Photos

Heres a collection of photos

hygiene lesson in a school, Nepal  

hygiene seminar, same school

hand washing demo, Nepali village

at a bhuddist temple, Nepal

Drama skit at university, Kathmandu

Us girls looking smart for church, Nepal

What's the time Mr Wolf, orphanage in Nepal

Beautiful, Nepali village

Painting classroom in orphanage, nepal 

My Henna artist, orphanage in Nepal.

More art in orphanage classroom, Nepal

Mendi up close

Farming, Biratnagar 

Little Nepali cabbage patch kid

Birthday Ulster fry, Asian style:-)

My first birthday in a different country:-)

Feeing touristy. it is in Asia, I promise

Asian face masks, makes me look like a weird goblin

More Asia beyond Nepal

Hi there,
So yeah..soz finally got round to sharing the rest.I could pretend that I was too busy but frankly I was tired and the longer I left it the more I forgot about it .I'm trying to delve deep into my memory to pick out good bits of the last month in Asia before I headed back to Oz.

I don't think I said but I left Nepal to fly on to another wonderful Asian country but returning to Australia (yup ages ago but I'll not let get too boring).

Naming no names, this new country was the polar opposite to Nepal (I guess still is, 2 months on). There were MacD's everywhere, a fancy tube system that would put London to shame, streets were really clean and even had Starbucks for goodness sake! It certainly was a culture shock.

I was surprised that despite it being a huge, well developed city few people spoke English. It seemed generally only University students knew english. Just serves me right for having selfish expectations. I mean why should they speak English? This city could fit the population of Northern Ireland in around 10 times. It goes without saying there were many blank faces when I told people where I am from:-)

I do enjoy a good ould city so I had a great time...beautiful skylines, busyness, crazy but delicious food, culture and lovely people.

We made friends with University students, they took us out for lunch and we took them out...it was great. They ordered thankfully. I have to say after three months in Asia I am ruined for 'asian' food back at home, its a sad tale. We cheered on as they won badminton matches and helped them practice English. We got to know a lot about the country and culture. Through some of these connections we were able to see salvation and give out bibles, praise God!!

Unlike Nepal this place is a lot more closed to Christianity, many people didn't even really want to talk about the gospel, they just weren't interested. Maybe their cautiousness was partly due fear of this perceived western religion. Yet there were some western things that many people strive to achieve like women wanting to look more like 'white' women. Stuff like skin bleaching products and blue and green eye contact lens' were sold everywhere. It felt very strange to experience this issue of East versus West. How could I (and all of us on my team) get such positive attention because I have blue eyes and skin that freckles instead of tans?

We went to the same church each week which was for international folk. We made great friends, they were a real blessing to us. They were able to share more about the culture from a different perspective so we got to know things that maybe locals would be too proud to tell. Some values were shocking because its so different to what I've grown up with. We all have our own issues, UK and Ireland is no exception of course. My eyes have been opened to so much through this adventure. It really is incredible. I cant believe I never had much interest in visiting Asia before.

We did a lot of praying for God to intervene and ideas of how to help. We were able to work with foreign Christians who go out in the community. Some of us got connected with homeless and marginalized people. We taught and played with kids who having learning disabilities. We visited a children's hospital; played, sang and prayed (its a good job only 7% of communication is verbal). We talked to patients and gave pressies out in other hospitals too, we had translators sometimes. We always offered prayer. Some accepted, some not and sometimes we prayed anyway. No harm in not consented prayers when we were asking God for blessings. It was similar to Nepal in that we often just rocked up to these places, had fun and got invited back.

We worked in an orphanage, probably my favourite part of the whole outreach. The kids, the adults and elderly residents are amazing. We visited them regularly and so they began to trust us and we were able to have 'what I call, such fun'. Sadly there weren't many staff members to give them lots of one on one attention. So we had the privilege of loving on them and doing fun stuff. Hopefully in the future there will be more opportunities for teams like mine to help with practical things too. We would have been very glad to do so but its up to the orphanage, trust takes time. I have to say I found the language barrier a struggle. We had a translator but I often couldn't have a one on one conversations. This was especially hard with the elderly, they love a good story and natter don't they?!.
I know God did use us though and He gave us amazing favour with this orphanage as we were able to do more than we anticipated. We were afraid we might not be allowed to spend time with the babies but at the last minute the management changed their minds. Totally brill!! I really loved it. Unfortunately child protection stuff means I cant show any photos on here:-(

So cometh the end of my Asian adventure..onward bound for Oz. I realised how long this post was getting so Ill leave it there. Thankyou all for supporting me in prayer and everything.

