One of the most remote and poorest Vineyard churches in the world just hosted a conference. The village is called Gadlang and is in Nepal near the border of Tibet. Amazing things happened as the believers pooled together resources and sought God together. It’s a story of risk and reward. Read about it here on the Himalayan Region Church’s website!
Nepal
From Winnipeg to Nepal with Love
Ok WCV – there are many results from our Nepal Fast, but one of them is that we were able to send $1,250 to the Himalayan Region Vineyards to be spent on food for the hungry. The team who was there took all the kids out for a special treat of Momos (a perogy style food filled with buffalo, chicken or vegetables). There were about 15 children – including the boys and girls who live at the church who have been brought in off the street or rescued from pre-child trafficking situations in the mountain villages. They went to a cafeteria run by one of the church people who used to live on the street with her family. With assistance from the Kathmandu Vineyard, she has been able to grow her business into a thriving cafeteria serving the best Momos in Kathmandu (according to everyone at the Vineyard!). Then on Saturday after church the team and a number of leaders from the Kathmandu Vineyard went down to the riverbed where many destitute families live. They are squatters and most barely eke out a living. They prayed for many and handed out bags of food. These two events cost a little over $100. The rest of the money will be spent on buying food for people in various situations over the next month or so. Thanks for giving!
You can click on the pictures below to see the photo album view.
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- Eating a special treat of Momos with the kids!
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- Delivering food bags to those on the riverbed.
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- Praying for the blind
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- Praying for healing
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- The River Bed.
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- We gave a food bag to this young girl who lives on the River bed.
Nepali Fast – Saturday
Drawing near to God:
Today is the last day of our fast – tomorrow we will celebrate the resurrection of Jesus! But for today, reflect on what God has whispered to you this past week. What has he done in you? Where has he lead you? What has he given you? What has he said?
Drawing near to others:
This is what we (the School of Justice) ate for lunch on our first day here. It’s rice, dahl (lentil soup), a potato/vegetable dish, and an onion/chili pickle. The entire plate of food costs 200 rupees ($2.26) and is considered a typical middle class meal here. It’s a vegetarian meal; if it had chicken or eggs (for around an extra 100 rupees) it would be considered an upper class meal.
Today, let’s calculate what we saved on our grocery bills this week by eating less and simpler. Bring in the money you saved and give it to the church (designate it “Nepal Fast”) and we will give it to our sister churches in the Himalayan Region. We can tighten our belts, so they don’t have to tighten theirs. We can eat a little less and more simply, so that the hungry there can be fed. This is the kind of fast Isaiah 58 talks about. This is the kind of fasting that get’s God’s attention!
Blessings on you as you give! And may God hear your every prayer and come quickly to answer you (that’s a promise from Isaiah 58!).
Nepali Fast – Friday
Drawing near to God:
Today is the Friday that’s called Good. The day Jesus was crucified. Everyone who confesses Jesus as Lord must also “take up their cross” and follow him (Mt 16). We are to follow his lead and embrace the path he travelled. Jesus was crucified and went on to defeat death. Thankfully we don’t have to defeat death (that’s already done) but we are still to follow him on this path. What does this mean for you? Where is Jesus leading you? Pray that he gives you the strength to follow and remain faithful as you follow his lead.
You can contemplate this on the Walk of the Cross today from 3pm – 5pm. Wear your walking shoes.
Drawing near to others:
This is what we (the School of Justice) ate for breakfast today. It’s chapatis (bread) with a potato dish. The entire plate of food costs 150 – 200 rupees (CAD $1.70 – $2.26) and is considered an upper class meal because it was cooked with fresh ingredients and clean water. Noel told me (Suhail) that it’s a “quality breakfast.” Those who are poor may eat this dish but it will not be with the same ingredients or the same level of freshness, and therefore not be of the same quality.Pray for the leadership of the Himalayan Region Vineyard churches, that God would provide for all their needs as they trust Him and as many have had to sacrifice a great deal to pursue God’s call on their lives.
