Tiny Hands International Update

I just wanted to make you all aware of some incredible things God is doing.

I just got word that God is using Tiny Hands to rescue 5-10 girls a day who are being trafficked from Nepal to India. That is 1825-3650 girls a year. That is over 25% of the 1,000 girls who are being trafficked annually.

Just another reminder that God is our Baal-Perazim (The God who Breaksthrough-2 Sam. 5:20).

He is at work.

If you want to support Tiny Hands in prayer, I encourage you to go to their ONE GIRL site to learn more about their ONE GIRL prayer initiative.

Nepal Reflection #2: The Bridge

I am going to repost what I already wrote, as a reminder and also with pictures. All that in the river is trash. It's not dirt. It's trash.

This was my journal entry from June 13 after Emily and I had gone to the Monkey Temple and took a little trek through Kathmandu:

Lord, this time this morning to actually walk through Kathmandu and to the Monkey Temple allowed me time to truly see these people as people. The scene at the river really made me think. We stood there for a long time. The smell was horrific. All the trash and sewage from the city flows straight to the river. While we were standing there, a man stopped on his motorcycle and just chucked a huge back of garbage over the edge. People are digging through the garbage. There was a man literally standing in the water sifting through garbage and sewage as it flowed into the river. There were women and children standing on the edge of the river looking through the trash. There were what looked like dead pigs laying in the middle of the trash with trash all over them. It was a sad and disgusting sight.

It made me think about how God created us for so much more but this is all these people know. Yet, in America, we are satisfied in our comfort, money, marriage, reputations, friendships, and worldly things. We strive for these things but we might as well be the man in the river sifting through the garbage. God has so much more for us, yet we settle for what we know. In reality, our life is lived by this river in Nepal until we truly begin to live the life Jesus modeled for us. Until then, we are no different from the man sifting through and trying to find a treasure in the crap of this life. GOD HAS SO MUCH MORE IN STORE FOR US THAN WE CAN IMAGINE. IT COULD BE BEAUTIFUL UNLESS WE DECIDE TO SETTLE FOR THE CRAP.

Nepal Reflection #1: Princess Home and Ranjit

I already posted about my time at Princess Home. It was so much fun, but it was also difficult. It reminded me how laughter and joy can break through nearly any barrier. That was also a very cool experience for me because it was a time to truly build relationship with the Nepali women. Since that time, I have seen the need for Nepali women to hear how valued and precious they are to our King. As I think back over my time at Princess Home, it gets me excited about what could be in the future for me.



Also, every time I went to Princess Home, I had the privilege to sit down and talk with Ranjit. Ranjit is the very charismatic pastor that runs Princess Home along with his wife Sara. Ranjit has an incredible testimony and is extremely on fire for the Lord. It is incredible to see how the Holy Spirit is at work in his life and in his ministry. Ranjit challenged me in so many different areas. Discussions with him forced me to truly dive into the role of the Holy Spirit in counseling, the way the Holy Spirit interacts with our culture in comparison to the Nepali culture, the fruits of the Spirit, speaking in tongues, my heart and workds, and just boldness in general. Times with Ranjit sparked many times of processing and more discussions.

Kloe Girl-The Best Dog a Girl Could Ever Ask For

When I went to bed last night, the only plans I had for today were to go running with Kloe and then finish my debriefing and reflecting down by the lake while she swam. When I got home last night at midnight, Dad told me that Kloe was out and had run away. I went outside and looked for her and called her, but when she does this (not very often), she always comes back by 1 or 2. But last night Kloe never came back. Dad found her this morning in a driveway off of 1300. She was hit by a car. Kloe was an incredible dog. On days like today when the tears seem to be flowing, I would always bury my head in her belly and let her fur soak up my tears. I'm gonna miss running with her most days in the summer. I'm gonna miss having her laying at my feet wherever I am in the house. I'm gonna miss watching her fish for hours even though she never caught a single one. I'm gonna miss always trying to convince people she is just hugging. I'm gonna miss her jumping up on me and wagging her butt every time I walk in the door. I'm gonna miss my buddy, my best friend, my puppy dog.

More on Nepal to come.

Just one Picture!

I thought I would leave you all with the picture that is currently on my desktop. Meet Prakash, a 3 year-old boy you will be hearing much more about.

#9: I'm HOME!