Stayed tuned for more - my adventures do not end here :-)

Biratnagar turns out to be a city!

We made it to Biratnagar after 14 hours on a overnight coach...with a Indian filim and Hindi music blasting there wasn't much chance of sleep. it's ok, snickers and Pringles kept me going.

We thought we were going to a village but Biratnagar is second largest city in Nepal-it's much less developed than Kathmandu, some areas feel very rural. It's very different to Kathmandu - Sometimes I think we are in India, we were in a village just outside Biratnagar which was literally 10 minute walk to Indian border:-). There isn't a hill in sight and it's mega hot and humid.

So...we have been to schools a couple of times. We just rocked up and asked if we could play with the kids. The principle was very nice and we had great time and he even invited us back.

We've been to nearby villages, praying for people (God did some healing:-D), did eye tests and gave out glasses, taught some basic healthcare. We watched the Jesus Filim, performed some drama skits and played with kids - We got invited into a random peoples homes for tea...they're so hospitable here.

We taught at a youth meeting, in a prison and at church. Some have made massive sacrifices to follow Jesus in a Hindu culture, it's incredible!

We also had an awesome time at an orphanage, playing with the kids. we also painted in one of their classrooms. they painted henna on my hand. Man, them kids are so precious!

One really lovely thing is we have been getting to know the locals, we've been in their homes hanging out, drinking tea. its been one of my favourite things. The only guy in our team was practically proposed to :-) so funny!

We only have 3 days left in Biratnagar, then back to Kathmandu for a short time:-(

I don't have many good photos of our painting etc. right now...soon

Please keep praying for me..
That I know what God wants me to do
That we build lasting relationships with locals, for the permanent team here.
Gods grace for the heat
More confidence when talking to people
Finance for flight back to Norn Iron.

Thankyou kindly!!

Kathmandu is great!!

Hi sorry it's been a while...

Arrived Kathmandu Easter Monday.
I totally recommend it here. it's hot, busy and dusty for sure but when you get a clear view of the mountains and the sky is beautiful.

I've had fun playing with local kids and kids in a slum a lot. They love us pale folk who are willing to be silly with them - seriously cute children!
I've also spent the day at a business that employs women who have been able to get out of sex trafficking. They make jewellery and sow kurtas (what women wear)...I love the vision of the business So good!
We have been out and about the city; chatting to people, praying for them and sharing the good news.
we've visited the university and my team got to go a village in the mountain..but I was too ill to go-I'm sad I missed it but I have seen amazing sunsets from my kitchen and watched the sunrise on the mountain above the clouds - its as awesome as it sounds:-)
I went to a church service in someone's bedroom..man that church is dead brill it was my highlight of the week!
I love Nepali people - they're totes friendly and welcoming. Alas I am leaving Kathmandu in 3 days- we are off to Biratnagar by Indian border for 3 weeks which will be really sweet:-)

Nearly There...

...one week of lectures left yikes!!! Which means Nepal in 8 days

We are learning some practical things we can use to help folks out there...

VA - I've learned how to do Visual Acuity tests (eye tests where you try and read the letters that gradually get smaller).. So we can give out glasses. - I love having resources and skills to help people practically...Don't get me wrong I love praying that God will meet their needs in some way too but it's really satisfying to be the answer to those prayers.

We are also going to teach people how they can take care for peeps with the flu - its pretty easy for most of you's I know but people actually die because they have wrong ideas of how to treat flu...

We have been rehearsing some dramatics to convey the good news - they're not cheesy thank goodness!

Other DTS teams have just got back from their outreaches. There's lots of different types 4 times a year -so they've just arrived as we're heading off...they have some amazing stories. it's encouraging and a bit scary. I know itll be AWESOME! It's also going to be intense with a high probability of diarrhoea -at least I won't get dehydrated, not with ORS making skills.


I know NOW know where I'll be in Nepal!

4 weeks in Kathmandu which is going to be tres cool..
Then 3 weeks in either Dadeldhura, Biratnagar or Pokhara.
We will be doing healthcare jazz, working with kiddies, youths and girl sex workers, churches.

We have talked to the lady who is arranging everything for us in my second country - showed us photos and everything!
I'm excited about the orphanages and the place we are staying looks proper boss!

