Indreni-Ministry Leaders' Training

it is with a sense of immense gratitude that i am updating the blog today. over the past 5 days we've had an awesome time with the 50 leaders of the various groups of indreni-ministry which spezializes in holistic children and youth programs as they are apropriate here in the himalayas.

under the guidance of the 5 staff members (plus myself, daniel) we have developed some program moduls geared for slum kids in the squatter quarters. we've had some times of deep fellowship and there was this sense of the immediate presence of the Holy Spirit. Devotionally we have been thinking about what it menas to enter new land, and so we have learnt a great deal from Joshua.

it is almost funny that i had (at some level) hoped to get a break from the early-morning-theology-clinic-routine. the leaders insisted to continue the routine throughout the training, even though we had packed and long days anyways...

personally, i can't help some pretty strong emotional feelings when considering what is going on here. eight years ago, karina and i started with ONE nepalese leader who was to become both the director of indreni ministry and my best friend. now we have 50 committed leaders - keen to serve and give their all. hundreds of kids participate each week in the various programs across town and on the premises of the indreni youth center. god is doing an amazing thing here.

it slowly is dawning on karina and myself that for us, on the background of the years of service here in nepal, this type of short-term ministry is a fantastic and nearly ideal way of doing mission. we can pour in our all in a short period of time, without having to watch amd be concerned about dwindling energy levels, but with the benefit of being members of the community and knowing the language. we are thankful for that.

after a number of fairly 'cool' days - thanks to the rain and the thunderstorms - the past few days have marked the transition to the hot season. temperatures are now soaring up to 110 in the southern parts of the country, and a few degrees less here in pokhara - a bit of a contrast to the canadian climate...