After gaining more appreciation for the usefulness of a blog, I have decided to start using my site again! I have recently been fed up with juvenility of facebook and I feel as though there is more freedom on one's blog...more freedom to be artsy on your own page, more freedom to disseminate important information and raise awareness, and more freedom to share your life through stories and words - ahhh, I am already refreshed.
Another reason I am once again making use of my blog is to share about my upcoming trip to NEPAL! I am still working on my masters at Fuller Seminary in Ethnomusicology/Global Christian Music and in order to complete my degree I must embark on an international practicum. This is what my Nepal trip is for! The Lord's hand has truly guided all the planning that has been taking place since March and it still seems quite surreal, but I am ecstatic about this opportunity.In early October, I will travel to Nepal just in time to attend Hindu festival month! Experiencing Nepal during this time will give ample opportunity for learning about Nepali people, their culture, their music and Hinduism - their religion. As well as attending the festivals, I will be living with a local family to learn Nepali and more about this culture’s way of life. I will also be working with local churches, especially in the area of music - hoping to interview and discuss the use of indigenous music in Christian worship. In late October, Brenden along with a team from Kent Covenant Church (including my mom, Ann, and Step-dad, Tom) will join me in Nepal to participate in service to the local churches, including conducting a ministry conference. After a couple weeks, the team will depart and I will stay a few weeks more to complete my practicum. My hope is that my journey will culminate with holding a New Song Workshop for the churches I will be working with in an effort to compose new songs of worship, in Nepali musical styles, together. The goal of the practicum is to be a learner, to gain experience in the “doing” of my field of study as well as being an ambassador of Jesus Christ wherever I go!
I am very ready for this next giant step toward entering the field of missiology and ethnomusicology, all for the sake of the glory of the One, True God.
