Fwd: July 3, 2023

Today we are not teaching about Jesus; we 're not on a safari taking pictures of God's wonderful creation. We are feeling very close to our living God as we travel in the rain, through construction in the hills. We can almost see the angels along the bus as it lurches left, plunges right and continues to bounce along.

When we look out windows we see stands of beautiful fruits and vegetables, newly constructed houses, lush rice paddies and a variety of motorized transportation : God is providing daily bread to the Nepalis.

We know Jesus died for them also; yet the vast majority ( more than 96%) have not heard the Gospel message. They trust the dead idols seen all around.

A wasted day ? Indeed not! I am a day closer to heaven. God is speaking to me, increasing
my faith, bolstering my trust and telling me « Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every living creature. »

Elinor Gbedey

Fwd: July 4, 2023

Do you remember what you did on the Fourth of July?  I will never forget what I did on the Fourth in 2023. I didn't celebrate America's independence; rather I had a memorable celebration of the freedom from sin given to us by Jesus. 

Our team got to go 4 hours from Tulisper, Dang into the mountains in Nepal.  I am sure all four of us plus the translator were praying without ceasing as our Jeep did hairpin turns, honking as we approached blind spots and sometimes went quite close to a precipice in order to avoid fallen rocks. 

After passing changing styles of housing, transportation and farming techniques we arrived at the lovely, well lit village church. Later we learned that they had outgrown their original church-Praise God!

Attendance was great and the message of Jesus the Savior of all was well received. After the lesson we all took a lot of pictures and many Nepali asked us to pray with them. 

We were happy to note that our driver, probably Hindu, came in and stayed for the entire lesson. 

Pictures: our Jeep and driver, the church, mountains with clouds below us, ranges of mountains, rice paddies and terrace farming

Elinor Gbedey

Sent from my iPhone

July 10. Fellowship-a bonus for us

We pray that the seeds we plant be blessed by God and bring forth fruits. 

WE also benefit from our fellowship 

Elinor 

7/8/23 Mission Helper Blog Post

Wrote this the day of, but forgot to post it...haha.

This is coming from someone who hasn't ever had an affinity towards choir or singing at all really… today we got to sing in front of the congregation here in Kathmandu, Nepal. We sang hymn 54 (Guide Me Oh Thou Great Jehovah) then hymn 36 (Now Thank We All Our God) and then hymn 200 (I Know That My Redeemer Lives). Getting to sing those wonderful lyrics, even if they're not fully understood, was a blessing I'll never forget. Let me tell ya… something about singing with a group of good-sounding people, in front of smiling and inspiring faces… really made me excited for choir at ILC this fall. And to add to that, I got to listen to my dad give a sermon this morning too. It had been a while, so it was a nice finishing touch to the morning of worship!

Got to try some ice cream at a place called "silk" today. It was lovely. We didn't do any teaching today unfortunately but tomorrow we leave to teach in an area about 3-4 hours away. Keeping you all in my prayers :)

Lamentations 3:22-23

"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness."

In Christ,

-Lydia Ohlmann

Pics from Trisuli

Teaching in Trisuli - July 10

Today we are teaching the Good News in Trisuli! We traveled to Trisuli yesterday from Kathmandu. We didn't have Riley with us, however, because she got pretty sick. She stayed behind in Kathmandu with Missionary Ohlmann and rested. She ended up getting some antibiotics and is doing much better today. Thank the Great Physician!

We split up into our three groups again for teaching. Thankfully none of us had to travel very far from the hotel. We were blessed with the opportunity to teach to a lot of children who had probably never heard of their Savior today. My group (Sam Radermacher, Ben Haslett, Lydia Ohlmann) taught at a little public school with about 28 kids. It is important for me to remember at such a huge witnessing opportunity that it isn't my responsibility to create faith in these children's hearts, but the work of the Holy Spirit. Pastor Sam Rodebaugh had a great devotion tonight discussing those very thoughts. He emphasized how it is not our power at all, but the power of the One we preach about that does the work. And even when we leave here, God will always remain and continue His work. 

After teaching, we left immediately to get back to Riley as soon as possible in Kathmandu. As I said before, we got back to find out she is doing much better. That left relaxing, supper, and hymn singing to finish up the evening. 

