Another Day

Commenced on the 20 Jan 2012. 
Jaimase (Praise the Lord) is the common greeting between Nepalise Christians rather than the common greeting of Nameste.

Over the last two nights I have had the honour and the privilege of being invited to some of my adult students places for dinner. It was an opportunity for me to meet their families, share stories, and share a meal with them.

Let me share with you the contrast of both these environments. The first home I visited consisted of Mum who was too ill to cook, her two daughters and a son. They were all Christians. There Father was away working in Qatar as a kitchen hand to pay off loans and the older daughter worked at the CCS1 as a teacher and her salary went to support the basic daily living. They lived in two rooms. One room was set up with a basic kitchen with very simplistic furniture and the other room served as a bedroom with a thin mat on the floor and a single bed. There were no wardrobes to hang clothes. In the corner was a small box that contained the clothing for 4 people. There were no chairs or a table. Nepalise people often roll their blankets at the end of the bed. I only saw one rolled blanket. Covering on the concrete floor was virtually none existent and the room was icy cold. Everyone sat in the house with shawls and hats to try and keep warm.
They used a communal wash area and toilet.  I was not sure how many people in the building shared these areas.  

I was totally moved by the experience, there total gratitude of me coming to visit. I was humbled. I doubt there would be many western visitors. I was so made to feel so very welcomed. With the little they had, they shared with me.

Now commenced writing this when I was still in Nepal but unfortunately was not able to edit this blog via the Ipad.  There has gotten to be a simpler way to updating the blog...

So let me continue. 

My second visit was to a family where two of the young men were Christians and not the parents.  In saying that the parents seem to have a great respect for their sons despite them not following their Buddhist beliefs.  Their family home consisted of 4 rooms, 2 bedrooms, a prayer room and the kitchen.  They were blessed that they had their own bathroom.  There home was simply furnished with storage space for clothing.  None of the children had to sleep on the floor.  One of the bedrooms also became the living area.  The two sons of this family were working in Dubai.  The other son whom I had gotten to know very well is a teacher at CCS1.  He supports the family with the day to day living expenses.  There father though only 57 yrs was a trekker who cooked for foreigners and locals on tekking trips.  He is now retired.  His mother kept house.  Every family member contributes. 

Even though my Nepali is not that good I found I could still communicate with family members.  I had a wonderful meal of the traditional dahl baht with a very spicy archar sauce, chicken and pickles.  I am fortunate as I do love the Nepalise food.  It can be known to be rather bland.  I felt very much part of the family.

Time to go...and talk again soon

Changes in Nepal

Today we have been told that there will be severe electricity cuts known in Nepal as load shedding. 18 hours of no electricity. Electricity will be available at random times of the day. There are also gas, and fuel shortages as well. We see vehicles queuing up and having to wait for 3 or 4 hours to get petrol for there vehicles. Only certain fuel stations are operating and many have now run dry. This is due to the government not paying it's bill to India and not having the money to pay it.

Members of Parliament often push there own agendas forcing the everyday people to strike. Strikes are very common in Nepal. They strike for all sorts of things to make a statement. What we are starting to see is people fighting back and ignoring these politicians who have there own agendas that they want to push. The cost of living for a Nepali has risen threefold and the average wage is still the same. The average Nepali would be lucky to earn $250 a month.

Yet these people are the most warm hearted people and often give sacrificially of themselves.
Today I had 3 of my students come to the guesthouse for additional tuition. Some were unable to finish all of their studies and are now playing catchup. We are looking at teaching approaches in a Christian learning community and what that actually means for them and their students.

I give thanks each day where I can share my knowledge and experiences with these students. These young teachers are the most loving and caring people with a hearts desire to answer Gods calling for them to be good role models before their students.

Tomorrow is another big day so it is time to get some much needed sleep.

Graduation

What a wonderful day we had for the graduation of students from the Effective Teacher Training series 1 and 2, leadership training, and corporate governance training. We commenced with some amazing worship, followed by the distribution of certificates, closing out in prayer and then lunch. It is always a sad time when it comes to saying goodbye to people.

I will be staying on and working with some of the Nepalise people at the school, hostel and church. I am building good relationships with many of the people. I now have myself a daughter who has virtually adopted me. Renu is her name. She attends college herself and works at CCS1 as a kindergarten teacher. She has an amazing heart for the Lord.

I have seen God's work through each of the students this past fortnight. Though Rev Bob and I have challenged the students in their calling they have been open to the challenge. There responses have been well thought through containing a deep desire to do God's will. We have been teaching the students to teach from a Christian Learning Community and they have been open to changing from the tradition rote learning models seen in most developing countries.

I am looking forward to spending some time out at the school next week.

Please continue to pray for the team who a still plagued with coughs and colds. Please let me know too how I can pray for you.

Gosh a week goes by so quickly here in Nepal. We started the week with the opening of the first Christian Community School in Mulpani. Many dignitaries both international and local attended including The Minister of Education, the Maoist Party who represent the people who are disadvantaged including the Badi people, Rev Bob Frisken from New Hope International, representatives from Educate Nepal and representatives from Hosanna Church. So many speeches, so many journalists. Some in favour and some not.

Some of the journalists felt we using the Badi girls as propaganda to exploit Christian Education in Nepal. A journalist wanted us to remove the word Christian from the name of the school. He saw no value in using it as part of the school name. In saying that some of the journalists congratulated us for the work that is being done to provide a better life than prostitution for this minority group.

We know that God works in mysterious ways because after reading the article in the papers a number of people are keen to send their children to the school.

I toured the classroom with the Maoist Minster from Parliment who was impressed with the work that the children were undertaking at the school. There was a great display of the childrens work on the walls. Like any classroom should look like.

This weeks teaching has gone extremely well. Effective Teacher Training Series 2 has been so much fun. The students have been challenged and very eager to learn are now keen to try some of there new learned skills back at school. I have enjoyed team teaching with one of the founders of NHI, Rev Bob. I think we both have learnt so much from each other. I am reminded that God designed us to be learners.

Thank you all for your prayers. The team have faced many colds and are now on the way to a good recovery. My hands are clearing up and though the tingling is still there it is starting to subside.

I look forwarded to graduation tomorrow and what God has planned for the next few weeks.

The First Week of Training

Another week has gone by and we have achieved much. The rest of the team have arrived. Our days have been filled with worshipping, teaching, community meal time, more teaching followed by preparations for the following day. Each day I watch our young teachers grow. I am humbled. They give so much of themselves. What a way to spend a week in a wonderful loving Christan Community?

Rev Bob and I have 18 keen eager students in our class with exceedingly inquiring minds and with their hearts desire to follow Jesus.

I am blessed to be working with some wonderful people, where I am supported and more so that we can support each other. I just love seeing the great work that is happening here in Nepal.

For the last few days it has done nothing but rain and rain and more rain. Power goes on and off at all different times. It has been difficult to work out the times when electricity is available. Sadly there have been no sunny days since the team have arrived.

We walk everywhere. The roads are muddy and there is plenty of water that lies constantly
across the road. It is a challenge that I am mastering. Walking through slippery walkways with a pack on my back. I can't believe how much material I need to cart with me each day for my classes.

Please pray for the healing of my hands which are covered in blisters due to the use of bleach in our washing up water. The good news is that I am now oFf the washing up duties.