Counting the Cost - Part One

Hello everyone!
This is my (Ben) first post here on our blog.  As many of you know, I recently had a great opportunity to join my church, Mountain View Community Church, on a trip to Pokhara, Nepal for three weeks.  The point of the trip for me was to meet the pastors and leaders of Binay Church and to get an understanding of their hearts for the Gospel and see what God is doing through them in Pokhara and throughout Nepal.  Since there is a possibility to join and help run a trekking business, that was started to help employ local youth leaders, I was also able to go on the most popular trek in Nepal to Annapurna Base Camp.  Most of the time was spent getting to know and building relationships with these pastors and leaders.  I was able to attend two church worship services at Binay Church.  It was, like all the times I've been involved with local worship services on trips to Nepal, China, and Tibet, awesome to see God's children worship Him with simplicity and humility.  I think there are too many distractions within the Western Church that keep us from really connecting with God.  But that's another post.

Machhapuchere Mt. Elevation: 22,943 ft. (6693m)

The two main teaching pastors are Hom(home) and Lekh(lake).  Hom is a national that grew up in a town called Gorkha.  Gorkha is where the main church is located that has planted 17-20 churches throughout Nepal, including Binay Church.  Hom is involved with an organization called Young Life.  He is the Young Life Director for Nepal.  He is a business, networking, youth minded, humble servant of the Lord.  His vision is to "saturate the youth of Pokhara with the Gospel" as well as the entire country of Nepal.  He mentioned that most youth and their families are not open to being invited to a church event, Bible study, or youth gathering.  But these families are open to Young Life club meetings that meet after school throughout the week.  There are 5 club meetings that meet all throughout Pokhara, with 125-150 youth coming regularly!  There are a number of youth leaders and youth that attend Binay Church.  The Young Life club meetings are seen as the youth ministry of Binay.  I asked Hom if he was interested in moving or expanding to other countries in the future and he said that his heart is for Nepal because of the work to be done with the few workers they have.  Praise God for his heart and commitment to Nepal!  My eyes were opened to youth ministry and the importance of its focus in Nepal!  Operation World states that Nepal's youth "comprise two-thirds of Nepal's population, which is one of the world's youngest and fastest growing." 37% of the population are under the age of 15!  Unfortunately, most of these youth are vulnerable to sex trafficking and lack opportunities for education.  Because of the 70% unemployment rate as well, many are forced to look for employment in India and the Middle East.  This is why businesses need to be started in Nepal, to create jobs for youth and people in general.

This is Hom and I on my last morning in Nepal.

Lekh is originally from India.  When he came to know the Lord, he was told to leave his village by not only the village but his own family.  But his mother said, "All this trouble for one boy proclaiming his faith in this God that heals.  I will join in following this God as well!"  So his mother and several other brothers proclaimed their faith in God and left the village.  I can't remember how he arrived in Nepal, but I have a lot of pride in calling this man my Brother in Christ!  He is a great story teller and is so passionate for Jesus!  He is financially supported by Mountain View.  His vision is to reach the youth with the Gospel and in turn reaching their families.  His main interest is for the local church in Nepal and for eventually church planting.  I really found myself connecting with Lekh and his heart.  My one prayer, well one of many prayers (you pray a lot when in Nepal), was that God would draw my heart to connect with one person.  Lekh is a humble, apostle Paul-like man of God.  Lekh does most of the teaching at Binay's Saturday services (day of worship is on Saturday in Nepal) as well as leading two new believer Bible studies.  His main prayer for several years has been to be freed up in order to plant churches.  But because of his responsibilities at Binay, he hasn't been able to.  When I told Lekh about our heart for Nepal, he told me that my family and I might just be an answer to his prayers. Please pray for these men and the other leaders at Binay Church.

This is Pastor Lekh on the left and Paul on the right.

