Today was an interesting day. I’ve spent most of the day holed up in my bedroom trying to drink and sleep enough to feel better – it wasn’t the most pleasant night I’ve ever had! I’ll be making an effort to avoid Buffalo Momo in the future – although I’ll still be having vegetable Momo!!! I am feeling better now though – bit of a lingering headache, probrably due to dehydration/ lack of sleep. But otherwise good – although my appetite has taken a definite hit! I’m really gutted that I’ve been ill this last 24 hours – not only because of the unpleasantness – I missed a chance to attend a local traditional Nepalese Church and a chance to visit the Market at Thamel. I’m also very jealous because Joanna had a go on a motorbike today (not driving, riding shotgun!). i do have to say a huge thank you to everyone here for helping to take care of me – with advice/ getting me water and crackers and just generally being sympathetic! A special thank you to Suzi, Joanna, Ram Prasad and Bhibin for everything they’ve done for!
Our final team members John Boyd and Pete Brady arrived today – it’s good to have them with us! We’ll all get to know each other well on the bus journey tomorrow I expect! For this blog, John will be writing in purple and Pete will be blogging on his own blog at the Methodist Church, which you can follow through this link.
We went for a wee wander tonight to see the Rato Machindranath at Pulchowk – a chariot temple that is taken to different places around the city of Patan. It’s a fascinating thing – I made a bit of a cultural mistake by walking round it counter-clockwise instead of clockwise! The locals who were worshipping there seemed quite content for me to sit and take photos of them, some kids were quite persistent that I took their photos!
Tomorrow’s bus journey is expected to be around about 7 hours long – but we’re taking a private bus, not a public bus, so it will be comfier and less chance of animals being on board! but I’m expecting less comfort than megabus!!!!!
I also seem to be getting Suzi and Joanna into photography – Suzi seemed quite surprised that I trusted her enough for her to take the camera to Church when I wasn’t feeling well!
Hi! So today I have been without Chris and Joanna for some of the day – which sucks because we were to go around together but in all I have had a good day!! This morning we visited the Koinonia Patan Church – they hold two services in the morning – the first being 8.00am-10.00am and second which we attended was 10.30am-12.30pm. It was a family service, the christian churches had a bomb scare not long ago and so going into the church we had our bags checked and got a sercurity check – very interesting!! We went into church and men sat on the right and women on the left. The service was great – i didn’t understand much and the bible verse they spoke on didn’t speak to me much either. But the whole atmosphere felt really amazing and homely at the same time – the children were free to run around and be noisy – just like the service ‘Lighthouse’ I help run back home!! 
They weren’t afraid to pray or speak there mind during prayer times as everyone shouts out – talks, prayers – its wonderful to hear! Why are we sometimes so afraid to do this? So during the talk I had Chris’s Bible on me and so went through it and found some interesting things that really encouraged me as I have been finding it really difficult to come to terms with a battle I seem to be fighting with God at the moment! So all in all – a good day at church!! Unfortuately Chris wasn’t able to join us and that wasn’t good because he would of loved the experience of it! – Maybe next saturday!!
So after church I met a few people and we then went to look around Thamel! The shoping place of Nepal – it was brill – for all those that know me personally you will surprised I only bought one scraf (which my sister Sara will steal! .) and a braclet! Honestly!!!!It was really lovely as I met a lady from the CMS Co-Mission partner (from Hong-Kong to Nepal) called Pokautn – she was lovely and full of great stories!! Thanks to her for looking after us in Thamel!
After shopping we got back to the hotel and not long after our other team members John and Peter arrrived – wooop – yeah!! Was excitng that the rest of our team are here and now all together – which means it must be time for the youth conference now!!! So we went for food – and learnt a little about each other – but like Chris mentioned we have a huge journey tomorrow to Pokara and so more chatting to be done then!! Apparently the journey is long and sometimes scary but has a gorgeous view – we’ll let you know tomorrow evening!
