We had a blessed and busy whirlwind of a time in the states during Christmas and January. It was great to be able to celebrate and be with family, attend Missions Conference in Murrieta, host Dessert Gatherings in Orange Country and to see many of you who partner, pray and make it possible for us to continue serving another year! Our schedule for 2016 is to be in Nepal through May, mid-July – August in Uganda, fall months in India and finish our remaining visa days in Nepal towards the end of the year. As we start our 5th year as full-time missionaries, we cannot thank you enough and look forward with eager expectation at all the Lord has in store for us this year.
Teach The Day Away
We arrived in Nepal earlier this month and Bond began teaching the following day. We have the most number of students at CCBC Nepal since starting almost two years ago. The campus where we live is alive and always busy. Bond is teaching Revelation for 2nd – 4th semester students, Matthew to all students, Genesis / Acts with our Indian students who speak English and meets with pastors and leaders twice a week.
He is studying and teaching like crazy, but he wouldn’t have it any other way. When you are passionate about teaching the Word of God, there is no greater joy than to share truth with others who are hungry to learn and grow. We are thrilled to have our first graduating class at CCBC Nepal this semester in the end of May for those who have completed the 2-year program. Please keep Bond in prayer as he has a full teaching schedule this spring semester in Nepal and for the students to absorb all they are learning and apply it to their lives before many of them launch out to remote areas of Nepal to minister in unreached areas.
What Took You So Long?
In mid-February a short-term medical and youth team from the Chinese Church in San Diego came to serve with us in Nepal. The team was packed full of doctors, pediatricians, dentist, optometrist, pastors and youth workers who were prepared to see hundreds of patients and love on loads of kids. After several medical clinics in the Kathmandu Valley, we ventured out to Dumerie Village where we took students for outreach last fall. As 16 people descended upon the village, people lined up for hours and some for days for the chance to see a doctor, dentist or optometrist. We had never served with a dentist or eye doctor before and it was a joy to see the smiles of many who received glasses and could see once again. Due to the generosity of those in the states who sent the team, we were able to give free medicine, glasses, extract teeth, give new tooth brushes, share the love of Christ and pray for people.
The pastor in the area came to me (Heather) on the second day of the outreach. He asked if I would share with a woman who came to the clinic. I quickly grabbed our friend Jay to translate and found a quiet place away from the many patients that were waiting. Samjana shared with me that she was 38 and had been married for 20 years and she has not been able to have children. My heart broke for her all the more because Nepali’s often believe that you must be cursed by the “gods” or have done something wrong if you are unable to conceive.
I shared with her about Sarah in the bible that God blessed with a child at the age of 90. I shared my testimony of being married for 15 years before the Lord blessed us with our daughter last year. There are many people who ask now, “what took you so long?”. To which we respond, it was God’s perfect timing in our lives and according to His beautiful plan. Samjana is from a Hindu background, offering incense and laying fruits and flowers before idols each day in a desperate attempt to appease them and find favor.
I was able to tell her about the Creator of life, the one who knows each hair on our head, the loving Father who desires to give good gifts to His children. I could not promise her a child, knowing that it is ultimately up to God (although I am praying for a miracle for her and know that all things are possible with God). I was able to share with her about Jesus who promises peace, forgiveness of sins, eternal life and joy forevermore if we trust and put our faith in Him despite our circumstances. At the end of our time together, I shared that our heavenly Father longs to have a relationship with her. I asked her what she thought and if I could pray for her. Samjana said that we had given her much to think about and it was her first time hearing such things, so she needed time to consider everything we shared and to talk with her husband. We hugged and I looked her in the eyes and told her that it was not a coincidence that we had met and that I would be praying for God to show Himself real to her. Breanna was highly sought after in the village by all the people who wanted to hold her, but we made the decision not to let people at the medical camp pass her around. Samjana was somber, but when I asked if she would like to hold Breanna she smiled so big and answered with a loud “YES!” I ran quickly to go get Breanna and introduce her to Samjana and it was truly sweet moment.
The Last Man
One elderly man came to the medical clinic in Kathmandu and as the day was coming to a close, he realized that he may not be able to be seen by a doctor form our visiting team. He got mad, started yelling and became irate, storming out the doors shouting, “you only care about Christians”. Pastor Prakash ran after the Hindu man and calmly escorted him back into the building assuring him that he was loved and that a doctor would see him. Bond’s job for the day was to be security, traffic control and not to let things get out of hand which is sometimes a challenging task when hundreds of people are trying to get to the different stations of the clinic. Bond was on edge thinking that the man might blow a fuse again as he was still very agitated and angry. Bond remained close to him walking with him through each phase (check-in, waiting room, doctor, pharmacy) as he was the last patient of the day. But, after he received his prescriptions the elderly man was in no hurry to storm out as Bond had expected. He sat down at the prayer station with one of our CCBC Nepal students Bhim. That morning Bhim had prayed and asked the Lord to use him to lead someone to Christ and here it was the end of the day. The elderly man began pouring out his heart, sharing how his perception of Christians was all-wrong and allowed Bhim the opportunity to give him the good news. Before Bhim could even finish the hardened, angry, elderly man began weeping and shared that it was time for him to make a change and accept Christ into his life. Bond was blown away at how we almost missed the last man of the day. It is often the times when we least expect it, that God works in a way we could have never imagined to reach the one we would never would have guessed. Please pray for these two and the hundreds of others that the Chinese team came into contact with that week.
Breanna Is On The Move
Our baby girl is 7 months old and keeps us on our toes now that she is scotching her way across the room. She did great on our flights to Nepal and adjusted rather quickly to the time change. We waited to see how she would do before deciding to take her to the village, which is 5 hours outside of where we stay in Kathmandu. She did great and as you can imagine, she smiled to show her love to all the villagers earning her the nickname “muskan” in Nepali which means “happy”.
With Love From Nepal,
Bond, Heather and Breanna Gaona