Hom's younger brother, Paul, led our trek and works with Nepal Outdoor Adventures (trekking business) in addition to being a leader in Young Life.  I really connected with Paul as well on this trip. Don't ask me how they name children in Nepal; Hom, Paul, and another brother Bill.  I don't get it.  :) Anyway, during one of many conversations with Paul, I asked him about business opportunities.  I came on the trip with the idea of a guest house.  I've had this idea on my mind for the past 7 years since my trip to China/Tibet in 2005.  Another idea is a coffee shop, either included in the guest house or separate from.  I know, a coffee shop is a popular strategy/idea that many missionaries have, but there really isn't many ways to get good coffee in Nepal, unless you think instant coffee is awesome and is real!  Which if you think this, we need to talk!  Some of you may be thinking, "How easy is it to get coffee into Nepal?"  Or, "Do they grow coffee in Nepal?"  On the last day of my trek, I was walking and thinking a lot about what life will be like in Nepal, like most of my trip, and Paul, knowing that I'm interested in coffee, taps me on the shoulder and says, "Look Ben! Coffee trees!"  There in a small village that we were passing through sat around 25-30 coffee trees just looking at me saying, "Come pick Ben!"  Yes, the coffee trees actually spoke to me!  Well that might have been the altitude speaking or the lack of caffeine within my system! But it gave me a small amount of hope.  Once we returned to Pokhara, Paul and I spent a day on his motorcycle searching the city for coffee shops.  We found one promising business, that actually had an espresso machine sitting on their counter as well as other locally baked pastry items from a German bakery.  But Paul said that there is a university with what he said around 15,000 students.  He gave me an idea of a coffee shop near the campus to invite college students to.  He mentioned that no ministry in town is really reaching out to the college students.  He thought that it might be a great business to develop relationships and be able to practice English and share the Gospel!  Something to pray about!

Pictures of Binay Church in Pokhara, Nepal

So, those are the main leaders in the Binay Church. There's still so much to process about my trip, but that is why I'm calling this Counting the Cost- Part One! I hope this wasn't too long, but I felt it necessary to include these men so you could get to know them as well! :) 

As many of you already know, we sent out a fundraising letter asking many of you to join our team!! When the day comes that Mer and I take our family and step off the plane in Nepal, we truly believe those of you supporting us and praying for us are there stepping off that plane with us. You're our team!! We need your help! We have heard back from a handful of you and are so so blessed.  If you would like to be a part of what God is doing through us, please let us know! 

We Made It To Colorado!!

Hello Friends!! I'm so sorry for the delay in getting this posted! We just got internet in our new place this week.  Finally!!

As many of you know WE ARRIVED in Fort Collins!! For those of you who didn't know...I'm so sorry! Don't worry, we are not sitting on the side of the interstate waiting for you to come help us. =) We made it!!

For almost the first month of us being here we had family visiting.  We are just now getting into the swing of being full time Coloradoan residents! The mountains are such a beautiful site to be blessed with daily.  I try to not let a day pass where I don't pause and thank God for creating such beautiful scenery!

Our time has been spent getting settled, meeting people from our new church, riding distances on our bikes that I've never gone before, and trying new coffee shops --they have some awesome ones here!! (*Hint, hint, you should all come visit us!)

Ben is still looking for work and trying to connect with the pastors of our new church to see what life will look like for us here.  There are several different avenues of training we will need to go down to prepare for Nepal.  We have been trying to decide how much to undertake right off the bat.  Ben will be starting a Biblical training called Porterbrook come September.  I was hoping to take it with him, but as of now it isn't looking like it's going to work out.  I will still do the weekly reading with him so we can be in discussion about it.  The purpose of this training is "Letting the Bible story shape the hearts of ordinary Christians in the context of the church on mission to the world."  How cool is that?!! We are excited to see how God uses the Gospel to change our lives once again through this training.

Of course there are lots of service opportunities as well.  So we are trying to seek the Lord and see how we can be apart of, and love, our church body here.

If you think of it, we could use some prayers for these things:

- Continual transition for us and the boys.  Abe has seemed to have the hardest time transitioning.  We were in 5 different places in a month, so he was a little out of whack.  He's super strong-willed as well, so parenting and disciplining has been a challenge, but we are pushing through!! =) He's making great strides too despite being a super active 2, almost 3, year old boy!

- Direction in Ben finding work.  We're praying and asking the Lord to show us what this looks like.  We have the freedom to start raising support, as well, once we get the okay from our pastors here. We're still unsure of what this all looks like.  So prayers for patience would be great too! =)

We love you all and are so thankful for how God has used you in our lives!! Please email us and help us stay in contact with you!! We would love to hear how life is and how we can pray for you!

