Terry Simpson's Mission to Nepal

We have 3 more students who want to come to GBC but we have NO ROOM. Pray for a house to open or at least a flat inside a house. Lack of room is hindering my mission and I find this hard to take. Please pray.

We have 3 more students who want to come to GBC but we have NO ROOM. Pray for a house to open or at least a flat inside a house. Lack of room is hindering my mission and I find this hard to take. Please pray.

The good news is, with all the students returning and new students we
are out of room here at the campus and have to rent a 3 bedroom
apartment for some of the guys, and it’s only going to cost $100 a
month; and we need more food for all the students.
The bad news is – it costs money, and Linda and I are maxed out. We
could use at least another $200 a month for the good things that are
happening here. We got word from 3 more new students today that are
coming. Please be praying and considering. And let me know…
And pray for my computer which still has not been fixed! Thanks.

We still have several students who have not returned. I am being assured they are coming, but Nepali people are not much for being on time. Problem is, we have to catch them up when they get here. And if they all do return, we have four NEW students who need scholarships. That’s a good problem to have and if anyone can help please contact tsimpson1013@gmail.com Thanks.

Be praying for the new semester. We have students travelling here right now and will be all this week. (Hardly anything runs on schedule here!!!) And we have several new students. Just be praying. Please.

for classes to start in the new fall semester next Monday. All but one of the former students are coming back (14) and some more I’ve heard. Things get started rather slowly around here. We do have one new student/teacher I am really excited about. His name is Bimal (Beemal) and he is getting Rachel’s scholarship ($60 a month). I’ll post a pic (and more pics) when I get my computer back. Keep praying about that, please.
Bought Silas a new bike. Beautiful!

I put an 8th of a page add for GBC in the English “Kathmandu Post” trying to attract new local students. It was VERY expensive: over $500, but it was an attempt to get the word out. So far we have had four prospects respond. (It was in day before yesterday.) Please pray for this article to bear much fruit. And pray for the week we have left to get ready for the first classes of GBC for the fall semester.

We had a great time last night (Fri.) at a special service, dinner and festivities for Tika Ram and his wife as we celebrated their 10th marriage anniversary and 10th as the pastor of this church. We played games last night and they did the cultural thing where the boys sing to the girls and visa versa. Each time they do that they all laugh, shout and start up the models and dancing! It is one of the most fun things I have ever witnessed anywhere. Then I paid special tribute to this godly man during the weekly Saturday morning service, had all the church come up and love on them. He spoke afterward and later told me it was the first time he’d ever broke down emotionally in front of the church. It was lovely.
Then after the women’s fellowship and lunch the kids and Don and I all went to the Zoo. What fun with them! We even rode an amusement ride: little ones wrote a small roller coaster and the bigger ones a large tilt-a-whirl (or something like that). I rode it and it was quite fun.
We came back for a snack and I ended up crashing for the next 3 hours. I must have needed the sleep.
All in all a busy and wonderful 24 hours.

I’m attending one and a half hour daily classes at the international college in Kathmandu trying to learn the language. I came in 2 weeks late and boy am I lost. Fortunately a young missionary came and sat by me to help me. And he’s from Jacksonville, Arkansas! Small world isn’t it. The class is overwhelming so be praying for me to make good use of my time and learn the language. It is an hour and 15 minute van ride each way every day and it is virtually IMPOSSIBLE to get any studying done on the van!!! Those things are packed and stopping and starting constantly. PRAY!
Am putting a 8th page ad in the Kathmandu Post tomorrow for GBC. Pray that God would give us many, many students, especially from the local area.

For some reason when I upload an image or video it is going directly into the archives. I’ll have to figure out how to put it on the home page. But until then…

It’s been days since I’ve journaled but they have not been uneventful days. First, I have moved into the ministry hearquarters; a thing I should have done from the beginning but I won’t go into that…  Every morning since I’ve been here I have been awakened by dogs barking and roosters crowing. My 1st blessed morning here I was awakened by the sound of children (in the orphanage downstairs) singing: “Give thanks with a greatful heart; Give thanks to the holy One; Give thanks…” and I thought, “What do these orphans have to be thankful for? They have no parents, no money,no lights, no heat, scarcely any food, no water…” Then came the next words in the song: “because He’s given Jesus Christ, His Son.”  Wow! I got out of bed thankful for the best and greatest thing in the  world, I have a Savior. That beats light and heat and money any day. What a lesson I learned from these children. Since then (four days) I  have been awakened by the children singing. Hallelujah!    Classses started Feb.1st.  EVERYTHING is slow here. We still do not have all of the students who are coming to GBC. But we have about 12 who are in attendance every day. And if I have ever done any anointed teaching it has been in the last 3 days! God has been with me. In the morning I am teaching from John & in the afternoon Acts. I promise I will post pictures soon. These things take time!!! Or so I’m finding out in Nepal. Just want everybody to know things are going well. Pastors drop in to sit in the classes and ask questions about the Bible after class almost every day, and even at noon! I am scheduled to preach every Sunday for the next 3  months. Please continue to pray for me and my family back in the States. Love, Terry

A Favorite Family to me

Today we finished our first week of studies in Grace Bible College. I now  have 12 students and at least 2 more on the way. People get around to things rather slowly here! I have taught 9 hours on John, cha.1 with 1  hour of review for the 1st test on Monday morning. Same thing with Acts in the afternoon, only we covered 2 chapters there. All I can say is – the Lord is with us.  I will try to post a video of me teaching, but it takes FOREVER to post anything. I  have one I’ve been trying to post for over 2  hours tonight and it’s still not in, and the power is due to go off soon. I now have a UPS which is supposed to keep me going for 4 more hours but, like everything else in Nepal, it is not always working. I may be reduced to posting pics and videos on yahoo, so watch out for that.   Tonight I had two of my favorite students come by just to visit and to tell me  how much they are learning. One was Amit the worship leader here and he said that at tonight’s practice he kept the band and singers an extra hour just sharing with them some of the things he has learned from the Bible this week.  The other was a young lady (they both came together!!!) who is from the country but she is very smart and spiritual. She tried to show me her home but we couldn’t find it on Google Maps (there are no addresses in Nepal). We also tried to find the church here but could not (no addresses). But I did show them MY house. They were soooo excited. Tomorrow is the Lord’s Day in Nepal and I will be  preaching at the mother church here in Kathmandu. I pray that the Lord will move mightily as I preach to over 100 people,  including the Bible School students. God bless,  Terry

Thought I’d post something while I  had the chance. It might not happen again for some time. Classes are going great. I have 12 students, same a Jesus!!!  and more possibly coming. I teach 4 hours a day, a whole 4 hours and we worship for 2 more. They love to worship God in this place. So do I. They are quite demonstrative. So am I. Love to all. Keep praying. Terry

When I came into the church auditorium at 8am I was shocked to see all my students already there! (In Nepal nobody is on time for anything. Typical 3rd World mindset.) And I noticed they were in different seats, all 12 of them! We had worship & devotion by Pastor Tiki & then they rushed me to tell me what had happened. Last night “after rice” (supper) they had gathered to pray and discuss our school. The said how privileged they were to be the 1st class of GBC and they would be the BEST class. They would be on time and they would rearrange their seating so as to give the most help to those who need it. And they would speak English when they were together, so they could better understand me when I teach, and could do a better job when I have them stand before the class to tell what they are learning (2 a day do this). They decided to meet every evening for prayer & encouragement & worship. I’ll tell you, they were full of the Spirit of God. So excited. Their goal is to become teachers in GBC in the coming years to keep the college going, and they would go out to churches on the weekends to lead in worship and tell about Jesus and GBC and encourage more students to attend. I was overwhelmed. Basically, they realized what an opportunity they had & they wanted to take full advantage of it. I later told Pramita what they told me and she said, “And you weren’t there?” No. She said, “This is the Holy Spirit working in their lives! God is answering our prayers.” One young lady was so filled with the Spirit she spoke this morning at the children’s devotion. She has never “done a thing like that before.”  THEN, today a man came by who is the organizer of a one day crusade during a national holiday next Friday and he wants GBC students to come and tell about the school to THOUSANDS and lead in worship and he asked me to preach. God is moving, please keep praying.

Good Morning, Mrs. Linda

Today is Friday and it was a national holiday. (They have lots of those in Nepal.) On this day our church had a huge wedding. I’d estimate around 400 people. Of course, I have  pics and videos and the problem will be posting them. It takes forever and the power here doesn’t stay on that long. I have a UPS and the power doesn’t stay on long enough to charge it up! The wedding was about 2 hours long and they had a ceremony by the pastor (quite different from an American wedding) and a sermon by another pastor. The bride’s family is all Hindu (except her of course) and the church sang a bunch of  worship songs and preached the gospel. They used the opportunity well. O got to pray the blessing over the happy couple. Big, big feast in the yard afterward. Biggest I’ve ever seen. They cooked all this food on the grounds above campfires!!! Cut the veggies and meat, cooked it and served it out in the yard. Amazing. And it was good. I’m getting to like Nepali food!  Eat your heart out, Steve Wingo!  Afterward the orphans and a lot of us went inside and danced to ‘Big House” by Audio Adrenaline. I played it the other day for GBC and they absolutely fell in love with that song. Now the orphans and everybody else in the church has. Amit is going to translate it into Nepali and use it in the church, complete with all the motions. We danced and jumped around and celebrated until late and I am tired. But I lasted as long as the yungins!  Pray for our services at church tomorrow as I will be preaching. Love,  Terry

It doesn’t get any better than this. I’ve been here for 2 Sat. services but nothing compares to this one. The place is getting fuller and fuller. The worship was “the best yet” in church. So said Amit, our worship  leader. He said, “Since attending GBC I feel the power. Before it was just going through the motions; now I feel the power of resurrection life in me and in our church.” One of my students at tonight’s prayer meeting said that he  has never heard the Bible like he has at GBC and that today in church, “God granted me repentance and I have believed on Jesus Christ as my Savior.”  They told me that during  my preaching this very handsome young man was crying. Many were crying during the worship and preaching today. One of my other students testified that he had serious pain in the right side of his head for some time and as we prayed this morning the pain left, along with it the fear. After services 2 of the Hindu girls who have been to hear me preach the last 4 Saturdays took Amit and me to their parents home for dinner. I was amazed as they spoke for hours of their culture and heritage.  They took me back to 1128 A.D.!!!  They open their hearts and home to me; gave me a large rug that the mother had made and she is making me a pair of comfortable shoes!  All of this took on meaning tonight as we met for prayer and they shared with me  that their particular brand of Hinduism is very extreme in its devotion. They are rooted in the  ancient traditions of the Hindu religion. Last week the girls told me that their parents said they could never become Christians because they would have to give up their traditions. I found out what they meant today. It is this very family that has welcomed me with open arms.  We are going back tomorrow so they can show us a lot of their neighborhood (parks, etc). Be  praying for our witness to this inroad to a strick fanatical Hindu culture of the people known as “Naworri”. (Sounds like New Orleans without the ns. They roll their r’s.)  Lastly, when I got here I called for a prayer meeting on Sat. eves. Up till now we have had 6 or 8 each week. Tonight we had 18. We worshiped and prayed for almost 2 hours. God is moving. Keep praying. Love,  Terry

Today (2-14-10) I got a kerosene heater. God is good. Tomorrow I am suppose to get another one. Now if I could just get a warm shower!  In spite of the fact that it’s Valentine’s Day and I was without mine, it turned out to be an interesting day. Typed tests for tomorrow’s classes. Yeah!  I love my students.  Found out today they are still meeting every night for prayer; last night for 2 hours. And that tomorrow they are fasting all day for a certain person in the church and after 7pm going to her house and praying for  her. Amazing. Two of  the sisters came by for Rachel (one of my GBC students) and me and took us into the foothills of the Himalyans where the air is crisp and clear. We went to the National Botanical Gardens. They were gorgeous, especially when we could see the mountains clearly around us.  Stopped by their house to give the mother a  present I bought for her because of her kindness to me yesterday and she loved it. I am making inroads to this family. The mother doesn’t even speak Nepali; she speaks her tribal language only, which is Newarri, and she had learned several English words because she knew I would be dropping by. These are fanatical Hindu people who have taken to me like duck to water.  When I first met the 3 sisters four weeks ago, I told them they remind me of my daughters and they have been called me “Father” ever since. They have as their mission, as do many here, to make me like Nepal. They are helping. God bless everyone and keep on praying.  Love, Terry

I think the big news is what is happening with our Grace Bible College students. For 2 weeks I couldn’t get them to school on time. (It’s a Nepali thing, to be late for everything.)  Now they are showing up half an hour early (the guys who have been over here are not going to believe that but it’s true). They are in the auditorium (where we have devotions from 8-9am and classes from 9-4pm) worshiping God and praying before 7:30. Today they had a day of fasting. Most of them have never done that, so when they had finished praying for the day (about 5:30 pm) they went over and persuaded the cooks to fix them a snack before supper!  I’ve told you about the inroads I’ve been making into the Newarri people through this one family. I spent Saturday afternoon with this family and they gave me everything but their house!  I spent half a day with them on the Sunday of Valentine’s Day (where we also went to the Nepal National Botanical Gardens, right up from their house). They had to show me their culture’s architecture (houses, etc) and their section of Kathmandu. This whole area (where the Newarri people live) is north of the Kat and the air up there is clean and crisp, and the view of the Himilayans is awesome. Well, today the man getting up the one day crusade came by and gave me a paper formally asking me to be the featured speaker at this crusade, and to bring our college students to bring  some praise and worship and testimonies. Now get this, the crusade is in the heart of Newarri land, the place where I went Sat. & Sun.  It is a special attempt to reach “the most resistant people to the gospel in Nepal.” And I have been asked to preach in the public park in their area. The man said thousands will be in that park on this national holiday.  They will all be devoted followers of the Hindu faith. Please be  praying. My heater is working fine and I am doing well. God bless you all,  Terry

It is so frustrating with the language barrier to get anything across or to know if you are communicating. Today I saw some break-through. I have hammered and hammered the grace of God to my students and each day I get feedback that they are not getting it.  Human nature us very much against grace,  you know.  Anyway, today the feedback was very positive, students coming up to me between classes and saying things like, “I am seening the gospel of the grace of God for the first time in my life.”  It  has taken me 6 weeks to go through 6 chapters of John and 6 chas. of Acts, teaching a full 2 hours a day on each.  Today I saw some light in them concerning what I am teaching. They have the fire; now they have gotten some light!!! Hallelujah.  I have another teacher I am meeting with and so you can be praying about that.  We  have 5 more students who are ready to come to GBC but can’t because of lack of funds. So, for only $60 a month you or somebody you know could support a student! And I’m only talking about for the rest of this year.  Pray about it, and pray about whom you can share this with.  God bless each and every one of you. Love, Terry

I just found out today, in a rather matter of fact way, that my students are having prayer meetings every night and they generally last till after midnight! I was talking with several of them today in the yard after school (where the sun is warm) and one of them mentioned the prayer time last night and so I asked if they prayed every night and they said yes. I asked them how long they prayed and they said, “O several hours.”  I said how long did you pray last night? and one of them said, “Until 1:25am.”  I asked them if they were keeping the children awake by their LOUD  praying and worshiping and they said, “We pray outside.”  Friend, it’s 40 degrees outside!”  These students are bringing revival to this church. They are going with me to preach to the Newarri this Friday. I went downstairs to the children’s devotion this evening and one of my students was preaching to them. Wow!  He was animated and on fire, big time. They were zeroed in on this young man and he was preaching the word. Another of my students was sitting near me telling me what he was preaching about. Wow! I am amazed at the young people God has given me to teach. They are bringing revival to me!

The college students are so full of the Spirit they have fired up the church. Saturday services were powerful. Lives are being touched. Amit (worship leader and college student) has a great burden to reach the youth of Nepal with the truth that he is learning in class. So, we are planning a HUGE Youth Rally here for Mar. 13 and everybody wants me to preach to the youth. What they are calling what is going on here with them is “Youth On Fire.”  And they are. I can  hear them praying downstairs when I go to bed at night and when I wake up in the mornings. I go down with them when I can. I have a lot to do besides pray!!!  The Spirit of God is all over these students and some of the kids. They said it’s never been like this. I don’t know about that but it’s pretty good right now. Still haven’t had a hot shower in about 2 weeks. One complication after another…  There are many complications here, if you know what I mean. But God is good and I am happy. God bless you all and thanks for your prayers. By the way, two people from back home have agreed to fund two more students. Praise God.

