Sunday, May 18, 2008
Thursday, May 15, 2008
from Humla
Here are some thoughts we recorded while in Humla:
Saturday, April 26th
We arrived here yesterday, after an early morning, hazy flight from Nepalgunj, on which we were the only passengers, along with the flight attendant. Life here moves very slowly; suddenly being at a higher altitude makes everything seem to require more effort. The weather has been great, though still a bit hazy on the snow mountains. We took a walk in the afternoon, getting to see a bit more of the town and surrounding area. It is great to be eating the local food again, though after 3 weeks of it we may not be so excited about rice and beans. I had a talk with Sunita and Sarita, the staff that work with the nutrition program. They feel a bit uncertain as to how to proceed with things as the people in the villages are experiencing the “food gap” between the harvests, when food is scarce. Its hard to teach people how to be eating better when they don't have anything to eat. It is disheartening to think of the situation the humlis are in, and difficult to see creative ways of working with what they have. We truly need the Lord's direction in this.
Today is Saturday, a day off for the Staff at RIDS. It is nice to have another day to get used to the altitude and the pace of life here. We read our bibles in the sun this morning, took a shower, and shared communion together. It is hard to believe that there are seemingly no practicing believers in this place. The quiet from the lack of traffic here is a wonderful change after our time in loud, busy Kathmandu.
Tomorrow, we are scheduled to go to Dharapori, where RIDS has established a field office. Dharapori is a village which is scheduled to begin a nutrition program this year. We also plan to visit Hepka, which is a tibetan village 3 hours north of Dharapori.
Jodi
Friday, May 1st
We've now been in Humla one week. It actually feels like it's been a lot longer. I think it's because this place feels so far removed from my normal world and even the world of Kathmandu. It feels so surreal to be surrounded by huge snow-covered mountains wherever I look, to see no vehicles with wheels of any kind (except the occasional small airplane), to see yaks, horses and donkeys coming past the place we're staying carrying firewood, to see homes made of stone, mud, and rough-cut lumber. It's also hard to comprehend how very different the lives of the people here are than mine. Very few of them probably would have any idea what this computer is that I'm typing on, very few of them know how to read or write their own language, very few of them know what it's like to be healthy and well-nourished, and very few of them have ever heard the truth about their Creator and Savior. I realized this is the first place I've ever been where I couldn't go to a fellowship of believers if I wanted to unless I was willing to take a plane ride or walk for several days.
Our base during our time in Humla is the RIDS-Nepal office in Simicot village, the biggest of the villages in Humla. It's the village that has the little dirt airstrip that we flew in onto. Here people have seen a few more white people in their lives than in the other villages, so not everyone stares at us incessantly. :) Last Sunday we began our first “field trip” - a trip out to some of the smaller villages where RIDS does a lot of their work. Jodi, me, and Seona – an Australian who's doing her doctorate work on green houses – headed out on the 5 hour walk to Dharapori. Simikot is at about 3000 meters, and Dharapori is around 2300 meters, so it was mostly downhill, although it starts with a pretty big up hill. It was the most amazing hike as far as the surroundings I have ever experienced. We met up with Sunita and Sarita – two Humlis who work for RIDS – and Renate – a German lady who is working with RIDS' non-formal education program (NFE) in another village along the way. In Dharapori, we rested for a while. Jodi and I were quite sore. Then Sunita, Jodi, and I went into the village to talk to some people and see what needs they have for nutrition and see if we could find a CNM (Community Nutrition Motivator) to train. There are more flies in Dharapori than I have probably seen in my life. These people, especially the children, are all malnourished and want help. But in some ways their mind-set, way of life, and religion, prevent them from receiving that help.
On Tuesday, we went to a village about an hour walk away called Kholsi, where Jodi had spent some time on her former trips. We spent a little time and prayed with a girl who has Polio who says her whole family is believers after Jodi prayed for her and she was healed of some sickness last time Jodi was here. Please pray that God will teach them who He is and that they will grow in their faith.
On Tuesday, we hiked 3 hours to Hepka, a Tibetan village. In that village, as in most Tibetan villages, the people are much better off and we saw only one malnourished child. Renate was trying to figure out if this has something to do with the values of Buddhism versus Hinduism, but we didn't really know what the connection might be. Tuesday night, we slept in an upstairs room in one of the village houses and we got our first experience of bed bugs. We brought them back with us to Simikot and are currently trying to get them out of our sleeping bags and mattresses. We've probably got near 100 bites each. We hiked a little over 5 hours, mostly uphill back to Simikot on Wednesday and just about wore ourselves out totally. I think Jodi and I should have done some training since we weren't very ready for high altitude steep climbing, coming from Indiana.
