Letter from Nepal

I am humbled and honored to have two incredible friends who live in Nepal. I met them when I was at Grace. I remember the love Bethany had for Andy and their journey as a couple realizing that together God had something incredible instore. Bethany is from a beautiful province in Canada and Andy is from Germany. For years they lived in Germany as missionaries and then God did something incredible...He moved in their hearts and took them to Nepal.

I am so honored to catch a glimpse of their journey every month as either Bethany or Andy send emails and photos. This new area God has called them to is...let's just say living in the Western World we tend to forget. My heart is stirred upon every letter and this one in particular hit my heart and I wanted to share it with you, along with the photo's Andy sent us. If you think of it, please remember them, their family and those God has called them to take HIS HOPE to, in your conversations with God.

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Dear Friends,

I just got done shoveling snow and chipping ice off our front steps (we've gotten 3 feet of snow recently). What a change from installing solar panels in a t-shirt among the very poor in Nepal, trekking around remote Mugu to visit prior ministry locations, and scoping out future projects.

Very early this morning, Lou and I concluded our 24 hour trip home from Nepal.

Thank you so much for your prayers on our behalf. God carried us through this time in miraculous ways. There were no flights available to the Mugu district, so we flew to the neighboring district Jumla. From there Lou, Bob and I did six days of strenuous trekking over high mountain passes to get to a district where we've been involved with past projects. We are looking to the Lord for future ministry opportunities in this area. While not planned, this trekking proved to be a good thing in many ways. We had a chance to stay in Nepali homes and get a better grasp of the ways of these people - rice and dahl, smoke, friendliness, material and spiritual poverty, curiosity, and much more. We also enjoyed and benefited from spending time with the two Nepalese Christians who accompanied us. One, a former trekking guide and the other, an elder in one of the new churches. We learned so much from and about them. We are thankful for God’s protection in this remote area where medical help is a long way off.

God...

...gave us strength to make it up the mountains with our packs
...strengthened our knees on the long descents
...led us through a snow blizzard high on a pass

...healed my ankle which was getting so bad that I was beginning to think of calling a helicopter

...mercifully shortened the time of stomach flu that hit during our time in Mugu

...gave us opportunities to share the gospel with people held in bondage by Hinduism

One of the saddest moments was during the visit of the village where Lou led a ministry team in March of this year. During that time a baby was born to a local family. Thankfully (and miraculously) the baby is still alive. Almost half of all children born here die before their second birthday. However, as we sat on the ground around the wood stove eating flatbread the lady had just made, we learned that the husband and father of the family had suddenly died out in the forest just 7 days prior. In the corner, the man’s brother sat in sackcloth, mourning. The mother looked very sad as her 5 children gathered around. Their religion offers them little hope. We pray that her eyes will be opened and that she will have a personal encounter with the God of hope!

We also visited the village where we will be taking a team of students from the international school down our street. Please pray that God would be working both in the hearts of the people of this village, as well as the hearts of the students that will be going.

It was a joy to visit the area where I had been in March of 2007. Since then, a number of people have come to Christ. Several churches have been established and Nepalese nationals are part of an area-wide outreach going on. Now we are planning projects for 2009 and are excited to see how God will continue to work in Nepal.

Thank you for praying for Bethany and the kids here in Leysin. Bethany was very busy here as she held up the fort and continued working with the youth. Now, final preparations are underway for a Christmas play outreach, followed by a potluck dinner this coming Sunday, December 7. Please pray that this would go well and that God would bring people and speak to their hearts.

We thank you for standing with us and wish you a worshipful Advent as you celebrate the hope we have in Christ who has come and is coming again!

Celebrating Jesus, our hope!
The Maier family

Andy & Bethany,Gabriella, Adrian, Jeffrey and Brianna
CrossWorldSwitzerland/International

P.S. I’ve attached a few pics. One with our assessment team (l to r: me, Lou, Resham (former guide), Shandra (church elder), Bob). One with the lady who lost her husband. One with me helping install solar panels in a village in Jumla district.