How did this past month go so fast? A few years ago, my sister gave me a journal that has a few lines for each day of the year (literally called a One Line A Day journal), and I’ve been finally been utilizing it; it’s both encouraging and bittersweet to read back and see the highlights from the days that we’ve been here. While it hurts my heart that we already have to say goodbye to our incredible ministry host and the beyond-sweet girls that we have spent this month with, God is doing beautiful things through this organization and throughout India as a whole, and it is a blessing to be able to say that God allowed us to be a part of it! We’ll be in the country for another 4 days (complete with a trip to the Taj Mahal… pictures to come!), and then it’s on to Nepal for All-Squad Month! As you pray, please continue to pray for provision and great strength and success for the organization with whom we were working, for the women and girls that we got to meet and interview, and that their hearts would be soft to God’s moving in their lives, and for safety for our entire squad as we journey to our ministry host in Nepal.
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For the month of February, we will have the privilege of working with TAMI,which stands for The Agape Mission International. The word “Tami” means “helping people see,” and the organization works with at-risk children and women through leadership and management development amongst those alienated in the organized church across South Asia and around the world.TAMI Asia has an emphasis on educating at-risk children, empowering at-risk women, and equipping and mentoring grassroots leaders.
Christianity is growing steadily in Nepal. Eric Metaxas of Breakpoint Organizations published an article noting that 1951 census information out of Nepal showed “…no—that would be zero—Christians in the country. Ten years later, it showed just 458. Forty years later, the number had risen to 102,000 and ten years later, i.e., in 2011, it had risen to 375,000. What’s more, according to a report by the International Institute for Religious Freedom, Nepalese Christian leaders believe that this last figure underestimates the number of Christian by a factor of six: instead of 375,000 Christians there are closer to 2.3 million. That would put the percentage of Christians at nearly 10 percent and rising, as opposed to the government’s claimed 1.5 percent” (1).
Since February is All-Squad Month, members of our squad may be partaking in a number of different ministry opportunities. Some of those ministry opportunities include:
– Teaching English and/or hygiene skills in slum schools
– Evangelism through football, music, prayer, and Bible teaching with street teens
– Rescuing and restoring women caught in sexual exploitation and abuse by participating in intervention work at the bars, restaurants, and other places where women are trafficked
– Praying and working with Bible study groups
– Playing in and hosting soccer tournaments
– Volunteering with city leaders and pastors and participating in church outreach and other programs
– Helping with building projects such as building play equipment for schools and toilets for orphanages
For more information about Christianity in Nepal, please see the articles I quoted from below:
(1) http://www.breakpoint.org/bpcommentaries/entry/13/29278
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As I get ready to leave India and journey to Nepal, there are a few final things I would like to share with you:
-I need to raise $1,000 more before the end of THIS month (February). This is my second to last fundraising deadline, and I continue to be blown away by God’s faithfulness and provision. Would you consider partnering with me either financially, in prayer, or by sharing my story with others?
-If you haven’t already, consider subscribing to my blog! It’s easy; all you have to do is click on the orange “Subscribe for Updates” button directly under my picture and enter your e-mail! This will ensure that you get updates if I am unable to post my blog links to social media (which may be likely in some places).
Thank you for following along with this incredible journey! Your support and care has been a true blessing from the Lord! The next time I blog, I’ll be in Nepal!