Yesterday (Thursday) was a day mostly of relaxing at the office in Simikot. My love and I got to have some really good conversation over a wonderful treat of a cup of instant coffee with powdered milk. Stop cringing AWC coffee snobs. You'd enjoy it here too. We talked about how we might be able to share Jesus with the people here since that's really our main motivation. If our motivation isn't Jesus, it's kind of pointless to be trying to help people to go into eternity with a healthier physical body, but no hope of eternal life. Next week we'll be going back where Jodi, Sunita will be conducting training for the CNMs from several villages. Jodi and I were talking about how she can share the gospel clearly through the nutrition training. I trust God is bringing us to your mind to pray for us in this during next week (even though you won't read this until after it's happened).
I think I have started to get a much more accurate picture of what is involved in being a cross-cultural missionary during my time in Nepal so far. I see that if God calls us to live here in Humla or somewhere like it and join in His work of building His church here, it would be a task harder than I can imagine. The mind-set of the people here is just so different than mine and they view us as white people as so far above them. There would be a lot to overcome, but we have no doubt that God is able to equip and sustain those He calls. From spending time with several missionaries in Kathmandu, I've gotten to see a little more up close what would be involved in being a missionary in a large third-world city. When we get back to Kathmandu in about a week and a half, we plan to spend some time fasting and praying to see if God wants to show us anything we should be involved in during our last 3 weeks in Nepal and if He wants to give us any more clear direction about our future.
Praise God that He's answered your prayers and kept us very healthy in every way so far and He's allowed me to trust in Him and not be overwhelmed with culture shock and not knowing the language. God's also allowed us to be strength and kind of a haven of rest for each other and He's caused our love for each other to grow.
Well that was quite long, but I hope it is a good update on what's been going on with us here. Thank you for your prayers. We look forward to getting back to civilization and having the possibility of communication with our family in the rest of the world.
Daryl
Saturday, May 3
Today the skies are finally clear and I can see all of the mountains. It's incredible. -Daryl
It is gorgeous today- clear for 360 degrees all around us. We took a walk down past the Shiva temple and sat on a rock, admiring the panorama of snow peaks. We spent some time praying for Humla, during which time two boys walked up the hill and decided to sit on the same rock we were sitting on( regardless of the fact that there were rocks all around us). After finding us somewhat boring, they decided to go to the nearby temple and ring bells incessantly.
Today I have felt so tired. A few nights of being so itchy and not being able to sleep are taking their toll. Last night, it felt like my whole body was on fire with itchiness. It was all I could do to pray, “Lord have mercy”. Every night the number of bites increases. Today I counted 46 on one arm, from my elbow to my hand.
In spite of the itchiness, this has been a great experience so far. Our trip to the field last week was a good though not terribly eventful four days. When we got back to Simikot, we were so grateful to finally get showers after so much walking in the hot sun. Our time in Kholsi was encouraging- it was so good to see the girl with polio again. She is doing so much better than the last time I saw her. The others in the village were so excited to see us, and everyone wanted to give us tea and bread. There are several new babies born since I was there last year.
It is getting more and more difficult to be a white person here, and I find myself wishing often that I could just blend in and not have to deal with being a novelty. The kids and adults alike see no shame in staring open faced at us, yelling hello, asking for pens, sweets or medicine. The nepali word for white foreigner, “quidee” can be heard yelled from quite a distance when we are walking around. We wonder how different it will feel when we are back in a society that sees us the same as everyone else.
Even though its been a clear day, it is beginning to get cloudy and we can hear thunder echoing off the mountains. It looks like it might rain. We'll see if we should attempt a shower and if we might get some hot water.
-Jodi
Friday, May 9
We got back from our second trip to the field last evening. The 5 hour, mostly uphill walk didn't seem nearly as hard to me this time. This time we stayed in the Dharapori field office the whole 3 days. We got there Monday afternoon and left Thursday afternoon. The purpose of this trip was to conduct training for 4 current CNMs and 2 new ones. Sunita did most of the training with Jodi doing a little. During this time I didn't really have a whole lot to do other than lighting a few few fires to make some tea and a few other little things. So, I took advantage of the time by reading some of my favorite book (the Bible). While we've been in Nepal, Jodi and I have been reading a book called “Jesus for President” which has been very impactful and has caused much introspection, prayer, and conversations between the two of us. It addresses some ways of thinking that I've grown up with, mostly regarding America, politics, military, and my relation to my country. In a very humble way, and coming from authors who have thought through hard and lived it out, it shows some major differences between the way most Americans in the church have been brought up to view their county and the way Jesus and the early church related to their country. And it shows a lot of inconsistencies in the popular thought patterns of the American church. I'd highly recommend reading the book. There's more about it at their website – www.jesusforpresident.org. I'll probably blog some more about this book on my own blog – http://dbwinger.blogspot.com .
