Please email us at wer4j@juno.com to receive the password to view the Giri’s newsletters! Thank you!

As Maya, Ama, and I were walking home from an errand today, we were surrounded by several smiling little faces from our river ministry. Before I knew it, each of my hands as well as wrists were latched together with theirs, swinging as we walked. Then, these 8 kids began singing Nepali songs we’ve been teaching them: “Jesus always sees me,” and “Thank you, Jesus,” rang out for the surrounding neighbors to hear in Nepali. Truly something I am very thankful for!

~L

This content is password protected. To view it please enter your password below:

Password:

This content is password protected. To view it please enter your password below:

Password:

Seven months ago, when I decided to do a Christmas outreach for neighborhood children, I never imagined the steps that God would ordain in order to fulfill His purposes.

On my walk that day, my nephew and I noticed a little boy sitting on his porch on an empty rice sack. He was the most twisted and crippled person I had ever seen. His image was cemented in my heart, and I decided that I would get to know and pray for that little boy, whom I later came to know as Sankar.

Soon after that, my friend and I decided to do some evangelism, and we started in that small, community along the banks of a dried up river. We went straight to Sankar’s porch, told him about Jesus, that Jesus sees him and loves him. He said that he was lonely with no one to talk to all day while everyone else was at school. We explained that he could talk to Jesus at anytime and that he had five new friends that day.

When we went to meet Sankar, many children gathered and we soon had a listening audience. We were soon gathering with the children on that small, dung-covered porch, and growing to love Sankar and his family and those children. All of the children and families were Hindu, but they listened enthusiastically to Bible stories. For the last 7 months, we (Yonhui and her daughter, Grace, Prakash, Kumar, Maya and I) have been going weekly to that community sharing with a group of about 50-60 children and other curious passersby.

Two weeks ago, my nephew was informed by one of the village boys that Sankar was very sick and that Sankar wanted Yonhui to come and pray for him. I was unfortunately out of town at the time. Yonhui and her husband, Charles, went to pray for Sankar at his house. He had refused to go to the hospital until they came to pray. Sankar struggled for each breath and eventually passed out from exhaustion. At the hospital that night, the doctor informed his father that there was nothing more they could do for him and that he needed to be taken to a more advanced hospital. Sankar, however, was adamant that he did not want to go to another hospital, and that he just wanted “to go to Heaven with Jesus.” The next morning, Sankar did go to live with Jesus.

It’s plain to see now how each step was ordained by our Father in Heaven, from Sankar’s porch where we began the Bible stories to even which stories we shared. Yonhui had decided to begin with what Heaven is like, who Jesus is, and the miracles of Jesus. I can’t imagine how scary death can be, but my heart is warmed with the thought that Sankar had already been given a glimpse of where he was going and the One whom he would meet simply because God had us go to that village, to Sankar’s house, and share those particular stories just a few months before. Sankar truly believed the truth we were sharing, unbeknownst to us at the time.

But that’s not the end of the story. Sankar’s father, who is not a Christian, asked Charles and Yonhui to give his son a Christian burial service, as opposed to the Hindu rituals normally done here. About 40 villagers got to hear about the hope found in Jesus at the funeral and later almost the entire village at Sankar’s house. Praise the Lord!

The children now proclaim that Sankar is in heaven. His little sister asked just last week, “Can I go to heaven, too?” This past Sunday, we were telling the children the Bible story while several adults listened also. Afterwards, a lady and her husband came and said, “We want to believe. What do we need to do?” Such beautiful words! As I explained the Gospel, several people listened and asked many questions. I believe more in this village will soon come to know Jesus as their Savior.

“Most assuredly, I say unto you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone;   but if it dies, it produces much grain.” John 12:24

As is the case no matter where you are in the world, some days are harder than others. I could tell you about all the particularly frustrating days we’ve had lately here in Nepal, the sad things we’ve seen, and all the things that have “gone wrong” (mainly with our house). However, what purpose would that serve anyway?

What I will share are some prayer requests in regard to our river ministry. The kids are so joyful and receptive to the Bible stories and songs and it is truly a joy to me to see their faces each week. We have started praying with them at the beginning and end of our time together. Although we did not ask them, the whole group took it upon themselves to repeat our prayers (in Nepali translation) at the end. Wow! What a blessing to hear them thanking God and asking for his help and forgiveness.

I ask for prayer for their hearts to be molded and minds to be transformed as they hear about Jesus. The children also need prayer for eye infections that are being spread throughout the village. We spent time this week teaching about germs, how infections spread, and about general hygiene. We gave soap to some as well as antibiotic eye drops to the two children with the worst eye infections. We met their mothers and gave instructions for the eye drops.

I had mentioned in an earlier post that there is widespread alcoholism in this village. There is one lady in particular who always smells of alcohol when she comes to our gatherings, but this week she was actually drunk. She had a small child with her who was probably under 2, likely a relative’s child. The boy cried constantly for a long time, and this woman became extremely disruptive to the group. I had to stop and ask her to stop hitting the child and to stop talking out randomly while we were sharing with the children. We needed to talk to the children about how to love each other as God loves us, that it is not good to hit and call each other bad names. So this week was a little rougher than usual at the river. But these things are to be expected, and this is precisely why we need to be there. Please pray for the children and families there, that their hearts will be receptive to their need for Jesus. It’s easy to get discouraged sometimes, but I know that the Lord is working there and I am grateful to be a part of it.