Six hours a day of intense studying makes the students want to shake out the cobwebs now and then. They love to do the cultural dances to the old traditional folk hymns. And I love to watch them.  And they love to pull me into them, and I must say I love it when they do. Mostly the only musical instrument they have is what they call the “model”, which is their version of the bongo drums. I have videos even of me joining them in the dances but the videos would take 2 days to upload and the power is only on for a few  hours (two mostly) at a time!  When I come home in June we can all get together and see all the pics and videos I have taken here. I must say they are very good and interesting. I am getting an up-close view of life in Nepal, that’s for sure. We’ve hit a snag in the preparations for the Youth Rally and so we’ve had to set the date back to March 27th.  Please pray for that. I’m  preaching here at the church again Saturday and the next Sat. I will be at the church of one of the students (Amar). This young man is on fire for God. I can’t wait to be in his church, which is here in Kathmandu.  Then a couple of Saturdays later I will be at Pastor Raju’s church. He is a good friend of Ram’s and now mine. Things are going as well as expected, better actually. We are looking for a couple of more students. Thank you to the ones who are sponsoring these. God bless you.  Terry

God has given me some amazing  students, but one is truly amazing.  We call her Rachel, which is her “Christian name.”  She is Miss Personality plus, but much more. Right away I realized she is very, very smart. She makes 100% on all my tests, which are completely comprehensive and very hard. And when you consider the language barrier, well, it’s just incredible. She comes from the country and that makes it even more amazing. I had a long talk with her today and I realized how God has truly worked in this young lady’s life. She’s actually 21 years old and has only been a Christian for only about 9 months, and really entered into the “abundant life” about 3 months ago during a communion service. Since then she has worked with Campus Crusade for Christ. When her pastor announced if anyone wanted to go to Kathmandu to study at Grace Bible College she volunteered. She has spent much time fasting and  praying and witnessing to her family and frields where she lives, and working in the church. God has got a hold of her heart in a big way. He is teaching her English on the fast track. I have to ask her in class not to answer my questions too quickly and give others a chance to answer. She is full of life and joy and is sooooo Spirit-filled. She dances and weeps and studies and smiles and rejoices in her Savior. God give us more Rachels to study in GBC. I don’t know what God has in store for this girl, but it will be something big. She will be a leader in the Lord’s work in Nepal, you can be sure of that.  So, be  praying for Rachel, and for the other students. I’ll try to  post a  picture of her. I’m sure you can see her in some I’ve already posted, but I’ll try to point her out. Grace to you,  Terry

Yabesh is his name. I have watched him since he first came to school. He is a 21 year old who is extremely hungy after God. He is athletic and handsome. And he loves to dance before the Lord. He has been to 3 Bible Colleges in Nepal and he says that he never learned anything. When his pastor offered to send him to us he was reluctant but came. He is so happy he did. He is one of the students who is so on fire for God. He is from another part of the country so he lives here at the school. He is a leader. I have seen him weep in prayer more than once. Just today Rachel stood before the class and wept openly as she asked us to pray for religions liberty in Nepal and told about her willingness to suffer for Christ’s name. The thing that made her weep was the lost people who persecute believers and the believers who lose their jobs and homes. She knows of such people. Yabesh wanted to lead in the prayer. He too was broken and he told about believers where he is from who have lost everything because of their faith. Then he wept and prayed for about 15 minutes. Such praying as goes on here I have never heard. Aand all the studetns preach at the evening devotions at the children’s home. Yabesh is a  powerful preacher and a compassionate prayer warrior. God’s hand is upon this young man. Like the others, he says he is learning so much at GBC.  They all testify that their lives have changed dramatically since coming here. Pray for Yabesh,  that he might learn as much as possible and take what he learns (alone with the fire) back to his home area and stand strong in reaching his family and neighbors with the Word of God.  Above is a picture of Yabesh. God bless  him, and God bless you,  Terry

He gave a “testimony of blessing” at the prayer meeting tonight. He said he had been to Bible School before; he was so hungry for the Lord and the Word. But he had to work full time and go to school full time, and it was killing him. And, “I wasn’t even learning anything.”  He was soooo depressed and disturbed. His parents heard about GBC at the Pastor’s Conference, went back home and told him he should go. He was so down he said no; he didn’t understand that much English, which made him even more depressed. Then our team went to his church (on the hill) and he walked 2 hours to get there and stayed all day because we were late. He said when I started preaching he felt the burdon and depression lift and the joy of the Lord came down. He has come to school now and he doesn’t have to work (thanks to our scholarship). He spends his whole day and night studying, praying, singing, dancing and preaching to the kids. He said he was the happiest man on earth and God is even helping him understand my teaching in English. THEN came the really good part. While I was going over Acts 13 yesterday, I got to v.47 and “The Lord spoke to my heart in a powerful way.”  He said God told him he was going to be a light to his tribe, which is so far out they don’t even speak Nepali. He is learning 3 languages and knows that God has called him to reach his entire tribe with the gospel. Amazing.Pray for yabesh.  Oh, and God used a student to pray for her brother-in-law day before yesterday and he was miraculously healed. The doctor said so. His appendix had burst and she prayed and before they operated the pain stopped and they took another ultra-sound and no infection or anything wrong. She is very excited. God bless everyone. Your $60 a month can bring another Yabesh to Grace Bible College.  Terry

He asked me to pray for him today. He has a dream, once he has completed GBC, to open a school on worship here in Kathmandu. “There is no such school here.”  He wants to teach worship leaders and people Biblical worship, EVERYTHING about worship: Who, why, how, etc. So be praying with him about this.   I gave test # 4 today on John and  Acts and the students did really well. I am  proud of them. They work very hard. The test on John had 50 questions; the test on Acts  had 43.  Each test covered 5 chapters each. Praise God.  Keep praying.  Terry

I had a pretty good week in Nepal. WE had a pretty good week. We did see the students under attack, from the kids in our Children’s Home no less. It was due to an outside influence and it was bad. BUT we saw God move in this matter. I sent out an emergency email for prayer and about 30 minutes later the culprit came to me and apologized, said he was wrong and asked me to forgive him. Some of the kids remained like strangers to me and the students however until the next night – tonight!  We gathered for prayer and put on the whole armor of God and did spiritual warfare for the children and WHAM! afterward everything was back to normal.  Everything!  It was amazing. The students got a close-up lesson on the opposition that they have been studying about in John and Acts to the truth and those who speak it.  Bottom line is, it’s been a pretty good week. Today I and 8 of the students went to another student’s church where he is the Youth Pastor. We had a good time. I preached the gospel to an overflow crowd. Doors and windows open and  people out in the  yard and patio area.  Amazing.  We went to Amar’s church.  Tonight I had some Maccoronni and Cheese that Linda sent me in a care package. Yum! Yum!  It’s amazing what you can miss. Continue to pray for the financial situation of this ministry. And I have a special request. (By the way, thanks to the 2 who responded to my request for $60 a month for new students.) I have a lady who speaks English almost flawlessly (learned it from an American teacher for 3 years) and she will take a job at GBC, but we’ll have to  pay her. She will studying in my classes and also teach Apologetics (she’s read everything Ravi Sacharia has written and even taught courses on apologetics) and she can teach Systemat Theology. Her name is Upasana. She would be a great asset to  our school. Pray about sponsoring her as a student and teacher.  Thank you and God bless you all.  Terry

I apologize for the lack of communication but it can’t be helped. Even now I am putting only a short message because I cannot tell when the power will go off again or the internet will go down. Just know that all is well. I preached at Amar’s church Saturday to an overflow crowd and the Lord was with us. I couldn’t stay to see what happened in  people’s lives because we  had to leave in a hurry,  but it was good. Yesterday (Sunday) New Life School had graduation for its 10th Grade. I know, it’s not the 12th grade. What can I say, it’s Nepal. Anyway, the trip to Nepal was worth this graduation service. It was a million times better than any graduation I’ve ever been to. I gave a speech and it lasted one minute. Another guy gave one and it lasted 2 minutes. There were some recognitions and flowers give out to the grads, and the rest of the time the rest of the school entertained them. It lasted over 2 hours and I never wanted it to be over. Much dancing and entertainment. It was truly a cultural blast.  Be praying for our students for 5 will be out for a couple of days or more because of illnesses at home with mothers and  pastor’s wives, etc. So, I’m going to suspend John and Acts for a few days and teach through the Pastoral Epistles. They don’t want to miss John and Acts!  Please be praying for them and their loved ones. We are getting another student this week.  Yeah!!!  God bless,  Terry

Silas is his Christian name and  her’s is pronounced Santee, emphasis on the 1st syllable.  Although neither of them are orphans, they have both been raised much of their lives here at the Children’s Home. Both are from a very poor homelife and they were taken in because of that. They have been married about a year and are both about 26 years old. Both of them are about two years old in the Lord; Shanti somewhat longer but Silas has been to Bible school in India.  He knows English rather well and therefore makes good grades in the classes. He makes in the upper 90’s on all tests. Shanti is a shy and very sweet young lady who tries hard to keep up with Silas in her classes but he has her beat on formal knowledge of the Bible and English. They are very devoted to the Lord. We are  providing scholarships for both of them to do nothing but attend classes and study, and work in the church. Silas is on the praise team and Shanti leads a women’s ministry.  When they graduate Grace Bible College Pastor Ram plans on sending them out the Gorka region where the ministry owns very nice property and buildings. He is planning on moving his whole enterprise there and Silas will be the pastor. There are 90,000 people who live within walking distance of the land and I believe there is not other church in the area.  That’s where the Maoists told Ram he could open the Children’s Home and church and they would not bother them.  Silas is very fluent with the gift of gab. He loves to talk and speaks in front of the class really well. He will make a fine preacher and  pastor when he graduates. Of course, both are very, very devoted to Christ. He is their life. They are both grateful to be at GBC and are learning a lot, they say.  I appreciate those who have given to make their tuition, apartment and food possible during their training at GBC.  God bless you all,  Terry.  (And never forget, with a mere $60 a month you can sponsor a student and train another preacher, leader and  pastor here in Nepal.)

Things are still going pretty well here. Still looking for a new student which somebody sent the funds for. Today I finished up Titus and tomorrow we dive into 2nd Timothy.  We  have 2 students back tomorrow and the other 3 are on their way back here tomorrow.  Miraculously, the pastor’s wife is getting better!  The students are loving the Pastoral Epistles. “So practical!”  Paul to Titus, “I want those who believe to be careful to maintain good works.”  (3:8)  They will love 2 Tim. even better.  After school today I had a visit from my friend Pastor Raju. He said the conference I was suppose to preach at, the week of the 21st, has been cancelled. Then I had a visit from 4 other  pastors who are interested to send young men from their churches to GBC. They came and we talked about an hour, and I had Rachel and Amar come up and give testimonies of what they are learning and how and what they like about the school. They were so impressed they decided to spend the night and attend classes tomorrow. They are from other parts of Nepal.  The chief one was the pastor of the church I preached at in Pokhara. He said, “I have never gotten over some of the things you said and have been talking to my fellow pastors and so we decided to come up and talk with you about the college.”  As I remember, I only gave a very short message, and then Kirk gave the lengthy one! Please pray that they will each be able to send at least one student.  I cannot tell you how  rewarding it is to be able to spend my time with students who are eager to learn the Bible.  Wow!  Thanks to all those who are supporting me with your prayers and financial support.  And remember, it only takes $60 a month to sponsor a student!!!  And all we  have is 8 more months of school.  So, how about it?   Grace to you,  Terry

Again today a group of young people gathered around me after classes to ask a thousand questions. Just like the last group of a few days ago, they said that nobody in Nepal talks about their needs and answers their questions and will tell them about the things they are interested.  They said the adults make them feel guilty if they bring these “teenager things” up in youth groups and conversations. Preachers don’t preach on the things they are wondering about as teens.  Rachel said at a Youth For Christ rally they allowed the teenagers to anonomously write their questions and the leaders would answer them in one session. But they wouldn’t answer the ones dealing with relationships between boys and girls!  They said something like, “You should not be wondering about these things or asking about these things.”  Well, as you know, if these kids don’t get their answers from the church and the Word of God, they will get them from the world.  They pleaded with me to preach on these things at the April 3rd Youth Rally.  I believe I shall…  I know this will require some wisdom.  I fear to tread where angels fear to tread, if  you know what I mean.  So pray for me about this matter. It does seem to be a serious matter in Nepal.  I spent my non-class time the last couple of days getting colored  paper and running off flyers and letters to pastors about the Youth Rally.  As if I didn’t have enough to do…  I am very busy, but that’s why I’m  here. And it keeps me from being consumed with home!  God bless all of you,  Terry

The Children’s Home needs another well very badly. The one  they have doesn’t have much water and sometimes it runs dry. But I found out today that we can put another well on the property for as little as $1200. Here’s the good news – a friend of mine has contributed $500 and all we need is about $700.  I am currently spending about $200 a month to truck in water. This would eliminate that cost to me and allow me to give scholarships to 3 more students at Grace  Bible College. What do you say?  Please pray about this and if the Lord lays this on your heart let me know via email: tsimpson1013@yahoo.com  Thanks,  Terry

I had a full day here in Covenant Christian Fellowship. I sought the Lord hard about what to preach today and He gave me a message from 1Jn.3:1-4 on “Behold, what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us…”  The Lord was with us. Following the service they brought out the “models” (Nepali bongos) and many people rejoiced and danced to a couple of traditional Nepali Christian folk songs. Nobody left every though it was long after the noon hour. It was an amazingly happy time.  Afterward the ladies had a meeting and the youth got together on the lawn to discuss the upcoming Youth Rally. I was delighted to hear them say they didn’t want another concert or rally focusing on music; they wanted the youth of Nepal to hear the Word.  Other churches are participating and I was able to create some flyers and letters to spread around town and half-page ones to give to the youth as they are coming out of their schools this week. It’s for April 3rd so be  praying.  Afterward, a couple of the Newarri sisters (Shrijana and Sabina) spend the afternoon helping me with some GBC things to run off, and we and Rachel talked and talked and talked. These kids are hungy for the Word. Afterward we  had the prayer meeting at 5pm and we prayed and prayed and prayed, then we sang with the models and danced for another hour.  We were dancing without electricity;  we could barely see one another. But we were having a good time in the Lord. Don’t get me wrong, this is Nepali Christian folk dancing and it is awesome. All the motions have meaning. I am learning some of them,  but I’ll never catch up with them. Then we had supper – french fries!!!  All this time I never was able to change out of my church clothes, I was so busy. Now it is 11:22pm and I’m relaxing and about to call my family on magicJack.  God bless everyone and keep praying about the well. I’ve had some respond but we need more.   Terry

I have been having the opportunity to work with the local church some here. I made a visit to a family patriarch who had been out of church for quite some time. He retired from the British military and speaks pretty good English so we could fellowship. We had a great time and he is a very interesting man.  He has since then been in church the last two Saturdays with his family.  I was able to attend my first birthday party for a litle girl in our church.  It was great and a lot of fun. I am learning families, who belongs with whom (the men sit on one side of the church and the women the other and the children up front).  Last night I led a Home Fellowship where I used to live when I first got here. The family is really tore up over his wife’s recent accidental death and his somewhat quick marriage to a woman who is not a believer and so I tried to minister to that situation. I believe God did a work there. But one amazing thing, we picked up another student for GBC and she is a member of this church. She’s recently graduated from high school and is basically doing nothing and the family was excited because after the study she said she wanted to come to GBC. Praise God for that. We added another student yesterday besides, from Rachel’s church.  God is good. Please pray for Linda as she is beginning to feel the loneliness.  And pray for me…

Below are a couple of pictures of GBC; one with me and the other without me.  Actually, both are without Yabesh who is home helping his pastor and church cope with the unexpected death of the pastor’s wife.  He’ll be back Sunday. Things are going really well  here. There is a tight bond happening.  Today I was told that Simon (Semone) was called from his pastor and told he had his tuition paid to one of the oldest and most prestigeous Bible College in Kathmandu and that this was a life-time chance to be educated there. He said he wouldn’t leave GBC because he couldn’t imagine learning any more Bible than he was here. He said he had “the most excellent Bible teacher in Nepal” and he wasn’t going to give that up.  I was humbled that this fine young man feels this way. It is a great sacrifice for him.  Hallelujah!  We have had a delay on the well because the man in charge of getting that going and together has quit. Comer has ‘left again’, but they say he does that regularly because of so little pay (can’t blame him really) but that he always comes back. This is the second time he’s done this since I have been here.  God bless everyone and keep praying.

She says she is 17, but everybody else says she is but 16.  She came to the Children’s Home 7  years ago and has since trusted Christ as her Savior and says she wants to share the gospel with everybody who hasn’t heard about Jesus. She wasn’t doing well in school so Pramita decided to see how she’d do studying the Bible; she is very devoted to Christ.  Well, she has been more than exceptional. She makes over 90% on all the exams, which are very comprehensive and difficult. She has found a topic she is interested in!!!  She is the most childlike spirit I have seen  here.  She is like a little kid. Even  her friends say this about her. Pramita told me she has always thought very low of herself.  So, I began telling her that she is beautiful, smart and sweet. She always responds with, “No, No, No, I am not,”  in her thick Hindi (Nepali) accent.  Yesterday, while everyone was studying, on her own, she walked over to where I was sitting, put her hand on my shoulder and said, “Nobody has ever said those things to me before you.”  I said, “What things?”  She replied, “That I was beautiful,  smart and sweet.”  I almost cried.  Every day she writes something on the board about loving her teacher and how happy she is to be in the class.  Please pray for this beautiful spirit who is truly smart and sweet. Her name is Ganga which means ‘river.’

I keep trying the “Quick Post” and NEVER have yet been able to save a draft or post anything from it. I have just written a very fine message for you on it that I am in no way inclined to type again since it is soooo late (12:12am).  Suffice it to say that I preached at Pastor’s Raju’s church today. God gave me a message on Blind Bartimaeus in which I included what Acts describes as how Paul preached: explanation, reasoning and persuasion.  Everyone said it was a message from the Lord to their church.  The Lord was with me. His is the first church that has actually given me an offering for preaching!   The next 3 days are days of mourning for Nepal as the man chiefly responsible for setting up the democracy here and who has been the Prime Minister has suddenly died. Don’t know what that means for me and  the school but I am here. It does mean I won’t be able to get my FOUR packages from the Post Office!  Thanks for praying. Love and grace to everyone,  Terry

I am praising God!  These are the 14 students at GBC.  And I am proud of these whom the Lord has sent to us. They are hungry for the word of God and thus very good students.  They are extrememly happy to be  here and I am happy they are here.  We are just finishing John and Acts. We  hope to watch “The Passion of the Christ” if the mail will come through for us sometime this week.  Then we go into Romans and the 2 books of Corinthians, verse by verse, expositional doctrine.  These students work very hard and make excellent grades, considering the language barrier and the comprehensiveness of  the  tests.  God is with us. Please pray for them and me.  For those who don’t know, Pramita is miss everything around here. I call her, “The Boss.”  She is the heart and soul of this ministry, and the hardest working person I have ever met. She has worked 5 years without a day off and she works night and day. Pray for her and us.  God bless you,  Terry

The Youth Rally is getting bigger and bigger. The above picture (if I can get it uploaded) is just them PRACTICING and they are truly “Youth on Fire”, the name of the rally.  I was in the auditorium and I thought the rapture would take place any moment. I took several pictures and videos, but of  course the videos are impossible to upload. These college students and youth from the Children’s Home sing and play their hearts out and then break for prayer, and then sing some more. It is amazing, just to be in the room with them while they are getting  ready for the Rally.

They have asked me to send out  a message to help them. I am loathe to do this but they made me promise!  They need a  lot of money to buy a new sound system, monitors, microphones, etc.  A lot of money. So this is a special request for those who love young people and have some money they are not using and want to be a great blessing to the youth of Nepal. We are going to do this Rally with or without what they need, but what they need would permanently bless this church in addition  to all 500 or more youth who will be here.  If this is the success they think it will be, they want to do more and more rallies, maybe once a month.  This could really get big.  So, I’m doing what they asked me to do and asking you to help.  Pray about it and see what the Lord says. I am happy with whatever the Lord lays on your heart.  God bless and pray for the youth of Nepal.

Please be praying. As some of you know, I have a way of attracting technical problems, especially computer problems.  After 2 & 1/2 months of working, all of a sudden, out of the clear blue, my computer doesn’t recognize the printer. This is a $1300 printer, copier, scanner, etc.  It actually says, “printer not on” or some stupid thing. It’s on!  I am severely handicapped without this thing. EVERYTHING I hand out for GBC must pass from my computer to this printer… Please pray.

We finished John and Acts yesterday!!!  Yeah!  And the students did fine. We are getting yet two more students Monday, making 16, and then another next Monday!  God is blessing. Pray for the students.

