Latest Adventure...

Here are the basic details of my latest adventure: traveling to two different villages with two very good friends of mine, Holly and Ben. They were going to do some language research of the minority language spoken in a particular region of Nepal, and I was allowed to go with to observe and help in any way I could.   We were gone for almost two weeks, traveling in the South of Nepal, along with our language helper Ravi*.  To switch things up a bit, I have included snippets of my journal entries during those two weeks.  Overall it was an amazing trip that included wonderful times of solitude between me and the LORD, read some great books on my kindle (Les Mis!), experimented with my new camera, and observed Holly, Ben, and Ravi doing what they do best J

First morning: wanted to keep sleeping! The bed is better than we had hoped for- Holly and I got foam padding! The house belonged to the Jameson* family, who first settled here in the 60s and started Kingdom work and translation. So. Much. History.  Dust and cobwebs everywhere, like a haunted house in some aspects, But its ours for the week! We don’t have to infringe on someone else’s charity. And we are all so happy with that.  Ravi looks fresh as ever – a very kind and studious man, but also quite humorous!

…Oh the memories that this village and house hold!  The kitchen – where Anna* prepared rice and daal and who knows what else for her family…the loft, now overcome with rats, but once upon a time a haven for children.  It never ceases to surprise me how the Jameson family carved a “home” our of the side of the mountain here. And they are remembered so fondly by all the villagers! God has given them a strong legacy here.

…The sun has been out every day!  It is so beautiful! And quiet – what a timeless place. No traffic, noise, pollution, NOISE, dust, trash, NOISE…almost as though this place has remained untouched by time and globalization.  I think this village is almost the same as when Anna and John* first arrived.

Church today in the village. Beautiful music and dance in their mother tongue.  About one hundred people attend on a regular basis. Mostly women, but there was a fairly strong presence of men as well, which is always encouraging to see.  I couldn’t help but think about the sacrifices that had to be made for this Church to exist, on the side of mountain in the seemingly middle of nowhere. Amazing how God moves for the sake of His people.  Whoa.

New village…first rough day. We were out for five hours straight doing research. The goats were bleating, making recordings a challenge. The villagers were not cooperative or kind. At times as many as 35 children were crowding in, loud, inquisitive, blissfully unaware of the attempts of the adults to shoo them away.  Bugging, poking, watching. Absolutely no personal space! Definitely feeling tired and grouchy after this experience. I suppose that’s not too bad considering we are 12 days in to our trip. But still. I am a bit discouraged with my lack of graciousness in my reactions to this particular village.

The daal bhat is soooo good here! I am going to miss it when we return tomorrow to KTM.

Traveling home to KTM – so excited to see friends and be home again. Saw an old rusted ski left on the side of the mountain as we crawled along the twisting roads in the jeep.  Who would ever think to ride in that? I felt sick just looking at it! If you fell out….it would be a long, horrible drop to imminent death.

HOME. Dust, noise, and pollution. But home. Friends, familiarity. Life is good.

Called

Five miles southeast of Nazareth
A young man drew his final breath,
And perished in his mother's arms.
She stared across the olive farms
South to the Plain of Esdraelon;
And back and forth she rocked her son,
Her only son, and held his head
Against the breast where she had fed
Him with her bitter milk and tears.

For dark and bitter were the years
When he was born. His father died
Before the child could walk. His bride
Of twenty months had buried him,
With help from friends, out on the rim
That falls steep toward Samaria.
And spices from Arabia
Were given by the neighborhood,
As everyone agreed they should,
Because she had no other family.
But yet there was the son, and he
The widow's only hope.

Twelve years
They lived together, and her fears
Grew less as he became a man.
And then the dread disease began:
At first the intermittent cough;
And then the puzzling fever off
And on; and then the constant wheeze;
And then the nights upon her knees:

"Almighty God of Abraham,
Take pity on me, Lord, I am
A widow; he's my only son.
If he should die I am undone!"

