Reports from the Field
and
Testimonies

• USA
• USA
• Mozambique, Africa
• Diocese of East Ankole
• Back from Africa - Reflections on the Journey
• Nepal

USA

Dear friends in Christ,

Thank you so much for all you did as a result of your listening to the Lord and preparing the way for the SOMA Mission to the USA. Our brothers from Southern Malawi Diocese, Bishop James [Tengatenga], Fr. Patrick [Mapundula], and Fr. Harry [Chisale] were sent to us here in the Northwest Deanery of the Diocese of the Rio Grande.

The message Paul wrote to the Church in Ephesus surrounds the opening message that Jesus gave His Church gathered from six Episcopal congregations and the Church in Albuquerque. +James exhorted us to remember that we are at war spiritually, and to make a choice to put on the armor of God and enter into battle. The powerful "surround" +James gave us remains this truth, "Having believed, you were marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession---to the praise of His glory."

The preaching, the teaching, the prayer ministry, the fellowship, the informal conversation, and the Deanery meeting served as opportunities for the Lord to use these wonderful East Africans as vessels of grace and power in our lives. At table with children and at prayer with Native American college students, the Holy Spirit nurtured and intervened with wisdom and love. The humble response from our Bishop Terence Kelshaw, having spent two years himself in Uganda on mission, and who introduced the team on Monday night at St. Mark's reflects the heart of the Father. "After all the years of sending missionaries to Africa, it seems fitting to the Holy Spirit to return the favor and send us those whom we now need (in the West, in America)."

Personally, I offer the other key deposit that Jesus invested in His Church in America (Texas, Virginia, and New Mexico) during the SOMA mission in October and early November: from the Book of the prophet Habakkuk 2:1-2: "I will stand at my watch and station myself on the ramparts; I will look to see what He will say to me, and what answer I am to give to this complaint. Then the Lord replied: 'Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it'."

Bishop James, Patrick, and Harry knew the Lord called them to come and that He sent them. I observed that assurance and their growing confidence as Betty and I were privileged to have them stay in our home. By the time that Patrick and Harry left on Sunday evening to return to Malawi and the reunion with their families and ministries, +James reflected that indeed (and I would submit in Spirit) the mission Jesus called them to join Him in was one that He had prepared them for in every way.

I give God all the glory and cherish the investment---His blessing in us---through His servants from the Anglican Diocese of Southern Malawi! The blessings were love and power from the heart of the Father and under our Head, even Jesus Christ! Halleluia!

with a grateful heart,
love in Christ,

The Rev. Peter A. Schoew
Trinity Episcopal Church
1500 Chelwood Park Blvd.
Albuquerque, NM 87112

Mozambique, Africa

What began as a normal August turned out to be anything but ordinary, I was part of our Annual Cursillo team at Big Pine, Ca. From August 1-8th, upon arriving home I received an e-mail from Edwina Thomas, director of SOMA, (Sharing of Ministries abroad) Asking if I could possibly consider filling a spot on a team going to Mozambique Africa, that would be leaving in one week, I immediately realized there would be a number of obstacles to overcome on such short notice, Because I have planned for sometime to visit Peru on a mission with Evangelism Task force, I had began my necessary Inoculations, however I had not received my Yellow Fever Vaccination, When I called the Kern County Health dept, I found that if I did not receive the vaccine on that day, I would run out of time for it to offer the necessary coverage and protection, And yes they could take me that day, so with that out of the way, I began making plans to leave the following Tuesday,

First stop was Woodbridge Va, for team training and to meet my team mates, Fran Broyle of Virginia and Fr. Marston Price from Connecticut. Because I was late joining the team, it was necessary for me to travel part of the journey separate from them, therefore I flew from Washington to N.Y. and then to London where I met them. This arrangement had caused me a bit of anxiety as I was concerned there would be problems in connecting with them, but of course my worst fears did not happen, both of our flights were on time, and we continued our journey to Johannesburg, S. Africa, and then on to Mupato, Mozambique, without delay.