That's it!
With limited internet access I may not get another chance to update while I'm away (I know you're all gutted), this may be my SECOND to last update So Ta very much for reading...please, please keep praying for me:-)

Prayer requests:
>safe travelling
>We honour the people we want to help...so we don't come across like arrogant annoying foreigners
>we will be a blessing to our hosts
> (in my smaller team) I'm going to be responsible for account/book keeping -please pray I do a good job and I don't lose any money:-)
>finances for my flight back to Norn Iron

P.S
I want to say thanks to my Ma and Da for my presents...I really appreciate all the clothes and chocolate. And the family calendar, I love it! My friends think all yous are beautiful/handsome:-D
I am also tremendously grateful for proper Irish tea. With 160 tea bags to get through I HAVE been sharing and everyone has complimented the good ould Irish brew. So thanks very much.

4 weeks til Nepal!!!!!

I can't believe it's come around so fast! I guess 4 weeks is still a while away but time is flying by so it'll only feel like...I dunno, less than 4 weeks.

Lectures are still boss (cracking), I'm enjoying ARMS and we are getting sorted for Outreach to Nepal and beyond.

I survived 'slum survivor'! We had a great time making our little slum houses and doing challenges that represent different aspect of slum living. Sleeping in the slum house was definitely humbling.

One challenge was piggyback racing as if we were driving a rickshaw. a rickshaw is basically a cart thing that would have couple of passengers in and the driver would pull it by cycling and sometimes he might actually pull it on foot.

We also had a decoding test where we had to decipher a code to try and get the right 'medication' (in our test thankfully it was m&ms -or i would have surely died) because many people in slums don't have access to medicine and treatments for the simple reason they can't read the name of the drug or the instructions. Crazy isn't it? There's a lot of things I took for granted.

At the minute we are doing lots to see the finances come in to go away - lots of fun FUNdraising happening.
I have found the Aussies are really generous and want to help for good causes:
The whole of our base did a can shaking collection for ARMS in the city centre and we got $12000 in one day!!

My school did a sausage sizzle fundraiser for our outreach..we were selling hotdogs. A hardware shop provided the barbecue tent and gas etc. We raised an amazing $1100. A day car washing we also raised $1000. Praise God! And bless you citizens of Perth, we are very grateful!

If you're not sure what outreach actually is; as part of our training our school takes all that we've learnt during lectures to help people in a developing country and share what we know about God and His plan. It's going to be so good.

If you would also like to help with our fundraising we are doing a sponsored 12km walk at a place called lake Monger.

Where we are going:

The whole school will be spending the first 7 weeks of outreach in Nepal.
In Nepal we will be doing a variety of things, partnering with local believers:

Sharing the goodness of God, dramas, skits, sports, etc…

Training - DTS seminars

Mercy ministries Feeding programs, health care, homeless ministry, street kids etc…

After Nepal we will split up into 3 teams, I will go to another big Asian country (some of you may know where already) for the remaining 4 weeks:

Here we will be reaching out to university students in the community.

Serving alongside another Christian ministry that works in orphanages which I'm really looking forward to.

We will be helping serve the needs of the communities.

Im going to share what I've learnt here in Perth and serve people in cool and crazy ways!! it's going to be life changing - not just for me but I believe there will also be lasting impact on the people we are want to serve.

How you can help:

On Tuesday, 5th march all of us in the DTS will be doing the walk-a-thon around Lake Monger in Perth. Most of us will do 12 km of walking, but some may do more!!!

Would you consider sponsoring me by pledging money that will help me reach out in these countries? You can either give a one time donation or sponsor per Km. Please let me know by Wednesday this week and I can tell about how to transfer money:-)

I really appreciate your support and prayers. Sorry this is short notice but any money you pledge can be given by 11th March.

Please continue to pray for me.

And thank you for reading, it's comforting to know people back home are interested in what I'm doing.

Update

I'm getting into the swing of things now, though getting up 530am for morning exercises seems to be getting harder:-/

I'm at the end of week 5 of our lectures, they've been great. Theres so much to process I don't know where to start. Some of it has been quite convicting, some totally awesome and nurturing -we need both that's for sure.

I was able to go out with the ARMS project which was good. We helped someone move things in their garden. I'm glad I was able to be doing something but in this case it was hard to see how their extreme hoarding is such a difficult thing to break.

