We celebrated the life of Bud (Heather’s dad) in March after he ended his battle with cancer. We then determined that it was best for Bond to return to Nepal to continue ministry and I would stay in Southern California for the remainder of the spring. There was much to take care of stateside with the remaining affairs and paperwork that had to be taken care of after losing both of my parents over the past 8 months.
A Place to Call Home
Upon returning to Nepal, Bond was able to teach the first Resurrection Sunday Service on Easter at Calvary Chapel Kathmandu in the brand new sanctuary building that was recently completed on campus. In just a few short months, we saw God’s faithful provision for the building and the transformation from a pile of bricks to a fully functioning place to worship, learn the Word and fellowship together. We are thankful for those churches and individuals that provided, prayed and made it possible to have this place for the Nepali people.
Teaching and Reaching Out
Bond resumed teaching classes at CC Bible College Kathmandu in March and April. One of the goals this semester was to get outside the city and visit several of the villages where the students are from throughout the more remote regions of Nepal. One of the second semester students Milan was sent by his pastor to our school and has excelled in all areas of his studies and regularly goes out with a team to evangelize. He has taken on a leadership role amongst the students and has a call upon his life to plant and pastor a church in the region where he is from. Bond and a small team traveled 8 hours to Milan’s village to establish a relationship with the church, villagers and his family in hopes of returning for future ministry opportunities.
God’s Timing
Bond was not scheduled to return from Nepal until early May, but when hearing the news of Heather’s grandfather (Dwight) passing away at the age of 90….plans quickly changed. Our family requested that Bond officiate the Celebration of Life service to honor Dwight’s life and with that, we made the adjustments to the flight schedule for his return, which would be earlier than originally expected. Proverbs 16:9 says, “A man’s heart plans his ways, but the Lord directs his steps” and we know this to be true as Bond flew out of Nepal the day before the massive 7.9 earthquake shook the country. The earthquake hit on Saturday, April 25th and Bond was making plans to visit the village of another one of the students Shobha for that day before plans changed. Thankfully all of our ministry staff and students were safe and the campus in Kathmandu suffered only minor damages. But for Shobha and many of our students that come from surrounding villages, their homes and livelihood were completely destroyed in a matter of minutes. We may not always understand God’s timing in our lives for various situations and circumstances that arise, but we continue to trust that He is the One directing our steps.
The Aftermath and The Massive Needs
Being stateside in the aftermath of the earthquake in Nepal was heart wrenching because we desperately wanted to be there for the many who were hurting that we have grown to love. But we were also thankful because it enabled us to help mobilize a team of pastors and first responders to be sent out to Nepal. We worked together with the team to assemble the supplies needed, coordinate travel and finances and provide guidance on those places our hearts were most burdened for moving forward. We were blessed by those who cleared their schedules and stepped forward to help in meeting the immediate needs of food, shelter, medical attention and sharing the good news of God’s love in the midst of tragedy.
According to reports, over 8,000 people have died, 18,000 have been injured and hundreds of thousands of people were made homeless with entire villages flattened across many districts of the country. The hardest hit locations are remote villages that were completely cut off from any relief supplies in the initial days of the aftermath. We are grateful for Promise Child, Saving Grace World Missions, and the many churches that have engaged in the response. Our partners have seen many open doors that the Lord has provided with shop keepers (for buying food, tarps and supplies), government officials (for provision of water to distribute and access to work in specific regions), for partnerships (MAF providing discounted use of helicopter to bring basic necessities to difficult to reach villages) and for the many people who provided finances to meet the overwhelming needs in Nepal. We know that this devastating situation will be used for God’s glory as we come alongside those who are hurting and in need. In Isaiah 61:1 it says, “The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners.” This is exactly what our ministry partners in Nepal are doing and what we are apart of through the coordination efforts here in the states that we are engaged in. The process of identifying the locations where we will work for long-term rebuilding is currently being assessed and we are hopeful that teams will be able to come to Nepal to assist in the future.
Baby G Has a Name
Our daughter who we have been calling “Baby G” now officially has a name. We are anxiously awaiting the arrival of Breanna Mercy Gaona who is expected the first part of July. We plan to deliver in Orange County and remain in So. California after her birth for a short while as we process her paperwork and get her passport. We plan to continue our ministry overseas and will leave again in late summer / early fall as a family of three!
With Love,
Bond and Heather Gaona
