CMS Ireland Mark and Ali Gilltag:www.cmsireland.org,2018:cmsireland/blog/gill2011-02-03T00:00:00ZMark Gilltag:www.cmsireland.org,2011-02-03:18932011-02-03T00:00:00Z2011-02-03T00:00:00ZThe Last Post<p>…currently in a chilly Kathmandu, but it is warming up!</p>
<p>We went to SD Church this morning and it was packed with over 200 there. We had a great start to the morning with the baptism of a young girl, so she went for the dip in the bath tub as everyone gathered around praying for her as she confirmed her faith through the sacrament.</p>
<p>During the service was rather special too as one of our old freinds sang a solo – a ‘villagy’ folksy melody with great lyrics about Jesus as Lord. Apart from a great song of worship it reminded, probably all of the congregation, of working in the fields, singing away as you do…with that warm feeling of contentment and peace.</p>
<p>Pastor gave a great sermon on faith and we saw faith enacted after the service in the fellowship shared between everyone over a wee drop of tea in the warm sunshine. We met a few new people and one in particular, a Dad who had brought his 3 children in for hospital treatment for their weak bones, came from Pyuthan, and of course knew about the Hydro Project we had worked on 20 years ago, so we had lots to talk about…his two boys had similar problems, and one of them who was perhaps a bit autistic. So we chatted and played for a bit and enjoyed the company.</p>
<p>This coming week starts Mark’s time with Himal Hydro in his new job as Project Manager on Mai Hydro Project, East Nepal. (If you want to find out more about the work go to www.himalhydro.com.np)</p>
<p>We give thanks to God for his love and mercies to us over our combined 60 years service with <span class="caps">CMS</span> Ireland in training, preparation, in Iran (for Ali), in Nepal, in Ireland, as members, on the Board and now as Associates. <span class="caps">CMS</span> Ireland have invited us to continue our connection as Associates, so we will maintain links to <span class="caps">CMSI</span> in that way.</p>
<p>…the adventure continues…</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you” <em>John 20:21</em></p>
</blockquote>
<p><em><strong><span class="caps">PLEASE</span> <span class="caps">NOTE</span>:</strong>This will be Mark & Ali’s last post on the <span class="caps">CMS</span> Ireland website. Please contact the <span class="caps">CMS</span> Ireland offices if you would to request information about their new blog and contact details.</em></p>Mark Gilltag:www.cmsireland.org,2010-11-26:17672010-11-26T00:00:00Z2010-11-26T00:00:00ZVisits, visits, visits...<p>It has been a busy week this week. We had the visit of 4 representatives from one of our major donors from Germany. There had been some misunderstandings in some communication and they had come to verify our work. Their visit went very well and they left happy knowing that things are progressing with good plans made for the work here.</p>
<p>Accountability is always an issue that people can struggle with, but it is a good thing, and indeed necessary when professional responsibilities are involved. I was reminded on this today in my Bible reading notes (1 Kings 5:2-12) were Solomon was communicating with a neighbouring King, Hiram, and through negotiation had agreed a supply contract for wood along with some ‘technology transfer’ (as they say in the development sector these days) – the Sidonian carpenters were going to teach the Hebrews carpentry skills.</p>
<p>Now there are two things here: one we can see the accountable relationship between the two Kings in their reporting to each other and; perhaps we could say that Jesus learnt his carpentry skills from his father Joseph and going all the way back to the Sidonians who were invited by Solomon to come and teach his people. So the wisdom of Solomon played a direct part in the skills that Jesus picked up in his Father’s workshop.</p>
<p>This long term view has been one we have appreciated over our years here in Nepal. Seeds of faith and hope planted years ago, coming to fruition in a way only God can have planned and used for his Kingdom.</p>
<p>We had a second group of visitors from St Patrick’s in Ballymena, the Rev Canon Stuart Lloyd and Ian McKay, both of whom had been out here in Nepal before (Others, Jane Lloyd, Cheryl Sinclair and Rachel Brew, from the group stayed in Kathmandu working with street kids).</p>
<p>During the early evening, we all took a walk up to the top of our hill, about 300 feet up. But that 300 feet is enough usually to get you high enough to see a tremendous panorama of Himalaya for maybe 300km from Nepal all the way over into India. The view of the ‘green’ himal was indeed great, but the snow caps remained in the clouds. It was the only 2 days in the last month when it has been cloudy and they had to come when Stuart and Ian were here, along with the Donor team.</p>
