It's the little things.

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved." (Ephesians 1: 3-6 ESV)



I made it! I'm in Nepal. We arrived late Friday night (which is Friday morning in the States) safe and sound!

Leaving Thursday morning with the team was difficult. I was incredibly sad to leave my friends and family, but I had so much excitement in the moment, I don't think I realized I was actually leaving. It was such a blur! I was fine during all the long flights, the sleepless 30 hours of travel, and airplane food that left me hungry. But when the plane landed in Kathmandu and the young man sitting next to me said "welcome to Nepal," I lost it. I kept thinking "what have I done?" "God why did I do this?" I wanted to skip immigration and hop on the next flight home.

Then I stepped off the plane. And I smelled it. And I fell in love all over again. Not because it smelled good, because it didn't (it was like a mix between curry, garbage, and urine). But because God used the little things to confirm to me that I was in the right place. A familiar smell, and familiar face when we saw Joel waiting outside the airport for us. And the familiar cold tile of the guest house as we lugged 12 fifty pound bags up three flights of stairs.

It was the little thing of having a handful of girls from the orphanage remember me from last year. Running up to me yelling "Auntie! Auntie!" And holding my hand while we walked around the new campus. What a huge blessing to me! God is so good.

As I'm typing this post, I'm sitting in the kitchen of my new flat with my roommate, and I'm listening to the rain. THE RAIN. God knew I needed a little tasted of home today. The little thing of having a rainy day when there shouldn't have been one was perfect for my homesick heart.

Thank you for your prayers for me and the short-term team I'm traveling with on our journey! God heard you.

Tomorrow we start VBS with the children at the campus. Thursday we leave to travel out to Chitwan, a village about an 8 hour drive and 2 hour hike away. Please be praying for us as we do these things! We want God to be glorified and the people we encounter to be loved on.

The day before I left, Pastor Koby invited me to come to staff chapel at Canyon Hills Community Church, and he did a devotional that was incredibly encouraging to me. He reminded me that BEFORE the FOUNDATION of the world was made, God knew I would be here. Right now. In Nepal. What peace that gives me.

I cannot begin to tell you how blessed I have been by all of your prayers. They are making a difference. Please continue to pray! Please pray that God would fuel my excitement and my love for the people I will get to work with. And pray that the short-term team and I would stay healthy while we're here. But most of all pray for the Nepali people.

Right now they are celebrating the festival called Dashain (pronounced dah-sigh), and they are sacrificing thousands of animals in Kathmandu and the surrounding cities. They are so lost. They think that these sacrifices will appease their gods. Please be praying that the ministry the Garrison's have set up here would shed light on the Gospel. That the Nepali people would know about the One True Sacrifice.

God bless you!