Hi Everyone,

I want to pass along this encouraging testimony about how the Lord is working within the soldier ranks of Nepal.  As a result of the Tsunami disaster relief work that Arise undertook in Sri Lanka in 2007, we were able to work with the Military Christian Fellowship there. Most notably, we were able to participate by sending medical equipment to an Army hospital in exchange for allowing retired officers supportive access to minister in that place.

Sri Lankan brothers in arms also started to communicate with a few Believers that had retired from the Nepali and  British Army, living in Kathmandu and who desired to start a fellowship there.  I was asked to assist while we lived in Kathmandu and led devotions at many monthly meetings.  This note was just passed onto us this week and is a testimony to how faithful the ministry has been and that the Lord is really working through those willing to share the Word in difficult surroundings.  I just thought I’d share the blessing with all of you (I have not corrected the grammar or spelling for authenticity).

Dear Military Friends around the globe,

Greetings in the name of the Lord !

God is miraculously breaking the barriers and opening the doors inside the barrack. There has been lot of change since NMCF has started to pray for the Military and police in Nepal.

At least three fellowships have started: some formal and there are many informal fellowships. Jesus said when he was coming to Jerusalem: If you stop them to praise: the stones will start to shout the praises of Jesus the Lord ! So none can stop his Kingdom. The world will come to know this. I am forwarding a recent photo of those who accepted Christ and Pastor IXXXa is amongst them. Please continue to pray for NMCF and Pastor IXXX as his involvement with the fellowship and the Church. He is traveling to Nepalgunj on 10 of December and will be talking to new soldiers and encouraging them from the word of God. He will meet up with the commitee memebers as well.

We as a part AXXXXX Church have good foothold to extend God’s Kingdom in Nepal. Please pray for AXXXX Church as it is trying to be living witness in many areas.

Thanks

XXX

Hugs and many Arise kisses for the help today with assisting me in getting the truck loaded. The wonders of God along with answered prayer never cease. I’m currently headed towards Fort Bragg to spend time with Genet before returning to Florida. It sure will be good to have all of our possessions including my office in one place again. We just can’t thank all involved enough for helping. What a tremendous blessing.

~Carl for Arise Medical Missions (US)

Happy Thanksgiving to all who are reading. I’ve been awake for quite some time now and busy tending to the matters of the day. Still, not a moment goes by that I’m not ever aware of God’s presence in my life and how absolutely every single thing I have is a gift from God, permitted by him alone… every good thing and every bad thing too.

It’s easy to be thankful today. I’ve already heard from lots of friends and family members. I’ve heard from the people who really matter in my life and from some who I didn’t know did. That has come in the form of promptings from the Holy Spirit that involve reaching out to people that I wouldn’t normally think of. It’s been interesting.

To date I have a good friend who is living with colon cancer. That hits close to home as that is what my father died from. He really has a tremendous attitude and is trying hard to keep the faith despite it having metastasized to several organs in his body. The question is if someone who is in his position can give credit where credit is due, then surely I should be able to!

God is great! It hasn’t been an easy road, in fact, it continues to not be an easy road. However, there are many bright stars in my life and I get to hang out with a few of them today. I’ve learned to be happy in the small things and the bigs things too. I’ve learned to be happy despite the economic down turn, despite people I thought I knew and thought I could trust becoming untrustworthy, and people I love being FAR from the Lord.

Today is a great day for praying, eating, and personal reflection. It’s a time to figure out how to do it better before next Thanksgiving comes around. And yes, I’m already thinking about next Thanksgiving. I’ve learned that sometimes life doesn’t look at all like what you thought it would. I continue to think about Nepal. That never goes away. I most definitely feel that we will return in due time. All about timing. Taking care of the family needs right now. The boys, Carl’s family, my family, etc.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving and thanks to each one of you for your continued love and support.

~Gina for the Arise Medical Missions Family

Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior. Habakkuk 3:17-18  (Thanks to Pastor Jeff and Machias Valley Baptist Church for this beautiful Thanksgiving verse).

Message from Lhakpa,

Namaste EVERYONE,

“Happy Thanksgiving” to you all! I wish and pray that all of you have a wonderful Thanksgiving Day. Here, in PCC, everyone seems exciting and encouraged. We will have different activities-Fine Art Series, Turkey Ball (soccer game), Praise and Worship Service.

The environment looks beautiful here. Everything is green around and they have decorated some big trees and all small bush trees with light! Seeing the buildings and facilities here, it amazes me how much God has blessed this college. It is wonderful!

