I’m sure you didn’t imagine this!

This is a very impressive music video that my friend Jessi and her team made about adapting to Nepal and to learning to speak Nepali.

Enjoy, share with the world!

An amazing morning, which reminded me so much of the march from South Norwood swimming baths. So far away, yet not so different at all.

Below are a few photos from the march and the short break that Wendy and I took walking around the hills of Kathmandu valley

Have a blessed Easter

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“At the moment of death we will not be judged according to the number of good deeds we have done or by the diplomas we have received in our life-time. We will be judged according to the love we have put into our work.”

“We can do no great things, only small things with great love.”

I have been prompted to think about what it is I want from life and why. Do I not want more degrees, more recognition, to do ‘greater’ things?

This ties in with the book of Ecclesiastes that my house group has been studying. In his writings, the author looks at the world around him and the lives that people lead and considers their apparent meaninglessness. As I get older, I find that I can increasingly understand his point of view. There is “nothing new under the sun” (except the new iPad). In one sense, life is simply a circular pattern of eating, sleeping, and chasing after knowledge, wealth and experiences, only to later see that the body age and all that has been acquired decay, expire, or passed on to another.

Sometimes I think it’s difficult to recognise this “chasing after the wind” in ourselves, but easier to see it in other people and cultures. This was particularly highlighted to me when watching the awesome BBC programme Human Planet. The show, is incredible and follows different peoples that live in extreme climates around the world. Their daily lives are extraordinary, but in a real sense are no different to ours, simply the pursuit of food, shelter and a family.

Click here to view the embedded video.

I’ve also been challenged recently by a sermon, by Andy Stanley, about what happens when the initial momentum of life; the school, college, uni, first job, first car, first promotion, wife, children… comes to a slow, and the opportunities for new and exciting things come fewer and farther between.  What then is our driving force?  What is it that we believe will fulfil us?

It has been tough at times to consider all of these things and to reflect upon life and what really drives me. However, through the process I came to realise how thrilled I am to know that the answer to all of life’s questions comes in Jesus. Seeking and knowing Him brings true fulfillment, purpose and contentment. This is the revelation that the writer of Ecclesiastes was yet to fully comprehend.

One final piece of challenging advice I have recently been given came from my BMS East Asia Coordinator, Margaret Gibbs. She said:

“Treat next year as a foundation year.”

By this she means to consider next year as the perfect opportunity to build my marriage with Wendy and our new life together with a deep foundation. The aim is to not to dive into a whole host of crazy new things, but to build a solid, God-centered platform that can support whatever challenges life brings in the years ahead.

So, with my mind churning thoughts of doing a small thing with great love, of recognising that I am not judged by the number of diplomas or good deeds in my life and by considering next year as foundational, I said yes to KISC to continue teaching for another year.

And you know what… I’m really happy I did. I’ve loved the last few weeks, the parents evenings, the basketball and music tournaments, the cringing faces as I teach about puberty, the A-Level Computing followed by Year 1 typing… In fact, the more I sit here, the more I realise that God has given me a job that suits me almost perfectly, and that I want to pour great love into.

Wendy and Brother Xeno Rakesh

The Green Frogs, Blue Bulls and Black Rhinos went head-to head, in a competition of skill, speed and teamwork.

The Year 3 and 4 Green Frogs were down a student, so I stepped in, competing in sack races, bridge building challenges and the ‘run with a ball between your knees’ race.

The day was a fantastic success; the students loved it! The Green Frogs were overall champions and I was very pleased to have been able to play my part in contributing towards their success.

Click here to view the embedded video.

A whirlwind few weeks followed, including an adventure trekking around the mountains of Kagbeni. Then sadly the time came to leave, to depart back to England. Only, I didn’t, I couldn’t. A culmination of a breakfast mishap, traffic jams, queues, luggage searches and unhelpful staff meant that I missed my flight and returned to Wendy and the KISC Guest House. The three days we gained before my rearranged flight were crucial in cementing our relationship and preparing us for the long year apart that we knew was coming.

Wendy returned to America as I was in England and apart from through a computer screen, we didn’t meet again until that Winter, Christmas in America. We had a fantastic month in Chicago and Minnesota spending time with Wendy’s family and friends.  At the airport gate I told Wendy that I would ‘marry her tomorrow,’ but that God hadn’t told me it was time. As it turns out, it took another year for that day to come.

Wendy graduated from Moody Bible College in the Spring and came to England in the Summer, from where we both flew to Kathmandu to teach at KISC. After half a year, we were again at the point of making decisions about our near future; where to work, what to do, which country to live in. The most important decision however remained mainly unmentioned, to marry or not to marry.