I thought of this verse of TLH 496 a lot while preparing to teach:

If you cannot speak like angels,
If you cannot preach like Paul,
You can tell the love of Jesus,
You can say He died for all.
If you cannot rouse the wicked,
With the judgment's dread alarms,
You can lead the little children
To the Savior's waiting arms.

Psalm 100

"Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth! 

Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing! 

Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!

For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations."

Saturday Church - Sam Radermacher

Here in Nepal, church services are held on Saturday instead of Sunday. This morning, we were graciously welcomed by Pastor Bhitrokoti and his congregation. We learned some wonderful new Nepali hymns, as well as some with rather familiar melodies (How Great Thou Art & Give Thanks). We gave the gathered group a recap of all the traveling and teaching we have done so far, and even sang a few of our own familiar English hymns as a choir for them in return.

Pastor Sam Rodebaugh and Pastor Todd Ohlmann preached today while Raju translated, and Dwight gave a brief overview of all the lessons we have been teaching: Jesus is True God, Jesus is True Man, Jesus is our Savior, and Jesus is for everyone.

After the service concluded, we were blessed with the opportunity to mingle with the members and share in the common gratitude of being joined together here in fellowship. How great our God is indeed!

Danyabad Jesu! (Thank you Jesus!)

Sent from my iPhone

Girls from the congregation

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Walkin’ through the stream

Sent from my iPhone

Mission helper blog: teaching in Dang, Nepal

7/4/23

A little late with this post, but this was written the night of July 4th :) …

Today started out with a nice breakfast at the hotel my team and I stayed at. This time we were separated from the rest of the group because the other two groups had another 2 hours of bus riding to get to their teaching destinations. The rain created a bit of a stream that had to be crossed by foot towards the end of our trip. I'm grateful we didn't have a long journey after because I found some pretty cool and decently large rocks!

 
A lot of the kids there understood English and could speak some. My dad, Missionary Ohlmann, even got the chance to ask the group some questions since he knew they were a little more familiar with how that works. This church had a drum set, guitar, microphone, and amp, which made the music much sweeter and more fun. Some of the teenage girls, very pretty and wholesome, came up after we were done teaching, and I remembered to take a picture with them! (See picture at the bottom)

Rajan had mentioned on our way that this church was one that was in the process of joining the Himalayan Church of the Lutheran Confession of Nepal. All I can say is that I hope the words we spoke to them encouraged them in their faith and that the congregation continues to work with the HCLCN.

Blessings!
-Lydia Ohlmann

July 6th

July 7th

July 7th

July 6th & 7th

July 6th- Today was a day off in Pokhara, a very touristy place. We started off with breakfast at our hotel. Then we got to ride a cable car and see the beautiful views of the city, and even a tiny peak of the mountains. Some rode the cable car down while others of us got to paraglide back down. It was a breathtaking way to take in God's amazing creation here. It was a new experience for us all and I think we all enjoyed it. The Lord granted us a great day for spending time outside. We walked around the city looking at shops and then headed to dinner.

July 7th- Today we had another long bus ride which was about 10 hours, but before departed Pokhara we all caught a good view of the mountains from our hotel roof! The bus we had today had very spacious, comfortable chairs which made for a nice ride. After we arrived, we walked to a mall to have dinner. I think most of us got pizza, which was delicious! It was also my birthday today, so before bed I was surprised with a cake! I feel very blessed to be here with Christian friends, and I continue to be amazed by God's handiwork each day. His love is evident! 

Psalm 121--- I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth. He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber. Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is thy keeper: the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand. The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul. The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.

