Redemption

Week seven has already come to an end and this is so hard to believe. This past week has been absolutely amazing—i am going to try to describe it in words but i know that it will not suffice. This week I have been teaching at Bible School for the Nations in Pokhara (which is affiliated with YWAM). The base is on the top of a mountain overlooking the Pokhara Valley and outside my bedroom window is the famous Fishtail Mountain as well as one of the tallest mountains in the world called Annapurna. Each morning has been perfectly clear, not a cloud in the sky-it is breathtaking, i cannot even explain it. This huge Himalayan mountains are in my backyard and they feel so close, it is amazing. I have been amazed with the beauty of the Lord and his creation. O taste and see that the Lord is good.

The base here is awesome, the people are incredibly welcoming and so much fun. Even though we speak completely different languages still we able to laugh at things and enjoy each others company. The base has a monkey which is hilarious, along with many little chickens that are running around everywhere. There are a few families that live on the base and its been so nice to get to know them, and play with the kids, and just live life with them.

I have been so challenged to have more joy as I praise and worship the Lord. And just in my life as a whole. These people are so excited to share the love of Jesus with others and 5 of the 6 students are church planters and they are going and sharing the gospel—and starting churches! They are all between 20 and 40 years old, and seeing there joy as they worship, and the passion they have is amazing. I want to be like this—i need to be like this and I just pray over and over that I will have that.

This week I was teaching “How to study the Bible.” Teaching the inductive way of studying the Bible, as well as doing that through the book of Ruth. It has been so good seeing the students wanting to study the Bible—and having a hunger for it. And also for them to feel comfortable with asking questions, and feeling comfortable using Bible dictionaries and researching things for themselves. It has been really rewarding seeing this and tomorrow we move onto application-i really hope and pray that there will be evident transformation in their lives—that the book or Ruth will change them. That they will show redemption where they need to show redemption and that they will accept redemption as well. Last night was amazing-i was working in the classroom and some of the students came in and we just talked for an hour—they looked at pictures on my computer from home, and we have many great laughs. I have learnt so much about their family and home and I was able to show them a bit of mine. I felt like i was at home, spending time with friends—and i realized that indeed i am with my family—with brothers and sister in Christ who love the Lord and one day we will be altogether rejoicing in heaven and I cannot wait for that day.

We did the final step of application today and it was so powerful—talking about redemption, and the how we need to willingly accept redemption but we need to be willing to give redemption to family, friends and strangers. Many of them thought of ways that they would apply that to their lives, many of them got emotional when thinking of these things. We had the opportunity to share as well as pray for one another. This school was amazing, really my love grew for these students and just to see how they are being obedient, they are willing to sacrifice so much of their lives to serve the Lord. They are ok to live humbly and simply and they find their joy in the Lord. They care about their families and they truly love the people around them but even more they love Jesus. I hope that this week I was able to teach them how to study the Bible and how important it is so do it in an inductive way but even more I learnt from them—and i hope and pray that I can apply these things in my own life, and that there will continue to be life change in me.

Love you all—thanks for your prayers and support. Next week—my last full week in Nepal I will be in a village teaching the overview of the Bible.

--Breanne

Chapeng Village Nepal

This was one of the most amazing weeks of my entire life- I learnt so much more about myself, I did things I could not have done without the help my Lord, and I got to share the overview of the Bible to the Chapeng people of Nepal. These people use to be nomads living in the jungle of Nepal-and the government forced them out of the jungle and told them they had to find somewhere else to live-they settled in different areas-very remote areas far away from any big cities-many on the top of mountains and in the forested mountains if Nepal between Pokhara and Kathmandu. These people are low cast and are not valued by the government and they have been forced to live on there own with no help from the government-they taught themselves how to farm and how to live. We had the opportunity to go to one of the villages with “Pastor” (who is a pastor, I just don’t know his name). He is an amazing man and I look up to him a lot. He is 41 years old, married with three children and has started up 13 churches in Nepal and India and one of the churches was with the Chapeng people in the village we went to. He started up the church three years ago and now they have over 150 believers that attend that church.

So this was my first trekking experience-and I never have viewed myself as a hiker but I did it. We got up early at 5am, left by 6, were on the bus till noon. Then we jumped into the back of a truck and went off-roading for 1.5 hours—down a gravel road beside the river-many times we went through the river back and forth. The back of the truck was filled with many local Nepalis who were traveling to their villages. I have never held on so tight-and I have bruises to show for this. After the truck ride we got out and started to hike around 3pm and it was gorgeous-through the rice patty fields, up past small dirt houses, grinding mills, past many cows, and children herding the goats back to their home. It was incredibly peaceful and tranquil-being in the mountains was amazing and the sights are breathtaking. The locals sitting on the top of their dirt houses looking over their fields, the children playing with the animals chasing after the stray dogs that are everyone. By 530 is started getting really dark and that made it even more challenging-thank goodness for a headlamp-and the moon was almost full which helped us all throughout the night. After a few more hours we reached the top and then made our way back down the other side of the mountain. I will be honest and say that I have never done anything like this—physically and mentally it was really hard-and doing this all in the pitch black—hoping that my footing would be right and that I would not fall down the mountain. In my weakness the Lord was my strength-it was only with Him that I could do this. It was such a relief and joy to reach the bottom of the mountain and when we got down there-there were 8 sets of eyes that were waiting for us—they were children from the village that had met us to help carry our bags during the last part of our journey. They had huge smiles on their faces and on their feet they had sandals—and I could barely hike it in shoes-I could not imagine sandals-going through the river, up stream, up a mountain, along the small bridge between the rice patty fields—that were incredibly slippery. We finally arrived at the village around 10pm-and we were greeted by many of the villagers and they served us Dal Baight which is traditional Nepali food-that we ate for every meal while we were in the village.

