Reaching Nepal

As many of you know, several states in the south were hit by the worst series of tornadoes the country has seen in ten years. Out of the southern states, Tennessee was hit the worst with a told of 27 ities. The storm even made its way to my home where my family along with Sarah and I were. We were blessed and nothing tragic happened around us but others were not so blessed.

Last night Sarah received a call from her mom who told her that Union University had been hit by the storm, the school Sarah graduated from and the place her younger brother Kevin is attending. It had hit several hours earlier and they still had not heard from Kevin. Later we found out Kevin had taken shelter with some friends in a bathroom on campus. The building received a direct hit and Kevin along with several of his friends were trapped under many feet of rubble. We looked online and saw video of what was once the building and is now nothing more than a pile of lumber. Kevin was trapped for more than four hours before rescue workers pulled he and his friends out. All are safe and doing well. Kevin has been in the hospital and apart from a minor leg injury he is doing well. Please pray for Him and his family. I can only image the trauma that would go along with an event like that. Also pray for Union University. It is an amazing Christian school that now lies in ruin. Pray that God rebuilds the school and blesses them in even greater ways.

I am a horrible blogger. Since I have been back, I have only written once. In by defense, I have been bombarded with meetings, weddings plans, family time, and church meetings but I realize that is no excuse. In reality there have been plenty of times when I could have written and didn’t. Sorry for that.

Life is good here in America. Apart from the occasional reverse culture shock, I love being back with my family and sharing with churches. God has opened several doors to do ministry lately. Sarah and I have gone to a few churches this month and this week I am back at Tennessee Temple University. It’s amazing how much my old school has changed but for the most part I really like the changes. Those who want to focus on Jesus and worship Him seem to have the opportunity to really grow and be trained for ministry. I have met so many student who have a heart for God and the missions program at Temple is on the rise. The three days I have been here have been such a blessing. To be able to teach the classes I once took and to preach in the chapel I once attended is amazing to me. It has also been great to have Sarah by my side as we minister.

Continue to pray for Sarah and I as we seek additional support to return to Nepal and as we plan the wedding. As a guy I had no idea just how big a deal a wedding was. I thought I did but planning a wedding can be overwhelming and I’m not even doing that much in the planning process. I feel for my cute little bride-to-be as she runs around and tries to plan a wedding in two and a half months. We constantly try to stop and remind ourselves to have fun in this whole process. It really is fun, we just have to remember to take it a step at a time.

Since we are on the topic of my wedding, I needed address for all my friends. if you are reading this and want to come to my wedding PLEASE email me your address to reachingnepal@gmail.com or post a comment with your address on it. I some of you will feel shy to send me your address but I really want all my friends to come and for that to happen I need your address. Anyway, I hope to be post more often now that I have been told by several of you that you actually read my website. Thanks.

This last week two big things happened. First of all I came back to America on furlough. Most of you knew I was coming back soon but I kept the date a secret. The reason for the secret has to do with the second big news…I’m getting married! Oh yeah, you heard it right. I came back early to suprise Sarah and after a night on the town I asked her to be my bride. It was an amazing night and everything thing worked according to plan. We are still working on all the details so as soon as we descide I will let you know.

The most amazing thing of the night was the fact that she said yes. Once you meet Sarah you will understand. She is way out of my league but I don’t think she has realized it yet so let’s not tell her…haha. I’ve posted a picture of the? engagemnet ring. Enjoy!?

I’m reading a book by Bill Hull called the Complete Book of Discipleship. It’s a great book and it has reminded me why I love discipling others. Hulls says in his book “Discipleship isn’t a program or even an event; it’s a way of life.” He goes on to say that “discipleship ranks as God’s top priority.”

Since coming to Nepal I have had the opportunity to disciple two different groups of great men. Each of them have been both a challenge and a joy to walk along side in their journey. Out of all the other ministries I’ve been involved with both as a youth pastor and as a missionary, I find the greatest joy in discipling others.

My Wednesday night discipleship group.

I thought you should all see the most beautiful woman in the world. To my dismay Sarah left for America on Tuesday but no worries, I will see her soon!

Here are the pictures I promised. I can’t begin to say how beautiful this place and its people are. I hope you enjoy.

The Himalayas

Flowers, the river, and the mountains

If you look close, there are about 20 people in that pick-up and the water is pushing it over the edge. Don’t worry, they made it across safely. My team and I were in the next truck that drove through. Fun times!