For His purposes,
Ben & Meredith

Ben: cadwellben@yahoo.com
Meredith: meredithcadwell@gmail.com

WE HAVE GREAT NEWS!!

We are moving to Fort Collins, Colorado!!! Yes, you read it right! The exciting news doesn't stop there though.  In about two-ish years we are planning to move indefinitely to Nepal!! 

Okay, so here is the back story:  
At the end of March we went to visit friends in Colorado that are a part of a church called Mountain View.  This church has two church plants in Nepal that are native churches (they consist of all Nepali people).  The churches really desire to have an American couple come and support them long term.  Some of that support to them would be the training and discipling of native pastors, as well as, helping them learn English.  Our hope is that we would help train these pastors to go and reach surrounding villages where there may be unreached people groups!! So, right now, we hope to be that American couple! 

To live in Nepal you have to have a platform- aka business visa.  Mountain View Church is also involved with a non-profit trekking company stateside and in Nepal that provides work for these pastors and peoples of the churches. (Many Nepali husbands leave their families to find work in India or other middle eastern countries because work is scarce.)

This whole endeavor is really fitting for us personally.  When we move to Fort Collins we will have the opportunity to be trained on multiple levels. Many people at Mountain View Church have been to Nepal, including some of the pastors, and the main guy who started the trekking business and church plants.  We will be trained to be missionaries (schooling of some sort) there, as well as, how to help the trekking business (Ben's dream come true!). In addition to those, they have training for the marriages of missionaries- which is awesome!!

Whew... This is a big step for us, but through many ways God is confirming this next step.  It's comforting knowing that they will train and prepare us, and send and support us in a major way emotionally and spiritually.  Mountain View Church also does trips to Nepal two times a year... *hint, hint* We are thrilled that there would be people coming to visit us pretty regularly... *hint, hint- you all should come =)

ETA for Colorado is July/Aug.  Yikes! So soon! Ben will be finding a job of some sort, but that's still being worked out. 

Our heart is to Know God and make Him Known to all peoples.  This is a major step of faith for us to uproot our family and reposition our lives to honor and serve God in the best way that He has for us. 

If you are interested in being on our email update list, please let us know! We would love for you all to follow us and be a part of what He is doing! 

So, there you have it!! We welcome any thoughts or questions!! 

IT SOLD!!!

Oh, we've got good news!! Our house sold!! Finally, after 2 years of waiting and waiting and waiting some more, our house sold.  As of now, our closing date is September 26th!! So, I've been busy dreaming up what I need to do to get us packed and out of here.

First order of operation is to have a garage sale.  I'm looking at September 8th, 9th, and the morning of the 10th.  We have so much stuff that we don't need.  I love simplifying our lives!  Plus, our hope is to move into an apartment/townhome-like dwelling on the south side of Des Moines to build stronger relationships with a Nepali/Bhutanese community.  They are such sweet and wonderful people! So, I need to go through everything because we won't have room for it all.

Ben and I have recently read the book Radical, by Dr. David Platt.  This has been such an inspirational book!! Even though Ben and I have been wanting to move for 2 years now to reach this community, the selling of our house has come at a perfect time.  We both finished reading this book and are even more inspired to live radical lives for the Lord.  We understand that many people will not understand why we want to leave our nice Grimes home for apartment living on the south side of Des Moines.  That's okay. We know in our hearts that God will never tell us, "Ben and Meredith...giving up your dreams and desires for the sake of my Name was not the best decision."  No way!! He will never say that!  He doesn't promise us that we will have an easy going life if we are willing to follow Him.

So, with that, we are moving!  Now don't get me wrong, I am constantly fighting the battle of material possessions.  I look at fun websites and see fun ways to up-date your house, or fun ways to accessorize your wardrobe and I so much long to just spend money and not think a thing about it.  Not that these things are wrong in and of themselves, but it's where our hearts are. I love to make things beautiful- I was an art major in college =).  I do believe that God is the Ultimate Creator and instilled those types of interests in us because He loves beauty as well! But I do know God wants us to do all things for the glory of His name, despite the cost.  For Ben and I right now, God is calling us to downsize, give up some favorite personal items and make an impact in a community that doesn't know Him.

