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. 

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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