This evening on the way home Chuli had to do some photocoping for her workshop she’ll be taking at the conference so I stopped with her and met the cutest adorable little boy in the whole world!! (Another one for those who know me – yes i always meet either the nicest kids or the strangest people!) So he was called Aadigy and he was 20 months old!! He was the son of the shopkeepers and he was hiding from us and so I poked my head over the side of the counter and he hide again and then i hid and he looked over the counter for me!! Haha hide and seek – was so lovely!! He then ran away to his mum and started hiding behind the door from me and was chuckling so much – I don’t think i will ever forget his laugh!! It was a gorgeous moment – and people are put into your life sometimes for a lifetime, sometimes for a reason and sometimes (like tonight) for a moment!! But it was the most special moment ever!!
So hope alls well back in our homes and thanks for all the support!! Chris is doing alot better now – he doesn’t look white! And pray for Joanna as she has a sore stomach! Godbless <><
Hello all! Hope all is good back home for all our families!
Unfortunately this evening Chris hasn’t been very well and has been sick – which we think is just something he ate as no other symptons! So he is ok but not feeling nice but is now in bed sleeping – which is good! We know you guys will be praying back home – so for his sickness to go and not grow into something worse and also just for him to regain his strength in time for our big bus journey to Pokhara on Sunday. Thankyou!
Some of us started our day with watching the amazing sunrise over the Himalayas – when the sun eventually came over the mountains the sun rose really quickly!! Was so lovely to see it!
Today we visited a number of church organisations – one being the National Christian Fellowship of Nepal. I’m going to just say a few bits about one of the parts in this organisation which was the Grace Community Project. This for me really hit me and made a great impact on how I was feeling! So the project helps partly with the people living with HIV/Aids, the prevention of HIV/Aids and more understanding of it in the younger generation and also helping people to be able to teach about this. They have a set project for the people who have HIV/AIDS and they get toegther and make things like candles and soaps. They have a really good relationship wth these people and with the workers going out to tell others by it – they also work with the trafficking of children and either give out advice and things to protect them more or the children want to change and they are given supprt to do so.
The other places we visited were the Ebeniser Bible College – which was a very simple place. The leadership training department. Mission commission of Nepal and the Human Development and Community Services. – I will leave them for further discussion from the others.
This evening we were invited to the Patan Churchs’ Youth Service! We were asked to do the sermon and eventually settled on the ‘Community’ theme! Joanna started with a great bible verse – Ephesians 4:1-6 – and spoke of this very well indeed! We then all gave a little bit on local community – that was my area and I just explained how my home church community worked well and not so well and how we can learn alot from other church communities to take back with us! Chris didn’t get a chance to chat but Chuli then spoke about the world community! It was a great atmosphere when it came to the worship and the little band they had were really good – i loved it!! Whilst at the back of the service – when Joanna and Chuli spoke I counted how many youth were there – a thing I got from my grandma and grandad – haha – and there were over 160 people!! I didn’t tell Joanna until after we went out! She did great!
So a jam-packed day with one illness isn’t the best but we learnt a lot of the community of Nepal and the local places we visited!
Today was a fairly busy day. We went to see lots of different-but-related organisations – National Christian Fellowship of Nepal, Grace Community Services (basically the social work wing of NCFN), Mission Commission of Nepal (missionary training), Leaders’ Training Department (I think – my notes are upstairs – for pastors and church leaders), then after lunch the Ebenezer Bible College and the Human Development and Community Services. It was really good to hear about the work that has been and still is going on in the country. What was especially fascinating was how quickly the work has developed. The HDCS started informally in 2001 and already runs 3 hospitals!
It was good to visit the Youth Fellowship at Koinonia Patan Church. We were asked yesterday to speak at it, with a suggested time oif 40 mins, but we decided that included translation! Speaking went much better than I anticipated. Because Ram Prasad was translating, it felt like I was speaking just to him rather than to the 160+ young people (age range was 16-30ish). Saying that, most of them seemed to understand most of what I was saying even before the translation. I could get used to this preaching thing. 
