CELEBRATION IN RUPAIDIAH

Roshini and I did our first bit of travel in 2011 on March 12. We went to Rupaidiah (near the Nepal border town Nepalgunj) to join our friends Jenny and Roy Ramble in celebrating their 25 years of ministry there. We had gone there last in 2007:  

http://kururoshini.blogspot.com/2007/05/rupaidiah-on-indo-nepal-border_15.html

Jenny and Roy had gone to Rupaidiah with their little two-year old girl Abigail (aka Abby, but I’ve always called her “Abigirl”) to work with the Assembly of God Mission. Roy worked in the Manager’s office, assisting Rev Stefan Winkler, while Jenny was the house parent for the little boys in the Boys’ Home run by the Mission. With Abigirl growing up Jenny felt the need to start an English Medium School. She was trained as a teacher before going to Rupaidiah and that was handy. Bit by bit the school that had started in a room in the AG Church, grew into a full-fledged high school, recognized by the Indian Council of Secondary Education (ICSE) Board.

 

As they added other ministries to the school, Roy left the employment of the Mission to serve as the Manager of the AGCS, and their work together became RAJ Ministries

With both Abigirl and Paul married, and their nest empty, Jenny and Roy have adopted a little girl whom they have named Rachel.

 Joy is the Vice Principal of the Assembly of God Church School.

                                                                                                                                 One of the projects is giving Nepali girls an opportunity for education. Their home is   

called Mahima Nivas (Abode of Glory). Basanti and Pastor Dambar Thapa are the house parents of the home. They have two girls, Esther and Oshin.

The Silver Jubilee of the Rambles' work was celebrated with a worship service on the grounds of the school.

The Mahima Nivas girls formed the choir for the occasion.

They also performed a welcome dance.

Pastor Thapa was the leader of the service and introduced various guests.

Roy did some of the introductions with Pastor Thapa translating.

Roy also directed the girls’ choir when they sang English songs.

Rev Andrew McCabe is the Director of the Assembly of God Mission in Nawabganj, Gonda. He has stood with the Rambles and given them lots of counsel and encouragement over the years. When he got up to speak Rachel took away his walking stick from him (feeling that it would be a shame for him to be carrying a walking stick like that), but did give it back to him when he had to return to his seat.

Rev Jyoti Sunuwar, who is a pastor in Kathmandu and a singer sang some special songs with the choir and there were a number of people from Nepal who spoke representing the various Nepali groups that the Rambles had blessed through their ministry.

Pastor Victor Joshua who had worked in the School when it had just started, and is now the Principal of the AG School in Uttraula, and the church there, spoke about the early days.

Jenny took over the task of introducing me. She surprised everyone, including me, by recounting how Roshini and I had opene our home to her when she had been been thrown out from her home because of her decision to follow the Lord Jesus and found  and getting her married to Roy a couple of months later. I was almost in tears as I got up to speak about how I had known Jenny when she was a schoolgirl and that my heart had gone out to her because she was the youngest in her home and so timid, without a chance to talk while anyone else was around.  I did find her alone a few times and was able to find out what was going on in her life. With lots of persuasion and pleading we had been allowed to take her to a church youth camp. It blessed our hearts to see how far that timid young schoolgirl had journeyed and how she was passing on what she herself had received.

Rev Geoff Williams was the chief guest on the occasion. Geoff and his wife Pauline had brought a team of people from the UK to work for a while with the Mahima Nivas girls and the students of the AG Church School. After the felicitations and greetings that various guests brought Geoff gave the message from God’s Word. 

At the end, Jenny and Roy gave some mementos to various folks and then they were given gifts by their staff to mark the occasion.

While all this was going on little Rachel was no trouble at all. She kept busy opening her mother’s handbag and moving and cleaning furniture.