Nepal Revisited – Day 12

This morning we headed to the Volunteers Initiative in Nepal (VIN) head office in Balaju. We have been partnering with them on a couple of projects in the Jitpur community (among others).

VIN’s mission is to empower marginalized communities through enhanced Education, Health, Income generation & Basic infrastructure programs with a special focus on women and children.

Today MJ & I were heading out to see the progress on a number of septic tanks and toilets that they have been coordinating the construction of. Jitpur is only about 11 kilometers from Kathmandu and consists of 9 wards and 15 communities spread out across the surrounding hills, fields and woods.

The roads through the hills have been badly affected by landslides after the earthquake and monsoon season. And the partial widening of the road project, which is incomplete at this stage has caused further issues, although it looks like they may be staring work again soon to remedy the roads – this will make getting to the area a lot easier in the future.

The tanks and toilets are being constructed by VIN volunteers and the recipients, as they are able. Unfortunately due to the fuel shortage, their has been some delays in the project due to the difficulty in getting materials and people into the area to help with the construction.

However, we were able to see some the construction of toilets and septic tanks in varying stages of completion and the people in the community were very thankful for any assistance received.

As in many of these remote areas the paths are very narrow and the steps are very uneven, and the altitude can play havoc on the heart-rate.

MJ had a comical exchange with a lovely old dear who was out doing the washing by hand, as we clambered up the stairs to another of the sites. We were being led by what you could mistake as a mountain goat – our guide was a young local volunteer who was bounding up the steps two by two.

On the way to Balaju we passed the industrial area and main depot for LPG distribution.

Queues upon queues of people were lined up in the baking sun along with their children hoping that they might get their bottle/s refilled.

We had seen a fair few traffic jams and queues since we had been here, but seeing a human jam with 1,000’s upon 1,000’s of people sitting on empty bottles, jostling for space was just a tad unnerving.

It also had the potential to become a hot spot as discussions at times seemed quite heated. However, the police presence was keeping a close eye on any agitators.

In the afternoon we spent time in the office doing paperwork and in the evening we readied our selves for the remaining Rugby 1/4 finals.

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Nepal Revisited – Day 11

This morning, although being a Saturday, it is the Sabbath in Nepal and I had the honour of sharing the message with the local Corps.

Utilising a message that I had prepared a few years ago now, I shared how a bag of M&M’s can be used to experience Ministry Moments in our lives, which we can:

• Rejoice in the Lord;
• Allow Him to Reveal things in our lives and the lives of those around us;
• Reflect on issues and concerns that affect us and;
• Relax in Christ as His yoke in light.

This is the first time I have ever had a translator translate my message as I presented it which was interesting. Even though I had a full set of notes which Hari could use, he spent the majority of the time concentrating on what I said and how I said it. Which made me really concentrate on not only my diction but also the speed in which I spoke.

After I had preached MJ, Heather & I shared our rendition of the song ‘In Christ Alone’, which was very well received. A number of the congregation wanted copies of the words of the song as it had moved them & they themselves wanted to learn it. They also thoroughly enjoyed my message and a few of them also wanted copies so that they could get it translated into Nepali.

After the service and morning tea we took the Officer’s out for lunch, as it had not only been MJ’s birthday during the week it had also been Manun’s. The food served was absolutely delicious and the service was outstanding. Well worth another visit if we get time.

The rest of the afternoon was spent relaxing and letting lunch settle.

In the evening we headed out for a light dinner, and was greeted by the instrumental version of the song ‘In Christ Alone’ at the cafe. So we hummed along!

Later that evening Heather & I stayed up to watch the 1st of the Rugby World Cup 1/4 finals – Heather got a myriad of comments on Facebook from family, friends and colleagues as I got talked into wearing a Springbok jersey as they took on Wales.

Into the early hours of the morning the All Black’s took on France and produced a masterclass to stifle all the negative press that they had received throughout the group stages. Heather only made it to half-time – If they can play like that next week against the Springboks even she agrees that they (the Springbok’s) haven’t got a chance.

So come on boys, back it up twice more and show the world why you are ranked #1.

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