Just in Time!

Just in Time!

Recently I just got back from Nepal; Robin said I could go, if I made it back in time for Lauren's birthday. Well, I flew back to Perth and arrived just in time!

We hosted her first birthday party at Hyde Park, with cake, decorations, a water park and good friends and family. The weather was perfect and we're in awe that she's already one years old! She's a wonderful, sweet, funny girl whom we all love very much indeed.

Five buses, eight taxis, one rickshaw, one hired car, one jeep ride, one microbus, one hitchhike and one small domestic airplane; 2 nights in Kathmandu, two nights in Surkhet, one night on a bus, two nights in Pokharra, two nights in Hatauda, one night in Kathmandu again, and one last night on an airplane heading to Malaysia. Only 12 days away from home but we packed in a lot of action into our Nepal scouting trip!

The trip was for Homes of Hope, my ministry, to scout Nepal and see if it's a viable nation to come build homes. Obviously there's lots of need in Nepal, but we needed to find the right spot. Our goals were to find a genuine need, near a location where YWAM was already established. 

Surkhet is west of Kathmandu and is a likely location that we'll bring teams to build. This is the location where the main river flooded and destroyed dozens of villages back in July 2014. Many lost their lives and most lost their homes. This particular village was built on a hill near the river but was wiped out by a mudslide. YWAM has relationship with them already. 

Hatauda is South of Nepal and I worked with a man named Birbal. He guided us to a village near the India/Nepal border. This village is mainly Muslim and was very poor. I'd call it a rural slum and I found it very challenging to be there. This place is a good location and in need of homes.

After much thought and prayer we feel that both locations make sense to build homes in. I travel back to Nepal at the end of March, very soon. This will be to look at each location with more detail; house design, prices, accommodation, transportation, etc. I'll be in Nepal for about a week, and will combine it with trip to India.

YWAM Perth  has been working for a year in Kolkata, India. I've been asked to come along on a follow up trip regarding applied technology. This trip is to meet with those that expressed interest a few months ago in things like aquaponics, biogas and sand filters. This is a subject that I'm quite interested in personally, but also relates closely with home building and community transformation. 

Total trip length would be about 18 days and total costs would be about $1750-1900 AU. I've seen about $350 come in from 2 bake sales and we will have one more before I leave. Also I've got money left over from the previous trip to Nepal. I still need to see about $1000 come in to cover all costs.

I turn 36 in 3 days and am happy to have Mikayla's 10th birthday only 6 days later. Maybe people will forget mine! Our family and two other YWAM families are going camping for two nights about two hours south of Perth. There's a nice river there and lots of nature around. We're looking forward to time away from the city, spending time as a family and giving our new SUV a decent test.

Robin and the kids are back into school now and are doing well. She's finding it more challenging this year with Lauren being so active. The kids are all thriving in the home school environment and Robin is quite an amazing teacher. She's also kept busy with ARMS, doing office work when she can. Levi will be starting up Aussie Rules Football for his second season quite soon.

Kamryn has joined a 'cell group' of about 20 kids from the base and they hang out, play games, study the bible. She's really enjoying it and I feel that it's so good for her as she's growing so fast!

I've been reflecting on our life recently and my goodness are we blessed. We've got so much to be thankful for! Family, friends, health, amazing jobs, support back home. Recently we were asked by our current tenants if they could renew the lease on our house. They hope to stay for up to three more years! Thanks everyone for your continued support, what a team we've got!