<p>Well we walked along the ridge to the Hill Fort, a tremendous elliptical shaped stucture, in plan, perched atop the hill now named Amargadhi, after Amar Bahadur Thapa who was the Captain of the guard defending Nepal against the British Raj in 1815 A.D. He and his men survived many attacks and indeed were only defeated when the British Troops cut off their water supply: but the Nepali troops held firm to the last, martyred for the country they loved. As a result of this and other brave stand-offs by Nepali forces, a peace treaty was made, land was exchanged (Nepal is about two-thirds the size today as it was pre-1815) with large tracts subsuming to British rule to both the east and west of Nepal and of course that was the start of the Gurkha regiments, now part of the British and Indian Armies.</p>
<p>So we enjoyed the local history. As we returned home, we came to the church and shared its 40 year history in this area. They are currently extending the church and have come to the end of their funding with some finishing works left to do. There is talk of using part of the building for a youth centre as it is close to many schools, thus would be a good place of outreach.</p>
<p>On Saturday last, we left Stuart and Ian to the airport for their return journey and also the <span class="caps">DHM</span> team. We also attended the engagement party of SP Kalaunee, our <span class="caps">HDCS</span> Acting Executive Director to Dr Arpana Singha. It was a really nice time down in Nepalgunj and the happy couple indeed looked very happy!</p>
<p>We had planned our return journey today, Sunday, but when we got there, we found out a general transport strike had been called for today. So we left directly after the party to return to Dadeldhura, an 8 hr drive, and we got here at 5ish this morning…glad to get to bed for a few hours.</p>
<p>Must go and catch some of the nice warm sunshine outside as we eat lunch…</p>Mark Gilltag:www.cmsireland.org,2010-11-11:17632010-11-11T00:00:00Z2010-11-11T00:00:00ZThe Third Annual Hilly Regional Youth Conference<p>The Far West Region of Nepal has 7 ‘Hilly’ districts and 1 ‘non-hilly’ district. While the non-hilly district, Kanchanpur, is certainly as flat as the proverbial pancake, the hills can go up to 10,000 feet, and in the north of course, to 22,000 feet. The church started about 40 years ago out here and since, it has grown steadily.</p>
<p>For the last three years, all the churches have got together to have a youth rally and this year it was held in one of the main towns in a neighbouring district to us in Dadeldhura. It is only 60km away, but a 2 hour journey with all the twists and turns along the way as the road travels down to the Seti River. It is all rather picturesque.</p>
<p>250+ youth turned up for the conference from all over the region, so it was a great representation of the churches in the area. They spent three days together, studying God’s word, in worship and fellowship, in prayer and in praise. It was a joy to see and be part of. Mark took one of the morning sessions, speaking from Isaiah 40 and Psalm 103 about our relationship with God, how Isaiah challenged his listeners about complaining against each other and God, when he is so marvellous and just wants to share his love. We had a few games along the way to replicate “stumbling and falling”, and flying as eagles, so it was (hopefully) a fun learning time.</p>
<p>After the session, we had our Dal Bhat, huge pots of rice, lentils and goat curry to feed the masses gathered there, it was rather nice. They had made it with Ghuu (vegetable lard) which is a very special treat. It had that distinctive farmyard flavour!</p>
<p>On the way back up the hill, we were reminded of the tragedies on Nepali roads as we came to an accident where a jeep had overturned. Fortunately, there were no fatalities, but 9 people were brought up to our Hospital for treatment.</p>
<p>So we returned to the top of our hill, Tufan danda – Windy Hill – encouraged that the Kingdom of God is here and is growing.</p>Mark Gilltag:www.cmsireland.org,2010-08-30:16232010-08-30T00:00:00Z2010-08-30T00:00:00Zso...what's it like in the monsoon...<p>We are well into the monsoon here in Nepal and it has hit the headlines this year as the annual downpour has traumatised Pakistan with huge floods. Being up at amlost 6000 feet, we do not have such floods, though we have lots of huge puddles. The main result of the monsoon for us in the environment are the landslides – the Himalaya are still a relatively young range of mountains, still growing (1cm per year in the north of Nepal and 2cm per year in the south of Nepal, so if we wait long enough, it will turn over…!) and steep. While the road up here is very good, it does have quite a few slides every year. The nearest large river to us, the Mahakali, about 30 miles to our west, recently broke its banks and cause local flooding, fatalities and losses. Every day in the national dailies, there are such reports.</p>