For those of you who wanted to know, we need about $1300 for the sound system, etc. for the church and Youth Rally. God bless, Terry

EXREMELY good new – it’s a long story but I fixed the printer. The technician doesn’t have to come later this week, if they EVER come!  We just got two new students a few minutes ago. One more next week. AND 10th graders from the Children’s Home will be sitting in on the classes for the next two weeks. Yeah!  Things are going good, except that my 10th grandchild, Amelia Reese Hambrick, is being dedicated today and I’m not there.

I am soooo happy today. We have 2 new permanent students of GBC.  Also, we have for the next 2 weeks 4 tenth graders who are joining us. They are out of their school for the next 2 weeks and  have decided tostudy with us. And because New Life School  is not in session for 2 weeks, Pramita is teaching ENGLISH during the 10 and 2 o’clock hours, and she is sitting in on the new sessions I am teaching  on Romans and Corinthians. Pastor Tika always is with us, unless he is out of some pastoral duty. I just started the studies in Romans and Corinthians today. We went through the introduction and background, and even got into a little of the preface to 1 Corinthians.  I am blessed. God is good.  Continue to pray.

Tonight we had Good Friday services.  (See the pictures below.)  It was well attended and a good spirit around the communion table.  I really enjoyed the service, even though I understood little of what was said or sung. After communion they did sing, “There’s Power in the Blood.”  Tomorrow we have regular weekly services and I am preaching the gospel from 1Cor.15.  Then in the afternoon we are having  the first ever Youth On Fire at our church, done by the church and GBC.  I’m  preaching from 1 Cor. 6 on
“Your Body.”  This is big because of the prevalence of the Hindu idea of the body, which is not much.  What we do with our  bodies is important to God because they are the temple of God and He has redeemed them.  Pray that God would touch many young people.  Then Sunday all the churches march down the street carrying banners and singing while marching toward a central meeting place where we will basically have services all the rest of the day.  Sounds like fun.  A living testimony to the resurrection of Christ.  Then, on Monday I am taking the Children’s Home and GBC on a picnic. Yesterday I bought a soccer ball, volleyball, net, 4 frisbees, 4 skip ropes, two badmitten sets with 12 birdies, a dodge ball,  etc.  I already bought a basketball the other day. We are going to cook and eat at the park and spend the day playing and giving a witness to all who are there. We’re taking the “modcls”!!!   Please keep praying for us.  “A great and effectual door has opened and there are many adversaries.”   Terry

The power has been off pretty much the last 2 days. It came on a little while this (Easter) afternoon but it was on and off continually. And even when it was on the net was spastic. Welcome to Kathmandu. They told me the government kept the power so much on a few days ago in order for the school kids to do their exams and now they are making up for all the time it was on by keeping it off so much.

                Anyway, the last 2 days have been very eventful. Good Friday services I have written about and sent a couple of pictures.  Saturday service I preached the gospel from 1 Cor. 15. The house was the fullest I’ve seen it and the spirit was excellent. 

                The BIG deal Saturday was the much anticipated and worked for YOUTH ON FIRE.  I had it video-taped professionally and will have that when I come home in just TWO MONTHS!!!  It was 3 hours long and very good. Everybody worked hard and with my $300!!! it came off better than I think than all of us expected. The most conservative estimates were 250 kids but I think it was around 300. Several churches participated in the “program.”  There was a huge and powerful skit from our church, and a youth band from our church, plus we led the worship.  I did make some personal videos and take some pictures so keep checking the blog. Videos are impossible to upload but the pictures will be good. This place was full of young people sitting on the floor.( EVERYBODY sits on the floor in church here.) There was a Christian comedian, an amazing dancer, a great testimony (I am told!) and just everything was wonderful. I preached from 1Cor.6 on “Your Body.”  I contrasted the Hindu concept of the body to the Christian concept. Two points:  1. Your Body is Important. A. to You, B. to God.  2. What You Do with Your Body is Important. I pointed out that the body was made by the Lord and for the Lord and the Lord for the body, and that if you were a Christian it is the temple of God, purchased by Jesus’ blood, and it wasn’t theirs to do with as they pleased.  I then talked about the fact that not everything is profitable to take into your body and some things are addictive (drugs, alcohol, nicotine, food!, etc.).  And, of course, “Flee sexual immorality.”  I must say, the Lord was with me. Many comments from youth and youth leaders said it was a very, very important message for them and hit the nail right on the head. Some teens came up to me afterward and said their parents were Hindu and they had been also but they realize the greater teaching of Christ concerning who they are and they dedicated themselves to Christ and gave their bodies to Him. One Muslim gentleman kind of wandered in. He heard the message and was “overwhelmed” at the teaching of the Bible concerning that passage and especially how God raised Jesus from the dead and will raise us up. He said he had a lot of thinking to do as a result of hearing this.  Besides all this, the atmosphere and fellowship was absolutely awesome. The kids were soooo grateful for me sponsoring this.  And I must say it was well worth the $300 we put into it. Again, watch the blog for pictures.

                Then came today, Easter Sunday. We all got up early and headed out for the over 2 hour walk to the place for the rally.  It was amazing and worshipful as we walked along and large groups joined together and walked and walked and the streets became full of Christians blocking traffic, walking along singing and passing out tracts to the lookers-on. There were rivers of people flowing together till we got to the main boulevard in Kathmandu where we became one mighty river of people, all singing and shouting and carrying banners and signs on sticks. Then we got to the outside amphitheater and huge field where a large choir was singing as we and multiplied thousands entered. We heard prayers, we worshiped, heard a sermon on the resurrection, and basically gave a powerful testimony for the Lord. Then we ate some food I brought (a lot of food I brought in my backpack!) and then boarded the public micro-vans for back home. We were too tired to walk back. I will never forget these last 2 days. They have probably been the best since I’ve been here, except maybe the everyday activity of teaching my class!

                Tomorrow we go on the much anticipated picnic. They haven’t done something like this in years, I’m told, and so all the kids (and me) are excited. That’s all they have talked about this whole afternoon. We’re bringing enough food for 70 people! Hope we can get them all on the bus!  I will have many pictures, I’m sure. I have purchased all the toys and games for the event: volleyball and net, soccer ball, basketball, Frisbees, bad-mitten equipment, skip ropes, and I can’t even remember what all I did get. The kids will have a great time.  Me too! 

                Keep praying for me and us. I love you all very much and am thankful for your support. Without you this would not be possible.  Terry

Praise God, Kirk just emailed me and said someone wants to contribute for 3 more students. Praise God!  Our class is filling up!  Pray that we will get the ones God wants us to have. 

Be sure to read the blog entry below.

Not 3 but 5!!!

Pray for us to find the space (beds mainly) and the right students.  Five, f-i-v-e, F-I-V-E, cinco, poch.  Five!!!

The power has been off pretty much the last 2 days. It came on a little while this (Easter) afternoon but it was on and off continually. And even when it was on the net was spastic. Welcome to Kathmandu. They told me the government kept the power so much on a few days ago in order for the school kids to do their exams and now they are making up for all the time it was on by keeping it off so much.

                Anyway, the last 2 days have been very eventful. Good Friday services I have written about and sent a couple of pictures.  Saturday service I preached the gospel from 1 Cor. 15. The house was the fullest I’ve seen it and the spirit was excellent. 

                The BIG deal Saturday was the much anticipated and worked for YOUTH ON FIRE.  I had it video-taped professionally and will have that when I come home in just TWO MONTHS!!!  It was 3 hours long and very good. Everybody worked hard and with my $300!!! it came off better than I think than all of us expected. The most conservative estimates were 250 kids but I think it was around 300. Several churches participated in the “program.”  There was a huge and powerful skit from our church, and a youth band from our church, plus we led the worship.  I did make some personal videos and take some pictures so keep checking the blog. Videos are impossible to upload but the pictures will be good. This place was full of young people sitting on the floor.( EVERYBODY sits on the floor in church here.) There was a Christian comedian, an amazing dancer, a great testimony (I am told!) and just everything was wonderful. I preached from 1Cor.6 on “Your Body.”  I contrasted the Hindu concept of the body to the Christian concept. Two points:  1. Your Body is Important. A. to You, B. to God.  2. What You Do with Your Body is Important. I pointed out that the body was made by the Lord and for the Lord and the Lord for the body, and that if you were a Christian it is the temple of God, purchased by Jesus’ blood, and it wasn’t theirs to do with as they pleased.  I then talked about the fact that not everything is profitable to take into your body and some things are addictive (drugs, alcohol, nicotine, food!, etc.).  And, of course, “Flee sexual immorality.”  I must say, the Lord was with me. Many comments from youth and youth leaders said it was a very, very important message for them and hit the nail right on the head. Some teens came up to me afterward and said their parents were Hindu and they had been also but they realize the greater teaching of Christ concerning who they are and they dedicated themselves to Christ and gave their bodies to Him. One Muslim gentleman kind of wandered in. He heard the message and was “overwhelmed” at the teaching of the Bible concerning that passage and especially how God raised Jesus from the dead and will raise us up. He said he had a lot of thinking to do as a result of hearing this.  Besides all this, the atmosphere and fellowship was absolutely awesome. The kids were soooo grateful for me sponsoring this.  And I must say it was well worth the $300 we put into it. Again, watch the blog for pictures.

                Then came today, Easter Sunday. We all got up early and headed out for the over 2 hour walk to the place for the rally.  It was amazing and worshipful as we walked along and large groups joined together and walked and walked and the streets became full of Christians blocking traffic, walking along singing and passing out tracts to the lookers-on. There were rivers of people flowing together till we got to the main boulevard in Kathmandu where we became one mighty river of people, all singing and shouting and carrying banners and signs on sticks. Then we got to the outside amphitheater and huge field where a large choir was singing as we and multiplied thousands entered. We heard prayers, we worshiped, heard a sermon on the resurrection, and basically gave a powerful testimony for the Lord. Then we ate some food I brought (a lot of food I brought in my backpack!) and then boarded the public micro-vans for back home. We were too tired to walk back. I will never forget these last 2 days. They have probably been the best since I’ve been here, except maybe the everyday activity of teaching my class!

                Tomorrow we go on the much anticipated picnic. They haven’t done something like this in years, I’m told, and so all the kids (and me) are excited. That’s all they have talked about this whole afternoon. We’re bringing enough food for 70 people! Hope we can get them all on the bus!  I will have many pictures, I’m sure. I have purchased all the toys and games for the event: volleyball and net, soccer ball, basketball, Frisbees, bad-mitten equipment, skip ropes, and I can’t even remember what all I did get. The kids will have a great time.  Me too! 

                Keep praying for me and us. I love you all very much and am thankful for your support. Without you this would not be possible.  Terry

We had still another student come today and it was amazing. It’s a young man who has just graduated from New Life School who is local (of course) and an unbeliever. He said yesterday, “I don’t believe in God; I believe in science.”  He’s top in his class and very smart and understands & speaks much English. Today was his first day and we watched “The Passion” and he ended up saying he was deeply moved by it and realized some amazing things, which I won’t go into here. Just pray for this young man named Samson!  I wish we had an auditorium full of local students. They cost nothing and they come free.

This has been one of the longest days of my life. Fifteen of us piled in the land rover that is supposed to hold 11 and travelled for 9 and a half hours through the hot Himalayan foothills, which any where else would be called mountains! We went to the pastor’s wife’s memorial service in Demoulli.  I picked up several preaching assignments while there,  as there were many preachers. And since I am the President of Grace Bible College and two of the church’s young men are enrolled I got to preach at the service. I preached on “These all died in faith” from Hebrews 11.  Then said we have one more witnessing to us (not witnessing us; they are not looking at us they are speaking to  us).  What are they saying?   “Run with patience the race that is set before you…”  This lady finished her course and so must we. Anyway, It was good to spend some time with some of the students but it was the most tiring day I’ve had. I’m going to bed. Good night…   Terry

I don’t even have a picture of him, but I will get one asap.  Samson is the young man who dropped out of church as a little kid, saying, “Christianity is a game and I want nothing to  do with it.”  Just the day before he came to GBC he told Silas, “I don’t believe in God, I believe in science.”  Then he came mainly because he had graduated the 10th grade and had nothing else to do until “Plus Two” started. First day we watched “The Passion of the Christ” and God touched his heart. He said so. He missed the whole week of lectures and studies on the first chapter of Romans and Corinthians. He sat in on my quick review and said he’d like to take the tests. He made 95% on Rm. and 100% on Corinthians.  This can’t be, but it happened. I have since learned he is in the top of his class.  He hasn’t missed a day since he started coming. He’s devouring the Bible. He came to church for the first time in years today.  I was talking to a young leader in our church afterward the service and he said he was surprised to see him here. I told him what God was doing in his life and he said, “I use to teach him in SS and he always knew more that I did.”  Pramita says he does the same thing in his New Life School. He is always correcting the teacher. He even corrected me a couple of times on the English language since he’s start coming. That would be for the last 4 days!  Well, today, after church he reminded me that I was supposed to run off my extensive notes on 1Cor. so  he could read them. (Each chapter of notes is 13 pages long and it is too costly to  run  them off for the whole class so  I told them I’d run them off for Silas and Samson and Rachel and let them read them and pass them along for those who wanted to read them.) I took him up to my office to get them and while we were there he talked to me about what God had done in his life. He said, “All my friends are wondering what happened to me. I tell them “Jesus Christ is what happened to me!”  He’s trying to get all his friends to church. AND he told me that God had not only called him to salvation, but God had called him to be a  pastor!  This is absolutely amazing. God is working mightily in this young man’s life. Pray for him. His mother is the happiest person in the world!   Love, Terry

As of last night I have been in Nepal for 3 months!  Three months away from my family and home. It’s a long time. And I  have 2 more months until I can pay them a visit for about a month before I come back for 4 more months.  It is hard,  but God is good. Stories like Samson and others make it worth while.  If it were not for the call of God, the joy of discipling and teaching my students and all the wonderul Nepali people,  I would be the most depressed person on earth. But I am not depressed.  I am doing quit well and staying very busy. That’s a good thing, I know. Please pray for my family and me, and for the precious people of Nepal, and especially for my students. Sometimes I have to  remind myself that they too are homesick. Many of them come from other parts of Nepal and it’s their first time to be away from  home.  Love and grace to  you,  Terry

My Beloved Daughter’s Honorable Father is the interpretation of the title of this post. I will explain later.
Nothing ministry-wise happened on this Sunday, my day off, except I did write tests for Romans and 1 Corinthians, first chapters. Come to think of it, that is big, and it took me all morning. But this afternoon is what I want to tell you about.
You’ve heard me speak of the Newarri sisters. They have enriched my life in Nepal so much it is unbelievable. Newarri are the keepers of the Hindu religion in Nepal and although these girls are 1st generation Christians, they know how much I love history and different cultures and they have taken me places and shown me things I never would have seen otherwise. And although they are poor (their father is a small farmer) they absolutely will not accept anything from me. When I offer to give them some money for travel expenses or whatever, they will run out of the room.
Today the two younger ones came by and took me to Patan (the city of fine arts), particularly Patan Dunbar Square. And to think, no one has even suggested taking me there before. It was the most awesome place. When you put Kathmandu into a search engine you will see a picture of Dunbar Square, where there are so many Hindu temples, some of the buildings and structures predate Christ! It’s actually an area of Kathmandu valley that is a museum and it is huge! One of the structures was built around 250 B.C. Amazing. And the Krisna thingee is enormous and made out of a single rock!
We spent 3 hours there. They bought me juice. Wouldn’t let me pay for anything, EXCEPT we went into a store full of Hindu stuff and I asked, “Bet you don’t have any crosses here, do you?” He had two bone cross necklaces, which the girls thought I was buying for someone else and I put them on their necks “just to see how they look” and I told them they were theirs to keep. The salesman was going to sell them to me for 400 rupees each, but by the time Sabina got through with him I only paid 100 each! We went into every structure we could see. I just thought we were going shopping in Lagankehl so I didn’t bring my camera. I took some videos and pics on my phone however.
These temples and things are huge with such amazing and elaborate intricate details in their carvings, and a thousand “wind bells” all around their awnings. I tell you, it was just amazing. A very memorable afternoon, thanks to Sani and Sabina. They have enriched my Nepali experience a thousand fold. God bless these girls and their dear family. Pray for their parents who remain Hindu.
Mero means “my” in Nepali, mio means beloved child in Newarri, and abu means honorable father in Newarri. The call me “Abu” and I call them “mio”.

“IN JESUS”
by Rachel

Written about a month after she became a Christian.
Remember, her native language is Nepali.

My life was a hell
Like a darkest night
Jesus came into my life
With brightest light.
He gave me power
And reason to live;
Guiding my life,
Leading my ship.
He had promised me
Not to leave alone,
Although I’m a sinner
And bad things I’ve done.
His love is like a
Very sweetest honey.
For this I would leave
All worldly money.
Nothing can depart me
From the love of my Lord.
These are the all
Things which I got.
Now, neither will be pain,
Nor will be darkest night,
Because I’ve got my Savior,
My Lord Jesus Christ.

I will from this day forward place a summary of my teachings from Romans under the category of Teachings (and Romans under that). This will include the study questions that I pass out to the students of Grace Bible College. Be sure to check them every day and I have a little to catch up to do so sometimes I will include 2 or maybe even three lessons each post. Hope you are blessed by them. Enjoy! And yes, you may pass them along. Use them any way you see fit. Terry

There is no school tomorrow here in Nepal because it is New Year! And it’s the first day of year 2067. According to the newspaper the government workers in Nepal get 150 paid holidays a year. Almost all of them are Hindu holidays, but this one is a national holiday and we are celebrating around here. Don’t really know what that means. Guess I’ll find out tomorrow.
I have decided to give Samson one of the 5 new scholarships someone is paying for. He is so smart, even brilliant, and he lives alone with his mother who helps out at New Life School. This will help him and his mom out tremendously financially and Samson deserves it. He is very intelligent and works hard in GBC. AND he will be tutoring students at New Life every day after Bible classes. He’ll work hard and earn the scholarship. I feel really good about what we are doing, and he and his mom don’t even know we’re doing it yet. I’ll tell him tomorrow, on New Year’s Day. Happy New Year Samson.

Today is not only New Years Day, it is also Mother’s Day. And it is Nitu’s birthday. Linda and I bought her a pair of shoes. They are “party shoes”. She turned 14 and likes to dress up. They only cost about $8 but she is wild over them. They look like Dorothy’s ruby red slippers, only they’re silver.
We had Pudi Pani today, a real treat for them but not so much for me. Wingo would have loved it.
I did a lot of work today on Romans and 1 Corinthians, gave Suji her test she missed on 1Cor. and then basically vegged out. It has been a very good New Year’s Mother’s Day.