In Christ,

Lauren Gurgel

July 4 pictures

July 4 Blog

We had a long bus ride yesterday, about 13 hours. We dropped one group off about 2 hours before we reached our hotel so they could teach at one of the schools in that area. We are meeting back with them this morning (July 5). We were planning on having our two groups that were still together go to both churches to teach, but because of the weather and the conditions of the roads, Raju thought they might not get back in time for the second lesson. So Josh, Lauren, Elinor, and Dwight went for the long ride in the morning to a village about 2 hours away. That drive turned into about 4 hours and from what I heard it was quite a ride. Thankfully they made it to the village safely and were able to teach about 65 children. My group of Sam, Beth, Riley, and I then taught in Tulsipur, where we were staying, at about 4 PM. As Raju guessed in the morning their group was not going to make it back in time for our lesson. So that meant the pastor in Tulsipur was going to translate for us. Thankfully he knew English well and did a great job translating our lesson to the children. A lot of the children in Tulsipur also already knew some English which helped as well. We taught about 150 children, which was great because it was more than we had expected. After my lesson I needed to run back to the hotel to get more of the bracelets we are handing out to the children. I got to ride on the back of a motorcycle through Tulsipur including a super secret, not so secret, shortcut across a walking bridge. I made it back just in time with the extra bracelets to finish passing them out to the children. We got a lot of time to play and take pictures with the kids after our lesson, and the other group got back in time to eat with us and the congregation at the church. We got back to the hotel and got ready to leave early in the morning to rejoin the other group where they were staying. As I'm writing this we have met up with the other group and are thankful to be back together for breakfast before we settle in for our long bus ride to Pokhara. Please remember to keep our group in your prayers as we travel across Nepal to continue to proclaim the Good News to our brothers and sisters here.
Romans 8:31-32 "What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?"
TLBWYA,
Ethan Sydow

CLC MHT NEPAL 2023 JULY 4 Benjamin Haslett

My team departed from the hotel at 10:15 A.M. We had morning devotion as we traveled to the Nepalian wayside church. Travel involved riding in an SUV for approximately 20 minutes. We had to get out and walk across a river. After walking across the river we made a very short walk to the church. Shortly after arriving at the church we were welcomed with applause and given beautiful Nepalian scarfs as gifts. Afterwards the worship service started. The Mission Helpers then each got up and presented their respective Bible lessons. Afterwards the worship service was closed with a nepali hymn and a prayer. Once the service was done, we went next door and were given the traditional Nepali meal of chicken and rice which was very good. We rode back in the same SUV that took us from the hotel to the river. The river had at this point dried up enough to allow vehicles to cross it. We stopped on the way back at a small shop and picked up Indian style desserts. We then went back to the hotel and spent the remainder of the day there.

July 3rd - The Long Trek to Dang, Nepal

On Monday, we started the trek to Dang. The estimated travel time was 10 hours in the bus minimum. Raju was incredibly wonderful and booked us our own private bus for the journey with blasting AC and nice, cushioned seats. We get this bus for our long travel to Pokhara on July 5th too. 

Before leaving, Raju's wife gave us all gifts as a goodbye! It was so so sweet! She gave the ladies these super nice woven bags and the gents were given woven fanny packs. We won't be seeing her or their kids again on this trip, so that send off was even more special. 

There has been quite a bit of renovation in Nepal the last couple years as God has blessed them with peace, resources, and a strong desire to improve their country. As a result of this, they are redoing a lot of the roads so many were all torn up. This made for a very bumpy ride, but we can't complain as we were grateful to not be hiking it instead. God has also blessed our trip with no landslides and no rain after the morning. It is so comforting to know that He is always watching over us. 

We had only a few stops for the bathroom and lunch. Right in the middle, we stopped at the supposed "exact birthplace" of Buddha. It had some ancient ruins from his palace. Countries from all over have donated different temples to Buddha that cover a very large area in this place. We only went to the main one. Before  this, Todd told us to let this "break our hearts," and it definitely did. It is so saddening to think about how much work and time and life has been put into something so meaningless. On average only 4 out of 100 people know their Savior in Nepal. And those who do know have such a hard time being witnesses for their faith. Even with our own turmoil in the US, I think we often take for granted our state as Christians there. I am even more grateful to be given this opportunity to share the Good News I've learned from childhood with people here in Nepal. Earlier this week, I read Psalm 71 and these verses have really stood out to me:

"O God, from my youth you have taught me, and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds. So even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me, until I proclaim your might to another generation, your power to all those to come."