We slept in the church which is a really large building- with dirt floor and walls, no doors and no windows-and during the night the goats and chickens liked to visit us. We were there for 5 days and I enjoyed every moment of it-the people were incredibly hospitable and cared for us-bringing out lemon grass tea every morning and feeding us way to much food (and they watched us eat so we always had to eat it all which sometimes was quite difficult). The children in the village we the sweetest-with huge smiles on their face and loved to be around us. There was one lady’s story that I would like to share with you-she is probably in her early 60’s and she came to our seminar every day and she was there with a huge smile and so much joy when she worshiped. She tried to communicate with us-but because we don’t understand each other we are creative in communication. I found out that she walked over two hours to the seminar each day—two hours there and two hours back---BUT on top of that she didn’t walk but she hopped. She only has one leg and relies on a stick to help her make it up and down the mountain! This lady is so hungry for the word of God that while we were there she hopped over 12 hours two and from seminar. I find it hard sometimes to get out of bed and drive my 10 minutes to church---But this lady dedicated so much time and energy to hear more about the Bible. I thought that this was really powerful and encouraging to see her willingness to learn more about the word of God and the importance of the Bible.

Also the pastor of the church is only 21 years old and he got married at 16 and has a 5 year old daughter. 21 year old pastor—pretty crazy but he is so dedicated to the church and he has taught so many of the children to read and write-and there literacy was much higher then expected. Each day we spent hours singing and dancing with the people, praising the Lord and praying for one another. They have such a heart for community-and they really are an amazing example of what community is. One really touching part of the service was offering and watching the people that are working so hard to feed their family coming in with a huge sack of rice and placing it in the front of the church—along with many others. And then people bringing their 10 rupees for offering—which would be equivalent to about 20 cents-and that is a huge sacrifice for them and they have so much joy as they are giving. Also some of the women told me that they had a women’s society and they wanting a picture of us so that they could pray for us, and that they could remember us. I was just so humbled-looking at these people that really don’t have much, that are farming to survive, that they would want to pray for me—that they would take time to pray for me, when there children are sick and they don’t know if they will have enough food during the winter. God just really was constantly humbling me and was showing me that these people are content and are joyful with what they have-they have known no different and they really are doing what the bible says. They are living in community—spreading the gospel with all the people around them. The village started with three believers and now three years later the whole entire village are Christians!!! Praise God!!! I really could go on and on but I will not. I just really want to say that this was one of the most amazing experiences of my life to live with these people—to be in the mountains of Nepal, away from any kind of technology. And just able to share the Bible overview with them—and to see the smiles on their faces as they learnt more about Jesus, and the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and how they can rejoice in the second coming and just to see them embrace the fact that they need to share the gospel—and to see them realizing that if the Lord would have come three years earlier they would not be with him in heaven—and to embrace the time they have on the earth now and to share the gospel to all the people around them.

I hope this brings you enjoy and just a taste of what God is doing in Nepal. I cannot believe that I only have three weeks left here. It is bittersweet but these next few weeks will be busy.

Some prayer requests:

-Jiye and I sick and sore from the hiking—just pray that our bodies will heal up quickly

-Next week I teach Ruth at a Bible School—just for wisdom in my teaching

-Prayer for the guys on my team-Aaron and Matt will be going to another village next week.

-Continual love for the people here

-Pray that we can communicate easily as most of the people we interact with and teach are strictly oral communicators.

Nepal is showing off :)

These are my lovely teammates:) The few days of rest was much needed!
Hi Everyone!!

Just want to update you on my Nepal adventure. Last week we traveled from Katmandu to Pokhara which is 6 hours by bus. It was a beautiful drive through the mountains and along the river to Pokhara-which a famous trekkers destination. Many of the world largest peaks are in this area, and this morning i woke up to an amazing blue sky and a perfect view of the mountains--it really did take my breath away-and i have never seen anything like it. We have been staying in a house close to the YWAM base. It has been nice to have a few days off, catch up on reading and preparing for my upcoming teaching of Ruth at a nearby Bible School, as well as doing some cooking and baking. Yesterday i made banana bread, and this morning i made cookies--in a little toaster oven-and it turned out really well :) Also on the weekend I made chicken soup--literally going to a little butcher on the side of the road--they had just killed a chicken, they weighed it and stuffed it into a little plastic bag and i carried it home. I really love this life-every morning going out and buying eggs and bread, then waiting for the little Nepali lady to ring the doorbell and she leaves a pot of buffalo milk outside the door and we enjoy that every morning. It has been really refreshing to be here. Yesterday we travelled to a major tourist place called lakeside, and enjoyed some western food, and there is lots of shopping there and its all around a lake-you can rent canoes and paddle around the lake and into distance on the top of the mountain is a huge Buddha Stuppa. This place is gorgeous and we are going to spend a few days there after we get back from the villages.