We've since added 4 more students

We’ve since added 4 more students and have money for still 4 more. Pray that we find the right ones.  And we need a place for them to  live when they come to Kathmandu.

Please pray for my trip to Chitwan this weekend. I will preach in 2 churches and ride the elephant through the jungle. Yeah!  We are taking 8 college students and we will have a time in those churches. God bless all of you and please keep  praying.  Terry

Chitwan Pastors Bishnu & Hiran

Had a wonderful time in the very hot district of Chitwan, just a hop skip from India. These men are doing a wonderful work for Christ here. Please pray for them.

On the Elephant

Yabesh took this picture from the ground just before I got off the 2 hour elephant ride. Wow!

This elephant was so close I petted  his head and pulled his hair and played with his ear!  He almost got me wet!!!  I took this picture while on the elephant, if you can’t tell!  What a ride!

This has been called the most important paragraph in the Bible. See why. Check it out.

Chitwan Trip
It was a great trip in many ways, but not so great in others. I learn valuable lessons every time I travel to preach here in Nepal. One of the most important things I learned this trip is ALWAYS TAKE MY OWN TRANSLATER. I have a good one in Silas and I will never go anywhere without him again. The fellow at one church this weekend hardly knew the English language; he struggled the whole sermon just to say the simplest things. Never again.
I also learned not to let others set the agenda for my trip. The Nepali people are so kind and nice; however they can take over if you let them. I will always have an agenda for every trip and determine myself when I will go, who I will take and when (what time) we will return. etc. It got very frustrating on our trip to Chitwan with everybody determining everything for me. Never again.
And I will always check everything anybody tells me for the truth. People do lie; even Nepali people; even my Bible College students. And they will do it to get their own way.
These things I am learning and request you to keep praying for me. I want to have an effective ministry here and I have so much to learn.
The ministry at the churches went well, except for the translations. The pastors are wonderful people. I have posted a picture of them with me earlier.
Then, the elephant ride was out of this world! I am going to try to post some more pictures and dearly wish I could post a video or two, but still can’t. I can’t even begin to describe what it’s like to ride an elephant through the jungle and see rhinos and things in the wild. I didn’t see a tiger and I’m really not bummed out about that. Wouldn’t have minded seeing one as long as his feet stayed on the ground! It was an amazing, once in a lifetime adventure.
Today I was back in the grind, teaching for 6 hours.
Tomorrow is a giant rally in support of religious liberty in this country. There’s a massive move to write into the constitution now being formed that this is a Hindu nation. That would mean BIG trouble for the Christians, and Buddhists, and Maoists!!! And others who are not Hindu. So, we are all gathering tomorrow in this giant rally. Please be praying.
And pray that my health will hold up so I can work hard for the Lord and the Nepali people. My feet and ankles have begun to swell and I am concerned. Not worried, but concerned if it will affect my ability to teach and minister like I need to.
God bless you all and I love every one of you.
Terry

Rajkumer

This is one of our new students. He is Rajkumer and he is quite tall for a Nepali man,  or quite tall for any man!  He comes to us from Prayer Tower, a ministry that cares for the disabled. This man is one of their leaders and has devoted his life to caring for the handicapped Christians of Nepal. He is intelligent and seems to be quite the gentleman. He has a crippled lady in his care who has also joined GBC. His goal here is to be able to teach these diabled people the Word of God.  He has many and will have many more in his life (He’s in his mid-twenties, I’d say) whom he will disciple for the Lord Jesus Christ.

Thanks for supporting this promising young leader. Your reward will be great in heaven as there are many disabled people  in Nepal. And always remember to pray for Rajkumer and the rest of our students.  God bless you,  Terry

Abigail is one of our new students and she is from the Prayer Tower ministries. However, she has developed a kidney stone and severe headaches from vision problems. She is going away to be treated by the doctor who has treated her all her life. I have known about her ailments for a few days now but she has been a real trooper and has hung in there with her classes as best she could. Her and Rajkumer came by my room today and asked (in writing) if she could go away for the treatment for her sickness and come back in August, the second semester of GBC. I of course told them yes and we had prayer and off they went. Please pray for Abigail: that she would get better and be able to continue her studies at GBC.

Pray for Yabesh because he has a high fever and we don’t know why. Thanks, Terry

Chapter Four is now in the Romans folder, along with study and discussion questions. People ask if they can use these and I say YES!!! God gave them to me and I give them away. That’s how it works. Grace to you, Terry

Prayer Tower

Went to visit the Prayer Tower today with Rajkumer (pronounced Rajkumar). We have 3 students from this ministry about 30 minutes away. Rajkumer came after me on his motorbike and off we went. This is an amazing place and Raj is one of the care-givers. This is a picture of some of the handicapped people he and others take care of. AND they have a 24/7 prayer ministry going on there.  These are precious people who would have no place to go if it weren’t for Raj and this ministry. See the girl in the white dress sitting just behind and to the left of the lady in  front in the wheel chair? She is beautiful, probably about 18  and absolutely georgeous, EXCEPT she has only thighs with feet where her knees should be, attached backwards!  She had on a ‘floor length” dress so it was hard to see exactly how she was, but she stood about chest high to me and when she sat down her feet stuck out where her knees should be. I think you can see her feet sticking out from the bench she was sitting on.  This is just one of the disabled whom I saw there. It’s kinda like a small monastery: have their own cows, grow their own food, etc. and of course pray around the clock and study their Bibles. Rajkumer wants to be able to teach them the Bible and that’s why he’s at GBC.  Please pray for these people and this ministry, and pray for Rajkumer to learn the Bible here at GBC.

Upasana and I went to the International Worship Service at the Koinonia Church today. Until she texted me and asked if I had ever been I didn’t even know such a thing existed. People from all over the world were there. It was amazing. The whole service was in English. Yeah! No interpretors needed. I met people from the U.S., Argentina, Canada, Bolivia, U.K., the Congo and I don’t remember all the places. I was blessed. I will be going to these every week I am in Kathmandu on Sundays. From this service I may have picked up a couple of more students. Possibly. Please keep praying. Spent pretty much the rest of the day and night getting ready for classes this coming week. I am either teaching or getting ready to teach. Makes the time pass fast though! And while you’re at it, pray against the mosquitos in this place. And pray for me to be able to get another visa. This is important. God bless every one of you. Grace and love to you, Terry

Romans 5 is now in the Romans category. The last part of this chapter is the basis for chapters 6-8 and the whole teaching on the beleiver’s sanctification. Enjoy.

If you have not heard, the Maoists are planning to upset everything come May first. They are even calling it “May Day.” which is the day they begin massive strikes and protests in the Kathmandu Valley. They are armed and training every day. Their opposition is the government of Nepal. The papers are full of this news and the governments of other countries are voicing their concerns about what is going to happen. They have already shut down the schools (not GBC, of course, because we live and meet in one building with a wall and gate). They have burned the buses of those schools who refuse to be intimidated and vandalized their buildnings. It does not look good for the citizens of Nepal. Please pray for the safety of the children and workers, and that we will endure this troubled time with peace and security and provision. Pray. Love, Terry

We have guests coming to spend the night. About 200 Maoists are scheduled to spend the night in our building. They have promised to not bother anyone; they just need a place to sleep for the night. Please be praying. Many of these are innocent victims, here only because of threats from the real Maoists, some even Christians. We want to be wise, but loving to these people. They are not looking for trouble from us and they said they would behave themselves. Pray. And have no fear, the Lord is our refuge.

Romans 6, Impossible to Continue in Sin, complete with study and discussion questions at the end.

We had the most awesome service today. The Lord was with us and demonstrated His power. We had numerous people stand for prayer for healing. People were worshiping and weeping before the Lord. I asked people to stand and be prayed for for salvation and about 20 people stood. Of course, I don’t do the modern methods of evangelism so I don’t know what happened, but we were all shocked when so many stood up for salvation prayer. I prayed for God to give them the gifts of faith and repentance and exhorted them to call upon the name of the Lord and trust Christ alone for their salvation – now. God was with us. Hallelujah!
Please keep praying for the Maoist situation. They are coming back every night as long as they don’t get their way and they have shut down businesses and transportation in Kathmandu. These are dangerous times and we need your prayers.
P.S. Pramita just ran in and excitedly told me that we received 8587 rupies today in the offering. That is a record for this church, she said. “Never before have we ever collected so much!” She said if this keeps up we will be able to pay the church staff!!! Praise God. I have been doing the 5-minute offering Scripture, teaching and exhortation every week and it looks like the people are beginning to believe.

The Maoists are here! (5-2-2010)
I’d better keep a record of these history making events, as far as my perspective goes. Some Maoists leaders have come to our “haven inside these walls” several times. Pramita and Pastor Ram try to placate these gangsters all they can. If they do not they might burn the house down! And I’m not kidding. Just last week they called a school strike and those who didn’t comply, they shut down their bank accounts (I don’t know how), burned their buses (6 that I know of) and vandalized their buildings. So, our exchanges have been cordial and they assured us they would not bother us. But they lied. Friday afternoon they notified us that about 200 were coming to use our church for a place to sleep. These people are notorious terrorists in Nepal. They take what they want and even kill whoever doesn’t give it to them. So they were let in. They immediately ordered a truck full of water and wouldn’t pay for it. They went to the nearest grocery store and took 50 large bags of rice, and didn’t pay for it. They then went to the open markets and took all the food they wanted, without paying for it.
They have pretty much kept to themselves since they have been here in our building for the last two nights. They haven’t bothered the kids and we have the stairs locked so they can’t get up here. Of course, they could if they wanted to; they’d just break down the doors. There is no law and order in Nepal. The police and military are all guarding the government installations and people. (There wasn’t any law & order before, actually.) I try to remain invisible. They came to my door about an hour after they first arrived and after several knocks I made the mistake of saying, “Who’s there?” No answer, but they kept knocking. Finally I said, “I’m busy, go away.” Amazingly, they did. And they haven’t been back, yet! Pray that they don’t come back upstairs.
I haven’t heard of any progress between the government and Maoists from the news or papers. That makes me think they will end up fighting in the streets until one or the other wins. Pray that the government wins because if these people act like they do and they’re NOT in power, imagine what it will be like if they do get into power. All liberties will be gone. Maoists are militant communists whose philosophy is might makes right, and they are atheists. They’re not even like the present day communists of China; they are like China when Chairman Mao was in charge, which is very bad and means no personal or social liberties. Their government will rule with an iron fist. Think of North Korea.
I went for a walk to a church family’s house today down by Lagankell (the huge marketplace and shopping area near here) and it was amazing. In this hour walk (there and back) I did not hear one horn. The streets were all but empty. Children were playing football in the middle of Ring Road! The Maoists have shut this city down. Lagankell was vacant. Nothing was open or being sold.
I spent about 3 hours with this family (Alisha, her mother and little brother; the man of the house is a pastor, away somewhere). I ate till I almost exploded, watched Wrestling (which is very popular here), Animal Planet, and some music videos, and then Nitu and I walked back (Alisha is Nitu’s friend). I came home about 4:30 and tried to take a short nap. Pastor Raju came by and we went looking for a Coke. We had to walk a long way before we found something open. By the time we found it, I had to get back so I could be in my room before our guests arrive. As I am typing this right now, I hear them arriving. My office and bedroom is on the second floor in the front of the building.
In the streets I saw Maoists patrolling. They wear red, and walk and ride bikes with large red communist flags waving. People think they must have a majority of the citizens supporting them because all the stores and businesses and transportation (vans and buses and tempos) cooperate with their wishes and strikes, give them food and all things. Not so! If they don’t cooperate, the Maoists will burn their vehicles and vandalize their businesses and houses. They patrol the streets to see who is going against their wishes so they can do them harm. They burned a motorcycle not 2 blocks from our place just this morning. Some man rode his motorcycle and they stopped him and burned his bike. They have pushed over a huge wall not 300 yards from here on the main road going toward downtown. They are a bunch of thugs who do what they want to do. They are intent on taking over the country. And the media (papers and tv) do not tell all the truth about these people. It must be because they fear what they will do to them. They are not just another political party, they are communist terrorists who take what they want and do what they want and if anyone stands in their way they get hurt.
Keep praying for us here at the home, school and church; and keep praying for the political situation.

Classes Cancelled Today
I never learn. I spent half an hour putting today’s update and events on this blog and then the power went off and I lost it all. I’m now writing on Word, but I’m not putting as much into this as I did the previous one. I am spent.
The Maoists have cancelled ALL schools indefinitely in Nepal. All schools! And that includes ours. I had 5 students at a time in my office and we had a very profitable time going over study questions, reviewing and checking homework! I spent all morning doing that; nothing but futile attempt to update my blog since then.
We had devotions this morning from 8-9am where I informed the students what was going on and what we were doing. I do not want to bring any harm on the students or anybody in this place (or ME!) and so we are complying. I don’t want anybody to be hurt and the thing may end any day anyway! So we prayed. As we were leaving the auditorium a couple of men were at the door. I figured who they were so I simply took the turn up the stairs to my 2nd floor office. When the students came in I asked them what those men wanted. They said they asked them why we were having classes. The students told them we weren’t and they asked why they were carrying their notebooks. They said because they didn’t KNOW they were not having classes and so they had brought them and that classes usually last all day and they were through for the day at 9am. They seemed to be satisfied with that, hung around for awhile and then left.
It’s pouring down rain right now which probably means they will be back early. Keep praying for the situation. It is very serious. People ask what is going on. You probably know more than I do about the national news, except the media here is only reporting that the Maoists simply want the Prime Minister to resign. I wish that were all there was to it. All that appears to be cooperation with them is FORCED. Nobody wants to shut down their business, school, and stop all transportation. The whole thing is forced. Pray. And ask others to pray. I am getting emails and Facebook posts from all over saying they are praying for us. Literally scores of churches are praying and thousands of people. The folks in Kenya are praying. Keep it up. Love, Terry

Check it out. Hopefully, you might learn something. At least you will be blessed.

No change here. The Maoists are still protesting and forcing a general, indefinite shutdown of everything. Haven’t had classes the last two days. Nobody in Nepal is in school. Students in different parts of the country are protesting the protesters! Somebody has to stand up to these guys, and low and behold, according to the newspapers, the high school students are! I remain in my two rooms during the evenings, keeping a low profile. The less I am brought to their minds, the better. If I spoke their language I’d be witnessing to them, but I have been advised by all to just remain invisible and inaudible. So I am.
The biggest things for prayer right now, other than the obvious, is that I might be able to get my ticket changed to ‘on or before’ June 7th. My visa runs out then and my present ticket is for June 17th. And I have no more extension on my tourist visa. Anything else takes a long time and is very expensive. I need to be out of here on or before June 7th. Unless I am, according to the U.S. Embassy, I could be subject to “harsh fines, imprisonment, or deportation.” Deportation means I can’t ever come back. So pray.
Then pray that I might be able to get a student or business visa to come back. These are very expensive: Student – $850, Business – $1430. With the student I’d have to attend classes and that’s not good. Just keep praying.
I am doing fine.

No change here, EXCEPT the people of Nepal are rising up against their country being taken over by the Maoists strike. Even the newspaper I read every day (very pro Maoist) is reporting whole districts are pushing the bullies back and starting back to school and work. Even beating up the Maoists who have been beating them up. I think the people are getting tired of this nonsense. The longer the strike, the more disfavor they are receiving among the people, if they ever had any. I have some amazing video shot on my camera by some of my students who went to the streets to get some video for me, but of course can’t upload them to here… One lenghty one showing a group of Maoists taking all the food one lady had brought to market. A lot of food. They just took it for themselves and she was giving them a verbal tongue lashing, then calling some of her relatives to help. The sad part is, all the people just watching it happen. The good part is, people are seeing this sort of thing all over the place and seeing what kind of people they are. This lady probably worked all year to grow these vegetables and they are her only source of income and they just took it for themselves. These things they have done and are doing all over the country. Please keep praying.
AND I HAD CLASSES TODAY IN MY OFFICE!!! HALF CLASS AT A TIME, AND WE HAD FUN!. THE OFFICE WAS PACKED AND WE HAD BIBLE STUDY. THE OTHER STUDENTS I PLACED OUTSIDE SO IF THE MAOISTS CAME THEY WOULDN’T SUSPECT ANYTHING. Please keep praying. Terry

Praise God, the Maoist strike is over. But the demonstrations will continue. The strike has been defeated, through the prayers of many, many people. Things will get back to somewhat normal as of today!!!
Please continue to pray for me to either get another visa (student or business, both of which are very expensive) or get my ticket changed to on or before June 7th. I know I can get the other visa but not if I can get it on or before June 7th, so the ticket has first priority. Thanks for praying and praise God.

Woke up the the extreeeemely good news this morning that the Strike was over. You can’t imagine how it had stangled everything in this nation. EVERYTHING was shut down: stores, schools, transportation, (all transportation, except bicycle, and they even burned some of those), factories, businesses, EVERYTHING. No food, no fuel, nothing. But it’s over.
You could tell the difference in the service this morning. It was very celebrative. The house was packed, especially on the ladies’ side. And they had a HUGE women’s meeting that went on well over a couple of hours after the church service. I looked in a couple of times and they were praying down heaven, and dancing, and “all things.”
Projowl wanted to treat me today so he took me to see Avatar at a Nepali theater. I ate 2 popcorns and drank a Coke. So good! And then he took me to KFC for supper. It’s still finger licking good.
Be sure to give God a special Daanyabaad (thank you) today for the strike being over.
And be sure to keep praying for my ticket change and new visa. Praise God!!!!! Terry

Praise God. The travel agency just called and said they have booked me for home, flying out June 6th. I don’t have the ticket in my hand so keep that in your prayers. And I don’t know the itinary yet.
And, keep praying about the visa. The price of the necessary upgrade and change of ticket (about $300), the cost of a student visa ($850), plus the amount I have to have in the bank ($2000, in order for a foreigner to enroll in a school) are adding up to some unexpected costs. Pray that God continues to provide. I know He will. Yeah! Terry

The Maoists have vowed to bring an even more “extreme” strike starting this weekend if the government doesn’t give them what they want. Imagine your country completely shut down: no vehichles in the streets, NO stores open, no businesses open, no schools open, streets patrolled by thousands of terrorists with weapons (the law enforcement cannot possible stop them all). That’s what I’m talking about. We’ve just put up with a week of this, but they are threatening more which will NOT stop the next time except when they get what they want. And the government is not inclined to have their Prime Minister step down or to let the Maoists back into the army. Please pray.
Meanwhile, tomorrow we resume classes back in the auditorium. Praise God. Except I have to be away some to start the process of getting my extended (student or business) visa. It is very involved and expensive. Please be praying for that. I need to get that done before I leave on June 6th.
I’m in the 8th chapter of Romans and 1 Corinthians. Had a talk with Rachel and Amit this evening in my room and I was so happy to see what they have learned. They talked with me about Nepal desparately needing the teaching of the Word of God on sovereignty and grace and the cross. They appealed for me to put all my Bible study notes that I have done for all these years through various books of the Bible (which I am using now, especially the ones in 1 Corinthians) into books and they promised they would translate them into Nepali and see that they are spread to all the churches in Nepal. Wow! They really confirmed why I have come to live in Nepal for a year, and blessed my heart. I know this will bless some of your hearts too.

