Hello from Nepal to all our family, friends and loved ones,
Today's blog is about some experiences we had at the beginning of our trip. We are going back in time like the movie series "Back to the Future" which were released some years ago. When we began our trip and we were in Singapore and we had one day to see as much of the city as we could possible squeeze in. So, as you can well imagine we were on the run, heading every which direction at the same time. Shortly after noon we were hunting for a museum we were interested in. We were standing on a street corner trying to get our sense of direction. I was standing a short distance from the others, taking in the sights and sounds of Singapore. As I was standing there, a young lady from Singapore stopped and asked me if she could help us find what we were looking for. I couldn't help but wonder what other responsibilities she may have had to do at that time, but yet she still was willing to help us poor souls who were obviously lost or looking for something. I thought of how sweet it was for her to help.
One other story I'd like to share is when we arrived in Kathmandu. Memory had made many of our travel plans over the internet with a travel agent in Kathmandu. She sent many emails back and forth arranging our plans. He said he would pick us at the airport. As we made our way through customs and all the outdoor crowds of people, we saw a sign with "Memory Lamfers" on it. What a relief to see that sign. They then loaded all our heavy luggage on the roof of their van, took us to our hotel, unloaded all our luggage and stayed with us for another two hours explaining things we needed to know and helping us with our cell phone. They finally just gave one of their phones to use while we are here. They have also contacted us during the trip to check on some plans.
Both of these stories show me God's generous and giving spirit is alive and well the world over. Without these people in our lives, who knows where we could be now.
Finally, Tom and Bill have gone on a two day journey to some remote villages in the mountains to visit some church planters. Memory and I are going into the heart of Pokhara to stay for these two days so we will not post any blogs for the next couple of days. From our hearts to yours, we will talk soon.
With God's Blessings,
Mark Lamfers
Thursday, October 14, 2010
The Holy Sacrament of Marriage
As the day comes to a close, the halls of our conference center are silent, empty, and dark. The scurry of missionary couples and the sweet voices of their children have been hushed with their morning departure. The staff has gone home to be with family for the festival of Dasain. Bill and Tom took huge loads of groceries up the mountain to the orphanage and Training Center (steep, steep, steep and rocky.) Bill went on foot and Tom by motorcycle. Tom is practicing his biking skills for tomorrow's long bike journey with Mohan, Sangeeta, Bill, and Singa to visit distant villages where both Bill and Tom will preach and teach.
The marriage conference was a resounding success. We have all been emotionally processing it throughout this day. It was not an ordinary, but rather an extraordinary, conference. Bill and Mark cared for the children to enable the missionaries the freedom to grow and learn as couples. And, learn they did! Wow! An educator can assess his success by the results of his students. The results were unbelievable. Each man and woman shared their growth at the end of the conference, and each person's sharing lasted ten to fifteen minutes. The sharings were open, tearful, thoughtful, transparent, and deep. With the power of the Holy Spirit, Tom not only changed people's thinking, he changed people's hearts. Couples' marriages and families were given new life.
None of us will ever be the same. The God we love and serve is a God of Restoration and Reconciliation. Without a doubt, Living Water flowed abundantly through the lives of those Tom came to teach and to touch.
In His Holy Name we send our love,
Memory
The marriage conference was a resounding success. We have all been emotionally processing it throughout this day. It was not an ordinary, but rather an extraordinary, conference. Bill and Mark cared for the children to enable the missionaries the freedom to grow and learn as couples. And, learn they did! Wow! An educator can assess his success by the results of his students. The results were unbelievable. Each man and woman shared their growth at the end of the conference, and each person's sharing lasted ten to fifteen minutes. The sharings were open, tearful, thoughtful, transparent, and deep. With the power of the Holy Spirit, Tom not only changed people's thinking, he changed people's hearts. Couples' marriages and families were given new life.
None of us will ever be the same. The God we love and serve is a God of Restoration and Reconciliation. Without a doubt, Living Water flowed abundantly through the lives of those Tom came to teach and to touch.
In His Holy Name we send our love,
Memory
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Nepal Video Shown in Church
Here's a link to the video that was shown at both services last week at church.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkC1gnALRas
Namaste,
Bill
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkC1gnALRas
Namaste,
Bill
A lot of pix from Fun Night
Read Mark's blog next that says some about the wonderful "Fun Night" we had with the 21 couples at the Marriage Seminar. Our skit (Mark's and my arms "helping" Memory and Bill get ready for the day) got a lot of laughs. The end of the evening involved a chorus echoed back and forth between the women and then men in which they repeatedly make up new verses in response to each other. Incredible! It was accompanied by much dancing, smiles, and laughter. This was my favorite part of the trip, so far. Jaymasi! Tom
Dance Party!
