As last you heard I had to leave Nepal with the building project unfinished, but close to being completed. I have just heard that nothing has been done on the septic since I left because
the monsoons have caused excessive flooding and the hole has filled up
with water, prohibiting any further progress. We did get an
estimate from the contractor on what it would take to line the tank with
rock 18 inches thick to be capable of supporting a cement slab on top
so a vehicle could be parked on top... the figure is twice what we had
projected.
Bottom line we need $3000 to pay for the lining and the
expenses we incurred on dozing and excavating the septic twice!
Also the
windows and door people came but installed them backwards and my helper had
gone to Kathmandu when they came so we will now have to get them back up
from Dhangadi and have them re-do them! You can see why I wanted to
stay and see things through to the end!... soooo frustrating
I was praying things were progressing and the girls could be
transferred into their new home even this week but that is clearly not
happening now.. Please keep praying with me for completion and a smooth
transfer and transition.
We could really use your prayers for the following;
Pray that with the monsoon rains in full force the banks of the
mountain we have built on, will hold and remain in place and that the
retaining wall will do its intended function and retain the dirt and
keep it in place! Pray the tin shack perched above our site will
continue to hang on to the side of the mountain and there will be no
injuries, damages or casualties as the family therein refuses to move to
safer ground!
Pray the septic will be able to be completed soon. We dozed and dug
the hole only to have the monsoons break that night and wash most of
the mud back in the hole. So we get to do it all again! The day I left
the dozer was due to come again and this time with a tipper ( dump truck
) to haul it all away! That is all on hold with the hole filled with
water! So having to repeat all this literally sunk us another $3000 in
the hole! I am trying to raise that now so I can wire the funds to them
the end of July! PTL $450 came in this weekend for this urgent need!
Pray too for the 48 prisoners at the jail that we were visiting
weekly. There are 43 men and 5 women and one 5 yr old boy born in the
prison. 5 of these (2 women and 3 men) have accepted Jesus and need
fellowship and teaching and encouragement. The others still need Jesus
and the healing and forgiveness only He can give.
Pray the 6 -8 folks
that went with me each week will maintain their connections with the"
jailbirds" and keep visiting and encouraging. I personally never ever
thought I would be involved in Prison ministries but God has surprised
me with how much I enjoyed meeting these folks and teaching them to
crochet and singing local songs to them and even dancing Nepali dances
with them. They weekly confirmed that our visits were the highlights of
their week and how they felt our love and kindness. The cookies possibly
accounted for some of this sentiment!
Pray for the radio ministry geared to illiterate and lonely women
telling them they matter to God and HE loves them!, will continue. We
are behind in our payments to the FM station as all our resources had to
be directed for the paraplegic facility. This takes $200 per month and
we are 7 months behind. We still have 3 slots per week of 15 min each to
broadcast.
Pray especially for those creating the radio programming and who are
responsible for the technical aspects of this vital ministry and that
the LOVE will shine through.
Pray for 2 really bright students to be able to further their
studies. One girl, would love to come to the US or anywhere she could
attend Chiropractic School as there is nothing in Nepal for this and it
interests her. If not, she is considering Physical Therapy for a major,
and would have to go to India for the training. She is one sharp cookie
and would attend medical school if she thought she could afford it.
The other is Chet, who dreams about becoming a Chemical Engineer.
He just passed his big SLC exams and placed 2nd in the district. He is
incredibly smart and speaks great English and is very interested in
studying science.. I am praying for him to get into Sunshine Bible
Academy( or similar) for his 11th and 12th grades and for scholarships
to allow him to progress as his family is very poor.
These are a few of the needs I observed most recently and covet your prayers for.
More program updates;
The
orphanage in Kathmandu with 19 kids in it was going great when Diane
and I visited. The kids loved the games we brought them and were
implementing the baseball and mitt a gracious donor sent and within
minutes of them receiving permission to play with it, all 19 were
outside playing and we heard a "CRRACK" in the window! Fortunately the
windows have exterior iron bars so we were not required to confiscate
it!
The Brick making women made some fine jewelry to send back with me.
They are doing reasonably well but 2 widows decided they just cannot
make it in the big city so have returned to their hill villages to farm
their fields. Unfortunately this may mean their kids will not be
attending schools and instead helping mom in the fields and minding the
goats- a 14 hour / day job!.
The Bakery was going great up till my departure, though they are concerned that with all the foreigners gone, their
business will plummet. I was able to remind them that God has built this
business and HE will see to it that they are blessed if they just focus
on Him. He will bring new clientele and keep them in HIS hand. I reminded them of the verse that "the Righteous will never go
hungry!" In fact how often have they been instrumental in feeding the
hungry because they were sensitive to real needs and able to share
generously from their hearts and surplus. This couple are some of the
most generous and loving people you could ever hope to meet! Pray for
them as they serve others through their bakery.
Well that is the update for now and I promise to keep you informed of any new developments.
Dawn Didi
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