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It’s been nearly one month since the initial earthquake rocked the Himalayan Region.  There has not been one day without significant aftershocks and tremors – some of which have been classified as earthquakes.  During my latest conversation with Noel and Raju, they stopped in mid conversation as the dogs started barking, people outside began calling to each other, and the earth reminded us all of its tectonic unrest.  Yet in the midst of all the shaking, hope is being found and formed.  Noel showed me a crack in the Kathmandu Vineyard building that is getting wider with every earthquake.  It’s ominous, but as he said, “God is bigger than those cracks”.  Indeed.

Nessing

This girl said to Raju, “with money you can buy beautiful house and good food, but not peace and joy. Only Jesus is the prince of peace and joy.”

A few days ago the first outside help reached Nessing.  An awesome team from Hawaii, working with the HRV, arrived and treated over 300 people for various injuries.  Thanks Dr. Tim and Tara and the rest of the team!  This was the first relief that has reached this remote mountain village.

Two villagers died in the earthquake.  All of the buildings are down – except two.  The church building will be usable when the ceiling is reinforced with local timber and one of the church elder’s homes was left standing (although it will likely have to be demolished).   We have 17 work crews active in Nessing.  They have built over 8 temporary shelters and are working on cleaning the whole village.  There was no rice in the village until 2,300 lbs were airlifted in – this is cause for celebration.  They also had a beautiful time of worship.  The whole Nessing church were very grateful and there was a tangible sense of God’s presence as they thanked him for protection.  They are actively cleaning the whole village and are being a wonderfully tangible sign of God’s hope to all.

Ramesh says, “We bring the love of Jesus to remote villages of Nepal… through food supplies, medical help and temporary shelter… that’s what people need now… these are small things that we will be doing for next couple of months..!!!”

Tents & Tarps

A large shipment of tents has just arrived.  Thanks to the DACH Vineyards in Germany, Austria and Switzerland and to Kinderhilfe for the donation.  They will be used to keep families dry during the monsoon season.  They will also be used for school rooms.  Education is a high priority and it’s important to get back to a regular routine, even if it means studying in a tent in the rain.  The tarps were donated and imported from His Feet International (thanks Todd!).  They will be distributed where needed the most.

Other News

Silas Rai, the senior pastor at the Namchi Vineyard in Sikkim, India (a small part of India that is part of the Himalayan Region), arrived today.  Silas is part of the Earthquake Management team and will give Raju a much-needed break.  The team will rotate oversight responsibilities to make sure each gets the rest they need.  Please continue to pray for them.

This young girl lost her sister in the quake. Here she is showing Raju the remains of her house “where she used to play with her small sister who died that day…”

Operations continue in Gorkha, Chhampi and Kothgaon.  We will continue to supply necessities until people regain self-sufficiency.  Temporary shelters continue to be constructed.  The road up to the high mountain villages remains closed.  There are many landslides, and even reports of helicopters crashing due to dangerous land conditions, falling rocks, etc.  It’s dangerous work.

By the Numbers

Here are a few numbers for you to crunch…

• 40 households cleared in Gadlang
• 17 shelters built in Gadlang
• 470 homes in the whole village of Gadlang – Pastor Prem wants to clean them all.
• 3 months to clean the entire village of Gadlang
• 17 work crews active in Nessing
• 2,300 lbs of rice delivered in Nessing
• 7 Helicopter transports have already been taken to Gadlang and Nessing
• 200 homes need to be cleared in Tipling (will begin next week)
• 172 Vineyard people’s homes destroyed throughout the region

Thanks!

Thanks to all who have donated and prayed.  Your money and your prayers are making a difference.

A note to Canadian donors: Monday, May 25 is the deadline for the federal government’s matching program.  We qualify for this program.  For every dollar donated by a Canadian to our Vineyard Disaster fund, the federal government will deposit a dollar into their own Nepal fund (it doesn’t double our money, but it does insure more help will reach Nepal).

Remember that 100% of donations we receive go to relief, recovery and rebuilding efforts on the ground in Nepal.

>Please continue to PRAY.

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Helicopter

The service of a private helicopter was secured today.  Tomorrow, Noel, Raju, a Doctor friend from Hawaii and a few others will be flying into Gadlang to assess damage, bring rice, and provide first aid.  This is a huge answer to prayer!

Rice will be purchased in the nearest larger town and will be delivered to Gadlang and the surrounding villages.  The team from Gadlang was active in Chhampi and Kothgaon for the first week after the quake before they were able to make it home.  They have gone back to the mountain villages with both knowledge and the emergency shelter prototype that was developed in Chhampi and Kothgaon.  This strategy will supplement already existing local efforts.