Our host Bishop Denis Sengelane and his family offered their wonderful Hospitality for the next few days, as we began our team planning with the two African Priests who joined us after we arrived. Fr. Agostinho Roberto Buque and Fr. Isaias Andrice, Our first stop was to the Diocene confrence center at Macene, there we were to minister to both Clergy and Laypersons, There appeared to be a great need for encouragement among the Clergy, as they are very isolated from each other and travel great distances often alone to see their parishes, so we felt the Spirit leading us to address these issues, we concentrated our teachings on Sharing and Small group ministry, encouraging them to find someone in their own community when they returned home who they would feel comfortable confiding in, This was a new concept for them, but when we ask them to go into small groups to share they did very well, the groups were made up of both Clergy and lay people. By the second day the groups had relaxed and we had began to form a feeling of fellowship among each other, we ended our day by laying on of hands and praying for the needs of those who came forward individually, we prayed for both spiritual and physical healing, as well as reconciliation, For many of the clergy there was a feeling of being overwhelmed by the many people they were trying to serve, and the difficulty in reaching the people, not only are there great distances to cover, but often it is on foot, as there is a no public transportation in many of the areas they serve, many of these Priests are trying to care for 14-15 parishes, and we met one Priest who has 33 parishes he is caring for.

By the end of the second day there was a bond which had formed among all of us, As we finished early that evening there was free time until dinner was ready, many began to sing and dance in a circle, a fun dance, and before long we were all involved with them, even our Priests, we shared this fun and laughter for about an hour, and they loved our getting involved, I`m sure we all were quite entertaining but it was a very memorable moment for us. And by the next day we were all sorry to have to say goodbye, we left feeling our first teaching had been a success, perhaps one of the reasons it is so difficult for us to admit our needs to others is that by so doing so, we have to admit we are dependent not only on God, but on other people, I was becoming even more aware of this in my own life, especially in regards to trusting that the Lord would see to our travel.

Returning to Mupato we had to arrange alternate transportation for myself and Agostino and Isaias to Lichinga, as there was no room on the flight with Marston and Fran, this meant flying to an alternate city, Nampula, and making a connection there to Lichinga, because of language barriers I was spared the news until we arrived in Nampula on Saturday morning that our connection to Lichinga did not leave until Tuesday, I am sure the Lord was at this point being very careful to keep me in the dark, as I am sure he was well aware of my travel anxieties, my greatest fear was in being separated from my American travel companions, My first thoughts were changed from panic to Joy, when The local priest and the Son of the Bishop of the Northern Diocese came to our rescue,, They took us to the son`s home for the day, and Bishop Paulino sent a driver to pick us up..but the driver had to drive from Lichinga, he arrived after 10 hours of travel, picked us up at 1:00A.M. and drove all night long to get us there the next day, we may have broken all speed records for the trip, but arrived safely, although a bit shaken up, as the entire trip was by dirt road, very bumpy, and dusty, but By 11:00 the next day we were once again reunited as a team, The following day we journeyed to Niassa Providence, this trip only involved a 2 hour drive, When we arrived we were greeted like royalty, The ladies of the mothers Union, which is comparable to our own E.C.W. met us at a river crossing they greeted us with Songs and great festivities, we were ask to remove our shoes and walk across the river, so they could wash our feet, there were so many people to greet us, we ended up walking up the hill with them to the Church, because the driver could not drive among them., we were again greeted by two more groups that welcomed us with songs, and a number of priests and deacons. Many of these people had been there waiting for us for 3 days, unfortunately because of our travel problems some of them had to leave before we arrived, but many stayed.

Again we felt the need to teach on the need to encourage one another, and I was able to share with them my own experience and Prayer support I had brought from home.. My parish All Saints Bakersfield had sent many letters of prayer and encouragement with me on the trip, and the people were happy to know that they were being prayed for by people in a far away land. These people in the Northern Diocese are isolated from the rest of the country by the Zambeze River which cuts the country in two.. there is no way to cross the river except by boat, or to fly,, which most people cannot do,, Because of over 20 years of Civil war the economy is very poor, perhaps one of the poorest in the world, and they cannot afford to replace the bridges, therefore the north is very difficult to reach. The people in the North have had no visitors for almost 20 years, they feel neglected, rejected and abandoned, We are actually the first group who has gone there, prior to the war there had been missionaries there, but they left at the time of the fighting and never came back, so many of these people had never seen strangers, Fr. Marston is a big man, and wears a beard, at one village the young children actually ran away, they were frightened of him. And because I am blue eyed, I was also a novelity.

