Nepal STM 2017: He is Powerful

After departing from LAX, our team served in Kathmandu for several days where we grew in bonding and working as a team. While serving in an institute and doing home visitations, we served with a team from Hong Kong and were able to interact with them and learn about how God is working in their lives. 

We then took a bumpy 13 hour bus ride to the South (super good team bonding time) where we have been for the last 5 days!! Two other team members met up with us the day after we arrived--Pastor Wilson and his wife Auntie Barbara. God has provided in so many amazing ways! During our team debriefings every night we are able to reflect and share with one another what we've learned and how God is working.

 The arrival of Pastor Wilson and his wife is just one example of how God answered prayers. Their flight from LAX got cancelled so we were concerned they might not be able to join at all. However, they were able to receive housing overnight at a hotel and the next day they caught a flight to Nepal. The delay was a blessing in disguise for them because they were able to take care of an unexpected situation that came up at home and find extra rest before coming to serve with us!!!

Team prayer & send-off from Bread of Life Church in Torrance.

Every morning we would gather to worship & split into groups to pray-read over a Bible verse. (Feat beautiful rooftop views in KTM)

House visitations were always a highlight for us. Here is part of the team hanging out with one of our student's family!

We woke up at 6am to a bright, beautiful morning as we packed our van for our journey to the southern region of Nepal. 

During one of the days, we had a chance to help a student plant rice and spend time with the family. Near the end of our time there, Austin fell into the muddy rice paddy!

Making crafts with students (airplane, lily, and heart origami)

Prayer walk at the birthplace of Buddha. 

Our team would flyer and go shopping for groceries on these streets. Notice the dirt roads and the big potholes. Sometimes there were no sidewalks and it makes it difficult.     

Cows casually pass time in the middle of the busy road. In Hindu culture, cows are considered sacred.

We visited a student on her 20th birthday and sang for her with her family. Our team member shared her testimony with the student's mother and then the pastor led her to accept Christ as we joined in prayer! After talking with the student's father, she received his approval to get baptized. We look forward to celebrating this decision with her next week at the youth camp when she is baptized. 

Praises:

• God's provision in many different situations, covering & guiding our team 
• Opportunity to bond with the local Nepali 

Prayer Request:

• For our youth camp program we are holding next week. We are partnering with some local ministries and focusing primarily on open local students who are very close to coming to Christ. Students who the local co-workers have established relationships with who are open to being baptized have been invited (baptism is an incredibly serious choice here because by doing so they could be going against their family and community wishes. Many religious and cultural barriers exist) There are 50-60 students expected. We have two amazing BOL Pastors here and they will be sharing the gospel and will need prayer for their sermon prep. 
• Testimony sharing & home visitations
• Spiritual warfare: Nepali who face opposition from family or are oppressed by evil spirits
• Team health & partnership with local co-workers & Taiwan team 

Will appreciate any prayers! 

- Austin Lim & Anna Ger