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