And then the purple spit appeared,
And all the worst that she had feared.
To fight his final fears she tried
To hold him tight until he died.
And back and forth she rocked her son
Above the Plain of Esdraelon.

Her friends made fit the burial place
Out on the rim, and made a space
Beside his father, and prepared
The body while his mother stared
Across the Plain, too stunned and weak
To work or cry or even speak.
But then, come burial day, at length
She summoned up her little strength,
And with the child and crowd and pain
She led them out the gates of Nain.

And now, behold, the Word of God!
The rock- and ocean-splitting rod!

Along that very road there came
A band of men, and One whose name
Is Jesus Christ the Lord. They bowed
Politely to the grieving crowd,
But one: the Lord had fixed his eyes,
As though he heard a thousand cries,
On her. And when she saw his face
She stopped, and silence filled the place.
A strange and awesome feeling fell
Upon that crowd, and they could tell
That this exchange was very deep.
And then he spoke and said, "Don't weep."
And something happened in her heart
That made the heaviness depart.
And then he motioned to the men
Who held the box, and when
They looked at her and saw her hope,
They set it down and loosed the rope.
As gentle as a hand could be,
He made the coffin cover free,
And then with father-fingers lay
The strips of facial shroud away,
And spoke with passion in his eyes:
"Young man, I say to you, arise."
And he arose. And Jesus placed
Him in his mother's arms, and faced
Her one last time. Perhaps the two
Of them alone were all who knew:
Two short commands were all he said—
Two people quickened from the dead.

Who can withstand the word of Christ!
It has for ages now sufficed
To bear the universe it made!
Come let the glory be displayed
Of Jesus Christ's triumphant voice!
The dead rise not by their own choice,
And none of us would live at all
But by the Lord's triumphant call!
This is the truth of candle two:
The call of God makes all things new.

By John Piper. ©2012 Desiring God Foundation. Website: desiringGod.org

Wedding!

As many of you already know, on August 18th I was home in Minnesota to participate in the beautiful wedding of my brother, Zach, to the gorgeous HannahLee Bartell.  Words cannot describe the joy and beauty of that wedding! But I'll give it a go anyway....

Basically, my family and I have been waiting for this wedding for the last 2.5 years.  HannahLee is the kind of woman for which words don't really do justice.  But right from the start she just "fit" so well with our family, and brought out an even better side to Zach than we knew existed.  We were her number one fans from day one!  I was lucky enough to have been at Bethel finishing up my senior year when the two of them met. And Zach, being the savvy guy that he is, suggested that I take "his good friend Hannah" out for coffee sometime ("I think you two would get along really well!").  So Hannah and I had coffee together, and we just clicked. She shared her heart with me and I was floored by her depth and her loyalty and love for Christ.  I walked away from that first coffee date thinking "Lord, if there were ever two people fit for pouring into one another and being Christ, being YOU, to each other, I think it might be them.  Could it be that I just met my future sister-in-law?" Fast forward 2 years or so, and bam! Wedding of the Century!

The weather was perfect, the bride was stunning, the groom quite handsome, and the setting for their wedding (Stonewall Farms)... perfect.  My father officiated the ceremony, and I bawled through the whole thing.  No one but my Dad could express the trials and joys that lay ahead for Zach and Hannah, and also describe the mystery and holiness of marriage (especially in a world where marriage and vows don't hold a lot of meaning).  It was beautiful. God was there.

If you would like to see more photos from the wedding, check out my Facebook page - I've posted a couple albums there! http://www.facebook.com/meghann.burton.37

And now, folks, I am back in Nepal :) It has been sunny and gorgeous since I arrived - I really have missed this place, and the people.  Work picks up like crazy next week - another ELL camp, another visit/check-in from my boss, new volunteers moving to the area...and of course, slowly moving forward on our ELL business start-up.  As always, prayers are appreciated!  Love to you all...

For my Father...

