A Busy Weekend

On Friday, we took a trip to the orphanage. This week was very important for the orphanage because arrangements were made and ground was broken for the new building. Sudip wanted us to go and see the orphanage and meet the children, but his main reason for sending us was so that we could report back the progress of the orphanage to him since he could not be there that day. This is representative of the purpose of our involvement with Compassion for Asia (Sudip and Anne Lise’s ministry).

After much prayer and discussion, Ben and I agreed that we are here to observe firsthand the work that God is doing, the urgent needs, and the miraculous progress so that we may report back to others in the U.S. and make real to others what has become daily life for us: the children at the orphanage living 7 or 8 people to a room and some sleeping on the floor, often not getting the nutrition they need; the current orphanage building in danger of being buried by a mudslide because of a neighbor’s construction; the starving cow that can only provide milk for half of the children; the woman whose husband abandoned her and her child and her only means of support to feed her child is to help Anne Lise around the house; the one room apartment shared by a brother and sister with only a bed and a camp stove and a communal bathroom shared by two other floors; the people coming every day to Sudip’s home with need after need after need. Only when we are informed of the great need in Nepal can we begin to meet that need.

Most of the money we raised will be given to the ministries of Compassion for Asia, but there I so much left to be done. Upon our return, Ben and I hope to be able to raise much more money to send to Nepal. Along with the need in Nepal is the joy of the Christians in Nepal: the smiles and giggles of small girls who just bathed with their new soap (and probably the only soap they’ve had in a long time); the little church that overflows with shouting and clapping as Nepalis worship God; the realization that they don’t just call you brother or sister, they care for you as if you were their brother or sister, and what little they have is freely shared with you. Friday was an important day for the orphanage, it was also an important day for us.

Saturday Ben preached at Mahima, Sudip’s church. For fifteen minutes, he had a very large unidentified object in his beard, but it fell out much to my relief. He spoke very well, and his message seemed to be very relevant to the people. He spoke about how to overcome sin with the help of accountability. That afternoon Ben and I ventured into the city to buy groceries for
Anne Lise. We’ve become quite comfortable on our own in Kathmandu. A more accurate statement would be Ben is comfortable, but I still question if he knows were we are or how to get to were we are going.

That night we ate in a restaurant that is directly below our hosts apartment. The woman who runs it had to excuse herself because se was laughing so hard at Ben’s attempt to speak Nepali. Then we went to visit Manos, a worship leader at church He was not home, but his sisters were there, so we were able to see what Anne Lise calls a “typical Nepali home.” It was one room about 8 feet by 8 feet with a bed, a window, and a stove. There is one bathroom for every floor. There were children visiting from the room next door, and Ben had fun making them laugh.

On Sunday, Sudip sang the praises of God all day long. Ben and I were able to give the first of many gifts to his ministry. Most of the day was spent at the bank to get funds for the orphanage building and the land that Sudip is purchasing the build a new church. Ben and I were able to donate Rs 70,000 ($1,000USD), an amount that supports most of the ministries for one month. Then we went to the orphanage so that Sudip could pray over the foundation for the new building.

Sunday was also an interesting day because it rained most of the day and most of the night before. When is rains a lot in Kathmandu, the city becomes a giant mud pit. The dirt roads turn into mud roads, and the mud roads flow into the paved roads and stick to shoes which carry the mud into homes, stores, buses, taxis, and other places. Walking the hilly streets and paths became much more of an obstacle than it had ever been for us before.

We arrived home that afternoon and celebrated with one of Sudip’s favorite pastimes- a game; we played Yahtzee. Exciting times like these spark interesting phrases from Sudip, whose English often becomes broken and silly in excitement. Here is one from the game: “There is much shouting from my mouth, but I am not the one with numbers!” He meant that he was bragging that he would win, but he was not getting good scores. Here are some more: “Where is my glass? I don’t need glass, I am like fine.” (Referring to his glasses.) “I am not elephant! I am only tiny man!” which translates, “Don’t put anymore food on my plate!” Life with Sudip can be very humorous.

Here are some plans for the rest of the trip:
May 22-May 31- We will visit families of students, visit Mission of Hope (a prostitute rehabilitation program in Kathmandu) and continue to help with Compassion for Asia. Ben also plans to purchase songbooks and a new guitar and teach some guitar lessons to some of the Bible school students.

May 31- We will fly to Calcutta.

May 31- June 5- We will work with Project Rescue (a prostitute rehabilitation pogram).

June 5- We will take a train to Hyderabad. There we will visit David Chavali’s family and families of students.

Please continue to pray for our heath and God’s guidance. Also pray that Compassion for Asia continues to progress at such an amazing pace. Pray that the new orphanage is finished quickly so that the children will have a safe home.