As we finished the semester in mid-November in Nepal and we concluded teaching classes, we turned our attention towards outreach. The definition of outreach is “to go too far” or “to reach out”. We took students, teams, doctors / nurses, construction workers and our ministry staff with us for outreach. We traveled by van, jeep, truck, motorcycle, helicopter and by foot and we made it our goal to go too far and reach out to the Nepali people.
Reaching Out By Helicopter
Swara is a village located in a mountain region very close to the epicenter of the earthquake in the area of Gorkha. It is one of the places the Lord led the original assessment team of pastors to bring relief supplies followed by teams. As a result, many have heard the Gospel message, but we know it is important to continue to follow-up and disciple those who call this place home. Bond and Aaron were presented with an opportunity to travel by helicopter that is operated by Missions Aviation Fellowship into this remote region with two translators to spend several days encouraging and
teaching the pastor and several teachers at a local school. The pastor shared that he had never received any formal training, so it was time well spent. As they got into their sleeping bags on the last night of the trip, they heard a loud drum in the distance. It began to get closer and before they knew it the tent where they were staying was surrounded with people chanting to the beat of the drum. For a moment they thought the village was in an uproar and they quickly readied themselves for the unknown. But, as they stepped out of the tent the translator shared that the villagers came to sing, dance and thank the guys for coming by giving them flower leis. After the villagers finished the performance, the guys asked if they could share about the Creator of the universe to which the villagers agreed. Aaron shared and many were able to hear (some for the first time) about Jesus who was sent to redeem us from sin.
Reaching Out By Jeep
Liptl is a village located several hours outside of the capital city of Kathmandu and is home to one of our students Shoba. The roads are littered with boulders, potholes, landslides requiring a jeep to get there due to the bumpy dirt road conditions. Shoba’s family home crumbled in the earthquake and she was forced to jump to safety from the second floor and survived unharmed. We were able to take a day trip in November with a team from CC WestGrove and CC South Jersey to bring blankets for families, beanies for the kids and assess the construction needs for the rebuilding of her home. We
returned with a team from Believers World Outreach in December who demolished the house and removed the rubble. Bond returned to his roots (he worked for a demolition company for many years) in construction and with the team of hard working men and women they were able to clear the foundation after several days of hard manual labor. Shoba’s mother is a Hindu and shared with Bond as she fought back tears, “I never imagined you would come here Pastor Bond and have to work so hard. The love that this team of strangers has shown to my family speaks loudly. Thank you, thank you, thank you.” At the same time demolition was taking place, a free medical clinic was being hosted in the village by the BWO team of American doctors and nurses. Many were treated, given free prescriptions, and prayed for as the team ministered to both physical and spiritual needs.
Reaching Out With Students
Our students at CCBC Nepal take many bible classes each semester. They are in the classroom gaining knowledge for the future as many will plant churches in their village and serve the Lord in their communities. At the end of each semester, the students are given the opportunity to put into practice all that they have learned throughout the semester. Dumerie is a village that Milan (one of our students) is from. We were able to take a group of students to serve alongside his home church hosting a conference, reaching out to the local school sharing with 400 children, investing in the high school students and making preparations to bring a medical team in 2016 to this area.
For some of the students it was their first time doing outreach. It was a huge blessing to watch as Bhim stood on a tree stump to teach 400 kids a bible story, to see Sunita teach songs to the children and to hear Prakash teach a bible study to the youth of the church. The students are reaching out and putting into action all that they have learned!
Sharing More
You are apart of all that we do and we appreciate each one of you. Each month, we write to share just a small portion of the ministry that is taking place overseas and it always seems like we barely scratch the surface. If you are in the Orange County area, we would like to invite you to join us at one of our Gaona Missions Dessert Gatherings that are designed to give us more time to share with you all that the Lord is doing in Asia and Africa and our vision for 2016. Please mark your calendar and reply to this email to RSVP so we can plan accordingly. Desserts and coffee will be served.
Saturday, January 16 at 6:30 p.m. at Calvary Chapel WestGrove in Garden Grove, CA
or
Sunday, January 24 at 7:00 p.m. at Calvary Chapel Saving Grace in Yorba Linda, CA
As we reflect back on 2015, we see how the mighty hand of God has gone before us. We experienced tremendous heartache, losing family members who are now in heaven and then watching as the country of Nepal was hit by a massive earthquake killing thousands. We also experienced the birth of our daughter Breanna which has been one of the greatest gifts and open doors in Nepal and India like never before with many coming to Christ. Thank you for standing with our family this past year through your prayers, financial support and encouragement.
With Love,
Bond, Heather and Breanna Gaona
