The Words of the Nicholls Family
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The Words of the Nicholls Family |
Dear brothers and sisters,
Warm greetings from England from John and Ginger Nicholls. This is a follow-up regarding our mission to Nepal.
As we wrote previously, we had a problem with renewing our visas in order to return to Nepal after our planned visit to UK last June. It was quite a shock for us at the time because we had been reassured for 8 months by the church lawyer that this problem could be solved, but we suspected there was some interference regarding our visas and as a result we would not be able to return to Nepal till 2012 and we had to pay extra costs as a fine in order to get an exit visa.
At the beginning of our last year of staying in Nepal (July 2010), we were promised financial support of a set amount for one year by one close contact. Unfortunately, due to changing circumstances, they were unable to complete their support and we had to use our minimal savings to cover our costs to stay in Nepal until spring when it would have been more conducive to return to England. That was the time when we sent out our original appeal as a last resort -- last March -- and were deeply moved by the response of brothers and sisters. The money helped us to cover some of our costs, and continue to stay in Nepal until June, when we planned to visit UK temporarily to maintain Ginger's residence visa. Our hope was to return to Nepal and continue as long as we could until 2013.
Our last 7 months have been a trial of searching for the way forward -- do we focus on trying to settle in England or does God expect us to stay temporarily in England until we can return to Nepal? And if so, how to practically stay temporarily and how to get back, not to mention the internal upheavals we have to face to accomplish such a task. Last October Ginger developed a serious case of frozen shoulder and is still recovering, however, we are still trying to be resolute in our determination to go where God, through our conscience seems to be leading us.
Until now, we have managed to stay with friends temporarily in the countryside. Out of desperation to connect to an active Unification church community, we bought an old caravan and got permission to set it up on the grounds of one of the U.C. education buildings near London where a local congregation meets regularly and seminars are held. It's too small and too cold to live in it continuously, but we have managed to stay in it already 4 times for 1 week to 10 days during this winter when temperatures have been mild and our family has been able to interact with brothers and sisters of our spiritual community in London.
During the 40 days leading to God's Day on Jan. 23, as difficult as we felt about trying to go back to Nepal under such insecure and financially weak circumstances, we decided that we still had to try, knowing that True Parents are pushing themselves to the extreme during this last year. Therefore, we created a photo presentation and internal testimony on our 15 year mission to Nepal and developments of Nepal Providence which we hope to share with Unification Church communities as a way of inviting sponsorship for our mission.
We know that brothers and sisters all over will have their own challenges and struggles during this dramatic year of 2012 and we don't want to make anyone feel burdened by our request. We are grateful and feel indebted for the contributions we have received. Yet, we have to try our best to reach out once again and request for help from Heaven if we are to return to Nepal. Our goal is to return if possible from the month of March/April for 'one year'. The cost of this will be about ú8000 and will include return airfares,(ú2400), visas,(ú990) schooling,(ú250) accommodation,(ú1300) living and transportation costs,(ú60 pw)
Politically, the situation in Nepal is once again a stand-off between parties and the hope continues to lie in the Nepal Family Party to grow quickly!! Regional leaders of the Nepal Family Party who are non-Unification Church members are introduced to the teachings of ODP and Headwing Ideology at seminars in Kathmandu. The Nepal Church continues with its main focus on ODP seminars, which are still being held around the country in large numbers -- the last one we heard was several weeks ago in a city about 8 hours from the capital with 300 participants. Father's autobiography has been translated into Nepalese language and is getting ready for distribution. We are convinced there is the potential of great harvest of multitudes in Nepal but there is need for volunteers from abroad to help consolidate (bring in) the harvest. Ironically, because we have no permanent home in UK except an old caravan, and nothing tying us down we are compelled to try to return by making our effort to do so through this appeal.
Thank you for taking time to read. If you are able to help financially, you can use PayPal with our same email address or paste the following http to use our newly made ChipIn homepage: missiontonepal.chipin.com/mission-to-nepal
If you can't donate, not to worry, keep us in your prayers or send your feedback. Please feel free to share our letter with others. We appreciate your prayers and hope that you and your family may find victory in this momentous year of 2012.
Sincerely,
John and Ginger Nicholls
Our conclusion to return to Nepal was spurred on a few weeks back by an encounter John had with God's creative power and symbolism. It was being expressed through a dramatic cloud formation in the sky above Pewsey Vale, which spoke to him like a Biblical story being acted out and looked something like an atomic explosion. There was a massive deep cream-white cloud perfectly flat on the top from end to end as like an offering table and lit up like a beautiful lamp shade occupying one half of the sky to our right. The cloud was lit up at its center by beams of sunlight hitting it from the sun that was directly above us. To our left, there was a completely dark grey sky and beneath the sun, there was a deep grey bulbous cloud that was rising up as if to extinguish or block out the sun's rays from hitting the offering table cloud to our right. It felt to John like God was putting on this massive drama in the sky to express to him the great struggle that God was in to bless an offering that represented the resurrection of the whole world.