#thankfully hes going to also be out of the office on thurs and fri when im gone

[starlightkun]

am i too nice, too much of a perfectionist, or both

[vickisventures]

What’s the Latest?

The 4th came and went.  The only thing the guys had to deal with was a resident’s visitor who had brought a dog (against the rules) and was letting it off leash (also against the rules.) He’d been asked 2 times to leave the dog on the leash and guess it took a 3rd reminder before he got the message.  It was busy around here with lots of new faces.  We did get to see some fireworks from afar, but we didn’t have the best of views.  At least it was a free view and we didn’t have to deal with traffic.  Hopefully it will quiet down here now that the holiday is over.  The restaurants were packed and so were the roads.  I’m ready to go back to my small-town living.  

We had a scare (and not really sure it’s over).  The other wonderful workamping couple here has a dad that just got diagnosed with cancer. He also has Alzheimer’s.  Sharon was ready to pull their camper out and head back to Phoenix.  Thankfully, they didn’t (or not yet.)  The latest is they plan to leave the park on their days off and go home so she can help her mom. But they aren’t planning on treating the cancer so there’s a lot we don’t know.  They are in Phoenix right now and won’t probably be back until Wednesday. We should have a better idea of what they are planning then.  I completely understand her desire to leave but selfishly, I hope they choose to work their 2 days and then leave for 5.  I have no idea what this place will be like if they pack it up.  I’m sure Janet will offer more hours for pay but I’m already working every other Saturday (not my preference).  But I’m just praying that we won’t have to go there!  I worked my first 4-hour, Saturday this week.  It was pretty dead in the office.  Got my laundry done though!  

We have about sewed up our plans for the winter.  We had put out a lot of feelers for parks in Texas but nobody wants to pay for hours worked. I can’t say I’m really excited, but we are planning on returning to Apache Junction and work at the sister park where we trained, Meridian RV Resort, from October 15-April 15.  I guess the money looked too good for working 3 days each.  We picked a site that they are reserving for us and all we have left to do is to sign on the dotted line.  The other couple who will be the leads working opposite us were making it difficult at first to come up with a working schedule but once I put it down in writing and showed them that it was the fairest thing we could do, they agreed to it. So, Steve and I will work Mon-Wed for the first ½ of the season, and then we’ll switch and work Thur-Sat the second ½ of the season.  Sundays we will both have off.  We are very happy with how it’s all worked out, so I believe God has opened this door for us. Steve will get to continue to work with Dennis (In fact, that is part of the deal. He is to work with Steve all season long.) and we’ll also have Karen (PR director) and Rudy at the park.  I’m still not thrilled about being a “lead” and the extra responsibilities it will give me but as Steve said, it’s only for 6 months.

Aspen survived his latest groomng appiontment. Thanks to Charlotte in Amarillo and the written instructions she gave me on how to cut Aspen’s hair, he came back looking like himself...a less fluffy version, but himself!  You can see his eyes again and they even left some hair on his back.  Thank goodness, I’d hate for all of his friends up here to see him like he was the last time!  The other 2 Westies in the park would have a heart attack!  Steve said we should go back to the vet and have him weighed again because he weighed a little more that he usually does when we took him to get his teeth cleaned.  Steve thinks the haircut would put him back to his normal weight.  HA!

I don’t think monsoon season has hit yet but it did rain a good portion of the day and it’s only 61 degrees out right now!  I’m curious what monsoon season will be like.  Not really looking forward to it but curious!  Our site is pretty much at the top of the hill, so we won’t be the ones floating away, but they say it gets pretty crazy around here.  I guess it’s just a matter of time.  Next weekend Madison is playing in a softball tournament around 40 miles from here, so we plan to go watch her games Fri-Sun.  We hope the rains will stay away for that.  All of the games we have the times for are in the evening.  Driving back to Overgaard each night will be “fun.”  We certainly hope that Bambi isn’t out playing in the streets after dark!

