IM-sponsored short-term mission trip to Nepal: The darkness inside the small home stood in stark and gloomy contrast to the beautiful expanse of the towering Himalaya mountains, endless blue skies and rolling fields just outside the front door. The Bonjon family of seven invited us into their home to shelter us from a sudden downpour outside.

This is a story of long-term, sustainable economic development made possible by gifts to the OGHS Nepal Earthquake Relief fund, and the unlikely team that God put together to get the job done.

When I was a child, my grandma and her friends made a quilt of fabric swatches that couldn’t have been more uncomplimentary, and yet everyone called it beautiful, a true work of art. I didn’t get it at the time. But as I matured, I not only began to appreciate the beauty of such “uncomfortable” collaboration, but also the tender care and commitment it takes to make it work.

A fresh-water pump installed in the Nepali village just outside a newly rebuilt building which had been totally destroyed in the 2015 earthquakes. What a cause for great joy and celebration for the whole community! A blog post from the short-term mission delegation to Nepal.

“How do I say ‘hello’ in Nepali to the partners I am to meet in Nepal?” It was a casual enough question (or so I thought) posed to my fellow travelers and IM development workers, Carole Sydnor and Debbie Mulneix, as we landed in Tribhuvan International Airport in the capital city of Kathmandu.

On April 25 and May 12, 2015, two earthquakes devastated the country of Nepal. Three years later…