Nepal Report

Bringing The Gospel To Nepal

The following report is from our partner, Krishna Raj Bhatta, who lives in Nepal. He and his team are on the front lines of bringing the Gospel to people who have never heard the message of salvation. They are partners with us as our Province promotes the growth of the Church and the message of God’s love to all.

Greetings to you in the precious name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ from Nepal. Here is the short brief information about the outreach program that we did last time in a rural villages of Far-Western Nepal.

Nepal is a land of rich beauty with the High Himalayas at the north, mountain in the middle and the field of plain in south. Here 30 million people worship 33 hundred millions gods. Hindu still is the dominant religion and Buddhism follows next, Muslims reign central south of Nepal and Christianity comprises hardly a million in population, coming in fourth. Probably 90 percent of people have not heard the gospel. Almost all types of evangelistic programs are held in Cities and towns. Missionaries and Evangelists rarely step into the villages.

Nepal is somehow open for the gospel and many have not heard about Jesus. This is a great opportunity to share about Jesus to with the Nepalese people. They are receptive to the gospel and we must not lose this opportunity.

We have just returned from our 6 day long gospel trip to most remote and unreached villages of "Garba" of kailali district of Far-Western Nepal. This is the most back-warded and undeveloped regions of Far-West Nepal. We moved through communities where Christ has not been preached. There are so many superstitions and social evils prevailing in the society. They portray Christianity as a "Cow eating religion" (Cow is the national animal of Nepal and worshiped as a Hindu God). We did Evangelized with every individual interaction, distributing tracks and observed each and every communities living thereby.

God wonderfully worked through our lives touching 3 major villages. Some of the sick people in the villages were released free from various sickness and received Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. It was really difficult for us to approach people with Good news.  

We thank God and all the Team members of our ministry who have been very active in praying and joining us to reach those villages by walking 10 hours continuously on foot and evangelizing in the midst of all the difficulties of their times and climate. In some areas, there was no source of electricity, accommodation & communications facilities. We had the privilege of sharing the hope of restoration and transformation with people who feel broken, alone and unloved. They need to know that there is a Savior who loves them and died for their sins.

Our strategies: Evangelism with individual interaction, tracks and Bible distribution, preaching in mass, offering salvation and healing in Jesus name. We planted churches in the spirit of love, care and development. Reaching-Saving-Blessing Nepal in Jesus Christ. We have believed, moved, reached, and declared the gospel and the Lord began to work as He promised in being with us all the time.

Thank you again for your deep concern and intercession for the churches in the Nepal, Bishop David Scott. Glory to God that He has been exceptionally kind to us during our trip and has prayed for the villagers so that they can turn their soul into Christ and others can grow up in Christ.

           Prayers Points :- 

1. Pray for us so that we can provide Bibles to the new believers. We need around 200 Bibles.

 2.Pray for us so that we would start a "Home Fellowship" in the village where we recently visited.

 3.Pray for our ministry in Nepal.

Thanks .
In His service
Krishna Raj Bhatta

Feeding Children in Multan Pakistan

Last week we reached out to a large number of children who were hungry and in need of food at a Christian church and Sunday school in Multan Pakistan. Their teacher, Sapna Tariq, has given me the permission to publish the following.

"Here are pic for you my brother , thank you so much so much for supporting, and here i am able to feed kids thank you , all kids have thank you so much , and we all prayed for you very much brother , thanks alot , kids giving u alot of prayers, and as u know when kids pray , God always hear them......." Sapna Tariq

Please pray for the Christians of Pakistan, "Who stand by night in the House of the Lord"

Thank you so much for your consideration and prayers. If you would like to contribute please feel free to contact Archbishop David Scott.