Moreover, I am very exciting as this will be my 1st Christmas and Thanksgiving in America. I am blessed to have opportunities like this. So, on this Thanksgiving Day, I praise and thank God for all of your generous support and prayer for me; and your presence in my life. Thank you very much.

By the way, amazing things are happening this semester in college. One of them is: several weeks before, about 47 students got saved on one day! Praise God. Isn’t that wonderful? And, also I see much friendly students this semester. I am thankful for that. I, personally, am experiencing closer with the Lord. There were many wonderful guest speakers this semester.

Anyway, my classes are going on well and is almost at the end. My mid-term went quite well. Lord is been good to me and He is still carrying me all the through everyday. My final exams will begin from December 14-18. Then, I will have Christmas break till January 24. I am trying hard to finish this semester well so that I can earn good GPA for my Nursing. So, if you would, please pray for my finals.

Thank you once again. I will be writing soon.  Till then, have a wonderful time. May LORD bless all of your days.

Sincerely, with love and thanksgiving,

~Lhakpa at PCC (Arise Exchange Student)

Last night we had a great time of fellowship and sharing permitted by Calvary Chapel St. Pete, Florida. They are currently in the middle of their Missions Celebration Week and we were asked to come and spend the evening with them answering any questions people within their fellowship might have about our ministry.

It was a great chance to see old friends and meet with new friends. The body is so faithful and this just validated that once again. We were deeply touched by the words that were hand-written in a card we received along with $30 for gas money which goes a very long way these days.

“It is such an honor to have you both as part of our missionary outreach. your lives of service do keep us grounded to the reality of ministry needs out there. Your newsletters and emails keep our hearts and prayers attached. Thank you for the time you put into them. Ministry is hard. We are grateful for the opportunity to pray always for you. Thanks for joining in on the conference”- Missions at Calvary St. Pete

“Carl and Gina, Thank you for all you do. May the Lord continue to bless you.” – Bob and Debbie

“Thank you for your faithful service. God bless you!” – Valerie

“God bless you in your ministry.” – Dan and Lynda

“Thank you for all you do in His service! We appreciate you guys! Blessings!” – Karen

“We carry you both and your family in our hearts. Love!” – Dyan

“Blessings for another amazing year.” – Julie

How great is our God!

~Gina for Arise Medical Missions (US)

Sherpa hospital in Himalayan heights

By Joanna Jolly

BBC News, Kunde, Nepal

For the Sherpas of the high Everest or Khumbu region of Nepal, keeping healthy is a struggle.

The climate is harsh and the area is isolated. There are no roads and sanitation is basic. That is why the one hospital in the region, the Kunde Hospital, is vitally important. Set up in 1966 by Sir Edmund Hillary in the mountain town of Kunde at a height of 3,840m, the hospital is mainly funded by foreign donations. But for the past 10 years, it has been staffed and run totally by local Sherpas.

Dr Tsering Wangdi Sherpa, 27, is currently running the clinic, which serves 8,000 patients from the four main valleys of the Khumbu district. ”It’s very important to have this hospital,” he says. ”Before it was built, the health system here was absolutely bad. There were a lot of problems with birth control and immunisation. People had very bad infections and the hygiene was really bad,” he says.

‘Unusual’

Dr Tsering has only been working at Kunde hospital for the last seven months. But he has been connected to the clinic all his life. He was born here in 1983 – delivered by a Canadian doctor who was volunteering at the time. His father used to work as a health assistant to the foreign doctors, but thanks to a grant from the Sir Edmund Hillary Foundation of Canada, he was able to complete his own medical degree and became the first Sherpa doctor to work at Kunde. ”It was pretty unusual for my father to become a doctor,” says Dr Tsering.”It was very expensive to afford the training. The Sherpas live around Khumbu region which at the time was not very well-developed and most people did not have the money to afford good schools and colleges.”  Dr Tsering’s own training was also funded by the Sir Edmund Hillary Foundation.

He describes the New Zealand mountaineer as a “godfather” to the Sherpa people for building the hospital and helping the local community. Dr Tsering works six days a week, running the 12-bed clinic from nine to five most days. The small stone hospital, built on the side of a mountain with a view of the snow-capped mountains, is able to deal with minor surgeries and has a laboratory to conduct basic tests. On the morning of my visit, Dr Tsering’s first patient is a man with an ingrown toenail. He arrived at the clinic late last night and Dr Tsering performed basic surgery on him, removing the nail and cleaning the wound. This morning he changes the dressing and checks for infection.

