Annie Brown - BMS World Mission

Annie Brown
Prayer letter, December 2014
bmsworldmission.org/abrown
As I write this, I am getting ready to go out with my
team to the Palpa area of Nepal to run training for 10
schools that EQUIP* has been working in partnership
with for the last 7 years. This will be my second visit,
so I am geared up for the 10 hour journey through the
steep winding mountain roads.
When I arrived in Nepal at the end of August, I moved
back into the same flat in Kathmandu as last year. I now
share this with Yvonne from Melbourne who teaches
science at the KISC School. The zoo is next door and as
many of you know, I have the pleasure of a tiger whose
deep moans resonate wonderfully throughout my flat
each day. The zoo animals provide endless hours of
entertainment from my roof top view. To the south I
have panoramic views of the hills around Kathmandu
(a mere 9,000ft) and to the north, on a clear day I get
wonderful views of the snow-capped Himalaya range.
Above top: Shopping for vegetables
Above bottom: Views from my roof
I knew that there were leopards in Nepal but
never imagined I would come across one on a
trail near to where I live. You can read the story of
my amusing escape with a friend and colleague’s
dog through a leech and spider infested steep
mountain gully on my 10th October posting at
annebrown750.wordpress.com
In early November I made my third EQUIP visit to work
with our six partner schools in the Lamjung region.
We often find an absence of hope, peace and justice
due to: lack of government support, poor salaries
for teachers, limited encouragement and valuing of
teachers, minimal parental involvement, restrictive
and uninspiring classroom practice and a want of
motivation to change or improve the situation. I
am beginning to realise that the biggest impact on
teachers is not necessarily on immediately changing
Above: Training teachers in Lamjung to use critical and
creative thinking through practical activities.
*EQUIP stands for Education Quality Improvement Programme. You can find out more about the work of EQUIP
and TEC here: kisc.edu.np
classroom practice, although that is what we would
eventually want to see. It is firstly about changing their
hopes and passions. From my work with the schools
I can see how teachers need to experience being
creative thinkers and makers themselves in order to
understand the importance of this for their students.
Also being part of a classroom environment in which
they are cared for and valued helps them to value this
in their own classrooms.
This term, EQUIP has been exploring what change
looks like from a Biblical World View and the impact
of our prayer, our presence and our action with the
partner schools.
If you are reading this, you are an important part
of my support for my time in Nepal. Your prayers,
encouragement and interest mean a very great deal
to me. Since my last prayer letter here are the areas I
asked prayer for and want to give thanks for.
My former house sale finally completed in July and
I was able to purchase a property of my own that I
have now rented out. It took much longer than I ever
imagined but after struggling with this extended time
of waiting, I eventually got back my sense of purpose
and peace through visiting my support churches and
in spending time with two Nepali communities living in
the UK.
I have just completed 2 months Nepali language which
I said was something I had previously struggled with.
I have been amazed to discover that I not only looked
forward to my daily lessons but found a real pleasure
and satisfaction in speaking another language.
I have made many new friends and built good
relationships with those I live and work amongst in
Kathmandu. This is despite many having moved on
since I was here last year.
Prayer requests for the next few months:
That I continue to build good relationships with work
colleagues and those I meet.
That visits to Nepali churches will lead me to the one I
can build relationships in.
For wisdom in making decisions with the team to
develop TEC (Transformational Education College) and
for our partnership with Kathmandu University.
For my leadership and planning on a new venture:
Kathmandu Inter-Schools Art (KISA) day for February
7th 2015 when up to 200 students and teachers will be
coming to KISC for a day of connecting and art making.
For the use of my holiday time. Knowing where to go
and who to go with.
That I keep in good health to carry out the work here.
I aim to send out three prayer letters a year but if
you would like a bit more information about my
life and work in Nepal you can check out my blog
and other news on my the BMS website page at
www.bmsworldmission.org/abrown
Finally as you will hopefully be reading this in the run
up to Christmas, I wish you peace and joyful blessings
at this special time of year.
Annie
I am constantly excited by the possibilities of the
work with the EQUIP team on developing the TEC
curriculum.
If you would like to support Annie by prayer and committed regular
giving, visit bmsworldmission.org/partners or call 01235 517617 for a
24:7 Partners leaflet.
PO Box 49 129 Broadway Didcot Oxfordshire OX11 8XA Tel: 01235 517700
mail@bmsworldmission.org bmsworldmission.org
Baptist Missionary Society: registered as a charity in England and Wales (number 233782) and in Scotland (number SC037767)
BMS
24:7 partners
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