Bye bye Butterworths

A video message from Katrina, Martin, Ruth and Esther Butterworth reflecting on 18 years of mission in Nepal

They departed for Nepal a young married couple. Eighteen years, two children and a civil war later, Katrina and Martin Butterworth are saying an emotional goodbye to the country they have made their home.
 
On a recent trip to Kathmandu, we caught up with Katrina, Martin, Ruth and Esther to find out what the last two decades have been like, and to capture a message for you – the people who have made their time in Nepal possible.
 
Watch their special video message today.

The Butterworths reflect on 18 years of mission in Nepal from BMS World Mission on Vimeo.

The Butterworth family have been a huge blessing to the Nepalis they have been working with. They’ve been involved in treating the sick, monitoring and evaluating projects in some of the poorest districts of Nepal, training up future doctors and helping in the leadership of a church that has a huge number of members with disabilities.  
 
As they’ve served others, the Butterworths have been blessed abundantly too. “Almost every day has a highlight in it,” Katrina told us. “To me, that’s one of the joys of living in Nepal. It’s never boring.”

Nepal is a very busy, beautiful, challenging and, at times, heart-breaking country to live and work in, and Martin can see how he’s been changed through his time here. “I’m obviously a very different person to 18 years ago,” he says. “Looking back then, I was a very confident young guy who thought I knew it all. I’ve now realised that I still don’t know it all.”
 
As Katrina and Martin have lived and learned alongside their Nepali colleagues and friends, they’ve left a powerful legacy. They will not be forgotten.

“I hope God’s used me to bring something that’s of lasting worth,” says Katrina, who (among many, many other roles) has been training medical students to work in under-served rural hospitals. “To be able to leave behind a whole generation of doctors who, I hope, will be compassionate towards their patients, who will think of them not just as diseases to be cured, but as people who have real spiritual and emotional needs, and who are eager to do something about that.” 
 
Martin and Katrina’s daughter Ruth will be beginning her studies at university in the UK this September. “I want to say a really, really, really big thank you,” she says, “because I’m really glad I grew up here.”
 
Thank you for supporting the Butterworths. Because of you, they’ve been able to touch the lives of the many they’ve served, and have been able to train up and support others to continue to have an even bigger impact in the years to come.

 

Please pray for the Butterworths  

Leaving Nepal after 18 years (and a lifetime for Ruth and Esther) is going to be difficult. Please pray for the family as they adjust to life in the UK and as they each face new challenges. Pray that God would strengthen and encourage them. 
 
Pray also for the people and projects that they have left behind – that the work will continue and grow.

 

 

This article first appeared on the website of BMS World Mission and is used with permission