Category: Latest Updates

It is Thursday evening now. Yesterday morning I met with Pastor Saroj and his assistant pastor in order to plan for a pastors seminar next year. He asked if I would teach mainly from the Book of Nehemiah, which is a great resource for leadership themes. So, we planned some tentative dates and I will confirm them once I look at my calendar for 2024. Yesterday evening I went to the campus of the Calvary Chapel Bible College of Kathmandu for their mid-week Bible study. I met the directors, Pankaj and Tonielle back in 2015 at the CC Missions Conference in Thailand, and we have kept in touch since then. In fact, they were recently in the states and came up to Washington and we had lunch together in Silverdale. Anyway, it was great to be with them here. While at their campus, I met a wonderful couple, missionaries who live in Medford, Oregon. Their story is similar to mine: he served as a pastor for 40 years and was then led to do missions work, training leaders in other nations, now devoting his ministry efforts to that. Their names are Mike and Lisa, and we had such a great time of fellowship. I hope that our paths cross again. I know I will keep in touch with them. Upon leaving, I became aware that many of the people there knew me. I wondered why? Well, last October I was in Kathmandu and was invited to participate in a Marriage Retreat, and many of the people in attendance last night were at that retreat! The evening ended all too soon, I was really enjoying conversing with them all.

Today I began to get things ready for the long trip home. However, I did venture out to a district called Thamel, a popular tourist place with hundreds of shops, most of them selling Pashmina cashmere goods, trinkets, clothing, souvenirs, and all things Nepali. It is a fun place and I had been there before but I wanted to get a T-shirt for my grandson Eli. Then I found a pizza place the hotel recommended and I was glad to have found it!

So, I will leave tomorrow night (Friday) and be home, God willing, on Saturday. Again, I thank you for the prayers. Please pray me home safely! God bless you all.

David

The past 2 days have been all I could have expected as we had pastors seminars at Harvest Church, where Pastor Satis hosted this great event. There were pastors from all over the area, as well as several pastors of Harvest Church branch churches. I taught each day for approximately 3 hours, and the sessions were followed by Q&A, with some thoughtful questions. We expected 50 each day but there were considerably more the first day, with even more the second day. What a great group, so attentive and engaged in the teachings. The worship and corporate prayer times were rich and inspiring. I love the worship band, young college-aged kids who put in a lot of practice and are very talented. I was so glad to be there and was blessed and energized by the day’s events each day. There are some wonderful young pastors in Nepal!!

The photos are of the group and me with several of the branch church pastors.

I’ve got several more meetings this week. Thanks again for the prayers.

David

It is Saturday evening right now. The past 24 hours have been a great joy. Last evening I went to a restaurant with all of the kids from the orphanage. We (MTI) treated them to a rare night out, a party for the kids. When Dev and Maya from the orphanage picked me up, she told me that the girls had been deciding all day on what dress to wear, how their hair will look, and more. The day before all of the kids had been looking at the menu online to decide what they were going to order. It was like Christmas to them, as they rarely get to go out to a restaurant. We met the kids at the restaurant and they were so excited! They had pizza, hamburgers, Momo’s (the Nepal national dish, kind of like potstickers), ice cream, soda, and more. I truly was filled with joy as I observed the joy in all of them, smiling, laughing, and eating. (They took home several boxes and bags of leftovers and Dev told me they were eaten before morning!). It was an unforgettable evening with these wonderful children! The photos are from during and after the dinner.

Then, today I preached at the church of Pastor Satis Thapa. It was about a 30-45 minute drive from the hotel. The service began at 11 and finished at about 1:30. The time of worship through music and prayer was rich. Their worship music group consists of young people, mainly in their teens and they are very talented. I preached a sermon and Pastor Satis translated, doing a great job. The message was followed by a sweet time of communion. I was able to interact and pray with many of the congregation and then I was given a lunch after which I was driven back to the hotel. What a wonderful 24 hours! Tomorrow I will begin the 2-day seminar for 50 pastors at Satis’ church.

Thanks for the prayers. I’m feeling great and relishing this time with everyone.

David