Tomorrow we embark on our next adventure. We are going to get up really early and we will be going to a very indigenous village in the mountains. The trek will be between 8-10 hours and it will likely include much hiking and going through streams and it will be pretty intense. We are all excited for this adventure and look forward spending time with the peoples. We will be there for five days and will be teaching them the overview of the Bible-and remember these are all oral learners and only a few have been to some kind of school. So when we teach we will have to be really creative-using storytelling, visuals, and drama. I am really excited to go, and yes it will be rough-we have no idea where we will be living-it will be extremely rustic and we will live like the locals. We will embrace all the elements and with doing that we are going to understand the people better-and i am just excited to get to know the people, to love them, to live life with them. I really have been convicted that i need to spend more time with the people i am teaching-so i am just praying that the Lord will put aside the issue of communication because it really is hard to get to know someone and not speaking the same language. The Lord has helped me to be creative in that and i believe and know that he will allow me to do that.

I am really glad to be here and the Lord continues to bless me and my team over and over again-especially being able to stay in a really beautiful home the past few days as we prepare our teachings.

Prayer Requests:

-Safety as we travel to the village

-That we are able to communicate and love the people in the village ( we will have a translator)

-Health (i am feeling a lot better, but a few teammates have been sick)

Love you all-thanks so much for your prayers:)

--Breanne

Palung Village

It is crazy to think that I have been here for three weeks, it is really starting to feel more like home. This past week I was up in the Palung village which is near Everest. We ran a three day seminar on the book of Philippians in one of the local churches. We got to stay in a village home which was quite the adventure and rustic. The family that hosted us was incredibly hospitable and even though they didn't speak english there was lots of laughing and joy. We taught for three days, and then on Saturday (which is like our Sunday) they have church and I had the opportunity to preach. To be honest I was really fearful at first-but i knew in my heart that the Lord wanted me to preach and there was a reason he had put the people on my heart so much. A few weeks ago one of the young guys from the church-who was one of the church planters had passed away due to a epileptic attack, and the village was really struggling. Knowing this, and that the people were grieving and struggling with fearing death i preached on "There is no fear in death" from Philippians 1:19-26. I was so nervous before i started but once I got up there the Lord gave me the words to say and I really feel like the congregation was moved and many of them were crying including the translator and myself. Just the fact that as believers we need to rejoice in death, i have been dwelling on heaven, and even though i cannot and will not fully grasp it till i am there, i know that we can all live in hope as believers knowing that we will be with Christ. And when we die, the only thing that we leave in the grave is our sinful nature and we get to be with Christ-in a perfect place. I was really blessed with that, and i continue to realize how the Lord uses us in our weaknesses, and he is the one that gives us the strength. I was also quite sick most of the time in the village but still the Lord gave me the strength to teach and prepare my lessons.

On a entirely different note--there are huge spiders in the village. We had one in our room that was huge and it was the size of my hand and it was to fast to kill. Also by the squatty on the wall were huge spiders that just stared at us. You know a spider is big when you take a picture of it and it gets red eye. I still haven't seen any snakes which I hope will not happen. So to get to and from the village we took public transit, and that was an experience. Imagine this--a 18 passenger van-decorated and painted with many fake flowers covering the windows. 35 people crammed in the inside, and another 12 people sitting on the top along with all the luggage, chickens and roosters that were so loud, 50KG bags of sugar, lots of fruit and vegetables. I really thought the roof was going to cave in and I got a bit nervous from time to time as they would continue to put more and more things on the roof. There were also chickens inside the van as well that were very unhappy--oh and the Nepali music blasting in the back of the van. I really enjoyed this--when i was car sick from driving on the windy road through the mountains and through many different villages.

I love how the Nepali people are so group oriented, every time we would pass through a village somebody from the bus new someone in the village and they would stop for a minutes or two and chat, and then we would keep on going. The only downfall is that a three hour ride took us 7 hours. The countryside is amazing, the mountains are breathtaking and the people are really beautiful as well. I continue to pray day after day that the Lord will continue to give me more of a love for the Nepali people. Because a lot of the time I am preparing teachings and studying it is hard to find the time to get to know the locals and the people that we are teaching. I really need to make sure that i find time to do both-because it i teach and the students learn that is good but even more i want to build relationship with the students more and more.

This is my last day in Katmandu and tomorrow morning we leave for Pokhara where we will be for a month. I will be teaching the book of Ruth from the 21-25th of November so if you think of me could you please pray for me as I study and prepare for teaching that to a Bible School that is affiliated with YWAM. When i am not teaching Ruth, i will be studying but also trekking up to different villages and teaching Bible Overview in churches and doing ministries there which I am looking forward to a lot.

Thanks so much for all your prayers, it means so much to know that so many people at home support me and I love you all so much.

Some Specific Prayer Requests:

-Safety as we travel to Pokhara

-Discernment with my time (to spend studying, and to be spending with the people I am teaching)

-Health (I have had some parasites :(

-More and more love for the Nepali people.