[nepalprojects-blog]

Near lalitpur

Mon 1st of May We are meant to l leave Katmandu at about 6pm but it is as usual in Nepal, and we end up leaving at about 8pm instead. Night passes and when it gets light drive through Chitwan national park to get to where Binod lives. Binod used to live at the gethsemany prayer house for quite a while. The park has amazing wild life, and we see some small elephants, termite hills and Peackocks. Tigers and leopards live there too but of these there is no sign.  When the first bus journey is over it starts raining. A serious poor down. About half an hour later we arrive soaked at Binod's house guided by his father and little brother. We are given some Dahl bat and tea after we change into dry clothes, and then we all have a rest. The 12 hour journey has been a sleepless one for most of us. Then we all set of to tell as many people in the  village as possible that we are showing the Jesus Fim that evening. The first house we get to, we see a young boy lying on a sort of bed in the shade of the house. He is unable to move himself and lying in what looks like his own vomit, covered in flys, dirty, with some scabs on his head. We pray for him for a while desperate to see him healed, but short from a brimming smile and a laugh nothing happens. So the girls and his mother give him a good wash and wrap a scarf around his head to keep the flys of. We slowly get around most of the village, and Dipesh shares the gospel and his testimony at nearly every house we stop at. When we get back to Binod's house we started setting up for the film, and many villagers slowly turn up. After Dipesh has shared the gospel again, which he does really well, capturing everyone's attention including the little ones, we show the film and afterwards ask if anybody would like to give their life to Jesus.. Strangely nobody is ready to receive Jesus, so we share biscuit's and Sprite, clear up and go to sleep. Wed 3rd of May. We leave Binod's house at 6.30 to get to the bus for 7.00 am. By this time it is already starting to get hot. The bus arrives and we have to wait for it to have a tire change, but soon we are on the road to lamki, kailali. When we arrive there, we are picked up by Barrat and two of his church members, all riding motor bikes. There's six of us, so we just about fit with our bags... Barratt takes us to his grand mother's house and we settle in there, before he shows us his house. The day finishes with evening fellowship in the church next to his house, and we pray for the youths to get baptized in the Spirit. Holy Spirit baptism is rare in the Nepali churches up till now. Thurs 4th of May. That morning we went to a nearby mountain, both for fun and to be able to share the gospel with some friends of Barratt. He wants to do this in secret because of his their relatives find out that they might be Christians, they could end up being kicked out of their house by family. The first part we go by tractor but the very last part of the journey had to be done by foot, because the tractor wasn't able to go any further on the mountain road. We set up camp on the very top of the mountain and had Dahl bat with chicken, which had to be slaughtered there and then, and then shared the gospel with Barratt's friends. We made a camp fire and beside that, Barratt set an old tree trunk on fire to keep any tigers or leopards away. Fri 5th of May Dipesh had already got the tea ready at 6, and was making fried rice for all of us. We then packed up the tents and bags, and started walking. After at least six hours of hicking across and down the mountain we finally arrived at a shop where we bought drinking water. After a bit of rest, Barratt told us that two brothers from his village had got into a fight, and were both arrested so he had to go to speak to the police and help them find reconciliation, while the rest of us went to a nearby village to share the gospel, and pray for a number of people. After that we went back to Barrat's grandmother's home exhausted.  Sat 6th of May. Me and Barratt went to tikapur by bike, to encourage two of his church leaders, when we got back and dropped of the motorbike, the rest of our team at the shop. Barrat decided to go visit a lady, who's husband is a Christian but she refused to go to church. It was me who ended up sharing the gospel with her, and I felt it was good to start explaining the original disobedience of Adam and Eve. These people are mostly Hindu and their version of history and creation is very different to the Christian view, she and 6 or 7 of her children gave their live to Jesus. Sun 7th of May. We walked for an hour to get to a nearby village. Barrat tells me that before he was given his motorbike by somebody who travelled with him from church to church on foot for a week, he used to do everything on foot. That means visiting 147 churches by foot. Fortunately for him he is only 26. After about 45 min walking we reach one of the pastors's house and rest for a while. The temperature is in the 30's I think. We are doing this trip especially to visit a single family, that are the only Christians in their village, and they are persecuted badly by their neighbors. When we get to their house. The mother of the family tells us that her son is having fits every night at 12am and 4am, and he isn't eating properly since the Hindu priest that lived next door has cursed them. We bring deliverance, break the power of the curse, and help him into baptism in the Holy Spirit. His mother also receives the Holy Spirit. Two days later we are told the boy no longer has fits and eats properly. Before dinner at Samuel's house, we are asked to pray for a man who is very I'll and can't speak. So we go