Work Crews

The churches in Chhampi, Kothgaon and Gorkha had community meetings yesterday and have organized their own management teams.  These on-the-ground, local teams will assess need and manage the work being done in each village.  The HRV Earthquake Management team will continue to provide overall coordination.  Now that work crews have been hired and prototypes of shelters have been developed, demolition and temporary shelter construction will shift into full gear.

Truck

Speaking of shifting gears, we just purchased a truck to help in the transportation efforts!  Until now, we’ve been using hired drivers and jeeps.  Since we anticipate the demolition and rebuilding phases to last well over one year, owning our own truck will help with availability and long-term cost effectiveness.

Noel indicated that the purchase was a bit of a God story.  When he initially called to inquire about the truck, he accidentally mentioned that he was from a church.  Usually a higher price would follow this admission.  Instead, the man on the other end of the line immediately replied, “Jaimasi!” (a greeting only Christians use).  It turns out he was another pastor who ended up giving us a great deal on the truck.  Thanks brother!  And thanks, God!

By the Numbers:

• Currently there are 8 work crews of 4 – 5 local people per crew.
• $150 USD per temporary shelter (includes additional materials and work crew labour costs)
• Kothgaon has 2 work crews
• Gadlang has 4 work crews
• Nessing has 2 work crews
• Chhampi and Gorkha are organizing crews.
• 4 houses in Gadlang were cleaned today.
• 100 bags of rice will be bought in town and delivered to villages.

Click on the images to enlarge.

>Here is Nathan sharing about some of his experiences and stories during the earthquake.

>Please continue to PRAY.

>Click here to donate.

>Click here to access resources and our Strategic Plan.

>Make sure you check out our Google Earth Video.

Click here to donate.

Here’s the update on the efforts of the Himalayan Region Vineyards in Nepal.

High Mountain Villages:

Prem (the pastor at Gadlang Vineyard) and the rest of the Gadlang team arrived home late Monday night.  They were able to drive 60% of the way to Gadlang.  They walked the remainder which took them two days.  It looks like the road may open up completely within the next few days.  Let’s pray the monsoon rains do not wash it out again.  When the road opens up we will be able to bring relief supplies as well as needed building materials to help the villagers construct shelters which will help them weather the monsoon season, which is typically from May – August.  Plans to airlift supplies into these villages have not materialized.  Because of high prices and difficulty in transportation from Kathmandu, we will be buying supplies from China and shipping it from the north.

Demolition, Reclamation & Shelter:

Another shelter completed!

In Chhampi and Kothgaon there have been teams working at safely demolishing damaged homes and reclaiming materials that can be used for building temporary emergency shelters.  It is a boon when someone lifts up a pile of bricks to find a stash of rice, garlic, or corn cobs (for burning).  It’s like hitting the jackpot, because they represent a lot of effort to initially acquire and their scarcity now.  The government is asking that demolition not begin in Gorkha until they have completed an assessment.

Chhampi, Kothgaon and Gorkha churches are meeting tomorrow to discuss how to help their neighbours.  All shelters up until now have been constructed with volunteer labour.  After these meetings we will hire local workers from each village.  It will be the local churches helping local people.  Each location will have teams of 4-5 workers who will be able to construct 4 shelters per day.  Each shelter costs approximately $150 USD to build (labour and material costs).

Here are a few numbers so far:

1. Over 13 houses have been cleaned up (combination of demolition and reclaiming materials).
2. 2 temporary shelters built in Gorhka
3. 6 temporary shelters built in Chhampi and Kothgaon
4. There is a shipment of 30 tents coming from Europe (thanks German Vineyards and Kinderhilfe!).  These will be distributed where most needed.
5. Approximate costs to construct 1 shelter: $150 USD (labour and material to supplement salvaged supplies)

Raju (pastor at Kathamdu Vineyard) says:

“Religion that our God Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans, widows and helping people who are going through difficulties. This moment my country Nepal is crying because many people are going through difficulties and hard times, they are fighting with death to get life.  Jesus called us as an army of his kingdom so every day we are serving and helping those people who are going through difficulties.

Today we cleaned three collapsed houses and made one hut for another family at Kothgaon village. Praise the Lord!”

These pics document the construction of a temporary shelter.  Click on the images to view the full size gallery.

Rebuilding will commence after the monsoon season in 3 months.  Plans for suitable prototype structures are commencing.