<p>So with road closures, travelling can be difficult, getting supplies in can stop, but day to day life trundles along. As it is so humid, cloth gets saturated, so it can take days to dry the washing, and Ali has taken to ironing it to dry it. Any carpet we have is just constantly dampish and similarly up in Church where they have lots of carpet rugs.</p>
<p>There are some great cloud formations and sunsets as we look out across the valleys. In the distance we can see the Mahakali valley and the India Himalaya beyond.</p>
<p>Up in Church last weekend, MG facilitated a meeting of 20 church leaders considering doing some Leadership training. It was great to see enthusiasm to get together and explore opportuities for learning, growing faith and the Kingdom. <br />
Ali was up in Hospital today and when she came home she told me about a lady who had come in who had been mauled by a Himalayan Bear. Thankfully she escaped and got to us, she will stay in Hospital a few days for her wounds to heal before going home again. That’s not a common incident, but the Hospital has been busy over the monsoon treating people with more common problems like fractures, diarrhoeal problems and obstetric issues.</p>
<p>MG has been preparing the site for the dry seaon and also the main building season, so it has been a bit stop / start with breaks of 5 days or 10 days due to rain…time for planning though.</p>
<p>Well, we quite like the monsoon time, although by this stage, you wish it was over…but sure it’s wet, damp, humid and cheeeeessso (chilly) for another 6 weeks…then guaranteed sunshine!</p>Mark Gilltag:www.cmsireland.org,2010-04-28:14752010-04-28T00:00:00Z2010-04-28T00:00:00ZDreadlocks anyone?<p>As we packed up our flat ready for transport to Dadeldhura, happily were still able to keep our internet connection – however, we only managed to received emails and greetings as we had little time to reply, so we will be playing catch up when we get there….not there yet. As I write, I am in the cab of a Tata 1613c truck on my third day (Mon 26th Apr) of travel with the driver and ‘kailassy’ – the driver’s helper, who as it happens, is a Christian .</p>
<p>Earlier in the week, I was trying to juggle keeping in touch with site as the work was progressing again, conduct a structural/programme review of our work at site, pack up, get one of my molars filled – down to the root, get up to date with 5 vaccination boosters, have a 50th birthday, get an Indian visa, set up and move stuff we need to leave in Kathmandu to a room we have rented, amongst a few other things. While that has been an adventure in itself, the current and constant weaving of this Tata 1613c around the hills is somewhat amazing – a truck just came pelting towards us around a blind corner, we halted suddenly at the edge of the road – sure, it is only a couple of hundred metres down…</p>
<p><strong>Friday 23rd:</strong> <br />
We got the office mini bus and transported our stuff to the Shipper’s container in Kalanki, the notorious junction on the ring road where the one and only main road comes into Kathmandu. Our stuff was going to go on the ‘medicine’ truck – a 6 monthly delivery to the Hospital. So after 6 loads, it was all there. We were sweltered working in 33deg C, but hey, the tan is improving!</p>
<p>So after a quick wash, we had a lovely chicken dinner with a few friends to celebrate the half century. Next day’s plan was not sure yet. There had been a strike in Dadeldhura from the previous Saturday to Wednesday after a local altercation. But the truck returning from the west, scheduled to do our run, was stuck in another local strike in Nawal Parasi along the main road. So Saturday morning I rang to see if it had got through overnight and it had. It had off loaded and would be ready for loading our stuff after 10am. So a quick pulling together of things: Ali was set up to go in a jeep with our N Irish friend Philip and take the ‘breakables’ in the jeep. She would leave on Sunday and arrive in Dadeldhura on Monday. But the truck would take 3 days, and to ensure it all got there, Mark is currently on the truck…</p>
<p>Well, as things go in Nepal, we sort of knew the truck wouldn’t be ready at 10am, so we arrived at 10:45, and it still wasn’t ready. The starter motor was getting a service. 11:45 it shows up and we start loading until 2:30 when we finally get on our way. Get a fill of diesel. Always a good thing to do, and in Nepal always done after everyone is on the bus rather than having the vehicle ready just to go. So we left Kathmandu valley through the Thankot pass having filled in our journey card which would have to be stamped at various police check points along the way, and in some places to pay a toll. <br />
