Author: Admin

Yesterday we finished a 3-day conference of pastors with Harvest Mission to the Unreached. There were about 40 pastors there at an ashram in the hills outside of Kathmandu, and it is always great to see them and interact as much as our language barriers will allow. I taught 4 sessions and felt that it all went well. At the end of the second day there was a furious storm of wind, lightning, and thunder and heavy rain. It lasted a few hours and it was pretty exciting to watch . . . from a safe and dry room!

Today I met with a pastor I know here, Pastor Saraj with whom I have worked a few times. He has had me come to Nepal to conduct conferences for pastors on several occasions. Today we talked about having a future conference. See, I work with 3 different pastors here in Kathmandu. I would like to see them come together and have one annual conference. As it now stands, I conduct separate conferences for each of them. Please pray that this may become a reality.

After that meeting, I was picked up by Dev and Maya from the orphanage, along with one of the girls there, a young lady who is working toward a university degree. We went to the Thamel district, a very popular shopping area of the city and walked around for about half an hour before driving around the city and seeing many of the locations that were damaged during the September “Gen Z’ protests. If you’re unfamiliar with what that is Google it and see for yourself.

Today I also received an invitation from a friend, Tonielle Sarkar, to have dinner with her and her family tomorrow evening. Her husband, Pankaj, is the pastor of Calvary Chapel of Kathmandu, and they both lead the Salvation School of Worship. I met them 10 years ago at a missions conference in Chiang Mai, Thailand on a bus on the way to the airport after the conference. As we got talking, we discovered that her parents are good friends with my brother and sister-in-law, living within a block of each other in Monrovia, California. Small world!

So, I am looking forward to seeing them tomorrow.

Speaking of small world . . . and this may take a minute! I was asked by a friend in Washington who is the founder of a charity that supports an orphanage in Kathmandu to possibly visit the orphanage and bring a report. Of course, I said I’d be glad to. Her name is Tanya and about 10 years ago she and my daughter Michelle sat next to each other on a flight from Seattle to Dallas. They got talking and became fast friends. Tanya was very interested to hear what I do and learn more about MTI. So, tomorrow I will visit that Orphanage with Dev. I had never met the directors other than through email. While I was at the 3-day conference, I stayed at a new Best Western hotel within walking distance of the ashram. On the second day, I was about to leave for the venue when I noticed a sign in the hotel lobby with an arrow pointing to where the “VOC meeting” was being held. I thought I had heard that name. Finally it dawned on me that it means Voice of Children and it turns out that the 2 gentlemen I will be meeting tomorrow were staying at the same hotel as I! I emailed them, and we met in the lobby and had a nice chat for about 45 minutes. Yes, small world!

So, that brings you up to date. Thanks again for the prayers, Keep them coming!

David

I had a wonderful time out last evening with the kids and adult helpers from the orphanage. As has become a yearly tradition, I take them all out for a nice dinner. The kids seldom get to enjoy something like this, so it is a very special occasion for them.

But first, I visited the church that meets at the orphanage in the morning, preaching a message to them and the people of the surrounding community who attend each week. The worship band is made up of the kids that live there and they really are quite good! Everything went well and I returned to my hotel until it was time to be picked up for the dinner.

This year, we went to different pizza place, than the previous years, very nice and kind of outdoors under a roof, an open-air structure. The lined up several tables in order to accommodate the 33 of us. It was a time filled with LOTS of delicious food, cultural dancing performances provided by the restaurant, and lots of laughter. The kids and other restaurant patrons were invited up on the stage to dance with the performers. It was so much fun to watch them all having an unforgettable experience. I am so grateful for this opportunity each year.

So, now I will head up to the site of the 3-day conference of pastors. I am looking forward to it and ask for your continued prayers for good health and safety.

Blessings to you all!

David

Well, I am finally here. I got into the Delhi airport from Bangkok, Thailand at 9 PM on Tuesday, March 10. It was a long haul here of 30 hours aboard 3 different flights. I had originally been booked on Emirates but when the Iran bombing began I, through the wise counsel of friends and my lovely wife, decided to book on an Asian carrier and take the Pacific route. So I was on Eva Air: Seattle to Taipei, Taipei to Bangkok, Bangkok to Delhi. Since I don’t sleep well on the flights, I was pretty tired out and took Wednesday to get ready for the day of ministry on Thursday.

Yesterday, Thursday March 12, I spent the day with the leaders and students of Harvest Mission to the Unreached. I have been working with them for almost 20 years and have always loved their ministry and the pastors and leaders. They picked me up at the hotel and drove out to the venue, the Campus Crusade for Christ compound about 30 minutes from the hotel. HMU had been holding conferences there for many years. I hadn’t been there since 2020 due to the pandemic and the evolving political situation as it relates to religion. So, it is good to be back on familiar territory.

The plans for the day were for me to teach a select group of leaders in the morning and then participate in a graduation ceremony from their Calvary School of Harvest in the afternoon.

I enjoyed the hour or so with them in the morning. In spite of the tiredness, I felt strong and able to deliver a pertinent message to the leaders. After taking a break, we assembled again in order to have the graduation ceremony. There were about 25 graduating, most with Bachelor of Theology degrees. Their graduation ceremonies are dignified, and we who led the ceremony as well as the graduates donned the appropriate caps and gowns.

There was a bit of music and worship at the beginning, led by a man named Bijou, who had been at most every conference and gathering I had ever participated in with HMU in India. He is a gifted musician and worship leader and it was like old times. After introductions and a couple of speeches, it was my time to bring a message to the grads. I was told that I had 15 minutes, and thanks to the stopwatch on my Apple watch, I kept it within that time frame! I talked about what the future may hold for them going forward from school, among other things. Then it came time to hand out the degrees. As each person was called forward, Pastor Saji handed the certificates to each of them, and then I handed each of them a gift from HMU, a set of 3 books to continue their learning. There was a professional photographer there and as each person was handed the certificate and then the books, we posed for the photo. We all then stood or sat on the stage for a group photo.

After a time of prayer and thanksgiving, the ceremony concluded. As is always the case, when we all went outdoors, there was about an hour of group photos, students wanting a photo with many of us who are the leaders. It was a joyous occasion and I am thankful to have been a part of it all.

So, in a few hours I will take the flight to Kathmandu for a week of ministry there. Among other things, I will be teaching at a 3-day conference for HMU Nepal in the hills outside of Kathmandu. Looking forward to it. I will try and post photos in the next couple of days.

Thank you for the prayers. Please keep them up!

David