A Productive Day

There are some amazing people here. After an early start, we ate breakfast with a Sherpa couple who have awesome testimonies of God's saving grace. The husband's uncle was there, and is also a rather recent convert. His life's story is amazing. He has a very obvious tragic injury to his face and head. I'm not trying to be shocking here, but half of his face is severely deformed from a very serious wound from very long ago. Turns out it was from being mauled by a bear when he was in his late teens.

We've met with several contacts today. One has been given an incredible opportunity to work in a closed country where we'd love to plant. He's got a close friend who is a best friend of the ruler. Like...of the country. Another contact is the only Christian in his mountain village and only one of about three in his entire people group. He is going to be our guide when we "jeep" and walk up near our target area. By the way, I love that they commonly use the word "jeep" as a verb here, even in the native language. I don't think I've seen a real Jeep (brand) vehicle here. We will ride in a Mahindra or Toyota Land Cruiser or something tomorrow. Madison promises that this several-hour 4x4 trip will be very rough, and not fun at all. We will probably not have internet service after leaving tomorrow, so it may be a couple of days before I am able to post again. Please pray for us as we fly to Darjeeling and "jeep" to the border of the closed target area. This is where it gets dicy and this is why we came. The next two days are very important.

As you have probably been able to tell, we have been doing a lot of walking throughout the town. A lot of walking. I'm constantly thinking about how cool it would be to wear a Go Pro. There is no way to describe the madness of the streets here. Motorcycles darting in and out of crowds of people walking in eight-foot-wide alleys with the occasional car wedging its way, all the while everyone is honking horns.

But the people here are great. They are interesting and most are very kind. The colors of this city are stunning. Here are some pictures. They are straight off my phone in unedited form.

I snuck the following shots while waiting for Madison who was in the bank. They were all taken within a period of two minutes.

A Buddhist monk. These guys are everywhere!

This is one I took out the window of a coffee shop.

And one more...this is me with the driver of this truck FULL of Mountain Dew!! They love it here!

Luggage Found. And a Few More Pictures

Good news!  The airport called the place we are staying and said they had our bags. Whew! Thanks much for praying.  The trip there was the typical insane drive through Kathmandu to go get it. Our host graciously gave us a ride. He is a confident driver who just talks and checks texts while driving through the absolute chaos. Honestly, I've never seen anything worse (and I've sees some terrible driving in this world)! But we made it there, got the bags and arrived safely
Here are a few more photos from our area:

And yes, the food is still great. No one has yet had stomach issues. (Lord, please continue this great grace!)

A Taste of Nepal (and Tibet)

We are in Kathmandu, Nepal, reconnecting with some of Madison's friends and contacts before traveling closer to our target area. We have already gotten some great leads. Here are some pictures of our day thus far.

Lunch. A Tibetan Buffalo and noodles dish with some kicking hot pepper paste. Awesome. Oh, and Darla will be pleased to know that Mountain Dew flows abundantly here--the real deal made with cane sugar. Mmmm!

The view outside the place where we ate lunch. The lady is sweeping rainwater off the street with a homemade broom.

Madison and Jesse walking on the street. Notice the rough-cut marble and slate cobblestone street. 

On a street overlooking the Tibetan population area of Kathmandu. Notice the building with a cross on on its red roof. It is the only church we've seen thus far. I think we're going to worship there Sunday. 

Very common sight: fresh produce sold at a store on the street. 

Madison walking with an old friend who was surprised to see him. It was a reunion I wish I would have gotten on camera. 

I'm drinking Nepali tea, sitting with a Buddhist monk. He's drinking American black tea. Ironic.

I'll try to post more later. Right now we have some sporadic, slow, and weak internet, and I'm having to post with my phone (my cord to get pictures from my phone to my computer is in my bag, which is still missing). We hope to get our lost bags back. That would be a good thing for you to pray for. But especially pray that God will open doors and show the way to the unreached people group he wants us to work with. That's the real prayer.

Finally in Nepal!

We made it to Kathmandu. And we made it in style (or at least, first class). We were upgraded at the gate as we were boarding,  and let me tell you, it was, in the words of uncle Eddie in Christmas Vacation, "Real nice, Clark."

