Pray with us for Nepal & our vision trip
I want to invite you to join us in prayer for our SOS Academy international vision trip to Nepal. Our team of eight - Philip, McKenna, Kayley, Yasmeen, Tyler, Zach, Sarah, Jonathan - leaves this Thursday morning for 13 days.
You might be wondering: Why are we going to Nepal?
NEPAL facts. Did you know?
- Himalayas: Nepal is home to 8 of 10 tallest peaks in the world, including Mt. Everest.
- Religion: Nepal is the birthplace of Buddhism and Hinduism.
- 28 million: Nepal packs these people (& lots of mountains) in an area the size of Illinois
- Poverty: Nepal is the poorest country in south Asia and the 12th poorest nation on earth
- 250 / 239: The number of people groups in Nepal / The number of unreached people groups with the gospel
- 0.9%: Professing Christians in Nepal
- 12 hours: the length of daily planned power cuts for domestic electricity users in Nepal.
- $1/day: Half of Nepal's population lives on this amount.
- 7.8 & 7.3: The magnitude of two devastating earthquakes which hit Nepal in April & May 2015.
- Endangered: Nepal is home to unique wildlife such as the bengal tiger, red panda and snow leopard
- #1 / #3: Nepal is the top exporter of mustard seeds in the world and the third for ginger
- Zero: Number of Nepali olympic medal winners in history
- Sources: http://www.
worktheworld.co.uk/ infographics/50-amazing-facts- about-nepal, http:// joshuaproject.net/countries/NP , http://cffn.ca/about-nepal/ poverty-in-nepal/
Yesterday, as I was reading Malachi, this passage reminded me of our motivations:
"For from the rising of the sun to its setting my name will be great among the nations, and in every place incense will be offered to my name, and a pure offering. For my name will be great among the nations, says the Lord of hosts." (1:11)
These words echo the prophet Isaiah who said:
"It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be lifted up above the hills; and all the nations shall flow to it." (2:1)
Our God's plan has always been to bless all people groups on earth and Jesus Christ himself is that blessing.
"The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor." (Jesus, Luke 4:18)
"And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come." (Jesus, Matt. 24:14)
"...and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Jesus, Acts 1:8)
"I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb" (Revelation 7:9)
God's heart beats to advance his gracious and sovereign kingdom among every people group on earth. Amazingly, he does this through us, his Church, as we proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ and make disciples who obey his teaching. God's heart also aches with the poor & destitute, as was clearly evidenced by the ministry of Jesus on earth. Preaching and healing go together - they cannot be severed!
We take our SOS Academy interns abroad each year to partner with long-term, established ministries who are working from these foundations. Our hope is to go and learn from local believers - however few they may be - and to come alongside the existing work of the Holy Spirit and the local church in that place. We've spent time digesting and discussing When Helping Hurts and Revolution in World Missions, which have provided good training and conversation!
God continues to use these international vision trips to envision Academy interns for his global work, form relationships and implant his love for all people groups on earth. At a time in America where there is much fear and dissension about immigrants and refugees, it is imperative that the Church hold on to the central fact of God's steadfast love for every people group on earth.
For more background on our desire to partner with God's work in this part of the world, I encourage you to visit http://www.
What will we be doing?
We will be partnering with local Nepali believers and The Footstool Project (TFP). TFP's primary aim is to share the good news of Jesus with unreached Tibetan Buddhist Himalayan peoples, while simultaneously ministering to the devastating effects of rural poverty which plague remote Nepali peoples related to clean water, trafficking, malnutrition and the environment. So, we will be trekking in northern Nepal, seeking to proclaim the gospel where possible & learning about and assisting with these long-term poverty alleviation and development efforts.
How can you pray with us?
- For the Nepali church to be built up in Christ and for laborers for the harvest in south Asia
- For the Gospel of Jesus Christ to be proclaimed to hearts and ears that have been prepared by the Father (for none can come to him unless he draws them and faith comes from hearing the message) and for us to have words to make this mystery known!
- For the Gospel to be evidenced in the way we show love, compassion, service, unity and humility as a team while we partner with local Nepali believers
- For physical strength - the trekking will likely be very physically demanding on our team
- For quiet and submissive hearts to be sensitive to what God is saying and doing while we are in Nepal
- For justice and compassion for the poor who suffer the devastating effects of recent earthquakes and long-term poverty
- For the Lord to guard us from the evil one, from anxiety/worry and for us to know his certain presence with us
- For God to call to our hearts and awaken us to his mission in the world and in our lives
- Thank you for your prayers!
"For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake." (2 Cor 4:5)