Nepal has flown by, a whirlwind of changes, challenges, and adventure. So let me fill you in on what’s up.
Changes
Our new team of six arrived in Nawal Parasi just a few weeks ago, excited to get to know each other and get started on our new month of ministry. Unfortunately, one of my newest team members decided to return home to America, making us now a group of five. I think this should be my team for a while now, but I guess you never know on the race!
We finally got to use our 
sleeping pads & bags! I even got a few goose-bumps this month. The days got pretty warm, but during the nights and mornings the temperature really dropped which was a welcomed change for sure. Our set up was at a church, where we stayed with the pastor and his wife. We slept on the stage, and then each Saturday, we packed up our stuff and threw it in the corner for the church service.
Challenges
Each morning at 5am, we had a prayer service with the pastor and his wife for about an hour. Yes, my internal clock is now set to 5am sharp and I’m not sure there is any changing that. Then we’d have chai and “toilet time” until about 10am or noon where we had a chance to wash up and brush our teeth. We got a kick out of this because after rushing to get up, there was so much time to get ready for the day. Oh cultural differences : )
The good news is our only major critter craziness was thousands of ants crawling on us at night, when they dared to venture out from underneath the linoleum floor. We heard of poisonous snake scares but I never saw one, thank the LORD.
Most of our ministry this month entailed house visits, giving messages, and we even put on a youth conference one day for the young people in the community. This put me pretty far outside my comfort zone, but I do love a challenge and it was a great opportunity for me to learn how to make the most of every situation we were thrown into, and trusting God to show up in those moments. From these types of outreach, we were able to have some really good discussions, which was interesting and educating for me as well.
Adventures
Our contact, Pastor Philip, was so purposeful about showing us aro
und Nepal and educating us on the historical, religious, and cultural norms. Most people are Hindu here, and the caste system is prominent. We visited a famous Hidnu temple that you had to climb 1,800 steps to get to, and had a fantastic view of the mountains.
Another excursion Pastor had us go on was to a Hindu temple near where nine different rivers combined. He called it the Varanasi of Nepal. During the religious festivals, Hindu
people would come to bathe in the river water. One of those holy rivers is used to put cremated bodies in, but the rest flow cleanly. Can you guess which one is which? We jumped in one of the clean rivers and floated downstream a little bit. The current was quick – like tubing with no tubes necessary.
The last week was rain-filled and wonderful. The church has a tin roof so even when it is just sprinkling it sounds like a monsoon is happening right outside which is awesome. It made for some lengthy laundry sessions, with a few “extra rinse cycles” but I figure we pay a price in America for clothes that smell like “fresh rain” so jokes on you guys cause this was fo’ free. 🙂
Now my team is entering what I like to refer to as “limbo days” as our squad meets back up in Kathmandu. We have a few days here and then we fly out to Nairobi, Africa for a week-long debrief. Then it’s off to Kenya for month 5! I’ll try to keep you in the loop as to what this time looks like. Right now my biggest prerogatives are to find real deodorant, ingredients to make chocolate chip cookies, and a pair of warmer pants. Funny how sad that looks when I write it down, haha.