So...it was Father's Day yesterday. And I was able to connect with my Dad (and Mom) for about two hours this morning on Skype. Oh man did we have fun :) But what stuck with me the most from this conversation was that as my Dad was heading off to bed (poor guy, I kept him up until 11pm!) he quick leaned his head back into the video frame so that I could just see his shiny bald head, and said to me "Meghann, when I think of you its with sweetness, each time".


My friend Natalie wrote a beautiful poem to her dad, in which she says,

"thanks for being the one
i call
dad.


want to know something?
i didn't choose you.
and quite honestly you didn't
exactly choose me either.


but Dad, here's the thing.
you've chosen me
each and everyday 
of my life.


and i know
beyond a shadow of a doubt
that you'll choose me
again tomorrow & the next day
and for as many days
as we have to come... 


and that.
that has made 
all the difference."

Tom Burton, I believe the most important role a Father can have is to point his children to Christ. And oh Dad, you have done that every day of the past twenty-four years of my life. Even though I am a "grown woman" living half a world away and trying to find my place in God's redemption story, I still learn of our King's grace and unconditional love through you. Because like Nat's poem says, after everything, I know you'll still choose me tomorrow, and the day after, and the day after...as long as God puts breath in your lungs.

And that. will continue to make...all the difference.

I love you.

What I see...

How far would you go to deliver Bibles?

Our version of "watching a movie"...

Village....and my friend, Bikash

Our version of "hiking"...an activity that requires teamwork here :)

We are going....where?!? How?!?!

Worship 

What do you see in this picture?

Here is the same picture, but with the flash on.   These girls are attending a night multi-lingual education class - the only education available to them at this point in time.  They are using their flashlight to learn to read and write.  It's Friday night.  The reason the little girls are in the dark is because the class was not for them...

This particular class was for teenage students.

The teacher, under a single light bulb, teaches 60 teenage students.

When the teens are doing lesson work, the teacher goes to the other side of the room and teaches lessons to 30-40 primary (elementary) age children who come.

They sit in darkness with their flashlights because they want to read and write in their language

How much would you do to be able to read and write in the language you speak?

Home.

It has been just over a month of readjustment to the sprawl of narrow, dusty alleys, the constant hum of construction projects, the honking, dogs, and the collage of colorful Hindu shrines and pagodas.  The familiarity of the Kdu Valley, even after having been away for five weeks, was a comfort in itself.  But what truly warmed my heart was the instant presence of good friends and "family"; their bright smiles, cheerful countenance as we hobble around in the dark (power cuts!) wearing at least eight layers of clothing, laughing together again.  I love how God has created this tiny pocket of joy and comfort in a city that is so dark, physically and spiritually.  I am not saying that we are always happy, cheerful, and resilient as we go about our daily lives here, but there is definite God-given tenacity to choose to see the humor and joy of living in a place such as this.  Yes its cold, but it just gives you an excuse to spend more time huddled with friends on the couch, drinking hot tea and attempting to solve all the world's problems, since our personal problems are just too complicated ;)  I know I sound like a broken record, but fellowship and community are so vital in an environment that can be so uncomfortable and hostile.  Praise God for His provision to His people in Kathmandu!

On a different note, some new exciting things are happening professionally for me:  as I recapped my last year working here in Kdu, I felt dissatisfied with my professional performance, and felt that I had not been as creative and ambitious in discovering more effective ways to serve.  But God is good, and within two weeks of my return to Nepal sent the Vice President of my organization, my boss (who is based in Manila), and a Professional Advisor, all of whom were keen to speak with me about my future here.  I don't want to give away too much at this time, especially since I am in the very beginning stages of working through all of this, but I am so thankful that as I am processing my presence here in Nepal, our Lord so kindly provides guidance, a mentor, and a series of conversations to "get the ball rolling".  Please pray that God uses these next few months to really solidify in my heart the areas in which He would wish to have me grow and serve in.