Love you all:)

Palung Village

It is crazy to think that I have been here for three weeks, it is really starting to feel more like home. This past week I was up in the Palung village which is near Everest. We ran a three day seminar on the book of Philippians in one of the local churches. We got to stay in a village home which was quite the adventure and rustic. The family that hosted us was incredibly hospitable and even though they didn't speak english there was lots of laughing and joy. We taught for three days, and then on Saturday (which is like our Sunday) they have church and I had the opportunity to preach. To be honest I was really fearful at first-but i knew in my heart that the Lord wanted me to preach and there was a reason he had put the people on my heart so much. A few weeks ago one of the young guys from the church-who was one of the church planters had passed away due to a epileptic attack, and the village was really struggling. Knowing this, and that the people were grieving and struggling with fearing death i preached on "There is no fear in death" from Philippians 1:19-26. I was so nervous before i started but once I got up there the Lord gave me the words to say and I really feel like the congregation was moved and many of them were crying including the translator and myself. Just the fact that as believers we need to rejoice in death, i have been dwelling on heaven, and even though i cannot and will not fully grasp it till i am there, i know that we can all live in hope as believers knowing that we will be with Christ. And when we die, the only thing that we leave in the grave is our sinful nature and we get to be with Christ-in a perfect place. I was really blessed with that, and i continue to realize how the Lord uses us in our weaknesses, and he is the one that gives us the strength. I was also quite sick most of the time in the village but still the Lord gave me the strength to teach and prepare my lessons.

On a entirely different note--there are huge spiders in the village. We had one in our room that was huge and it was the size of my hand and it was to fast to kill. Also by the squatty on the wall were huge spiders that just stared at us. You know a spider is big when you take a picture of it and it gets red eye. I still haven't seen any snakes which I hope will not happen. So to get to and from the village we took public transit, and that was an experience. Imagine this--a 18 passenger van-decorated and painted with many fake flowers covering the windows. 35 people crammed in the inside, and another 12 people sitting on the top along with all the luggage, chickens and roosters that were so loud, 50KG bags of sugar, lots of fruit and vegetables. I really thought the roof was going to cave in and I got a bit nervous from time to time as they would continue to put more and more things on the roof. There were also chickens inside the van as well that were very unhappy--oh and the Nepali music blasting in the back of the van. I really enjoyed this--when i was car sick from driving on the windy road through the mountains and through many different villages.

I love how the Nepali people are so group oriented, every time we would pass through a village somebody from the bus new someone in the village and they would stop for a minutes or two and chat, and then we would keep on going. The only downfall is that a three hour ride took us 7 hours. The countryside is amazing, the mountains are breathtaking and the people are really beautiful as well. I continue to pray day after day that the Lord will continue to give me more of a love for the Nepali people. Because a lot of the time I am preparing teachings and studying it is hard to find the time to get to know the locals and the people that we are teaching. I really need to make sure that i find time to do both-because it i teach and the students learn that is good but even more i want to build relationship with the students more and more.

This is my last day in Katmandu and tomorrow morning we leave for Pokhara where we will be for a month. I will be teaching the book of Ruth from the 21-25th of November so if you think of me could you please pray for me as I study and prepare for teaching that to a Bible School that is affiliated with YWAM. When i am not teaching Ruth, i will be studying but also trekking up to different villages and teaching Bible Overview in churches and doing ministries there which I am looking forward to a lot.

Thanks so much for all your prayers, it means so much to know that so many people at home support me and I love you all so much.

Some Specific Prayer Requests:

-Safety as we travel to Pokhara

-Discernment with my time (to spend studying, and to be spending with the people I am teaching)

-Health (I have had some parasites :(

-More and more love for the Nepali people.

Love you all:)

week 2

These are the youth that we taught Bible Overview to at Manu's Church--they were awesome!!

I am going to share with you what my mornings are like here-i think its my favorite part of my day. I wake up around 630 and get ready for the day, grab my instant coffee--which i have learnt to appreciate and i head up to the rooftop with my Bible and journal. I love to climb to the top of the roof and just watch people, watch the locals go through there every day things. The neighbor is on his rooftop beating out a huge pile of cotton and a while later he is sewing material around it and making a mattress. There is a sweet little Nepali man who is always on his roof, in his bathrobe drinking his coffee and always waves hello to me. Down below there is the newspaper delivery boy who drives his bike on the dirt road and when he gets to a home he rolls up the newspaper and throws it up to the house-sometimes its even two or even three stories high. There are the little Nepali ladies that have laid out all their fruit, and vegetables that they are selling and they are enjoying talking with the other ladies that are selling their goods. Down below their are chickens walking everywhere and Roosters being loud. And then there are the street dogs who are always in packs and go from one place to another--sometimes causing trouble and barking a lot. Down below there are ladies washing clothes and laying them on their tin roofs to dry. And i cannot forget the little boys that always hang out outside our flat who love to play with caps--they don't have cap guns but they use rocks to make the loud noise--and that just reminds me of my brothers back at home who use to always have cap guns. I love just watching this all-and seeing how other people live, but also spending that time to pray. Most of these homes have little hindu temples to their many gods on their rooftops and they bring offerings to them. I love starting my morning my praying for these people, and just enjoying the beauty of Nepal. Nepal was really showing off yesterday as i was walking back from the seminar I could perfectly see the snow capped Himalayas- and it was breathtaking.

Well I have been here for just over two weeks and it has been amazing. Over and over again the Lord is just really giving me peace about it all--naturally i would be nervous before teaching, but God really has been giving me that peace and comfort in him, and He is so faithful and helps me each step of the way and it has been amazing. This past week has been really good-most mornings I have had off, so as a team we always have breakfast together and then we have the morning to prepare are teachings. There is a nice coffee shop that I have been taking advantage of :)

In the afternoon/evenings we have been running a Bible Study, we went through the book of Philemon and we starting Philippians on Friday--and that is one of my favorite books in the Bible. Today i am teaching the step of observation and going though Unity and Contrasts in the book.

