The Church in Nepal

The address for the church in Nepal is:

Address: Maharajpunj, Ring Road, Losal, Nepal
Landmark: On the way to Airport

Now I wasn't exactly sure if I could find the building as there are just a few ways to get to the airport. This address is pretty normal for how things working Nepal. If you don't know how to get somewhere already then good luck. Fortunately, just about everyone on the streets will help point you in the correct direction. I guess we did have a few phone numbers to use for directions.

My Nepali dad felt sorry for me and also I guess a little scared that I would get totally lost, so we went on Friday in his car to find the place. Here in Nepal the rest day is on Saturday, and the other six days are regular work days. Therefore, the Sabbath is held on Saturday here. It has been a little strange to spend all day Saturday calling the second hour Sunday School when it is Saturday, but oh well...

Having the Sabbath on Saturday with no other weekend day is really hard on members here as they work every other day of the week. Imagine not having that Saturday to get ready for Sunday....

Anyway, I took off on Saturday morning at 8:00 AM to get to the church at 10:00 AM. I had to take a microbus, and luckily I could take one bus the entire way. I did a much better job than I thought I would and it only took 40 minutes. When I showed up they were just started institute and seminary, so my timing ended up being perfect.

Sacrament services are held in English and Nepali depending on who is speaking, but mostly English. It was quite hilarious that the Nepali Branch President spoke in English without a translator and then the Mission President who happened to be in town spoke in English, but then he had a interpretor for him. I guess there is quite a difference between American English and Nepali English...

The light and spirit of the members here is of course amazing. How amazing is the church. The Spirit does amazing things to change our lives and bring happiness. How wonderful it was to show up half way around the world and have an amazing family and support group.

The branch here is quite interesting in that the majority of members are Young Single Adults ages about 18 to 30. And there is quite a good number of guys too, which is usually a rarity. After church the YSAs got together and we had dinner at one of the service missionary's home. It was great fun to just be able to hang out and have them teach me Nepali.

The YSAs practicing to sing in church in two weeks...

The greatest part about yesterday was the setting apart of Sister Usha to be a missionary. The Mission President set her apart and gave a short Fireside type talk to the YSAs who were there. Sister Usha is the first Nepali to be called to serve outside of India. She will be going to the England Birmingham Mission. She is actually a Physician here in Kathmandu, and for the next 18 months she will be an amazing missionary. She has quite the miracle story about being
able to get her visa, as you can imagine visas for Nepalis are quite rare.

Here is Sister Usha with her brother the President and his wife, and the two couples serving in Nepal.

Even in Kathmandu the Lord provides a family of friends. Even in Kathmandu the Lord changes peoples heart and lives for the better. Even in Kathmandu the Light of Christ is found in the hearts of young men and women. Even in Kathmandu the Church is true.