I love a story that was shared in Radical.  I'll paraphrase...An older man came to Pastor Platt and told him that the messages he had been preaching were crazy.  So crazy that the older man started trying to live them out.  He started selling all of his possessions to give to the Lord.  The man was concerned at times that what he was doing was unwise...until he realized that God will never say to him, "You know, you didn't keep enough for yourself."  --This story blew me away.  He is SO right, I can never give enough of my time, possessions, and resources to the Lord.


We would appreciate your prayers!!

Osage Beach & California

This was the month of vacations for us.  The first week of June we went to Osage Beach, Missouri with my family. It's a family tradition to go the first week of June and stay in the time share my parents have.  My parents were so gracious and got Ben and I our own time share unit.  It was so wonderful! Unfortunately, my brother and sister-in-law were unable to join us this year.  Hopie and Lexi, my two nieces were still able to come. They were such great entertainment for Abe.  He just loves them.  They are 4 1/2 and 2 1/2 and full of energy.  Abe slept sooo good when we were there!!

We did a lot of pool time because the weather was so warm.  It was around 90-100 every day.  We even swam at night with Abe because the water was as warm as the bathtub.  Abe loves the pool.  Especially, when his Daddy carries him around so he can splash all over!

We felt so relaxed and enjoyed the time with my family!

Just last week, we were on family vacation with Ben's family.  We stayed primarily in Laguna Beach, but visited San Diego, as well as, Santa Monica.  There's just something about California that Ben and I love.  Maybe it has to do with it being beautiful, warm, awesome beaches, and the relaxed temperament of the locals.  

We spent time on the beach, did a lot of window shopping and dined at some great restaurants. One of our favorites was a place called Zinc. It was known to be a spot where the locals convened.  We ate three breakfasts in a row there! That's how good it was! My favorite was the steel cut oatmeal with bananas, strawberries and an almond and dried cherry crumble on top...YUM!! That's kind of our thing- to find those 'local places' where the food is the best! We have a rule when on vacation- we can't go anywhere that is here in Iowa.  (Well, other than maybe a coffee at the airport's Starbucks.) This vacation we were really successful and the places we hit up were really great.  

This vacation was really relaxing as well, and we had a good time with Ben's family too! 

We are thankful to now be home...and yet we feel like we need a vacation from our vacations =) and we need Abe to get back on a schedule- silly boy! I feel like this summer is almost over...even though it's not, I just can't believe it's July already!

Jesus Wants a Breakfast Wrap

Just this last spring Ben and I went to Colorado.  As we were driving home we stopped at a restaurant to grab some lunch.  I was debating on a salad verses breakfast of some sort.  I stumbled upon a breakfast wrap.  It was pretty chilly out so I thought maybe this wrap with eggs, potatoes, and bacon would hit the spot.  When our order arrived I realized this wrap didn't stand up to my expectations.  The eggs were fake, the potatoes were mashed (and fake), and it was gigantic.  I was thoroughly discouraged because Ben and I have always taken an interest in health and this breakfast wrap was far from it.  


As Ben and I sat in this little restaurant, Ben noticed a man walking past multiple times.  He was clothed in a hooded sweatshirt and sweats.  Ben mentioned he thought the man might be homeless.   Ben's worked with homeless guys before so I knew his intuitions were probably right on.  Ben thought we should give the guy our leftovers.  I was more than happy to give up my meal.  We hurried out of the restaurant to go find him and I began to worry.  What if this guy wasn't homeless and we had totally judged him?! I began to pray that God would give us clarity.  As I was praying, the man walked around the corner.  He walked right up to us and asked us if we had any spare change!! I was praising God that He was so direct with us.  Instead of giving him money we gave him our leftovers.  


We got back in our car and headed for Des Moines.  Ben and I discussed how thankful we were to be able to provide something for that man to eat.  It was so cold out.  We knew that he probably enjoyed my breakfast wrap the most.  What homeless guy wouldn't love a mashed potato, egg, and bacon filled wrap- plus it was hot!! 


I was reminded of when Jesus talks about whatever you do for the least of these, you do for me.  We are convinced that the main reason my wrap came the way it did was to bless that man.  Thank you Lord for your provision for him...even if it meant me eating something that I was unhappy with!