Then off the the American Embassy to get a “No Objection” letter, which I cannot get another visa without. That’s all I could accomplish (it took 3 hours), so keep praying for the process to be completed before I leave. It takes a long time, I am told. I also went to the P.O., but Linda’s packages had not come in.
I also heard today that the June 6th ticket is a NEW ticket and I will have to pay an EXTRA $1500 for it. I don’t need a new ticket, I just need the date on the one I have (2nd leg of the round trip) to be changed! (From June 17th to the 6th). PLEASE PRAY ABOUT THIS. I want to come hope for June and July but there are problems arising in this matter.
Besides the problems, I spent 3 of the most productive hours teaching this morning I have spent since I’ve been here. I taught on Romans 8:29-29 and 1Cor.8. We were so blessed. The Lord was with us. I always stand amazed at what the Lord does in our classes. The anointing is with us. Praise God. Thanks for praying. I love you all, Terry

Normally she is lively, energetic, hard working, with a great attitude. The kids here just love her to pieces. She is very sick. I think she may have cancer. She is too weak to work but walks around when she can, smiling and interacting with everyone. Please pray for Shanti (Peace), pronounced Santi.

Simon the young preacher

Simon is one the students at Grace Bible College. He has been with us from the beginning. He comes from the fine church in Damauli (one of the largest churches in Nepal, where the pastor’s wife has just died…). He was converted at the age of 18. He’s the only member of his family who is a Christian. “In my family, only I am accepting Christ and I have taken a water baptism in village on 1-2-09. I learned not to worship things made by God but better to worship God.”  Then he visited Emmanuel Church in Damauli and fell in love with the pastor and church. “My vision is to preach each and every lost people in my village.”  Simon is on a 40 day fast to find out exactly what the will  of  God is for his life and ministry. He is an extremely good looking young man, very popular with everyone and he has the biggest endearing smile I have ever seen.  He is a devout believer who will be used mightily (I believe) in the coming years in Nepal, and maybe even elsewhere. He is hungy for the Word and makes good grades. Eight of us are going to Damauli (6 hour trip) for an all night prayer meeting at Emmanueal and then the worship service Saturday. We will have pot-luck dinner with everyone and fellowship and then head back to Kathmandu.  This church runs from 2 to  3,000 on Saturday mornings and Simon and Yabesh (also from that church) says, “All of them will be there this weekend.”  Pray for a safe and successful trip. And pray for Simon (pronounced see-mone).  God bless you all and thanks for supporting these students. Only eternity will reveal the fruit of the investment you have made in the lives of these students.  Amen. Terry

After two and a half days (and much more actually) I finally got all the information and money ($850) into the hands of THE MAN  who says he will have my visa in 10 days!  We’ll see. But I’ve done everything I can do. Please be praying for this. I’ll believe it when I see it. But I did receive a word of encouragement  yesterday: Pastor Tika said it takes 8 years to get citizenship in Nepal, but THE MAN got it for him in 4  hours!  That’s the way things work here in good old Nepal.  The good news is I don’t have to be out of class anymore. Six whole hours of teaching today.  Praise God.

After a whirlwind tour of Damouli we are back. Six students went with me for a 10 hour drive through the Himalayans for an all night prayer meeting. I lasted until 3:30 am! but some (many) did go all night. Then I got up for a 4&1/2 hour service this morning (Sat.). Amazing church. It’s a large church and it was packed and overflowing, down the hall, outside, looking in the windows – for almost 5 hours! Amazing. Several people professed to receive Christ after the service. I counted 10, but I think there were more. I preached on “The Cure for a Troubled Heart” from John 14:1-6. Saw an amazing case of demon possession. (Those who have ministered on the mission field will not find this too strange. Or those who have read the Bible!!!) She was delivered, by the way. Actually I was praying for her “tension” when the thing hit. Supernatural strength, violence, anger, contortions, “tongues!”. Amazing. And she was one of the ones I counselled with to receive Christ! Good to be back “home”. Not much sleep, terrible roads to travel over, long service. I actually preached 3 times there this weekend. Continue to pray, please. There is much that needs to be done.

Below are a couple of pictures of the church at Damouli. What an amazing church!  The service lasted almost 5 hours.

Please pray for my visa to come through. It’s up June 7th and I’m in big trouble if it doesn’t.  In spite of everything I (and others) could do they wouldn’t give me another ticket. In my humble but accurate opinion the travel agency just didn’t want to do anything. That’s worthy to be remembered in the future. If I am  here without a visa I am subject to “heavy fines, imprisonment, or deportation.”  But they wouldn’t change my ticket and they had over a month to do it. Please pray.  And pray for my foot. It has been swollen now for about 2 weeks. Went to doctor yesterday but it’s no better.  Otherwise, I am doing fine. Heading into the final two weeks of the spring semester.

Bearing down on the last 2 weeks of this first ever semester of Grace Bible College. Only have Thursday and Friday of this week and next week to go, and I’ve just finished Romans 11 and 1Cor.10. Have to finish those books. Worked from 5:30 am to 6:30pm today (Yesterday, it’s now 2:30am!). When I’m not teaching I’m counseling and praying with the students and others. They will come to my office and pray for the longest…. And just weep and pray in tongues… (Nepali!). It’s amazing to see the tears on their faces, and I have no idea what they are praying. I have tremendously enjoyed this past week of teaching. Going through Romans 8 – 11. Amazing! And then 1Cor.7-10. God is with us. The students are soooo hungry, and appreciative of what I am doing and trying to teach them. Yabesh found out he made 88 on the test today and he jumped up and down, shouting Hallelujah and laughing. Amar was standing there and he told me Yabesh had a dream last night we were going to have a test today (It was unannounced) but he only made 77 in his dream! He was excited. These young people will make an impact on Nepal one of these days. They are seeking hard the will of God about where they are to go and minister and all of that. Pastor Arjun told me he already has plans for Simon, already has a village where he is going to put him to plant a church. I’m excited! Pastor said there are about 70 families in that village and only one person is a Christian. That person walks for hours to get to his church every Saturday. (Christianity is serious business for many of these folks over here.) Keep praying for us and for my visa to come through. The tentative date for me to get it is now Friday. I hope so. Grace to you, Terry

Chapter 8, “Sanctification and Security” A good one. Mt. Everest of revelation! Check it out. Complete with study and discussion questions.

I won’t be illegal here. A man at the immigration office today was overdue 3 days on his visa and they required him (fined him) to pay $750 and gave him only 10 more days to stay in Nepal. That won’t happen to me. I can be here legally until my plane leaves on June 16th, and I can come back in August and stay until Dec.7th. Praise God. I now have a “Study Visa” and it only costed me about $850 for the next 6 months. AND I got my two boxes from Linda with the kids’ movies, food, medicine, etc. And I got the hugs from Pleasant Valley Baptist Church. Thanks to God and thanks to everyone.

Romans 9 is the most important chapter in the Bible on Sovereign Grace, the doctrine of Election. Check it out, complete with study and discussion questions. “I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy,” God.

I have not been to the U.K. or been robbed or anything like the information you have received in an email. Someone hacked into my computer and shut down my Yahoo and Facebook. I’ve never had this happen to me. If you have any information that might help me break the security thing let me know. Yahoo said I would be locked out for 24 hours. And I can’t get on Facebook. NOTHING like the email has happened to me. I am fine.
In fact, I have just had a wonderful time at a home fellowship. We left at 5pm and got back after 9. We sang, danced, I preached and we prayed the house down, and then we ate a feast! I am doing GREAT! Wish you all were here.
DON’T SEND ME ANY MONEY. At least not today

Someone hacked into my computer and sent out a plea for money from me. Pay no attention to it. I have never been better. Doing fine. Just had a wonderful time at a home fellowship here in Kathmandu. DON’T SEND $. I’m ok. the email was a lie.

The 10th grade class went on an educational trek to a Newarri village on this Buddist holiday and invited me. While I was there with about a million other people (NO exaggeration!) my wallet was stolen. I had about $75 in it but the important thing was the pictures (some from before Linda and I were married), driver’s license (ID here in Nepal) and my ATM card, which is very important!!! Please be praying for the return of the wallet. We talked with the security guards and police and left Pramita’s number for them to call if they locate it. Of course, the money is gone, so be it, but I really want you to pray for the return of everything else. Thanks, Terry

The days are especially busy since we are closing in on the end of the last week of our first semester of Grace Bible College. I’ve been running off studies like a mad man, and teaching 6 hours a day.
The pictures below are some of the students worshipping during our daily 1pm worship time. They hold nothing back. It is wild! Too much fun! I have amazing videos which, of course, I can’t upload here, but will show when I get back home IN THREE WEEKS!!!

Thursday (5-27) Class 10 and I went to a very large Buddhist shrine to witness the celebration of the fat old man’s birthday. It was quite impressive. At 7am in the morning we couldn’t even get near the place in the Land Rover so we had to walk to get there, and then walk a hundred miles to the top of the mountain. But there were plenty Buddhist sights to see going up, and plenty of vendors of holy things. And I have never seen so many monkeys in one place in my life. I’m talking “wild” monkeys! Cute but the people are actually afraid of them. They are not afraid of the people! Soooo many people. Unbelievable amount of people. During the morning visit I had my wallet stolen so we had to go back in the afternoon to file an official police report and from 7-8pm there were still just as many people. Different people! They come from all over the world. This is supposedly the actual birthplace of Buddha, so you can imagine how many were here. No you can’t! And all sorts of worship venues for everyone to participate in: from prayer wheels, to candles, to offerings. You name it! Shrines, museums, artifacts, throwing of rice and flowers, music and worship. All of this to worship demons (1Cor.10:20).
I haven’t seen so many lost people in once place since I was at a James Brown concert back in the 60’s. And I was one of them! But not at Buddha’s birthplace. I walked around in a daze at such idolatry. I must have felt something like Paul felt in Athens (Acts 17:16). So many people, so religious, but so lost. My heart grieves for them. AND almost every Christian I have talked with in Nepal was a former Buddhist or Hindu (There’s actually not that much difference between the two, some but not much.) My students came out of such paganism! How I praise God for what He has done in their lives. Behold, the elect of God! (1Thes.1:4-5)
Yes, I lost my wallet, with all my important papers and about $75 in rupees in it, AND pictures that are irreplaceable, of Linda and me before we were married. There’s still a chance they can find the wallet with all but the money in it (and the debit card!!!), so please pray.
Today is my final week of classes this semester and their “program” for the graduates and ME is about to begin so I better leave off writing for now. And these people know how to throw a program. We will party from about 3-6pm and then eat together!!! Hallelujah, the kingdom has come!

Romans Ten: Why Israel or Anybody is Lost
Chapter Nine explains that the reason anybody is saved is because of Election (read it and see); but chapter 10 does NOT say that people are lost because they are not elect. See why in this study, complete with with study and discussion questions at the end. Enjoy…

Honored at the 1st Semester Commencement Program

Her and Sarmila did a beautiful cultural dance during the Commencement Program

“I don’t dance; but I did this for my Pa.”  It was awesome.

Most of the kids participated in this choreographed dance of what I call “The Chicken Song.”  All the churches do this fun worship song. It’s one of my favorites and the kids know it.

Smiley dedicated this song to her Pa and Mimi. She has a really beautiful voice. Crystal clear and charming.

Suji and me. She was the offical greeter and presenter at the Program.

This little 4 year old is probably the most talented, cutest kid I have ever seen. You can’t believe how she can sing and dance, and keep her eyes on the audience and smile!  Everybody here just loves this girl who  has just recently come to us.
She is the darling of the Children’s Home. She can sing and dance at the drop of a hat, any style, any song. When the band plays she can change with the beat. Amazing. Nepal’s version of Shirley Temple. Too bad I can’t show you the video of  her from the Commencement Program…

Friday, May 28, 2010, was an exciting day for me and the new Grace Bible College. First we had final exams. I am happy to report that the students did well. Some were exceptional while most were average and some need lots of help, although they have made amazing progress since first coming to GBC. Most of the difficulties are with the language. Mostly, those who understand and speak English well make better grades. But even so, some of them are noticeably smart. Silas, Rachel and Samson make the best grades. I haven’t tallied the results yet. Saturday we had church services and afterward I went to visit the Newarri sisters’ home and that always takes a toll on my energies, as they are very active and energetic. They talk and ask questions constantly, and want to walk everywhere and show me everything. Today (Sunday) I’ve taken my first day off in over a year.
But the exciting thing about Friday was the “commencement program”. These people really know how to put on a program! This one lasted about 3 hours and then we had a feast, complete with ice cream! During the commencement we honored Pastor Tika and Pramita and me for the parts we played in the school. I teach, the pastor helps translate some for the students and reviews for the tests, and Pramita does EVERYTHING else. She is their mother, doctor, dietician, landlord, caretaker, counselor, dorm mother. You name it and she does it, and they all know this and appreciate her for it. But, mainly the program was for me, their teacher. We sang and danced, had several dramas, testimonies, joke telling by the clown of the class (Yabesh) and special cultural dances from some of the kids. I have tons of pics and videos. I’ve posted some of the pics below, but cannot possibly post the videos until I get back home.
This has been a very rewarding semester, with lots of blessings. Not the least of which has been the relationships formed between the students and me. I have seen some of them come out of their shells as the spirit in the school is very liberating and free and fun. The kids love and enjoy each other greatly. They live and study and play and worship together. We are truly a little family here. But the main thing is the Bible and the doctrine they are learning. They are like sponges. Amit told me today that he talked with Rachel (who went home after school on Friday) and she said it was truly amazing how much (after just one Saturday service) she noticed her church operating on “the wisdom of men” rather than “the wisdom of God” (1Cor.1-2). She would never have known that before. She is one brilliant student who has wholly understood and accepted the doctrines of grace. I hope GBC does a lot for the churches in Nepal. I gave them all assignments to: go back home, report to their pastors for duty, keep a journal and have the pastor sign it every week and then bring it back to school this August. We will all share and be blessed.
Today is Sunday, May 30, 2010, and my plane leaves June 16th. Until then I will be preparing for the Fall Semester. I have much to do. Thanks to everyone for the part you have played in me being her, and especially providing scholarships for the students. We hope to have a lot more this fall. God bless you all, Terry

Her name is Sujita but I call her Suji, and she has an amazing story. She and her family are members of this church (Covenant Christian Fellowship). I taught on Joseph at a Home Fellowship meeting not long after I came here and they were there. Afterward they came up to me and said, “Sujita wanted to know if she can come to GBC.” Little did I know what was behind and what went into that statement.
Suji is 18 years old and was in the 8th grade! Her natural fun-loving nature and beauty drew her into sin. I know nothing of this from Suji; she only says when I ask her about it that she is no longer like that. Others have told me all about her former life. She was wild and the family had basically given up on her. Because it was at a relative’s house and food was there she agreed to come to the home meeting and apparently that night God touched her heart and she asked to enroll in school. She met no criteria to be a student but the family prevailed upon me and since she is a local girl and church member and would cost us nothing I agreed.
Everyone, especially her family, has been absolutely amazed at the transformation God has done in her life. And they say it is all because of her relationship with me and the Bible College. As I said, she is a delightful girl and a lot of fun. But she has studied hard and makes good grades. That too is a marvel to her parents. They see us interacting at church and they are just in blissful shock. Their daughter is so happy, going to Bible college and now worshiping God with her whole heart. She listens to the sermons and has a new study Bible. To God be the glory!
So well has she done that the family decided to enroll her back in school, but only after they agreed that she could go to school from 6am till noon and then come to GBC for the afternoon classes in 1 Corinthians. She says she is doing well in the 8th grade and she is still doing well here too. Everyone in Nepal can dance, but this girl can out-dance them all. When she dances, everybody looks on. I asked her where she learned to dance like that and she said I didn’t want to know.
None of my GBC students do, but she calls me “Pa” like the other kids in the Children’s Home and church do. She is truly a trophy of God’s Amazing Grace. Her parents are so proud of her and happy for what the Lord has done in her life. Her dad keeps telling me he is going to have me over and cook hamburgers and French fries and drink Coke. I told him if he does (with beef) I will be his best friend forever.
Pray for Suji. She probably still has a lot of temptations and wrong friends, and for the next two months there will be no GBC classes. I believe she will make it, but not without God’s grace and power continuing to work in her life. Below is a picture of her welcoming me to the commencement program.

Since I paid so much to attend Tribhuvan University, Bishwa Bhasha Campus, I thought I might attend a class. First I had NO information what days my classes met, or what time, or what room. Amit finally called and found out the time for today, 1pm. So we left in plenty of time (one hour), but the micro-van boy told us to get off at the wrong place, against MY advice (I had checked the map). But one thing you learn immediately here is that Nepali people want to be very helpful and they THINK they know how to help you AND THEY DO NOT! This happens constantly with me. I have a 100 stories of this happening. Anyway, by the time we walked the rest of the way we were 10 minutes late. There were 10 students, only 2 of us from the U.S. The teacher and the author of the textbook took until about 1:30 taking roll and greeting people. He said something about how many countries he had lived in and that English is spoken quite differently in each land. I raised my hand and said, “There is another complication. The English spoken in New York and Arkansas is also quite different!” To that, the girl from NY laughed, and the teacher laughed and said he knew. Then he wrote the consonants and vowels on the board (in the strange native Nepali writing), checked our writing of it, and went over the pronunciation of the vowels, and then said something I couldn’t understand. Two of the students got up and began to get their things together to leave, as did the teacher. The 2 students headed toward the door, turned around and announced, “We are dismissed.” I asked when the next class was and they informed me not until week after next. Classes meet Monday and Tuesday from 1-3. Yea… I had missed the first 3 classes and will only be able to take 2 more before I leave for the summer. These are Nepali language preparatory classes, and therefore not real classes I guess! Everybody had a text book (Nepali-English-Spanish; which I found an interesting and helpful combination) and I asked the teacher where do I buy mine and he said he had no idea. There are no addresses in Kathmandu so the students couldn’t tell me either! (Things are soooo confusing and complicated in Nepal.) Amit and I stopped at the large book store across from Hotel Clarion and I got one, and then we came home.
To further complicate matters the ladies washed my cell phone with the laundry today. In America when you do that it’s cell phone graveyard time. Not in Nepal. Somebody fixed it and had to replace the lcd, which they apparently had beaten with a stick when they were washing my clothes. All of it was repaired for $30. Good price, considering I could have lost everything and still had to buy another phone. They preserved my pics, phone numbers and everything.
Good grief! I need a break! I’m going to Damaudar’s birthday party at 5pm. That will be fun. He’s the guy that got married in the big wedding not long after I got here.

