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 

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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

Chitwan 6/30/23 Village Pictures

Chitwan 6/30/23

Hello from Chitwan, Nepal! 

We started the day with a wonderful breakfast buffet at our hotel called Jungle Wildlife Camp. At around 8:30/9 am we went out to teach the Good News of Jesus to different villages. We were escorted in these little three-wheeled vehicles called tuk-tuks that I think are the Nepali equivalent to golf carts. Today some of us were going to hike while some weren't, so we switched up the groups a little. My group (Josh, Lauren, Ethan, Riley, and myself) took a 30-45 minute hike up the top a "hill" to a village that was at the top (the hills in Nepal are mountains to us). We were driven in the tuk-tuks quite a ways before we had to hike as they have paved a lot of make-shift roads in the last couple of years. We were quite grateful for that. We were also very grateful for no rain and lots of clouds to shield us from the sun. Our hike was on a nice trail, but was very uphill. We were all dripping in sweat when we finally reached the top. 

But it was all worth it! We were welcomed with happy faces and a beautiful short worship service by their pastor. They sang Nepali worship songs which were incredibly cool to hear. I think that God is so amazing to make singing praises intrinsic to human beings no matter what part of the world they are in. After teaching with an amazing translator, we were given a meal of chicken, rice, and broth. They sent us off with lots of smiles and waves. The pastor and his family walked back down the hill with us which was way more enjoyable and way less sweaty. 

We took tuk-tuks back to our hotel and saw some elephants on the way back. They are pretty domestic here. Then after a little bit of relaxing we finished up the day at a very nice multi-cuisine restaurant. 

Praise the Lord for the amazing opportunities that we are given to be able to preach His saving words to souls across the world! Romans 11:14-15 stays in my mind as I travel on these trips: "How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in Him whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, 'How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!'"

And praise God also for His incredible and breathtaking creation. Even after sin tainted the world, His masterpiece of creation still drops my jaw at its beauty. I'm very excited for all the days to come. 

Jai Masih! (Praise Messiah!)

• Erica Oster 6/30/23

Kholagaun

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Beth K. Sorenson

Kholagaun

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Beth K. Sorenson

Kholagaun

Today was our first missionary trip. We divided into 3 groups to visit 3 different churches. We traveled together by tuk-tuk and then each group went in their own direction. My group went to Kholagaun. We didn't have to hike and only needed a push up the mountain (they call them hills)twice. 

We had music beforehand by a group of young people. We then told our Bible stories and then handed out bracelets that said "Jesus loves me" and "Jesus loves you" and other gifts. We had a translator at each site. We pray that the words we spoke were received by those who listened. We have been promised in Isaiah 55:11 "  It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it."

We then had a meal of dal bhat and chicken.

We met one of the other group before heading back to the Jungle Wildlife Camp who had to hike up to their church. The trip back down the "hill" was quite fast and steep and bouncy.

It will be fun to hear how their trip went. The third group had a longer way to go and we hope they arrive safely back soon.

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Beth K. Sorenson

Chitwan

Today, we are in the jungle. We had a 6 plus hour ride thru the mountains. There were terrace farms, houses and stores along the way. Our driver took us safely thru steep and narrow roads and many buses and motorcycles. Our hosts have arranged very pleasant accommodations for us this evening and will be serving us our evening meal shortly. We spotted our first elephants and rhinos today.--

Beth K. Sorenson

Arrived safely in Kathmandu

After a 10 hour plane ride to Istanbul and a 6 hour and 40 minute plane ride, our group arrived safely in Kathmandu where we were warmly met and given some lovely scarves. Then a short bus ride to Gracemandu Norwegian House. We will be leaving shortly for a trip to the old part of Kathmandu called Bhaktapur.

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Beth K. Sorenson

Nepal preparation plans

Preparations for this trip begin early as passports are obtained, finances and schedules reviewed and arranged. Vaccinations are also needed and already the learning and surprisingly, encouragement begins. Did you know there are travel clinics, knowledgeable about what medical precautions are needed for the countries you are visiting? The nurse administering the vaccines had children who had also spent time in Nepal. Her kind words were "They will be happy to have you come, but you will be just as much, if not more, blessed by the experience than they are". 

Beth S.

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Beth K. Sorenson