Hey everyone! Thank you so much for your thoughts and prayers over the past month and even before. They were certainly felt in numerous ways and on multiple occasions. Kyle picked Emily and me up at the airport yesterday afternoon, and Grandma and Grandpa Lantz were here with dinner and to say hi. I, unfortunately, have been pretty sick for the past 48 hours. I am feeling quite a bit better this morning, but still a little rocky. I was planning on doing my debriefing on my 20 hour plane ride home, but because I was sick (which I have decided that the airplane is the worst place for vomiting and other issues), I was not able to do much reflecting on my trip. Over the next few weeks, I will be posting reflections to let you know just how God worked in my life, show you pictures, and to let you know the future implications of this trip on my life. I will hopefully be making contact with most of my supporters in the next week or so! Thank for all your prayers!

And, Mom, Dad, Kory, and Ali are in the Dominican Republic finishing up their trip. Pray for them as they prepare to come home!

#8: The Delightful Bangladesh

We are in Bangladesh! Camp is going to be GREAT!

#7: Why is Everything so Delightful?

CAMP TINY HANDS: THE DELIGHTFUL CAMP OF WONDERS

We are back in Kathmandu after a crazy few days with 66 of the most amazing kids and 8 of the best counselors known to man.  Camp was awesome.  Everything went better than planned.  I could tell you story after story of the joy on these kids faces during the three days of sweat, dirt, heat, snot, and fun.  Seeing those kids run off the bus and onto the steps in excitement for something they had never experienced before filled me with so much joy.  I can’t wait to tell you about the stories of Prakash (the 3-year-old boy who was rescued off the streets a week ago), of Junu (the ten-year-old girl who is the exact Nepali version of my cousin Taylor), and of countless other kids and counselors who have changed my life.  Those stories will come in the weeks to come—along with pictures—but for now I am just going to give you a list of some of the activities we did with these kids. 

--Relay races including dizzy bat, sack races, over-under.

--Camp fire and singing

--The most AMAZING and sweaty dance parties of all time

--The Everything Drama performed by the Nepali counselors was incredible and powerful.

--A huge counselor hunt where the best hiding places in the camp were utilized—the kids loved it!

--Talent Show

--Washing the female counselors feet late one night under the stars.  It was one of the first times anyone had ever affirmed them or served them in this way.  They were really touched.

--I absolutely loved getting to know our counselors—all college age Nepalis—they were some of the most incredible people.

I am exhausted, but I know that loving and playing with those kids for the past 3 days is exactly where I am supposed to be at this point in my life.  For the first time, I think I truly experienced what it means to love the Lord with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love my neighbors as myself.  It was incredible.  I can’t wait to tell you more.  But most of all, thank you for praying.  It would not have been anything close to what it was without your prayers and support.  You are all incredible and we could truly feel your prayers.  Thanks!

K

#6: After the Delightfully Long Busride to Pokhara...

WE'RE HERE! It was a six and a half hour hot, bumpy, and scary busride but we made it. One of my arms got extremely dark from hanging out the window the whole time in the sun, while the other is still pasty pale. We are here with 5 of the couselors for counselor training and the rest are coming with the kids on Friday. Tonight we will visit Holy Home and Paradise Home and play with the kids as well as eat dinner with them. Tomorrow will be spent cleaning up the school we are going to be at and also doing trainging sessions. The Nepalis have no idea what a camp looks like let alone what it means to be a counselor. Pray that God would work in their lives in the next two days and that this would be an incredible experience in their lives, as well as prepare them to make a difference in the lives of the kids. Thanks for your prayers. I will keep you updated!

#5: The Not So Delightful Things of Kathmandu…PRICELESS.

Ok...so I have posted 3 blogs in the last few minutes.  Post 3 and 4 are better than this one, but this is on the lighter side.  Thanks for reading.  I can't get pictures to upload so I am going to work on something else.  We'll see.

• Enduring bandhs (strikes) that happen every other day, when tires are burned in the street and roadblocks are set up by rebels…5 HRS A DAY.
  

            Today it was all day and everything was shut down because of the threats.

• Dealing with the smell of the garbage that makes my stomach churn…24 HOURS A DAY.
  

            If I could put this smell in a bottle I would.

• Dodging the following animals, birds (crows), cows, rats, and dogs…ANY HOUR I AM OUTSIDE.
  
• Hearing the deep throated loogies that men come up with…EVERY 49 SECONDS.
  
• Accomplishing the smallest task such as making copies…IMPOSSIBLE.