Prayer & Praise

Prayer & Praise

1. Praise God for all of His travel mercies as we traveled to Canada, Seattle and Nepal this October. We were able to get all of our curriculum, trip prep and visa issues sorted. Also, this is officially the first trip with The Berean Way that Tim never got sick... Thank you Jesus!!

2. Praise God for all the pastors that will be came to the conferences... it was a very powerful time. Please continue to be pray for their ministries and the ongoing fruit of our time there... there is still much work to be done.

3. Please continue to be praying for Tim's trip finances. Though we came under budget for the trip as a whole (praise God), overall it was still a more expensive trip than others. We are still needing to raise the remaining money for his plane ticket.

4. Please be praying for Britany as she dives into local ministry with young moms. God has opened up many great opportunities in our community. Specifically, Britany has begun working with a ministry that connects young mom's to mentors. She will be teaching in this ministry next month and would appreciate all the prayer you can give!

5. Finally, please be praying for Tim this month as he travels to Glasgow, Scotland to work with the RE:hope team there. He will be doing some leadership and team training.

October 2010 Update

November already?!?

I cannot believe that all of our October trips (to Canada, Seattle and Nepal) are behind us. In addition to working with many missionaries, pastors and local leaders we have had an amazing month that included some incredible ministry opportunities... most notably my time with The Berean Way in Nepal.

What can be said about the country of Nepal? It is such a different experience than India and yet shares so many similarities. Undoubtedly, Nepal is staggeringly beautiful... mountains, rivers and an amazingly diverse set of cultures make it a remarkable little country. Yet, it struggles with immense poverty and social and political ills that make it a desperate place of daily survival for most of its non-tourist inhabitants. Here, hidden amidst the great mountains and miseries, lies a tiny (less than 2%), young (both historically and demographically), fully alive faith filled Church. It does not take long in Nepal to see that God is moving amidst the Himalayas!

As I mentioned last month, the latest stats place Nepal as 74.82% Hindu, 16% Buddhist and only 1.89% Christian. It is a country that is on the verge... the verge of either great revival, great persecution or (most probably) both. I would encourage you if you have the time to listen to this update from Voice of the Martyrs.

Our ministry in Nepal was very similar to our work in India. We held 2 conferences over the course of a week with around 400 attendees total. Each of these groups of people traveled from their churches by foot up and down the Nepalese mountains to attend the conference (many their first formal training). Most walked for multiple days just so they could be better equipped to lead their small fellowships. We also spent time interacting with and praying for different churches and ministries in and around the Kathmandu area... it was amazing!

Todd Melrose is a longtime friend and supporter of The Berean Way (and our family) and he came with us to Nepal this past October. I thought it might be great to include some of his thoughts here:

"As i sat in Nepal, i often wondered why God would bring myself... halfway across the world to Nepal to do ministry with local villagers in the Himalayas... But as i was there, it was so clear that this was where God wanted us- you see no one goes out to the villages... these people never get to do a big 3 day conference meeting like this to learn how to study the Bible, or learn how to disciple others... no one ever comes out to them.

This is a big lesson i learned. God needs us to go TO the people, not wait for them to come to us. So I realized why not us? Why not me? Why can't i be used here? God loves the Nepalese just the same as me. These trips are far from comfortable... no electricity, can't talk to my wife for 3 days sometimes, cold showers, "interesting" food that can be hard to eat, miserable bathrooms, humidity, rock hard beds, and difficult travel conditions.... but they are SO important. The great commission in Matthew 28: 18-20 is for all of us. We are to go where there is need."

That says it all pretty well.

(Thank you Jeff for the photo's!)

Thank you for all that you do!

It is such an amazing blessing for our family to be able to serve our Lord as we do... to GO where He calls! Thank you so much for all of your continued prayers, encouragements and financial support. All of these things keep this ministry happening. If there are others that you know who may be interested in receiving these updates please forward them on. Thank you again for everything.

grace and peace,
the McDonald clan