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