Food & Aid:

A team heads out

Relief supplies continue to be distributed as needed.  We are careful not to create “distribution events” where people line-up at the back of a truck and scramble for hand-outs.  Rather, we are working within our existing relational networks, helping our people to help other people.  We are not a big NGO.  We are a church and we want to continue to be relational in our response to the needs around us.  Please pray for wisdom.

Trauma:

Life goes on, but the stress runs deep

Surviving an earthquake – losing one’s house and belongings – losing friends and family… these are big issues the whole country is dealing with.  Most people are in a stage of heightened trauma.  Leaders are leading, workers are working, stuff is getting done, but it’s crisis management mode.  There is a hidden toll in this disaster.  Please pray that there will be moments where our people can begin to process, grieve, thaw, heal.  Pray that God’s comfort and presence would be very real.  Pray that their deepest hurts and the unfolding trauma from this event would be processed in a healthy, thorough and deep manner.

Please continue to PRAY.

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It’s been one week since disaster struck the Himalayan Region.  Here’s the latest on the HRV team’s activities as of Saturday evening, Nepal time.

Grateful:

We are so grateful for the widespread response from the Vineyard family around the world.  It’s amazing to see us mobilized in this way.  Thank you!

Noel says, “We have been very blessed by the prayers and support that we have received from all over the world.  In these times, when the needs are so great, it is tempting to see “big” amounts of support as special provisions of God to us.

The other day, I heard that the drop-in community in Winnipeg – made up of people who are homeless and street-involved – took an offering for us. They raised a small amount of money by the world’s standards, but when I heard what they had done it really shook me.

I was humbled that these people who have nothing were giving to us – giving to Jesus even – out of their poverty. God again reminded me that his kingdom operates differently to our world. We are to remember the poor and I am so touched that the poor are remembering us. We are very honoured and privileged to receive their gifts.”

Gathered & Praying in the Kathmandu courtyard

 

Kathmandu – the community gathers:

Gathering one week later

One week after the quake rocked Nepal, the Vineyard community gathered in the Kathmandu courtyard for a powerful time of worship, prayer and sharing together.  The churches from Chhampi and Kothgoan also gathered in Kathmandu – just to be together and to be somewhere safe.  Chhampi’s building collapsed and Kothgoan’s building is unsafe.  We are not meeting in the main building in Kathmandu because there continue to be significant tremors (another 6.2 earthquake was reported in Gorkha and two more in Kathmandu).  God, how long?!  Many poor people are coming to the Vineyard and rice is quietly and discreetly being distributed.  20% of the shops are open.  The city continues to stink as bodies are still being recovered from the rubble.

Relief Efforts Continue:

The clean-up efforts are ongoing in Chhampi and Kothgaon.  Demolition, retrieving personal belongings, and creating temporary shelters out of repurposed materials is a big job.  Just yesterday two more houses were cleaned up and another shelter erected in Kothgaon.  Tomorrow it’s back to Chhampi.

A leader from Kathmandu was just sent to Gorhka to oversee the efforts in Nareshawr.  He will be helping implement the salvaged shelter design we’re using in Chhampi and Kothgaon.  About the picture,

“Old mum” from Nareshawr (Gorkha)

Raju, a pastor at the Kathmandu Vineyard, says “Old mum – now she is homeless and she lives in a tent in the open field.  She is old and sick. When saw her difficulty, it touched my heart.”

Nessing, Gadlang, Tipling and Sertung are still inaccessible.  There are thousands of villagers across Nepal who are unaccounted for in high mountain communities like these.  The people there are cold and hungry.  We are poised and ready for when the road opens up.  There may be possibility of a road opening up from the Chinese side.  The church buildings in both Nessing and Gadding have collapsed.  Sertung does not have a building.

The believers in Tipling had just finished the last prayer of their service last Saturday, and everyone came outside to warm up and say “Jaimashi”.  Just then, the earthquake struck.  The whole structure collapsed right when the last person exited!  God is good.

Collaborating & Rebuilding:

The HRV Earthquake Management Team is fully operational and is in continual contact and collaboration with the Winnipeg Centre Vineyard team.  Daily reporting and accounting is taking place.  They are also working together with agencies on the ground to ensure effective responses.

Beyond the pressing concerns of providing food, shelter and other supplies to those directly affected, plans are in development for long-term rebuilding.  Many villagers have indicated they would rather have their schools up and running before their own houses are rebuilt.  We are keenly aware of the dangers of disparity and want to engage in rebuilding efforts in a sensitive, wise, and collaborative way in the villages we are active in.  Additionally, we are also very aware of the amazing opportunity to spread God’s love to our neighbours in very practical and compassionate ways.  Let the Kingdom come!

Please continue to PRAY.

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