Nepal. There is so much I could say about this month that I genuinely have no idea where to start. Nepal has definitely been the most stretching month on the race for me. I feel like I have grown and been taught more skills that God will use in my future than any other place.
First of all, I would love to give a huge shout out to the amazing people of Nepal; they are what make this country great. They are so extremely hospitable, and loving and kind and they really can’t do enough for you. We learned very quickly to eat our food really fast and then hide our plates somewhere, otherwise they would keep heaping more and more food on it. “Maybe you need more” was a very common phrase we heard. Every sentence starts with ‘maybe’. “Maybe it’s time to go.” When asked if an insect or spider or lizard was poisonous or not, the answer would be “maybe it is dangerous.” What the heck does that mean?! Is it dangerous or isn’t it?!
Nepal is a country full of color and beauty. The clothes that the women wear are gorgeous, so vibrant and full of detail. When we would be riding the buses around town, that was all I could stare at for awhile was the beautiful clothes of the women. But the clothes aren’t the only place of beauty that can be found. The landscape itself is breathtaking. At one point on our journey we were staying at a house on top of a mountain in the Himalayas looking down on the valley with a river flowing through it. It seriously looked like Neverland.
The culture here is so unique and different from anywhere else I have ever been. I was expecting Asia to be different from the other countries on our race and it didn’t disappoint. It’s so much fun to be in a place that is so completely different than your own culture. I personally loved it but it was much more of a culture shock for some of the others on my squad. I feel like Asia is everything people imagine it would be and more. There are squatty potties everywhere, bucket showers (which are actually very refreshing), constantly damp clothes, huge spiders, countless mosquitoes, absolutely no personal space or time, tons of rice and curry, Hindu and Buddhist temples around every corner, crazy bus rides that prove there is a God by the fact that we are still alive to tell the stories, and some of the most genuinely authentic believers anyone could encounter.
The believers in Nepal were my favorite things about it. They live with such unashamed passion for Christ and their faith is endless. Countless times we would come home from ministry and be completely worn out and exhausted and all we wanted to do was chill in our rooms and rest but they would knock on our door and invite us to fellowship and worship with them before we went to sleep that night. They loved ending their day with prayer and singing worship songs to Christ. And even though in our selfish state we just wanted to go to sleep, you couldn’t help admiring their zeal and love and dedication to Him.
Our ministry this month was going around to churches and encouraging the believers, especially in the villages throughout Nepal. We would give a small devo, share one of our testimonies and than one of us would get up and preach. First time to do that kind of thing anywhere but it was super cool. The preachers and churches in the villages know the Gospel but not a ton past that so we were encouraged to speak about deeper theological principles and practical ways to do the Christian walk. We ended up going to 20 churches in 25 days…needless to say, we were completely exhausted. It was so amazing to get to meet so many Christians and I’m pretty sure that we were inspired by them more than they were from us. I had been told this but it definitely rang true that you should always be prepared to get up and speak at any given moment. More than once the Pastor we were with would suddenly announce “And now the team leader is going to get up and share something.” Crickets…”Um…I am?” I’m thinking as I make my way up in front of everyone. But God was always super funny and cool about it and would give me something to speak on that actually made sense and was something I was passionate about. It certainly gave a whole new light to that verse that says always be ready to give an answer to those who ask about the hope that you have in Christ.
I loved Nepal, I have so very many stories from it. And hopefully I’ll get to share more soon, but until then this is just a little snippet…hope you enjoy!
