Forgetting and Remembering

A book that I'm reading at the moment talks about life being a continual series of remembering, forgetting and then remembering again. I feel like this is a very accurate picture of the way that we are as humans, it's so easy to forget who God is, who we are and what God has done for us. The word "remember" is used 352 times in the Bible, that's almost enough for one remember for every day of the year! And, at this time of the year, as we begin Holy Week in the run up to Easter Sunday, we remember Jesus' body that was broken for us and His blood that was poured out for us. I had the privilege recently of leading my Grade 4 students in a drama that depicted the Last Supper that they performed in front of the whole school for our Easter Assembly. Even though I rehearsed it with them many times, it continued to move me as we told and retold this amazing story of God made flesh, broken for us.

To be honest, the last few weeks have been extremely challenging for me personally. My wrist is now almost fully healed, praise God! I am using it as normally as I can and it continues to get stronger. I still don't have full sensation back in my thumb, but it has vastly improved from where it was. The week that I was getting my cast off, I got Covid! So then I had to isolate. My breathing is improving but even now, 3 weeks on, I'm not yet back to pre-Covid lung capacity. I'm not sure how much of this is also because of exhaustion with it being the end of the longest term of the academic year. This being forced to isolate, to slow down, to not be able to operate with the capacity or energy that I am used to having over many weeks now (I broke my wrist at the start of Feb) has been hard. And it's in these times that remembering who God is, who He has made me to be and what He has called me to doesn't always come naturally. It's easy to forget and feel far away. Remembering and choosing gratitude become a discipline.

Yet, this season has also been one of the most beautiful. We have been meeting each night to worship and seek God's face as a community of believers here in Kathmandu. Teams have come and gone and brought refreshing and direct words from the Father's heart with them. We've had Activity Week at school where we have been running something like a Holiday Club/Bible Camp (VBS) every afternoon in Primary and sought God's heart for these students that He has given us. The theme has been "Wild Life" as God is wild about us! We have had a lot of fun!

And now it's the Easter break! I am grateful for a couple of weeks to sleep in and rest, to drink coffee and journal, to play the keyboard and sit and be with Jesus, the One who restores my soul. I am staying in Kathmandu for the first week, then heading for some sunshine and sea in Malaysia for the second week.

Thank you for journeying with me, for supporting me financially and in prayer and for your many messages of encouragement, particularly since I broke my wrist.

PRAISE GOD FOR:

- New tenants in my house in the UK

- The Easter break

- All that He is doing here in Kathmandu - lives that are being redeemed, children who are encountering Him.

- KISC - I feel privileged every day to get to teach at this amazing school and impact these young lives.

- Teams that come and bring refreshing

PRAY FOR:

- God to provide all of the staff that we need at KISC for the new academic year which starts in August. If you know of anyone who may be interested, please point them here: https://www.kisc.edu.np/vacancies

- Full restoration in my wrist and lungs

- His strength to be shown through my weakness. I want everything about me to point to Him.

If you would like to be challenged... listen to this! Compelled to go.. compelled by love. This is why I'm here.

With love,

Hannah