What a spring! We have had many firsts and thought we would share just a few with you.
First Resurrection Sunday Service at CC Kathmandu
It was Easter Sunday and we had no idea what to expect. We invited the community, Bond prepared a message of our Risen savior, we prayed, purchased food and opened the ministry campus. Not sure why we were shocked, but the sanctuary was completely packed with Nepali people who came by bicycle, bus, scooter, motorcycle and by foot to celebrate Jesus and all He did for us. It was standing room only with many people sitting outside the doors because there simply was not enough room inside. The clerk from the store came, our neighbors came, the young guys who play basketball on our campus came, a group of young people from a children’s home came and we celebrated. Everyone heard the Gospel and several made a profession of faith for the first time. It was our first Resurrection Sunday service and it was one to remember.
First Time Hearing the Testimonies of the Radio Program
Remember the days when everyone listened to the radio. There were no iPODs, no cell phones and no internet. People listened at home, in the car, at work and some even carried a boom box with them so they could hear the radio wherever they went. Well, that is still how it is in Nepal.
In a previous update, we shared about Good News FM radio station here in Kathmandu, Nepal. Bond and Pankaj went to visit the radio station awhile back and an opportunity opened up to broadcast teachings on a weekly basis throughout the Kathmandu Valley. Anand who is our Dean of Students records a weekly verse-by-verse message through the book of Genesis. It airs twice a week on Tuesdays and Fridays and one of our ministry partners provides the $100 a month it costs to air the program. We wanted to share a few testimonies that we heard this month.
There was a guy who was in prison and he listened to the radio program each week for the past year. When he was released, he came to our ministry campus to share how he had committed his life to Christ while in jail. Now his life is completely transformed and he is apart of a ministry where he is going back into the jail to minister and share the Word with other inmates.
Rina is a woman who listens to the radio program on a weekly basis. Her son Arun volunteers to edit the messages and add the proper intro and ending to the recording each week. He is the master techy that puts it all together. He was at home when the program came on the radio and his mom shared with him that she was blessed by the weekly teaching. Arun shared how he was apart of the tech team for the program and she had no idea he was instrumental in getting it on the air each week. He had no idea that she listened regularly, so it was sweet to hear from a faithful listener.
Pankaj lives close by and his neighbor came to church at CC Kathmandu recently. Bond was teaching and Anand was translating the service into Nepali. After the service, Pankaj’s neighbor came up to Anand and said is it your voice that I hear on the radio teaching the Word each week? He recognized Anand’s voice and shared how much he has been blessed and growing as a result of the teaching.
Thousands of Nepalis are hearing the Word of God in their own language via the radio program that is airing each week. We will never know the impact on the lives of those listening, but we know that Isaiah 55:11 says, “so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.”
First Child to Walk Through the Doors
(Names and Details Have Been Left Out on Purpose) In the aftermath of the April 2015 earthquake, a portion of the relief efforts were put towards providing a place for young girls (ages 5 – 11) who lost their home and parent(s) in the earthquake. Since young girls from remote villages are the most at risk for human trafficking in the aftermath of such tragedy, our ministry team in both Nepal and the USA have spent countless hours, resources, funds, teams have come and the paperwork has been filed. Finally after many months of prayer and preparations….the first little girl arrived.
Her family lost their home and all of their belongings as a result of the earthquake. They made a temporary shelter out of metal sheets where they have been staying outside. Six months after the earthquake, her father got tuberculosis and died. A tragic situation went from hard to unbearable for her family. Her mother simply could not feed or support her kids on her own. Her brother had already been sent to India to work two years earlier at the age of 12 and they had not seen him or received any of the wages that he was promised. The fear was the same would happen to her, until God intervened in her life and brought her to us.
For many of the girls it was the first time they have smiled in a long time. It was also the first time they had regular hot meals on a consistent basis, new clothes, seen a white person and have truly experienced the love of God. I (Heather) have spent most of this month, meeting with each girl, hearing their stories, talking with their families and village leaders, praying with them and welcoming them.
More Firsts For Our Family
Breanna surprised us this month with her first time clapping, crawling on all fours, waving bye bye, pulling herself up, standing and pushing the walker on her own.
We are grateful for your prayers and financial support that made it possible for us to experience the many “firsts” this month in the various ministries we are apart of.
With Love From Nepal,
Bond, Heather and Breanna Gaona