We had Australia Day...they make a big deal out of it which is cool. There was a massive fireworks display with added lasers by the river -THE BEST fireworks I've ever seen! They had other stuff -a circus tent, water slides, pretend beach (massive sand pit). Loads of people made great effort to dress in the appropriate green and yellow or blue, white and red. Good craic all round.

I've learnt how to make ORS - oral rehydration solution. If you're suffering from the nastiest severest runs...ORS is for you!

We have found out where we are going for our outreach .... Nepal - Tres excited! I can't actually remember what we will be doing there, the details aren't finalised yet. If any of you are familiar with Nepal, give me some tips. I don't know anything about it or what its like. I'll do some research of course but its good to hear others' experience too.

Next weekend we are going camping in the outback as a slum survivor experience. Hopefully we will get even a tiny bit of an idea of how people in slums might cope. And hopefully we might kangaroos :-) should be fun!

A little aside, I think 'encouragement cups' should happen in every household. these are individual cups for every individual in your household/group in which the others can put in things to encourage that person. Maybe they love haribo, so you could bless them with a wee star mix. Wee notes of how wonderful they are are great, it's surprising how often we forget to tell people these things. Just a thought.

Want to pray for me?
> please pray I continue to grab hold of everything God wants to tell me through the lectures
> Good opportunities with ARMS
> Finances specifically for outreach, The maximum cost for the whole 3months away is $4000

Thanks peeps

Lectures, Laughs, Lots of Sun

I have now been here for little over two weeks. We have had two weeks of our lecture phase and boy oh boy it is full on. God is good!

During the week we have jam packed days; morning exercises, chores, lectures, hands on compassionate work (working with some the practical ministries) and dinner duties. Then there's time to chill out, small groups and whole base meetings. Weekends are free for us to do whatever and usually catch up on homework.

This weeks lecture topic was on the Nature and Character of God. It's been great for me to be reminded of all who God is and why Jesus died.
This video captures only some aspects of Gods character that we studied this week. I never tire of watching it. Check it out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAzCP8SEKwc

So...back to me :-)
I'm having a great time. Everyone in my course is super nice, we get on really well. There is a lot to process in terms of my relationship with God but I'm getting so much out of it. I am also able to relax, hang out, drink bubble tea and BBQ at the lake etc.

BTW bubble tea is a popular Asian drink of iced tea with whatever flavour and 'bubbles' which are strange tapioca balls. You can also have different kinds of jelly stuff (aloe vera jelly is surprising nice) I'm not sure I'm a fan yet - everyone here loves it though.

The project I'll be involved in -starting next week is - ARMS (Australian Relief and Mercy Services) We go out to families homes who are in a crisis and just help them wherever they need. Often it's cleaning their house and gardens, getting food in, minding the kids etc. Agencies like social services will refer them to us when they can't help. W don't charge anything obviously and it's a small thing we can do that can sometimes make a big difference. More on that later.

If you would like to pray for me that'd be cool. Here are some pointers:
- That I continue to be open to hearing from God
- finances (it's definitely on my mind a lot), everything in Australia is expensive
- that plans for the outreach will go well and we find out where we are going soon.
- that the air con in our new accommodation will be fixed and we can move in this week.

Thankyou Kindly.

Sorry this has been a long one

Arrival success

Sorry about this late post...I wrote It last Sunday -just pretend you're reading it then.

So I touched down in sunny Perth Thursday tea time (Oz time). Perth is 8 hrs ahead of Norn Iron, so I must of got here 10am Donaghadee time. I meant to write this post on friday but, frankly I couldn't be bothered, too hot, too tired and too many people to get to know. A quick update then, travelling was totes fine.
When I wasn't actually flying, or rather the pilot wasnt flying I felt I was waiting around a lot but that's hardly very energetic. So all in all it was grand.
So today (Sunday) I think jet lag is subsiding a bit and I'm getting more used new surroundings. At the mo I am sharing a house with 10 other girls. One shower and one toilet - should be interesting! Although meeting lots of new people is really fab it's also quite tiring still.
For your interest the nationalities on my course are; Norwegian, Danish, German, USA-ian, Chilean, Brazilian, Korean, New Zealandian, Swiss, Indonesian and Australian. A great mix!
The course kicks off tonight. I'm looking forward to it - it's been good having a couple of days orientating ourselves and checking out the beach (poor me, right?!) but some structure to the day will be great.