Chuli and Suzi were much more interesting than I was, and of course with Chris off throwing up I had to make up something on the spot about NYA for the national community section. All in all it seemd to go well. Ram Prasad said I spoke like a pastor, but I’m fairly sure he meant my actual speaking voice rather than anything I was actually saying. Chuli said he had been worried about translating me, but it didn’t end up being a problem. I blame my mother for passing on her teacher’s voice!!
My stomach is coping. I keep thinking it might go bad at short notice, but it’s holding on. Or in, which is more important!
Tomorrow we go to church, because Saturday is the day off rather than Sunday, so they do church then. We decided not to go to the 8am service! So it will be 10.30-12.30, and then we plan on going shopping before Pete and John arrive. We’ll probably startr in Thamel, which is the touristy bit, but I sort of hope we wander a bit rather than sticking to such a potentially inauthentic area. We did some wandering around near the hotel yesterday and it was nice to see people on the street rather than from Gypsy, the Jeep of Doom and Harbinger of Painful Death. Chris filmed the car journey yesterday, and he’ll hopefully upload it at some point when he’s back so you can have a look. It needs a travel sickness warning! I’m not quite sure how Chris managed not to throw up on the way back tonight! Ram Prasad was being careful (probably because he would have been in the firing line) but it was still a bit rough.
We walked to the big wicker thing yesterday. It is a mobile temple which will be taken through the streets, and the crush to see it causes a couple of deaths every year. I wonder if it is (or is realated to) the Jagannath thing that we get juggernaut from. Chris has some good pics of it and of the worshippers around it. It was both really primitive looking and somehow much more real than most UK worship. The connection with the numinous (CTCL, 1st year Divinity) very much alive here. If I’m being honest, it really made me feel like there’s something missing in the UK in general/church in the UK/my life. Hmm.
But we haven’t experienced Nepali church yet, so I may change my mind about it all tomorrow.
It is wonderful to see so many young people at an evening service on a Friday night. We counted around 160. Such enthusiasm and passion for worship really moved me. Chris was in a bad shape midway during the service. I think the Mo Mo is definitely a No No for him for the time being!
This morning, Chuli, Suzi and myself got up at 5am to watch the sunrise. It was beautiful. I feel very blessed to have had the chance to watch the sunrise over the Himalayas. We aren’t in the heart of the range, so the mountains around us are ‘only’ topping out around 2000/2500 meters!
So today was an interesting day.
We stayed up fairly late last night chatting and getting to know one another. we all then woke up far too early!
Our first port of call today was the offices of CMN. CMN is an organisation working for and with the people of Nepal addressing the root causes of poverty throughout the country. The organisation has a policy (a good one) of not duplicating work that is already happening – so they do not set up shop in an area where people are already doing the work/ They also work in the poorest areas of Nepal:
Bajhang
Doti
Mugu
Rukum
Rupendehi
Palpa
Dhading
Okhaldhunga
Sunsari
I won’t go into all the details of the work that they do – I would have you here for days! If you go to their website you can browse to your hearts content, let me instead share with you what stuck out for me during our visit.
UMN used to be an organisation focused on implementing the projects, in 2003 they made a strategic decision to become an enabling organisation – instead of doing the work, they work with local agencies and local people and help develop their capacity to implement and support the work. All the work that UMN is involved in has a preventative approach to it. UMN is seeking to work with it’s partner organisations in a capacity building role – both technical and organisational. They work closely with the Nepali government – they are currently coming to the end of a 5 year agreement with the Government about the work they can do and where and are negotiating a new 5 year agreement.
The areas UMN works in are known as clusters, the work in these areas is based on what is best for that locality, this is decided in consultation with local government agencies. UMN aims to be fully accountable to all their partners.
Another really interesting part of the work was the work they do with HIV/Aids. HIV/ Aids is a problem in Nepal – although it is not reaching the same kind of levels that we see in Africa. There are ‘officially’ around 75,000 people diagnosed with HIV/Aids in Nepal, although there will be many more who suffer from the disease but will not/ cannot be tested due to the stigma of HIV/ Aids, the lack of available testing stations or the fact that the tests are prohibitively expensive, as are the proper after care procedures – follow up checks and good, healthy food.. For some people, it can be a good 3/4 days travel to get to a clinic where they might be tested for HIV/Aids – expensive not only for the test, but for the transport and for the accomodation. Even the places which have the equipment to perform tests may not have the staff trained to use the equipment, or the money available to maintain the equipment in good working order.
