Saying Good-bye.....for now.

May 22 was a bittersweet day. Our Bible worker and lay pastor Naresh Tudu, his wife Madhu, and their infant son Jesper left Darjeeling on their way to Spicer Memorial College in Pune, India. The "sweet" part is that this is an answer to a prayer that Naresh has been praying for 10 years! At Spicer, Naresh will receive more theology and ministerial training that will be a great help to the church here. We are happy for Naresh and believe this is a good investment in the future of the church. But in the meantime, he and his family are missed terribly. God bless you, Naresh! Hurry back soon!

Family portrait - Naresh, Madhu, and their 4 month old son Jesper.

At their going away party we presented them with a picture of Darjeeling and Mt. Kanchenjunga so that they won't forget us!

Last photo opp before the journey began! Come back soon!

Everything New

Sabbath, May 21, 2011 was a special day for our young sister Jyoti. It marked the beginning of a whole new life for her and her family. Jyoti has been coming to the Darjeeling SDA Church since last year and has been studying the Bible with our lay pastor Naresh. A couple of months ago she participated in the Communion Service at church for the first time. She said she wanted to leave the Hindu gods behind and follow Jesus. So, on Sabbath, we had three special services to commemorate the new life that Jyoti has found in Christ both for herself and for her family. 

We drove from Darjeeling to the town of Naxalbari, about two and a half hours down the mountain, to visit the Naxalbari SDA Church. On the way, we stopped on a bridge where we had special prayer and Jyoti and her husband threw all of their Hindu idols and talismans into the river. It was a big step of faith to cast out the gods that they believed protected them and put their trust in Jesus.

Pastor Horo, the head pastor of the Naxalbari SDA Church, performed a dedication service for Jyoti's young son.

Pastor Horo read the SDA baptismal vows to Jyoti in front of the church.

Jyoti was baptized in a small, concrete pool just outside the church building. Having lived her whole life in the mountains she never learned to swim and she was a little afraid of the water.

Jyoti had really been looking forward to her baptism, but she was also a little relieved that it was over and that she didn't drown!

It's been amazing to see the change in Jyoti's life and how happy she is now that Jesus is in her heart.

Jyoti with her new church family.

Let The Little Children...

A few months ago, our translation assistant and English school director Pranai started a kid's club in his neighborhood. He felt that there were many children living around him, some from very underprivileged families, who he could help to mentor and influence for Christ. So, he, along with the help of our lay pastor Naresh, invited all the children from the village to join their new kid's club which meets every Sunday morning at 10 o'clock. The parents are very happy for the work that Naresh and Pranai are doing to help guide their children towards making good decisions and being good citizens. And I'm sure Jesus is happy too!

The children meet in a small, tin-sided, tin-roofed room.

This young girl is only one of the more than fifty kids in the club.

Pastor Naresh tells a story from the Bible every week.

Children receive gifts and special recognition on their birthdays.

The children always do some craft or coloring sheet during club time.

A Visit to the Nepali Christian Fellowship

During our time in Thailand, we took a Sunday afternoon to visit the Nepali Christian Fellowship in Bangkok.  The Wrights had visited with the lay pastor previously, but this was our first time to worship with them.  The group is composed of Burmese Nepalis (Burmese nationality, Nepali ethnicity).  Sometimes they conduct the church service in Burmese and sometimes in Nepali.  Although their dialect was slightly different we were able to communicate without any difficulty. Though they have little in the way of resources and few people to help lead out and teach them from the Bible, their love of Christ was obvious and their singing heart-felt. It was a real blessing to share some time with them.

Singing together.....

Jared shares a testimony with the help of our friend Upashna.

 One of the great things about the day was getting to meet our friend Upashna again. She was one of our closest friends in Darjeeling. We missed her greatly when she moved to Thailand so it was wonderful to see her again!

Karen & Upashna sing a special song.

Jonathan gives the sermon.

Time in Thailand

Just as we did last year, we made time again this year to take 3 weeks and concentrate solely on writing some more Bible lessons.  The lessons that were created last year we've been using in Sabbath School, individual Bible studies, and in our club time.  This current set is to teach more specific Bible doctrines.  We again made use of the office on the campus of AIU (Asia-Pacific International University – formerly Mission College). The campus is beautiful, peaceful, and without transportation it is far away from anything distracting, so we got a lot done! At the end of 3 weeks we were thankful to have completed 34 new lessons that we trust will be helpful in our work.

