Dearest Friends,
EXHAUSTION AND DELIGHT
We have just returned from the most exhausting and delightful day of puppet shows. We had three shows today, with two of them in remote villages. At every show, the children were delighted with the program. Many of the children sat still as we finished, hoping that we would start the whole show all over again. However, the best part of the day was hearing hundreds of children asking Jesus to rescue them. There is no more beautiful sound on earth than a child’s voice when he or she is talking to God.
It is very hot right now and very dusty. The lack of fuel is forcing people to cook on wood fires
so the smoke is increasing each day. The roads are so bumpy and we are all enjoying the very rough ride, but it is not these things we will remember. As soon as we get into a village, we begin announcing to the children that we are doing a puppet show. They would start running after us and follow us until we stopped at the church. One of the churches was so small and so many children had followed us, we decided to set up out in the yard. It seemed that the whole village attended!
These people are desperately poor, but they still wanted to bless us. At one of the shows, a young girl brought us a big plate of corn that had been roasted over a fire. It was so good! I’m always touched by the kindness of people who have so little, but are determined to share what they have. We saw an ocean of goats, roosters, chickens, water buffaloes, and cows. We also saw great poverty and God’s great love for these people that many do not know exist. Please continue to pray for all of these children. We will never forget them!
LINDA TIMES FIFTEEN
Our friend Tik said that he believed that this was the best training that we have ever had in Nepal. All of our students were so attentive and willing to learn new ideas. They were like children on Christmas morning when they received all of the tools that we had brought for them. They thanked us repeatedly, but I believe their gratitude belongs to you because you gave and sent us.
Two of our students were the pastor and his wife from one of the villages where we are planning a special outreach. He is the one who lost his arm in the earthquake. I was so delighted to meet them. I could not believe how far they had traveled to come for this day of training. Unbelievably, there were actually two students who traveled the greatest distance. These friends are very committed to working with children and willingly traveled all night in very uncomfortable buses so that they could attend our class. Tik hand picked each one of the students so that we could have the best possible class.
Even the church that hosted the event was a very special place. Pastor Sajan Matthew is respected by all of the churches for his work with children. Two times a year he has a special VBS for different groups of children. The program is from 8 to 5 and then they hire a school where the children can sleep. One VBS is for the Japoni, the poorest people in Nepal. Two hundred and fifty children attend each of these outreaches. The second VBS is for children from many different tribes, but they are not usually from Christian homes. He has been doing this program for over ten years and has seen some of the children grow up and go into full time Christian service. The pastor told me that many of the children go home to their villages and tell everyone there about Jesus. Their building is in very rough shape, in need of paint and better wiring. However, I think the only thing the children see is love. He has served as a missionary from India to Nepal for over 35 years. His faithfulness challenges my soul and I hope you too will be encouraged by his godly example. Please pray for them as they will have one of their outreaches in a couple of weeks. Ask the Lord to call many children to Himself.
THE WOMEN’S CONFERENCE AND A PUPPET SHOW
Tomorrow, Thursday, will be a strange day. At 7:15 AM we will leave to go and do a puppet show in a village. By 10 AM we have to be back in town at another church because I am teaching a women’s conference. Please pray for both of these opportunities as Heather and I really want to do our best in both places. It gives me great joy to tell children about Jesus and equal joy to have the opportunity to teach their mothers how they can follow the Lord. Also, please continue to pray for Bharat, our driver who continues to help us at every show and is very open to the Gospel.
In Jesus,
Linda, Heather, Tik, and company.