This past weekend was a lot of fun. My dear friend Manu invited us to teach Bible Overview at her church to her youth. So we taught Saturday afternoon and then Sunday all day. (Saturday Mornings is church morning in Nepal). I taught the character of God, The fall and God's Promise of redemption on Saturday. The students were so nice, really smart and they were a blessing to teach. We spent the night at Manu's aunties house and it was beautiful!!!! I climbed to the top floor and it over looks all of Katmandu and it was the most breathtaking views I have ever seen--i forgot my camera, but i will never forget the pinkish sky's, the outline of the mountains, rice patty fields--its beautiful!! And that night God really gave me a vision of what he wants my life to look like, and just a bit more specific, and it brought my lots of excitement but with that comes lots of questions. I feel like God is just sharing with me his heart for me-and how i am called to missions, teachings, and hospitality and somehow I need to put those all together :)

This week we have seminar in the afternoons and then on wednesday we all pack up and head to a village for a few days which i am so excited about-to seem more of Rural nepal. While we are there we will be teaching the book of Philippians. I look forward to going more into the mountains and getting to know more of the Native Nepali's and getting away from the business of Katmandu.

If you could remember me and my team in prayer I would really appreciate that:

--In the village that we are going to, one of the young guys past away-he was a church planter and really respected in the church and we need to go there being sensitive to this.

--Health and safety as we travel to the village

--Continued revelation of God's plan--and sharing that with these people-openly and honestly with much conviction.

--THere is so much of the prosperity gospel being taught---and that we will NOT teach that-but teach sound doctrine

--Lastly that we would be so sensitive to the Spirit as we teach--that he would guide every word we say and that people would continue to respond and be Spirit lead.

Thank you so much for your prayers, love you all

--Breanne

Nepal--Week One!

Jaymashi (that is how I great believers in Nepal).

It is hard for me to believe that I have been in Nepal for one week now, it seems like so much has happened and I am starting to feel more comfortable in the culture. I arrived in Nepal last Tuesday early in the morning after travelling for over 48 hours and I was really exhausted. It was so nice to get off the plane into 25 degree weather, i raced through the airport in Katmandu which is really old, made of bricks, and it could be compared to an old high school. I raced into the Visa line and filled out all the paperwork and amazingly there was no line up and I was out of the airport within 15 minutes.

The drive to the flat brought back so many memories of India-similar smells and sights but the difference was the beautiful mountains that surround Katmandu. I was greeted by a few other ywam workers and shown to my room-a share it with the two other women on my team. The first day we (my team and I) explored Katmandu, we brought traditional Nepali clothes to teach in, we went to a famous square that has an amazing view of the downtown. We also enjoyed great traditional Nepali food.

The next day we went to Pashupatinah-which is one of the most famous Hindu sights and it is built around the Holy River. There are “holy men” everywhere who are men who live there and are fully dedicated to being Hindu-many of them have paint on their face, where the traditional orange cloth and many have long dreaded hair. I had never been to a place like this, as I was looking down into the holy river or the sides were bodies being cremated. They bodies were wrapped in orange cloth and laid beside the river. The fires are started below the body and as it burns straw is placed over the body. I have never seen anything like this and as I was watching and praying it broke my heart to see these bodies burning but also knowing that these people did not know Jesus and they are burning in hell. It breaks to see this, and over and over the Lord spoke so clear to me that these people need Jesus, and people need to be here and willingly share with them who Jesus is.

Two days ago we just finished our first seminar-it was four days long from 9am-7pm-so the days were really long and each day I talked two different topics. The first three days we taught Bible Overview (i taught-God's character, the fall, God's plan of redemptions, 400 years of silence, Messianic Hope, CHristian missions, Holy Spirit and then the Historical background of Philemon) and it was amazing to share with them God's plan of redemption. And the last day we taught the inductive method through the book of Philemon which was really powerful and the students really got it.

Yesterday was a bit more relaxed-instead of getting up at 3 am to prepare I was able to sleep till 7 which was lovely. We had some meetings in the morning and in the afternoon we started up a seminar at a local church where we are teaching the inductive method through Phillipians and PHilemon and that is a three week seminar.

I am truly loving it here in Nepal, the people are so friendly, the culture is so different then home and I love to learn more about it. The weather is nice and hot :) usually around 25-30 each day. The place we are staying has an amazing rooftop that I love to go up and do my devotions and I can see all the mountains surround Katmandu and its beautiful. I am looking forward to next week as we are going to pack up for a few days and go to a village and do bible overview there and I will get to see Mt Everest :) I cannot wait.

Thanks so much for your thoughts and prayers, i appreciate them so much. I also want to hear how you are doing and if you would like to email me please do at breclaassen@gmail.com.

A few prayer requests:

-health-i am pretty congested

-clarity and wisdom and we speak

-sensitivity to the Holy Spirit, as he is our teacher we need to listen to him and do what he asks

Thanks so much, love you all :)

En route!!

Team Nepal (L-R: Matt, Jiye, Kerry, Me, Aaron)
Hello Everyone,

Well this is really happening, i am going to Nepal and its hard to believe it. The fear that i had last week and the hours leading up to going has finally gone away and now I am so much more excited and I am ready for this next adventure. God has really stripped away the fear and anxiety and I am embracing this as a gift and an amazing opportunity to share the Word of God with the people of Nepal. I still have over 30 hours of travel till i get to Nepal, but that is part of the excitement. Love you all

Jaymushi!