The varying moods of lesson writing - sometimes tiring......

....and sometimes apparently really exciting!

Before turning to writing, the guys took a little ‘guy time’ (having to do with motorcycles and curvy roads!) and the girls took a long train ride over to visit our friends and colleagues, the Sorensons.  It was a blessing to spend a little time with them and see the good work they are doing.  It’s encouraging to get to talk together about what God is doing in our respective corners of the world.

Sharing a meal Thai style - fresh and delicious!

Visiting the SDA church in Surin with the Sorensons.

Sabbath services in Surin.

Loved feeding the elephants at a local elephant camp!

Tonya gets a lift! So amazing to be so near these incredible creatures.

A Beautiful Baptism

Six months after opening the Darjeeling English Center, one of our very first students was baptized – PRAISE GOD!

Rajesh was one of the first students to apply for class. The Wrights, along with our teammates Naresh and Pranai, were instrumental in starting Men’s and Women’s Spiritual Clubs at the school on Sunday afternoons and Rajesh regularly attended. What he learned there piqued his interest and soon he started Bible studies with Naresh. Before long he was attending Friday night home meeting (vespers) and church on Sabbath.

It was an encouragement to us to see him prioritize his life and actions to please God. It was also a faith-building experience for all of us to see his commitment to God in the face of family pressure. He could have taken any one of dozens of reasons and excuses not to follow God, but he didn’t. Talk about encouraging! Talk about a face like flint!

On September 18, 2010 Pastor Jonathan Tamsang and Elder P.K. Tamsang met us at a beautiful outdoor setting to baptize Rajesh. Joined by church members, friends, and family, he committed his life to Christ in baptism. It was a remarkable day! 

Naresh leads song service.

Rajesh takes baptismal vows with Elder P.K. Tamsang officiating.

Pastor Jonathan Tamsang prepares to put Rajesh below the water.

Potluck!

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Our friend and supervisor, Dale Goodson, paid us a visit in time to join us for the baptism. It is always good to be able to dialogue with experienced people about our work. 

First DEC certificates awarded!

Our very first DEC classes began in February 2010. Tonya’s Level 1 class was filled to maximum capacity right away and the majority of those students continued faithfully for 6 months to earn a certificate for Level 1.

We are very proud of those students who studied so hard to earn this certificate of achievement!

Teacher's Day

Teacher’s Day in India is a well-observed “holiday.” By holiday I don’t mean teachers get a day off or anything, but students shower their teachers with cards, gifts, and often plan a special program.  In India, Teacher’s Day is every year on September 5 – the birthday of the second President of India, academic philosopher Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan.  At DEC (Darjeeling English Center) we celebrated on September 6 since the 5^th fell on a Sunday. 

Our students made us feel very loved and appreciated! The silk scarves around our necks are given to show honor and respect.

A Taste of Our Lessons

We thought you might like a taste of what our bible lessons will probably be like. We will have the lessons available in both Nepali and English eventually. Getting the Nepali lessons first is our priority.

Jared did a nice job of putting this mockup together. The first two pictures we're done especially for these lessons by Dianne Wagner.

Enjoy!

Our Church is Growing

Usually, rain showers are an inconvenience, but this past Sabbath we
were thankful!
This past winter was especially dry in Darjeeling and all the rivers
and streams in the hills had dried up quite a bit. We had been praying
that one of the larger rivers would be deep enough to have a baptism
program, and God heard our prayers. Just over a month ago the river
was barely deep enough to get above our ankles, but last week we found
a spot that was almost waist deep. Everyone was really happy to be
able to have our baptism service.
God also blessed us with good weather. It was warm and we even had a
bit of sun, which was a real blessing for those who were baptized.
There were also many beautiful flowers in bloom, which made the day a
little extra special.
Dhankumari Bhutia, Kusum Smith, and Dikee Sherpa were baptized and
joined the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Many of their family members
and friends attended the program, several of whom are not Christian.
We were excited that they were able to witness such a special
Christian ceremony. Please continue to pray that God will give us the
wisdom and understanding that we need to continue to help these women
to grow to be more mature and dedicated disciples of Christ.

Below is a short video of baptismal program.