He's got the Power!

Yesterday I took Rylan to the rink for hockey and in the dressing room he started talking to me about when I get to be a grandpa, get grey hair and all that good stuff. Then the subject moved to dying and he was concerned about when I would die and so the conversation moved to heaven and how you get there. He then asked me, "So, when I go to the doctor, will he see Jesus in my heart?" He expressed last night that he wanted to ask Jesus into his heart. So, we prayed together and he continued praying thanking Jesus for dying for his sins. After I told him that he is not only my son, but God's son as well. He wanted me to know that he was Jesus' son too! He then yelled out "I am a Christian" from his loft bed so Jord, Bryn and Addi could hear what happened.

loving the camera!

Brittany definitely brings out the crazies in my girls. They love to dance, perform and since gymnastics, Addi can't do the splits enough!! So, as much as my kids love the camera, being in front of the mirror, it reminds me to be in God's presence. It is there that I need to look intently, to gaze long and hard, to listen to His still small voice.

So, what has my trip to India/ Nepal done in me you may ask? Well, it was there that I learned that God uses the weak things in the world's eyes to display His strength. It was there that I will never forget the resilience and joy of evangelist Pratul Das, a man who lost his arm in a bus accident and Biswanath Mondal, who has polio and hobbles on one foot. They take God's persence to the most remote places and do it well! It was there that God was faithful as I completely relied on him for a fresh Word. I learned the special place that God has in His heart for widows and orphans. I learned to never underestimate the power of God to display manifestations in the most remote, forgotten places. I also discovered that if the gospel was coca cola, the job would be done! Finally, after my luggage didn't show up in Toronto, I realized that we need to be prepared to leave all our possessions behind and the only things that really last are the ones that we pay forward to heaven!

side note - thankfully my luggage was finally found two days later, but needless to say, lesson learned.

I have seen an elephant in INDIA, my trip is complete!

So, you have to go for a drive in India as we saw it all today on the highway we travelled from cows to camels and the icing on the cake, the elephants! Phil and I kept saying, where are the elephants?? Well, we weren't disappointed today.... So, we fly out in the morning and what can I say, it has been a whilwind of two weeks on a Partners inspired journey into the work and ministry going on in India and Nepal. I feel truly blessed and transformed yet again...God keeps morphing us! Thanks for your prayers.

The Place of The King!

Today, we drove to the Rajasthan Bible College. Rajasthan (meaning place of the King) and it was there we caught the tail end of the chapel. We met with Anand Chaudhari who has certainly been the visionary here. He shared how there is a real stronghold with evil spirits in Jaipur, but God is doing the miraculous. Here, they pray to their Hindu gods and nothing happens, but they are seeing through answered prayer as God is delivering people from tormenting spirits, people are receiving their hearing and minds back! Anand himself has experienced God's hand on his life as he has kidney disease and diabetes, but he is doing better thanks to the power of prayer as well. He is a man of wisdom and the College is now receiving funds from the government to do literacy training and so they are...using the Bible as the key textbook! He has a radio ministry and a great following. He shared how 21 people in the south of India are ready for baptism because they came to know Christ through the broadcast. He also testifies to the great persecution that has brought great openness. The pictures posted here are of the school which continues to go through renovations and our brother, Anand!

Jamming In Jaipur

Hanging out with the puppet master, Ashok Bhatt, on my right, who just happens to be a Jesus follower himself and who gave Phil and I some great laughs tonight at the hotel.

Little Worshippers!!

Today we travelled outside of Kathumandu to Dhulikhel to the orphanage started by GFN last May. This orphanage has 10 boys who we visited and there is also one in the city that looks after 20 girls. Phil and I had a great time swinging the kids around and teaching them about their heavenly Father! The stories of these children and how they either have lost their parents through the war with the Maoist communist regime or have parents that are so destitute can really pull at your heart. The stories of how they have come to find a shelter here from their personal storms is amazing as well. It was so great to hear them sing so loudly and praising God with their hands held high. They teach them early to be expressive worshippers in Nepal! After our visit, it was time to head off to the airport for our flight to Delhi. From Delhi, we took a 4 hour drive to where we are staying in Jaipur. At the hotel, we met a young Christian, Ashok, who does puppet shows and man, did he have us laughing. He was great and fun to hang out with. It is now midnight and I'm in an internet cafe meeting some more guys and getting to know them. It turns out one of them used to live in Canada and he tells me he loves our country. He says, 'no one has ever given him a cold shoulder in Canada'... I think the weather takes care of that! For what its worth, we rate in Jaipur!

