Our Neighbood Refugee Outreach

Last week I was past of a team headed by my sister to teach, love, mentor, and spend time with the refugees that live in the neighborhood surrounding our new church building. Since the very beginning, when this was known as the sight of our church building, my sister and a couple of others have spent time almost weekly playing with these kids. So two years or so later we are at home in our new building and thanks to my sister and her heart for the kids have an in with the neighbors. So outreach week was to further these relationships and to show this community that we care about them. 

If you ask anyone on our team, all would say it was a success. From the bounce house on monday to VBS daily under the big tree to the movie and popcorn to close out the week.

It was great to see my sister at work with her passion.
It was great to see Waypoint show up and volunteer and get to know our neighbors like some of us already do.
It was great to see the kids get excited about our church, always wanting to see the inside but having to wait till the movie on Friday.
It was great to see new relationships formed and old ones strengthened. 
It was great to hear the laughs and see the smiles on everyone's faces.
It was a great week.


Thank you Jesus for giving my sister this passion and for putting our team together in a perfect way.

Lord, I ask that you continue to help Waypoint become part of this neighborhood and community. Help us to help and care for our neighbors. Show us how to be you to those who know you and those who don't.

Earthquake Damage

I have had many people ask about the earthquake damage. It really depended on what neighborhood or village you were in if there was any damage.

Some were huge cracks, some crumbling bricks and other whole houses that were collapsed.

A famous tourist attraction- Durbar Square completely devastated by the earthquake.

There is a lot of fear still in peoples hearts.
They are afraid that there will be another earthquake (there was about 5 aftershocks while we were there). They are afraid that they wont be able to find a new house or even afford it.

One of the houses in the neighborhood we stayed. Our friends were near in when the earthquake hit.

We went to a tent city run by the military for ministry our first two days in Nepal. We sat in many tents and heard many stories. They were all stories of fear. Stories of lost jobs. Stories of hopelessness. So many people displaced without someone (God) to cling to when times are hard. No one to trust in. No one to comfort them. It was hard to hear the stories and know that they don't have The Lord on their side helping them and fighting for them. We prayed for them and encouraged them and let them know that they aren't alone, that people even half way across the world are thinking of them.

Another great part

We walk out of the hotel gate and turn the corner. After that the directions are a little unknown.  We head in the direction we thought it would be and end up finding a man who knows where we want to go.

We find the house. Its gate black with gold. Someone comes down and opens it for us.

A quick walk to the back porch , that is covered in shoes of all sizes. Once our shoes join the others we step inside.

Up a quick flight of stairs we meet more of the family.

That moment we all became family.

There are girls everywhere.
Of all ages.

Immediately we are welcomed in with hugs and a game of UNO is quickly started.

Tea is made and it was official we were part of the family.

That was the first few moments at Karuna Ghar a home for girls run by two amazing parents, Gautam and Rekha. But its more than that its a family. Its a place where everyone is seen and everyone is needed.  It didn’t take long for our team to fall in love with this house. For me it was almost immediately. From the first hug and game of UNO I knew this family was special. There is so much love in that house, and everyone knows it. They often have people in and out. Girls friends who want to come over  just because they know there is something different about it.

Through out the trip we spent time with many of the girls. Several of them translated for us and every evening was spent at the house playing games, worshiping and eating dinner. We all fell in love with this family. Gautam and Rekha are amazing parents who are raising their family up in The Lord. Their family looks different than the typical Napali family because of the love that is given there. And because of that they are changing their neighborhood and city.

Rekha, Tim, Gautam and Silas

So here's to a family who loves.  Thank you for letting us be a part of your family, for welcoming us so quickly and making our trip so memorable.

A best part

Being back we are asked lots of questions. One of which is what was the best part. That is a big question.  The trip was a success. There was a lot of best parts. So now today I will tell you about one day that sticks out.

Actually this was the day that the five of us ladies got to be together.
Usually we were all split up, with only five of us on a team of 15.

Kt and Rupa leading us up the "mountain".

This day we set off early, heading up the “mountain” to Maya Didi’s house. Maya Didi is a lady in the church who is kind of like an elder. So the five of us and four of Gautam and Rekha’s girls, who were our translators the whole trip took off on our hour and a half hike uphill to Maya Didi’’s house. It was a long walk, but we had views of the city that took our breath away.

So we arrived at our hosts house, had some Coke while on their roof then lunch. Another plate of rice, dal and chicken. After lunch was story time.

For story time we all sat in a room in a big circle. The Nepalis proceeded to share how The Lord perused them and how they came to believe, trust and know Him.  Their stories were of healings and visions and dreams. They were stories of struggles and hardships. They were stories of life. Of hope. Of trust. When all the stories were shared, our team of five decided to pray for each of them.

