First, please donate guys! I am at risk of being sent home if the rest of my funds don’t come in.. :/ thank you!!
This month has been probably the most magical, surreal, and beautiful month of my entire race. I honestly couldn’t even write in this blog fully and with enough emotion to describe how wonderful Nepal has been, and how this month has just blown my mind for literally so many different reasons.
Let’s start with the Gandherba family. This family of believers, quirky rebels, open hearted and open homed people have shifted my perspective on what it looks like to live life for God and with such a dedication that puts American Christians to shame. (No joke). Not to mention how they love each other, and how they loved us. Immediately, we were welcomed into their home with open arms, lots of tea and biscuits, music..so so much music.. and amazing individuals. Papa told us from the beginning that he wanted to cultivate a family environment for us, and for us to know and to understand that we are tied together and unified by the same spirit inside of us. We were seen as not just a bunch of Americans, but as family. That touches such a tender spot in my heart. My father was not present in my life, and so, seeing a full family unit, with a man after God’s heart at the head of his house, leading them in wisdom and love, that really blew me away. He, and his family lived with open hearts for people, and as a whole are so dedicated to showing people what it looks like to walk with God.
Then there are our brothers. Simon, Rames, and Grasom. These guys were the 3 musketeers, our translators for our time here, and Grasom was the son of Papa. Each one of them were so unique, and have so much to offer their community and the world. Their time was not spent focusing on surface level things, or girls. They each just had such a purity and such deep values instilled inside of them, that all showed in unique and powerful ways to all of us ladies what it’s like to have brothers in Christ that you can develop friendships with pretty quickly. (Shout out to our R squad guys.. you all too!! 🙂 They are also amazing men after God’s heart). Their focus was on doing ministry, God, and their music. That’s it. Seriously, they gave us so much joy, and inspired all of us with how dedicated they are to their convictions, and to sharing Jesus with people, and in such a mature way. They just purely love him, and want others to know him, and so they serve, and lead without hesitation.
Grasom, plays in several different bands around Nepal, both to help raise money to build their church, and also teaches guitar lessons (which he also taught me 🙂 yay!) Simon is a complete joker and really just sees people in need and makes the effort to stand in the gap where needed to show them they are loved. Rames, is one of the most gentle hearted and kind souls I’ve met. He cooks, takes amazing pictures, and serves without any hesitation or desire for affirmation or praise. They have taught me a lot, and honestly this month wouldn’t have been the same without them. I am going to miss this family so much.
Then there is ministry itself…
We spent a week while still in Kathmandu at a school teaching, and just having a ton of fun with a bunch of kids. They LOVED to dance, and maaan could they keep on going! We, like most other months where we were told to teach, got kind of just tossed in, and said “okay go..teach this class for the next 6 hours..” full of 3-7 year olds. Lol. Fun times. But no, really though, the World Race if nothing else, teaches you to learn to just “go with it, and figure out a technique as you go”. So that’s what we did! We spoke English with them, helped them with their writing, sang a bunch of songs, danced, and I pretended to be a caterpillar turning into a butterfly a couple days in a row, using my sleeping bag liner as a “cacoon”. Again, fun times.. lol. I have learned that I really enjoy kids on the race. Teaching in a classroom every day a bunch of youngins..meh.. maybe not that far. But, honestly this week with them was so much fun. I also learned that I am apparently pretty good at Nepalese dancing, and that when you play music and dance like no one is watching with a bunch of kids, it doesn’t matter if you are literally wearing a kurta, leggings, and drenched in sweat, you will feel like a child again, and it’s great! I loved that week, just for the light heartedness of it all, and how much fun it was being with them. The teachers who worked there, and the guys even joined in. Simon is literally insane when he dances, and it makes me laugh. We nicknamed him “Simon the bulldozer” because he literally has no fear, or depth perception as to where people are standing! It was great to watch, and to just be free with the kids! Lol.
The school was like part one of our month.
Then we had Gorkha… 🙂
Here, we spent our time, 5 hours away from Kathmandu, where we hiked… A lot! My insides were jumping with joy when I heard how much we would be walking in the mountains, and then I realized how out of shape I’ve become on the race. But hey, 8-10 mile hikes in the Himalayan foothills isn’t so bad when you are with a posse of amazing humans, and you get to go to different homes for visits, food, and prayer with different local families. Papa had us go to different people’s homes all throughout the villages in the mountains to pray for people. During this time, a woman who had been jaundiced and sick for 12 years, and was being oppressed by demonic dreams got healed when I prayed for her! She told me several days afterwards, that she literally had felt better after that moment, and wasn’t having those dreams anymore.. woah!! Also guys, she looked less yellow colored in her skin when I saw her. It’s nuts!! Another woman with a headache, and who seemed to be really depressed was healed on the spot when she asked for healing for her head. Her face just seemed brighter after prayer, and she told us her headache and dizziness had left her. Then yet again, there was a woman’s house that we visited that, myself and everyone in our group could feel a darkness in that house when we walked in. She told us that every time she would close her eyes she would see a demon, and that it sometimes spoke to her. So, we prayed. (This may sound a bit strange to some of you reading this right now). As we prayed, literally the atmosphere in the home changed. Everyone could feel it, and it literally felt lighter in the house. The amount of faith that is found overseas astounds me, and mine has grown so much because of it. God is alive, and he answers prayers. It’s in his will to heal people, and he is faithful to that. Also, one of my teammates Megan was dealing with some stomach pains, and other things.. (as is common when one eates food that is not good for said person..) for a few days. She asked if I would pray for her, and when I did, she immediately felt better. The crazy thing is, that I remember praying that she would feel relief immediately and that it would continue getting better, and it did! She didn’t deal with it anymore after that! God is seriously amazing guys, and I’ve been dumb founded a few times on the race lol. But it’s all so good.
So all that to say, this month has been amazing, and this is just a snapshot of all the things. I am so thankful for every part of this month, the time spent bonding with my team “Wild Pursuit”, laughing with our dudes, all of the music, praying for people, mountain hiking, and amazing family time with really cool people! Nepal will be greatly missed, and will forever have a special place in my heart.
Please, also donate guys! I really really really don’t want to be sent home, and that is going to happen if I don’t get fully funded. I really need your help, and truly I am grateful for anything you can give!! You are going to be contributing to something really amazing, I promise you that! 🙂 🙂
-love, Mariah