Nepali Fast – Thursday
Drawing near to God:
Manitoba’s new tourism slogan is “Canada’s Heart… Beats.” It’s a good one. It makes me think of the drum and how it echoes God’s heartbeat. His heart beats too, and the reverberations go far beyond the borders of our Province to reach every nook and cranny of creation. It’s not an irregular rhythm, nor is it random. It is a singular thumping for the restoration of relationship between himself and us! Can you hear it? Can you feel it? His heart beating for you. Who else is it beating for? Who in your life is God drawing your attention to now in this moment? Pray that they too would draw near their Creator.
Drawing near to others:
When we (the School of Justice) went on outreach to Champi (a small village in the mountains just outside of Kathmandu), a woman who’s the mother of the first believer in the village served this to us. It’s popcorn, black soy beans, dried mustard pickle, and sweet potato. Noel said it would cost around 150 rupees (CAD $1.70) for the entire plate, which several of us ate from.Pray for the believers in Champi and the Vineyard church there – that they’d continue to grow in Christ and that they’d see God’s kingdom come to their neighbours in the village through healing, deliverance, and faith in Jesus.
Nepali Fast – Wednesday
Drawing near to God:
The bible says that it is impossible to draw near to God without drawing near to others. When asked what commandment was the greatest, Jesus replied: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.” (Mt 22). The linking word between the two commandments is homois which is translated “is like it” and means “of the same substance”. It’s where we get the word homo from. The commands are not the same, but they’re pretty darn close. If you’re not doing one, you won’t be doing the other. Today, pray for opportunities to love God, through loving your neighbour.
Drawing near to others:
As we (the School of Justice) were walking in the street (in Kathmandu), a man had a little food cart where he was selling different kinds of chapatis (bread) with eggs and potato. This is called Aloo Paratha and is a popular breakfast dish or snack in Nepal and India. It’s unleavened bread stuffed with a spiced mixture of potato, and all kinds of people buy it from street vendors. This version of it costs around 30 rupees (CAD $0.34).Pray for the many who are poor in Nepal and who either don’t have access to food or don’t have access to nutritional, healthy food.
Nepali Fast – Tuesday
Drawing near to God:
It’s quite common to become irritable during a fast. In a total food fast this moodiness is accentuated. In our Nepali fast, you may not be having hunger pangs, but you may be craving some more familiar cuisine. Either way our stomachs really do have a say in how we’re feeling. When those pangs and cravings hit, let’s use those moments as opportunities to direct our attention toward God and allow him to rule over our guts. He is the Lord of everything after all.
Drawing near to others:
Momos! This chicken or buffalo-filled dumpling is a popular food all over Nepal and there is a great variety in price depending on where you buy it. These momos were made at the Kathmandu Vineyard for about 80 rupees (CAD $0.91). The “new boys and girls” (kids who live at the Vineyard that are from broken families or the street) love momos. It’s a real treat for them.
Pray for the new boys and girls at the Kathmandu Vineyard – that God would reveal his heart to them and heal them from the pain that they’ve experienced, that they’d be rooted and established in His love and feel at home in the Vineyard community, and that they’d have strength to walk into the future and hope that He has for them.
Nepali Fast – Monday
Welcome to the first full day of our Nepali Fast! These daily updates are meant to inspire and inform us in our prayer and fasting activities this week.
Drawing Near to God
Part of what it means to draw near to God is to pray that we have his heart – that we see the world from his perspective and are moved by it. Somehow when we are close to him his heart is transferred to us. What he cares about, we begin to care about.
Pay attention to the movements of your heart today. Where is he inviting you closer? What does he want to share with you? In the activities of your day, pay attention to the moments his Spirit is whispering.
Drawing Near to Others
Part of our fast, by way of Isaiah 58, is meant to help us draw near to others in healthy ways. Understanding the lives and burdens of our Nepali brothers and sisters will help knit together the bond of love we have. Also, we want to pray for others.
Today is the “Global 4-14 Day“. It is a day to pray for the generation between the ages of 4 and 14. Across the world, 71% of the people who are currently following Jesus begin to do so within this age range.
Today let’s pray for the kids and youth of the Himalayan Region and Winnipeg.
- Reaching children – that Kids and youth would come to know and passionately follow Jesus.
