June 29, 2010

BERAMBMBMEBAMGJKEKAKDJBMABJBKBLBLBLBLBLLLBEELBLE!!!! That's the motorcycle I will get when I return to the wretched states, HAH XD Mom, you will just have to deal with it.. Anyways I drove a motorcycle, Uncle Steve's to be exact, and it was FANTABULOUS; I was severely depressed when I had to get off...  I must admit for like five minutes there I considered throwing myself on the ground while simultaneously screaming and flailing my arms wildly, but then I realized they would probably think I was having a seizure or being possessed....  So  we recently finished the longest trip of our lives from Dandeldhura-or whatever- to Nepal Ganj, it was pretty squished with five people in a little compact car...but I survived - I should get an award for most toughest survivor; I should also receive 10 million dollars...herhheh.   I know you love my smiley faces all mischievous and whatnot, JUST like the real deal, ME!! We have been staying in the mission guest house, and that has been surprising, ITS REALLY NICE HERE.  They have a tv and some pirated movies, and a computer with internet, and a WASHING MACHINE, I mean where did all of this WEALTH come from, hmhmhm??  So its been good, besides running out of reading material, (I have read my manga 3 times through!) we have eaten good food, especially the momos and german doughnuts and have been able to see some old friends.  We  saw Kripa and Namratta,  and that was really nice even though we squished them in the back of the taxi.   Its been a good trip, some disappointments, and some surprises but all in all a rewarding experience!!! Lydia

Tuesday June 28, 2010

We have returned to Kathmandu ( KTM) and have VAa day or two to process things before heading home.  There are several people we would like to see and a few touristy things to do with the girls. It is nice to cool down after the extreme heat of the plains. It was also nice to get clean again. I am tired and a bit sick; we traveled 7 of our 14 days here in Nepal, that is not counting the 3 hour hike to house fellowship to which 80 people showed  up.  I spoke 9 times. While in the US on the advice of the brothers in Nepal I had prepared three sermons--so got to do all of them at least twice. The church that was planted with so many tears and much sweat has taken root and is growing at a phenomenal rate. Nepali leaders are doing a great job. 100s of new churches are being started, and as you would expect there are lots of huge problems.

The changes I see in Nepal are overwhelming. I can tell stories like an old man. Back in the 90s a telephone was a big deal, the waiting list was seven years long, huge bribes were paid to expedite the process, now every one has a cell phone. Roads are being built just as fast as the army can get them done, opening vast new areas. The Population has grown from about 15 million in 1985 when we first went to Nepal to about 25 million now. Buildings are being built higher and higher--10 stories are now common in the capitol city. Even in Dandeldhura the road to the hospital which we dug in 1985 now has 6 story buildings along it. Rapid population growth has always put a terrible strain on the forests of Nepal to provide building material and cooking fuel. Now the new government and its people need money and the easiest source is to sell lumber; never mind the future so you now see wholesale deforestation.   Now the problem is gaining some media attention so possibly this will slow it a bit.

War stories

Chuarjhari was a stronghold for the Maoists from the beginning of the war; the believers there have great stories of God’s protection. First the Nepali government declared martial law and prohibited any groups of people from gathering together, but as the church leader told me: Saturday  (Sunday is a work day there) came and they really couldn’t cancel church. So they met together and started singing as usual.  Then a big group of soldiers showed up with their guns ready to fire.  The leader of the soldiers came in and asked some questions and it turned out that he too was a Christian.  So he let them continue to worship despite the law.  The church leaders thought this was a miracle, out of all of the thousands of soldiers, God would send a Christian that day. 

Another time a Maoist leader showed up at the church service demanding to know everyone’s names.  He then wrote those names down on a list.  The people who had their names on the list were quite worried about what would happen to those on it.  The very next day the man with the list was shot and killed.

In Dandeldhura, Tara Datt told another interesting story:  As a hospital employee he was entitled to staff housing, and he had no desire to buy his own house, as he had a home in his own village.  Then the war started and the villages were no longer safe for children.  So the villagers started asking him to keep their kids with him so they could go to school in the district center where he was.  Soon he had far too many kids for his small quarters.  So he decided to buy property just outside of the hospital gate.  Now eight years later, the property is worth 10 times what he paid for it. 

HDCS

This is the Nepali organization that was formed to manage the mission hospitals that have been handed over to them.   The Maoist government was very suspicious of foreign  NGO’s (non government organizations), so they were hesitant to sign the management agreements.  After 3 years without an agreement all three hospitals closed for liability reasons.  When the hospital closed in Lamjun, there was rioting in the streets. When the Minister of Health sent a delegation to Lamjun on a “fact finding trip” they were locked up, and ransom letter was sent back to the Minister of Health.  Finally the Minister of Health himself came to see the hospital and he was very impressed and agreed to sign the agreement.  Then the very next day, his government collapsed and he was no longer the Minister of Health. 

When the hospital in Dundeldhura was closed, there was a huge economic loss for the Bazaar that had started because of the hospital.  All of the different political parties leaders got together and made the long trip to Kathmandu to meet with the Minister of Health; the purpose being to ask why he had not signed the agreement.  He stated that he was hearing negative things about the hospital, and they demanded to know who it was that was saying these things.  When he continued to hesitate, they demanded that this be passed up to the cabinet level of the government.  The cabinet invited HDCS to meet with them in their session.  This was the first time in Nepali history that something like this had happened.  They articulated the objections that they had been told.  They had heard that the people in charge were Christians; HDCS said this was true.  They had also heard that HDCS was running the hospital according to their religious values which was unacceptable in the newly created secular state.  HDCS explained that Jesus taught them to love everyone, and this was their motivation for running the hospital.  This impressed the cabinet members and they decided to sign the agreement.  Afterwards several of these members also came and asked for Bibles, HDCS told them they could get Bibles, but that they would have to pay for them. So they all bought Bibles.
 

Conclusion:

We took one hundred pounds of Christian literature (Good news for a Bad News World by Chuck Anderson translated into Hindi) and fifty pounds of t-shirts for orphans and other deprived people.  The biggest problem was in not having enough.  One hundred dollar bills couldn’t have gone any faster.  I wonder how to measure the success of a trip like this.  Was it worth the cost?  Some of which is still on my Visa bill.  We spoke nine times and had extensive visits with church leaders who represented six different church groups.  They said we encouraged them. We have invitations to speak in so many more areas, that I could never fulfill them all.  Rachel had the opportunity to visit two hospitals and was invited to work in both of them.  Lydia and I had a great time, she is now editing a video of our trip, and it should soon be done.  God is working tremendously in Nepal.  The three biggest challenges for the Nepali church as I see them:  #1  The rise of cults, religious freedom allows them all to come in and spread their poison.  #2 The need for  leadership training; most of the churches are lead by younger men who are new Christians,   Most of those that attend are first generation believers and sometimes the  man conducting a funeral has never even seen a Christian funeral before.   The third danger is how to pass their faith to the next generation, as youth everywhere are attracted to the materialistic worldview promoted by our global society. We were honored to have the privilege of going.

Kirk and Lydia