So when you sign up for this thing called the World Race, they warn you to drop your expectations. They also tell you to let go of any and all conceptions of what time and schedules look like around the world. This is one thing that has proved to be true pretty consistently.
So this past week, we left the capital city of Kathmandu to drive to a mountain village near the border of Tibet. We went to live and work with a local pastor and his family. It was refreshing to be away from the dust of the city, and to be close to the mountains and river. We got to trek a good amount into the nearby villages, one trek took about 7 hours in total!
The pastor had planned for us to visit the Chinese border and then hike to a local fellowship night in Tibet. We were excited, but because many people were exhausted from the trekking earlier in the week, we requested a car to get up the mountains (when the Nepalis say it will only take 1 hour, what they mean is 3 ;-)). Anyways, the car was booked and we were set to leave at 1PM. 1PM came and went and we were still waiting…then 3PM came and went…and then it started to rain. After a lot of uncertainty about whether or not we were still going, the car finally pulled up around 5PM. We were still excited, albeit a little bit wetter than when we began. We then proceeded to pile 13 people into a small jeep sized car. Which means that about 9 people, myself included, were put into the square sized truck bed. We did get a tarp eventually which helped to keep the rain and cold out. We started laughing about the awkward transportation situations that have become so normal since being on the Race. After making a quick stop at a cool looking waterfall, we continued on. What-with the language barrier, we honestly weren’t too sure where we were headed to, and with the tarp above us we couldn’t really see either.
Soon enough we made it to the Chinese border and climbed out of the truck. I was able to take a few photos outside but the border police weren’t too friendly so I wasn’t able to take any close up. But we did get to touch the red line where Nepal borders China!
Then it was back into the car, where we learned that we were still in fact going to the fellowship night. We began to ascend the hill and it was bumpy as expected. But then I looked out of the car only to see a small rocky dirt road, and a vertical edge going straight down the mountain. I think I just about peed my pants! We must have driven up Mt. Everest because it felt so high. But finally, we made it to the top where the house church was located, praise the Lord! Cold and wet, we grabbed our headlamps and were on our way.
From the moment we stepped into the home, we were welcomed with many smiles and “Jaimases,” which means Praise the Lord in Nepali, a common Christian greeting. The drum began to beat and the people started singing loudly and with joy. I think the coolest thing for me was to see so many young people truly praising Jesus, searching their bibles, and being some of the loudest people crying out to God when everyone started praying.
It was Good Friday, so we were able to share some words to encourage the group and to just pray over those who were in need. The prayers were dying down when the drum started to beat again. Everyone was dancing around and singing in Nepali and they pulled us by the hand to join in.
And so we were all dancing around in this tiny room, in a remote mountain village, under a single light bulb, on a rainy night in Nepal.
It seemed like the night was finally winding down, and we were all feeling the exhaustion of the long day. It was probably around 10:30PM at this point. And then the pastor’s wife stopped us; “they just killed their best rooster for you!” This was a huge sign of respect, not to mention extremely generous. They began to dish out the food and I’m pretty sure I got the heart on my plate. Another friend got the head on his, which is the biggest honor. They definitely don’t waste any part of the animal- I can’t tell you exactly what I ate, but it was definitely the freshest meat I have ever eaten.
Our stomachs were full and it was finally time to go. We hugged the beautiful people goodbye and got back into the jeep to descend the dreaded mountain slope. I got to sit inside the car this time, but still cringed every time we turned the corner. We made it down the mountain, shaky from the ride, but filled with a new sense of God’s presence.