Chapter 11 gives some wonderful lessons about how God deals with everybody when it teaches us some valuable things about His relationship with Israel. Not the least of which is, “The gifts and calling of God are irrevocable.”

I’m still trying to get my contacts into gmail. Would everyone do me a BIG favor and just send me an email. That would make it a lot easier on me and not be tooooo much trouble for you. Thanks. I need your address for my sanity…
tsimpson1013@gmail.com
P.S. By the way, this is my new email address. Same as the old except gmail

WHAT TO DO WITH THE BODY. Having left the doctrinal section of Romans (”the mercies of God”) we enter the duty section. Having laid the foundation for life, we begin to live in the house that truth supports. Enjoy, Terry

While I did take some time off, basically I am back at the grind again getting ready for the Fall Semester. I work about 7 or 8 hours each day: getting studies I have written ready for printing, printing them and editing, and reprinting. A lot of tedious but necessary work. They are much more complicated and longer than the Romans study. I’ll post some of the 1 Corinthians (which we just finished) and you will get an idea how long these studies are.
I go over to the school each day to interact with the kids and some of the teachers. Yesterday we played basketball and I just found out a couple of hours ago that they have planned a student/teacher GAME for tomorrow and I am on one of the teams! Not sure which one yet!
Also, I am now teaching a class at 3pm on the pronunciation of English words. It is very important and I wish more would come, but school doesn’t let out until 3:30. Samson is the fireball behind this class; he is very motivated to learn English, and indeed all things. I am still paying his tuition and Pastor Tika’s and Silas and Shanti’s for the summer. Can’t really spare the expense but they are depending on it so …
Pray that I will be able to get completely ready for when I come back. Thanks and God bless, Terry

Samson is firing everybody up around here.
Today I spent time preparing studies for the fall semester, taking lessons from Amit on the model, learning a little more Nepali (from my textbook), playing basketball with the 7th grade again (fun, fun, fun – there are actually 3 girls who are quite good, Sarmilla is one of them!). I went to a Home Fellowship meeting this evening and Padam fed us a veritable feast. Pastor Tika preached, cause he doesn’t get to preach while I’m around and I knew he really wanted to. Then we came home and I laid down listening to the children downstairs singing praises to God. About 45 minutes later they woke me up walking around the building singing, playing the models and guitar. They were really worshiping God with great loudness and zeal. I went down where they were on the front steps and Samson was leading and exhorting them. We walked around the building and grounds in the dark singing. It was awesome. Then we sat back on the steps and I exhorted them to all be this way in the church service in the morning. Samson jumped in and told them they will all dance and sing and enjoy the Lord! We prayed and prayed and he dismissed us. It’s amazing to see how fired up this young man is. Remember, he came to GBC an atheist! God is good.

Ashok

Ashok contacted me on Facebook today and told me he was leaving immediately for a remote village in Nepal to “preach the gospel.” He will be there for 6 days preaching.  This is something he has always told us he would do when he was not in school.  He consistently told me his goal was to take what he learned in Grace Bible College to the remote villages, and that is exactly what he is doing. Pray for Ashok.

Christians Living Under the Law, with Love and in the Light.
Complete with study questions at the end. Enjoy. Terry

Silas, Shanti, Smiley, Nitu, Pramita, Sabina and I all went to the most historic city in Nepal, Bactapur. They say it is as old as Athens. I don’t know, I wasn’t at either of them back that far. Almost! The temple/palace (Durbar) was built in 889 A.D. and they were built well. I took over 100 pictures only to have Smiley accidently delete them after we got back. But I still have a few videos that weren’t deleted. I can’t be mad at her; I’ve done the same thing…
It was a relaxing day of sight-seeing; a time to get away from the grind of getting ready for the fall semester. I did witness to a Nepali on the crowded bus. He spent 5 years in the U.S. as a student and I spoke openly and loudly to him of Jesus. He had given me my seat and was standing in the overly crowded bus. Thank God for the opportunity.
AND I picked up some awesome gifts for the grand girls. I can’t find anything for guys here. Pray!
I put out a notice for some extra cash for glasses for some of the kids and Steve Wingo came through. Thank God and thank you Steve and Stormie. You guys are the greatest! I know you love the dear children here, and so do I. My having to get a study visa and losing my wallet and a few other unexpected things have drained me pretty much dry. But loved ones come through. Thanks to all of you who have helped this year. I will be seeing you SOON. Less than 10 days till I leave for 2 months at home. Yeah! Can’t wait to see everyone.

Chapter 14 is about dealing with those who have scrupples. Love limits liberty. Complete with study & discussion questions.

Not much happening right now except that. Grinding out the studies on “The House of God” (doctrine of the church) and 2 Corinthians. I’m editing the studies, copying and re-editing and trying to come up with master copies I can then run off. I did get email from a little church in Selma, Alabama that has been keeping up with me on this blog and they decided to send support for 5 more students ($300) a month. How I praise God for them and all of you who help bring in the students. Linda and I support 10 monthly from the money you send, plus take care of our needs. These students (pastors and church leaders) can’t come from the outside without this financial support. As I always say, $60 a month to pay for a pastor and/or leader to get a biblical education ain’t bad. What an investment! Thanks you guys.
Pray for my ticket (again!). It seems the travel agency changed my ticket from Dallas to LR so I have to wait 9 1/2 more hours there; and without my permission! It truly has to be the most enept ta in the world. I will walk over here before I use them again!!! Just pray that AA can get it changed back again. It seems doubtful at this point, but just pray. Thanks.

Thanks to all those who  buy curry and Nepali food from Steve Wingo for the glasses we were able to purchase through the money. God bless you guys. Sunita (Smiley), Erika, Sujita (Suji) very happy!

Sharmila, Samuel, Schristi

It’s exactly one week until I leave Kathmandu for America!!!! Finally, I have the ticket in my hand! No words can describe the travail and trouble we have gone through to get this thing. Pramita did all the work but I helped travail. It has taken about 2 months of a myriad of phone calls and visits to the travel agency. Dragon Air, American Airlines, etc… Today I went with her to Dragon Air and they were working on it when we walked in the door, and we got it! I’ll be in Little Rock June 17th, 9:40 pm. Wow! It sure will be good to get home.
Today (June 10, 2010) we went to get the much needed glasses for the kids. (We already got the eye medicine for Amit.) Some of them REALLY needed the glasses. Samuel was standing less than 50 feet from the school bus that has large letters on the front “New Life School” and he said, “Look, I can read the words on the front of the bus.” I choked up when I realized how much he needed those glasses. THANKS to all those who purchase the Nepali food from Steve Wingo because your money was used to buy the exams and glasses for the kids. Below are some pictures of the kids with their new glasses. Suji lives near the place where we got the glasses and so we went over to her house to show her parents. As we were sitting on the couch she pointed out the window and said, “Look! I can see what is on that flag way over there.” That flag was a bright red and white striped Buddha birthday flag. I took MY glasses off and I could see the colors and design on that flag! And yet she had never been able to see them before. Amazing! Thanks to everyone. God bless you, and God bless Steve Wingo and the crew who fix the food every week.

I haven’t been able to log in lately, but now I’m back in. Just wanted to let everybody know I’m back at home. If you want me at your church just let me know. TODAY I am beginning to schedule myself for the summer. Things are wonderful! Sooooo glad to be home with the family and back in the U.S. of A. God bless all of you, and continue to pray for the saints in Nepal. More later.

My Arkansas family: Linda, Christi and Jennifer (husbands and kids)

Good to be home!

Linda and I went shopping today, for Christi whose 37th birthday is today. We are having a supper/party for her here at the house tonight. Enchiladas!!! And we bought a lot of things for some of the beloved ones in Nepal: jewelry, movies, clothes, etc. It was fun! Have a lot more to buy for them, but we got started. Also bought some supplies that I couldn’t find in Nepal: paper clips, etc.
Tomorrow I am going to camp to see a bunch of kids that I have pastored last year, and will pastor at camp when I get back. What fun! Don’t you just love teenagers?

The things around the neck are placed there to honor the person.  I was fully honored by all.

I leave home on Aug.10th and arrive in Kathmandu Aug.12th, 8:15am.  I (Don and I actually!) leave Kathmandu Dec.3rd and arrive back home in LR on Dec.4th, 10am.  Yeah!  That will make my year complete.  To all the saints in Nepal, take notice, Don and I will be there Aug.12th, 8:15am Jet Airways!

Hey everybody, I’m home and ready to share with any churches that want me to come and preach, share, whatever… Call me at 501-472-7462.

Hey Everybody, I found some old Journal Entries that I have never posted on the blog which I found (and think you will find) most interesting. There are about 15 of them and I will post about one a day for awhile. Like I said, I think you will find them very interesting. Those first few days in Nepal were very hard.
Nepal Journal Entry, 1-7-10
Here we are at TBIT (Tom Bradley International Terminal) in L.A. Everything’s good. Flight left LR a little late but the pilot said he would “make up for that as soon as we get in the air,” and he did. Short time at DFW . Sat next to a typical New Life young man. He was friendly and full of enthusiasm. Naturally his name was Sonny! Kirk, Steve, Rob and I ate on the floor of the food court (picture coming). I ate Chinese, going to compare it to the food in Hong Kong. Long line to go through security here but we’re in and have about 2 hours now to wait for Cathey Airlines to fly us to the Kong (looking forward to seeing the king).
Got up this morning at 5, finished packing, Christi and her kids were at the house a little after nine and we left for Kracker Barrel where we met Jeff and Jennifer, Robby and her kids. It turned COLD in central Arkansas before we left, not as cold in Dallas. Flying into L.A., I saw the lights on at the baseball and soccer fields and the tennis courts!!!
We leave here for a 17 hour flight to the Kong. Sleep!!! They will serve us supper and breakfast. We get 12 hours in HK, enough to venture into town. Will get there at 7am and leave at 7pm for Kathmandu. Twelve daylight hours in the big historic city! I have studied that city and taught it in high school geography and world history. In a short time I will be there.
When I step onto the Cathey Pacific Airplane I will enter a whole new world. It’s kinda like that here in L.A. but mostly Hispanic. But from here on it is Asian. Jesus must really love Asian people, He made so many of them.
I’m typing this on my new computer, courtesy of those who gave so I could go to Nepal, and will soon put it into my blog site, courtesy of David Stobaugh. Thanks David and thanks everyone. I plan on living the adventure of a lifetime. I go to advance the kingdom of Christ who planned from the beginning to bring the Gentiles into the family, and that includes the Nepalese.

1-10-10, Journal Nepal
I missed one day totally. Passing the Internal Date Line the team lost Friday. We went from the 7th of Jan. to the 9th. It took us 45 hours of traveling time to get here. But our trip was flawless: no delays or missed flights, our luggage made it on the same plane! However, I was not able to sleep much because the planes were all super crowded (full!) and there wasn’t much room and the seats were uncomfortable, etc. I’ll take all of that with the no glitches in the flight over.
The team was greeted by a van load of workers in the ministry here and taken to The Greenwich Village Hotel. The rooms were nicer than Kenya! but kinda typical third world rooms. Certainly not the Hilton. More like Motel 8! We all had no trouble sleeping!, got up, went downstairs to a nice buffet breakfast and ate on the veranda by the pool and tropical setting. Pravita , Beemela and John came to WALK US TO THE CHURCH BUILDING!!! They would not hear of me carrying my backpack so Pravita carried mine! I told everybody not to let it known that a lady carried my heavy backpack on A ONE HOUR AND 15 MINUTE SPEED WALK TO THE CHURCH! So we got to see the city up close and personal.
The section of Kathmandu that we have seen is somewhat better than what we saw in Kenya two years ago, but the streets are not much better, if any. As we were walking I said it looks like they had had some rain recently. I knew that was newsworthy because I knew it didn’t rain much here except in the mid-summer monsoon season. They told me that the water in the streets was from the houses and business sinks and toilets! Ooooo Kkkkkkk…
What an amazing building Ram has built here for this ministry. Full-size basement and five stories on top of that: offices, conference rooms, worship sanctuary, kitchen, dining hall, bathrooms, apartments, etc. He has nice “excellent” furniture. He strives to do things according to the spirit of excellence. We met some of the other workers and were shown around the complex: orphanage, school, buildings, etc. They fixed us a feast and then we met to discuss the Pastor’s Conference and Bible College. I have lots to share on the college but not the time or space to do that now. We all used Ram’s Magic Jack to call home. It was good to hear Linda’s voice.
This ministry is in serious need of money. Ram has a great vision and has done a lot, which is very evident, but the resources have dried up as of the last couple of years and they are hurting. I told him today that, after seeing all he has done and has, if I had a million dollars I’d give it to him. This ministry is basically running on Arrears. It has a brand new (12,000 miles) Land Rover and can’t afford to drive it because of the back taxes they owe. Now, after the need to pay back taxes and funds to support the workers in the orphanage and school (they work and have not been paid in two months!, they need water. This building is in one of the nicer sections of the city, surrounded by expensive homes, but the problem is THERE IS NO WATER. It will take a well about one mile deep and will cost $60,000. But it would pay for itself because even the people who live around here would buy the water and Ram would open a cleaners and they would gladly pay to have their clothes cleaned in good water. So if anybody knows anybody who is serious about mission work and wants to make an investment of about $60,000 Ram would pay back your investment with interest. Pass the word! If something doesn’t happen soon he will have to sell everything and buy cheaper facilities for all the ministries that go on here. This would be very, very bad.
Well, have to go to bed. Will write more tomorrow on the college. Night Night!

1-12-20
I can’t remember what I put in last or when I put it in, so I’ll do my best to highlight the events of the last day or so. The power is off so often (and even then the Pastor’s Conference is in session) that I can’t put anything directly into my blog. Even if I write it into Word to transfer later, I can’t ever transfer it because of the lack of time and media resources.
Our days are taken up exclusively with the Pastors Conference right now and will be until Thursday afternoon. Kirk preached Monday afternoon and Tuesday morning; Rob preached this afternoon and will take tomorrow morning; then I get to preach in the afternoon (Wed. the 13th) and then again at the Wed. night service, and finish up Thursday morning. The sessions have been good. I HAVE SOME PHOTOS AND VIDEOS TO PUT ON THE BLOG BUT OF COURSE NEVER HAVE THE TIME TO DO IT. All of that will come later. I also took some pics and videos of Steve Wingo working with the orphans. He is doing a VBS with them and doing a great job. The kids love that guy.
One of the most exciting things that happened today is the offerings we got from Tony Floyd and Cary Cox to help feed the orphans and pay the workers. I told the lady in charge of the school (Pravita) they were all going to get paid and she looked up to heaven and said, “Praise the Lord.” She smiled and said, “Now I can face the teachers with boldness because we have money to pay them.” She is very, very happy and I know the teachers and workers will be too. Thanks fellas. And now the orphans will be well fed in the middle of the day. Imagine a whole school going all day and NOBODY getting to eat! And please be advised that they NEVER have enough money to do what needs to be done around here.
I got to talk with Linda on the phone today and even though it was 12:30 am where she is she was happy to hear from me. She said to call her anytime when I told her that my time is very limited to communicate back home and so are the communication resources. It was wonderful to hear her voice. EVERYONE PLEASE BE ADVISED THAT IF YOU ARE TRYING TO CONTACT ME VIA EMAIL OR FACEBOOK OR OTHERWISE, I AM DOING THE BEST I CAN UNDER THE CIRCUMSTANCES AND WILL TRY TO ANSWER THEM ASAP. The best vehicle will be this blog so keep logging on and in time I will keep it up to date with journals and pics and videos. Keep praying. One pastor I talked to today just arrived after two days of travel to get here from the extreme west end of the nation. This is a small band of persecuted pastors. We have around 150 here now but more are still coming. God bless all of you. Terry

1-17-2010
I know it’s been DAYS since I’ve made an entry to this journal, but that’s because I have been EXTREMEMLY busy. Extremely busy. Very, very busy. The pastor’s conference ended. It went well. I thought I might have more time after it but that was not true. Immediately the next day the team took off to Pokhara. We drove over 5 hours straight down. We descended all day actually. Stopped to see some property that belongs to Ram where he wants to put an orphanage, school and church. Already has the buildings and bathrooms, and he has a husband and wife team he’s training for it. It needs a lot of work to get it restored and such. Then we visited with Ram’s mother for a while. Of course, when we stopped many people arrived, especially children. I told the team I’m not going out again without bringing a lot of candy so I can hand it out “in Jesus Name.” (Hinduism prevails in this country.) Then I looked a ways down the street and there was a store. I went and bought 82 pieces of candy for 82 rupees. I gave the girl 100 and she didn’t understand I wanted to give her a nice profit. When she did she was overcome with gratitude. (One dollar = 72 rupees)
Then we continued downward to Pokhara, which is really the resort and sporting area of Nepal. Ram said when most people come to Nepal they will spend a day or two in Kathmandu and then the rest of their time in Pokhara: power gliding, trekking, rafting, with a large lake. All the way down we followed a river. Now for the statement I’ve been wanting to record: On this trip I have seen a thousand sights as awesome as the sight of the Grand Canyon! And we’ve just been traveling through the foothills of the Himalayans, with the Mountains in the ever-present background.
I had asked back in Kathmandu, “Where do all the fresh veggies they are selling on the streets come from?” I found out on our trip through the mountains. The foothills (HUGE foothills!) are tiered, and so précised that they look like they have been surveyed. Each level is flat and filled with crops. They grow their crops on the mountainsides! What a sight! I’ve never seen anything like it. Look for the pics and videos to come. I’ll have trouble putting them on the blog because it takes sooooo long and the power goes out soooooo often. There’s no such thing as high-speed internet around here.
Saturday night we went to a restaurant that featured cultural dancing. Incredible! Steve and I and two of the ladies on staff here went up on the stage and danced with the dancers. (Video coming)
The people here are VERY modest. The females are extremely modest in every way. I have not seen a knee since I’ve been here. I’ve seen several breasts! The ladies breastfeed here and they will do it in the middle of the worship service and sermon. They think nothing about it. It is still somewhat disconcerting to me however.
I preached in Pokhara at a small but full church and Steve Wingo preached at another church. Rob didn’t make the trip because he was supposed to leave the same day for the states, and then found out he was supposed to leave the day before. He was bummed out for sure, but since then he has realized the providence of God in his being here an extra five days.
After Pokhara we drove back toward Kathmandu for a couple of hours and got to this church 4 hours late (after their services) and there were still about five hundred people there. It was a worship experience I will never forget. (Watch for video.) Just before I got up to preach, the offering began to squawk! Then I looked down and the offering was a lot of veggies and a ROOSTER. The rooster began to squawk and had to be carried out of the meeting! Then I got up to preach (1John3:1-4). Kirk preached a short sermon and we had some more music. POWERFUL! This man has over 1200 in his church and he is crippled, his wife is in a wheelchair and his worship leader stands with a stoop. Yet most of the church was converted by means of a healing. Only God could do such a thing. He certainly works in mysterious ways! We got back into the Kat after midnight. Got up early this morning and walked around the town some. UN believable!
Today I found out I can get a sem-card for my phone so I can keep in touch with the college students and staff. I also rented an apartment. I hadn’t planned on renting but it is a must (long story). I have a whole flat with stairs up to a beautiful roof where I can grill and hang out looking at the mountains and city. Ram told me that this nice place would cost anybody else over $500 a month. I got it for $250 because the family is a church family of Ram’s church. I had not planned on this expense but I am trusting the Lord to provide. It was necessary. I also found out today when I went to change my round trip ticket to
December that I could not do that. I had to change it to a date before 6 months. So, I guess I’ll be back in the states during my year over here. I wasn’t planning on that extra expense either, but it is necessary. I leave here June 16th and will be at home for about a month.
Tomorrow (1-18-20) I get my sem-card, move into my apartment, go shopping for a printer and copier and hopefully get moved into my office with Magic Jack phone service and Skype (when the power is on!!!), computer, printer, copier, etc. Tomorrow is a big day for sure. I may have to buy some furniture!
Talked with Linda tonight and that was good. She said she and everyone was doing fine and that was good. Well, gotta go to bed for now. This is my last night in the hotel room with Kirk, and then Rob and Steve down the hall. God bless you all and remember to pray for me. I love you!