It is Tuesday, October 12 about 9:30 p.m. We are all exhausted and ready for bed, but I know there are still several things to do. It has been a long day. We were awakened this morning, about 5 a.m., by people singing and chanting for the local Hindu celebration of Dasain. Tom finished day two of his marriage seminar and is looking forward to the start of day three. I think he might be glad when tomorrow is over so he can relax. At that point all our "work" will be done and we will be able to enjoy some "down" time. After dinner tonight we had a "Festival Night" where we did skits, danced and sang the night away. That lasted for about two hours. I have really lost track of time. It feels like we have been gone forever but I know it hasn't been that long. It has been an overwhelming experience so far and the days fly by so fast I haven't had time to process it all. I am keeping a daily journal so I will be able to reflect back at a later date. Well, it's getting late and we have a 7 a.m. team meeting in the morning. Best get to bed.
Thanks for all your prayers and support,
Mark Lamfers
Thanks for all your prayers and support,
Mark Lamfers
Monday, October 11, 2010
Tom started the first day of the marriage conference, and we started the morning by worshiping with all of the church planters who had come to attend the conference. It was water to my soul and I remembered how much I love it when the Body of Christ assembles.
Today, Mark and I were busy taking care of the kids ages 5+. Needless to say I'm exhausted. Even though the day was long, it warmed places in my heart. Especially this one boy named Safal. He is six. He calls me "Uncle" and holds my hand when we walk down the street. We like to make paper airplanes and kick back and fourth the soccer ball.
The relationships we are building here are achieving depth and there are times I know my heart won't allow me to stay away from Nepal for too long. The people here are incredible in so many ways. They have faces that were meant to smile. They are a hard working people. Allow me to repeat; they are a hard working people who posses an attractive humility. I'm warmly greeted most everywhere I go, and it has become a reflex action to draw my palms together at my chest whenever I greet someone or when I am thankful. When I'm back home, this will be a difficult habit to break.
I'm falling more in love with this place, but I hope it's not in a naive way, like a tourist who is seduced by the beauty of a new place would. Even though I am a temporary visitor to this place I like to think that I am not completely unaware to Nepal and her suffering. Time stands still here, and it's easier to understand why the metaphors for life here came to be.
Namaste,
Bill
Today, Mark and I were busy taking care of the kids ages 5+. Needless to say I'm exhausted. Even though the day was long, it warmed places in my heart. Especially this one boy named Safal. He is six. He calls me "Uncle" and holds my hand when we walk down the street. We like to make paper airplanes and kick back and fourth the soccer ball.
The relationships we are building here are achieving depth and there are times I know my heart won't allow me to stay away from Nepal for too long. The people here are incredible in so many ways. They have faces that were meant to smile. They are a hard working people. Allow me to repeat; they are a hard working people who posses an attractive humility. I'm warmly greeted most everywhere I go, and it has become a reflex action to draw my palms together at my chest whenever I greet someone or when I am thankful. When I'm back home, this will be a difficult habit to break.
I'm falling more in love with this place, but I hope it's not in a naive way, like a tourist who is seduced by the beauty of a new place would. Even though I am a temporary visitor to this place I like to think that I am not completely unaware to Nepal and her suffering. Time stands still here, and it's easier to understand why the metaphors for life here came to be.
Namaste,
Bill
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Please pray for our Marriage Seminar
Well, it is 9:00 p.m. Sunday night here and all but two of the families have arrived for the three-day seminar which starts tomorrow. We should have 20 couples in the seminar, 8 grade-school kids that will be cared for by Bill and Mark, and 5 babies and toddlers who will be cared for by two Nepali women.
It is obvious that this group getting together is for them, coming together as family. The
y are so pleased to see each other and spend time together. Many of them came long distances. Two couples arrived this morning after a 19-hour bus ride (complete with goats, I hear!) from Western Nepal. Uttar and his wife, Manu, (at left in photo) took a 14-hour motorcycle ride over two days to get here. Mark and Bill were teasing me, saying, "Tom, this marriage seminar better be good!"
I feel so blessed to get to spend these next three days with these folks. We will all be learning together, I hope.