Anyway – back to my favorite book. Because of how my mind has been kinda stretched by “Jesus for President”, I wanted to re-read some parts of the Bible with these new thoughts in mind. So on Tuesday, I read all of the book of Romans. It was a very refreshing and exciting experience, reminding me of how much grace and mercy our God decided to give us. I'd recommend reading the whole book of Romans in one sitting, but you'll have to set apart 3-5 hours and read it slow and soak it in. Then on Wednesday, I read the book of Joshua because I've had a hard time understanding why God commanded so much violence in that book, yet when Jesus came He would not fight his enemies and rebuked his disciples for trying to do so. Joshua is a kind of exciting book about people who saw God doing amazing things among them, bringing them into a country of their own. All they had to do is obey God and He was the one who basically annihilated the people who had the land before them. It didn't really answer my questions very much, but it was still good. I know God's thoughts are much higher than mine and I don't expect to understand why He does everything He does. The book of Joshua does show very clearly though that when the Israelites decided they could handle fighting an enemy on their own when God hadn't commanded it, they would fail. And, if God commanded them to annihilate a certain city and they didn't do it - whether it was because they thought the people were too strong for them, or they thought they could benefit from those people – it always came back to bite them. I find a lot of analogies to the Christian life in this early history of the nation God formed to be a light to the world. I love the phrase Joshua uses several times. He reminds his nation to “cling to the Lord” which reminds me of a little kid clinging to his mom or dad when he's scared because he knows he can't overcome what's scaring him, but he has full confidence that mom or dad aren't scared and they can take care of it. Thursday I read some of Judges – the next book after Joshua in the Bible. Kind of a depressing book. After Joshua and all of the people who saw what God did to give them their own land died, the people basically rejected God and paid for it. God kept seeing the trouble the Israelites got themselves into and he sent “judges” who got them out of their situations and turned them back to God, but as soon as the judge died, the Israelites would turn to idols. This ties in with Romans quite a bit, where Paul talks about how the Israelites rejection of God's plan for them gives room for us Gentiles to be brought into God's kingdom, and how Paul hopes that the Israelites will see us coming into God's kingdom and get jealous and decide they want to come back to God – through faith in Jesus since they weren't able to keep their end of God's first covenant with them.
Sorry if you were hoping to mostly hear about Nepal in this post. But I hope this instead prompts you to get into God's Word some more. Last thought about Dharapori – I may never again complain about flies in my house in the USA. This last week I would have been happy to have had just 5 flies sitting on my constantly. Instead it was usually more like 50 – especially while eating in the kitchen. And they especially liked hanging out in my scabs from where I scratched open my bed bug bites (sorry to gross you out). Thankfully it's still too cold here in Simikot for flies so we have relief from that now. We're planning to leave Humla on Monday if the weather is good and the plane comes. It hasn't been as hard as I thought it might be here. If I knew God was calling us to be here for a longer time I don't think I would dread it. But, a few things make me ready to get back to civilization. I can't say I'm looking forward to going back to the city in Kathmandu, though. I've very much enjoyed the lack of vehicles and pollution here. And I'm pretty sure that I'll never be anywhere in the world where I find God's creation more amazing than here. By the time you read this, I think you should be able to see some pictures, too. God is so good and loving. I hope He gives us a chance to help some more people in Humla understand this before we leave.
- Daryl
Saturday, April 26th
We arrived here yesterday, after an early morning, hazy flight from Nepalgunj, on which we were the only passengers, along with the flight attendant. Life here moves very slowly; suddenly being at a higher altitude makes everything seem to require more effort. The weather has been great, though still a bit hazy on the snow mountains. We took a walk in the afternoon, getting to see a bit more of the town and surrounding area. It is great to be eating the local food again, though after 3 weeks of it we may not be so excited about rice and beans. I had a talk with Sunita and Sarita, the staff that work with the nutrition program. They feel a bit uncertain as to how to proceed with things as the people in the villages are experiencing the “food gap” between the harvests, when food is scarce. Its hard to teach people how to be eating better when they don't have anything to eat. It is disheartening to think of the situation the humlis are in, and difficult to see creative ways of working with what they have. We truly need the Lord's direction in this.
Today is Saturday, a day off for the Staff at RIDS. It is nice to have another day to get used to the altitude and the pace of life here. We read our bibles in the sun this morning, took a shower, and shared communion together. It is hard to believe that there are seemingly no practicing believers in this place. The quiet from the lack of traffic here is a wonderful change after our time in loud, busy Kathmandu.
Tomorrow, we are scheduled to go to Dharapori, where RIDS has established a field office. Dharapori is a village which is scheduled to begin a nutrition program this year. We also plan to visit Hepka, which is a tibetan village 3 hours north of Dharapori.
Jodi
Friday, May 1st
We've now been in Humla one week. It actually feels like it's been a lot longer. I think it's because this place feels so far removed from my normal world and even the world of Kathmandu. It feels so surreal to be surrounded by huge snow-covered mountains wherever I look, to see no vehicles with wheels of any kind (except the occasional small airplane), to see yaks, horses and donkeys coming past the place we're staying carrying firewood, to see homes made of stone, mud, and rough-cut lumber. It's also hard to comprehend how very different the lives of the people here are than mine. Very few of them probably would have any idea what this computer is that I'm typing on, very few of them know how to read or write their own language, very few of them know what it's like to be healthy and well-nourished, and very few of them have ever heard the truth about their Creator and Savior. I realized this is the first place I've ever been where I couldn't go to a fellowship of believers if I wanted to unless I was willing to take a plane ride or walk for several days.
