Jean Stockdale...

Oh My Heart!

I am still living partly in Nepal. It takes many months to fully formulate all that we have seen and done after one of these trips. I try to listen intently to the Lord and the "new revelations" He has for me as illustrated by the new life experiences He allows in these far away places. The people and faces continually run through my mind and I pray for those I met and those I never will. The workers there, Jesse and Shanee S, mean so much to us and I find myself thinking of her, especially, often. She is due with their first Mar. 1 and you know how I love me some mommas! Coming home is always hard on me on many levels, especially when the trip is accompanied with so much sickness and jet lag. But it is the emotional crushing that is the hardest to process and crystallize into its proper place. I always give my heart to the people I am with and frankly, I am running out of "heart" having left large pieces in Africa, India, and now Nepal.

The above picture is one of my favorites. This dear older lady came and set with Craig, Elesa and I during a break. They could not understand one word we said, but they just wanted to be near. How lovely. Her face was wrinkled and the evidence of a hard life was reflected in her frail, bend body. Her hands bore tattoos, probably left over from her precious pagan religion. Despite the hardships of her life, the joy of the Lord shown thru. She loved God and she loved God's Word. The pictures shows the difference in our lives but the commonality of our hearts. We are one in the Lord; sisters in Him from around the world!

As you celebrate the birth of Jesus, with all the wonderful trappings of family and friends, please do not forget what this time is all about. It is easy to forget the Perfect Gift in the midst of the gift giving. It is easy to replace the joy of the Lord with the mania of the season. It is easy to become "worldly" at the most holy time of the year. Keep your eyes on Jesus. Blessings.

Decisions and Distractions

I can only imagine that you are all very busy getting all your Christmas goodies in order. I myself will have to kick it into high gear here shortly since I do not have my tree up yet! God has been doing a new work in my heart of late and I thought I would share it with you. This has been worked into my soul from all the trips we have gotten to take in the last 2 years to third world countries. I return from each trip with a renewed determination to "purge" from my life anything that is distracting me from the high calling of walking with the Lord. Jesus rebuked Martha because she became distracted with all her work, trying to create a perfect gourmet meal for her special Guest. He was displeased that she allowed herself to become distracted with the work of the ministry rather than spending time with the Lord of the work.

The widow gave her mite and it pleased Jesus. He said she had given all she could. Others had obviously given more. Others had done more, but He was pleased with her tiny gift because it was all she could do. I am learning to do "all I can do" and not judge myself against the accomplishments of others. Others can always do more. That is not the issue. What should I do? Before the Lord, what is He asking me to do?

I am learning to make decisions based on the investment of my time and energy (very limited commodities) and the merit of the return. If it is something that will distract me from the Lord or my family, I am no longer willing to do it. If it is something that will cause me to stumble in my walk with the Lord or be unavailable to my family, then it is off my "to do" list.

I ask this question, "Can I do this thing without becoming distracted from the Lord and His kingdom work? Can I do this without ignoring the needs of my family? Can I do it without depleting my own energy? Can I get a good return on my investment of time?" If the answer is yes, I feel liberty in my spirit to proceed. But if not, I simply cannot invest in the activity. If I can do the project without losing my joy or becoming distracted...hey, I'm there. But if not, it is not God's plan for me.

I have learned to shortcut projects or cancel them all together because the high price of time and energy cuts into the priceless value of time with the Lord. I may not do everything that others do. I may not have a homemade Christmas feast and hand lettered place cards. I may resort to gift cards for gift giving. I may not have every inch of my house decorated for the holidays. (At this point I am still hoping to get my tree up!) But this I do know, that the Lord Jesus Christ will be highly exalted and greatly worshiped in this house. As for me and my house, we are going with Jesus. I am learning to lay aside all the bells and whistles and get back to basics. I am learning to make wise decisions based on effort involved and return received. And I am loving Jesus Christ, more and more each day. This is what I learned by traveling halfway around the world. I am learning just how much is enough. Blessings.

The Face of Nepal

I am still relishing the trip to Nepal. I left a large piece of my heart over there. This gentleman is our American missionaries, Jesse and Shanee Snodgrass, landlord's father. I love his face. He is a Hindu and the mark on his forehead shows he has been to the temple to worship for daily prayers.Although the gospel is spreading rapidly in Nepal due to the lack of political or religious persecution, most of the nation lives in the utter darkness of unbelief. We have heard back from a number of our trainee and they are committed to spreading the gospel, discipling new converts and planting new churches. Because of the impact the trip to a third-world country has on me, I am having a hard time getting into the spirit of Christmas. The jet lag has subsided and my bronchitis is much better. Please pray for the body of Christ in Nepal and that many will come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Blessings.

Traveling Light

It took 4 days of air travel to arrive at our destination. The whole team flew into Kathmandu Nepal. From there, the Sisks, the Redmonds and the Stockdales caught a flight to Biratnegar. While in the little airport we had about 30 minutes to kill. Craig spotted an Internet cafe. We quickly logged on to write home. Can you even imagine our delight when we saw an email from D that said "Baby Pic." We were stunned. Stunned I tell you to open it up and see the first ultrasound of Baby Stockdale!! And Dawson signed his email, Daddy Dawson! Tries were shed. Shouts were hollered. Dancing ensued! The little one is expected May 1 and is strong and healthy. To be on the other side of the world and get to see this, well it was a Kiss from the King!! Thank you Jesus!

The Mounds in Nepal

This is a typical home in the Mounds village. One local pastor has planted 10 churches with over 700 members in it since 2002. He was set to baptize 56 new converts on Dec. 6. Wow! Life in the village is very hard but the people are full of joy in Jesus. They danced and sang in worship and received us with great humility. We were staggered by the warmth of their love for us and their gracious hospitality. They brought us some of their clothes to wear on the last day which we did with great delight. They were a sari type garment over a dark skirt. So fun.

There's No Place Like Home!

This is a snapshot of the Nepal we saw. Nepal is the size of TN. but it goes from 300 ft. above sea level to Mt. Everest! It is a gorgeous place. We did 2 PE trainings in Itahari and Biratnegar. Both were well received by enthusiastic pastors and lay leaders. It is a program designed to help them lead people to Christ, discipline new converts and plant new churches. The first week was in the village called The Mounds and involved a bumpy 45 minute drive to arrive. The village is made up of mud huts and thatched roof dwellings. The people group we ministered to have only recently been evangelized bu the gospel is spreading quickly. We loved this group. I will post some more pictures of The Mounds village. We ate rice cut from their fields everyday and had fresh bananas for dessert under an open patio with a thatched roof. It was unbelievable. We miss the friends we made but it was good to get home. I have come home with an ear infection and bronchitis. It developed almost immediately due to the dust, pollution and strong incense. I am worn down and feeling rough but I am grateful that it did not interfere in the ministry of the Word while we were there. Pray for Nepal and God's sweet move of grace among the people there. Thank you for praying for us. Blessings.