St. Patrick's Breastplate Prayer

I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through belief in the Threeness,
Through confession of the Oneness
of the Creator of creation.
I arise today
Through the strength of Christ's birth with His baptism,
Through the strength of His crucifixion with His burial,
Through the strength of His resurrection with His ascension,
Through the strength of His descent for the judgment of doom.
I arise today
Through the strength of the love of cherubim,
In the obedience of angels,
In the service of archangels,
In the hope of resurrection to meet with reward,
In the prayers of patriarchs,
In the predictions of prophets,
In the preaching of apostles,
In the faith of confessors,
In the innocence of holy virgins,
In the deeds of righteous men.
I arise today, through
The strength of heaven,
The light of the sun,
The radiance of the moon,
The splendor of fire,
The speed of lightning,
The swiftness of wind,
The depth of the sea,
The stability of the earth,
The firmness of rock.
I arise today, through
God's strength to pilot me,
God's might to uphold me,
God's wisdom to guide me,
God's eye to look before me,
God's ear to hear me,
God's word to speak for me,
God's hand to guard me,
God's shield to protect me,
God's host to save me
From snares of devils,
From temptation of vices,
From everyone who shall wish me ill,
afar and near.
I summon today
All these powers between me and those evils,
Against every cruel and merciless power
that may oppose my body and soul,
Against incantations of false prophets,
Against black laws of pagandom,
Against false laws of heretics,
Against craft of idolatry,
Against spells of witches and smiths and wizards,
Against every knowledge that corrupts man's body and soul;
Christ to shield me today
Against poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against wounding,
So that there may come to me an abundance of reward.
Christ with me,
Christ before me,
Christ behind me,
Christ in me,
Christ beneath me,
Christ above me,
Christ on my right,
Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down,
Christ when I sit down,
Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.
I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through belief in the Threeness,
Through confession of the Oneness
of the Creator of creation.

Meet Father Mike Olsen

I would like to introduce to you Abbot Mike Olsen. Who is a married priest / monk in the CEEC. Pine Abbey Order of Saint Columba/Iona Community Church Louisville Kentucky he has been faithful in his mission for the past 15 years.

Father Olsen was diagnosed with a terminal lung disease called IPF (Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis) which is a scarring of the lungs that prevents oxygen in the blood from going to other organs over time and destroys the lungs completely.

He is waiting for a double lung transplant and on that list where he could receive a call at any time for that surgery. However what he really want is a supernatural creative miracle!

He needs your prayers and support at this time, due to the corrosive symptoms of this disease Father Olsen is no longer able to work. He is currently on oxygen and taking a experimental medicine that hopefully slows down the progression of the scarring in my lungs.

Father Olsen is asking that people pray and send messages of encouragement. Those messages are like sunshine in his life at this time. Should you desire to give your donations would be donations that would help sustain life for him. Father Olsen lost his health insurance when he became unemployed.

You may contribute directly by sending your donations to him directly. Send to;
Mike Olsen
1219 Keswick Blvd
Louisville, Ky. 40217

Or you may use the donations page on the CEEC website and write his name in the “Notes” section so we may pass to him your gift in full.

Please visit the “Mike Olesn Project” at Vimeo.com.
You may click the following link for his story. :

Lent, Our Healing Journey.

View fullsize

As we have begun our Lenten journey toward Holy Week and the joyous celebration of the victory of our Lord Jesus in His death and life-giving Resurrection, I would like to encourage us to consider some aspects of Lenten observance that may not always have much emphasis in traditional practice, but have great presence in the practice of the early Christians.

As you are aware, the word "lent" is from the Old English " lencten, lengten spring", Lent = literally, lengthening, and refers to the beginning of the lengthening of daylight hours from the shorter days that we experience during the winter, starting with the winter solstice.  During the month of December, on or around the winter solstice, the celebration of the birth of our Savior, who is the Light of the world, is commemorated at the Christmas feast and all through the Christmas season.  During the darkest time of the year, we celebrate the Light of God in His eternal and Beloved Son breaking into our fallen history to take us on the redeeming Journey that leads us into the new "lent", or springtime of the fulfillment of His covenant promises to humanity made in His image and to all of His beloved creation.  That journey culminates during Holy Week and the celebration of Christ's glorious victory on our behalf in His death, burial and resurrection.

During the first few centuries of the Church's life and mission in the world, Lent was actually the time for the final 40 days of intensive preparation of new followers of Jesus for their baptism on the eve of the Sunday of the Resurrection, which we know as the Great Easter Vigil in the Western Church.  One of the little known and least focused upon elements of that preparation that Justin Martyr, writing in the mid second century A. D., mentions is the weekly practice (and daily during Holy Week itself) of the new catechumens being prayed over for the healing of the wounds of their former sins, as well as going through anointing with oil and exorcisms for the breaking and expelling of evil spirits.  In addition, they were encouraged to confess their past sins that would have opened them to the need for healing and deliverance from these unclean spirits.  The wounding caused by their own sins and the sins of others against them and their having been involved often in contaminating acts of defilement in their former manner of living which would open them to the incursion of evil spirits and their ongoing influence were taken very seriously during the Lenten preparations for baptism in water and the Spirit and full reception into the life of the Christian community.