All year we practiced prophetic prayer. For this trip we felt that our mission was to come beside those who lived in Kathmandu and encourage them. Prophetic prayer is just part of that.

So we prayed for each of them, our amazing translator, Rupa made sure that those receiving prayer understood what the Lord was saying to them. I know that The Lord was in that room. Each of those Napalis were encouraged. You could see the words hitting them. You could see The Lord touching each of their hearts. There were some tears. There was lots of hugs and smiles. Each of us got words for our new friends that lined up with the others. It was really cool.

After prayer we shared a snack and more Coke. It was a really special time. It was communion. It was breaking bread and remembering Christ and what He has done for us. I think we could have all stayed in that moment forever. But goodbyes had to be said. More hugs and goodbyes to our new friends and we were off down the “mountain” back home.

On our way home, Rupa explained to my sister that while we were praying and she translating, The Lord gave her each picture/image that He was giving us. This was so that she could translate them perfectly. It was so sweet of the Lord to do that, it just shows how much He loves His people in Nepal.

Rupa our beautiful sister and translator.

I think this day will always be in my heart and on my mind.

Looking back at Nepal Pt 1

Our Pastor, known to us on the team as Silas Uncle, posted this on facebook about our trip.  I thought I would share it today and hopefully later in the week when my head isn't so scrambled I will get my own words down to share with you. 

Nepal Team Update--
There are two sides to Short Term Missions. Sometimes they match up but usually they don't. There's the side of the people who go who usually feel like they really accomplished great things and feel pretty good about it. Then there is the side of those on the ground: missionaries and local believers who host them and facilitate the STM team while they are there. Their story is not as often as glowing, they are often left exhausted, and in some cases, they tell tales of how it had more negative impact than positive. 

When you ask the Nepal Team about what they did in Nepal, you are going to hear more about what others are doing than what they did. There's a good reason. It was their focus going in. They had the humility to know that their personal impact on the story of the gospel in Nepal would be minor compared to the story of those who live in Nepal.

Instead of hearing about what they did they will be sharing testimonies of courageous, generous and faithful Nepali believers, living isolated in villages where there are only a few other believers.
So, since the team will mostly be sharing others stories, let me share some of theirs because the truth is, they really did have an impact. Our team sat cross legged for hours on hard floors listening to people share their testimonies, their fears following the earthquakes, their hardships of being socially and relationally isolated because of their faith. They validated the stories of the believers in these small communities of faith in and around Kathmandu by listening and letting them know that their stories matter, that they were important stories. 

Our team ate pounds of rice and lentils and drank gallons of hot milk tea during the hottest spell Kathmandu has had in decades (with barely a complaint) because relationships are invested in over shared meals and cups of tea. 

And then they placed their hands on these faithful believers and prayed for them, sharing with them the pictures God gave them of hope, encouragement, edification and blessing.
People were so moved by the prayers they received that they would go get other believers from the village to be prayed for. 

There were a couple of people who prayed to receive Christ and a couple of miraculous healings that took place as a direct result of the team's time. But what they will state as more important was how they were able to encourage people who will go on and have far greater impact for the Kingdom. 

I got to hear directly from a number of Nepali believers and a couple of missionaries who said how blessed and encouraged they were. Some said to me how God used the team's prophetic prayers to speak directly to an issue of discouragement that they were facing. One woman excitedly told me that she had a dream the night before that was exactly what someone prayed over her the next day. 

So I want to say how proud I am of our team. They loved the people of Nepal really well and they represented Waypoint Church really well. They have some amazing stories to share. Please take some time to listen to them.

Love in Nepal

Our team has been able to visit with Christians living in villages outside of Kathmandu. We spend time hearing their stories. Ones of healing. Ones of love. Ones of joy. Some of these Christians are the only Christ followers in their communities. But that doesn't stop them from declaring The Lord each day. So many are a light in their little corner of Nepal. A light that the Lord is using to bring all people to him. After each story we prayed for them and encouraged them. We let them know that even before the earthquake they were on the Lords heart. They are not forgotten. They are not overlooked. THEY ARE LOVED.

The team was blessed with a little retreat to the mountains last night. We woke early this morning to watch sunrise. It's so peaceful up out of the poltroon and noise of the city.

Please continue to pray that we will be an encouragement to those living and working here.

In Nepal.

Our team made it to Nepal last night. We are enjoying the sights and our hotel is nice. Our flights all went smooth and baggage all arrived as it should.

A week away.

A week from today we will be in Nepal. I have a feeling this week will go fast with work and packing and a friends wedding.