Being mid afternoon the roads were not that busy, but along the way, we saw at least 6 bus and car wrecks, left where they had crashed, even if it was the middle of the road! We stopped for a cup of tea in Mugling, the half way house of travel in Nepal, and we met the first bunch of Nepalis to be surprised to see a westerner get out of a Nepali Truck – usually they are on buses. After they picked up that I knew Nepali, the banter was great – anyway, we had to get on. We turned left at Mugling and followed the joining of the Marsyandi and Trisuli rivers into the Narayani aka Sapta Gandaki. Beautiful valleys with agricultural terracing going up thousands of feet into the hills.</p>
<p>After dark at about 7ish, we arrived in Narayanghat, one of the main towns along the est-west highway, and proceeded another few km to a little roadside halt consisting of a few wee hovels hoping to feed travellers with dal bhat, meat and drink. So on our first night – we had dal bhat, chatted to the locals, eating under the stars and retired to bed – that being the bunks in the back of the Tata 1613c Cab, let’s just say it was comfortable except for the steel edging on the seat/bunk frame, the split in the middle of the seat/bunk, the one inch foam, the box for a pillow, a few mosquitoes buzzing around and of course the driver in the upper bunk who decided to go sleep walkies in the night and ended up sleeping on the engine cover!</p>
<p><strong>Day 2:</strong><br />
We were up and ready to leave at 5:15, first stop, yes, the diesel pump, where we also had a wee cup of tea and did our ablutions under a plastic pipe sticking out of a wall. The roads were free and we made good headway. 7am I had my first text message (yes, we have texting in Nepal now!) from Ali – they were just leaving the Kathmandu valley.</p>
<p>People were out getting ready for the day: farmers gathering hay, getting water, brushing out the barns, letting the livestock out to graze. We got to Butwal about 8:30am – we stopped for a wee cup, and also got some nice yoghurt. It was getting hot. So on we went across the Terai, the plains – the bread basket of Nepal where most places produce 2 crops of rice and in the winter, dry grain crops – which do not need flood irrigation. Weaving in and out between people, cows, buffalo, ox carts, ducks, other vehicles and check points, there were few places on the journey were there wasn’t something interesting going on, and I have done this journey many times, it is still fascinating.</p>
<p>A few hundred km after Butwal, we climb into the hills up to a peak at 500m (1500 ft) which is where we stopped for our morning dal bhat. It was pretty average…I asked for some dudh (milk) to mix in with my rice, and there were a few floaters in it – dead ants. I tried to blow them to the other side of the glass as I drank the milk, but a few slipped down the gullet. It reminded me of the joke (sic) about different stages of mission life: stage 1 – you’ll give the glass of milk with ants in it, back to the waitress and either ask for another glass or just not take another glass, and never come back to that restaurant. Stage 2 missionary will maybe scoop them out and use the milk, but say to the waitress about the ants: stage 3 missionary will just let it happen, and let a few slip down…and maybe give the waitress some stick about the ant meat being tasty!</p>
<p>On we went over the 500m pass and across a few ravines and I recalled passing a certain corner when we were returning from our first trip to Jhimruk in 1992. Our driver and front seat passenger had noticed some soil falling on to the road and stopped the jeep. We sat and looked for a few minutes, more soil fell, then all of a sudden the whole knoll came down, about 300 tons, just were our jeep would have been! We waited for more, nothing came, so we got out our shovels and dug a path around the outside. Happily, this time, we had no such incident.</p>
<p>We passed Kohalpur, and text from Ali saying they were in Mugling. Man it was hot, between the outside sun and the heat from the engine, we were roasted. We came to Bardiya – one of the National Parks of Nepal. Some people had been practicing their slash and burn system of agriculture, and the fires had spread to the park. Monkeys crossed the road to safety as it acted as a natural barrier to the spread of the fire. A peacock came along with a few other birds…we passed a river with an irrigation barrage known always to have the Nepali alligators there, and yes, there were 2…we approached the Karnali river with its impressive cable stayed bridge of 100m+. The river was at its dry season level, showing the monsoon level, where vegetation started on the rock walls, about 6m up.</p>
<p>We were making good time and Ali had got to Narayanghat, where we had stayed the previous night, she was catching up.</p>
<p>It was getting dark as we arrived at Atariya, the main cross roads at the start of the Dadeldhura road. The driver was keen to get out of the heat, so we decided to continue to the first village up in the hills, Kani dada, were we stayed our second night. I tried the top bunk this time, but I was a bit heavier than the 60kg of a Nepali driver, and it collapsed! lol – happily, there was no one under, and we had prayed, with the kailassy, for safety. Wasn’t able to contact Ali ,as my phone signal didn’t work so well in some of the valleys. Don’t know how far she has got.</p>
