Every day I am reminded of the choices of hats that face me.

When I go to the IM office, I ask myself, “Which hat will I put on today…  and for how long of the day will I wear it?

In one hand is the black Nepali topi representing all the Nepalis with whom I remain in relationship.  In the other hand is a brightly colored lime green trimmed hat that represents my need to learn ALL the “millions” of details that go into the planning, preparation and coordinating the components of IM’s special events.

The Nepali topi represents my new role as non-resident missionary to Nepal. It is actually worn by a male wherever he goes, inside and out. Christians take it off when they pray, but put it right back on whether they are inside or out.  I’ve seen little village boys playing outside with their friends wearing a topi on their head with little or no clothing on below their waist.  No mother would let her son go outside without the most important piece of clothing!  His topi!

Working alongside of Ben Chan in the IM office, I help to maintain relationships with the Nepal Baptist Church Council (NBCC) and the Human Development and Community Services (HDCS). I carry out some of my responsibilities by internet correspondence. Boy has the internet changed the world! When we were in Nepal in the 1980s round-trip correspondence with our area director usually took 6 weeks!

Just before officially starting at the IM offices in March, I was able to get a head start on maintaining those relationships with a trip to Nepal the end of January into February.

Although a stranger to no one at NBCC or HDCS, I was able to meet with the leaders in my new role, representing IM in a different way.

At NBCC, the officers were delighted to have me present, saying “Oh, good. Now we can hold our meetings in Nepali.” And so we held our 2-hour meeting in Nepali, rather than English. At the end, they presented to me a wooden map of Nepal, which outlines its 75 districts as a reminder for me to pray for their goal of getting a Baptist influence in all of them by 2016.

At HDCS, I led a 10-minute devotional in Nepali. It was a very special day, as it was the first day of the return of Tirtha Thapa, its Executive Director. He had just graduated with his PhD from the Chiang Mai University in Thailand. The staff asked me, in my new role, to place the official welcome scarf around Tirtha honoring his return presence to the office.

And living in the US, I have the privilege of hosting visiting Nepalis and those living in the US.

The lime green trimmed hat is the one worn by Karen Mason, IM’s Director of Special Events, during Biennials and World Mission Conferences so she can be easily spotted in a crowd to solve any last minute problems. When I am wearing that hat during the day, I am learning how to relieve her of just some of the myriad of details of coordination and logistics of IM’s special events. The goal of these events is to help others see the hand of God at work around the world through the ministries of IM.

When I come home, I see Bucky in his new hat…that of a retired IM staff and missionary. The celebration of his ministry was held in the first week of March: lots of people sharing nice memories of his contribution to their lives, lots of good food, lots of good fellowship, as well as a walk down memory lane through pictures of him from our time of service starting in the 1980’s to present.

That’s a peek at the "Hats, Hats, Hats!" that are a part of my life everyday.

Thank you for your prayers for us as we are adjusting to the juggling of our new hats.

Thank you for your financial support to me and to the WMO, which makes it possible for us to wear new hats!

Thank you for your role in our juggling!

Carole