:: Reaching Nepal ::

On Monday we finished our time in Nepal and headed to Greece. The past few days have truly been a “holiday” for us. It has been nice to just relax and spend time together. Yesterday we walked up to the Acropolis and saw the Parthenon. It is incredible to be in a place with so much history and imagine what it must have been like years and years ago.

Our time in Nepal ended well. We truly felt blessed to have the opportunity to officially say goodbye. There were many mixed emotions throughout our trip. We are so excited about the opportunities God has given us to serve Him in Louisville but there is still a part of us who knows we were ultimately created to live overseas. We are so thankful we can trust in God and follow Him knowing His ways are infinitely higher than anything we could ever imagine. He has given us a glimpse of that the past few years and we are confident He will continue to guide us.

Thank you so much for praying for the spiritual retreat we led. Several members of our team said it was exactly what they needed and we believe God used it to encourage them and bring further unity. Please continue to pray for Nathan’s friend, Mitsuru. Nathan had numerous conversations with him and it is so evident God is working in His life, yet he is still so far from understanding truth.

We taught English a few days at the old school where Sarah used to teach. We told them the story of Creation and the Fall. Please pray that the students begin to understand their need for a Savior through those stories.

We will be returning to Louisville on Sat. Our desire right now is to take these last few days to spend time together and invest in each other before we return to the busyness of our life in the States.

We just finished a retreat with our team in Kathmandu. We all went to a hotel in town for two nights to allow them to relax and spend time together. We facilitated sessions in the mornings and evenings for them to hear the Word and be refreshed spiritually. We also had a time for them to share about the things God is doing in their lives and pray for one another. Please pray for them as they continue to serve and minister in Nepal.

Yesterday Nathan started feeling bad so today we are taking a break to let him rest. Please pray that his health will be restored so he can continue to teach his class at the Bible college and enjoy the rest of our time here.

We are now staying with my old roommate on the side of town where I (Sarah) lived. I am excited about reconnecting with friends. We have already run into several of my old friends and English students. Please pray that we will be intentional and have Gospel-centered conversations as we spend time with people.

Thank you for your prayers during our time here. Our visit has been fun and encouraging for us but difficult as well. We love so many things about Nepal and the people here. While we are enjoying the time we get to spend here it will be difficult to say goodbye. We are so grateful God has given us this opportunity to come back and say goodbye to people and a place that is so important to both of us. It has been fun to reminisce in the place where we “fell in love.” We are so grateful to know you are praying for us while we are gone.

Sarah and I with our Tibetan friends who have been very faithful in ministry.

Tibetan believers drinking a cup of tea after church.

On Sunday Sarah and I visited a Tibetan church were there were 9 believers! Praise the Lord. After some conversations with the pastor we learned there are now 33 Tibetan believers in Kathmandu. We are thankful for this but there are still well over 50,000 Tibetans in Kathmandu without the Gospel.

This weekend we will leading a spiritual retreat for the missionaries here in Kathmandu. Pray that the Lord will give us wisdom, that there will be growth and that we team will draw closer to God and to each other.

We are starting our fifth day here in Nepal and are in the full swing of things. The first few days we spent reconnecting with old friends. Our time with them has been very refreshing. It’s been nice to talk about life, ministry and the deep things of the Lord.

On Friday we met up with Mitsuru and talked for several hours. Mitsuru is a Japanese guy I (Nathan) was friends with in high school. He moved to my small town because his dad’s company opened a factory. In high school we developed a close friendship and I was able to share the gospel with him several times. Since then he has moved back to Japan but we talk every few years. Several years ago he wrote me telling me he was working on a master’s degree and he was doing it on Christianity in the Southern part of America. How crazy is that. A non-believer wanting to study Christianity! Sadly what he discovered studying Christianity in the South did not encourage him to believe. In his words he called Christians in the South, “Sunday Christians.” He said they believe with their mouth but not with their actions. About two years ago he called me and said he was starting his PhD work and wanted to come to Nepal and study religion. He has now come four times and each time some of my Christian friends have reached out to him and shared the gospel. As we met on Friday we talked about lots of things but we talked about faith quite a bit. He is still very far from coming to faith but it is evidentGod is active in bringing Mitsuru to Himself. I am in awe every time I think about how God has constantly brought Christian people into the life of this unbelieving man. Mitsuru’s thinking is extremely postmodern. Actually he is the most postmodern person I have ever met. To him truth cannot be known and right and wrong are not truly knowable. What may be true for me would not be true for him. It is a crazy thought process but to him and others it makes complete sense. Please faithfully pray for the salvation of Mitsuru. I have prayed for him for thirteen years and ask you to join me in that prayer.

On Saturday Sarah and I ministered in Nepali church and this morning we will be going to a Tibetan church to minister. God has given us the opportunity to share both places. Please pray that God would speak through us to communicate His Word as we strive to both encourage and challenge believers here. We are so grateful for the opportunity to both encourage and be encouraged while we are here. Everyone has been very gracious to us in welcoming us back and helping us feel loved. We hope to post pictures tomorrow.