Our base during our time in Humla is the RIDS-Nepal office in Simicot village, the biggest of the villages in Humla. It's the village that has the little dirt airstrip that we flew in onto. Here people have seen a few more white people in their lives than in the other villages, so not everyone stares at us incessantly. :) Last Sunday we began our first “field trip” - a trip out to some of the smaller villages where RIDS does a lot of their work. Jodi, me, and Seona – an Australian who's doing her doctorate work on green houses – headed out on the 5 hour walk to Dharapori. Simikot is at about 3000 meters, and Dharapori is around 2300 meters, so it was mostly downhill, although it starts with a pretty big up hill. It was the most amazing hike as far as the surroundings I have ever experienced. We met up with Sunita and Sarita – two Humlis who work for RIDS – and Renate – a German lady who is working with RIDS' non-formal education program (NFE) in another village along the way. In Dharapori, we rested for a while. Jodi and I were quite sore. Then Sunita, Jodi, and I went into the village to talk to some people and see what needs they have for nutrition and see if we could find a CNM (Community Nutrition Motivator) to train. There are more flies in Dharapori than I have probably seen in my life. These people, especially the children, are all malnourished and want help. But in some ways their mind-set, way of life, and religion, prevent them from receiving that help.
On Tuesday, we went to a village about an hour walk away called Kholsi, where Jodi had spent some time on her former trips. We spent a little time and prayed with a girl who has Polio who says her whole family is believers after Jodi prayed for her and she was healed of some sickness last time Jodi was here. Please pray that God will teach them who He is and that they will grow in their faith.
On Tuesday, we hiked 3 hours to Hepka, a Tibetan village. In that village, as in most Tibetan villages, the people are much better off and we saw only one malnourished child. Renate was trying to figure out if this has something to do with the values of Buddhism versus Hinduism, but we didn't really know what the connection might be. Tuesday night, we slept in an upstairs room in one of the village houses and we got our first experience of bed bugs. We brought them back with us to Simikot and are currently trying to get them out of our sleeping bags and mattresses. We've probably got near 100 bites each. We hiked a little over 5 hours, mostly uphill back to Simikot on Wednesday and just about wore ourselves out totally. I think Jodi and I should have done some training since we weren't very ready for high altitude steep climbing, coming from Indiana.
Yesterday (Thursday) was a day mostly of relaxing at the office in Simikot. My love and I got to have some really good conversation over a wonderful treat of a cup of instant coffee with powdered milk. Stop cringing AWC coffee snobs. You'd enjoy it here too. We talked about how we might be able to share Jesus with the people here since that's really our main motivation. If our motivation isn't Jesus, it's kind of pointless to be trying to help people to go into eternity with a healthier physical body, but no hope of eternal life. Next week we'll be going back where Jodi, Sunita will be conducting training for the CNMs from several villages. Jodi and I were talking about how she can share the gospel clearly through the nutrition training. I trust God is bringing us to your mind to pray for us in this during next week (even though you won't read this until after it's happened).
I think I have started to get a much more accurate picture of what is involved in being a cross-cultural missionary during my time in Nepal so far. I see that if God calls us to live here in Humla or somewhere like it and join in His work of building His church here, it would be a task harder than I can imagine. The mind-set of the people here is just so different than mine and they view us as white people as so far above them. There would be a lot to overcome, but we have no doubt that God is able to equip and sustain those He calls. From spending time with several missionaries in Kathmandu, I've gotten to see a little more up close what would be involved in being a missionary in a large third-world city. When we get back to Kathmandu in about a week and a half, we plan to spend some time fasting and praying to see if God wants to show us anything we should be involved in during our last 3 weeks in Nepal and if He wants to give us any more clear direction about our future.
Praise God that He's answered your prayers and kept us very healthy in every way so far and He's allowed me to trust in Him and not be overwhelmed with culture shock and not knowing the language. God's also allowed us to be strength and kind of a haven of rest for each other and He's caused our love for each other to grow.
Well that was quite long, but I hope it is a good update on what's been going on with us here. Thank you for your prayers. We look forward to getting back to civilization and having the possibility of communication with our family in the rest of the world.
Daryl
Saturday, May 3
Today the skies are finally clear and I can see all of the mountains. It's incredible. -Daryl
It is gorgeous today- clear for 360 degrees all around us. We took a walk down past the Shiva temple and sat on a rock, admiring the panorama of snow peaks. We spent some time praying for Humla, during which time two boys walked up the hill and decided to sit on the same rock we were sitting on( regardless of the fact that there were rocks all around us). After finding us somewhat boring, they decided to go to the nearby temple and ring bells incessantly.
