Today the group worked on plumbing with the water tanks, put together desks, fed kids at a nutrition center, installed drop ceiling, and built a mud pan for a shower. Not bad for a day’s work. Still a lot more to do tomorrow.
Steve and Pancho working on the ceiling:
It is hard to even tell all that happened in Burma. We had so much favor. To even access this area of Burma we had to have a government official go with us for the entire trip. Everyone points and stares at us. One lady dropped a box and stared at us when she saw us walking up. The government heard we were coming, so they recently built a road to the Upper Village so that we didn’t have to do the 2.5 hour hike up the mountain. One day we were not allowed to go up because the military was concerned for our safety due to the war going on. However, after our official met wit the local police and military they determined it was safe for us to proceed. They told us that foreigners were normally not allowed to go to the village, but because we are teaching the Word of God and built a school, then they wanted to allow us.
The people wouldn’t let us help work on the water tank as we had planned. They said they wanted to build it if we would teach their people the Bible. Wow! So we taught the Bible while some men built the tank. In the Lower Village we started playing soccer with the kids. Little did we know the impact it would have on the village. The people don’t play with their kids and others neglect their kids. They could not understand people from another country coming to play with their kids and love on them for no reason. We were told that Asian pastors don’t play with the kids, but we did. The villagers noticed it and it may have been the biggest impact of the trip. They saw that we came and loved on them because Christ loved us first. It was the first time they had seen the Gospel lived out in front of them and they were different because of it. They started looking at things differently.
More people turned out for the evening service than any other time. They were all impacted by how we engaged and loved on their kids. The things we take for granted are amazing. Just loving on a kid is so foreign to them. The importance of training up a child and teaching them is foreign to them. It seemed like they saw a difference and how it is real. Our tour guide is a Buddhist and he told a person in the group today that he now believes there is a God. His wife is a Christian, but he has not become one. I think we have had a tremendous impact on his life. The restaurant has been impacted by our presence even. They enjoy us coming. Everyone is amazed that these white skinned people from half way around the world are here in their village. It doesn’t make sense to anyone.
The airplane I was flying back from Nepal on had a camera mounted that allowed me to watch what we were flying over from the screen on the seat back in front of me. As we flew over small villages and individual homes in remote areas the Lord showed me the great need. The people in those homes have children just like I do. They love them just like I love mine. They are just as important as I am. Why am I blessed and fortunate enough to have had the gospel shared with me? Who will help them? When their father dies who will hold their hand and pray with them? I am so thankful there are people like Rob and Grace Robideau and Kevin and Cynthia Weldon for giving up everything and coming to Nepal to love them as I have been loved. Our time was short, but impactful. Thank you to FliteTest for investing in lives half way around the world and for Lee Kachner for taking the time, and physical challenge, to travel half way around the world to make a difference in the lives of people you don’t even know. Here are pictures of the land and the need:
Wow! What amazing things can happen in 24 hours. As you know, we flew down to Cambodia for a day because we were stranded in Bangkok and had an open door. It was amazing. We got to meet with a lot of kids and adults. Cory shared with them what we do at MANNA and why we do it. This allowed him to share the gospel with the group. Thank you FliteTest for allowing your planes to help impact the Kingdom.
Then Mara got up and shared with the group what it was like growing up as an orphan in our orphanage in Kampong Thom and what MANNA has meant to her. Then Bimol shared with the group about her experience working at our projects and now going to nursing school with Kim and Mara. It was hard to even keep my composure as they shared. So cool to see what God is doing and how He is using them. Then Lee took the plane to the air and the kids got to see it in action. They really thought it was amazing. After Lee landed the plane, we took them and helped them make their own planes that they could glide. The kids loved every minute of it and ran around playing with their planes. It was so worth trip and investing time in the work there. Here are some pictures of the day.
I often tell groups that we pray through the planning of a trip, but once we get on that airplane, God takes over and sometimes the plans go out the window. Such has been the case this week. God has had much bigger plans than we have had. Now that we cannot go to Nepal until Tuesday, the Lord opened the door for us to preach at a church tomorrow morning, then head straight for the airport and fly to Cambodia on Sunday afternoon. Then we will spend 24 hours in Cambodia and use some remote control airplanes to do an outreach with a missionary there. We will get back in Bangkok on Monday night, just in time to catch the first flight out to Nepal on Tuesday morning. We have since been able to roll our flights back leaving Nepal to help make up for some of the time lost due to the plane crash. So, a trip that was going to introduce FliteTest to Nepal has opened the door to make an impact in 3 countries instead of 1. I guess God has bigger plans than we do. Praise the Lord for that.
Well, we are still stuck in Bangkok as they work to open up the airport after the crash. We are praying we can get to Nepal soon. We had to fly the person meeting us in Nepal to Bangkok because he ws stuck in India and they wanted him out of te country. They require special visas in advance. However, we made lemonade out of lemons. We were able to take part in an English program through one of our partners that we support and Lee was able to share his testimony with a group of people at the meeting. God has His plan and His timing.
You know it’s official when they have a sign waiting for you and your own kiosk at the airport hotel. We are not leaving today as they work to remove the plane from the Kathmandu airport. You could tell it was not a normal situation when all of the Thai Airways personnel were running around frantically trying to figure out what to do. They have take very good care of us though.
Well, we aren’t going to make it to Kathmandu on time. They had us loaded on the shuttle bus to board the airplane here in Bangkok and then unloaded all of us back into the terminal. Apparently there was an accident on the runway at Kathmandu where a Turkish Airlines plane skidded off the runway. They are waiting to see when they will be able to open flights back up to Kathmandu.
http://www.breakingnews.com/item/2015/03/04/photo-turkish-airlines-plane-skids-off-runway-at/
We’ll keep you posted.
We made it back from Vietnam and are in Bangkok waiting to head to Nepal tomorrow. Here is a gallery of pictures from Vietnam. Cory took some of these pictures. It was great to see Vietnam and the various projects we have there. 48 hours in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) is quite a whirlwind tour. We were running from the time we hit the ground until the time we flew out. It is awesome to see all of the fruits of the labor there and to see the vision and potential ahead. There is a great opportunity in Vietnam and I’m so excited to see what is in store. I love the people and am so grateful for our friends there.
Just got back from Vietnam, I’ll post an update with some pics in a second blog. However, I wanted to share a video I put together of the motorbikes (motorcycles) in Vietnam. There are 6 million of them in Ho Chi Minh City alone! This is definitely the main mode of transportation here. I did portions of the clips in slow motion so that they were easier to see. Enjoy!
Jones Family - MANNA Missionaries 