Nepal 2014 Trip

POKHARA, NEPAL

Hey everyone!
I hope this finds you well!  As with any trip overseas, it always comes with a lot to process upon return to home.  Once my feet step onto Nepali soil my sensors are always overloaded with the smells and sounds of Nepal.  This trip was a crazy whirlwind for 7 days in Nepal.  We spent the first couple days in Kathmandu with some contacts of Matt and Trista Deaver's.  Then we flew to Pokhara for 3 days to meet with the owners of Rasilo Juice Co.  And really there are numerous individual owners/investors of the company, some live in Nepal and some live in other parts of the world.  Keith and Heather are the current managers/owners of Rasilo and have the most input in the business.  We met up with Keith and Heather for several days to get to know them a little more and to become more familiar with the business.  Rasilo is located within the current largest and oldest Tibetan Refugee Camp in Nepal.  It is home to 1,000 Tibetan refugees.  Rasilo is completely run by Tibetans, except for Keith and Heather of course.  They make 3 types of juice; apple, orange, and pineapple.  The juice is all grown within Nepal.  It turns out that not only do the Tibetan people produce the juice but they also are the largest buyers of the juice!  Other than the Tibetans, the juice is mostly sold in Pokhara.

A common question asked is "Can Keith and Heather live off of income from the business?"  Unfortunately, Rasilo isn't financially there yet.  Rasilo is around $5,000 short every year in which they have to rely on outside sources to cover their expenses.  Rasilo is a very small business and therefore produce a small amount of juice.  They only work 3 months out of the year currently and it's spread out throughout the year so it's not back to back months.  This is by Keith's design and preference so he can focus on ministry, but it has the potential to do more.

When Keith asked me what I thought about Rasilo I responded with, "It seems too good to be true!"  To be able to live in Pokhara would be a much preferred place for us to call home rather than Kathmandu.  Kathmandu is a crazy city. We would somewhat like to avoid living there if we can. Another reason why Rasilo seems "too good to be true" is that we would be able to rub shoulders with Tibetans every day.  The Tibetan people are the main and really only specific people group that God has placed on my heart since 2005. It's crazy and overwhelming for me personally to think of this long road that I've been on since my trip to China/Tibet in the summer of 2005.  For some reason the Tibetan people have stayed on my heart throughout the years.  God only knows.  But I've always asked, "Why Tibetans?"  God knows. This business is a great way to live among the Tibetan people located in Nepal.  Definitely not the only way, but it provides great stability (which stability isn't really a word I would ever use to describe anything in Nepal) for our family with giving us a definite focus and task from the start instead of the alternative of moving to Kathmandu, learning language, and seeing where God leads and what opportunities are revealed.

Currently in Nepal to gain a business visa an individual has to show access to $55,000 in a bank account, which would later be invested into the business.  We were informed on this trip that it is in the works in the Nepali government to raise this amount to $200,000.  We were told that the Indian government is putting pressure on Nepal to raise the amount to keep Westerners from starting businesses and keep them out of Nepal.  Who knows what the real reason is but it doesn't matter because if this happens then Rasilo won't be an option for us.

Where do we go from here?  What are the next steps?  Right now Meredith and I are praying for the  month of August (and more if need be) to decide what to do next.  We are specifically praying for this opportunity in Nepal with Rasilo.  We are also praying about whether to move back to Iowa before our third baby boy arrives in November (we apologize if this is your first time hearing this news). Most of our training here in Colorado has come to an end sooner than what we thought it would. Would you please join us in asking God what He would have us do in months ahead?  We think we have answers, but we want to be sure and confident in God's direction.  This is very brief summary of my trip and would love to chat with any of you if you have any further questions or thoughts.  Thank you for your prayers and all your patience with this process!

Tibetan workers making pineapple juice

With much love,
Ben