The Mendok Project: Februar 2011

Freitag, 25. Februar 2011

Travel Nerves

Is this the right English word? I'm not sure... there is a similar one in German that means that you can't wait to start your trip... and it starts in 42 days. The preparation for the travel gets more into detail. We booked the flights in Nepal. There is a Christian family in Pokhara who owns a small hotel and a travel agency. Phil, the owner, is a friend of a family from our church and also of Herbert from Forum Wiedenest. Phil does all the travel issues for us; we will also stay with them when we are in Pokhara. Herbert will be in Nepal ahead of us and he will get in contact with Mendok's family again so they know for sure the dates when we will pick them up.
"Real" news will be posted here at April. Which doesn't mean we stop posting, to check the blog is worth it anyways.

Freitag, 4. Februar 2011

Update

After the "cash chek" yesterday we found out that we have an overage at the finances for the project. That means we have more money than we calculated for all the costs and expenses. Good news indeed!
Anyhow people keep asking: "Can we still donate something?" This results in the question: what happens with the money that will be left after April? The answer: we for sure will spend it on the people of Mustang. Maybe through another outreach, another help project or through whatever God puts on our hearts.

We are totally overwhelmed and thankful and very, very excited what God has in store! And we will re-name this blog into "the adventure called Mendok Project" :-)
At the moment we are busy with travel preparations and arrangements - booking lodging and inland flights - and we are thankful for each prayer (see right side).

why we are doing what we are doing

Through experiencing love in action we wish that the people in Mustang will get to know the one who motivates us in everything we are doing: Jesus.
We want to do this by deepening existing friendships and establishing new ones. This wouldn't be possible without visits on a regular base. These visits include time in Lupra school and to accompany children, who need medical treatment.
More infos you find in Romans 10:14 and Romans 15:21b.

What we are trying to do may be just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop. Mother Teresa

how it all started

While visiting schools and providing dental care in August 2010 we got to know Mendok. She is a student at Lupra school, a small mountain village laying about 10.000 ft altitude. The eleven year old suffered of a cleft palate, taken care of just rudimental when she was a baby. With the "Menok Project" we could accompany her to the Sushma Koirala Hospital in Sankhu near Kathmandu, where she had two necessary surgeries til now.
In fall 2011 we not only accompanied her, but went to Lupra school with a team to help with the teaching. This trip also brought us in contact with a small church in Sangala, a village close by to Kathmandu.
In April 2012 we were able to get Mendok to Kathmandu again where she had a final orthodontic treatment. A new task occured with Kunsang, a ten-year-old girl that also lives at Lupra School. As an infant she had heart surgery and actually needs check-up half a year. For this she has to go to Pokhara which is, depending on the means of transport, a one- or two-day-travel. We could help her with one first check-up this April and hope to find a lasting solution with the "Mendok Project" for Kunsang.
We also plan other travels for the coming year.
The travel expenses and helps are covered partly by ourselves, partly by donations.

for whom - people in Mustang

In Mustang, known for a long time as the "forbidden kingdom", most of the people living there are from the Thakali or the Gurung tribe. Mustang borders Tibet in the north. The old salt trade route winds its way down next to the Kali Gandiki, a river that craved over the centuries the world's longest and widest gorge into a fascinating mountain range. The Thakali and Gurung are both counted among the ethnical Tibetan people group; religion and believe systems have their origin in the TibetanBbuddhism and aligned close to it. At the same time the Thakali and the Gurung are counted among the so called unreached people groups, who do not or hardly know about the Gospel. Mustang is parted into Upper and Lower Mustang; Lower Mustang is well known for the Anapurna circuit and hosts many tourists. Going to Upper Mustang you will need an expensive permit. Also most of the Thakali and the Gurung just speek their own tribal language.