to his house and offer to pray for him. He is the only Christian in his household and after we sit down to pay for him the Holy Spirit says to me that the reason he is I'll is because his radically Hindu mother has cursed him. I could not conceive at this point that a mother would curse her own son for being a Christian and so I didn't speak out immediately but after the Holy Spirit presses me very strongly, I share what God has told me. The man was afraid to upset his mother so he wasn't able confess Jesus as his Lord, and didn't receive healing. But two of his friends brought him to us later and he received healing and deliverance then. That evening we showed the Jesus film again and got to sleep at about 11. Mon 8th of May. The next day we set of on a long walk to Bijenagar, we had to walk 4 hours in the heat of the day. When we arrived at the pastor's house we were welcomed with tea and then we dropped our bags of at the church and shared the gospel with as many people as possible. At least 2 people gave their live to Jesus and a few others were healed. We then went back to the pastor's house for dinner and we had to stay inside for most of the evening because of the rain. We meant to show the Jesus film again but the rain was too heavy for anybody to make it to the church, so when we eventually get to the church we go straight to sleep. Tue 9th of May. A new day begins. We have a quick cup of tea and straight away start walking. It is not yet 7am but we have a six hour walk ahead of us and we need to avoid the midday heat. The walk starts by going straight into the jungle and I can't really figure out how Samuel manages to follow the path. There is hardly any discernable path to find anyhow. We go up or water bottles at the path watch office because the next place where we can get drinking water is about 4 hours further into our journey. After Another half an hour walk we have to wade through a river and thankfully we find out that river is only about leg deep and crocodiles are nowhere to be seen. Not to much further we have to cross another stream but this one is much deeper and faster flowing, but on the other side is a sort of canoe and just as we want to get one of us to swim across there are about six people wanting to cross and two men ferry them and us across back the way we need to go. A lot more walking follows and on the way we stop at a local farmers house who sells biscuits and other stuffs and he invited us for a cup of tea. A lot of Nepali like to entertain foreigners and we share the gospel with them. When we finally arrive at our destination we are warmly welcomed with tea and Dahl bat. At this pastors house live a young girl of 14 who was thrown out of her Hindu family for becoming a Christian, and a very old woman who walks severely stooped. Who suffered the same fate but at the hands of her own son. Both help the pastor and his family with the daily farm work. That evening when we show the Jesus film in the small church, 11 people give their live to Jesus due to the very encouraging message Sarah gives them. Wed 10th of May. At 4am I woke up at the call of the cock again. It was a short but good nights satisfied rest. During the morning we go throufg the village preaching the gospel and meet a big family. After sharing the gospel with them, the father of that family says he is very interested in bringing his whole family to church. A few houses further up we share the gospel again but there isn't a direct response, so Dipesh asks if anybody needs heeling at all. Nobody speaks up apart from a very young boy who boldly says that he knows a number of people that are listening who are Ill and then says that he has back pain, so me and Andrea pray for him and he very shyly says the pain is gone afterward. In afternoon we take a bus to another village quite a distance from there. Here stands a massive church building. It is nothing like the churches we know but it holds well over a hundred people. Before evening fellowship, me and Dipesh go for a walk and stop at the village square and deliberately sit and wait for somebody to come and speak to us. Within 2 minutes a man with bad burn scars comes to talk to us who is seriously interested in hearing the gospel. We don't manage to invite him to receive Jesus because just as we are about to pray with him, his mother steps of the bus, and his family are Hindu priests, so it's best to be quit for a bit, but we do invite him to come and watch the film. Paul is the one preaching this evening and he preaches powerfully on receiving the Holy Spirit after bringing some encouragement. A lot of members receive the Holy Spirit, with one woman laughing on the floor, another two crying out loud, a few of the leaders speaking in tongues for the first time, not to forget one little boy also and loads of other kids receiving the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit makes no distinction between children and adults here. After that we showed the Jesus film until the battery ran out of power, but nobody was to bothered, we all had an amazing evening after all. Thurs 11th of May. To finish the whole trip of we had dinner in a restaurant, and did a surprise party to celebrate Andrea's birthday, on the way back to Barrat's grandmother's home. Fri 12th of May. Dipesh knocks on the door at 6.30 am asking if I am ready to leave. It comes as a bit of a surprise because we didn't have any plans. And I get moody and struggle to keep myself together. We end up visiting some friends and the houses of two of the Nepali girls on the team, and pray for one of their sisters. Then we visit and pray for another member of the local church before we catch the bus back to Katmandu.