2016 was a tough year for a lot of people. For us, it started with the continued Nepal/India border blockade which disrupted so many lives. Food, gas and petrol deliveries were severely hampered meaning it was a long, cold winter for a lot of people.
The year also saw a lot of changes at UMN, with the executive director leaving (and a new one coming in), and Phil’s boss, Lyn Jackson, leaving at the same time. Many other long-serving ex-pats also left making UMN quite a different place to come to each day.
Phil worked hard on the Annual Report and was pleased with how it turned out. The four issues of UMNews (two of them produced AL (After Lyn) was also pleasing. Phil wrote a story in the August issue, and then the cover article in the December issue (Hope of Light). These can be found on the UMN website (www.umn.org.np). Phil is stepping out of his comfort zone quite a lot!
The biggest job of the year, though, was the creation of an iPad app to deliver UMN’s publications in a new and exciting way. Again something that Phil is not a specialist in, he took an online course and then set about building the app. This went live earlier in the year and had an important update in November to allow it to be viewed on iPhone’s and the iPod Touch as well as all iPad’s. This can be found on the Apple Store and is free to download and subscribe.
Phil has also implemented a project with the Health Team for Baby Boxes in Doti, and this is the focus of our Christmas Appeal for this year (although, the appeal will be ongoing, not just for Christmas).
Pratiksha is leading the youth ministry at our Nepali Church. There has long been a need for something for the older teens at church, and it’s a slow-building process. Please pray for her as she tries to make the right programme for them, with a good balance of fun and teaching. For New Year’s Eve, we had a sleepover at the church for the youngsters where we shared in some worship, Bible reading and teaching, and then some fun games to see in 2017. This helped us to build on the relationships we have started to form and was a good follow-on from the camp that Pratiksha also organised in October. That camp saw over 200 young Christians from different areas of Nepal come together for a weekend of learning and fun.
This month has been a very busy one for Pratiksha as she has been out of Kathmandu for most of it. The evaluation work and training to cluster staff that she’s giving is going well and she’s enjoying it.
In June we will be visiting the UK for home-assignment. We will keep you informed of any visits to churches as they are planned (please get in touch if you’d like us to come and speak at your church or group).
Please do continue to pray for us as we listen for God’s guidance in our lives.
Love and blessings,
Phil and Pratiksha
P.S. Zuzu, our dog pictured above, is expecting puppies. They are due in the middle of February. Please pray for her health and safe delivery, and for our sanity in looking after a litter of playful golden retrievers!