Going to Nepal

All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. Matthew 28:18-20

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Deuteronomy 31:6


My life has been full of adventure recently, and God isn't stopping anytime
soon: He is sending me to Nepal! He has given me an incredible opportunity to use my
passion of the mountains and my expedition skills directly for his service. I am going
as a team leader on a short-term mission with Vision Beyond Borders (VBB). I am so
excited to be preparing to carry supplies and the Word to people in remote villages at
17,000 feet in the Himalayas!

We plan to leave on May 6th and be gone for about two weeks returning the
22nd. We will fly into the capital Kathmandu and spend a first day getting oriented to the
culture. As an activity, we will be given guided tours of Hindu and Buddhist temples. I
have heard that these are very dark and evil places, very unlike our Western perception
of these religions. The VBB staff feels like we should experience this dark side of the
beliefs prevalent in the society we are trying to reach.

Then our trip will essentially be split into two parts. The first and largest chunk
of time will be spent carrying the gospel message recorded in the Nepali language into
high altitude villages. This will likely be the first time that these people will have heard
the amazing news of Jesus! The gospel is recorded onto hand wind audio players and
we’ve heard that a single device can bring an entire village to Christ! Teams returning
less than a year later have found that many people will have memorized the entire
message. We will take vans and buses on about a two day journey to the highest
town to which we can drive. Then we will spend the next week or so hiking back to
Kathmandu, stopping at villages along the way.

After we return from the mountains, we will fly to Vietnam for the second part
of our trip. We will spent 2-3 days smuggling Bibles into Laos where God's word is
banned. Churches and Christians are so hungry to have Bibles that they are willing
to risk their lives to take Bibles across the border. If locals get caught they face the
loss of a limb or death. I am so excited to be able to aid them in their efforts in relative
safety. VBB has done this before and assures us that as an American we have a sort
of immunity. If we get caught with Bibles crossing into Laos we are pulled aside into a
room, yelled at in a language we can’t understand for an hour, and then released with
our bag of Bibles on the Vietnam side. Then we pick up our bag and try to cross again.

For any of this to work, from our trip preparations to our plane travel to crossing
the border with illegal Bibles, I need people to cover me and my team in prayer. Please
consider committing to being on my team of prayer warriors and start praying now until
we get home safely.


Things to actively pray for starting now:

1. Our preparations: (spiritual, physical, and emotional) to be adequate and not
stressful
2. Travel: that it would be safe and efficient
3. People in Nepal: that they might be open to the message of the gospel
4. For God to provide our team with the necessary funds
5. That God would be with those that we leave behind, giving them peace about our
safety

Picture Update

I am ever enthusiastic about this blog and what it could become: sharing the adventures of the Bozeman, MT Lanes with the world and YOU my faithful and loving followers. Alas, the busyness of life sucks dry my time and energy. Please don't lose heart! I continue to be optimistic about writing stories and posting pictures of our adventures.

In fact, I'll have another big adventure to add to the list of things to catch up on: Alli and I leave tomorrow for Kauai, Hawaii! It will be the first time for both of us, and the first time to a tropical place for me. It should be different. While the potential is high for uploading pictures and posts while the trip is in progress, I have yet to have consistent luck posting things from my smartphone. You might have to check Facebook to get pictures next week until we get home.

As a tease from our life, here's some pictures of our family's adventures since we have been married:

 Our first Christmas together in Kalispell.

 Visiting Muna and Dad in Kansas City. They took us to a Chiefs game!

 In splendid Patagonia, Lago Pehoe and Paine Grande in the background, two smitten love birds in the foreground.

 Another shot with the Paine Grande massif and glaciers behind us. It was a gorgeous day!

Ski touring in Hyalite Canyon with our powder hound ski buddy, Kyler.

Alli with her medal won at the Skin to Win Randonee Race at Bridger Bowl. Alli won 2nd in her age group and I got 3rd.

We took some high school Young Lifers to a ski camp in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. We had a rough time: sunshine, warm weather, beautiful views, and great conversations about Jesus!

Look at that powder hound go!

We have Bridger Bowl ski passes this year. That allows for quick morning laps on the Ridge before going to work and school; especially when it snows 6 inches overnight during the week...

Thanks for staying tuned. Hope to see you on the trail!