There is a presentation which we were shown that I am hoping to get a copy of that you will be able to download and look through at your own pace. we are also trying to get some video clips to show you a bit about the work they do. But that will have to wait until we have more bandwidth to work with!
UMN works from a model of Integral Mission – not just evangelism, not just social action, but both intertwined with each other. As an example they pointed us to John 4: 1 – 26, drawing us to the ‘evangelical’ portion of the passage where Jesus talks about never being thirsty again (vs 13/14) and also to the ’social’ aspect of the story – the fact that Jesus talks to a marginalised woman and works with her to change her life. UMN do not see evangelism as bbeing something that can be done seperatley to social action, neither do they social action as something that can be done seperatley from evangelism.
This afternoon, we made a short visit to the slums along the banks of the Bagmati River. The people who inhabit this area are mostly people who have moved to the area from the rural areas in Nepal and so have no land or means to obtain a home other than to live in this mini shanty town in the middle of the city. It was a bizarre experience. We were there for 20 minutes, if that, and spent most of that inside the primary school. The kids their were delighted to see us – they loved Suzi because she was chatty and friendly, Joanna because she was giving out shortbread, Chuli because she was asking their teacher lots of questions and me because I had a camera and could take and show them pictures of themselves – it was like being surrounded by 20 of my nephew Joshua, desperate for a shot with the camera. When I was taking kids photos and showing them, I was very conscious that I didn’t want to accidentaly miss anyone out – consequently I spent the entire time there taking kids pictures and showing them to everyone.
The area really made me wonder. The pure joy that was obvious in the life of these kids, who really have nothing, compared to some of the kids I meet in Aberdeen and have met elsewhere in Scotland. Would they be so joyous if they had so little material posession? Despite this, the strain of life in the slum was plain to see on the faces of the parents and other adults living there. They were still amazingly friendly, very smily. Yet I’m sure they were wondering what we would/ vould do to help them. I was wondering that. It was amazing to share in the joy of kids who were so happy to have visitors, but what impact can we really have made on their lives in that 20 minute whistle stop tour? I almost judge the 4 of us for making the visit. Sure, it’s opened our eyes, but that is inly going to help them if we do something about it!Their living conditions are horrendous – mud for a floor, whatever materials they can scavenge for walls and a roof, no idea where clothes come from, let alone food (except for the chickens we saw wandering around and the small crop plantation at the back of the area). I know this slum isn’t as ‘bad’ as some of the slums in India, or Africa or South America, but it’s still heart wrenching to see. When I visited the unrecognised village in the Holy Land I was shocked at the conditions – but even they have a life of luxury compared to the folks we met today.
I pray that our visit today will ot just be a footnote on our trip, but that it is something that inspires us to action, whatever that action is, to help make the world, this life, a better experience for those that we can.
Peace Out
Our first full day in Nepal is almost at an end – we’ll spend the rest of the evening just chilling in the hotel chatting about the day and playing cards (Joanna and I intend on teaching Chuli and Suzi how to play ’spoons’!)
Today has been a fascinating day, a fun day, a busy day, a beautiful day!
It has been a touristy day – we went to see some of the major tourist attractions in Nepal – we start meeting some of the local Christians and their projects tomorrow.