- Calling children – that God would sovereignly reveal himself.
- Protecting children – from all manner of evil (slavery, malnutrition, gangs, prostitution, homelessness, hopelessness, etc).
- Releasing children – to lead in prayer and praise.
- Resourcing children – that God would send workers.
Nepali Fast – Isaiah 58
Isaiah 58 Fast
April 13 – 20
In the bible, fasting and prayer usually go together. Fasting isn’t simply about the lack of food, or the lack of anything else for that matter, but rather an intensified focus, or shift in perspective from something temporal to God. It’s about bringing our attention to the Lord in a specific way for a particular time by reducing our dependence on something physical. Our physical hunger reminds us that we are really hungry for God.
It makes sense, then, that fasting and prayer go together. However, it seems that if our lifestyles are not extending grace, mercy and justice in practical ways, our fasting is distasteful to God. Isaiah helps bring clarity to this issue in chapter 58 where he links “true fasting” with feeding the hungry, sharing with the poor, keeping the Sabbath and in general, living justly.
“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter – when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
Nepali Fast
This fast is an invitation to hold both fasting and care for the hungry together. To that end we invite you to participate in a very practical fast for one week – that is to eat at or below the level of the average Nepali person.
For just about all of us, this will mean eating less – less quantity as well as less variety.
The fast starts Sunday April 13 (with an evening of prayer and worship) and we’ll break the fast on Easter Sunday, April 20.
There are two objectives for this fast:
1) When we consume less, we can give more.
2) When we fast, we draw closer to God.
Consuming Less
Isaiah 58 makes it clear that we are to respond to the “hungry” in our world in practical ways.
God has linked WCV with the Himalayan Region Vineyards in a deep and profound way. Many of our brothers and sisters in this region live on minimal nutritional requirements. We are one body, and Paul admonishes us to “share each other’s burdens” (Gal 6). One way we can do this is to eat at their levels. This will allow us to consume less, while practicing solidarity with them.
Here are some facts and figures concerning the average Nepali that may help frame the conversation:
Canada’s average salary approx. $40,000 ($110 / day) Nepal’s average salary approx. $1,200 ($3.30 / day) 25% of Nepal’s population live below poverty line of: $1.25 / day. (Nepal Bureau of Statistics) Major concerns include little or no access to primary health care, education, clean drinking water and sanitation services. Food security and poor nutrition are major concerns, especially in rural areas. (IFAD) Nepal has one of the highest early childhood mortality rates in the region. 2/3 of Nepali children are severely deprived and just under 40% live in absolute poverty. 50% of children under 5 are stunted and over 2/3 are underweight due to malnutrition. (Unicef)
By embracing their diet, we are in a way embracing our brothers and sisters in Nepal. Eating their food in a way places them in the centre of our tables every day.
Giving More
By spending a week eating at these levels, most of us will have saved money on our grocery bills. Keep track of what you save – or calculate it in whatever way makes sense to you. Then we encourage you to donate it to WCV (mark it for Nepal) and we we will send it to Nepal to be used to feed those who are poor.
If you do not normally spend money getting your food, but have participated in this fast, we encourage you to give what you can to the “First Fruits” basket and the food will be shared at Drop-in.
Drawing Near to God
This fast is not just a clever way to raise money for those in need. It can do something in us and to us. As we turn ourselves towards God in prayer and fasting, we can be transformed. Our prayer is that WCV will draw closer to God as we participate in this “fast that he has chosen”.
Throughout the week we will be having regular stories sent from the School of Justice, who will be in Nepal during this time. They will give us short meditations to help us both understand the plight of the people there as well as God’s heart for them and us!
Preparing
Checklist for preparing for this week:
- Put it on your schedules.
- We will start the week with an evening of worship & prayer on Sunday, April 13, 7pm.
- Do your grocery shopping beforehand (check the ingredients in the recipe in this booklet).
- Calculate your normal weekly grocery bill and get ready to donate the savings.
Recipe – Dal Baht
Plain Rice (Bhat)
2 cups rice (Basmati or Long grain preferred)
4 cups water.