Wide, reclining, leather, massage seats; equipped with a personal TV screen with a vast database of movies, games,  and TV shows. All the oppulent comforts, luxury service, and great food that you would expect from an airline that flies gazillionaire oil sheiks around the world.  I don't want to tell too much or some may think we're doing this for the wrong reasons! It was a small gift of God after a 13-hour layover.
All was peachy until we got to Kathmandu and discovered that Madison's and my luggage didn't make it. Not cool. Here's the mystery: Jesse's luggage was waiting for us. After going to the authorities with our tracking tabs and tickets, we found out that Madison's bag is evidently still in Chicago. Mine, on the other hand, is not even showing up in the system! What?! "No problem," the Nepali baggage claims guys told us, "They will probably be here tomorrow." I really hope so.

Kathmandu is an incredible city! As always I was expecting something much different. This is a sprawling, buzzing metropolis that feels (in many ways) like going 100 years back in time. Some parts of it remind me of other third-world areas of the world where I have been. But it is more exotic and strange. Hinduism and (especially) Buddhism is everywhere. The lostness of the majority of people is evident. There is sooo much to do. This is just the starting point for us. We're going to make contacts with people who have contacts among some of out target people groups and go from there.
Please keep praying!

Long flight is over.

The first and second legs of our flight are in the can.
I'm writing this from the Abu Dhabi airport in the United Arab Emirates while we're waiting for our luggage. We just endured the long flight from Chicago of 13 hours. I have what we Sparks call "the gift." It is the ability to sleep anywhere for any period of time in pretty much any circumstances and feel rested afterward. It is at times like these that I am especially thankful for it. Here's the description of my flight: after finally taking off, I watched a movie (and ate during it), slept 8 hours, and watched another movie (eating during it, too). So I feel pretty good. They even served Pepsi on the plane!

The counter scene as we try to figure
out what happened to our bags. 

Where's the luggage? 

It's 9:45 pm here (8 hours ahead of home). We've got a long layover, so I guess we'll eat (something really cool I'm sure) and  then sleep some more!
Well, something seems to have happened to our bags. Gotta go figure it
Thanks for continuing to pray for us the next 2 1/2 weeks.
UPDATE: our checked bags  are apparently headed to Kathmandu. I guess we'll see.  We just ate butter chicken over biryani rice. Well, Madison and I did. Jesse got Burger King. I really don't know what to say about that.

Now it's time for sleep. It's 1am here. We board at 8am. Next stop: Katmandu, Nepal.

In the Air

Here I am with my brothers on the way to the Himalayas. Please pray for us. We have just now boarded for a twelve-and-a-half-hour flight.
I'm so ready to get there and begin seeking God's pleasure and watching him work.
Argh! Delays. Should have expected as much here at the Windy City.

We have been sitting on the runway in Chicago for over an hour now!  I am seated next to a very nice Indian woman. She has already helped me decipher the menu!
I want to take off so I can sleeeeeeeeeep!  Once we are in Asia, I will have to be very careful about my communication. So if I give updates you will have to understand.

Packing for the Unknown

As I wrote on the previous post, I am going on a trip to the Himalayan region.
Before big events the adrenaline flows. I'm always nervous as I pack. This time there are so so many questions and variables. And we're going to stay wet. Packing is not easy, because I need to travel light.

Besides the usual stuff, I need plenty of protein bars and beef jerky (don't know what we'll be eating), underwear and socks (I'm fine being wet and nasty everywhere else but not there), water filter, sleeping stuff (including measures to keep bedbugs at bay), all in a waterproof pack.
The most important way to prepare is spiritually. That's something that you can't do last minute.
Thanks to all for your prayers on our behalf.

Getting Ready to "Go."

Jesus commanded his followers to "Go...make disciples of all nations" (Matthew 28:19).

Beautiful Himalayan children. 