So, gradually, as they went through being taught the Gospel, being anointed and prayed over for deep inner healing and the casting out of evil spirits, they were experiencing the supernatural power of the reality of Christ's victory over sin and darkness and all their effects in human life and personality.  It was a healing journey to the waters of baptism that increasingly brought them into the experience of the Light of Christ's saving work transforming their lives and working ever more deeply into every aspect of their living.  As a result, when they went through the waters of baptism the early followers of Jesus came out as though truly rescued and delivered from the "Egyptian" bondage of their previous lives.  The full Light of God's new day brought about by the incarnation, Life, death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus dawned upon them in the waters and as they came forth, as from the darkness of the womb, into the Light of new Life in the Kingdom of God.

My encouragement to all of us during the remaining days of our Lenten journey and preparation for renewal of our own baptismal vows is that we focus again on the healing and deliverance aspects of our Lord's work in our behalf provided through His death and resurrection.  It might be that we could focus in meditative prayer and journal reflections on the healing and exorcism accounts found in the four Gospels of our Savior's earthly ministry.  Maybe, for some, focusing on these acts of our Lord might be more fruitful if studied and meditatively pondered in only one of the Gospel accounts, such as Mark or Matthew.  In doing so, let us ask the Holy Spirit to work ever more deeply in each of our own lives to fill us with Christ's healing, delivering and restoring Light and power so that we may experience a greater and greater freedom and wholeness in our own journey with Christ.  In this way, our Lenten experience can become an equipping and empowering encounter as we surrender ourselves and each area of our lives and personalities that still need His healing touch and may prove to hold the power to make our witness of His resurrection a more vital and vibrant reality to those around us.

The days are beginning to gradually lengthen into spring and new Life.  May we all experience the reality of the verse from Proverbs that states, "the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, the grows brighter and brighter until full Day!"  Grace, peace and healing mercy be with each of you and your families during our Lenten journey toward the full Light of the Resurrection glory of our mighty Lord!

Yours in the Way of Jesus,
Bishop Wayne Boosahda

The 12 Days of Christmas.

"The Twelve Days of Christmas" was written in England as one of the "catechism songs" to help young Catholics learn the tenets of their faith as a memory aid.

The songs gifts are hidden meanings to the teachings of the faith. The "true love" mentioned in the song doesn't refer to an earthly suitor, it refers to God Himself. The "me" who receives the presents refers to every baptized person. The partridge in a pear tree is Jesus Christ, the Son of God. In the song, Christ is symbolically presented as a mother partridge which feigns injury to decoy predators from her helpless nestlings, much in memory of the expression of Christ's sadness over the fate of Jerusalem: "Jerusalem! Jerusalem! How often would I have sheltered thee under my wings, as a hen does her chicks, but thou wouldst not have it so..."

The other symbols mean the following:

1 Partridge in a Pear Tree = Jesus Christ, Son of God

2 Turtle Doves = The Old and New Testaments

3 French Hens = Faith, Hope and Charity, the Theological Virtues

4 Calling Birds = the Four Gospels and/or the Four Evangelists

5 Golden Rings = The first Five Books of the Old Testament, the "Pentateuch", which gives the history of man's fall from grace.

6 Geese A-laying = the six days of creation

7 Swans A-swimming = the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, the seven sacraments

8 Maids A-milking = the eight beatitudes

9 Ladies Dancing = the nine Fruits of the Holy Spirit

10 Lords A-leaping = the ten commandments

11 Pipers Piping = the eleven faithful apostles

12 Drummers Drumming = the twelve points of doctrine in the Apostle's Creed

Merry Christmas!

"This Day Christ Is Born"

This day Christ is born: This day the savior hath appeared: This day Angels are singing on earth, Archangels are rejoicing: This day the just are glad and say, Glory to God in high heaven, Alleluia.

The Fourth Week of Advent

The whole purpose of these Advent pages has been to help us find intimacy with God in the midst of our everyday lives.  So we have focused on using the background times of our days to create an interior atmosphere that allows us to wait, to hope, to come into contact with our longing and our desire.

This year the Fourth Week of Advent is five days long. Thursday evening is Christmas Eve and Friday, Christmas.

Perhaps we can use these days to try to heighten our awareness of whatever is going on in our lives these days, and how that can bring us to Christmas.  Some examples might help.

So many of us experience the ironic reality that Christmas can be the most lonely time of our lives.  Some of these “mixed feelings” or “sad feelings” are difficult to recognize or name. 

For some of us, the Christmas we will celebrate this year pales in comparison to wonderful Christmases of our past - perhaps because we were younger or more “innocent” then, perhaps because some of our loved ones who were central to our Christmas are no longer living or not where I am, perhaps because the burdens and struggles of my life or the changes in our world and the war have robbed this Christmas of something that was there before.