‘Important’

His next patients are both women who have come for their three-monthly contraceptive injection. ”The family planning service has been really important in improving the health of the people and encouraging them to have smaller families,” says Dr Tsering. One of the women has walked two-and-a-half hours to reach the clinic – nothing unusual for many patients in this region. If the hospital did not exist, she would not know where to go for contraception, she said.

The clinic charges a basic fee of 20 Nepali rupees (around 25 cents) per visit – whatever service is being provided. The fee has stayed the same for the last 20 years and Dr Tsering says that it means that everyone can afford treatment. One important area in which the clinic has improved health is by providing regular iodine injections to the local population. ”Thyroidism was a big problem 40 years back because there was no iodine in the region, so we had many cases of goitre and cretinism,” says Dr Tsering. ”But after Sir Edmund Hillary set up the hospital we no longer have this problem,” he says.

Break

But as the Khumbu district has become more affluent, the hospital is now dealing with different diseases. ”We’ve seen an increase in diabetes in those villages that are economically better,” says the doctor. ”Their diet is getting worse and they have a more sedentary lifestyle because they have people working for them.” As morning clinic ends, Dr Tsering and his colleagues take a break to drink hot sweet tea and eat freshly-baked bread. Sitting in front of the hospital, the view is spectacular. The snow-covered peak of Ama Dablam dominates the skyline. The sound of lamas chanting drifts down from a Buddhist monastery high above them on the mountainside. ”It’s been really great working up here,” says Dr Tsering. ”Sometimes it’s difficult because everything is in our hands. When things get complicated, we have to use all our knowledge and all the equipment we have to help the patient.” ”But otherwise it’s really peaceful working here,” he says.

Story from BBC NEWS:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/south_asia/8346359.stm

Published: 2009/11/14 08:00:36 GMT

~Dana for Arise Medical Missions (US)

© BBC MMIX

Hi Friends,

I stumbled across this documentary on slashcontrol.com.  It’s quite long (2 hours I think).  It’s called “Blindsight.”

The beginning was quite revealing about how the blind in that territory (Nepal) are treated less than human.  Though not a “religious” movie, I found it interesting that this group of people invested much time and energy to raise self-confidence in those “doomed” by their own culture (the link is below if you like)!

Dana at Arise Medical Missions (US)

http://www.slashcontrol.com/free-movies/blindsight/1746569339

Health Camp Ministry, Charaudi

Greetings in the name of the Lord Jesus from Himalaya

Hello Gina & Carl this is Birbal from the Charaudi, Nepal. We are doing well we hope you are also good & praying to God for well. I want to say first thank you so much for co-work with us or involve in church planting ministry. We were finish health camp in Charaudi. It was three weeks. We did health seminars, health treatment, preaching the Gospel of Jesus. We did serve around six hundred people.  There was Christian & Non-Christian. It was different villages. I hope God will bring many people in his Kingdom & there will be glorify his name forever. Brother Carl & Sister Gina you are worthy to get crown from our God.

Information:

We are (our family) in Kathmandu now. But my 80% time giving to Charaudi. In Kathmandu we will do center management, Run the training in Frontier Mission Kathmandu, networking to other ministry of the YWAM & other ministry.

Our first priority In Charaudi:

Teach to staffs (there is now eleven staff) for develop in his leadership skill.

Teach to Local church leaders

In God = Birbal & Rupa Pakhrin Family

Hi Everyone,

We are coming home from Maine and I snapped this picture out of the window… well, not exactly.  Yes, Gina and I are coming home from teaching medical classes in mid-coastal Maine for about five days, but this photo was
taken while nearing my next destination, New York City.  I’ll be here for a day or two teaching corporate pilots how to use automatic external defibrillators in the event of in-flight emergencies.

While we were in Maine, we did teach about six to seven hours daily but did manage to get in a few good meals and a few long walks.  All in all, it was a good time for us both to reflect on this past year’s Arise ministry and
start to scope out what we’ll do and pray about doing in 2010. We also had the chance to grab a lunch on the go with someone from our sending church and spent an hour catching up.  Last night, we met with a nurse friend and discussed our plans to return to Mustang and the prayer that she’ll be able to join us there this coming Summer.

Well, I’m also struggling through two simultaneous graduate courses, thanks to the Air Force and have made the halfway point in the eight-week sessions. The efforts are costing me about 25 hours weekly, so I have to get going
back to the videos, books and internet articles.

Many blessings,

~Carl for Arise Medical Missions (US)