Last Post for a Few Weeks

See you mid-October!

This will be my last post for a few weeks. As I mentioned before, I will be trekking with a group of KISC teachers to Everest Base Camp! I’m so excited and so thankful for this opportunity. A year ago I never would have though that I’d have the chance to go to Mount Everest. I’d really appreciate your prayers while I’m gone. Although we’re very well prepared, there are obviously still risks. Please pray for safe flights to and from Lukla (our starting and finishing point), and for good health. We’ll be taking the trek slowly to acclimatize, but altitude sickness is still a concern. Finally, that we would simply have a great time, good fellowship together, and be positive witnesses of Christ along the way.

Trek dates: October 1^st – October 16^th. (Return date tentative).

Kathmandu ½ Marathon

I successfully completed the ½ marathon last weekend! This race was so different from any that I’ve ever run before. Traffic was not blocked off, so dodging busses, taxis, and motorbikes throughout the 13.6 miles (yes, that’s an extra ½ mile) was an added challenge. The total absence of porta-potties never turned out to be a tragedy for me, but it would be nice to know they’re there if you need them.

Entering a race with a group of people was also a new experience for me, but it was such a blessing to have the camaraderie. We also had a group of friends cheering us on along the route, which turned out to be a huge encouragement. 

All of the 1/2 Marathoners at the finish line. We also had a group who ran the 5K!

Saying goodbye :(

At schools like KISC it’s common to have teachers coming and going throughout the school year. Sadly, at the end of this term I’ll be saying goodbye to one of my good friends. Sarah C. has been a huge source of joy in my life for the past three months and she’ll be heading back home to Scotland on Saturday. She’s taught me all about Scottish-English, tartans, kilts, and the Loch Ness Monster. With all that and people like Sarah, Scotland must be a pretty awesome place. 

My Scottish friend, Sarah, is the one in the middle.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“May your roots go down deep into the soil of God’s marvelous love. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, low long, how high, and how deep his love really is.” – Ephesians 3:17-18

God’s Love… Awesome and Undeniable

In a recent email conversation, the topic of God’s love for us and the experience of that love was highlighted and whether we “feel” that love at the moment or not, the bottom line is that Christ died for us, and you simply can’t argue with such an obvious act of love. 

“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.” – Romans 6:23

After this conversation and reflecting on this verse, I’ve been trying to be more intentional about viewing each and every person as someone for whom Christ died. It’s amazing how much this exercise will change the way you see the people around you.

Recent Events

Swim season is officially over, much to my dismay. I’ve loved getting to know the swimmers and being able to help out with the team. It’s truly been one of the highlights of my time in Nepal so far. At our last swim meet many of the swimmers qualified for finals, the majority of whom finally won medals. The season was capped off with a school assembly to recognize their achievements and a team party. Thankfully, I do have more swimming to look forward to. The season will pick up again in Term 4 when it’s warm enough to swim again.

Today I went to Swayambhunath – aka: The Monkey Temple. It’s an ancient Buddhist complex. It was interesting to see the stupas, temples, and shrines, and to hear about the meaning behind them from a very friendly and eager Nepali shopkeeper. We also got to see baby monkeys and an incredible view of the Kathmandu valley. Plus, as a bonus, I got to practice quite a bit of Nepali with our taxi drivers :). 

Stupa, temple, and relics at Swayambhunath.

Here I am! The view of the Kathmandu valley from Swayambhunath was beautiful!

Upcoming Events

God has given me so many great opportunities that are coming up very soon! Here’s what I’ll be up to in the upcoming weeks:

Next Saturday is the Kathmandu ½ Marathon! I’ve officially registered and have a small group of friends who will be running as well. Although I haven’t properly trained, I really enjoy racing and I’m sure this will be unlike any other race I’ve ever run. I’m looking forward to the experience of the race and simply feeling the joy that I find in running.

In two weeks I’ll be heading off on a two-week trek to Everest Base Camp! Term 1 at school is ending and we have a long October break and plan on fully taking advantage of this time off. We’ve been discussing the potential of a trip to Mount Everest for awhile, but now it’s official! God’s provision has been so obvious in every aspect of planning from getting plane tickets to providing the gear that we will need. It’s still hard to believe that I’ll actually be going to Mount Everest. Never in my wildest dreams would I ever have thought that I would have this opportunity. Simply seeing the Himalayas from afar through the clouds is a breathtaking experience – I can hardly imagine how awesome it will be to actually be IN the mountains, at the foot of the highest mountain in the world, experiencing God’s power and beauty in such a concrete way.  

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I'll be uploading new photos to my Facebook account, so be sure to check them out! Also, check out my updated prayer requests and praises in the section to the left -->

A New Place, a Royal Palace, and a Huge Blessing

Hi everyone!

It’s been a couple weeks since I’ve posted, so here’s a small update on what has been going on over here in Nepal. 

I Moved!

I’m now living in a different guest house! A room just opened up in the official KISC guest house, so this weekend I packed up all my things and moved just around the corner. I’m really excited about my new place. There are a lot more KISC teachers who live here, so it’s a much greater sense of community. It’s a much brighter and more cheerful building and I have a beautiful view out of my bedroom window. Once I’m all unpacked I’ll be sure to take some pictures so you can see it! There are several things I’ll miss about my old guest house, especially Kashmira, the Nepali girl that lives there who I could always practice my language with... but overall this move is a HUGE reason for joy. 

The night before I left, Sarita, the owner of my old guest house taught a group of us to make daal bhat - the typical Nepali meal. Many Nepalis eat it twice a day! It's basically rice and lentils with a side of veggies and pickled tomato. Yummy!

 

Visiting the Royal Palace

Last weekend some friends and I went to the Royal Palace. I still don’t know that much about the history of Nepal, but seeing the palace was a great visual way to get a better grasp on things. The government is really still getting settled at the moment. There is no king in Nepal, but this was a fairly recent development, so it is as if it’s history isn’t something from long ago but rather something that is still being worked out even today. There was also a tragic massacre of the royal family in 2001 and seeing the site of this event was really eye-opening. 

The Royal Palace Museum in Kathmandu

OBEDIENCE

This is THE WORD to sum up the group that I’ve been meeting with for the past couple of weeks. The simplest way of labeling it would be with the title “Bible Study,” but the focus is more on obeying the Word of God rather than gathering knowledge about it. This group has been such a blessing to me the past couple weeks and has really been stretching me, challenging me, and growing me. It is so common for us to know what Christ commands, but if you think about it, how many of us actually OBEY these commands. My lack of true obedience has really been made clear to me and I’m excited to see how God is going to use this group not only in my life, but in NEPAL as a whole. That was the summary of this group in a very tiny nutshell. Perhaps I’ll develop this more in a future post. 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Check out my updated prayer requests and praises over to the right -->
Also, if there is any way I can pray for you don't hesitate to let me know! Or if you simply want to say hello... that's always nice too :)

Finally, I recently posted new photos in my Facebook album. Whether you have Facebook or not you can view my photos by clicking on this link: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.572126078282.2064217.69102077&l=48b560a067&type=1