here's the link...

http://brillylynn.tumblr.com/post/16240717023/nepal-is-his

Thanks to one of our own college girls, April, we can see some of the pics and stories of our experience in Nepal. Feel free to check it out...

http://brillylynn.tumblr.com/post/16240717023/nepal-is-his

a few out of 2000+ pics we took

back in the states

Our team arrived home yesterday safe and sound.  With a few sick ones and a couple of lost luggage, we embraced our loved ones and were excited to take a hot shower and sleep in our beds.  As we drove home, we teared up already missing the culture, country and people of Nepal.  When coming home from any mission trip, the adjustment of coming back to the states is a little tough. We talked as a team and prepared ourselves for frustrating feelings, the urge to sell everything we have and live in a box, and/or the desire to move to Nepal tomorrow. Although none of those things are bad, we have to think how we can change realistically yet with an eternal perspective.  God has moved radically in our lives and we are confident that He has planted seeds in our hearts to live even more missionally. We love that we are all missionaries, whether here or halfway around the world.  We wouldn't be surprised if God is calling us to live there in Nepal someday:) So after we get a little rest, we will post some pictures and stories from our trip to Nepal. Thank you to all who prayed for us. Please continue to pray for our team as we all process our experience and listen to the Holy Spirit as He speaks to us in what our role is now.  Pray, Send, Go...  Whether we are the ones praying, financially sending those to go, or the ones who actually step foot in th place of calling...we all play a part in missions.  As for now, time to rest. Humbled, tired, and amazed...Team Nepal. 

coming home

So sorry we have not been able to keep everyone posted in the past several days. We have not had access to any internet until now.  The past week has been absolutely amazing! We just wanted everyone to know that we are alive and well:)) As for now, we are leaving to come home this afternoon from Kathmandu.  We just finished a wonderful breakfast here in our hotel. We are leaving to walk the streets and visit a Palace, then we will be on our way to the airport. Please pray for safe travels home as we begin our long travel home:) Some of us finally received our bags last night and we are still missing two. They are either in Delhi or Chicago so we will pick them up on the way back. Crazy! The team is amazing- some are recovering from a little bug so please pray for continual healing. This trip has been life-changing and unlike anything we have ever experienced.  We cannot wait to share with all of you what the Lord has done.  As for now-love you all and we'll blog as we travel home (depending on internet access). Hugs and kisses to all