Mount Lamtang

Pastor Lok Bahadur and his wife, Maity Maya

Smooth Like Battar!

Well, today, Tuesday, we travelled East over the only crazy road that winds through the mountains. This road is not for the faint of heart. There is barely enough room for one vehicle to drive by in a lot of places and don't look down because as you climb up to 6000ft, its a long way down to the rice patties!! So, after taking 3 hours to drive 65km and stopping to take in the view of Mt. Lamtang and Ganesh (4th highest in the world) we arrived in Battar. We were greeted by Pastor Lok Bahadur and his wife Maity Maya. They served us battered fish of course...see the picture. After lunch we went to the church. The pastor has about the same commute to church as I do...just across the road. It was there we were once again so blessed by such a powerful spirit of worship by the believers gathered there. I felt led to speak on challenging them to let the rivers of living water flow through them. We had a time of prayer for healing for both children and parents who made their requests known. It was another wonderful experience to be blessed here and be a blessing to them...I even had a chance to baptize the pastor afterwards as I poured some water down his back. It was a great laugh and I think I'm loosening these Nepalis up a bit! Tomorrow, we are off to see the orphanage and then we are flying out to New Delhi

It's Official, I am one with my nepali brothers!!

Trekking In The Himilayas!

Today, Monday, we drove 3.5hrs west of Kathmandu and then we had to hike two hours up a solid incline to meet with one of the more remote churches that have been established by GFN. To make matters worse, the heat was intense and so Phil did not make it to the top. At the top, I met the Dhuwukot Mandali church. The pastor is Bahadur Tamang and this church is a church plant of another remote village. It is truly amazing. They wrote special songs just for our visit thanking God and praising Him for His glory in bringing us here. The church has grown mainly through answered prayer and healing. He is shown Himself in powerful ways to bring these people to Himself. Bhil Lal tells me the story of how he baptized 21 of the people here. In the baptism class, he shared on the life of Christ and that just as Jesus was tempted right after his baptism, they should be aware of tests and trials as well. Well one of the ladies fell sick just days after her baptism and died in the night. They began preparing a casket for her and doing some customs they do surrounding the funeral by placing coins in her mouth. As it happened in the night, they waited till morning to bury here, but continued singing in the night. Three hours after she died, the pastor heard a voice and placed his hand on her and she came back to life. People will question that is for sure, but this is one example of a powerful manifestation of God here!

Once again I was completely in awe of their spirit of worship and how together they all prayed out loud and filled the presence of God with their voices. It was fitting for me to preach to them on Psalm 121, "I lift my eyes up to the mountains... my help comes from you, creator of the earth! Afterwards many stayed behind for prayer and we once again together out loud as pastors and leaders prayed over these wonderful people. I then trekked on to visit another church and meet with the pastor there and then it was time to head back to the city. We were on the road at 7am today and we arrived back at 9:30pm and we get to do it all over again tomorrow as we will be travelling east.

Can Do in Kathmandu with GFN !

We flew out of Kolkota at 2pm on Sunday and arrived in Kathmandu shortly after 3pm. After we got our visas taken care of, we hooked up with Bhim Lal who is the head of Good Friends of Nepal. We were off to the GFN center after we quickly checked into the Himalayan Hotel. It was there we met with the Bible college students. There is about 15 who are studying there and they are passionate worshippers! We learned how many have to walk for up to five days to come to the school. They live in a very modest residence there and there focus is taking the gospel to the unreached people groups here. One young man has deformed arms and legs, but he doesn't let it hold him back whatsoever! I shared on being consecrated to the Lord with them and to never forget the calling that God has placed on their lives.