We started at Bhaktapur, an ancient city to the east of Kathmandu. the jeep journey there was….interesting? We often complain about potholes in the UK, but we’ve got nothing on the nepalese roads! At one point Joanna actually left the seat because of the force of the bump (back seat passengers do not have the luxury of having a seatbelt!). The city itself is a beautiful place, there a mountains just next to it that tower over it covered in lush green trees, the smell of incense and spices permeates the air. It is a very small, narrow streeted (I know thats not a word!) city, but it doesn’t feel crowded at all! It has a very relaxed atmosphere about the place – when we were having lunch (apparently at an expensive place, but it was only £23 for 5 people to have lunch and drinks!) we all wanted to stay. Try and picture the scene, we on the balcony of the 3rd story of a resturant, there is Hindu music playing from a local shop and the quiet murmur coming from people walking underneath and the occasional truck or bike tooting their horn. To the right of us is a narrow street with some vendors selling their wares in front of a temple, to the left there is a big open square with temples on 2 sides, shops on another and our resturant on another. In front of us their is a street winding its way away from us going deeper into the city. All the building are ‘rustic’ looking – wooden shutters, red tiles, red bricks, and over the top of the far away buildings we can see the foothills of the himalayas. Gorgeous, just gorgeous!
After Bhaktapur, we went to a Hindu crematory on the banks of the Bagmati river. This was an interesting, if slightly strange, visit. Watching families cremate their loved ones as we watch from a distance, ashes being swept into a ‘river’ where little water actually runs – it is blocked by human waste of all kind and mounds of earth that make it more of a stream, and a random cow having a nap under neath the cremation platforms. It was an interesting place though – learning who is allowed to be cremated (pregnant women, children nder 6 months and Holy men are buried rather than cremated). Learning where people come from to be created – bodies are flown in from around the world to be cremated here. It was also interesting to hear their approach to death – they are born naked, so they are cremated naked (wrapped in a cloth) and the see the cremation (or burial) as a giving back of the elements the body is made of to the earth. We met some very friendly Hindu holy men while were there, a very relaxed and reflective group of men!
We also went to the Monkey Temple – we knew it was high up, but didn’t realise that you had to climb 365 steps before you got to the top, not just 365 steps, but 365 very steep steps! The top reminded me of my trip to the Holy Land in November 2008, a religious site covered in Gold plated religious artifacts and the smell of incense being very over-riding. The view from the temple at the top was incredible – a fantastic panoram of the Kathmandu valley and of many high Himalayan foothills – we were scoffed at by Bibin, our guide for the day, for calling them mountains – despite them being 2-3 times the size of the highest mountian in the UK!
We were able to enjoy some Lassi with our dinner, a sweet Banana milk drink – it tastes quite like the yoghurt in this Muller Corner. we also had some Momo, little packets of meat in a lovely pastry case, simply gorgeous!
As those of you who know me would expect, I have been busy documenting our day in photos as well as words. This country is such an incredible place, i haven’t felt this at ease and safe in a city since I was in Jerusalem, it is such a spiritual place – and people are not afraid to talk about spiritual matters! Something we could learn from in Western countries!
One thing that made me laugh today – on the back of many trucks driving on the crazy roads, they have painted the words ‘Good Luck’ on their rear bumper – very fitting I thought……
Hi, Joanna here. Just a quick message because I’m shattered after such a busy day. Spoons may have to wait, alas.
As Chris said, today was Bhaktapur, Pashupatinath, and the monkey temple. Bhaktapur was odd – it was such a quick visit that I didn’t really have time to process what I was seeing. It is definitely a place that would require a longer trip to fully appreciate. We went up the first level of what Lonely Planet describes as the highest temple in Nepal. Sadly we did not have time to visit the naughty elephants temple.
Pashupatinath was frankly weird. The smell was more smoke than BBQ, but the arm with its fingers burnt off dangling off the pyre was rather offputting. The Sadhus (holy men) really just sat there and had their pictures taken. I assume they do holy stuff when the visitors aren’t around! It was, however, a fascinating glimpse of a side of Hinduism that can’t really be experienced in the UK.
The stairs to Monkey Temple were challenging at time of the afternoon and in that heat, but the view was worth it, even with the dust/smog haze prevening us seeing the Himalayas. It was definitely interesting to see the Buddhist imagery and architecture. The monkeys were very used to visitors, so Chris got some lovely photos.
On the way from the restaurant were we had tea back to the hotel, we passed an enormous cart which Bibin said would be dragged through the streets. Slightly Wickerman-esque to look at, but a pillar rather than a body. We may go out tomorrow night to see if it and the associated ceremonies/celebrations are still there.