When making decisions that affect the rest of your life, I can’t imagine not seeking God’s guidance on them and trying to discern what He might be saying. Not only during that period did I hear way too many people ask about marriage, but God spoke to me through a book. I had figured, that reading a Christian marriage book would be a useful idea, a place to pick up a few hints and tips. It was an interesting read, but part way through, I just put it down and prayed, ‘God, if this is your will, if this is the right thing, please, confirm it to me.’

This is what I read next …

“Consider how this applies to your need to find the right mate. Let us say you live in the United States, a nation of nearly 300 million people. Or you may live in Britain, with 56 million people. Among all these millions God is preparing one specific person to be your mate. … Add to that the possibility your appointed mate may not even live in the same country. How are you to find that person?  The proverbial picture of searching for a needle in a haystack scarcely does justice to the complexity of the problem.

God’s word indicates the answer: to be led by the Holy Spirit.”

This text was so relevant I couldn’t have written it. One boy from England, searching for a soul mate. One girl from America, working in a country thousands of miles from home. A relationship that one couldn’t search for, but could only be found through the Holy Spirit.

So, to the proposal …

How did it all pan out? … Well, at 4.30pm on Sunday 15 January 2012, I left Wendy at school finishing  her art project, this left me 100 minutes to find a ring, buy roses and get ready for one of the biggest nights of my life. I went from jeweller to jeweller searching for a ring, but it didn’t prove easy. Knowing that Wendy wouldn’t want  gold, or anything ostentatious, most places couldn’t help me. I prayed for leading and direction. Finally in a small shop far from where I started, I found the ring. To this day, I still don’t know where it came from, only from God. We had pulled hundreds of rings off the shelves, but none were appropriate.  All of a sudden, the shop assistant had one in his hand. It was about perfect, a gift from God. I was too excited about getting the ring to exactly remember what stone was in it, but I’m pretty sure it’s a dark sapphire, and I’m assured that the two shiny things in it are diamonds too. Whatever it is exactly, it looks very pretty. On some level, I didn’t expect to be able to pick out a ring that Wendy would really like, but by the grace of God, it turns out I did.

Next, dinner. I didn’t want Wendy to know what plans were afoot, yet I wanted her to enjoy a great meal. Bearing that in mind, we went to her favourite daal bhaat restaurant, which is the equivalent of an eat-all-you-can curry house. Two heaping plates later and we were stuffed.  I was impressed, what more could I ask for in a future partner than someone who can rival a Nepali at eating huge quantities of rice.

After dinner we went for a stroll. I’d packed extra coats and gloves in case it got cold, which it did, I’ve been told that it even dipped below freezing that night. We walked to ‘our tree.’ This is the tree where we had our first date; the tree where we discussed all the reasons that why it would never work between us, but decided to go for it anyway.

Unfortunately, the tree wasn’t quite as romantic as I remembered. The Winter had stripped the leaves from the trees and the heat from the air. The consolation prize however, was the view of the stars shining through the branches.

So with the ring burning a hole in my pocket I wanted to propose, but I couldn’t. It wasn’t fear that held me back.  The problem instead was how busy the tree was. Motorbikes kept rolling past, dogs kept barking and the shop next door was still open. It wasn’t ‘romantic’ enough! We made conversation, talked about the past, the future, life, we prayed, worshipped, but all the time there was too much commotion for a proposal. In fact, on one occasion an old lady went and ‘did her business’ in a nearby outhouse after which a distinct smell of human waste hung in the air. At that point we left and walked up the hill. I was half looking for a better spot, but couldn’t find one and soon returned to the tree.

As the night drew in and people went to bed, the time came. I told Wendy that I wanted to make a commitment to her and gave her a ring, not knowing if she would accept it. My heart beat like crazy, I was so nervous as I handed her the rose shaped box. ‘Are you serious?’ she asked, ‘Yes’, I said … ‘I will’ she replied!

We hugged it out and I proposed again, this time on one knee. After another ‘yes’, I dropped to one knee once more and asked again, this time in Nepali, Wendy replied with an emphatic ‘Hunchha!’

Queue, hugging, praying, emotion and the realisation that God has given me the most incredible lady to spend the rest of my life with.

We left hand in hand, excited for the journey that God has laid before us.

Want to know Wendy’s side of the story? Click here to find out more…

In 1996 in Nepal, the Maoist led civil war began followed by 10 years of turbulence, the massacre of the Royal Family, the dissolution of the government, an absolute monarchy, the formation of a Republic, destruction, rebuilding, 15,000 dead, a whole new political structure and a growing church.

