The Final Countdown! 10 days to go!

Hi Everyone!

Before I get down to what’s going on with Nepal I would love to say a MASSIVE THANK YOU to everyone who has supported me so far with financial help and also prayer support! I have been truly amazed at the amount of people who still remember me in their prayers and continue to ask for prayer requests for my different adventures! It’s an amazing feeling to see so many people interested in the work that I’m doing, some of which have never even met me!

So why am I going to Nepal this year then?

I’ve told a lot of people that I’m going away for six months, from close friends to the taxi driver who drove me home the other night. I love the reactions I get when I tell people what I’m up to, especially when I mention it to non-Christians. It’s such a great conversation opener for me when people cannot quite comprehend why I would go away for six months working and not getting paid for it.

The main reason I’m going is because God told me to! I know the basics of the work I’ll be doing there but also have the constant feeling that something BIG will happen from this and I’ve found with God so far, nothing is too big when he’s by my side guiding me through it, so i’ll take on the challenge knowing that when it all gets too much there He is carrying me through.

As well as doing as i’m told (for once), I have the desire to open people’s eyes to the wider world, letting them know that God is my Hero! He saved me and it’s in my heart to share his love with others and offer people out in the wider world the chance to meet their saviour!

I also hope my journey will open the eyes of people back home, to show them that our world is filled with such need, not only physically, but spiritually too. The world around us is in dark times, poverty, disease, death, both physically and spiritually and it’s the job of the church to reach out and do something about it. As Christian band Casting Crowns so poignantly reminds us

If we are the Body

Why aren’t His arms reaching
Why aren’t His hands healing
Why aren’t His words teaching?
And if we are the Body,
Why aren’t His feet going
Why is His love not showing them there is a way?

I want to be a part of this Body that goes out and plants seeds for God, but I also want to inspire other people to go out and teach, preach, heal and live in Jesus name to further his Kingdom.

Let’s get one thing straight!

God can use ANYONE for his work, let’s face it he chose me. He changed me from a shy girl who hardly spoke to anyone she didn’t know into a Journalist who’s very job is to go out and interview people she doesn’t know! God equips us for his purposes and it’s up to us to ask him what he’s calling us to do.

If you’re sitting there thinking, ‘I could never be a missionary,’ I’m sorry but I don’t believe you! As Christians our very comissioning from God is to go out into all the world and tell people about Jesus! Maybe you don’t fancy travelling overseas, thats fine because you’re already standing on the frontline in your very own neighbourhood! All you need to do it pray, pray, pray, for the opportunities to speak to people and take advantage of them when they appear.

The low down on what I’m doing:

 

Country and location: Nepal, Pokhara language training for 2 weeks and the remainder of the time based in Kathmandu, working on various projects around the country.

Mission Organisation: INF – International Nepal Fellowship

(see them here: www.inf.org)

Dates: 12th October 2009 – 31st March 2010

Job: Working in INF’s publications department on projects involving their website, magazine and also advertising materials. Also taking part where needed in events. I’ll be relying heavily on my journalistic training to help me and also my very basic photography skills.

 

 

Please Pray For:

 

My Spiritual Life:

 

Please pray that I would have time and the discipline to sit spend time with God and that God would provide someone for me to be accountable too also.

 

Going to any new place brings with it challenges, please pray that I will have lots of opportunities to share my faith but also to grow with God. Please also pray that God would really show me his plans for the next stage of my life.

 

Safety:

 

In travelling across the country, I shall be travelling between the capital Kathmandu and Pokhara at least once and more than likely more, this involves a bus journey that takes most of the day… I shall hopefully be able to get some pictures and write you an interesting little blog post about travel! From previous experience it’s certainly interesting!

In travelling around the city, being seen as a westener automatically brings with it the implication that I am rich, as we know here that certainly isn’t true so prayers for safety and also for me to be aware and considerate of those around me when spending money etc.

Health:

Please pray that I will keep healthy in Nepal both mentally and physically and that I won’t try and push myself too hard during the transition period between getting there and settling in. I really want to be as much help as I can when I get there so health will be paramount.

 

Trained and tested ;-)

So tomorrow I head off, bags packed paperwork in hand to the big city of….  Birmingham! That’s right it’s training week!

It’s come around so fast! I’m off to Selly Oak tomorrow in pursuit of some much needed training, seeking and listening to what God’s got in store.