I'm not really sure if this it is a good idea to post about this or not... but here goes. I'm about to go on a very important trip. For years our church has been wanting to take the gospel and plant a church in a truly unreached people group. There are, according to estimations, about 1000 people groups (Greek: ethne = usually translated, "nations") in the world that are yet untouched by the Gospel. That means there are "nations" that must be reached before Jesus will return (Matthew 24:14). If every American evangelical church our size and larger would just take responsibility to reach one of these groups, we could easily cover them all in our lifetimes. We (our elders and our church) have prayed, researched, talked, talked, talked. How do we determine where God wants us to go? How do you prepare? What about the many risks? What will it cost? When do we pull the trigger? Truth is, (in my opinion) those questions can't be answered with absolute certainty (barring supernatural communication from God). As I read the New Testament, having answers to these questions is not a prerequisite or even the priority. We are called to go. Christians in the New Testament just went. No culture-training, no plan for when things go wrong, no classes, no fundraising campaign. They just went.
We Americans tend to over-think things. We set our objectives, prepare, train, and execute. We attempt to do it all in a timely fashion. Some of us (me in times past) set unreasonably ambitious goals. The rest of the world--or most of it anyway--doesn't roll like that. Their days creep by. Change comes slowly. Something different (like say, following a God about whom they have never heard, whom they can't see, yet who desires the total surrender of their lives) takes time to sink in.
I'm not advocating recklessness or ignorance or arrogance in proceeding. I'm advocating proceeding. Wisely, carefully, lovingly, with determination and intentionality. Is it dangerous? Maybe. But Christians must be willing to face danger. Dying is gain. We are called to give our lives for this gospel. We do it with joy, knowing that there is incomprehensible joy that awaits us and all those who receive Christ because we told them. Additionally, this is how we change this world. We can be dismayed at the state of the world, vote for politicians who have a plan to help, and even pray for world peace. But going gives the world the Prince of Peace.

This is a church planter in the region near where we are going.
God is moving among some of the people groups in the
Himalayan area, but there are many more yet unreached.

God is at work in the region where we are going. But we are going to some of the spiritual frontiers, where he has not yet been known. This is a pioneering, "first contact" reconnaissance trip. God willing, there will be many more intentional trips to the area in the future. I know many of you (especially among our Providence men) are biting at the bit to take part. I love our church.
Want to help us? Yes, pray for smooth travel (it's monsoon season there) and health so that we can accomplish our mission. But even more, pray that God will open doors and prearrange the right contacts. Pray that we will be wise listeners and learners. Pray that we will have opportunities to share the good news, that God will raise up new disciples, and perhaps even a future indigenous church planter (that would be a huge miracle). Pray that we will come back with a God-inspired strategy for reaching one of the many truly unreached groups in the area (Himalayan Asia) where we (Jesse, Madison, and I) are going.

Stay-cation at Grayson Highlands

As I wrote in the previous post, we went on a little trip to SW Virginia/NW Tennessee. It was a great time. Here are some more pictures and comments from our day hanging out at Grayson Highlands:

Yes! We needed the warm clothes. It was chilly there! We've learned that it's always cooler at Grayson Highlands than anywhere else.

Drew climbing up some nameless peak. 

I'm sure this peak has a name, but I don't know it. Yes, the clouds were beautiful! They were whipping by, too. We would get a few moments of sunshine followed by a few of cloud cover.

Happy Drew. Sitting with Sparky, looking toward Mt. Rogers. 

Happy Chad. Yes, I needed the jacket! The wind was kicking! When the sun was behind the clouds it was downright cold! Mo's on the leash because I didn't want him falling off the cliff.

Duncan resting on Sparky in a grassy wind break. Awesome spot!

Drew and Sparky finding a grassy windbreak in the cleft of a rock. 

Duncan made it to the top with Sparky.

Picking blueberries. This is truly one of God's great gifts.  

Blueberry were everywhere! Delicious, tart, and bursting with juice. Mmmm! I couldn't get enough. I could easily live a week playing Survivorman up there.

Sparky and Mo want blueberries too!

Beagle heaven! Too many rabbits to track! And deer... and ponies... and squirrels... and groundhogs... Mo exhausted himself!

Here's me trying to keep up with Mo. 

It's the simple days like this that are great. I want more of them! They also remind us of God's glory.

David sang (Psalm 72:18-19),

 Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel,
   who alone does wondrous things.
 Blessed be his glorious name forever;
   may the whole earth be filled with his glory!
 Amen and Amen!

To The Easternmost "Tip" of Tennessee

Tennessee is, generally speaking, shaped like a long parallelogram. Of course, a closer look reveals a much different and irregular shape.