For some of us, Christmas will be just another day.  Unable to get out to go to church to be with a faith community, and without family or friends to be with, Christmas will be a day we are tempted to ignore.

For some of us, Christmas inevitably means family conflicts.  Facing the days ahead, whether it be the last few remaining parties, or conflicting demands of family and friends, or the friend or relative who drinks too much, or the experience I'm having that I drink too much and this season is an easy excuse.

For some of us, Christmas challenges us with terrible financial burdens.  Children today become victims of the gross commercial exploitation of the day.  For those of us struggling to make ends meet on a day to day basis, feeling the cultural pressure of buying for our children things which we can't afford, can lead us to put more debt on the credit card in ways that simply push us further and further behind.

Some of us, might be really looking forward to Christmas, and not be aware of these struggles with Christmas, yet feel that, in spite of our best efforts to make Advent different this year, there is still something missing, and we still feel unready for Christmas. 

For all of us, the story behind these days can draw us in, and invite us to bring our lives to the mystery of how Jesus came into this world and why.  Our best preparation for the Holy Night ahead and the Joyful Morning to follow is for us to reflect upon how he came.  He came in the midst of scandal and conflict.  He came in poverty.  He was rejected before he was born.  He was born in a feed trough.  He was hunted down.  And he grew up in obscurity.

He did not shun our world and its poverty and conflict.  He embraced it.  And he desires to embrace us today, in this day.  Right where we are.  Right where we are feeling most distant.  Right were we are feeling least “religious” or “ready.”  If we let him come into our hearts to be our Savior these challenging days, we will find ourselves entering the sacred night and morning of Christmas “joyful and triumphant” as never before.

Come, Lord Jesus.  Come and visit your people. 
We await your coming.  Come, O Lord.

The Third Week of Advent

Our week begins with “Gaudete Sunday.” Gaudete means “rejoice” in Latin.  It comes from the first word of the Entrance antiphon on Sunday.  The spirit of joy that begins this week comes from the words of Paul, “The Lord is near.”  This joyful spirit is marked by the third candle of our Advent wreath, which is rose colored, and the rose colored vestments often used at the Eucharist.

The second part of Advent begins on December 17th each year - this year, in 2015, it is Thursday of the Third Week of Advent.  For the last eight days before Christmas, the plan of the readings changes.  The first readings are still from the prophesies, but now the gospels are from the infancy narratives of Matthew and Luke.  We read the stories of faithful women and men who prepared the way for our salvation.  We enter into the story of how Jesus' life began.  These stories are filled with hints of what his life will mean for us.  Faith and generosity overcome impossibility.  Poverty and persecution reveal glory.

Preparing our Hearts and asking for Grace

We prepare this week by feeling the joy.  We move through this week feeling a part of the waiting world that rejoices because our longing has prepared us to believe the reign of God is close at hand.  And so we consciously ask:

Prepare our hearts
and remove the sadness
that hinders us from feeling
the joy and hope
which his presence
will bestow.

Each morning this week, in that brief moment we are becoming accustomed to, we want to light a third inner candle.  Three candles, going from expectation, to longing, to joy.  They represent our inner preparation, or inner perspective.  In this world of “conflict and division,” “greed and lust for power,” we begin each day this week with a sense of liberating joy.  Perhaps we can pause, breathe deeply and say,

“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
     my spirit rejoices in God my savior.”

Each day this week, we will continue to go through our everyday life, but we will experience the difference our faith can bring to it.  We are confident that the grace we ask for will be given us.  We will encounter sin - in our own hearts and in our experience of the sin of the world.  We can pause in those moments, and feel the joy of the words,

“You are to name him Jesus, 
  because he will save his people
  from their sins.” Matthew 1:21

We may experience the Light shining into dark places of our lives and showing us patterns of sinfulness, and inviting us to experience God's mercy and healing.  Perhaps we wish to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconcilation this week.  We may want to make gestures of reconcilation with a loved one, relative, friend or associate.  With more light and joy, it is easier to say, “I'm sorry; let's begin again.”

Each night this week we want to pause in gratitude.  Whatever the day has brought, no matter how busy it has been, we can stop, before we fall asleep, to give thanks for a little more light, a little more freedom to walk by that light, in joy.

Our celebration of the coming of our Savior in history, is opening us up to experience his coming to us this year, and preparing us to await his coming in Glory.

Come, Lord Jesus.  Come and visit your people. 
We await your coming.  Come, O Lord.