Lentils (Dal)
- 1½ cups lentil (any kind), 4 to 5 cups of water, ½ tsp turmeric, 1 tsp minced garlic, 6 tbsp butter, 3/4 cup sliced onions, 2 chillies, salt to taste.
- Wash lentils and soak lentil for 10 minutes – drain.
- Add lentils to fresh water and bring to a boil.
- Add all spices.
- Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 20 – 30 mins (until lentils are soft).
- Fry the onions, chilies and garlic in the butter & stir into the simmering lentils.
Himalayan Vineyard Churches Update
Greetings to all our friends and families.
This months we gathered at Dharay Gaon place for the opening service of our new Church place for the community. It was so wonderful to be part of this journey, which we had started some years ago. As I sat there worshiping with the people of that community I realized that they are our first generation believers learning to walk with Jesus. I am happy with our Sikkim leadership team and especially Pastor Mikma Lepcha and Pastor Silas Rai and their team for their continuous trusting God along with the local believers. We have a family now overseeing this church and soon we will release him to be a Pastor. 100% of the funds needed for the building came from local contribution, which shows that the value we had been planting is bearing fruit.
I personally was blessed by that moment to cut the ribbon and open the door welcoming the believers and the community people to worship Jesus in that new place.
We take this time to thank you and our partners for this wonderful moment in our life. Saying thank you is like reading Philippians chapter 4 and esp. verse 10 to 22. Blessings!
Our next story is about Gorkha Vineyard fellowship.
~Noel Isaacs
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- Dharay Gaon new church place opening service.
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- Everyone fits inside.
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- To get to these forgotten villages you need to trek some good amount after driving hours in these rugged mountains.
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- Pastor Silas & Pastor Noel cut the ribbon!
Himalayan Region Update
As 2013 has come to a close and we are well into 2014, I reflect on the past year and how God has moved and shown up in the Himalayan Region Vineyard (HRV) churches (HRV churches are located throughout Nepal and in Nepali speaking areas of India). It’s been an exciting year and wanted to share with you what God has done, is doing and what we’re looking forward too.
The churches that are in India that are part of HRV are:
- Siliguri Metaonia Vineyard, Pastor Ben and Rachana
- Darjeeling Vineyard, Pastor Anil Sitlang
- Pedong Vineyard, Pastor Ruben Gurung
- Namchi Vineyard, Pastor Silas and Sarita Rai
- Gitang Vineyard, Pastor Mikma and Angela Lepcha
- Farek Singtam Vineyard, overseer Gadup and Furmit Lepcha
- Mongmu Vineyard, Ong Tshering and dawa Lepcha
- Dhary Gaon Vineyard, overseer Bijay Rai
- Gayzing tikjuk Vineyard, overseer Phurba and NS Subba
- Mukrung Vineyard, J B Rai and J B rai
Our HRV churches in Nepal are:
- Kathmandu Vineyard with Pastor Noel Isaacs and Pastor Raju Rana
- Kotgoan Vineyard with Pastor Madan
- Chhampi Vineyard with Overseer Uddav thapa
- Gatlang Vineyard with Overseer Pram BK
- Nessing Vineyard with Overseer Kuni Prsad
- Gorkha Vineyard with Pastor Paul
We’re really excited to share about our new church plants!:
- Gangtok vineyard with pastor Silas and the Team.
- Kalmpoong Vineyard, with overseer Maken and Siliguri Vineyard (Already a number of people have started gathering)
- Possible Chruch plant next year at Pokhara, Nepal.
Overseers that are going to be Ordained as Pastors on this Aprill gathering are Uddav Thapa from Champi, Sukra Tamang and Suren Rai from Namchi, JB Rai from Ferek Vineyard and Pram BJ from Goatlang.
Ministry/Outreach
For those of you who have a part of our story or have been able to spend time with us in Nepal or India, you know that outreach and ministry is where our hearts are. Each ministry is run or headed up by either one of our partners or HRV churches.
“Ministry” can be a very vague term at times so to give you an idea of what we mean when we say “ministry” I’ve included some examples of the areas we work in.