1-18-10, Journal Nepal
I am sitting here in the dark in my new apartment. There is no power and no water. But, the sun will come out tomorrow! Tomorrow we get water and maybe the power will come on for a few hours. And tomorrow we go shopping for furniture. This apt. has NO furniture. The church building has some chairs and tables but that is all. The rest, from towels to sheets and blankets to everything else I will have to purchase tomorrow. I will sleep tonight in the dark in a strange place, alone (with the family that is renting me the place, whom I have never met before today) but the Lord is with me. (I hope the dogs stop barking sometime during the night.) It is very difficult getting things done with any sense of timeliness, as those of you have been to third world countries know. Things move at a VERY slow pace around here.
We had a meeting of the minds today about the college and church. This included the team from America, Ram and all his leaders. Not tooooo much was settled but enough to get started. He has scheduled a meeting at the church Wed. morning with 50 pastors to promote the Bible College. We hope to have as many students as possible. We met with a prospective professor tonight at supper. The big problem of course is finances. We cannot now pay another teacher and we can only provide money for so many students. Linda and I are personally paying the tuition for 9 students. Ram also is making a big deal about me helping the pastor and his leadership team to help this church to grow. So I will be spending my time here teaching in the college and working with the pastoral team.
Right now I will have classes from 9-noon and then from 1-4pm. So that I do not have to talk for 3 hours at a time twice a day, I am breaking the classes up by having private prayer, reading of the Bible and a devotion given by one of the students each am and pm from the passages we will be studying. They will do this during the 10-11am and 2-3pm hours. I also want to video tape the lectures so they can bring others in on the studies and also have them for review. Classes will start Feb. 1st. Hope I can get everything set up by then. I believe I can.
This is my first night away from the Americans. I am virtually alone in this heavily populated (and strange to me) place tonight. With no lights or water! But God is with me and will keep me safe and warm. Did I mention there is no heat!!!

1-19-10, Journal Nepal
Well, I made it through my first night alone in Nepal. In the dark… With no water… And the dogs barking… And no heater… It’s kinda like camping out! The lights did come on for some time last night AFTER I went to bed. The government knows when to turn the power on so the fewest people can use it. Today was the first day I can remember that I did not start the day with a hot shower. Tomorrow will be the second day!
Amit, the worship pastor, came after me this morning (walking). We left his 16 year old sister whom I have nicknamed “Smiley” to clean my two rooms and we went to get coffee and an egg. When we came back my landlord was very disappointed that I didn’t have tea with him. So, we set it up that every morning I awake at 6am, get ready, have tea with him at 7 and then I’m off to work.
We had a very busy day today moving furniture from the church to my apartment and then going shopping for some items to make this a home: microwave/grill oven, clothes hangers, house slippers (very necessary items in Nepal), iron and board, mouthwash!!!, shoe brush, pillow and cases, towels and other bathroom items, electric trimmer for my beard, and other such things, MANY such things. And it all cost me about $325. Next I desperately need closet or free-standing place to hang my clothes and a little frig. (If I don’t open it too much while the power is off this will work!
We (Kirk Wetsell’s church) gave all the orphans coats today and they were very happy. (PICTURES AND VIDEOS ARE COMING!) I took lots of pics and videos today but haven’t been near a computer. I’m typing my journal into my battery-driven laptop and I will transfer them to the blog as soon as things settle down. That should be sometime next week.
While the kids were being fitted, I got the chance to witness to a Hindu lady who was here to get things for her orphans too. She said she believed in God. I told her Jesus said, “You believe in God, believe also in Me.” Her great interest was what Christianity taught happened after death. When I told her about the resurrection she got this total look of disbelief on her face and got up and walked off. I guess that is hard to believe… Later we talked again and she asked if I believed we should help all people regardless if they were of our faith or not. I told her Jesus said that we are to love our neighbors as ourselves. And then I quoted John 3:16 to her. After that she seemed very open and gave me her card and said she’d like to talk with me some more. I had to leave. I got the chance to witness to a couple of other people today. There are lots of lost people around here.
Tomorrow is the BIG day. It is the inauguration day for Grace Bible College. Ram is having 50 other pastors in to a meeting to cut the ribbon and eat and a whole bunch of festivities. He wants to introduce me as the Principal and Professor, and he has asked me to give a vision for the college. I am going to preach on 2Tim.2:2. He told me to look like a college president. And then I came home and found out there is still no water or electricity!!! I will really look presidential in front of all those pastors with no bath and wrinkled clothes. We’ll see.

1-20-10
I finally got to sleep last night about 1am. I was able to unpack most of my stuff for the first time and since I had been shopping yesterday I was able to iron many of my shirts and separate many of my things according to outfits (sports jacket, pants, shirts, ties) and hang them up on curtain rods. Linda can tell you, I cannot go to bed without getting ready for the next day! It took a long time to do what needed to be done, so I got to bed very late.
Amit (I call the worship leader David and if you say it with the accent they sound similar) came for me early today (7:15) and we walked to the church building where Wingo had been there for some time teaching the cooks how to make biscuits and gravy and other American dishes so I will sometimes have a “taste of home.” That Steve is a great guy. He is Napali all the way. He loves this place. I showered and shaved at CCF (Covenant Christian Fellowship) and ate some b & g and then it was time for the GBC Inauguration Ceremony. It was supposed to begin at nine but that’s Nepali time so we got started about 10:15. There were about 60 pastors and church leaders here to help us celebrate. I shared why they should send their young church leaders to GBC and my reason for being here for the year in their country. The response was very good. (Check the videos and pics, and remember that many of these guys have suffered imprisonment and beatings for the Lord. Ram himself has been in prison 7 times and has had several beatings. These guys are very honorable Christians.)
The ceremony lasted until about 2pm and then we ate together. I had several great responses: pastors telling me they were going to talk to the young leaders in their church and encourage them to come. One asked Ram and me if he could get 10 or 12 pastors who could not attend the college to meet with me once a week for teaching and training. I said, “You name the time and place and I will be there!” One man said that he had many doctrinal and Bible questions that he would like to call me from time to time and meet with me to get some answers. Man, this is why I am here. I want to work day and night for the Lord and these precious people. During the ceremony I shared from Mt.9:36-10:1. I would ask that you read that passage and pray that God would bring laborers to be disciples in our college so they can be sent out to gather in the plentiful harvest here in Nepal (and China and India).
I said goodbye to Steve and Kirk about 6:30pm and David walked me home. Praise God there is electricity and water!!!! I am writing this with lights on and my camera, phone and computer will get to be charged up for tomorrow; hoping to get to go shopping. I still need to get a small frig and something to hang my clothes on. I also want to get a small tv so I can more easily and readily learn the language.
I have something I want everybody to pray about. Ram is trying to rent a new large house about a stone’s throw away from CCF where the men students will live and he asked me if I wanted to stay there. I looked at the place and it is perfect. And $100 a month less! And I would be able to spend mornings and evenings with the guys I am teaching; eating and praying together at our own home. He needs to talk with his good friend (my landlord) to make sure there is no problem and I may have to stay here for 3 more months. We don’t want to offend this good Christian man by moving in and moving right out. So pray that the will of the Lord will be done.
Well, gotta try to get some things done before I go to bed. Pray that much will be accomplished tomorrow. I have a lot to do to still get moved in and to get my office set up at CCF. I need internet access and I need to buy a printer and computer. Many, many things have to be done in the next week and a half. Pray. And remember, I love and miss everyone.

1-21-10
A great responsibility has been handed to me. I came here to establish and teach in Grace Bible College. Ram and the team from America (who are all gone except me now; we just sent Rob off to the airport) and the leadership team here at the church (elementary & high school, orphanage and church) have had several meetings since we have been here. We had our last one tonight before Ram leaves tomorrow. I was the last one in the room and he was sitting behind my desk in my office. He asked me to sit down by the side of the desk and said, “Today I am sitting here in charge of all the ministries. Tomorrow Terry will be sitting in my place.” He basically put me in charge of the entire work because of my age (wisdom) and experience. This is a HUGE responsibility. He had talked to me about working with the church leadership on several occasions and I have prayed and the Lord showed me that the key to all these ministries is the church. Ram has many churches in smaller cities and villages that are running over a 1000 and the one here has 100 on Saturdays (they have church here on Saturdays). Other than the Bible, the 2 books that have affected me the most have been: 1. The Master Plan of Evangelism, and 2. Revolution in World Missions. One teaches Jesus’ method of winning the world which is – minister to the multitudes but disciple the few. The other teaches that the best way to do mission work is to equip the indigenous people to reach their own people. These two have come together for me this day in this duel responsibility of teaching in the Bible College and leading the church. What an opportunity! I am soooo excited. Please pray for me. This is a God-thing if ever I saw one. I told everybody that I am here to HELP them, to equip, mentor, train, teach and disciple them. I am not here to run anything, I am here to help in any way I can.
Typical of any 3rd world nation (I suppose) is the slowness in which things get done. We have worked all day to basically get one thing done – to get my office set up with a printer and copier. I got both and a scanner in one piece of equipment for $1000 and it is sitting on the floor of my office unhooked up with no Windows 7 driver and half of it unpaid. I pride some in cash but then when I went to the ATM, it (and the bank here) said that my account had been closed. Rob said it is because I used it once in Nepal (NOT in Arkansas) and they think someone has stolen my card. It took hours and hours to get in touch with Linda and she is going to the bank to loosen the funds. I still don’t have my ticket home, which I was supposed to have about a week ago. But even if I had access to the ticket I couldn’t pay for it because now I don’t have the $100 it costs! Point, if you have ever been to a 3rd world country you know how slowly things get done. What would have been a half an hour transaction at Best Buy in the U.S turned into a 3 hour deal and I still have no equipment hooked up!!!
I did get a chance to get on the internet today and even talk with Linda by phone, but then the power went off without notice and was out for several hours.
Please pray that the funds in my debit account will open up and that I will get everything set up by Feb. 1st.
Praise Report— the Maoist leader from where Ram has the beautiful acreage and buildings for orphanage and school and church came to him today and they sat in a meeting. This is from a long way off, about a 7 hour drive from here. And he told Ram that he would not ever have any trouble from the Maoists if he would start the ministries there! He would even give 3 permanent visas to missionaries who would work there. Again, this is HUGE! They are terrorists who shut down the whole nation with strikes, basically by intimidation and threats of violence (and violence), and they have said Ram’s ministries would never be bothered if he would do this for this part of the nation. Behold the providence of God – Ram went to high school and Bible College with this man and he is the main guy now in that area. Wow! So, if anybody wants to do missionary work, here’s your opportunity. Pray about it. Ram Nepal is an important man in this nation. I see it every day. He has important people lined up to talk with him almost all the time. The time is right for Nepal and Ram is the man God has put in such a strategic place. Pray for him. And pray for me. Love to all, Terry

1-22-10
I had the wonderful opportunity to go to a Nepali wedding reception this evening. The wedding was two days ago but today was the reception. It was very festive and lots of people. Either the groom or bride was related to Pramita and so a whole bunch of us from the church went. It started at four (Napali time!) and we left home about 5:15 and got there about 6:15 and we weren’t late at all. And of course all the people were as nice as they could be and I was introduced to everyone and they were happy to meet me – mthe preacher from America. The native Napali women’s dress is very colorful, decorated and beautiful, and modest of course. Such beautiful garments I have never seen before. Sari they call them.
My biggest problem right now is the “Nepali time” thing. In America we run on the clock. Not so in Nepal. In my first meeting with the leaders I am going to make this point loud and clear – Do All Assignments ASAP. You might ask someone or a group to do something for you (I have a lot of things to do to get set up) and they are very agreeable, but then hours later it has not been done and when you find them and ask them about it they will move toward getting it done. Example, I brought my laundry to the church building for the “cleaning lady” to wash. Then the next day the bags were still where I left them. I asked about them and they said “O she will do them.” Then the next day (today) I came in and they were still not done! I told them I’m running out of clothes and must have them done ASAP. She got them done by the time I left this afternoon! They are a gracious and loving people, and very relationship oriented. They are not task oriented at all. I will have to work with them on that. They seem to know little of Efficiency and Timeliness. They can teach me much about patience.
I am only sharing what I need to work with these loving people on. In my first real conversation with the pastor I found out probably why the church hasn’t grown. He tends to be kinda negative. I told him about us making half-sheets with a salvation message on one side and a note about the sermon I will be preaching and an invitation to the church for the next week, a thing Ram had mentioned we ought to do, and the pastor really did not see the need. He said the Hindu people are very hardened against the gospel and other Christian groups were already doing that. He seemed to be so negative that God could break the darkness in the Hindu heart and so what if others are doing it, they probably have a full church!!! Please pray for him and pray for me.
It’s a little after nine and I am doing this by candle light. I am going to bed. I will be picked up tomorrow morning (Sat.) for church at nine and taken to another church here in Kathmandu to preach. After that I will preach here for the next 3 Saturdays. They have church here on Saturdays because this is a Hindu nation and Saturday is their day of rest. Christians just go alone with it, which is fine with me. Terry

This was the first church I preached at without the team going to tag-team preach and with Ram. I was basically on my own and was invited to preach. This is where I met the Newarri sisters (Srijana, Sabina and Sani) who have been so valuable to me in Nepal.

1-23-10, Saturday Baptist Church
Today was an exciting day here in Kathmandu for me. I went to a Baptist church near here to preach. (Watch for videos and pics!) The man who fathered 30 Baptist churches in and around the Kat and over 100 elsewhere in the country, the man who invited me to preach because he heard me at the Pastor’s Conference and then again at the GBC Inauguration Ceremony, is a VERY interesting man. He wanted me to join him in Pastor’s Conferences all over Nepal in the coming months. What an open door! The church I preached at was different from the other churches I have been to here, much more reserved and quiet (Linda would have liked this one!). I preached on Phil.2:3-11 and if ever I preached the gospel it was here. The place was packed, of course, and the people very friendly. There were people who were in church for the first time. Afterward I met three of the happiest sisters I have ever met. They talked with me until the pastor tore me away to take me to lunch. One was 14, another 18 and the other 20. They were so happy to hear and meet me, and asked to see pictures of my family, which I was glad to show them. They laughed and jumped up and down and kissed the pictures of my grandkids. The 18 year old was the first to approach me and she asked if I would pray. She wants to be an engineer but her family is in too low a caste for her to have such a career and she wanted me to pray that God would allow her to do this. (Be patient with me on this story; all of this is going somewhere.) They asked me questions about Jesus and about the difference in Catholics and Protestants. After the pastor pulled me away from the church he asked me what we talked about and I told him. He said they were not Christians! but they were in a search for the real God. They had gone on and on about how glad they were that they had come and heard me preach that morning, remember. Their parents were devout Hindus and forbade them to attend Christian services but they would come anyway. They suffer when they do. They would not let me go until they got my phone number and email address so they could ask me more questions. I do believe God is drawing these sisters to Himself. And what an amazing witness they will be. If they were this way in their search for God what will they be once they find Him?
I came back to Covenant Christian Fellowship and then went to pick up a few more things and see if I could get a small frig and vac. I found out they do not have anything in the Lord’s Day evening and so I called a prayer meeting for 5pm. Six showed up. There will be lots more nextweek when everybody knows this is on the schedule. The prayer meeting was awesome. Kirtha shared how she wanted to know God’s will for her life and I was able to counsel her about her desires and skills. Steve had told me she was an excellent teacher; she helped him with his VBS with the orphans during the Bible Conference. And I shared with her the “Acres of Diamonds” story and after the prayer meeting she was praising God that she had her answer and she was surrendering her life to teach children. It was a great victory for our first prayer meeting.
I was able to get on email and Facebook for a few minutes and then three of the older orphan boys walked me home and now I am about to go to bed. It has been a very good day for ministry. Praise God.

1-24-10

It’s Sunday, day after the Lord’s Day here in Nepal. The weekends are in reverse here. Their Saturday is our Sunday and their Sunday is our Saturday. That’ll take some getting used to. Therefore, not much was done today, except ONE MAJOR THING.   I got my copier/printer/scanner hooked up at my office. Except, only the copier. Complications (there seems to always be complications here) meant I only have my copier working (which is a major, major achievement. Some of you will remember the huge headache I head getting my computer programmed to my printer at home. I had to do that because I wanted to print off all the Bible College notes before I came over so if all I had was a copier I’d be ok. So, I’m ok!). The man who is a friend of Ram’s is working on getting my printer hooked up tomorrow (after a couple of hours trying today) and then internet access as soon as he can. Then I will be able to hook up my Magic Jack and talk with people whenever the power is on, which, believe it or not, seems to be increasing even this week. Right now I am sitting here on the queen size bed (way too big for this room), with my computer plugged into the converter box and sitting on my ironing board; t the lights are on, I’m eating popcorn which I just popped in my microwave, and a Cadbury Bar. Live is good. Except that I miss everyone back home. I miss the comforts of home. But I am doing well under the circumstances, which I signed on for.