I’ve had so much support already on the Nepal front and have been astounded by the help i’ve received from people I know and even more so by the generosity of the people I don’t. Here’s a couple of examples.

An answer to prayer came in the provision of a job at the hospital. I now work at their purchasing department with a small, but lovely, team. After working there just under two weeks I was introduced to a lady who happened to be from Nepal. After two minutes chatting she offered to make me some kurta suruwal (tunic style tops and floaty trousers with scarf) for when I’m in Nepal and also said that her family would love to meet me when i’m there! Awesome Lady!

When I first thought I would be going to Nepal I was under the impression that it would be a paid position but recently I found out it was a volunteer one- don’t get me wrong, for me it’s not about the money but I was a little taken a back as I realised this would affect the amount of time I could spend out there based on the money I could earn . It made me wonder when this came up whether Nepal was the right place for me to go and whether this was God saying no. I prayed about it and the next day I received a message out of the blue from someone who wanted to sponsor me. I took this as a big:

‘You’re going!’ love God.

So the coming week promises a lot of training covering a variety of topics. The theology of mission, crossing cultures, expectations and development and attitudes to other faiths, are just a small number of the sessions, as well as an interview to check out my suitability

Although it sounds full on, I’m looking forward to the coming week, it  should provide me with a good opportunity to get to know what i’m getting myself into with my eyes firmly open.

I got to see and do a variety of things in Nepal but in many ways I think just over three weeks wasn’t long enough for me to get a true feel for the country.

Politically I was there at an extremely interesting time, I was in Nepal the day the Shah dynasty ended,  King Gyanendra was run out of his home and there began a whole new era and a long battle for the leadership of Nepal which still goes on today. I was there the day Nepal became a republic. If you get a chance, check out the story of the Nepali monarchy..

I saw Nepal very much through INF specs. I saw so much amazing work done by the charity and heard some pretty moving stories. I really felt very privileged to be a small part of such an amazing work.

So here begins my next adventure.

What I know so far:

Location: Nepal, Kathmandu and Pokhara

Time Span: 6months

Position: INF Publishing department

What will the job entail?

*working on INF publicity material (print, possibly also internet and video) * compiling monthly INF news information *working on articles promoting INF via publications of partner organisations * developing contacts in the international Christian media etc. * assisting with fundraising campaigns promoting INF’s work among people with disabilities and INF’s Green Pastures Hospital etc.

That’s all for now .. check back soon for training week update

GGF x

Leapfrogging with God..

Everyone has to make a leap of faith sometimes.

My leap of Faith was more of a freefall into unknown territory that held a thriving network of hearts passionately serving God.

A year ago I had never heard of INF and shockingly, as a Journalist in training, I had no idea where Nepal was and was completely oblivious to the needs of its people. Over the three weeks I spent there I was amazed by the beauty of the country, shocked at its poverty, and inspired by the work INF is doing to help.

Sitting in a room with sixteen other people in Pokhara it struck me how privelaged I was to be there. I had travelled for eight hours from Kathmandu the previous day and that evening was in an INF fellowship meeting at the house I was staying in.

Surrounding me were doctors, a graphic designer, publicity manager, teachers, engineers and their families. Each one was connected to the work that INF does. They were just a small number of the people working for INF, but all were very dedicated to their roles and united in serving the Nepali people with love and compassion.

As my trip was so short I only got to see a small proportion of the work that happens under the INF banner, but still I was overwhelmed by the people, places and projects I encountered. Just to hear some of the stories from people visiting Pokhara who worked in the rural areas was wonderful.

A place that remains particularly poignant in my memory is the INF Green Pastures Hospital and Rehab Centre in Pokhara.

The face of one joyful mother almost reduced me to tears as I head the story of her six year old son. He had been badly burned in a housefire and his left arm had healed awkwardly so that he cold not use it. He also had scars across his face, hands and head. They had managed the trip to Green Pastures from their village and the small child had undergone surgery to increase his mobility.

The smile of his mother, the light in her eyes and the appreciation on her face for this life giving operation will stay with me for a long time…..

This was the beginning of my Nepal adventure last year! As some of you may know I’ve been offered a job in Nepal this year and I am currently in the middle of preparing for it.

At the moment the plans are that I will be working in Kathmandu, after some language training in Pokhara, with the INF team in their publications department. So lots of writing, travelling and picture taking for me to do! I am so excited!

This page is going to be for updates on what’s going on until I get out there! So keep checking back to see what’s going on and also to nudge me when I haven’t updated!