Today I have felt so tired. A few nights of being so itchy and not being able to sleep are taking their toll. Last night, it felt like my whole body was on fire with itchiness. It was all I could do to pray, “Lord have mercy”. Every night the number of bites increases. Today I counted 46 on one arm, from my elbow to my hand.
In spite of the itchiness, this has been a great experience so far. Our trip to the field last week was a good though not terribly eventful four days. When we got back to Simikot, we were so grateful to finally get showers after so much walking in the hot sun. Our time in Kholsi was encouraging- it was so good to see the girl with polio again. She is doing so much better than the last time I saw her. The others in the village were so excited to see us, and everyone wanted to give us tea and bread. There are several new babies born since I was there last year.
It is getting more and more difficult to be a white person here, and I find myself wishing often that I could just blend in and not have to deal with being a novelty. The kids and adults alike see no shame in staring open faced at us, yelling hello, asking for pens, sweets or medicine. The nepali word for white foreigner, “quidee” can be heard yelled from quite a distance when we are walking around. We wonder how different it will feel when we are back in a society that sees us the same as everyone else.
Even though its been a clear day, it is beginning to get cloudy and we can hear thunder echoing off the mountains. It looks like it might rain. We'll see if we should attempt a shower and if we might get some hot water.
-Jodi
Friday, May 9
We got back from our second trip to the field last evening. The 5 hour, mostly uphill walk didn't seem nearly as hard to me this time. This time we stayed in the Dharapori field office the whole 3 days. We got there Monday afternoon and left Thursday afternoon. The purpose of this trip was to conduct training for 4 current CNMs and 2 new ones. Sunita did most of the training with Jodi doing a little. During this time I didn't really have a whole lot to do other than lighting a few few fires to make some tea and a few other little things. So, I took advantage of the time by reading some of my favorite book (the Bible). While we've been in Nepal, Jodi and I have been reading a book called “Jesus for President” which has been very impactful and has caused much introspection, prayer, and conversations between the two of us. It addresses some ways of thinking that I've grown up with, mostly regarding America, politics, military, and my relation to my country. In a very humble way, and coming from authors who have thought through hard and lived it out, it shows some major differences between the way most Americans in the church have been brought up to view their county and the way Jesus and the early church related to their country. And it shows a lot of inconsistencies in the popular thought patterns of the American church. I'd highly recommend reading the book. There's more about it at their website – www.jesusforpresident.org. I'll probably blog some more about this book on my own blog – http://dbwinger.blogspot.com .
Anyway – back to my favorite book. Because of how my mind has been kinda stretched by “Jesus for President”, I wanted to re-read some parts of the Bible with these new thoughts in mind. So on Tuesday, I read all of the book of Romans. It was a very refreshing and exciting experience, reminding me of how much grace and mercy our God decided to give us. I'd recommend reading the whole book of Romans in one sitting, but you'll have to set apart 3-5 hours and read it slow and soak it in. Then on Wednesday, I read the book of Joshua because I've had a hard time understanding why God commanded so much violence in that book, yet when Jesus came He would not fight his enemies and rebuked his disciples for trying to do so. Joshua is a kind of exciting book about people who saw God doing amazing things among them, bringing them into a country of their own. All they had to do is obey God and He was the one who basically annihilated the people who had the land before them. It didn't really answer my questions very much, but it was still good. I know God's thoughts are much higher than mine and I don't expect to understand why He does everything He does. The book of Joshua does show very clearly though that when the Israelites decided they could handle fighting an enemy on their own when God hadn't commanded it, they would fail. And, if God commanded them to annihilate a certain city and they didn't do it - whether it was because they thought the people were too strong for them, or they thought they could benefit from those people – it always came back to bite them. I find a lot of analogies to the Christian life in this early history of the nation God formed to be a light to the world. I love the phrase Joshua uses several times. He reminds his nation to “cling to the Lord” which reminds me of a little kid clinging to his mom or dad when he's scared because he knows he can't overcome what's scaring him, but he has full confidence that mom or dad aren't scared and they can take care of it. Thursday I read some of Judges – the next book after Joshua in the Bible. Kind of a depressing book. After Joshua and all of the people who saw what God did to give them their own land died, the people basically rejected God and paid for it. God kept seeing the trouble the Israelites got themselves into and he sent “judges” who got them out of their situations and turned them back to God, but as soon as the judge died, the Israelites would turn to idols. This ties in with Romans quite a bit, where Paul talks about how the Israelites rejection of God's plan for them gives room for us Gentiles to be brought into God's kingdom, and how Paul hopes that the Israelites will see us coming into God's kingdom and get jealous and decide they want to come back to God – through faith in Jesus since they weren't able to keep their end of God's first covenant with them.
