Withdrawal from Nepal

This entry has been composed over the past week as I look back on our withdrawal from Nepal…

Within 12 hours of being advised of IHQ’s decision of our eminent withdrawal from Nepal for the time being, I was sitting in the airport with our team leader Andrew waiting for a flight to Kuala Lumpur. The rest of the team was due to fly out that same evening.

The flight from Kathmandu to Kuala Lumpur was very quiet with hardly anybody on it, so I was able to relocate to one of the exit rows which gave me space to stretch out. The plane was only about 1/4 full if you were lucky.

Upon arriving KL I said my goodbye’s to Andrew as his connecting flight wasn’t until the next day and wished him well for his upcoming move to Bangladesh in the New Year. I’m sure that he will revel in it as he has been looking forward to doing an overseas ministry appointment for a while. It’s in his blood me thinks! 🙂

The flight back to Auckland from KL was a different story, it was quite packed and I had to move – this time due to my headphones not working, even after trying a second set (1st World Problem I know!) As it happens I picked up a bit of a chill on the flight due to not having a blanket as the flight crew didn’t have any left, which has manifested itself into a cold as the week has progressed.

After a couple of days on flights and sitting in airports (four flights in two days) I arrived back, safe and sound in Invercargill, New Zealand with mixed feelings over our withdrawal from Nepal. It was great to be greeted by one of the life groups / small groups at church who had decided to provide me with a welcoming committee. Obviously it was great to be home catching up with my wife Annette & the children. As well as seeing where things are at as far as the redevelopment of the former Hostel and refurbishment of the Corps buildings.

But it is also hard leaving Nepal with so much work still to be done. In fact if I am truly honest with myself my heart aches for all those that we have had the pleasure of working alongside, both those assisting with the cause and those that have received much needed assistance.

Some of the work to date has been finishing off projects that other people have been integral in starting, monitoring and almost seeing through to completion. We have also been looking at projects that we can continue with a slightly different range of outcomes as we continue helping those communities in need that we have already developed relationships with. While in other cases identifying with the help of other agencies, assistance required for communities that have had little or no help to date – either from the government or other NGO’s, that are working in outlying districts.

But it shouldn’t be too long before we head back to continue the work that we had started while we were there, and I’m sure that there will be some things we can do via email to help move things along while we await confirmation of our flights back to Nepal.

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Food for thought…

Did you know that more than 80 percent of those who call themselves Christians read their Bibles only once a week? And that’s usually on Sundays, at church. They come to church to get their spiritual fill, and then snack on devotional tidbits for the rest of the week (if we’re lucky). Food for thought…

The following excerpt is from ‘The Divine Mentor’ by Wayne Cordeiro. It left me wondering how the church is faring in the whole area of discipleship, life groups and Bible Reading; as well as how well am I doing in this area personally…  

“What would the people in your church look like if they snacked on meager food morsels during the week and ate only one good meal on the weekend? You know the answer, don’t you? You’d find yourself surrounded by emanciated, gaunt people in desperate need of nutrition.

And how would these undernourished believers fare against a demonic adversary? Can you imagine how this army would look? You’d see threadbare skeletons with hollow cheeks and sunken eye-sockets, lined up like phantoms. Weakened by famine, that shriveled militia could barely stand at attention; each would struggle to find strength to keep his or her bony frame upright.

Could this ‘army’ conquer an opposing foe? No way. No earthly general would send them out to fight.

Well, then, how about the army of the Lord? What of those who gather on Sunday mornings? Are they spiritually nourished to fight the battles ahead? Considering what most members of God’s army subsist on – an occasional tidy snack from a devotional book and perhaps an average-sized meal on Sundays to satiate conscience – you’d have to conclude that God’s fighting force has some serious training to do.”

This is something that we all need to start looking at seriously; both individually and congregationally as we grow in our faith. Especially when we consider that the Word of God is food for our souls.

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The Essential Jesus Reading Plan

This week in our Life Groups we are starting the Essential Jesus Reading Plan. Essential Jesus contains 100 readings through the Bible focusing on the life of Jesus. As you read through the 25 Old Testament and 75 New Testament passages you will learn more about what Jesus means to you individually.

The Essential Jesus Reading Plan follows on from the E100 Bible Reading Challenge that we did last year -Containing shorter readings than the E100 Bible Reading Plan, the Essential Jesus reading plan will really challenge participants to get out there and be Jesus in their communities!

Essential Jesus is a great starting point for encouraging people to get into the Bible from all walks of life regardless if they are exploring faith, new Christians and/or maturing in your faith.

The 20 sections which contain 5 readings per section are as follows:

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Discerning God’s Will…

The next instalment of ‘Discerning God’s Will’ is happening this coming Wednesday night (Wednesday 15th August); commencing @ 6:30pm with a shared meal before the study.

Using the “Knowing God” study guide written by Major Barbara Sampson for The Salvation Army this guide provides practical guidance on how to get to know God better.

So far we have been ‘learning to name God’, ‘learning to see myself as God sees me’, ‘learning to grow in holy habits’, ‘learning to pray to God’ and this month we’ll be ‘learning to read God’s word’.

It would be really good to see you there!

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E100 Challenge – Life Group

Just a quick reminder that the Thursday Evening Life Group @ the Quarters (22 Mounter Ave, Northwood) is on this week (providing the snow has cleared enough for those of you that need to drive) starting at 7:00pm with Coffee…

 

This week we’ll be looking at a few of the more well known Psalms “The Lord is My Shepherd (Psalm 23)”, “Praise the Lord, O my Soul (Psalm 103)” & a number of wise sayings from Proverbs…

I’ve updated the weekly E100 Scripture readings (Week 9) and the relevant links to the thoughts of some well known Christian personalities within New Zealand – They are available by clicking the following link to the Essential 100 page. Alternatively you can click on the Life Groups tab at the top of the page and follow the links from there, or on the relevant link on the side bar…

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E100 Challenge – Life Group

Just a quick reminder that the Thursday Evening Life Group @ the Quarters (22 Mounter Ave, Northwood) is on again this week starting at 7:00pm with Coffee and Dessert.

This week we’ll be looking at two of Israel’s most well known and beloved Kings, David & Solomon…

To make things easier for some of you I have put the E100 Scripture readings for each week and the relevant links to the thoughts of some well known Christian personalities within New Zealand on this site.

They are available by clicking the following link to the Essential 100 page, or by clicking on the Life Groups tab at the top of the page, or alternatively you can click on the pages side bar and follow the links from there…

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