fabrics for Kurtas.  Kurtas are one of the traditional dress options worn by woman in Nepal.  After picking our choices we visited the tailor shop where we were measured, then told our clothes would be ready the next day at 4.

Our day concluded with a delicious dinner prepared by the men.  We also had Team Time for the first time in almost 5 weeks.  That was the best part of the day, I think.  The time we all got to spend together again.

On Monday we were up and out of the house by 9AM.  YogiBear came to get us in our tour van, taking us to his and Sally's house.  There we had a worship session, welcoming the Lord into the day, and spent some time learning about Kathmandu and Nepal.  Sally outlined many things that needed to be changed in this country, including human trafficking, prostitution, and worship of the numerous false idols.  It was very hard to hear, but also extremely important for us to be exposed to the work that needs to be done here. 

After the info session, we all piled into the van to go on a "Justice Tour".  This tour was created by Yogi and Sally for missionaries who come to the city.  The tour concentrates on different areas of the city that need more of Gods work.  We visited an area with many cabin restaurants and dance bars, as well as Dunbar Square, full of numerous temples for different Gods.  In each area we were given more information, split into groups of 2 or 3, then sent out to pray.  It was a great way to see more of Kathmandu, and also understand more of the culture here.  At the end of the day we also drove by the parliament buildings, the supreme court, and the police station to pray over the injustice that happens there. 

On Tuesday Yogi picked us up and we visited 2 main temples in Kathmandu.  The first was on the top of a mountain, and the second was a Hindu Temple out by the Airport.
We all experienced great spiritual darkness at each of these places.  As beautiful as they may look, they are places people come to worship something that is not right!! It was very hard to be there, but also good. We, again, were split into teams and sent to pray over the areas. 

All in all our time in Kathmandu was the perfect way to be introduced to Nepal.  We go to learn much about what was going on here, religiously speaking, and otherwise.  It was a HUGE blessing to be so welcomed by YogiBear and Sally.  They were both a great help to us! 

We are now in a city called Pokhura, so look for a blog about this place...coming soon!

PRAYER REQUESTS:
-that God would keep his guiding hand over the injustices in Nepal.  Specifically the worship of false Gods and the human trafficking that goes on.
-continue protection of the teams spiritual and physical wellness.  We have been fortunate that no one has gotten sick yet, so please keep praying for that!!


Blessings!!
Nepal Team

A Short Introduction

The Team

Our story begins with us.  We are seven individuals who met three months ago when our DTS started in Engavaagen, Norway.

The "us" are Olga (Leader from the Netherlands), Lars (Co-leader from Norway), Rachael (Student from the USA), Tegan (Student from Canada), Mirjam (Student from Denmark), Jon (Student from Sweden) and Per Henrik (Student from Norway).


We are seven individuals, but we are also a team.  A team that is traveling to Nepal to do Gods work.  We have a huge heart to bring Gods love to different parts of Nepal, and hope to do this in any work we are given to do. 

Our Travel/Ministry Overview is thus:


Arrival:
7 Jan 15:35 EY290 Kathmandu
8 Jan 10:35 China Eastern Airlines 757 out Kunming (Tegan arrives)

9 - 11 Jan         Katmandu base
Various ministry. (House meetings/church/getting to know Nepal???)

12  Jan.          Travel to Pokhara base

12  Jan -19  Jan     Pokhara base
Ministry with street/slum children with Ram. (other support.: YWAM Kindergarden, engaging with DTS++)

19/ 20  Jan         Travel to Surkhet base

20 Jan - 12 Feb     Surkhet base
Evangelism in villages around in the area! Preaching in church.  Ministry with street kids. Give the kids clothes? (Water Project/ toilet project?)


13  Feb - 26  Feb     West Nepal/Pokhara/other
Ministry with Øyvind, a norwegian missionary who is building a “yak ranch”-tourist facilities to finance mission in Nepal.  Trekking to villages for evangelism, opportunities for practical work++

27-29  Feb         Hotel/hostel somewhere
Debrief in Nepal on a nice location

1  Mar 21:00 fly     Flight back to Norway






All of us can barely contain our excitement!  I, personally, cannot wait for the trip to start.  To use the teachings and pass them along to others is going to be such an amazing experience.  And an amazing way to experience God. 

More blogs will follow-

Nepal Team Blogger, Tegan.