Sorry if you were hoping to mostly hear about Nepal in this post. But I hope this instead prompts you to get into God's Word some more. Last thought about Dharapori – I may never again complain about flies in my house in the USA. This last week I would have been happy to have had just 5 flies sitting on my constantly. Instead it was usually more like 50 – especially while eating in the kitchen. And they especially liked hanging out in my scabs from where I scratched open my bed bug bites (sorry to gross you out). Thankfully it's still too cold here in Simikot for flies so we have relief from that now. We're planning to leave Humla on Monday if the weather is good and the plane comes. It hasn't been as hard as I thought it might be here. If I knew God was calling us to be here for a longer time I don't think I would dread it. But, a few things make me ready to get back to civilization. I can't say I'm looking forward to going back to the city in Kathmandu, though. I've very much enjoyed the lack of vehicles and pollution here. And I'm pretty sure that I'll never be anywhere in the world where I find God's creation more amazing than here. By the time you read this, I think you should be able to see some pictures, too. God is so good and loving. I hope He gives us a chance to help some more people in Humla understand this before we leave.
- Daryl
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Back to the future
Hello family!!!
We are now back in the 21st century, ever more grateful for food other than rice and beans....though we miss the people, the mountains and the clean air. We are not currently missing the bedbugs either.
We praise God for good health during our time in Humla. Daryl had a short bout with diharrea and we both experienced some dizziness, possibly related to altitude, but other than that, we were doing much better than we were in Kathmandu before we left. We wrote several journals during our time up there, which we will post at a time when we can access wireless internet.
We are so thankful for your prayers for us as we were in Humla. We are now in Pokhara, a town west of Kathmandu. We plan to return to Kathmandu on Saturday, and we look forward to being able to be in fellowship with other believers after such a long time out of it.
We had some interesting times flying down from Humla. We had arranged to fly back to a different city than we had flown to Humla from, in order to make travel from there easier, but when we got to the runway to get on the plane, we were informed that the city we were planning to fly to was closed( this turned out to be a blessing as this place remained closed a couple more days). We instead flew back to Nepalgunj ( or "Purgatory" as i prefer to call it) where we planned to get a vehicle to ride to Pokhara. We found out shortly after arriving there that there was a strike and the roads were closed so there could not be any travel that day(Monday, May 12th). Later in the morning, a friend had worked out an exit plan for us: two guys with motorcycles would take us through the jungle to a place on the road past where it was blocked. We were pretty excited about that idea, but later the guys backed out for fear of violence on the road to get to the jungle. So we rested a day in Nepalgunj and got tickets to leave Tuesday morning, so long as the roads opened up. We left there in a Micro van, with a pretty good driver and some grumpy passengers the next day. We changed vehicles in a town later on the road, as the van was heading to Kathmandu and we were going to Pokhara. We ended up on a Nepali bus, squished in the very back where we could feel every bump. It took more than 3 hours to go 90 Kilometers, which Daryl averaged to be about 18 miles per hour. Needless to say, we were very glad to get off that bus.
We have enjoyed having some good food here(cheese and vegetables...bread....oh the joy!). We hope to be able to share some pictures and more processed thoughts on our time in Humla.
love to you all
~jodi
We are now back in the 21st century, ever more grateful for food other than rice and beans....though we miss the people, the mountains and the clean air. We are not currently missing the bedbugs either.
We praise God for good health during our time in Humla. Daryl had a short bout with diharrea and we both experienced some dizziness, possibly related to altitude, but other than that, we were doing much better than we were in Kathmandu before we left. We wrote several journals during our time up there, which we will post at a time when we can access wireless internet.
We are so thankful for your prayers for us as we were in Humla. We are now in Pokhara, a town west of Kathmandu. We plan to return to Kathmandu on Saturday, and we look forward to being able to be in fellowship with other believers after such a long time out of it.
We had some interesting times flying down from Humla. We had arranged to fly back to a different city than we had flown to Humla from, in order to make travel from there easier, but when we got to the runway to get on the plane, we were informed that the city we were planning to fly to was closed( this turned out to be a blessing as this place remained closed a couple more days). We instead flew back to Nepalgunj ( or "Purgatory" as i prefer to call it) where we planned to get a vehicle to ride to Pokhara. We found out shortly after arriving there that there was a strike and the roads were closed so there could not be any travel that day(Monday, May 12th). Later in the morning, a friend had worked out an exit plan for us: two guys with motorcycles would take us through the jungle to a place on the road past where it was blocked. We were pretty excited about that idea, but later the guys backed out for fear of violence on the road to get to the jungle. So we rested a day in Nepalgunj and got tickets to leave Tuesday morning, so long as the roads opened up. We left there in a Micro van, with a pretty good driver and some grumpy passengers the next day. We changed vehicles in a town later on the road, as the van was heading to Kathmandu and we were going to Pokhara. We ended up on a Nepali bus, squished in the very back where we could feel every bump. It took more than 3 hours to go 90 Kilometers, which Daryl averaged to be about 18 miles per hour. Needless to say, we were very glad to get off that bus.