<p><strong>Day 3</strong> <br />
We have passed through a Maoist Party road check were they demanded Rs1000 (£8) ‘tax’ for the party machine. We got away with 500 as we were carrying medicines for the Hospital.</p>
<p>Just now, we stopped at what has become a regular stop, to get some ‘keer’ – rice pudding . There is this wee hovel, sitting on the edge of a road overlooking valleys and hills that stretch into the Himalayan mist, surrounded by Rhododendron forests, run by this old fellow and his family. The tar from the fire sticks to the roof – protecting it from bugs eating it, the stove is alight with a big <span class="caps">BIG</span> pot of keer bubbling away. It is as nice as ever, with coconut, cardamom, clove and other selected spices as available! So I am on the last leg of my journey across Nepal, hopefully, Ali is not far behind now and we will be in our new home tonight.</p>
<p>After 3 days on the road, dust, grime, sweat, blood, but no tears, my hair is as dry as the Sahara, might just put it in dreadlocks!</p>
<p>30 minutes to Dadeldhura…no time to write about the 6 policemen who went out to arrest a Maoist and cadged a lift with us for a few km, the locals we chatted to at tea stops, the beautiful scenery…oh and after I arrived, I looked in the mirror, i looked a proper Nepali, I was brown with dirt and dust!</p>
<p>PS: Ali arrive safely 5 hours after me…</p>Mark Gilltag:www.cmsireland.org,2010-04-14:14712010-04-14T00:00:00Z2010-04-14T00:00:00Z40 days of prayer for Nepal<p>The Church of Nepal takes seriously prayer for the nation. Check out this website for this 40 days of prayer at <strong>www.prayerfornepal.org</strong></p>
<p>Here is a format you can use in your prayer groups, bible study groups, home groups, church or private devotions…</p>
<p><strong>40 <span class="caps">DAYS</span> OF <span class="caps">GLOBAL</span> <span class="caps">PRAYER</span> <span class="caps">FOR</span> <span class="caps">NEPAL</span> – April 14th – May 23rd 2010</strong></p>
<p><strong><span class="caps">PRAYER</span> <span class="caps">POINTS</span> <span class="caps">AND</span> <span class="caps">GUIDELINES</span></strong></p>
<p>1.<strong><em>Start with the Lord’s Prayer:</em></strong></p>
<p>Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth and as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. [For yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever]. Amen.</p>
<p>2. <em><strong>Praise and thanksgiving</strong></em> for all His phenomenonal and wondrous works in Nepal and the Nepali Church. (Gospel penetration in 1950s, Explosion of rapid church growth since then, ceasefire of over 10 years of internal war, declaration of secular nation, Christmas declared and recognized as a national holiday, peaceful election of the constitution assembly and subsequent royal transition, declaration of democratic republic nation, etc.) Christian organizations have been recognized and registered with the Nepal Government. Continuous church growth and prayer movement for the nation going on within and beyond the country.</p>
<p>3. <strong><em>Pray Against</em></strong> the Strongholds of Spiritual Forces.</p>
<p>4.<em><strong>Prayer of Repentance</strong></em> (Repent on behalf of the nation for any sins committed against God).</p>
<p>5.<em><strong>Prayer for the Nation:</strong></em></p>
<p>• Successful completion and implementation of new Nepal constitution in time and formation of new, stable and corruptionless Government.<br />
• For permanent peace, reconciliation and prosperity.<br />
• For President, Prime Minister, Cabinet Ministers, Bureaucrats, Judiciary, Defense and Security Forces, Civil Society for their wisdom, unity and harmony.</p>
<p>6. <strong><em>Pray for the Nepali Church:</em></strong><br />
• For their unity, passion for prayer and spiritual revival in the country.<br />
• Declaration of secular nation and religious freedom may last forever.<br />
• Against the negative influence of cult and false teachings.<br />
• Faithfulness and integrity of churches, organizations and Christian leaders.<br />
• Against the spirit of division and conflicts in the Nepali Church and local churches.</p>
<p>7. <strong><em>Pray for the social problems:</em></strong><br />
• For against the anti-social activities – corruption, crimes, injustice, oppression, theft and adultery, women trafficking, etc.<br />
• For God’s intervention and control over the natural disasters and calamities and proper rehabilitation of the victims.<br />
• For the Nepali young people for their employment opportunities, that they may turn from drug-addiction, unsocial activities and be engaged in productive activities.</p>
<p>8.<strong><em>Pray for the Gospel and Church Growth across the nation and revival:</em></strong><br />
