Did I ever tell you about the time I
got lost in Nepal???
So half way through the month living in
the mountains of Nepal I needed to come back to Kathmandu to work on
some logistic items. I took care of my stuff and spent the night in
Kathmandu. The next day I took care of some personal things and then
headed to the bus station to start my way back to the village again.
I soon as I got to the station I found some one and asked them about
my destination. He gave me a blank face and asked a friend of his.
He pointed to a bus that was pulling out so they pushed me on and I
was on my way. I wasn’t really sure if I was on the right bus since
I found no one that spoke English and no one recognized the name of
my town but we were taking the same road as before so I was not to
worried.
It started to get dark about half way
through my trip but we were still on the right road. Soon after I
noticed the the river that should have been on my right was replaced
by a giant mountain. (I found out later that there was a fork in the
road. I was suppose to be on the bus that went right but ended up on
the bus that went left.) All I could do at this point was sit back
and enjoy the ride since my cell phone didn’t work in the mountains
it was impossible to contact anyone anyways. Some young men started
to talk to me in broken English asking me where I was going and other
such questions. I told them my villages name but they just gave me
more blank faces. So I just stayed on the bus until the last stopped
and hopped off with my new friends. Although it was only 7:30PM it
was pitch black out side. I asked if there was a place that I could
stay the night and they took me to a little place. I paid 50 Rupees
which is like $0.75 for the night to sleep in a room with four beds
and one other guest. I woke up the next morning and headed back to
the local bus station and took the first bus back to Kathmandu.
Once I returned to Kathmandu I started
to look for the correct bus this time and God provided a helper for
me. A man that spoke English heard me talking to some of the guys
outside and cam to my aid. He told me that was going to the same
village. I got on the bus and my new friend sat next to me. He told
me his name was Shiva Nepal and we started to have many
conversations. He told me that he always enjoyed speaking to
Americans so that he could improve his English as he was a language
teacher at one of the local schools.. As the bus attendant came by
to collect my money for the trip I told him the destination and he
gave me a blank stare. I thought oh no not again. The Shiva said
the exact same word and the guy understood with not problem. Shiva
told me that there are slight differences in the way that we say the
same words that make a big difference. So a few hours later I made
it back to my village and thanked Shiva for all of his help.
A few days later my team went to the
pastor’s son school for a day of celebration and dancing. When we
got there I saw my new friend Shiva leading the event with a mic in
hand he called my out by name to the crowd of a few hundred and
allowed our team to sing and dance for the crowd. God works in crazy
ways and I am so thankful that He does.