For those of you who are interested in such things, you may be pleased to know that none of us have upset stomachs yet!
Hello! So today was our first day and very busy. The weather was mega hot – which was lovely apart from when your climbing a lot of steps to get to a temple!! Which had monkeys – oh yeah they were so cute!! The old city of Bhaktapur was lovely – why would anyone want to ruin this?? It had a few temples – which seem to be everywhere here in Nepal – but are great to see them!!
At the monkey temple there was a great prayer thing – this rolers were built around the ‘monkey temple’ and people could walk past and role them – apparently whilst saying a prayer and ringing the bell at the end!! Was great – the rolers had lots of patterns and pictures which when rolled looked brill! Also another prayer thing that we have seen is the prayer banners – they have mainly sqaure shaped clothes with prayers on them and they hang them all around – in all temple places and even just hung up in houses – brilliant ideas and look great so maybe be taking them ideas home with me!!
So i will go – you heard most of our days events from Chris and Joanna – but i didn’t really like the crematory – just can’t get me head around the idea!! Anyways thanks for all the prayers! Hugs xx
hey, hey, I am blogging for the first time on Chris blog and I am not sure who in the world is going to read this, but I am on top of world both literally and symbolically. Chris has given you the highs and the lows of today, but I am still stuck in the crematorium near Kathmandu by the Bhagmati River. Seeing all those dead bodies lying in state (according the caste system) got me thinking about how life and death is openly visible here in Asia, whereas we do not talk about death in the UK. One sad part was that women were not there to mourn the death of their loved one. Anyway, much more at some point tomorrow – watch out for news about Yeti Airlines!!!
Well, we’ve arrived safe and sound! Was a very long journey to get here, took me 28 hours and even Chuli who had the shortest journey was over 18 hours! Doha was an interesting airport – we arrived there at 5.40am and it was already 32 Celsius outside, that was a shock!
First impressions of Nepal are that it’s such a beautiful place! Even in Kathmandu, the largest city, there is so much green! We’ve yet to get a proper look at the Himalayas (from here its really ‘just’ the foothills). Kathmandu itself is higher than Ben Nevis, so we know that all the mountains we can see are much higher than anything in the UK!
The people here are very friendly, always wanting to help and make sure we are ok – although the driving is a little crazy! Lanes don’t seem to mean anything, I can’t figure out if beeping your horn means ‘Look out’, ‘Get out of my way’, ‘what are you doing’ or something else! They just seem to toot the whole time you’re driving! First bizarre experience on the road was a policeman escorting a cow and calf across the road – we knew cows are sacred here, it’s just a little funny to see them being taken across the road like school kids with a lollipop man!
Today we are going to visit Patan Darwar Square, a Hindu River Crematory and the Monkey Temple in the hills nearby Kathmandu.
All in all, after a good sleep and feed, we are all feeling really good about this trip, it should definetley be an awesome experience!
While we’re here, we’ll all be contributing to the Blog. To avoid confusion of who’s writing what, we’ll be writing in different colours. Chris is in black, Suzi is in Red, Joanna is in Blue and Chuli will be writing in Green.
Peace out
Hi all – Suzi here in pink! Wow – we are here- yeah! So not much else to say that Chris didn’t say. We had such a long journey and was so tired last night – but we start our trips and visiting today – should be good fun. Weather is lovely warm!
Getting of the aeroplane into Kathmandu was lovely and all my memories of India came back! The smells, heat, busy people. We flew over all the mountains which was lovely and from our hotel we can see the mountains on a clear day – so before all the dusty and smokey air! The roads are crazy and people all friendly!
Not much else to say so will speak again soon – hope alls well back in Britain! Hugs xx
Well, we’re on our way!
Joanna and myself flew from Edinburgh at 1425 and we’ve now met up with Suzi at Heathrow. We’re all feeling very excited about the trip – the waiting isn’t so fun!
We arrived nice and early for our check-in, 45 minutes before it opened!
We’re now tucking into some dinner before venturing through security.
Its all very real now, though it still seems very surreal!
Only 3 hours until our flight to Doha!
