“But as for me, my prayer is to you, O LORD. At an acceptable time, O God, in the abundance of your steadfast love answer me in your saving faithfulness.”
Please pray for:
- The various Christmas outreaches that House of Hope Church and other churches are doing during this season.
- Our family as this is the first time, we have been apart for Christmas.
- Our business visa to be secured.
- Our upcoming language classes starting in January.
- Travel plans to Thailand in February for a conference for those working in the Tibetan Buddhist world.
- For the health of Nakayla our daughter in law and our grandson who she is carrying.
- Our continuing adaptation and appreciation for the Nepali people and their culture.
Life in Kathmandu
We are spending December in Kathmandu. The days are getting shorter, colder, and the air pollution is in the unhealthy ranges. Yet this is an amazing place with amazing people. I’m (Eric) zooming four nights a week with our youth. Last week we explored spiritual gifts, and this week we are looking at lessons from Christmas.
We enjoy spending time at the girl’s hostel. We are impressed with them. They are up at six every morning for prayer, they memorize scriptures, go to school and learn multiple languages, enter dance competitions, care for each other, and enjoy being around us!
We continue to join the Wednesday morning prayer zoom, where we bring the word and worship. We spend time in praise, the word, and prayer. These seven day a week prayer meetings started in 2020 when Covid broke out and are still continuing.
This week I was experiencing a lot of pain with one of my teeth. I called Narbu and that day he got me in to see a dentist. Immediately I got a root canal. We’ve really been impressed so far with the medical and dental care in Nepal. You hear so many horror stories in the US about medical care in Nepal and other developing countries, but we have found the opposite to be true. Grateful for a good friend and good dentist!
Next month we plan to start our Nepali language classes. We walk everywhere or take a taxi, which are easy to find. We are making relationships with the different shop keepers where we purchase items and services, enjoy spending a few minutes on our roof each morning and evening in amazement at the city around us and the Himalayans in the distance. There is a wild parrot that is friendly and each morning chirps loudly for the neighbor’s children to bring it food. The children always greet us in very good English and seem genuinely happy to see us. Sometimes we engage in long conversations with them about our favorite animals and fish, and whatever else is on their minds. Yesterday we met a Nepali business owner who is a Christian. When she found out about our plans, she immediately asked to pray for us. She grabbed our hands and passionately prayed for us.
We are blessed and grateful to be here.
Faces
Just wanted to share some pictures from Nepal.
Pastor Narbu with a congregant’s baby.
Pastor Chhiring and his son and daughter.
Narbu and his mother.
Peggy cocooned in Solukhumbu.
Some Good News and Some Bad News
Recently members of the House of Hope Church were able to intercept a fourteen-year-old girl who was going to be trafficked to India to be a child bride. They were able to get the girl and bring her to safety. That’s the good news. The bad news is that this is still all a too common occurrence. We encourage you to pray against human trafficking as well as look into supporting groups that work to stop human trafficking, groups like Love Justice International, the girls’ home that pastor Narbu is overseeing, and others that are reaching trafficked, neglected, abandoned, and at-risk children. Groups that provide a future and a hope for these young people.
Jesus came to set the captives free. He’s charged you and me with the same ministry. He sets the lonely in families .
How will you respond?
A Suddenly Moment
I love those “suddenly” moments in scripture where all of a sudden, out of nowhere God moves on behalf of His children. Like in Acts 12 when Peter is in prison and about to be executed, suddenly and angel comes to the rescue. But we tend to forget that many of those sudden moments are a long time in the making before they become suddenly. The angel didn’t just show up to help Peter, the church and been in a season of fervent prayer before the suddenly moment happened.
Let me tell you about our suddenly moment. As most of you know, we’ve been in a season of prayer regarding our long-term visa situation in Nepal. Things were not looking very hopeful. This past Monday we had to go to the immigration office to renew our tourist visas as they were expiring. I had been battling not being discouraged and instead, be in a place of healthy acceptance that whatever God’s will for our time in Nepal, it was better than anything I planned. I had been thinking though, that we needed to get an experienced immigration lawyer to help us secure a visa. Right before going to the immigration office pastor Narbu, who was taking us to the office called. He said that he had a lawyer that he wanted us to speak with before going to Immigration. I hadn’t told Narbu about my thoughts on getting a lawyer.
We meet a lawyer who is a friend of Narbu. He is a Nepali Christian brother, experienced in immigration and visa issues. His passion is to help missionaries get visas. He listened to us and then very enthusiastically encouraged us to pursue a business visa in group training. So, we’re in the process of getting a business visa for a group training business called, “Learning to Thrive.” Our business will be a mobile training business that provides group training in critical incident stress management, overcoming adverse childhood experiences, and grief care. While this business would be considered a secular business, we see it as part of our ministry, and it will meet a great need in Nepal.
This suddenly moment happened the day we needed to renew our visas and, after a long season of prayer not only by us, but all of you. So please keep the visa process in your prayers as this is a long process. A business visa will allow us to stay in Nepal long term as well as make trips to the US and other countries to be with our growing family, grandson number three is due in June, and visit and serve with our Jesus family and friends outside of Nepal.
“You ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” James 4:14
Thank you!
The Von Raeders in Nepal