The next day we traveled to a village 110 miles North by boat,, the boat was suppose to carry six people, we were loaded with 13, then on our return trip we had another lady that came on board for the trip back, which brought us up to 14 people, the Boat driver was very distressed by all of this, and we were going to have to cross over to one of the islands to buy more gas, as the heavy load was using the Gas quickly, , Every place we had gone had presented us with gifts, and at this church we had been presented with a very important gift, theyhad gaven us a Goat, unfortunatly we could not bring our Goat on the boat, and it was probably just as well that we didn`t ask, as we had already pretty well pushed our boat driver to the limit. We crossed over into Malawi for gas, it took a couple of hours to locate some, and then they could only spare part of what we needed, so we did get to see a bit of Lakona Island, we were there without Visas, but no one seemed to mind. by the time we started back it was already getting dark and this made for dangerous travel, not only were we overloaded, but we were short of Gas, and the waters are often fished at night by natives in dugout boats without lights on them, we know we pasted within 20 feet of at least one of them,, Bishop Paulino assured us the boat was Blessed, and I`m sure there was no one on board that was not praying, once again the Lord provided, we arrived without any problems, and did not run out of gas, although we know we did not have enough and the boat had to be running on fumes.

Once more we returned to Lichinga, and ministered at a local church before returning again to Nampula, this time we had a slower trip, so we were 15 hours on the dirt road, next we drove 4 more hours to Nacala a coastal port, a very nice area where we found a very Spirit filled congregation who were in the process of rebuilding their Church as the original one was destroyed in a hurricane, and then finally on our last Sunday there we taught on the empowerment of the Holy Spirit in Nampula, we again had shared and laid hands upon many.. On Monday we all boarded our flight to return to Mupato, this time we all traveled together for the first time.. It was with sadness that we said our Goodbye`s to our new friends, We had experienced wonderful Hospitality by Bishop Sengalane, and his Children, His niece Ilva had taken us into her home, and Bishop Paulino and his wife Roseila had escorted us and Loved us, along with having all of our needs met by the Bishops Secertary Alicia, And in spite of all of my fears we were well cared for and escorted by our two traveling companions and team members Fr. Agostinho, and Fr. Isaias.

Would I go again? YES! The people, especially in the North, need to know they are not alone, and that we care about them. They are wonderful faithful servants who are hungry for new and fresh insights. I left with sadness remembering the words of Bishop Paulino. He said, "Sometimes I cry for my people because they feel so neglected, no one comes to see them. That is why I am so glad you have come now." I can honestly say that I am glad I went.

Peace,

Sandy Steele, All Saints, Bakersfield, California

Back from Africa - Reflections on the Journey
By Rev. Philip Eberhart

A little stomach trouble aside, the three weeks spent in "the pearl of Africa", the small country of Uganda, East Africa were very enjoyable and profitable for the Kingdom of God. Having spent a week in London with the Millenial Youth Event thrown by the Archbishop of Canterbury at Lambeth, Uganda was a welcome respite, as we prepared for two more weeks of very full-time ministry. During the interim travel week I had opportunity to try to tie together some of the loose ends around our Colorado - Diocesan Bike Project for the Diocese of Bukavu in the Congo, neighbor to the west of Uganda. As a result all is ready for transfering the funding necessary to ship the bikes across the borders into the Congo and to the priests of the Diocese of Bukavu.

Meeting me in Uganda were Uncle Ben and Joyie Mugarura, who enjoyed some time with us earlier in April at St. George's and who many of us came to know and love dearly. Along with them, and serving as my hosts for the duration of my stay were Phil and Jennifer Leber with their two sons, David and Owen. Also meeting us in Uganda to complete the team was the head of SOMA USA, Mrs. Edwina Thomas from the N. Virginia area around Washington, D.C.

It became apparent early on in our training days that a good part of the 'mission', at least for Edwina and me, was the encouragement and support of this full-time missionary family and the other Ugandan team members, both in Kampala and in the outlying areas. Our schedule was the culmination of a year of groundwork and 'settling-in' which had preceeded for the Leber's with many adjustments from the affluence and relative ease of American life. God has provided wonderfully for their physical needs, but the ministry needed a boost, as did they, after a year of adjusting. Some laughter and music was a welcome sound in their house, and I had a great time reconnecting with Philip and with David, his bass playing eldest son. We had a great time making some music together, laughing and eating together in the spacious and beautiful missionary 'compound' provided for them by the Church of Uganda.