Yak crossing

A traditional Tibetan door

Tib*tan Buddhists doing prostrations to earn merit. As Sarah and I sat behind these ladies praying we were heart broken to know that all their effort was in vain. They need the hope only Jesus can give.

Can you guess which one is real?

Monks in a debate at the Sera Monastery.

The people of Tib*t

The climbing wall in Lh*sa. To most of you this doesn’t mean anything, but to those climbers out there, be amazed with me at the awesomeness of this wall.

The Potala. The former home of the Dali Lama and the most famous site in Tib*t.

Sarah and I looking at the Potala at night. Pray for us as we seek God’s will in how to help these people.

I’m back from Tib*t and it was an amazing trip. God did great things and I am excited to see what he has for me and the Tib*tan people. My team and I spent two weeks in the area and during that time we only met one national believer. From what we discovered the people are still very unreached and the Christians that are there are suffering under persecution. I will keep this short but please pray for this area and its people.

I will post more stories and pictures soon.

All is well in Tib*t. My team and I have had an exciting trip and I look forward to sharing many stories with you but for now a brief update will have to do. We crossed the border last week with no problems and were able to bring many things needed by our brothers and sisters here. Once we hit the border we were stuck for four days is a small town due to a land slide. Afterward, we were able to make it to the capital and have had a great time here.
Dad is revealing many things to Sarah and I and we ask that you continue to lift us up. This area is in desperate need of HOPE and we are looking for oppurtunities to do that. This trip has been refreshing for me and helped me gather my thoughts on many things.

We will be heading back on Thursday and plan to be back in Kathmandu on Saturday.

For years now I have dreamed about going to Tib*t. When I first went into missions my heart was set on Tib*t and in many ways I still long to help the people there. A door has open for me to go for a two week trip to visit, pray, and deliver materials. Please pray hard for this trip. Persecution is very high in this place and lately the goverment has closed the country even more.

I know that God has a great purpose for this journey. I don’t know what it is but I know it will be amazing. I have determined to trust in God and believe big things for this trip. Please join me and expect great things from God. Tib*t is one of the most unreached areas of the world and our prayers can break down the wall that seperates it from the love of Christ.

Because of the high level of security, I am unsure if I will be able to post on my website during this trip. I will try my best to post, but if not ,I will give you an update when I get back.? I should return to Kathmandu around September 22.

Good evening all. As some of you may have already seen on the news, fresh violence has broken out in Nepal. It has been relatively quiet in Kathmandu the last year or so but this afternoon around 4pm several bombs went off around the valley. One at a bus station, one inside a bus, and rumors of several others. Several have died and many others were injured. We have had bombs go off in the city before but never has anyone targeted people. To be honest I really have no idea what took place. All I know is that today’s events are an indication of the true state of Nepal. My land is lost and in need of Jesus. Please pray for my country and my people. They are so afraid and have no place to turn for hope.

I am safe and so are my teammates and national partners. I was with Sarah getting ready for a Bible study when all of this happened. Tonight I am staying with some friends because it was unsafe to travel across town to my home. Keep your eyes on the news and continue to remember us here.

Here is a link to a Nepali news site reporting on the events.

Have you ever read an article or watched a TV program about someone doing something amazing and thought, ?I want to do that one day.? I do it all the time. A few days ago I got online to check the news and saw an article entitled, ?30 things to do before you?re thirty.? Since then I have been thinking about all the things I?ve wanted to do in my life. My overarching desire is to use my life to please God by serving Him, but with that, I have smaller goals I want to accomplish in my life. Some are a bit shallow while others are very lofty and honorable. I thought it would be a fun to share my list with you. This is part 1 and they are in no particular order. Some are things I can accomplish and others are works of God.

Things To Do Before I?m 40.

1. Be a part of a genuine revival
2. Serve in a part of Africa ravaged by war or disease.
3. Summit Mt. Ama Dablem (Mountain in the Himalayas)
4. Write a book that needs to be written.
5. Get a Master of Divinity degree
6. Start a family
7. Climb a 5.11 route (rock climbing)
8. Do ministry in the Middle East
9. Memorize a whole book of the Bible
10. Become fluent in 2 languages (not including English)
11. Run a marathon
12. Compete in one more wrestling tournament
13. Plant a church where a church is needed
14. Ride a horse
15. Build my own house

Make sure you check back in to see the rest of my list. If you have your own list or want to make a list, make sure you post it in my comments so that I and all my readers can see what you want to do in your lifetime.