We have enjoyed having some good food here(cheese and vegetables...bread....oh the joy!). We hope to be able to share some pictures and more processed thoughts on our time in Humla.
love to you all
~jodi
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
into the mountains
Yesterday, Jodi took me through Durbar Square here in Kathmandu. It's a place filled with Hindu shrines and temples - some of them hundreds of years old. It really made me mad. For hundreds of years, these people have worshiped and centered their lives around these worthless pieces of metal and stone, holes in the road - basically anything can be a god. And all the while God has been longing for them to know Him. It really gives a clearer picture of some of the places in the old testament where God tells people to turn from their worthless idols.
Today we leave the city and head for the mountains. We'll be taking two flights to get from Kathmandu to Humla district. I've been told it will be like going back 1000 years. And from the pictures I've seen I'll encounter the the most beautiful scenery I've every seen. We'll be traveling to several villages where Jodi is teaching women how to keep their children from dying of malnutrition. In these villages most people also have never heard of Jesus. We want to let God show Himself to them through us. Please pray for us during this time.
- Daryl
Today we leave the city and head for the mountains. We'll be taking two flights to get from Kathmandu to Humla district. I've been told it will be like going back 1000 years. And from the pictures I've seen I'll encounter the the most beautiful scenery I've every seen. We'll be traveling to several villages where Jodi is teaching women how to keep their children from dying of malnutrition. In these villages most people also have never heard of Jesus. We want to let God show Himself to them through us. Please pray for us during this time.
- Daryl
Sunday, April 20, 2008
feeling the weight
Being back here and being able to share this experience with my husband has been incredible so far. I feel so grateful to be with the people here whom the Lord has given me a love for. I trust this is for a higher purpose and will have a lasting effect on the rest of our lives together.
It seems to happen often in my life, that when faced with a challenging task I struggle with feelings of feeling completely inadequate and ill-equipped. I feel that I may make terrible mistakes and people will see how truly unqualified I am. I know many people must feel this way about things they have to do that seem overwhelming and beyond what they are capable of and along with that, fearing the failure that comes with not being able to perform as needed.
The work to be done in Humla is what weighs on my mind; seemingly more than I can even hope to do. The thought of researching, training, evaluating and performing work with the ultimate goal(or second ultimate goal- the first being that Jesus is glorified and people come to know Him) of having enough food to eat, is a larger undertaking than I am able to do.
Before we left the States, friends prayed over us and one specifically prayed that God would protect our Hope(thanks Jes!). I realize that all of my hope needs to be in Christ and nothing else. If it is, tasks that seem daunting can be accomplished as we begin to realize that dependence on the Lord and His strength to work through us is essential. Phillipians 2:13 is a reminder of this: for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for His pleasure.
Remembering that while I not feel adequate to do the work before me, the God we serve is more than capable of doing it and His strength works in me.
It seems to happen often in my life, that when faced with a challenging task I struggle with feelings of feeling completely inadequate and ill-equipped. I feel that I may make terrible mistakes and people will see how truly unqualified I am. I know many people must feel this way about things they have to do that seem overwhelming and beyond what they are capable of and along with that, fearing the failure that comes with not being able to perform as needed.
The work to be done in Humla is what weighs on my mind; seemingly more than I can even hope to do. The thought of researching, training, evaluating and performing work with the ultimate goal(or second ultimate goal- the first being that Jesus is glorified and people come to know Him) of having enough food to eat, is a larger undertaking than I am able to do.
Before we left the States, friends prayed over us and one specifically prayed that God would protect our Hope(thanks Jes!). I realize that all of my hope needs to be in Christ and nothing else. If it is, tasks that seem daunting can be accomplished as we begin to realize that dependence on the Lord and His strength to work through us is essential. Phillipians 2:13 is a reminder of this: for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for His pleasure.
Remembering that while I not feel adequate to do the work before me, the God we serve is more than capable of doing it and His strength works in me.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
We made it
We made it from Muncie, IN to Kathmandu, Nepal. It only took 1.5 days and way too long of a stay in the New Delhi airport. But we actually had no complications in our travel, which doesn't seem right. We still feel a bit like we're in a daze, but hopefully after a few more hours of sleep, we'll be in touch with reality. The end.
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Going to Nepal
For anyone who reads this blog, but isn't on our email list, here's a copy of an email we sent out about our trip to Nepal in the near future:
Hello family and friends,
You are receiving this email because we (Daryl and Jodi) thought you would want to know about our plans for spending time in Nepal shortly. Most of you have let God work through you to support one or both of us in our lives in the past and we really appreciate you. In case any of you don't know, we are now married - Daryl Winger and Jodi formerly Treese.
Jodi was in Nepal from October '06 to May '07, but in May, the extension of her visa that she hoped for didn't come through so she had to leave the country on 2 days' notice. So, she allowed the Lord to take her back to Muncie, Indiana and fall in love with her good friend Daryl. There has been need for Jodi to come back to Nepal to continue some of the work she had been doing with RIDS-Nepal (Rural Integrated Development Services) since she had left on such short notice. And now God has led us and blessed us with the opportunity to go back together - which also is an answer to Jodi's prayer not to have to go back alone.