In our two weeks of very full-time missions we traveled in three dioceses, completing three one-day Worship Conferences, one 2 1/2-day Youth Conference and one 3-day Leadership Conference! The one-day conferences were within the Diocese of Mokono, east of Kampala, as we traveled to three different Archdeaconries to gather a total of almost 300 folk as we talked about the worship of the church and bringing it to life through the power of the Spirit. The talks were very well received indeed as we spoke of the Biblical basis for worship in Spirit and Truth and of the fire in the Anglican heritage we have in the Book of Common Prayer, closing by finally modeling a renewed worship service with the 1662 Prayer Book. The most exciting metaphor of the week was of how the Prayer Book is like a fire-pit with hot embers covered over by ash through the night. In the morning the ashes are blown away and fresh wind brings fresh fire from the embers as they rekindle in the breath of God. Drawing on the Hebrew (Ruach) and Greek (Pneuma) words for "wind - breath - spirit," we caught a picture of God-The Spirit, bending low over the embers of devotion and worship that are held in our Prayer Book traditions and blowing the ashes of our cold, formalized worship into a new flame for Jesus Christ; a flame which will attract the whole community, young and old, with its light and warmth !

Our second, 2 1/2-day Youth Conference, hosted at Bokoto Parish, Diocese of Kampala, was a time of wonderful teaching and very spirited worship as about 80 young people and leaders gathered from 5 parishes to celebrate together. Our team taught on worship in Spirit and Truth again, but this time we were working at encouraging the young Christians to spread the fire they had, a revival fire for a new revival among the young in East Africa. The high point of the conference came on the middle day in the afternoon as we prayed for the Spirit to commission these young persons for ministry and outreach to their peers and to the churches roundabout. On Saturday morning our team was a little late and the youth were already in full swing - literally - and went on for about an hour in deep and profound worship. Our team drew a blank that morning as to direction, but God had plans. As we sat there I opened the scriptures to John 1 and began reading the account of Jesus calling of his disciples. I realized that these young people were being similarly called and so got up and shared from the scriptures with them on the subject of calling and response, after which another anointed prayer and praise time ensued. The entire morning was Spirit-led and anointed, from beginning to end. God has started a new fire in the hearts of a new generation of Ugandan youth, and we got to tend His fire for just a few moments !!

With a day and a half off we sought to spend some much needed down and quiet time, shopping and resting. On Sunday morning we went for an outing with Uncle Ben to the Botanical Gardens on the shores of Lake Victoria in Entebbe, south of Kampala. We lunched out on the grounds with 19 monkeys and their babies gathered around foraging crumbs of bread and pieces of delicious Indian Curry Chicken! We also got to go on a walk through "the spider's walk", an untouched portion of original rainforest in the botanical gardens. Overhead were hundreds of hand-sized spiders whose webs joined tree to tree and which could be seen looking up in the spaces between the trees, dozens between each tree! We were assured they were not poisonous, they would just cause a rash if we touched them! No thanks!! I'm outta here!!

Monday was a travel day to the area of Mbarara, in S.W. Uganda and the Diocese of E. Ankole. We learned the value of flexibility again as we arrived and the conference we thought was happening had turned into a different thing. We were now teaching a Leadership Conference for the Mission Coordinators and the Youth Coordinators of the several archdeaconries and parishes of E. Ankole. The three-day conference brought together about 70 of the eldest and the youngest of the leaders, as we spoke about Spiritual Leadership from the model of Moses. With the young ones present it was also clear that we needed to validate and empower their ministries, and that that could most effectively be done by their elders. So we taught on the passing of the torch of leadership, from Moses to Joshua and ended the conference with a symbolic passing of flame from elder to younger as the elders blessed their younger counterparts in mission and ministry. Again a new flame has been kindled from the embers of Anglican worship and East African revival - a flame passed on to a new generation of leaders for a new millenium.

Also akindle was the fire of ecumenical renewal as Edwina shared the vision many times of Cali, Columbia and the work wrought there by God bringing The Church together as one voice in prayer for the transformation and healing of its community. Powerfully, Edwina spoke of the vision of unity in the Body of Christ and we experienced it in Mbarara as leaders from many denominations gathered on our last day for worship and teaching together, sharing a vision and praying for a day of worship together as One Body throughout the area.

God's fire was indeed evident and His fingerprints were everywhere abundant during our two-plus weeks together. Philip Leber is going to be in high gear keeping up with what God has begun in the worship of the church in Uganda. And it must be said that another high point was an invitation to dine at the home of the Archbishop and Primate of Uganda, His Grace Livingstone Nkyoyo and his lovely wife. His Grace, the Archbishop, is fully supportive of our efforts and has endorsed the ministry of Phil and Jennifer Leber and SOMA in Uganda, and prayed with us for an outpouring of salvation and renewed worship throughout the Anglican churches across the province.

