Hello everyone! I hope this finds you well!

It’s crazy to say that we’ve been here in Nepal for over a month and parents were here about a month ago. Time has flown here and we have two months more of our race! I can’t believe it! I wanted to give a little recap of our time here so far before the next two weeks of trekking with a new host hit.

First of all I am beyond thankful for our time here. For the growth and knowledge that’s been imparted to everyone one of us. We’ve revived so many good teachings and have been discipled so well by Gresom (the head pastor). As well as all of the volunteers who serve us so well! The kindness and love we have received has truly only come from the Lord. Here are a couple of things I’ve learned while being here.

• Seeking stillness and silence. Stillness comes from inside us. To quiet our mind and heart to hear Gods voice. Silence involves surrounding. To surround yourself with stillness. Be still and know I am God.

• Gresom had a talk about calling and purpose. To look deeper at my different gifts and callings and fully know that he will use them for his glory!

• Learning to ask God the little things and see him answer those things. He’s such a kind God!

• Asking God to show up in the mundane moments and seeing him do so!

• Learning about how I love being stretched out of my comfort zone. I love learning and growing outside what I feel to be normal or comfortable.

Our ministry days have been so sweet. As I mentioned our schedule in my previous blog we started up all the little things.

Evangelism walks on Wednesdays led us to good conversations and new friendships. We met a group of guys on the street who invited us to tea and time in the park.

The people sitting or selling things on the street have become some of our good friends. We say hello to them, invite them to church and see them when others may not see them.

Our orphanage visits have been so so sweet! There are close to 20 kids at pastor Peter’s orphanage who have come from hard backgrounds and family issues. Each of them go to school and learn more about Jesus through the atmosphere created. Each time we went to visit they really just wanted to play and be kids with us. We picked flowers, jump roped, read English books, played soccer and hung out with them. We were also able to encourage pastor Peter and his wife as they continue this ministry. What a sweet time of falling in love with orphanage ministry and the kids there!

Fútbol ministry has been so fun. I played soccer for a good while in high school and elementary school and to get back into it was fun. There were about 20 people show up to play soccer each week. Not all of them know who Jesus is but we had the opportunity to play and share the love of Jesus with them. New people showed up each week which is so cool!

One week after church a group of us went over to a church family’s house to encourage and pray over them. Their daughter, Priskila, is working to be a soccer player for the Nepali team! She works so hard every single day practicing and playing  all for the Lord. Her family is so proud of her. To speak encouragement over her and her family was such a joy. We hope to see her on tv one day, playing for Jesus!

Church has been absolutely amazing! As I mentioned earlier we have been poured into so much! God has given me insight on what church could and should look like. It shouldn’t be a denomination but it should be a group of people with a kingdom mindset! Also to see what it looks like for a church to operate in the gifts of the spirit is new for me but it’s biblical. I’m excited to see what God continues to reveal when looking back at notes and really just asking questions. So thankful for the church here!

We’ve had some good times of hiking/prayer walks. I’ve really missed hiking at home and to do it here has made me so happy. The weather has been a bit hot but to find some wild raspberries and reach the top to see the views and pray has made it worth it!

Last week we went to Gorkha and we got to camp at Buhahs house in the jungle for five days. What a time that was. To not shower, use a squatty potty, and be in nature and learn. So much fun. I needed a little bit of nature. We were able to see buhahs church and church community there. What an encouragement that was! To find stillness in nature, get some good worship and teaching was so good for my spirit! I needed that little rest time. It also felt good to be stretched a little bit. To ask myself “what am I willing to give up for the gospel?” This is how so many people live and it brought me so many thanksgivings! We were also so blessed to go on a good hike and have a pool day as well! Such a sweet time!

Over the past weeks I’ve made some sweet unexpected relationships. I met a group of people who were traveling and serving Jesus and it was so sweet to talk to them. The other day I met a new friend from England who caught me reading my Bible at a coffee shop. We were able to hang out, talk about Jesus and truly encourage one another. God can do so much when we just read our Bible in public. So cool!

Today was our last day here in Kathmandu. It feels crazy to say that because it’s gone by so so quickly. We had such a sweet last night with a good meal, worship night and goodbyes. As I write this post I am sitting in my bed all packed up and my roommates are packing. What a sweet place with sweet times and so many opportunities! We leave early tomorrow morning and I will be mia in the mountains of Gorkha for a bit with a trekking pastor!

I am so excited for this opportunity. Before this trip even started I was praying for an opportunity to travel/hike and share the gospel with people. God brought this forgotten prayer up before Nepal! So crazy! I’m excited to see what this ministry looks like and to possibly see what it could look like to apply it to a future opportunity! That’s crazy to think about but God truly uses all opportunities to prepare us for what’s next! Be praying for us. That we would be safe in our trekking. That we would be filled with joy in unity. That Thanksgiving would be our heartbeat and that we would just have so much fun! I’m so excited to see what God does and keep you updated about it all.

See y’all in a couple of weeks

In Christ with much love

Sydney <3

*My photos are being weird and not uploading. It’s a bit complicated on the new update of this website unfortunately. I’m just wanting to upload it before I leave so if you want to see photos from any of my travels here is the link to my photo circle.

https://join.photocircleapp.com/1D2M8ZVGFN