Greetings from Kev in Kathmandu - Newsletter 3

Hello,

A lot has happened here in the run up to Easter:-

  

Visit to Gorkha

One of my highlights for March was a visit to Gorkha, to preach in one of the small rural churches there.  I spent two nights as guest of Pastor and Mrs. Tamang and was delighted to preach in the church on the Saturday morning.  Large numbers of Christians live in this part of Nepal.  Once there are a number of believers in a particular neighbourhood, they tend to re-group and form an independent fellowship within that neighbourhood – so the churches just….re-produce, naturally.  Although these churches are often small, there are lots of them!.  There are exceptions, of course and before leaving on the Sunday morning, I was able to meet James, the young pastor of a 150 strong congregation – and also listen to his gospel radio broadcast, recorded in Gorkha the previous day.

With Pastor and Mrs Tamang at Gorkha

It was a wonderful opportunity to visit rural Nepal, including padi fields up close.  After the Saturday service, I was taken on a visit to the historic hilltop palace – home of the rulers of Gorkha.  It was one of these, King Prithvi Narayan Shah, who, in 1769, unified the country, creating the nation of Nepal. The views were spectacular – well worth climbing the 1,500 steps to get there!!  As well as being of historic significance, the site is, however, still in use as a place of Hindu worship and animal sacrifice.

Easter in Kathmandu

Back in Kathmandu, I felt it was a real privilege when Pastor Min Raj invited me to preach at the Good Friday service.  Part way through the message (theme: “the darkest hour”), the sound of thunder was heard and several students rushed out of the church.  Had the message given offence? – thankfully not – they’d just left their washing on the roof to dry.

Easter Sunday started with a 6am service followed by tea, biscuits and hard boiled eggs.  Afterwards we joined a procession and rally in the centre of Kathmandu.  I was staggered by the number of people taking part and the number of churches (approx 100) involved.  Many of the churches brought banners (carried between two poles) with their church name on.  As the procession made it’s way towards the city centre, other churches joined – like tributaries joining a river !!  Although the procession included people of all ages, I was struck by how many were in younger age groups – a really encouraging sign for the future of the church in Nepal.

Developments

The Prayer Room - Under Construction

The painting company have now completed work on the bible school building and have done a good job - a huge improvement on the temporary coating which was applied when the building was completed last year.  In the end, there was no need for my assistance on this. Since the painter had previously submitted a quote for the job, inclusive of all labour charges, it was felt that there was just no point in me doing work which the painter was getting paid for!!!

Permission has been granted to build the prayer room on the roof of the bible school.  An official from the municipal authority visited the site one morning and gave permission to proceed, on the spot.  A refreshingly straight-forward process of planning permission !!!  The builders started work the same afternoon.

The church has acquired land for a future building and vehicle access was created last week with a JCB (yes, they get everywhere!).

In March, I was invited to attend the parent’s day at the Asmita English School.  Having made several schools visits earlier in the year and taught some classes myself, I have got to know many of the teachers.  In addition, the children from the “Angels” orphanage attend this school.  I was very impressed at the standard of the performances.

Sponsorship, from a variety of sources, has now been promised for five of the twelve places at “Angels”.  Encouraging progress and something to give thanks for.

Ready for school - the children from 'Angels'

Several more students have now joined the bible school, after completing exams elsewhere, so the class is now full (actually, slightly more than full!).  The Bible Survey module has got as far as the book of Jonah, which is roughly where we should be at this point.

Pastor Min Raj kindly took me down to the Central Immigration Office in Kathmandu yesterday, to enquire personally if there was any way to increase the limit on my visa beyond 150 days total for the year – there isn’t.  We therefore extended my existing visa up until 30^th May, so that I can complete the teaching in bible school.  I will then travel to India, returning to Nepal in late June.

With best wishes and many thanks to everyone for their prayers,

Kev