• For the Gospel and a forest fire of prayer to sweep across the nation.<br />
• Church is the hope of the nation. Pray that there may be one church and one trained leader in each village and community.<br />
• For evangelism and church growth among the Nepali diaspora.<br />
• May the Himalayan nation of Nepal, the highest place of the world give highest glory to the highest God. <br />
• May the country of Nepal become a nation of prayer and true righteousness<br />
• For God’s blessing to flow from the highest land of the world to the rest of the world.</p>
<p>9.<strong><em>Pray for Other Countries:</em></strong><br />
• For the countries struggling for peace. Pray against the spirit of global terrorism and conflicts in the world.<br />
• For the countries where the Gospel is forbidden and church growth is slow<br />
• For peace in Jerusalem<br />
• For security and needs of the missionaries from across the world who are serving in Nepal.</p>
<p>10.<strong>_Declare and Claim</strong>_ God’s Promise in Isaiah 60: 18 – 22 over Nepal.</p>
<p>Note: Please register at the <a href="www.prayfornepal.org">Prayer For Nepal</a> website (you, your Church, Organization) to join at least one day of 40 Days of Chain Prayer and Fasting from April 14th to May 23rd 2010.</p>Mark Gilltag:www.cmsireland.org,2010-04-11:14692010-04-11T00:00:00Z2010-04-11T00:00:00ZHuxter Shops, old friends and babies...<p>It is quite exciting living in Kathmandu! – and that is just driving through the traffic!</p>
<p>In some ways it is a can do city. If you want something fixed, or a spare part for something, there is certainly, at least, a few dozen places about to go to and browse through the ‘huxter’ shops and find what you need. Like when we were sorting out a store room to store stuff we don’t need to take to Dadeldhura…I had earlier been to about 5 shops to get quotations for about 36 sq.m. of carpet and foam underlay(a new thing for Nepal in the last few years), and decided on one shop who could supply, deliver and fit when we wanted for about £100. Now Nepali tradesmen are like some other tradesmen around the world in that they lay carpets to and…they lay carpets. They don’t think to take the doors off if they need a wee shaving taken off the bottom so that the doors open and close. Well MG is there while the guy is fitting the carpet and takes the doors off for him.</p>
<p>So where does one get a plane from? Well, of course, one can go around the corner to the nearest wood workshop and ask them if they will loan you a plane. The first workshop only had a small hand plane, the second workshop had one and was happy to loan it for an hour. But he pointed out that there wouldn’t be electricity for another half hour, to which I agreed in the accepting way Nepalis do to these daily trials. So I went back to the flat and waited for the electricity to come on, and then 5 doors later, the plane went back to the workshop, the doors went up, and the carpet fitter was surprised that it all seemed to work out OK.</p>
<p>Today in preparation for going to Dadeldhura, I went out to buy a few tools, hammer, saw, chisels, screwdriver, screws, plugs, etc as I had brought them all to UK on the last trip. Now saws are interesting things in Nepal. They cut on the up-stroke rather than like the saws we use in the west where they cut on the down-stroke. Could I find one? No. Well, I wasn’t surprised, as I have never found a ‘western’ saw here in all my years. But there are still a few more places to look…</p>
<p>So while Kathmandu may be a can do place for some things, ‘somethings’ are done very differently, and some things are not done at all like waste and sewage management, water supply, driving….</p>
<p>The Church do things differently here as well. However, you know that you have met with the same loving God when you come out of a Nepali Church service!</p>
<p>Just this afternoon, as I came back from buying some tools, Ali had left me a note to say she had been called out to help a Nepali friend in her delivery up at Patan Hospital. So she will be there for a while. The lady came to visit us just 2 days ago and to show off her first born, as Ali had been with her during her delivery. She had thought there was a week to go….but she went into labour earlier today….so dinner will be a bit later tonight and it will be a celebration of a new birth.</p>
<p>We have been blessed with ‘old friends’ coming around to see us in our flat here in Kathmandu, such as the lady who Ali is helping as I write…also we had a visit from Prem, the young man from our Tatopani days. He was telling us that he had to come into Kathmandu as his mum was having part of her foot amputated as a result of her diabetes. We had been up to see her. Now she was having a skin graft and is due to go home in 2 weeks. So she is doing well. Mind you, the hygiene and cleanliness of the Hospital in Kathmandu is something to be desired. Patients, staff nor visitors didn’t flinch at the sight of cockroaches crawling about the place…and it is one of the better places. Prem is away back to Rudrapur in west Nepal now, as in addition to his ministry running an orphanage, he has taken up the duties of the Pastor of the church where he has been assistant for some time. He is well capable of this and the BTh studies will come into good use again.</p>
