Adventures continued in Nepal and India...

hello dear friends, just wanted to write a short update from an internet cafe in kathmandu. so much has happened and is happening, wish i could share in detail (we hope to put together something detailed at the end our trip) but for now, just a brief overview.

TREKKING: loved every bit of it. we were joined with 4 from alabama and 2 boys from the children's home. we were so encouraged by the team spirit and the boys' leadership. we were able to pass out some medicine as well as share some stories with the mountain folk. we drove up on the bumpiest 12 hour busride of my life, saw the most incredible himalayan scenery, and experienced an instant internal connection as soon as i saw the tibetan aprons on the mountain women, an experience i knew i couldn't explain with natural understanding. God spoke individually to all of our hearts in ways that i believe will have lasting effects and give vision for the future. we continue to wait on God to reveal to us his heart for these people. and there was so much more...to be continued...

DAILY LIFE in KTM: kathmandu is one of the most polluted cities i've been in, but one of the most eccentric and exciting. one thing i am learning is to BE FLEXIBLE. i thought i wouldn't have any problems with that, only to find that it was exactly what God needed to work in my heart. time doesn't mean much here, and everything changes all the time. life happens with more struggle, everything takes a little more effort and time, the convenience of korea or the west is not here, and there have surely been moments of frustration and insecurity about whether or not we would make it out here, but it never ends in defeat. God continues to remind us of his purpose and help. but it has been very healthy for us to see a tiny glimpse of the joys and struggles of daily life in kathmandu. we have been working on different projects, such as organizing the library for the children's home, standardizing short term team logistics, developing a music camp curriculum, and some tutoring. we joined them in morning prayer, and their evening activities and homework time. we have been blessed to get to know the kids and their individuality a bit better. the hosts and the hostel parents have been so wonderful and we are thankful to be getting to know them and their hearts as well.

INDIA: 15 hr bus ride to india. overnight. i can sleep anywhere, so i slept most of the way. but john and the other intern said they were up all night. i woke up and noticed the bus was flying, and i had an urge to pray for our safety, for the first time on that trip. just as i prayed, i saw headlights coming fast and another bus crashed into ours. we were sitting on the opposite side of the bus so all the glass that shattered didn't get to us. only two people were injured, and a few got some glass cuts. thank God for keeping us safe, we transferred to another bus and arrived in india a bit shaken up and tired. the two weeks in north india were quite incredible. we stayed at the bible school and had some opportunities to share our testimonies and lead prayer times with the students. we enjoyed getting to know some of the staff and learned from their personal stories of how God has taken them through a journey on the mission field. we gained some real and practical insight into what life is like when fully devoted to God. we were so blessed to have a visiting pastor from england come and speak for a couple of days. again, i wish i could write in detail about some of the internal growth that happened for john and i. we hope to share that with you someday soon. the pastor spoke at a local church and 30-50 people (i think mostly hindus) came to know of Jesus Christ and how he saves. we saw an eagerness in them that is very rare to see. we saw the Holy Spirit work in ways we have not personally witnessed before. amazing! we then went up to a lower mountain area, and john gave a message at one of the local churches, and we had some sweet fellowship with the local believers. the hospitality was beyond beyond. i saw giving in a new way and we were so encouraged by the families there. we didn't have bottled/filtered water up there and i think that was the cause of john being admitted into a hospital for a day. lots of iv drips, and the next day he was fine, but it was quite an experience. the next day we were on a 15+hr bus ride back to ktm. a nightmare of a ride, by far the craziest, most scariest ride of my life. an angry driver who sped through potholes and mountain curves. but we are now back in ktm, safe and sound, recovering and processing all that the Spirit worked into our hearts.

TREK 2: on wed, we plan to trek again. it'll be one of the hosts, john, and myself. we are open to whatever God opens and inspires for us during that trek. it'll probably be about 10 days total. there is church we may visit, and we'll probably visit one of the children's parents. we are really looking forward to this. i love the mountains, just as much as my husband, i think:). God knew what he was doing when he brought us together.

AFTER THE INTERNSHIP: on nov 28th we head back to korea to finish off the last bit of our internship. after that, on dec 19th-march 2nd, we plan to be in canada and the states, visiting family and friends. we hope to use that time to be with family as well as travel around to bring awareness about the work we have been a part of for the past couple months. we know it would be impossible to meet with everyone but if possible we would love to meet with some of you personally to share stories from our two months here.

OKAY! that's all for now. thank you all for your prayers and your support. we love hearing from you (sorry i haven't been able to write back to you individually, internet is limited here).

love,
john and soyon.