Today the four of us walked up to Mount Olive to meet with Basu (second from left, next to Memory), the
principal of the high school. He is full of ideas for improving the education for his students and for partnering with Americans. We discussed his plans for creating a computer lab at his school. Mohan has shared with us how important it is to him for FMC to be supporting improvements in the community as part of their mission to the community.
Just down the hill is the FMC Training Center and Mohan gave us a tour and shared abo
ut their ministry there. It is incredible how much they've done on so little. They have built the Training Center for only $17,000 and it includes a classroom, kitchen, seven bedrooms, a dorm room, bathrooms, and storage rooms. Several of the FMC staff live at the Center and they use it many times each year for trainings for the FMC staff.
When we arrived back in Pokhara from Mount Olive we saw these two women who greeted us. I thought that I recognized the older woman from yesterday when Bill and I worked on the road with the villagers. But these women greeted Memory as if she were a long-lost sister, and I'm sure that neither of them had met her before. They hugged her and smiled and they and Memory spoke back and forth, none of them understanding hardly anything that was being spoken. This country seems to be filled with warm, friendly people. And you mix that with Memory Lamfers and you have yourself quite a love fest!
Yesterday Memory finished up the three-day Teacher Training Conference and it was a resounding succe
ss. So many of the teachers raved about how helpful it had been to them. Mohan asked Bill and I if we would head up to Mount Olive (about a 50-minute walk from here) and pitch in with the villagers on their project of improving the gravel road to their village. Mohan has b
een a catalyst for helping the people of Mount Olive to come together and improve the road which gets washed out during the monsoon. It was such a joy to see that community working together on that project. The work yesterday should have completed enough of the improvements to get the daily bus going again between Mount Olive and Pokhara. Here is Bill carrying a rock that was HUGE.
As I write this, now at about 10:00 p.m here in Nepal, it is 10:15 a.m. in Arvada and I can picture you at Trinity visiting between services. I am so glad to be here as your representative. May God's rich blessings be yours this week.
Jaymasi, (the Nepali Christian greeting: "To Jesus be the Victory")
Tom
It is obvious that this group getting together is for them, coming together as family. The
y are so pleased to see each other and spend time together. Many of them came long distances. Two couples arrived this morning after a 19-hour bus ride (complete with goats, I hear!) from Western Nepal. Uttar and his wife, Manu, (at left in photo) took a 14-hour motorcycle ride over two days to get here. Mark and Bill were teasing me, saying, "Tom, this marriage seminar better be good!"I feel so blessed to get to spend these next three days with these folks. We will all be learning together, I hope.
Today the four of us walked up to Mount Olive to meet with Basu (second from left, next to Memory), the
principal of the high school. He is full of ideas for improving the education for his students and for partnering with Americans. We discussed his plans for creating a computer lab at his school. Mohan has shared with us how important it is to him for FMC to be supporting improvements in the community as part of their mission to the community.Just down the hill is the FMC Training Center and Mohan gave us a tour and shared abo
ut their ministry there. It is incredible how much they've done on so little. They have built the Training Center for only $17,000 and it includes a classroom, kitchen, seven bedrooms, a dorm room, bathrooms, and storage rooms. Several of the FMC staff live at the Center and they use it many times each year for trainings for the FMC staff.
When we arrived back in Pokhara from Mount Olive we saw these two women who greeted us. I thought that I recognized the older woman from yesterday when Bill and I worked on the road with the villagers. But these women greeted Memory as if she were a long-lost sister, and I'm sure that neither of them had met her before. They hugged her and smiled and they and Memory spoke back and forth, none of them understanding hardly anything that was being spoken. This country seems to be filled with warm, friendly people. And you mix that with Memory Lamfers and you have yourself quite a love fest!Yesterday Memory finished up the three-day Teacher Training Conference and it was a resounding succe
ss. So many of the teachers raved about how helpful it had been to them. Mohan asked Bill and I if we would head up to Mount Olive (about a 50-minute walk from here) and pitch in with the villagers on their project of improving the gravel road to their village. Mohan has b
een a catalyst for helping the people of Mount Olive to come together and improve the road which gets washed out during the monsoon. It was such a joy to see that community working together on that project. The work yesterday should have completed enough of the improvements to get the daily bus going again between Mount Olive and Pokhara. Here is Bill carrying a rock that was HUGE.As I write this, now at about 10:00 p.m here in Nepal, it is 10:15 a.m. in Arvada and I can picture you at Trinity visiting between services. I am so glad to be here as your representative. May God's rich blessings be yours this week.
Jaymasi, (the Nepali Christian greeting: "To Jesus be the Victory")
Tom
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