Our time in Uganda was amazingly trouble free, bouyed by the prayers and fasting of a vast intercessory network at home across the U.S. While they were praying that God would push back the darkness and give us "dancing room," we experienced just that in all three venues through the time we were there. God is faithful and His Glory has been seen by us all. In response we bow low (heb: shachah), humbled before our God and Father, and we worship, in Spirit and Truth, the God who seeks us out. May His Glory fall upon His Body, the Church and His Name be lifted up among the nations! Amen... and Amen.

Humbled to be a small part...

Rev. Philip Eberhart
Whitsuntide, 1999

A MISSION TO NEPAL
By The Rev. Gerry Schnackenberg

“And Jesus said to them (the disciples), ‘ All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you;.....” (Matthew 28:18-19).

Again Jesus said “...you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8b).

As many of you know, I have been on the mission field often in my life. I have served the Lord with Youth With A Mission in 1972 around the world on a summer of service, my family and I served the Lord in Southern Malawi where I was the Bishop’s Chaplain from 1980 - 1982. And, Pam, our girls and I served in Lubumbashi, Zaire on a very short mission in 1987.

Nothing, however prepared me for the trip to Nepal.

In December of 1998, I received a call from a priest in Long Island, Jeff Simmons, asking if I would consider joining him on a SOMA (Sharing Of Ministries Abroad) trip to Nepal. After prayer and counsel from my wife, wardens, Vestry and spiritual advisors I said "yes." Fr. John Wengrovius, rector of Calvary, Golden and a long time friend of mine also agreed to go.

We arrived February 23, and found ourselves with a 12 hour difference in time sort of upside down as far as the “body clock” goes. The missionary family we were there to visit and assist in this mission (Pete and Judy Smith, names changed for security) welcomed us with open arms and basically said, “Our house is your house.” We felt right at home. Pete was anticipating a wonderful opportunity to lead us on two teaching missions to two separate areas of Nepal not far from Kathmandu, the capitol. Fr. Jeff, his wife Bev, Fr. John, Pete and I spent time in prayer and sharing for a day and a half in preparation for the two conferences we were to lead. A local pastor, Sadic, would also join us as a translator.

On Feb. 25 we departed early in the morning, all piling into a very small Toyota Land Rover. As we bumped along narrowly missing pedestrians, cows, bicycles, cars, trucks and buses we learned to just either completely trust the driver or to look out a side window. The scenery was captivating. If any of you have ever driven over Independence Pass or any high mountain pass, you will know something of what it was like. Now in your imagination place simple mud houses on the steep embankments, terraced fields brown from the dry season and scattered banana plants or palm trees. Someone said Nepal is like Florida with mountains. It is the same latitude as Florida. We traveled through this mountainous ( though by Nepal standards just foothills) country for almost 4 hours.

Upon arrival at a small group of buildings along the highway, we got out of the car and met the Pastor (Benjamin) who had organized the first conference. He and his wife offered us our first real Nepali meal, “Dahlbaht”. Dahlbaht is cooked rice, soupy, watery lentils, and some sort of curried vegetables or meat and vegetables. Quite tasty. They eat the same food at almost every meal with little variation. I was glad that I like Indian, Asian curried, hot food. After eating and greeting several more folks headed for the conference, we loaded up our packs and other luggage and headed off for the village of Lamogara, grateful for the men who offered to be porters and carry the heaviest packs.

Crossing a river about sixty feet wide and maybe two feet deep moving at a good clip provided some humorous moments for us all and for the small group of poorly clad but happy little children who were following us. It only took us about half an hour to reach the village up a steep hillside and across the valley from the highway.

Pastor Ben and his wife Behini were wonderful host and hostess to us. We were shown to an upstairs bedroom in the mud house. The spiders adjusted to us fine and later the rats did too. We slept in sleeping bags on the floor. The room underneath our sleeping quarters was our meeting/dining room. We also ate and prayed on the front porch. Houses are constructed of a mud/cow dung mixture and are pretty durable. The kitchen is a room in which an open campfire is built and all the food prepared.

This first conference was designed to attract pastors and church leaders. About 50 to 60 of the participants fit that description. The other 130 to 140 participants were youth. What a blessing the youth were. If the future of the Christian church in Nepal is dependent upon them it is very bright indeed. They sang with enthusiasm and clearly demonstrated a hearty and healthy love of Jesus in all their worship and fellowship.