And as all of the above goes on, I am also working on planning our annual work conference, hiring/training new Nepali staff for our office, and starting preparations for a second English Language Learning camp for April.  It's good to be busy again! :)

Thank you, friends and family, for all your prayers and support from afar over this last month as I have readjusted to my second home.  They are deeply appreciated.

I just love this picture....went for a 4 hour bike ride outside the Kdu city limits with a friend, and she snapped this shot as we descended back into the chaos of the city.  If you can't tell, I am wearing a mask of sorts over my mouth and nose!

Christmas in Minnesota

Well....there was no snow.  Not one inch of it.  Weather was in the breezy 30s and 40s (F) and though many of my fellow Minnesotans were thrilled at the warmth and lack of snow/ice/slush that could threaten travel plans at Christmas, I was devastated.  No sledding, ice-skating, or snowboarding...! What is the world coming to! I believe I am most likely headed back to colder temperatures in Nepal, where we have no indoor heat.  *sigh*  Looks like I'll be spending my first week back in Kdu at the Civil Mall movie theater (supposdly the one place that has indoor heat in Nepal) and trying not to bump into things in my apartment in the dark (did I mention we are at 11 hours/day of no electricity?)

Ok ok enough of the pity party: I am actually THRILLED to be going to back to Kdu, and seeing friends and family there who I have missed dearly while being away over the holidays!  The only sad part to this will be the LONG travel involved in getting to the land of no heat and electricity (haha) and most importantly, saying goodbye at the airport.  For those of you who aren't aware yet, my brother Zach will be getting married (!!!!hooray!!!!) in August to his lovely fiancé Hannah, so I will be returning to MN for the wedding.  However, though we know I shall return in a short 7 months, the physical act of turning away and walking through that security line is excruciating.  My stomach is in knots just thinking about it.  So your prayers would be much appreciated this Saturday as my family and I drive up to the Minneapolis airport.

And now to reflect on my time at home: it was both good and bad.  First of all, the jet lag returning to the USA was horrible: my first four days were literally a fog, and the sleepless nights were somewhat brutal.  I also found myself tongue-tied at the thought of having to express to people at home what my life in Nepal is like: how difficult it when someone asks "so, how is Nepal?"  My brain jumps into overdrive: "Do they want a real answer? Are they just asking to be polite? Should I keep the answer short and sweet (and what does that even like) or give them a more detailed answer? Actually, how do I describe my life in Nepal without stealing three hours or so of their life? Oh shoot, they are looking at me waiting for an answer...."  So I hid in my house for a long time - and really, why do you ever have to leave your house? There is a fridge full of food, multiple rooms with comfy, plush furniture, TV's with hundreds of channels, endless (fast) internet, books, HEAT...truly, there was little incentive for me to leave my house at all that first week :)

BUT God loves to stretch and challenge his people!  Now as I look back on my time at home, I cherish all the coffee dates and phone calls and trips to the twin cities to share with friends and family about my experience in Nepal - their encouragement, excitement, and empathy at what I was sharing (even the ugly stuff) was a balm to my heart, and witness that it is only "by the grace of God that I am what I am, and His grace to me has had great affect" (1 Cor 15:10).  Looking back on journal entries written during my four weeks at home, the reoccurring theme I see is "LORD how kind you are to your people!" It certainly was not necessary, but God in his kindness gave me the chance to go home for Christmas: to participate in all of the fun and quirky family traditions (yes we still go caroling), pray over the New Year with them, welcome our new foster brother, Stephon, into our home, and celebrate Zach and Hannah's engagement with wine and chocolate fondue :)  And He also generated necessary healing as I shared my stories and experiences with friends and family here - men and women who truly are rare gems among God's people.  Funny how you have to leave your home to discover what a treasure it is.  Thank you, Jesus, for your gifts to your people, and that your are always molding us to your good Purpose.

And now: back to Nepal, always in the arms of our kind Savior!