Long Overdue Update - 03/14/2007

This post is long overdue. There has been a lot happen since the last posts dealing with our "sad/hopeful news." I've been sick with a very bad cold for almost 2 weeks. Today I went to the clinic on campus and the doctor prescribed an antibiotic for me. Thankfully I've been the only one to come down with it.

This past weekend we went on a trip to Asheville, NC to go to a "memorial" for one of Andrea's aunts that died unexpectedly last week. We had a good time considering the reason we were going and the mountains were beautiful as always. I was able to go on a couple of hiking "adventures" through the woods with the girls.

We have registered Laura for kindergarten for next fall. This seems crazy to me – people are not lying when they tell you that they grow up quickly!

Next Monday (March, 19^th) will be Andrea and my 13^th wedding anniversary. Speaking of time flying by! One cool thing about being in Asheville last weekend is that Andrea and I spent some time there on our honeymoon.

Below is a quick update on school, work, church, and the "Nepali group."

School

This semester I am only taking 6 hours (that's 2 classes). The first is New Testament II. I really like this class, mostly for the reading and the memorization it requires. Both of which I tend not to do unless I'm forced to for a class. But when I do it helps me to see the benefit of Scripture memorization. I had a mid-term on Monday night and I believe I did fairly well on it. There were some tricky questions though so we will see.

My second class is an online class; it is Cross-Cultural Church Planting. This class has proven to be very helpful and will probably get more practical as the semester goes on. It has been very good for the Nepali Bible study group (see below).

Work

Big news on this front. I was able to get a job working full-time for Humana last week. I don't actually start until March 26^th. This will allow Andrea to stop working at her job on the seminary campus and be home with the girls. More than likely I will ride the bus from our apartment complex to a couple of blocks from the Humana building downtown. It will take about an hour each way on the bus but this will give me plenty of time to catch up on reading.

Church

Things are going well at church. We went through a diaspora recently with some of our people moving to other cities. We have planted new churches in New Orleans and Cleveland within the past year. Our community group numbers fell off a little because of this but attendance has been back up recently. Our group is no longer meeting in our apartment but meets in the home of another couple in the group and I split the group leadership with someone else now. This gives me more time for school and the Nepali group (see below).

Nepali Group

We have been meeting in the homes of one of the Nepali families on Sundays at 5:30 pm. The studies seem to be going well but there are definitely some language barrier problems. We are attempting to find some Nepali Bibles and give them to 11 Nepali families in the Louisville area. The cost of the Bibles and the "Jesus Film" in Nepali will be about $250.

This Sunday (the 18^th) we will be meeting in Dan's home (he is the Nepali believer that will be leaving soon to help with a Nepali church plant in Dallas, TX). He has invited 5 families to attend and he says that they will all be there. We will have singing and Bible Study/preaching after we enjoy an authentic Nepali meal cooked by Dan.

Also, I've been in touch with a church planter in Baltimore who has planted a Nepali church in Baltimore within the last year. He's pointed me to a place that we can get some Nepali Bibles and resources.

I've met with one of my professors (he also attends church with us) to talk about the Nepali ministry and about interviewing one of the Nepali men for membership within the church. He has expressed an interest in joining the church and the professor and I will be the ones conducting the interview. The professor said that he thinks that we may be underestimating what God has in mind for this Bible study. I believe and hope that he is right.

Overall, I'm very excited about the Nepali ministry. At times it is discouraging with the language barrier and with the lack of response but I really believe that God is going to do something with this group of Nepalese in Louisville.

Thanks for taking the time to read this long update. I know they wouldn't end up being so long if I would only update more often. :) And thank you especially for remembering to pray for us!

ChadB