<p>Another old friend, Manohar came to visit and share how his ministry is progressing. Previously, we had worked together in Himal Hydro when we built the Hydro Projects, and then again together in <span class="caps">HDCS</span> when we did some Organisational Development and Training together. He continues to go out to different churches training them in management issues and helping them show accountability, due diligence and better management. Over the last few years, the Church has been asking for training in conflict resolution and peace building, so Manohar got some training and has developed a number of courses for churches. These have been well received, and while participants want to benefit and learn, they do not always have the capacity to cover costs of the course, somehow, by God’s grace, people are able to come together and grow in God’s character and grow in their own Ministry.</p>
<p>Oh, Ali has just called in with news of a baby girl born at 5:03 Nepal Standard Time (GMT+5:45hrs, BST+4:45hrs) at 3.75kg! Mum and baby are doing well after the normal birth….</p>Mark Gilltag:www.cmsireland.org,2010-04-05:14652010-04-05T00:00:00Z2010-04-05T00:00:00ZShyam, Anu, Lal, Vinod, Arjun, Tan, Iyam, Ona, Neeru<p>Holy Week services started for us on Maundy Thursday with a Seder Meal at <span class="caps">KICC</span> – the expat church here. It was great to be reminded of the great meaning behind the Lord’s Supper which helped us understand the depth of God’s Love for us.</p>
<p>Good Friday services started at 3pm at a Nepali Church Fellowship, we sang a lot of salvation songs and meditated on The Passion of our Lord Jesus. We went on to <span class="caps">KICC</span> service and there we were brought through the seven sayings of Jesus on the cross, movingly shared by Pastor Rendell.</p>
<p>Well, Easter day started early at many sunrise services at 5:30 – but ours the church fellowship started at 7, early enough says you and me…still great to share in vibrant worship and after to share breakfast of boiled eggs and samosa with a nice cup of tea.</p>
<p>Ali and I had passed many parades of Christians marching up to the centre of Kathmandu, banners waving, songs singing, drums drumming – now we went up to the Kulla Manch – the open parade ground commonly used for rallies – and joined about 20,000 others in praise and worship. It was hot, the organisers had provided free water, leaflets/tracks were fluttering everywhere, tied to balloons, posted under the wipers of parked cars…sound familiar?</p>
<p>Well it was great…but we had to move on to the next <span class="caps">KICC</span> service, sure we arrived late, but it was worth it to see and experience the Kulla Manch Rally. This is a special anniversary for it – 20 years since the first rally was held in Kathmandu immediately after the King Birendra resolved to allow multi-party democracy in 1990. We remember the banners and flags then proclaiming the good news of Jesus for all – the same message is broadcast today, but today, 20 years later, the Kingdom has grown tremendously.</p>
<p>We met with some of the new colleagues we will be living with in Dadeldhura and went out to lunch together in one of the local hotels.</p>
<p>Very hot, very nice and very blessed.</p>
<p>Throughout the weekend we had met many people who had been blessed by Jesus, healed, transformed, growing, maturing, learning. Some of the names we are familiar with are in the title of this blog…did you spot what the initials spell?</p>
<p>Today, Salvation is offered to everyone in the name of Jesus Christ! Your name is there too, just believe.</p>Mark Gilltag:www.cmsireland.org,2010-03-25:14582010-03-25T00:00:00Z2010-03-25T00:00:00ZHorn Please!<p>A friend kindly loaned us her Honda 90 for tootling around kathmandu, and tootling is an apt verb. Just as well there is a horn on it to toot toot as everyone else in a vehicle toot toots at each other: yes i’m here, keep your distance and don’t bump me!</p>
<p>There is a local joke about horns. Trucks here are painted very brightly with all sorts of pictures. Sometimes the cab is highly decorated like a Christmas tree with drivers peering through the tinsel. On the back of trucks and buses, there is usually a message to remind drivers coming up the rear to toot their horns to allert the driver to their presence – rear mirrors are a fixture to tie your tinsel to rather than a device to see behind you. So the message hand painted on the back of trucks and buses is “Horn Please” and as well “Pheri Betaula” which means ‘see you again’ in Nepali. So the joke goeas that if you are saying good bye to someone, instead of saying ‘see you again’, you can joke, ‘Horn Please’!</p>
