In Nepal I experienced “real” village life for the first time on the race. My team and I slept in a classroom in a school…. which was our living space for the month.
Now don’t think “America” classroom…think a concrete building, with concrete floors and two big open windows that do not really shut properly. Our beds were our sleeping pads with our sleeping bags on the cold concrete floor.
Where was our bathroom?
Outside of course! I finally experienced a squatty potty for an entire month!…that was interesting.We took bucket showers with freezing cold water from a well (did I mention that Nepal is cold?!?)Yeah, cold showers outside in the cold weather….not my favorite. And we also had electricity, but it only worked a few days the entire month….hah bummer, the electricity kinda had a mind of its own, but no big deal.
So that was our setup for the month. It was a huge difference coming from India, and to most people this living situation would sound awful, but I absolutely loved village life! And for those of you who know me, know that I would rather be out in the country with the cows and the goats and the chickens, instead of being in the middle of an over populated city where there are horns honking constantly.
Well, God definitely took me out of the city life for the month of Nepal and put me in the middle of nowhere in a village… where the only thing on the horizon was a massive sugar cane field. Living in the village was absolutely beautiful, and I guess the reason I love the countryside so much is because I get to see more of God’s magnificent creation.
One of my favorite things to do is to look up at the stars, and in Nepal the stars filled the sky! I have never seen so many stars! Some nights I would just sit outside and look at them. There were so many, it honestly looked fake…like being in a planetarium! And then once in awhile God would show off and send a shooting star across the sky. It was so awesome!
Challenge: This can look different depending on where you live. But I challenge you to go somewhere outside (on a beautiful spring day) to just sit and Be Still. No iPod, no texting, no electronic device. Just sit and listen and look around you and notice God’s creation. Go to the beach and listen to the waves crash on the sand and look upon the horizon, hike a mountain and observe the other mountains and valleys around you, go to a park and listen to the creek trickle over the rocks, or listen to the birds sing, or just go out on your porch and sit in the sun and listen to the wind blow, or look up at the sky at the clouds, the moon, or the stars, or the sunrise or the sunset. All of these things are like God’s handprint on the earth. Take time to marvel at His creation, and realize how BIG He is!
Anyways, pretty much I fell in love with Nepal’s natural beauty right away, but little did I know that the people of Nepal were even more beautiful.
I was a teacher for the month. I taught in the school we lived in, teaching anywhere from ages 4-12. I taught English, Math, General Knowledge, Social Studies, and oh yeah Computer class.
I know, I know, you’re probably thinking….they have computer labs?
And the answer is No. I taught computer class without a computer…talk about challenging.
But that wasn’t the only challenging thing. The biggest challenge was the language barrier for sure! How do you teach something when you don’t speak Nepali, nor do the kids speak English, nor do you have a translator?
Hmmmm, difficult right?
It was very difficult and sometimes frustrating. The first few days I really questioned if whether or not there was even a point to teach. I couldn’t understand the kids and they couldn’t understand me, and they didn’t even really understand their books because it was in English. I wondered if they were even learning anything from me. So everyday before school started, I had to ask God to give me patience, understanding, and creative ideas to make these kids understand what they were learning about.
And let me just say that God definitely answered those prayers. I fell in love with my students and built strong relationships with them. God gave me creative ideas, such as acting out the stories in their English books and using props, so that they would understand the words they were reading. I loved playing games and singing songs with them, like “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes” and playing “Simon Says”. I loved walking into the classroom and hearing them say, “Good morning sista.” and I just loved hearing them laugh and hearing them have fun! Every smiling face in this village gave me so much joy! The people of Nepal reminded me that “love” is the universal language. So what if we can’t speak the same language. LOVE is universal because you don’t need words to express it. Love is stronger than words….God is love!
“For we love because He first loved us.” -1 John 4:19.
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, and always perseveres. Love never fails.”
-1 Corinthians 13:4-8
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