And since there’s not much more to tell, think I’ll sign off and watch “Steele Magnolia” on this here computer. Eating popcorn and a chocolate bar, watching a movie in the evening! Kind sounds like home. Only I am not doing it with my wife. I love you honey!

1-25-10
Exactly one week from now (Monday, 4pm) I will have finished teaching my first day of classes at GBC. As you might know, I am excited. Things are slowly getting done every day. Today I’ve gone shopping and bought a small frig, small vac, 14” tv (to help me learn the Nepali language better; everybody says it will help, although I won’t have much time for watching tv) and I bought a bunch of other things necessary to set up house and office. I still need 2 very important things: clothes closet and notebooks with hole punch.
The man who was suppose to get my computer hooked up to the printer and the internet today didn’t come by, but he said he might be able to get by later on today after the power comes on at 6pm (it was already on from 10:30am to 2pm). The schedule for power is never quit exact; sometimes it comes on late and sometimes it goes out early and sometimes it goes in and out during the scheduled time it’s supposed to be on. But you can be sure, it will never be on when it’s not scheduled to be on. In fact, when they publish the schedule it’s never when it will be on, it’s always when it won’t be on. That’s how it’s written out.
So, I have a lot to do from now till possibly 6pm when Shikhu gets here to work on the printer and internet (if he comes at all; at best he will be here late!). But I have nothing to do at home because the power is not scheduled to be on there until 9 tonight. I have lots to do there in setting up my frig and tv and microwave over (which I bought the other day) but can’t do it until the power comes on.
Ooooooh the little conveniences we take for granted back in the states, like water and power, and a 100 other things. Like HAMBURGER meat! I did eat at the KFC today but they gave me “hot and spicy” because I’m sure 99.9% of all their customers order that, but I specifically said, “Original Recipe, Please!” I didn’t realize they had it wrong until I sat down to eat. I have already had enough spicy food to last me a lifetime and I’ve only been here for 16 days! Every place you eat here adds a “service charge” or tip to the price of your food, and then they add a little over 13% tax. The good thing is (it seems) they only tax the food.
Oops, I almost forgot the most important thing. I went to pay for ($100) and get my return ticket for June 16th. Yeah!!! I am supposed to be getting into Little Rock at 10:40pm June 17th. It will take me less than a day on the calendar to get home, but then I cross the International Date Line and gain the day back I lost getting here. I have to return here sometime in August for the Fall Semester. I think it will be good to go home for the summer and then come back for a fresh start. It will be good.

1-26-10
Late last night while the power was on I unpacked everything I had bought yesterday. My home office looks pretty good with all of that, and the desk and rest of the furniture the church is supplying me.

Got up this morning and had coffee with Raju, my landlord, and his wife and son. Then I vacuumed EVERYTHING in my bedroom and bathroom and home office. Everything! You wouldn’t believe how dusty everything is in this place. It hasn’t rained in months and half the streets are dirt so you can imagine. Houses don’t stay closed like in the U.S. so much of the dirt comes inside. I vacuumed the curtains, and there are many of them (wait till you see the pictures). I vacuumed the furniture and floors. Everything! Then got ready and walked with Raju to Covenant Christian Fellowship.

I had another long and helpful talk with the pastor (Tiki Ram). He and I and Pramita (Ram’s Executive Secretary) are on the same page about everything and it is good. I think much will be accomplished in this church and school this year.

The big thing that happened today was I got hooked up with wireless internet in my school office. That is a major accomplishment, I will tell you. And these major accomplishments cost! My Magic Jack works. I called Linda at about 3:30am her time!!! I hated to wake her up but I wanted to check it out and call her first. My phone calls to the states (when the power and computer is on, of course) will cost me nothing!!! Hallelujah. And I can even get on Skype, WHEN THE POWER IS ON, but that might not be too convenient for folks back home because when it’s pm here it’s am there.

One of Ram’s good friends (another Raju) came by to talk today and was very encouraging to me. He said what Bible Colleges here are funded from outside sources (Nepal is very poor) and those resources are drying up. I take it that it’s a good time to start a Bible College in Nepal! In fact, his college is having to close or cut back drastically and he was asking if GBC would be taking transfers. YESSSSS!!!, I told him. And he said he has talked with many who were at the GBC Inauguration Ceremony and Pastor’s Conference and they are very interested in coming to our college. One of the main pulls is that they (and their preacher boys) will be able to be taught by someone who speaks English as his mother tongue. All schools in Nepal have a class in English each semester. ALL schools. And to be taught the Bible by a person who speaks English is a big drawing card. Anyway, I was very encouraged but his visit and he is coming by early tomorrow to take me to a Pastor’s Prayer Meeting and then to see his church building and college. One of the main things I am hoping and praying for is to have a whole auditorium full of students who are “auditing” the classes, people (pastors and others) who are just interested in learning the Bible and not necessarily getting a degree. Please pray for a large enrollment and an even larger auditing class.
Tonight I am sitting in the dark writing this journal in my battery-powered laptop. Lights don’t come on till 10pm (it’s now 7pm). Raju has asked me to eat with his family tonight and I am happy to because I left CCF before they even started cooking; said I wanted to be home before night for the first time in the 17 days since I’ve been here. I made it, almost!

1-27-10, Pastors Raju and Minraj,

Went to Immigration today to see what we needed for a “Teacher’s Visa,” but when we got back Ram called and said it would be better to just get an extension on my Tourist Visa because the teacher thing will demand much payment under the table to several departments and end up costing more than a tourist one. Whatever…
The best thing that happened today is Raju came to get me and took me via motorcycle to see Union College and Seminary and two of his churches, and to meet Pastor Minraj who is a very impressive fellow. He’s probably about 35 and was converted as a teen out of Hinduism. He first led his brothers to Christ and then 2 years later his Hindu priest father was converted in a dream. I’ll have to tell you this marvelous story another time. This family is of the Brahman caste which is the highest in the Hindu religion. It was easy to see from the way he carried himself and spoke that he was a man of some standing and education; so eloquent and courteous. And what a wonderful work he is doing. The college building and grounds are some of the best I’ve seen around here. Minraj invited me to preach in his church Feb.20 and to come stay in the missionary apartment the night before and anytime I wanted to. Then I saw the apartment. Nice! I will make many visits there. Pastor Raju is fast becoming my good friend. He is a very impressive balding man who is doing a great work for Christ over here. They have a Pastor’s Conference where over 200 come together sometime later in the spring and they invited me to speak to the pastors. It was a very good day.
Except, still no printer connected to my laptop! That is the curse of my ministry. It was before I came here, when I was trying to get ready to come with all my master copies of my teaching materials (some of you will remember that). Well, it has continued here. The man says, “Maybe tomorrow.” It’s not that he doesn’t have the time; it’s something about getting the correct “driver” or something. It’s crazy. But, God willing, it will get done by next Monday. Anyway, the best thing is I have all my master lessons and have already run off the first week’s lessons on our new copier. It took a whole ream of paper.

The man on the right, holding the mike for Ram

1-28-10

For 3 weeks now my senses have been bombarded with new sights, sounds and smells. American is NOTHING like this place. They are literally and figuratively a world apart. But there are 2 things I have not seen here and I stand amazed. One is, I have seen no traffic accidents. Unless you have witnessed what happens in these streets you have no idea how amazing a miracle that is. The streets are full of people walking, pulling rickshaws, motorcycles galore, cars, minivans and busses. And there are no traffic signals anywhere. No line down the middle of the street. No traffic lights. No stop signs. Nothing. They drive by the horn. Not loud, abusive horns, just little beeps. And I have not witnessed even the smallest of accidents. Two is, I have not seen any pregnant women. I know there must be some because there are 30,000,000 people in this country the size of Arkansas (which has about 1.5 mil.), but I haven’t seen one. Where the pregnant ladies  are I do not know. I’m told they do stay at home a lot. And the lady’s clothing here is so modest they are probably pretty well covered up. But it is still an absolutely incredible thing to me.

Today I got to speak with my girls on the MagicJack, except Stephanie that is, but I put the sound of my sweet voice on her answering machine.  And I talked with Linda, my sweet wife. It sure was good to hear their voices, and Sydney’s and Emilee’s. And Jeff’s. Everything’s ok at home and that makes me feel good here.

Kelly Gordon of Searcy Facebooked me and said that if her letter gets through to me her whole social studies class is writing me a letter. Can’t wait to get those!  Thirty or so letters from 13 year olds! Yeah!

I was able to get my 3 month visa extension today, and all I had to do was grease the wheels by paying for 4 months! So I’m good until May 8^th or something like that. Then less than a month until I go home for a month!

Pastor Raju came by today and helped me and the fellows move some more furniture from the church building to my apartment, and then he took me on his motorcycle to get a clothes closet. And we went a long way off… We found this beautiful bamboo closet and coat rack for 3600 rupies (less than $50) and called our driver; he, Silas and Amit came and we hauled it to my place. I spent the evening unpacking and getting everything in place, and cleaning. The furniture and the bamboo stuff were covered in dust. Everything is. I can’t wait till summer when the windows are all open. They don’t have heaters here and it is for sure they don’t have a/c.

One thing that is very frustrating here is trying to speak with these dear people in English. Most of them have taken English classes in school (in most schools English is compulsory). But they take it from other Nepali teachers! Consequently they think they speak English correctly; but they don’t . When I can’t understand them they don’t understand why I don’t understand them. Then when I finally understand the word they are using and tell them how to say it correctly, they think I’m wrong! I tell them English is the only language I have ever known and I assure them they are pronouncing it wrongly. For example, my landlord’s 14 year old son at the breakfast table this morning was telling me the classes he was taking and one of them was, “Com pul SOR y English.”  I could not understand the word until they kept telling me “essential, necessary…” Then I said, “Oh, com PUL sory.” They were sure they were right in the pronunciation. I told them if they said that word in America everyone would say the same thing I just said to them; “What!?!”, because nobody would understand it. They refused to be corrected. Surely I must be wrong about this. I get that several times a day. They emphasize the wrong syllable on so many of the English words. And they roll their r’s; and say, “Tank you,” instead of, “Thank you.” They don’t know how to pronounce the th; instead they say it with a t. Anyway, much of the time is spent trying to understand their Nepali version of English. It makes for some very frustrating conversations at times.

Shrijana, Sabina, Sani and their mom

1-30-10, First Saturday Service at CCF

I skipped a day in my journal, but nothing much significant happened yesterday. Except I came to the conclusion that I couldn’t stand that the school, orphanage and church HAD NO WATER! I can buy water for about $100 a month while I’m here. So, then I could move into the church building! I asked if there was a room and there are several, one right next door to my office, a corner room with 3 HUGE windows. But it was full of stuff and dirty, they told me. And we know how slowly things get done around here. But I am trying to get them out of this ‘later’ mindset.
Today is Saturday and that is church day in Nepal. I got up early and went to CCF and they finally found the key to my future bedroom. We had a great service. The large auditorium was almost full. The worship was good and I preached on “The Blessings of Christ”, trying to cast the vision of what their lives and this church would look life if they believed in the blessings of Christ: Salvation, Sanctification, Spirit-Fullness (infilling, power and gifts), Supplier (Phi.1:19), and Healing. After the service I prayed for several people and then spent some time visiting with a pastor from the western part of Nepal. I met some amazing testimonies too. One young man (25 or so) told me of how his whole family came to Christ about 10 years ago. They were Hindus but the mother got a sickness and got progressively worse. Doctors couldn’t help and she was dying. Someone told her to try Jesus so they came to this church, was prayed for and the Lord healed her. As a result the whole family, about 30 of them, became baptized believers and have been faithful in this church ever since. Someone told me they are tithers and very helpful in every way, have been for over 10 years. And that’s just ONE testimony.
I wrote in a previous journal about meeting 3 sisters last week at this other church and they kept me so long asking questions. Their parents are devoted Hindus. Anyway, one of them (Shrijana) called last Thursday night and asked where I was preaching this week and I told her. Another one (Sabina) called before church today asking for directions. But they couldn’t find the place until after the service was over, about 1pm. Come to find out the two younger ones (Sabina and Sani) came by themselves (14 & 18 years old) by commercial micro-van. It only brought them to about a 10 minute walk from the church but they got lost! We fixed them some lunch and they asked questions for over two hours and promised to come back next week. They are very hungry for the truth. Imagine 2 teenagers travelling around this million people city by themselves, against their parents’ wishes, just to find answers about God! Hungry. Pray for them to become baptized followers of Christ.
I talked to Silas (Christian name) and Amit at the 5pm prayer meeting tonight about becoming my Silas and Timothy. They agreed. These two brothers in Christ I have found faithful and even ON TIME when I have needed them to be somewhere at a certain time, which is exceptional in this place! I told them their first assignment was to get me moved tomorrow. They will need to get a truck and 3 more men to help and it will take some time. They said they will. So, by this time tomorrow night I should be safe and secure inside the church building compound. I will never have to leave the compound, except to preach! This will be home while I’m here, and that will be good. Only, I have to walk down the hall to take a shower and shave. O well…
I came to my apartment about 6:30 tonight, ate a bowl of beans and ham from the microwave and am typing this while watching VH1 “Grease.” Ahhh… home.

I leave in 7 days and I have a lot of things to do to get ready. One of them is get a new phone. The old one was all but wasted and I wanted to get one that would allow me to get on the net (email, Facebook, etc.) without having the power on or my wireless router working (which it rarely did!). So, I was persuaded to get an I-4. It’s very nice IF I EVER LEARN TO WORK THE THING!!! Any help out there?
Met Steve Wingo today at Starbucks and I assured him that he would not need to get a motel room when he comes over in November, which will save his family $500. If I can’t find a family for him to stay with he can crash in my office, which is next door to my bedroom and just down the hall from the bathroom. It has a nice couch for him to sleep on, etc. And he gave me some very nice birthday presents for the 13 year old Sharmilla, and some socks for all the kids. His curry business is really picking up, so he needs some help cooking on Thursday evenings. Any help for Steve?
While I’m hating leaving home, I am looking forward to my last semester in Nepal with all the wonderful people and teaching the Bible. And I look forward to working with Don Spitler who will help me teach this time. Hard to believe he will cut the workload in half but he will. I worked the last semester the hardest I have ever worked in my life and this one will be a bit less strenguous. Praise God.

8-7-2010
I am excited about these travel plans, because I get to spend 10 hours in New York City. I’ve NEVER been to NYC. But, I’ve been there a million times in TV shows, movies and watching Fox News. More than a million times! I am going to take a taxi ride from Newark Liberty Airport to Fox News station. I’ve always wanted to ride in a NYC taxicab! I’m going to see the Empire State Building (and watch out for falling giant apes!), Broadway (I don’t think Joe still lives there!), Central Park (maybe go barefoot in the park!), Times Square (and watch the ball fall!), Wall Street (going to invest some time there!), see the Statue of Liberty (maybe rest my tired self there for a few minutes!) and a 100 other things. And OH! I’m going to take a subway ride (I won’t eat the sandwich!) and eat a hot dog from one of the vendors on the sidewalk! Now those are things I’ve always wanted to do. And I’m going to do them. Yeah!
Then I have a 10 hour layover at the brand spankin’ new airport in Delhi, the capital of India. It will be at night (8:15pm to 6:30 am) so I probably won’t get to leave the airport, but I’m sure going to take in all the local culture I can in that airport. Maaaaaybe go into some nearby locale for a few minutes when I first get there.
Of course I hope to do all this with my travel companion and fellow professor in Grace Bible College, Don Spitler, who knows nothing about what I’m planning!!! It will sure be good to have someone traveling with me, and especially another American teaching with me and living there on the campus.
As you can tell, I am very enthused about my travel plans. I’ve been to Nepal and back via Hong Kong and was able to go into the city there for awhile, but this is the first time in NYC and Delhi.
Please be praying for this trip.

8-13-2010
and the dogs didn’t even keep me awake. Pretty much stayed awake the last 3 days & nights (on purpose) so the jet wouldn’t lag me and it
seems to have worked.
Gave all presents and stuff out to pretty much everybody last night
and this morning; everybody was happy. Those of you who gave
presents need to know the kids and everybody are VERY grateful. I’ll try to send some pics later. I am very rushed today to finish unpacking and buying things to get settled in: mouthwash, Tang, and other such necessities.
They have a “spelling bee” at school today that I am going to attend and then “The Welcome Home” program tonight with plenty of worship, dancing and celebrating! Then we watch movies in my room! (I brought plenty of kids movies to leave here at the ministry.)
Special prayer request – my main laptop on which are all my libraries and studies CRASHED. Projowl is trying to fix it our see if it can be fixed. Please pray. This is of the utmost importance.
Will write more later when I have more time and try to post some pics.

Am having a pleasant time getting settled back in and getting ready for the new fall semester, but I have a couple of important prayer requests. About a month ago my upper stomach began to hurt really bad: bloating, pain, etc. I even went to the doctor and she said it was a gas problem so she gave me a prescription. And I picked up some Zantac (Equate). But it’s not getting better. Please pray for a complete healing for my stomach. I hardly ate a thing for supper and it is hurting really bad right now.
Also, my computer has bombed out. This is very important because my whole library is on that thing, plus all my GBC studies. Please pray that the technicians will be able to fix it. I should hear something in the next day or two, either bad or good news. Pray please. Thanks.

Apparently because my backpack couldn’t fit into the overhead compartment and had to be checked it was pressurized and went out. Cost over $150 to fix it here so I’m getting a cheaper (immobile) monitor so I can use it in my office. Thank God the stuff in my computer is still there and good.

And boy is it a butte! It’s a Honda Shine (125cc). Sorry Kirk, he said the Hunk was too heavy and bulky for him. He’s a novice. He picked this one out. Cost about $2100 and he loves it. I’ll post pictures when I get my monitor on my computer. On the way home in the land rover he turned around to me and said, “Words cannot express the gratitude I feel in my heart for this gift from you.” I told him to thank God and the generous Christians in the churches I spoke at this summer who gave so willingly. This is a faithful pastor who deserves to be one of the millions in Nepal going places on his own bike.
Amit came into my room last night and said, “I am so excited about tomorrow.” I asked him if it was because Tika was getting his motorbike and he said, “NO. it’s because I’m getting his bicycle.” When I bought Tika the cycle this past spring I told him that if I ever bought him a motorbike we’d give the bicycle to Amit.
These guys really needed this transportation and they are soooo happy. Thanks!