Our team met together on Thursday and talked about our trip and what it looks like. The two words that describe it well are LISTEN and PRAY. We will be listening to peoples stories. Helping them process the trauma of the earthquakes and more. And praying for them. A simple task. But one that will free many from fear. I always love hearing peoples stories. I have dealt with trauma first hand and know what it means for someone to listen as you process and talk it out. I am thankful to be that person for those who need it in Nepal.

As we prepare and leave next Sunday morning. Please pray that The Lord gives us His heart for His people in Nepal. That we have compassion for each one. And boldness to pray what needs to be prayed. And that His presence is with us so much that those we minister to will know that there is something different about us. 

A new Nepal trip

If you are connected to technology at all then you have heard about and seen the aftermath of the Nepal earthquake that happened Saturday.

 

My team members and I would never have guessed this would happen a month before we leave. 

But the Lord knew. 

And He still called us there months and months ago.

So YES, we are still going.

Pastor Silas, who lived there with his family for 11 years, is going back on Saturday to check it all out and get a better picture of what is going on and check on his friends there. After he gets back we will have a better picture of what our trip will now look like. 

For those of you who have supported me financially for this trip, THANK YOU. For those of you who haven't yet and want a way to help the people of Nepal after this terrible thing, you can partner with me and my teams mission trip. Just go here and select Short term team- Nepal and put my name (Rebecca Arnold) down in the comments area. If you want to know more about this trip stay tuned here for updates or I can get you our original trip info.

I'm not perfect. I fail sometimes.

So that is hard for me to admit, especially to myself.

 I want to do things correct and right the first time I do them. Many things do come easy to me so I expect everything to. But they don't. There are days at work that the the cupcakes I bake come out of the oven too big or too small. Sometimes the cakes overflow and cause a big mess. Sometimes I say the wrong words. Sometimes I forget things or add numbers wrong or I forget to brush my teeth. Or I don't do my homework right. Or I don't speak up when I should. Even the things I'm good at I struggle to see that I am good at it. I just expect to fail at things because I can't do them perfect.

So I'm reading my Discipleship homework tonight, a few chapters from the book Living Gods Word, and I read:

"Because we live int he overlap between this age and the age to come, we will experience victories as well as struggles until Jesus returns. [one example given is] - We experience God's forgiveness, BUT we still sin and will never be perfect in this life."

Bam. Right there, the very thing that I hold over myself is not even possible. It's way to high of a bar to expect myself to get to. That goal is too high. Too perfect. A little later on that same page I read:

"God takes time to accomplish his work in our lives. He will continue to work until Christ returns (see Phil 1:6). We will always be growing and maturing in this life, but we will not be morally perfect and sinless until Christ returns."

So while its good to try to be better, perfect may not be a good goal. Where is the Freedom in that? Where is the Grace? The Hope? If we are not to be perfect till Christ comes back, then accomplishing that goal before He returns takes away His reason to return.

"Discipleship is the lifelong process of learning how to be like Jesus in every aspect of life"

Keyword here being LIFELONG. So it takes a while to be like Him. Its not something anyone can "perfect" in a day. A week. A couple years. Its a journey that takes our whole lives. And not till the end when we are with Him are we PERFECT.

So I need to take the pressure off myself. I need to enjoy this journey. Take time to sit and relax. Take time to laugh and enjoy. To learn from Him who knows it all. Who is the example and who is working in me to make me more like Him.

Pancakes.

Today we had our fundraiser. It was a lot of fun and the Lord blessed us. We felt the support from the whole church. What a great community the Lord has placed me in.


 Here are a few pictures from the day. 

Our Art for sale.

The Church showed up.

Teammates making pancakes.

More of the team. Always having a good time.

Im going to Nepal.

So as part of the Discipleship Class I have been taking since August my class and I will be going to Kathmandu, Nepal in June. We are excited for this trip. For some its their first mission trip. For me its my first with my sister. My first on that side of the world.  Here is some details of our trip.

 

As a team we welcome prayers just as much as financial support. So I ask that you pray for us. We want to see the Lord use us in miraculous ways to show His love and kingdom to everyone we meet. If you are able please partner with me financially to make this trip possible and help change lives and hearts. Click HERE to give towards my trip.  Select the Short Term Missions- Nepal Team and add my Name (Rebecca Arnold). Thank you for your prayers and support. 

I will try to update this more than I have. I gave up my computer for lent but I'm back on it now.

I am in the paper.

I made the paper here in Omaha for work.  Check out the link below.  I have been working at Cupcake Island for almost a year.  Its been a good place to work.

Click here to see the newspaper article.