Hey Everyone,

Well the time is coming so soon, and i will be on a plane heading off to Nepal. I don't know if I will ever feel ready, and fully prepared to go but what I know is that the Lord wants me to go and that excites me. I have been really praying that I can fully embrace how amazing this is, and just to be so thankful for this opportunity to go to Nepal and partner with the church and Bible Schools there and share with them the word of God. To share with them the method of studying the Bible that has changed my life. I cannot wait to go into villages and teach them Bible Overview and God's amazing plan of Redemption! This is truly a gift to be able to go to these places, and i cannot wait to embrace the culture and walk side by side with Jesus and with the church of Nepal.

This past week has been really amazing. Last week i had the opportunity to meet up with my DTS small group leader from back in 2007. It was amazing to see her and to hear all that was happening in her life and what the Lord had done through her. She has an amazing testimony that effected my life as well. Then on Friday I had another teaching-and it was a sermon. It went really well, and i enjoyed it a lot. I preached on 2 Cor 12:9. But he said to me my grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. This verse has been on my heart for quite some time and it felt right to preach on it-and the fact to embrace our weaknesses--because i am in that spot right now.

On Monday i taught again, and it was Bible Overview. There are many different steps of it and I got the Fall of Mankind, and God's plan of redemption. These are two key parts of the overview, and i feel like God is really giving me a heart for this, and for teaching and I continue pray that it will come out in my teaching every time that i teach. I know that the more passion i have the better, and the more people will learn, and that the Lord will work through me.

My last teaching will be on Friday and as a Nepal team we are teaching the book of Philemon and i have the historical background step, which is really interesting and it is really hands on and a lot of fun. Then Sunday morning at 3am i am leaving!!! I will arrive in Nepal Tuesday morning around 11am, so there is a lot of travel time, with a number of long flights to get there.

I am really excited, but nerves still do get the best of me, but at the same time i just have peace in knowing that I am suppose to go, and that the Lord is in control and is paving the way and all I have to do it be obedient in whatever he asks of me. I am going to try to keep this blog updates as much as i can but there will probably be limited internet access.

Prayer points:

-For unity amongst the team (there are 4 students and 1 leader)

-For clarity and wisdom and we teach

-Energy

-Safe travels and health as we travel

-A love for the Nepali people.

This is my heart "To thrive in Nepali culture by embracing it and walking side by side with Jesus and the Nepali church."

Ranch Camp and IMO

steph, jana and catherine

the inside of our cabin

my beautiful outreach leader, Kerry

Julia and I at the Bison Ranch

Hi Everyone.

This past week has been flying by and I cannot believe that in two weeks i will be in Nepal. It is coming up so fast but the excitement is growing in me and my team and meeting after meeting has been awesome-in talking and learning more about Nepal and what we will be doing there.

This past weekend was really enjoyable, as a whole school we went to a Bison Ranch a few hours away and spent one night there. It was in the middle of nowhere-and looked similar to alberta flatlands. All the girls stayed in a beautiful log cabin with a loft on top and Bison blankets were covering each bed. They had acres of land and I was able to walk wherever i wanted, they also had horses that we were all able to ride. It was such a great time to relax and enjoy the beautiful creation as well as working on preparing my first teaching that i did on Monday which was teaching the Inductive Method Overview. While at the ranch the Lord gave me a lot of peace of why I am doing Titus and that I belong there and that God has a very specific purpose for me and what I am doing.

Monday morning I did my first teaching which was a forty five minutes teaching of the inductive method. I taught about types of Bible study, the importance of prayer, different between inductive and deductive, and then the three steps-Observation, Interpretation and finally application. I really enjoyed this teaching and got a lot of great feedback of things that worked really well and also advice on how to better my teaching. It was great to teach to people that truly care about my teaching and that want me to be the best that i can be. But what I really enjoyed was the fact that i had to do a self evaluation after and in doing that I pray about what God thought about my teaching and it was something really healthy and good to do.

I was reading in 2 Timothy today about what Paul wrote to Timothy just before he was about to die and he was passing the torch on to Timothy. And he was reiterating the fact of what it means to be a teacher and how he needs to make sure he is teaching sound doctrine and being humble.

I charge you in the presence of GOd and of CHrist who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word, be ready in season and out of season, reprove, rebuke, exhort with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions and will turn away from listening to the truth and and wander off into myths. As for you always be sober minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

This was really encouraging to hear and read--to know that I am going to Nepal and will teach the truth, and i cannot to pray that I can go with a humble spirit, and realizing that yes i am the teacher but my job is to make sure that the students learn--and to really take that seriously and take it to heart.

I have been also learning a lot about myself and who I am. We have been doing different character tests-learning how we communicate, which side of the brain we use more, are we divergent or convergent and it has been really crazy learning these things. It just makes a lot more sense that school was difficult for me because i am a divergent learner-and i am visual and kinesthetic, that my mode of intelligence is interpersonal and musical. Most schools do not cater to those people and as a teacher I want to make sure i am catering to my students need. THat i am creative in teaching-and that everyone will learn-and that i can teach it to them in a way that they will understand.

Currently I am working on my preaching--for friday so if you think of me on friday could you pray that I will be led my the Lord and that he will guide my words and my preaching and that he will be glorified in all that I do.