‭‭Psalm‬ ‭71‬:‭17‬-‭18‬ ‭ESV‬‬

After about 12 hours of travel, we reached an unexpected twist. My group (Sam Radermacher, Ben Haslett, Lydia Ohlmann), Missionary Ohlmann, and Rajan separated from the rest. We slept, are teaching here in part of Dang today (July 4th), sleeping here tonight, and will, God willing, rejoin the others tomorrow morning. They had two more hours left on the bus to their place of stay and have the same schedule as us. 

Please keep everyone in your prayers! Please pray for our good health, safe travels, and especially the souls of those we teach to and the words we teach. Thank you for all the prayers and support thus far. Also happy 4th of July from Nepal!!

In Christ and His love, 

Erica Oster

Sunset

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Beth K. Sorenson

Elephants

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Beth K. Sorenson

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Beth K. Sorenson

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Beth K. Sorenson

Spotted deer

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Beth K. Sorenson

Rhino

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Beth K. Sorenson

Sunday, July 2

Saturday is the typical day of worship for Christians in Nepal. They only get one day off. Sunday was a day off teaching for us and we took the opportunity to take a safari tour thru the Chitwan Wildlife Park, but not before a game of Up and Down and Fill or Bust.

We had an amazing view of a rhino, some spotted deer and probably everyone's favorite, swimming and diving macaque monkeys. Earlier, Erica said ". . . He made all this for us!"

We didn't have to have so many variations of flowers or species of animals. His love for us is evident in all things.

We walked across a lengthy extension bridge to the Elephant Breeding Center. The elephants are used to patrol the reserve and to count the animals and other government jobs.

We watched the sunset on a beach beside the river where we had our evening meal. 

Our evening ended with devotions and singing. 

--

Beth K. Sorenson

July 1 - A Very Wet Hike (Supplement)

 Greetings from Nepal!

I'm supplementing Ethan's post with plenty of pictures. I know you're probably wondering why I haven't posted yet, Debbie V., so here it is. 

I was pretty sick the last few days, but the Lord kept me well enough to make the hike yesterday. It was one of those hikes where you and everything you owned was as soaked as possible, but being welcomed to a packed church with the opportunity to proclaim the Gospel and to fellowship with our Nepali Brothers and Sisters-in-Christ set everything in perspective. Knowing what Christ went through out of love for us, this really was just our "reasonable service." (cf. Romans 12:1) The trip has been an absolute joy, and I echo Ethan's comments about feelings of unworthiness and insufficiency. What a privilege the Lord has given us through His grace in Christ Jesus!

In Christ, 

Sam Rodebaugh

P.S. Here are the pictures I promised:

July 1 - A Very Wet Hike

We left our hotel at the Jungle Wildlife Camp at 8-8:30 sharp. After about an hour and a half of bus and tuk tuk my group (Sam Rodebaugh, Riley Naumann, Beth Sorensen, and Raju Bitrakoti) reached the bank of a river. It was rainy today but we were able to cross the river and hiked about 45 minutes to the church. We were blessed to be able to teach over 100 kids and adults today. Sam and I also had the amazing opportunity to pray over some of the members of the congregation who had physical ailments. They fed us afterwards then we made the trek back to our tuk tuks. The rain let up a little so I was able to get some pictures of the amazing scenery on our hike. We packed 8 people into our little tuk tuk on the way back to town where we met up with the other groups and made our way back to Chitwan and our hotel. We all got dinner together in Chitwan and then Raju and his family took us to the Tharu Cultural Center where we watched some traditional Nepali dances (and they even got a bunch of us to join in during the last dance). It was a great experience and a chance to bond more with the Christian friends on this trip. During the trip I've often thought about Isaiah's vision of the LORD in which he is called to be a prophet. Isaiah declares "Woe is me for I am a man of unclean lips." I've often felt this unworthiness while on this trip, under qualified to be teaching in a foreign country. The angel in Isaiah's vision cleansed his lips with a coal, and the LORD said his iniquities were taken away. In the same way our iniquities have been purged by Christ, so now we can get up and say "here am I send me!"
In Christ,
Ethan Sydow

More Pics from Friday

The turn we take a lot while in town:

Sent from my iPhone

The church we taught at:

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7/1/23 - Lydia Ohlmann

The day started with a great breakfast at the jungle wildlife camp. The potatoes were especially good. We left to teach at one of the churches not too far from the camp. We pulled over and waited a little bit for a tuk tuk (tiny car thingy) to come and take us to the church. My teaching group was me, Erica Oster, Sam Radermacher, and Ben Haslett. My dad, Pastor Todd Ohlmann, tagged along with our group today as well. The kids were pretty well behaved. I have the Lazarus raised from the dead story and towards the end I say something like "Even though we have pain, sorrow, and death, it is not a result of a weak faith." During the lessons before me, there were two kids sitting in the front that were profusely hitting each other, over and over again. This wasn't your American type of hit though. This was 'as hard as you can' type of hit. So by the time I was up I decided to add to my closing and say, "Even though we have pain, sorrow, death and even our friends hitting us! … it is not a result of a weak faith." I pointed and looked at the two kids in the front and they instantly zipped themselves and were quiet for a good 5-10 min afterwards. Definitely a good memory to keep. 

Then we got back and saw a crocodile in the river next to the camp. Then we went and got some coffee at a place closer to town called the Art Cafe. I got an iced cafe mocha. Then we got dinner at a place called Bay Leaf. Then we went and saw some traditional, Nepali dancing at the Tharu Cultural Center. And now I am back at the hotel sitting on the roof writing the blog for the day! 

Overall this experience has been amazing and inspiring. Being able to teach this many kids at once is a blessing I'll consistently reminisce. I encourage you to keep them in your prayers and that the Holy Spirit would do what we all would love to see. 

Ecclesiastes 12:13

"Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man."

Lydia 

Sent from my iPhone

Music in the Hills

Friday - The "Bunny Hill" Team

Sam Radermacher

Ben Haslett

Lydia Ohlmann

Dwight Gantt

Rajan Bhitrokoti

On Friday, our teaching team traveled to a very beautiful, remote village above the clouds. In years past, this was an extremely long hike that often required previous mission helpers to spend the night at the church before hiking back down again the next day. Thankfully, that wasn't the case this year! We were blessed to have two very gifted drivers bring us all the way to the top and back again. Like the rest of the teams, we rode in two three-wheeled Tuk Tuks— which at first glance I think anyone would wonder how a little thing like that was supposed to get up a mountain! 

But, by the grace of God, we made it. Though it was above clouds, Rajan assured us that these were no mountains, but in fact "bunny hills". When compared to the mighty Himalayas, he said these were like little ants.

The village is located on the ridge of one such "bunny hill" with a spectacular view of the surrounding landscape. As we neared the village, we were greeted by the joyous sound of singing from inside the school building. Our lessons were taught in a picnic shelter-looking structure at the edge of the village. To our amazement, over two hundred children were gathered in front of us, eager to hear the Word of God! It was a wonderful learning experience for all, as we teachers were teaching with a translator (Rajan) for the first time, and many of these children were hearing the good news about Jesus for the first time. They even taught us a couple of their own Nepali songs!

After eating a delicious meal of chicken and rice, it was sadly time to leave. As we drove back down the bunny hill, a throng of happy children chased after us, waving and smiling all the while. This truly was a once in a lifetime experience, and I thank God that we get to do it all again tomorrow!

Isaiah 55:11 "So is My Word that goes out from my mouth: it will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it."

By Sam Radermacher

7/1/23

Greetings from Nepal!

We started off our day with breakfast at out camp which included toast, fried eggs, potatoes, and watermelon. Then we all set off on a bus to split into our 3 teaching teams. My team was Josh, Dwight, and Elinor. We were dropped off right at the church, so we didn't have any hiking today. The church was very welcoming to us! We taught about 55 people consisting of mostly kids and some adults. It was pouring rain, but our translator did a great job of portraying our important message! 

After teaching our lessons, they fed us a meal of rice and water buffalo. They were very grateful to us and said goodbye with smiling faces. We traveled back to camp on tuk-tuks and a very packed bus. I'm so thankful for God's grace thus far and for safe travels for all of our teams.

We continue to pray that the seeds planted here will grow. The faith and joy in the people here has been very uplifting and brings to mind this passage: 

Matthew 5:14-16 You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

-Lauren Gurgel 7/1/23

Chitwan 6/30/23 Hike Pictures