- Orphanages
- Street Kids
- Safe housing for girls at risk
- Food Hamper at river bed areas
- Mobile Bible School
- Skill training schools for single moms
- Ministry to the blind
- Run a school for slum kids
- Run an English school for children
- Micro businesses
- Medical outreach
- Worship ministry
- Short term housing for the needy
- Rehab drop in (drug addicts)
- Pension program for old old widows.
Looking back over the history of our church, it’s very clear to be that we are in a very strong and healthy place. In 2013 alone our churches have grown by 25% with new believers! There are leadership teams in place, house groups, baptisms, we have a political voice in our own communities, and we have a growing body of believers. The youth are passionate and seeking ways to grow closer with God such as staying up all night to pray for the country and other youth. There is more going on then just our normal weekly gatherings; there is a passion for more of God and a passion to see His Kingdom come.
What 2014 will bring:
With every new year, we eagerly await to see where the Lord is leading us. While we know that every day new and exciting things come up and remind us of His goodness, but here is a taste of what we’re looking forward too.
- School of Justice (SOJ): The SOJ from Winnipeg, Canada is coming in April for one month. Our overseers and interns will join them to do a month long daily study and outreach to the poorest areas around Kathmandu and throughout Nepal. The students and all the HRV pastors will be traveling to Gorkha for the opening ceremony of the new church building.
- There will be two Mobile Bible Schools, one in Kathmandu, one in India. We are excited to have Pastor Danny Mullins from Gilbert Arizona Vineyard and pastor Andy Wood from Winnipeg Vineyard here to teach on Immanuel prayer and o the book of Genesis. Also John Rademaker from Winnipeg will be visiting and mentoring our pastors on one-to-one basis.
- All of our HRV churches are going to be doing a 40day fast and prayer. The focus of this time will be asking for the gift of healing. We long to see God move and heal those in our communities as well as those from other Vineyard churches who have asked for our prayers.
- We are excited to be taking two medical teams; one in the summer and one in he fall, to the remote areas of Nepal. We are going to be providing free health check ups and medicine to over a 1000 people.
- This past October there was the Asia Vineyard Summit in Bangalore, India. It was a time of fellowship, ministry and praise and we are excited to be apart of the planning meetings happening in Kathmandu for the conference coming in 2016.
- Personally I’m looking forward to seeing all of your faces in Kathmandu!
- Looking forward to Vineyard Himalayan women’s conference, which is happening by the end of the January 2015 in Pokhara.
Names of church’s where there is an incomplete church building project:
(All these churches have buildings however they are all still being worked on. I am sharing this as partnership means “ doing together what none of us can do alone” our budget functions like this. 3% goes to Central HRV fund. 30% goes to Compassion Fund. 30% goes to Pastoral Staff support fund and 37 % goes to Admin Fund. So your partnership is welcomes in these bigger needs of HRV)
- Silguiri Vineyard, India
- Namchi Vineyard, India
- Gitang Vineyard, India
- Darjeeling Vineyard, India
- Champi Vineyard, Nepal
I would like to send out a special thanks to Pastor Todd and Lisa Brousseau for allowing their daughter Shauna to join us over the course of six months. She was able to help us in the church as a secretary and helping plan the upcoming SOJ trip. Thanks to BLT Vineyard Community for praying for her and our family while she is with us.
While this newsletter is a lot of facts and figures we must remember that there’s more at work then we know. God has been strengthening us from the inside out and that has been especially clear to us this past year. None of this would have been possible without you and your continued partnership. To me partnership is doing together what none of us can do alone, which is also humbly learning from one another. We have been blessed, encouraged and our passion reignited to see His Kingdom come, because of our friendship.
We are encouraged by you and how you actively join our story. If you feel as though you are able to walk along side us as we do ministry or finish our incomplete building projects, we would love to hear from you! If you or your community of believers have encouraging words to pass onto myself and my fellow pastors in HRV I will make sure they are passed along them. We pray for you regularly and are so blessed to have you in our lives.
Blessings, Noel Isaacs
Director/Senior Pastor – Himalayan Region Vineyard Churches.
Photos by Matthew Sawatsky