in pokhara...

hello everybody!
greetings from pokhara, nepal's second largest city (population: 200'000) - yet not really a city but a huge village with a 'downtown area' about the size of vancouver's canada place. we arrived here on tuesday - after a 8-hour and very hot (>40) bus journey.

please excuse the delay in updating the blog. i'm happy though that i can do it today - we've had electricity on a rather irregular basis, so that i simply didn't have a chance until now...

we stay in a simple but nice guesthouse at the south end of town, next to the leprocy hospital [check it out at http://www.bikashnepal.org.np/ ]. karina took the picture of fishtail mountain (to the right) just a few minutes ago, right from the door of our room - stunning.

the church and youth center, where most of our ministry here takes place, is just a stone throw away. our nepalese friends are taking wonderful care of us; we are being invited to meals every day.

daniel's teaching ministry has kicked off on thursday. at the request of the local church, daniel is running a daily "theology clinic", geared for the needs of those who want to explore some of the deeper questions of the christian faith. the clinic happens every morning from 5.00 to 7.30 (their choice - tough on daniel...) so that people can participate before going to work / school / college... we are so far about 25 participants, and we are having a great time.

it was awesome to go to our church here this morning (church happens on saturdays here). we were overwhelmed by the warm welcome and all the love of the dear brothers and sisters here. our preference would have been to just sit in and join in the worship, be blessed by the service as it was going to happen. however, daniel was asked to speak, and so we reflected once more on the easter story. what was jesus saying when crying out: it is finished? we had a truely blessed time as we celebrated the fact that the old order with the need for sacrifices is over and finished - an incredible achievement in the minds of the nepalese christians with their hindu background, where sacrifices continue to play a huge role. together we celebrated god's grace...

thanks for your continued prayers - we feel very much in need of your support. it is hot here, and we do struggle with fatigue due to the climate. other than that, we are doing ok healthwise (that is, apart from dozens of moskito bites which really irritate the kids. steffis left eye was swollen shut for a couple days...)

as a family, we are enjoying yhe opportunity to be here together this time. as of monday, andi and steffi will join their old school here in pokhara for a couple of weeks.