We have some plans for our time in Nepal, but nothing is set in stone and we fully expect God to lead us into things we haven't planned on. Here are our tentative plans:
We leave here (Indiana) on April 15th and plan to get back on June 4th.
After getting to Kathmandu, Nepal and spending a few days recovering from travel and making arrangements for more travel, we plan to make our way to the remote Humla district, which is where RIDS-Nepal is working.
We will probably spend about 3 weeks in Humla - Jodi continuing to develop the nutrition program and to train others who live there to continue in the work. Daryl will be helping out in any way he can as well as supporting Jodi. RIDS-Nepal has several engineering projects, which I'm sure will interest me (Daryl) and Jodi is sure they will have work for Daryl to help out with.
When we get back to Kathmandu, we plan to visit the churches and ministries and people who have been dear to Jodi's heart and important in her life. They all want to meet Daryl and we're sure God will give opportunities for us to share about what God's doing with us.
As we follow God on this trip, we'd really like you to pray for us. Here are some specific things we'd like prayer for:
* Safety
- There's possibility of a change of government while we're there, which could mean violence.
- Travel within Nepal and to and from.
- Our health
* Discernment for what to do and how to minister without fear of the unknown or unfamiliar.
* Discernment about the future and the possibility of returning to Nepal for a longer time.
* Emotional and relational health
- Culture shock - for Daryl
- Keeping our relationship healthy
* Humility and the heart of Jesus to serve and love those we come in contact with (including each other)
* For Jesus to be known and worshiped by all Nepalis.
Just to be clear, we are not asking for any money. God has blessed us beyond what we expected with all the money we need through wedding gifts.
Thank you for caring and praying for us. You are a part of what God will do through us. If you'd like to keep up on us before and during our trip, we will be updating our blog - hopefully fairly often. Our blog is at http://darylandjodiinlove.blogspot.com . Also, feel free to email us if you want to know more or if God shows you something as you're praying that you want to share with us.
Also, if you'd like to check out RIDS-Nepal, they have a website too: www.RIDS-Nepal.org
Love,
Daryl and Jodi Winger
Hello family and friends,
You are receiving this email because we (Daryl and Jodi) thought you would want to know about our plans for spending time in Nepal shortly. Most of you have let God work through you to support one or both of us in our lives in the past and we really appreciate you. In case any of you don't know, we are now married - Daryl Winger and Jodi formerly Treese.
Jodi was in Nepal from October '06 to May '07, but in May, the extension of her visa that she hoped for didn't come through so she had to leave the country on 2 days' notice. So, she allowed the Lord to take her back to Muncie, Indiana and fall in love with her good friend Daryl. There has been need for Jodi to come back to Nepal to continue some of the work she had been doing with RIDS-Nepal (Rural Integrated Development Services) since she had left on such short notice. And now God has led us and blessed us with the opportunity to go back together - which also is an answer to Jodi's prayer not to have to go back alone.
We have some plans for our time in Nepal, but nothing is set in stone and we fully expect God to lead us into things we haven't planned on. Here are our tentative plans:
We leave here (Indiana) on April 15th and plan to get back on June 4th.
After getting to Kathmandu, Nepal and spending a few days recovering from travel and making arrangements for more travel, we plan to make our way to the remote Humla district, which is where RIDS-Nepal is working.
We will probably spend about 3 weeks in Humla - Jodi continuing to develop the nutrition program and to train others who live there to continue in the work. Daryl will be helping out in any way he can as well as supporting Jodi. RIDS-Nepal has several engineering projects, which I'm sure will interest me (Daryl) and Jodi is sure they will have work for Daryl to help out with.
When we get back to Kathmandu, we plan to visit the churches and ministries and people who have been dear to Jodi's heart and important in her life. They all want to meet Daryl and we're sure God will give opportunities for us to share about what God's doing with us.
As we follow God on this trip, we'd really like you to pray for us. Here are some specific things we'd like prayer for:
* Safety
- There's possibility of a change of government while we're there, which could mean violence.
- Travel within Nepal and to and from.
- Our health
* Discernment for what to do and how to minister without fear of the unknown or unfamiliar.
* Discernment about the future and the possibility of returning to Nepal for a longer time.
* Emotional and relational health
- Culture shock - for Daryl
- Keeping our relationship healthy
* Humility and the heart of Jesus to serve and love those we come in contact with (including each other)
* For Jesus to be known and worshiped by all Nepalis.
Just to be clear, we are not asking for any money. God has blessed us beyond what we expected with all the money we need through wedding gifts.
Thank you for caring and praying for us. You are a part of what God will do through us. If you'd like to keep up on us before and during our trip, we will be updating our blog - hopefully fairly often. Our blog is at http://darylandjodiinlove.blogspot.com . Also, feel free to email us if you want to know more or if God shows you something as you're praying that you want to share with us.
Also, if you'd like to check out RIDS-Nepal, they have a website too: www.RIDS-Nepal.org
Love,
Daryl and Jodi Winger
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