<p>Well, it is like the dodgems in Barry’s in Portrush for those of you in Norn Iron who know it well – only with twice as many cars on the track, and a few cows, people etc…</p>
<p>A wee Honda 90 does not stand a chance of competing on the road, whoever is biggest wins! However, a bit like the Battle of Trafalgar, the agile wee bike can nip in and out the trucks – but they can get their own back when you pass them and they give an extra pump of the accelarator and you almost die of the heat and fumes from the exhaust as the driver has so expertly exhausted as you went past. Nothing for it other than to pray for him….</p>
<p>Today when I was returning from the office to home, I must have been going over a dug up piece of road at the resonant frequency of my glasses, cause they started to vibrate violently. So I must check it again to see if the resonant speed for my glasses is about 14mph! and then avoid that speed. <br />
I will be off travelling again to DD next Mon-Thursday to sort out (basically) the digging of a big hole for the hospital…so another chance to see the Himal and the Rhodies…</p>
<p>Hopefully the plane will not be travelling at 14mph.</p>
<p>Horn Please!</p>Mark Gilltag:www.cmsireland.org,2010-03-19:14552010-03-19T00:00:00Z2010-03-19T00:00:00ZWhy, why?<p>Well I had started this blog in Dhangadhi Aiport, but we got various messages about delays and on-time arrival…anyway, at the airport we settled in the cafe, which is a bit of a shack outside under the grove of tropical trees, serving tea, coffee, noodles and biscuits.</p>
<p>Noodles were introduced under the brand name Wai Wai some years ago and now there are loads of copy cats – even a friend in the US commented that they are called KinaKina there – Kina = why in Nepali, so that was original! (maybe he was winding me up, a Nepali export of noodles to <span class="caps">USA</span>? lol) Well the wai wais were great and off we went in the Yeti Airlines to Kathmandu. We had to wait around while a Cabinet Minister was allowed on to the plane first…and off again. The journey cannot be said to have been without excitement, not because we had a Cabinet Minister on board, or that we got a free drink and some nuts, no, the Himalaya were just fantastic. I guess it is because when we fly from Dhangadhi we have to sort of fly around the corner of the Himal, so we get quite close. Dhaulagiri and Annapurna were stunning and in between we could see the Kali Gandaki valley were we used to live in Tatopani. Look out for photos on Mark’s Facebook page when he can find a wifi zone with enough bandwidth to upload them.</p>
<p>In the taxi on the way home we were reminded how things have changed over the years. We had a very nice taxi driver who when he found out we had been out here for years, talked about all sorts of things and I introduced faith to the conversation. He commented that it used to be so difficult for Christians, some being put in jail and not being allowed to share faith – but now it is so open he commented. SO naturally it lead to a challenge to him to go and find out for himself. Amazing the opportunities the Lord gives to share and nudge people towards the Kingdom.</p>
<p>Well, Mark spent an hour or so de-briefing back at the office about his ‘constructive’ findings, then we went out, in darkness – the power cut was on – to buy milk and bread, then up to find a new restaurant we had been told about – yes, Pizza Hut has arrived in Nepal! and it is rather amazing. It was so encouraging to see Nepali staff working so hard and giving a high level of service – as opposed to going in to a regular villagy tea shop where one does not have to order, the only thing you can get is Dal Bhat, which can be plonked in front of you to gobble up.</p>
<p>So we are off to Nepali church in the morning, then will start to pack up our flat here in Kathmandu.</p>
<p>We found a house in DD, had a good visit to the Hospital, met old friends, made new ones, Ali helped in the maternity ward and served some ladies with difficult and traumatic problems…..a lady in a coma with post partum eclampsia(quite a rare thing)…another with a premie baby, 32 wks at 1.65kg, mum is expressing milk and giving 1ml per hour, baby in an incubator kept warm with a 100W bulb and a hair dryer…another lady who tried to deliver at a health post out in the hills, the baby wasn’t coming and the health worker put a vacuum on to help delivery, but it was a face presentation and the vacuum cup was on the face…mercifully the baby was delivered well, but the lady’s uterus ruptured and she was brought here and had a hysterectomy, she was not well as you can imagine, but was pulling through as we left, and the premie bably was out of the incubator with a smiling Mum. The staff are doing a sterling job with limited resources, thankfully God is good and has worked through them with his love.</p>