We taught in two hour segments with singing taking up at least half an hour of each session. Our teaching covered topics such as An Overview of the Bible, The Holy Spirit, Godly Living, Prayer, and Sacraments. It was astonishing to see the endurance of these people. They sat listening patiently for one morning session and two afternoon sessions. This was after an hour long early morning worship time and was followed by a two hour time of worship and sharing every evening.
One day as I stood to teach, five armed men in battle fatigues showed up at the front door of the church. Then one came around to the side door. I was concerned and looked to our leader for advice. He suggested we pray. So for the next fifteen minutes we just prayed. The army patrol left and later we were told that two of the Nepali pastors greeted them and began to witness to them about Jesus. It is against the law for foreigners to address any Christian gathering from the front of the church. While John, Jeff, Bev and I could have been arrested or sent home immediately, the consequences for Pete and his family might have been more severe. This patrol had the right to interrogate any of us, but just passed us by. Thank you, Lord! And, thank you all of you who prayed for us those two weeks.

It is difficult for those of us from the U.S. to imagine some of the restrictions on Nepali Christians. For instance if anyone is caught baptizing another, both the one baptizing and the one being baptized are subject to a six year prison term. Most, if not all Nepalis, are persecuted when they express faith in Jesus. They are rejected by their families and banished from their village. They cannot get employment and sometimes are stoned. Some even have been beaten to death by mobs of people opposed to their conversion. And yet I never heard any of them complain or try to tell me their stories of persecution. I had to ask them about their life and about how they came to believe in Jesus, then they would tell me. The joy and boldness of their faith was a tremendous testimony of God’s grace and love.

We traveled on after five days and arrived at a village near the border of India. Here another amazing pastor (Taru) had organized a conference. He and his wife (Nani) were also gracious host and hostess. Our accommodations this time included a bed! The food was great and we made more new friends. About ninety attended this conference and the format was much the same. Only about seven to ten pastors attended and the rest were lay leaders.

Taru and Nani shared one evening with us around an outside table in the golden light of the setting sun. Taru had come to faith while living high in the Himalayas. He and his wife suffered the rejection of family and friends. The whole village occasionally would throw rocks at them and tell them to leave. After a few years when it was clear none of their family or friends would believe in Jesus, they decided to leave. They felt God had called them to go to the lowland village of Gochada. When Taru and Nani came to Gochada they were the only Christians anyone had ever met. It took seven lonely years of witnessing door to door every day before anyone prayed for Jesus to be their Savior and Lord. Now there is a large church, there are many Christians and they are going daily to the surrounding villages sharing their faith in Him.

We returned to Kathmandu. On Saturday (Christians worship on Saturday) John and I attended Sadic’s church. It averages forty a Sunday. Probably half are under 20. On this Sunday at the end of the worship, two people came forward and asked for prayers. One was a young woman who wanted Jesus to be her Savior and Lord. We prayed and Sadic led her in the believers prayer. She was so filled with joy when we finished. The other was a thirteen year old boy who also wanted Jesus to be his Savior and Lord. Both had walked for a day to get to Kathmandu for this service. The boy came because nine months earlier his father who at the time was not a believer had asked for prayers for healing. He had been blind from birth in one eye. Sadic had prayed and the man went back to his village completely healed. This boy saw his father's healing and wanted to follow the God who could do that. Until the boy came for prayer, Sadic had not heard that his father had been healed. Now both are following the Lord of Life and this woman is too. They, along with only a few others, are the only Christians in their village. Sadic’s vision is to lead 100 people to faith in Jesus in 1999. Two came that day, Alleluia!

From the peaceful serenity of the villages to the chaos and pollution of Kathmandu, God is moving powerfully in the country of Nepal. Forty years ago their were only a few Christians, today their are between 300,000 and 500,000. The witness they have is of a God who loves them so much He would die for their salvation. Their sins are forgiven and they are free of the oppression of the gods of Hinduism, Buddhism and Animism. Jesus is alive in their lives and the joy of the Lord shines out through them. They are bold to continue to share the good news in the face of severe persecution and even of death.

My life has forever been effected by this boldness and joy. The poverty, hardship and struggle of daily life there is immense yet the presence of our living God is so powerful that it makes the material, emotional and physical difficulties seem unimportant. The Nepali Christians did not complain of hardship, they celebrated Jesus and His life of love, hope, joy and peace. They testified to the living Lord of the universe and blessed us with their friendship, hospitality and joy.

Please pray for the people of Nepal. Give thanks for those who believe in Jesus. Pray for their continued bold and joyful witness. And, pray for those who do not yet believe.