Thanks for all your prayers, i love you so much--and please email me and let me know how you are doing.

Titus week one

I cannot believe that the first week of Titus is complete. It was a jam packed 5 times will classes that started at 8 am and ended around 5pm. The Titus staff is amazing and really supportive-they come to class prepared with informative lessons planned as well as great stories from when they did titus. They have endless examples of what to do in situations, and there hands on experience helps so much. Some of the lectures that I had this week were: heart of a teacher, how to teach the inductive method, how to prepare a lecture and presentation, how to mind map, how to use verbal and non verbal communication as well as oral communication and finally the vision of Titus. The Vision of Titus comes from the book of Titus--there are many great parts of that book here are a few key verses:

"Paul a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God's elect and their knowledge of the truth which accords with godliness in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began and at the proper time manifested in his word through the preaching with which I have been entrusted by the command of God our Saviour."

Titus 1:1-3

"For the grace of God has appeared bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self controlled, upright and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour Jesus CHrist, who have himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works." Titus 2:11-14

Just reading these verses--and the whole book of Titus and seeing how Sound Doctrine is so important and how I am an ambassador and need to go out and share that with the people of the world. And in this instance that is Nepal. We have had a few team meetings and its been so good spending as a time praying and working together as a team. We are really unified already and we bring lots of different things and skills to the table. Wednesday was a creative day and everyone made teaching tools to teach the inductive method-so lots of cutting, coloring, gluing, laminating took place--of things such as what is Observation, Interpretation and Application. As well as pictures to use for different illustrations and what is means to study in a deductive and inductive manner. Today (Friday) my Nepal team shared in front of the SBS about Nepal--here are some fact that you might find interesting:

--77% of population live on less then $2/day

--1/4 of population lives below the poverty line

--52% of the people are illiterate (this will cause us to use much oral communication when teaching)

--in 2008 the unemployment rate was 46%--compared to Canada and USA which is between 8 and 9%

Religion

--Majority (about 80%) are Hindu

--Christianity is between .5 and 2 % of all people.

Government

--Just in August 2011 a new PM was elected and he is a Maoist communist-so there are lots of riots and outbreaks.

These are just a few things about Nepal that I researched and I hope it gives you a better understanding of what Nepal is like. I am getting excited to go--my team leaves on the morning of Sunday Oct 9th and return back to MT on the 7th of December. Also the two main places my team will be is Katmandu and Pokhara

Prayer Requests

-my teachings (I have 4 teaching between now and the time i leave for outreach)

-unity within my Nepal team

-energy and hardworking ethic especially during these two weeks before i leave. I will be teaching a lot of Old Testament (Num, Deut, and 1-2 Kings) so lots of reading and prep comes with that.

-confidence-realizing that i am here for a reason, that I am a servant to Jesus and i need to go and be His hands and feet in Nepal. That i will be confident in my teaching

Thanks so much for you prayers--please send me and email at breclaassen@gmail.com I would love to hear from you and how you are doing. Love you all.

Back in MT September 18th

I just want to do a quick update about the past few days. As many of you know i am doing the Titus project this fall in Lakeside Montana, where i spent my last year doing SBS. Wednesday night I was still waiting for all the paperwork that i needed to cross the border and I was frantically calling the base and trying to get things in line and things were just not working out. Thankfully Thursday afternoon-4 hours before I was going to leave the paperwork came in the mail and i was overjoyed with God's provision. I went to the mailbox and screamed when i saw the envelope and I had to explain to my neighbour what was going on. Then with all my paperwork inline i was able to cross the border thursday night, stay at a friends house in Washington and took the train Friday night to Whitefish MT. It was great to see so many familiar faces-even on the train, there was 9 of us on the train that were going to base so that was awesome to see people again and meet new ones. Despite not getting much sleep on the train it was so good to come back to the base and it really feels like home. Coming out of the van and being greeted by friends that I had done SBS with this past year was the best welcome ever. I am in room with 3 amazing girls--we are going to have a lot of fun for the next three weeks. Yesterday I walked down to the lake twice, with friends, talking and catching up--it is so nice to be able to do this before I get really busy starting on Monday when classes begin. This morning a bunch of us went to a small Baptist church in lakeside--it was the most welcoming church I had ever been to and they were so excited for us to be part of the service. I am so glad to be back here, its going to be intense but i am so ready for this next season of my life.

I'm going to Nepal!

Nepal is home to Mt. Everest

As many of you know I just returned from a 9 month program called School of Biblical Studies (SBS) which is run by Youth With A Mission. During my time at school I read the Bible a total of five times and learnt how to study it by using the inductive method. This past year was amazing, really digging into the word of God, seeing the big picture of God’s redemptive plan for all mankind was amazing. The final part of this school is the Titus project which is an optional ending to the program, but we were all encouraged to take part in it. This is an Outreach program for the graduates of SBS that is designed specifically to equip us in Teaching and Communicating the Inductive Method of Studying the Bible. I will spend the first three weeks in Montana where I will learn how to actually teach overseas and I will be given hands on instruction in the principles of observation, interpretation and application to then be able to teach these concepts to people in different cultures.