Peace out
Only 2 days until we leave for Nepal!
Well, 4 of us. Joanna and I leave Edinburgh just before 2:30 on Monday and then meet up with Chuli and Suzi in Heathrow before flying out, we’ll then meet John and Peter out there.
It’s all getting very real and very exciting! I feel a bit like a girl (no offence!) with how many times I’ve packed and repacked my bag!
It’s been a wee bit of a tense week leading up to leaving – the eryognsdioghdgfklgdj!?!??!!? volcano still seems to be spewing out ash which disrupts UK air traffic now and then. There have also been some Maoist led strikes out in Kathmandu, thankfully they are over now and remained peaceful (for the most part).
While I was packing all my things, i came across a very interesting sheet that we were given at the training weekend a few weeks ago. It’s a list of things that we should ‘come with’ on these types of trips:
Come:
With flexibility – visitors come to be part of what is going on already. They should be ok if their need to ‘do something’ isn’t met right away
To build relationships – A good ‘missionary’ will focus on the people they have come to be with, rather than the events they have come to do.
With an attitude of listening and learning – not only does this help understanding about local people, but it empowers local people to explain their ways of thinking and doing things.
To follow instead of lead – while we are called to ‘go and make disciples’ it is only after we ‘come and follow’ Jesus.
With appropriate gifts – sharing resources is part of God’s call on our lives, but make sure they are useful and have a positive long-term impact.
Ready to encourage anyone – it is not just the poorest who look forward to cross-cultural exchange, but there are many people working behind the scenes to keep these programmes going. They should also be part of a cross cultural exchange of ideas and support.
Without a to-do list – being task focussed limits the impact you can have, and the impact the local people can have on you. Come prepared to stand with people, rather than doing something yourself.
Without a guilt-trip – don’t feel like you should come, and don’t think one trip lets you off a lifetime of resonsibility as a member of the global church.
Without unwanted stuff – most locations you are going to do not need western consumerist junk.
Without thinking you are the ‘centre’ – the people you meet were there before you arrived and will be there after you leave.
With questions, they can be more important than you think!
Peace Out
Chris
In 11 days I’ll be heading to Nepal as part of a CMS Encounter trip to Nepal. There are 6 of us making the trip (myself, Chuli Scarfe, Suzi Shortland, Joanna Ramsay, Pete Brady and John Boyd) and we’ll be out there for 2 weeks (unfortunately Pete can only join us the 2nd week). The purpose of the trip is primarily to meet with our Brothers and Sisters in Christ in Nepal and to attend the SACYN “Cross the Bridge” conference in Pokhara.
We’re all very excited to go out and meet people out there – I’m particularly excited to be able to meet and learn from Christians who love out their faith in a culture that is so different to any I’ve ever experienced. 4 of us were able to meet together a couple of weeks ago at a training weekend down in Oxford – it was good to meet some of the folks I’ll be traveling with!
Before we leave there are still things I need to get done – I’m reading up on Nepal and cross-cultural experiences – using a book given to us by the CMS crew. It’s interesting reading, throws up lots of food for thought. I’ve manage to be prepared enough to have a lot of the things I need to take so I don’t need to worry too much about that side of things!
While we’re away, there are a few ways you can keep tabs on what we are doing, providing we are able to get internet access! I’ll be updating this blog as often as possible, we’ll also be posting updates on the cosyblog and tweeting whenever possible. We’ve also set up a group on Facebook where you can recieve prayer points while we’re away and read updates before, during and after the trip.
It should be an awesome trip – I’m sure we’ll all have a lot to write about while we’re away and when we return, we’ll be doing our best to make sure that the trip is well documented – in writing and in image.
The picture below is of 2/3rds of the team. Once we have a picture of all of us, I shall upload it!
Peace Out
Chris
I’m a member of a photography forum called ‘Talk Photography‘ a great forum for general photo chat and help and advice about all aspects of photography! One of the members posted a link to the picture below today, which i found very interesting and quickly pinpointed myself on the chart! Do you agree with the chart? Where would you place yourself?
Tags: talk photography