Good morning from Pokhara-the most beautiful place here in Nepal (in our opinion.) As we sit in this amazing Nepal hotel, we are overlooking the most incredible scenary. We were finally able to get wifi. For the past 2 days, it has not been working due to the lack of electricity. Well, we arrived here in Pokhara about 30 hours ago. The trip here was...hmmm...lets say....undescribable. It felt like we were on a rollarcoaster ride for 11 hours straight. We had a stop about 4 times (not counting potty breaks and lunch) to just get out and get some fresh air. The roads were unlike we've ever seen or experienced, but like the rest of the time here, we put our faith in our Lord. So let's back up a little to our time in Nepalgunj. We have to share some things that cannot go unnoticed. We had the privilage to sit down with people from INF in Kathmandu. After serving us Nepali Tea (it is out of this world), we sat around a big table and heard the mission and vision of this ministry. We met people from around the world that left there jobs to come serve full time with INF. The joy was all over their faces...we tear up just thinking about that joy we see in those who know Jesus. So after hearing more about INF, we were able to prepare ourselves more on what we were going to experience and how we were to pray for these people. From Kathmandu, we flew on another airplane (Yeti Airlines) -have to giggle at that- to Nepalgunj. The Lord's work is powerful here. Tears never stopped flowing from our team as we experienced incredible things. We rode on Rickshaws through the streets. The people here are gentle, very curious of who we are. We all get a lot of stares, smiles, and waves. We arrived at INF and we walked through the place where they minister to people who have come with no hope, a disablility that has caused them to be unaccepted, a body and mind that has been battered and abused by drugs, etc. It is incredible to watch these nurses, doctors, and volunteers be the hands and feet of Jesus. Unlike in America, these patients were so excited to see us come through and say hi. Unashamed, they held there hands together and greeted us with the words "Namaste." Their eyes were so excited even though their bodies were sick. Glancing back at the team, you could see the tears welling up in their eyes. The INF staff continued to show us around as we prayed for these people to have the hope of Jesus, as some, were on their last days. We visited TB patients and those who have had Leporasy and continue to come back for medication. We couldn't believe...well, a lot if things. It will take a lot of time to process that day in our minds. We continue to praise the Lord for this trip as we continue to have faith in the One who is the only Way, the only Truth, and the only Life. We can't believe we know this awesome God. Finally, we left on that crazy bus ride to this amazing city of Pokhara. Yesterday, we were blessed to worship with the people here. Our friend N- has been the most amazing host and has worked hard to make this trip happen for us. He is here from Pokhara and his grandparents have started the first church in Nepal. As we walked up to service, we were greeted by music that would make you cry. With the joyful sound of voices and instruments, God was worshipped and we were excited to be apart of that. The men and women sit on opposite sides of the church...on the floor. The girls took off our shoes and a sweet woman showed us where to sit. With all eyes on us, we stood up and introduced ourselves. Then, we joined them in this time of worship. The first song we sang was "This is the day." We were excited to sing this in English while the women around us sang in Nepali. Suddenly, a picture of our eternal time with God, (singing as one tribe, tongue and nation) overwhelmed us. We couldn't help but cry and praise Him. He is so worthy of our praises. We couldn't see the guys on the other side of the room, but we knew they were experiencing the same thing we were. The Holy Spirit was present. It didn't matter that the sound system went out, it didn't matter how many musicians they didn't have or have, it didn't matter that the strings were out of tune. Hands were lifted high and voices of prayer and song filled the room. He. was. pleased. Sigh....so we left the church conversing with other Nepali believers, and then headed to an amazing lunch. Afterwards, we joined the youth service where we WORSHIPPED!! We joined their team and we sang songs in Nepali and in English. We pulled out songs they knew...Shout to the Lord, Open the eyes. Old songs that we may have never chosen at home because they were "out of date." But here, it reminded us that it didn't matter what was "in"- it was a worship song. They danced, we danced. A and L were able to play with the Nepali boys on the drum set- it was amazing. It was truly a time of encouragement for both nations. After a few hours of awesomeness, we headed to another restaurant, and then to bed. We won't forget to mention one final thing. In Luke 11-Jesus says this to His disciples....when you pray, say: "Father, hallowed be your Name, your Kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation..." Without having our bags, this team has experienced trusting in Him and thanking God for what we need. Our bags are supposed to be arriving, but again, we are not sure. It's amazing the attitudes that have been shown due to this mess. But really, is it a mess? Is it a blessing that we are being shown what we really need? We are still able to go buy necessities from the stores, but not having what we thought we needed has been challenging. All of us have seen the blessing in this. If you are a parent of one of these students, you should be proud. Each of these students are absolutely amazing and this team was put together for a reason. Not many students could do this....the team leaders feel blessed by them. So, here we are in Pokhara. As we complete this, we can see a Budda temple on the mountaintop and praise God we have the Truth in our hearts. We pray He continues to become more real and alive in our hearts daily. We pray for the Nepali people to see this Truth. We love you all. We have the morning to relax so we are all going shopping. Until next time...

Good morning from Nepalgunj:) As we sit and eat breakfast, we are waiting for our driver who will take all 12 of us to Pokhara, Nepal where we will stay the rest of the time. The wifi here kicked me off the last 2 times I tried to post a blog, so I will have just give quick updates. There are no words to describe our time here. Our minds are full, our hearts are heavy for the Nepali people, and our God continues to reveal His amazing Self to us more and more. He is so Good. No...He is Great, Perfect, and we do not deserve His love. The Team: everyone is great, no sicknesses, full tummies daily, and soaking in every moment. We have been here for a few days without our bags and our team has done an amazing job using what only we have have in our carry-ons, which is not much. We just laugh, praising Him daily for what we have and what we have is 100 percent more than what everyone else has here. We have a man who went to Kathmandu to search for our bags and he will drive them 7 hours to us tomorrow. We feel so blessed here. On the drive today, I will write about our experience here in Nepalgunj. So much to say. I'll end with this...what we experienced yesterday is lifechanging. It will be engrained in our hearts forever.. Please pray for safe travels as we are on the road for the next 11 hours....love you all.