When I arrived in January 2010, I had no real idea what Nepal and her people had been through. The situation that I found appeared very stable, there were no shoot to kill curfews, no bombings or huge demonstrations. I arrived to a democratic country that I assumed had a government similar to ours. It has taken two years to really understood the recent history of Nepal and that behind each smile, there is a history, a past, a life in some way impacted by the recent conflict.

I have met people here with differing political viewpoints. There are those still loyal to the King and conversely those highly optimistic about the government and the new Prime Minister. Mostly however, I find people are apathetic to politics. There has been so much change, and so many continuing changes that in some way it almost doesn’t matter who is ‘leading’ the country. The more important questions are, ‘do I have a job?’, ‘can I feed my family?’, ‘am I safe?’, ‘do I have religious freedom?’

I recently read a book about the ‘People’s War.’ It depicted the crimes committed by both the Maoist fighters and the Army. The aftermath of bombings was a recurring theme in the book. Interestingly, if there was to be a roadside bombing, the Maoists would normally pull people off the bus, before they then blew it up. There was one instance however of a bus travelling in the Madi region, where this did not happen and 38 civilians died. The Maoist leader Prachandra described it as “our greatest blunder.”

Neither party in the conflict was guiltless. 15,000 people died, 15,000 families were left mourning, there was extensive damage and devastation and an economy left in tatters. Despite the carnage, I am thankful that there were not the atrocities or genocide witnessed in other civil wars.

I don’t really know enough about the situation in Nepal before or after the war to hold a particularly strong opinion on its morality or validity. It has however brought about large scale political changes, 15 years ago there was a monarchy and now there is a fledgling democracy which includes the Maoist Party.

Keeping up with the changes in politics is very difficult, there seems to be Prime Minister after Prime Minister. I would put myself in a similar boat to what I consider to be the majority view in Nepal. I don’t concern myself overly with the political deadlock, instead I simply periodically ask whether I can I continue to work and worship here without issue. Thankfully the answer to these questions currently, is yes.

From Nepal Dec 2011, posted by Simon Hall on 12/21/2011 (22 items)

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2010, Christmas in America – Snow, sledding, ice fishing and a lovely new family.

2011, has been the first Christmas which wasn’t organised for me. The first Christmas where neither culture nor family set the agenda

Apart from the odd shop selling plastic trees or small nick-nacks, there really is no tradition of a Western Christmas at all in Nepal. Most people are Hindu or Buddhist. Presents are given during Dasain and sparkly lights and candles are seen during Tihar.

Christmas is only really celebrated by foreigners and Christians. Christmas has to be intentional, there are no Coke billboards advertising that ‘Santa Claus is coming.’ This has meant that Christmas is really focused on Christ here. For the Nepali Christians, Christmas is a time of great celebration. My Nepali Church put on an 8 hour party incorporating prayer, food, songs, dance, a ‘talent show’ and more.

So what did the Christmas period in Nepal look like for me …

Firstly there was the school Christmas production. Delivered outside by Christmas light, we enjoyed drama and dance and a Christian mesage, wrapped up as we were in hats and gloves.

Next came the children’s home Christmas Party; a barbeque, piñata, and a present exchange. Never have I seen someone smile as broadly as the boy who received a bottle of Garnier Fructis Shampoo.

Christmas Eve began with a lively and packed Nepali Church service, followed by an invitation for tea. In the evening we joined a party of Missionaries and other Christians in both bringing and eating a feast of international flavours. Dinner was followed by carols in English, Nepali, Swahili, Tagalog and more.

On Christmas day, myself and Wendy opened presents by the roaring fire (well the gas heater). We then chopped and cooked roast vegetables and praised the Lord that the load shedding schedule allowed us power for the oven. After slicing and dicing we joined the Christmas Celebration led by Kathmandu’s biggest Nepali Church. The Church put up a huge stage in a rented school field where they performed songs and dance, and gave testimonies and messages about the reason for Christmas. An incredible number of people (8,000) came.

In the afternoon we hosted our first ever Christmas party at the flat I share with Edwin. Eight of us joined together for Christmas dinner; 4 teachers, 2 UMN workers, 1 Leprosy Research Lady and a Polish tourist (in a pear tree). Each of us brought enough food to feed an army and we enjoyed another amazing feast.

The Christmas Evening was spent beginning a tradition that may become a crucial part of future Christmases – Skype. We both spoke to our families and some friends and were able to be a part of the celebrations in both England and America.

Whatever traditions, food and people the next Christmases may hold and wherever they may be, it will always be a celebration as we remember the time God’s Son came to Earth.