Dear Supporters,
Hello from the Himalayas! I’m currently on a 24-hour bus ride traveling far west, so I figured I would take some time to reflect and give you all an update. It’s been one month since I arrived in the Himalayas, and what a month it has been! After finishing our final week and making last-minute preparations, we left for outreach. After 3 long flights, the long awaited time had come when we landed in the capital city.
We spent the rest of the first week recovering from our travels and hanging out in Kathmandu. These first days were awesome getting to check out the city, observe the culture, and begin our ministry. We got to use our medical training to teach a first-aid class to a women’s development center. We also visited a few Christian businesses that employed women recovering from unfortunate situations. I loved getting to see how my two passions of entrepreneurship and missions can merge together.
For our second week, we took our first 8 hour bus ride west. It was nice to get out of the capital, see some of the countryside, and go to a new city. Here we stayed with our contact who helped us partner with several different ministries. We got to do a prayer walk at a Buddhist temple, went to several church fellowships, and taught a fair amount as well. Mostly, we spent a lot of the time planning for the week ahead.
Week 3 was probably my favorite and hardest week of outreach so far. We got the opportunity to help run a camp for 63 teenagers as teachers, cabin counselors, and leaders. This experience was nothing short of a complete cultural encounter. Spending 24/7 with these energetic kids was exhausting, but exciting. We got to be such a light to these kids, hear so many cool testimonies, and truly make a difference in these kids’ lives. God moved in some big ways, but we also visibly witnessed some spiritual warfare, which was interesting to be a part of. There’s a lot to unpack from this week, but I’ll leave it here for now.
This last week was week 4 which we spent in a new town. We spent another 9 hours in a jam-packed jeep on bumpy roads to make it even further west. This week was a weird week for me, as I saw it as mostly a transition from the first half of outreach to the next. My birthday was this week, which was a little sad to be away from my family for the first time in my life. However, I got to go on a birthday hike, enjoy a Himalayan birthday celebration, and felt very loved by my team’s thoughtfulness. For ministry this week we did several church fellowships, a prayer walk, and visited a very remote village.
Visiting the village was by far my favorite part of the week, and ended up being my favorite day of outreach so far. To me, this 24 hour experience encapsulated exactly what I envisioned outreach should feel like. We had to take 2 different jeeps from our town and then trek a ways to get to this village. Once we got there our team got our first opportunity to legally share the Gospel openly with people who had never heard the name of Jesus before. I personally got the chance to share the Gospel with a witch doctor who had heard the name of Jesus but didn’t believe. All the while I was trying to prepare for a 40-minute church sermon I was asked to give with a 24-hour notice. This time in the village was crazy, but I still was able to remain present, and just hang out with the locals. Our eating and sleeping conditions were less than ideal, but it was worth the suffering for the experience.
Speaking of suffering, I’m currently 8 hours into a 24 hour bus ride to the furthest west point of our travels. I’m having to remind myself of how much Jesus suffered for us on the cross as I endure 24 hours of pain for the sake of sharing the Gospel. For the second half of outreach, we will be there to do ministry, and trekking for a couple weeks. I’m really not too sure what the next few weeks look like but I’m excited to keep experiencing new things and to see what God does.
As always. I would like to express my gratitude to all of you. Each and every one of you had a role to play in my journey here. Whether it be through finances or prayer, I’m here because of you guys. For that, thank you. It’s been so cool seeing my calling to the Himalayas come to fruition. I’m excited to see what’s in store for my next month in the Himalayas.
Until Next Time,
Jacob Frenzen
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