There is another lady who has started coming who asked us to pray for her leg. A few weeks ago, she came limping while using a stick. When she saw my friend and I praying for Sunkar, the crippled boy, she said, “Aren’t you going to pray for me?” Her faith was touching. Last week, she wasn’t limping as much, but she still had the stick. This week, she walked much better with no stick! Thank you, Lord, for answered prayer!

No matter what happens, and no matter where we are in the world, life can be frustrating and discouraging. I have to constantly remind myself to remain positive and focus on what God is doing. I’m so thankful for the body of Christ to pray for and encourage each other and so grateful that His mercies are new every morning!

Thank you for praying for Nepal. And let’s be mindful to listen and wait to see who God puts in our paths who may need a little encouragement this week!

~L

Believe it or not, there is a swimming pool in Dharan, Nepal! I know that it is very common and we probably take it for granted that there will be a pool in most towns in the U.S. But when you move to a third world country to live and work as a missionary, you just don’t expect a swimming pool. So, I am happily surprised about this!

My whole family went to the pool yesterday, including sari-wearing Ama, who sat on the side and watched. Ama asked what that blue stuff was (the water in the pool.) I am the only one in my family who knows how to swim. So it is a particularly fun adventure that I get to teach my family this recreation. We didn’t know about the pool the first year we were here.

Yesterday, we chose the wrong day of the week to go, on Saturday. There were probably about 75 people at the pool, all men and boys. And then there was me, in my long shorts and t-shirt, of course, and Maya.Women were there, sitting on the balcony overhead watching.  About 65 of those men and boys were in the 3-4 feet, since they too, do not know how to swim. This whole swimming pool idea is a new concept to them, and pools are not found in most places in Nepal. (Dharan is basically a big place for retired Gorkha soldiers from the British army.) You can imagine how crowded it was with everyone crowded in the same area, jumping around and holding onto the walls. Every time you turn around, you get kicked in the leg or splashed in the face!

My family all had a great time anyway. The boys had never been to a swimming pool before so this is especially exciting for them. Nanda can’t really go under due to his ear issue, but the boys are quickly learning how to swim. The first two times we went, Kumar practiced kicking and breathing under water, then swimming underwater, and this time he jumped off the side for the first time. Prakash has graduated to cannonballs, thanks to his auntie who grew up near a pool and has two older brothers. Maya is not afraid of the water at all. She’s not really afraid of anything for that matter. She likes to kick her feet in her pink floatie and chase people. She went the whole width of the pool chasing after her daddy. At the snack section, she noticed that they sold goggles, and she really wanted some. I thought it was a good investment, considering the 65 men and boys kicking water in our faces.

After being there for about an hour, we noticed that there was a baby pool. I took Maya over there and she had much more fun where she could actually stand, but still swim if she wanted to. The baby pool was also surrounded by women, mothers of the children, all dressed in their long pants and panjabis with no intentions of getting in the water.

Maya brought her new, pink goggles to bed and wore them while we read a book. She fell asleep holding them. It was a good family day.

The Lord gave me this poem yesterday. He knows just what we need because I had a particularly discouraging day today.

But praise God, “Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be shaken but endures forever.” Psalm 125:1

Waiting 

Father, I will wait for you.

For it is you Who gives me hope.

In the hills and in the valleys

I will trust and wait for You.

I will obey; I will be strong.

I will take heart and wait for You.

I will see Your goodness in this land

And You will see me through.

Thank You for Your precious work

For Your good pleasure and will.

In this journey, on this path

Help me, Father, to be still.

It may not go as I had planned.

But your plans are for the best.

I will be strong and not discouraged

As you help me, Lord, through this test.

I will rise on wings like eagles

My new hinds’ feet will leap.

I will walk with You hand in hand

As You take me to the steep.

I will carry Your Word in my heart

As one who carries a bag of seed

And those You place before me

I will reach out my hand to feed.

From Your Word You have taught me

And now You are my strong Tower

I have tasted Your goodness and mercy

And seen Your all surpassing power.

Every day, in every way

Help me to follow You.

My steps are ordered and ordained

And with Your strength I will wait for You.

I hope you are blessed today.

~L

I have to tell you how our Father works. A few days ago, a pair of pliers came up missing from our small tool box we had brought from the states. Our oldest nephew was the last one who had it, and it was a BIG deal because nice tools are extremely hard to come by. And of course, there is the fact that we are trying to instill in them the value of things, plus responsibility. But after looking everywhere throughout the house, we had to give up on finding the pliers. Then, this morning, I get an email from a friend who is sending a package including “Swiss all purpose pliers with multiple tools built in. Had it for years and never used it.”

Only God can do that! What an amazing God who cares for all the details of our lives! It’s easy for us to get upset with our nephew for losing something, but I see now that the Lord had a higher purpose, to show us His sweet provision.
Praise the Lord!
What details of your lives do you see the Father’s hand?

~L

Teaching the river kids a Nepali Christian song with motions, Maya telling me,”put your hands on the dog and pray so there will be power,” Nanda’s mom eating ice cream for the very first time ever, praying for sick people (and dogs), giving out Christian tracts at the river community, hearing from the kids at the river which has been their favorite Bible stories, Nanda teaching Disciple Training School at a YWAM base, boys starting a new school year, trying to figure out how to make the best out of a major mistake made on our house, Kumar becoming more confident to translate for me, my shoe getting stuck in inches of thick, smelly, black sludge (or something), eating a cucumber with an old lady on her porch as she makes plates out of leaves for Hindu worship, singing a song to a little crippled boy in my lap, nursing a painful boil on Prakash’s eyelid, Nanda’s mom with tears in her eyes as Nanda is teaching at church, precious time spent in prayer and being thankful for it all.

We hope your week has been great!

~L