Trip Calendar

Simon Sawod, Bhaunne Baptist Church

Simon Sawood grew up in a Hindu family but was saved and converted in 2015. He has been serving at Bhuanne Baptist Church for the past 9 years and has pastored there for the last 7 years. He and his wife, Mandira, have 1 daughter named Selah. 

Their church is located in Chhatachok, Dharan, Nepal and they work to reach the unreached with the love of Christ. Pastor Simon is praying for spiritual growth in his church and to impact his community using medicine as a tool to share the gospel.

VISA REQUIRED

Nepal has a diverse geography, including fertile plains, subalpine forested hills, and eight of the world's ten tallest mountains. Nepal is about 500 miles long by 120 miles wide, just larger than the state of Arkansas, has a population of 30 million people, and is surrounded by the Tibet Autonomous Region of China to the north, and India to the south, east, and west.

Although roughly 75% of the country is covered by mountains, the diversity in topography and significant change of elevation result in climates ranging from sub-tropical to Arctic. The highest point on earth above sea level is in Nepal, the summit of Mt. Everest, at a whopping 29,032 feet. Just 100 miles away, the elevation drops to less than 1,000 feet in the Terai.

This trip is to the Morang District, which is located in eastern Nepal in the Terai District. The Terai is a lowland region in northern India and southern Nepal that lies to the south of the outer foothills of the Himalayas. It is characterized by tall grasslands, scrub savannah, forests, and clay rich swamps. Nepal's Terai covers 23% of Nepal's land area and lies at an elevation of between 220 and 984 feet.

Nepal was a kingdom for almost 250 years and ruled by a king of the Shah Dynasty. It was never colonized by a foreign country. The monarchy ended in 2008, and it is now a republic with a president as head of state and a prime minister appointed by the parliament.

Although the Nepali village Lumbini was the birthplace of Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha, in 563 B.C., it is the beliefs and practices of Hinduism which have had a major impact on Nepalese society. Nepal was the last state in the world with Hinduism as the official religion, only becoming a secular state in 2006. Even today, over 80% of the inhabitants are Hindu, with 10% Buddhist, 4% Muslim, and 6% other religions.

Family values are important in the Nepali tradition, and multi-generational patriarchal joint families have been the norm in Nepal. An overwhelming majority of Nepalis, with or without their consent, have their marriages arranged by their parents or other family elders. Marriage is thought to be for life, and the divorce rate is extremely low. Child marriages are common, especially in rural areas, where many women wed before reaching the age of 18.

Nepal is a poor country, with about 20% of the population below the poverty line. The rate of unemployment and underemployment exceeds half of the working-age population, driving millions to seek employment abroad. Mostly unskilled, uneducated, and indebted to loan sharks, these workers are often swindled under fraudulent contracts, getting paid less than minimum wage or forced to forfeit all or part of the wages, and often in extremely unsafe conditions.

Dal bhat is a traditional dish from Nepal, consisting of lentils (dal) and rice (bhat), prepared with tomatoes, onion, and various spices such as chili, ginger, coriander, cumin, cinnamon, cardamon, and turmeric. Many Nepali dishes are vegetarian, but when meat is served, it is chicken, pork, mutton, and water buffalo, as cows are not slaughtered since they are considered sacred animals in Nepal. Another popular dish is momo, which are steamed dumplings filled with minced meat, onions, garlic, ginger, cabbage and spices.

For more country information, click here https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/nepal/

Our plan is to offer medical and optical care to this community. Every patient who receives care will hear the gospel from a member of this local church.

Note: At this time we are only considering applications for health science students.

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