The bus rocks slowly but wildly as it barrels down the deteriorating roadway. It only fuels the laughter on the roof though. Several people from the 3 World Race teams in Urlabari hang on for dear life alongside a few athletes as we continue our journey to the village hosting the futbol tournament. Its about an hour and a half ride atop the 30 passenger bus, which wasnt quite necessary seems as how nobody complies with occupant limitations in Nepal or India; we could have squeezed us all into the bus along with another family or two, but the weather was spectacular, and seeing other people riding on bus roof racks only inspired us to be firmer in our request. This experience was more akin to the Beverly Hillbillies opening scene rather than the packed-like-a-can-of-sardines public transportation memories made on trains to Mumbai last month. The sun shone with a gentle warming force as the air blew our conversations behind us. Locals stared intently as us white people paraded by on a bus. I noticed they don't do a double take like we do in the US when we see something a bit peculiar. They simply hold their gaze from the first moment forward. It actually implies a keen sense of awareness. The cross brace railing of the rooftop rack proved painfully uncomfortable and almost overcame the joy of the ride as we pulled up to our destination. Children and adults alike in the village smiled real big and waved and yelled hi or hello as the bus stirred up the final few meters of white dust from under its tires. We made it to the tournament field, and the players were excited.
The Church Boys United are a quasi-professional futbol (the world calls it futbol, and so should we) team under the stewardship of our contact. Coach, as we call him, is a cheerful middle-aged Nepali man who helps out by doing just that; coaching. They won their first match, which meant we would return for the next in a few days. During the game the World Race teams carried out duties like medic, hydration, crowd control, photography, and praying. At the conclusion of the game we passed out tracts telling a bit of the gospel. Even some of the players don't have a relationship with Christ, though most if not all of them know of Christ. Hindu is the most widely practice religion here, and is for a large part practiced generationally, i. e.; their parents believe it, their parents' parents believed it, and so on. To many here, Christ is just another good guy in the history of people. The importance of revealing the truth, even at futbol games, is immeasurable. Fortunately, the folks at the games are quick to grab anything free being handed out by white people, so the tracts were a popular item. Please pray that they fulfill their intended purpose.
After their victory, we all enjoyed a pork bbq over an open fire by the orphanage construction site. There was singing, food, drink (water and soda; alcohol is a major stumbling block in Nepal), fellowship, and stargazing, all in the company of professional futbol players in Nepal. Truly a unique experience. The next couple of days were spent working on the orphanage, doing things like preparing piles of gravel and dirt for concrete, stacking bricks, leveling the ground etc. The next tournament game came after 2 days, so we hitched a ride on a bus again with the players and made way to the same village. Unfortunately they lost this tough game, which meant that the next day we would depart for another village where our contact grew up to help construct a school.
As prescribed, we left Urlabari later and took a bus just up the road about 20 minutes before being dropped off with our packs. We were told to pack light. We hiked north from the highway, being told to expect cooler temperatures and a dozen river crossings on the 3 hour hike. It was awesome! As soon as we left the dirt road, we crossed the river and walked along the bank for a couple of miles, crossing the beautiful river several more times, carrying our packs and boxes of food. Our destination was the village in which our contact grew up. It was here that we discovered even more beautiful views of Nepal, cleaner air still, and a deeper sense of the deeply rooted agrarian society laying the framework for Nepali culture. Our main task was simple; carry big rocks from the bottom of the hills to the top of the hill where the school is being built. The foundation has been made and the exterior walls in place, but rocks are needed to build out more to accommodate more rooms. It was tough and rewarding work, and it was great to see 3 teams working together, handing rocks along assembly line style up steep hills. At night, we sat around a large fire and kept warm before trotting off to our respective sleeping arrangements. I surrendered my tent in favor of sleeping under the stars; great choice!
When our work was done, we hiked back out the same way we entered, through the chilly rivers, back to the bus stop and into Urlabari. The next day, we left at 5:30am for yet another mountain village. This time, it was a 7 hour ride away. Little did I know, it wasn’t a bus ride at all, but an off-road utility vehicle excursion through rivers and up muddy roads! Wow what a treat! See the next post for more details.