Many people think the northeastern tip of Tennessee is a tri-state border with Virginia and North Carolina. There is a tri-state point, but that is not the northeasternmost point. Like a puzzle piece that seems to not quite fit, it strangely protrudes away from the NC line a bit. A few miles, in fact.

This northeasternmost point of the state has been a curiosity of mine since I was a kid. I've known for years that this oddly shaped tip of the state was located near the Virginia Creeper bike trail, but I've never determined to find it. That is until today.

Our family (minus Dara, who was invited by her friend to go to the beach) took advantage of a couple of days when Drew was home from Berry College and before Duncan must begin at Carson-Newman, to take a stay-cation. So we hurriedly packed the Wagoneer and hooked up the pop-up and headed to Bear Tree campground near Damascus, VA.

It is one of our favorite places. After the first night, we ate a big breakfast and spent the day at Grayson Highlands (awesome) eating our fill of wild blueberries (everywhere and delicious), apples, blackberries, and lying around the rocky peaks and grassy fields watching the clouds blow by.

Sparky and Mo (our ten-year-old Chocolate Lab and one-year-old Beagle, respectively) had the time of their lives (Sparky relaxing and Mo running free)!

On the 28th of July, it was around 58 degrees! With the wind blowing, you really needed a fleece or a warm jacket.

On the way back we stopped at a couple of places to let Drew collect some wild Beebalm to make tea.
We went to Damascus for dinner and discussed what we would do on Tuesday. That's when I sprung it on them: "Let's go find the easternmost tip of Tennessee. It's really close to the Creeper trail near Green Cove." No enthusiastic response. It seems that I was the only one who appreciated the novelty of finding the spot. No one had a better idea about what to do so I brought it up again. This time I got questions:
"How do you know how to get there?"
Me: "My topo map shows the place and I have a compass. I even have satellite photos on my phone."
"Is there a trail?"
Me: "I don't know. I don't think so."
"How far down the Creeper from Green Cove do we have to go?"
Me: "It's UP the Creeper, and it looks like about a mile."
"Up?! That will be hard."
Me: "The Creeper isn't steep. We can do it, no problem."
"What will we do with the dogs?"
Me: "We'll take them with us."
"Mo will run in front of the bikes and cause a wreck, and Sparky can't run that fast."
Me: "I'll take care of Mo on a leash, and Drew can get Sparky. We won't go fast. It's just a mile."
Truth is, I was feeling the pressure. This crazy idea had better work.

We got up the next morning, ate breakfast, and headed to Green Cove. A beautiful day. The dogs did fine. Drew ended up giving up Sparky since his bike wasn't working well. Mo pulled me up the trail like a sled dog. He couldn't go fast enough! I was laughing the whole way. We got to the place where I had figured was closest to the point and parked the bikes. Darla wasn't happy when I started up the hill in the thick woods and crossed a barbed-wire fence. "There's no trail! This is crazy!" She almost didn't go. We walked through some pretty thick stuff, including spider webs and brush, all the while keeping an eye on the compass.

I'm standing on the very tip of Tennessee looking west-southwest.
Virginia's border follows the fence lines on either side. Beyond the
fences are thick woods dominated by laurels & hardwood trees.

Drew saw what appeared to be a clearing in the otherwise thick woods. About 30 feet from "the point" there were some stout barbed-wire fences that the girls decided not to cross. Drew and I did, and (imagine the sound of angels' voices from heaven) there it was! It is an unceremonious spot, really. There is no sign. What once was a marker has been broken. But looking west into Tennessee is a beautiful view. I took in the moment. Thomas Jefferson's father was the first to mark this very spot. Since he did, there have probably not been that many more who have stood there. But now we had.

Here is what's left of a border marker that's buried deep in the
ground, inches from the very point of Tennessee. You can see
what's left of a hole that was once carved in this old stone that
perhaps contained a signpost of some sort.

I'm sure there is some spiritual analogy here, but I've not found one. It was just cool. I'll try to add some more pictures later. A great day.

I just wish Dara could have been here with us. I bet she would have appreciated it. Guess I'll just have to bring her back!

Oh, and I want to find the other three corners of Tennessee now, too.