The last two months of this program is the outreach portion where I will go overseas to pass on to Pastors the tools of Inductive Bible Study so that they will be better equipped to teach their congregation. Topics such as Bible overview, Historical and Geographical overview, Effective Communication as well as topical subjects are often requested of the teams. The target audience is Pastors and Leaders who are so hungry for the Word, but many of them are either so young, or do not have resources to help them learn more about the Bible. My heart in this, is that I can partner with these people in leadership, encourage them, love them and teach them these skills that I have learnt in the past year. I believe this will be a really amazing time, but at the same time it is going to require a lot of studying, hard work and fully trusting in the Lord to communicate these things with the people I will come into contact with. I will be leaving mid September and then returning just before Christmas. I would like to ask you if you would like to partner with me in this ministry and there are different ways you can do this:

-Firstly I will be needing finances, a total of $4,500, which includes both my stay in Montana as well as the entire outreach phase. I will need the first $550 by August 1st and the remaining $3950 is due September 15th.

-I would greatly appreciate your prayers during this time as I will be teaching 4-5 times a week and a lot of it will be done with minimal prep time. Just pray that I will work well under pressure and that the Lord will really direct me while I am teaching and that my words will be the Lord’s Words.

I am really looking forward to this three month program, I think it will be the perfect ending to my school year. I believe that with teaching comes so much more learning and even though I have read the Bible a lot, I really only skimmed the surface and there is so much more. My prayers is that during this time away I can gain better knowledge of the Word of God, that I will be willing to learn from the students, that I will really care about the students and Pastors that they are actually understanding what is being taught. I pray that this will be a time to prepare me for more long term missions in the future. This is going to be a great time of my life and I would love if you could partner with me in furthering the Kingdom of God.

As you can probably see from the title I am going to NEPAL!! Last year I had the opportunity to go to India and I loved it and Nepal is so close to India and I cannot wait to go, experience the culture, visit churches and make relations with the people. there.

Needs:

-I would also really appreciate your prayers during this time, it will be a really intense three months, with teaching almost everyday and having to prepare seminars and messages regularly. If you would pray that I would have energy, a hunger for God’s word and that I will be able to communicate and really connect with the people that I will be with.

-Pray for the health and unity of the team. We do not know the living conditions we will be in but there are risks wherever we go.

If you would like to partner with me financially, cheques can be made out to me, Breanne Claassen and l will put that directly into my YWAM account. If you would like to pay with credit card you can phone the school office in MT at (406)844-2221. If you are going to phone in a payment it would be great if you could just send me an email to let me know at breclaassen@gmail.com, just so that I can keep track of my finances. If you have any further questions please feel free to call me at (778)242-2694, or at home at (604)854-5421.

love it strong....

Heavenly Father

You always amaze me

Let your kingdom come

In my world and in my life

You give me the food I need

To live through the day

And forgive me as I forgive

The people that wronged me

Lead me far from temptation

Deliver me from the evil one

I look out the window

The birds are composing

Not a note is out of tune

Or out of place

I look at the meadow

And stare at the flowers

Better dressed than any girl

On her wedding day

So why do I worry?

Why do I freak out?

God knows what I need

You know what I need

Your love is

Your love is

Your love is strong

The kingdom of the heavens

Is now advancing

Invade my heart

Invade this broken town

The kingdom of the heavens

Is buried treasure

Will you sell yourself

To buy the one you've found?

Two things you told me

That you are strong

And you love me

Yes, you love me

Our God in heaven

Hallowed be

Thy name above all names

Your kingdom come

Your will be done

On earth as it is in heaven

Give us today our daily bread

Forgive us wicked sinners

Lead us far away from our vices

And deliver us from these prisons

Your Love is Strong

By Jon Foreman

...the little things

Enjoying the Sun!

Winning Dodgeball Team!

so something that I have been really enjoying to do, is to appreciate the little things-the things that i probably would not notice otherwise. Let me give you a few examples:

Every monday morning we have base "immersion" time-which is a time of worship and prayer. It is always really encouraging and this past monday was looking around the room and in front of me was the crossroad DTS students-and these people that around around 40-80 years old. And they have come from all over the country to do a discipleship training school and it is geared toward people that are older. I loved just watching them worship the Lord-with so much passion-with a cane or walker in one hand and the other hand was lifted up to the Lord. It was just such a beautiful picture of all the nations coming together no matter what age in fellowship, worshipping and praising the same God. It brought a big smile to my face. There is a really cute lady named Beverly who walks with the walker, and also has perfectly curled short hair, and a beautiful smile-it is adorable. I love watching how the people here on base interact with the older students-it is such a blessing.

Today i was studying for my test outside-it was around 830pm and it was around dusk and all of a sudden 6 deer run in front of me and they are chasing each other for a few minutes around and behind trees. It was so beautiful just listening and watching that-the nature and enjoying the God's amazing creation.

Easter Sunday was awesome-i went to a service that was at a park right by the lake-and I enjoyed it so much, worshipping and fellowship and just looking at all the the Lord had done for me. It was a beautiful day-the hottest since october-it was 16' and then a friends and I went down to the lake and enjoyed a picnic lunch, laying in the sun and just chatting. It was so beautiful!

Also this past weekend I went with a few girls to a place near by called Big Fork and we enjoyed some pizza-and then took lots of pictures--what girls love to do. Then Saturday the SBS (which is my school) we played dodgeball against the DTS and we won! It was so much fun taking a break from the books and just running around and enjoying time with other people-and then after the came a few of us saw Soul Surfer. It was a good movie--a bit cheesy at times but it had a really great message that even in the most difficult of times God is still glorified.