[My Journal Entry from Monday, February 9th, 2015]
It’s 6:37 in the morning and I am sitting on the edge of a hillside looking over one of the many valleys of the Himalayan foothills. A heavy fog covers the sky, and the cool mountain air begins to numb my fingertips as the chirping of the birds and rooster crows occupy the space around me. The rest of my team is still soundly asleep in the church. I’m completely alone, only accompanied by the tall weeds and trees that have overgrown the cliff’s edge.
The moon is still up, but the day is just beginning to break. My team and I are working with a young Pastor, Pastor Bipin, out here in the countryside of Hatauda, Nepal. Pastor along with his wife, two young adorable children, his father-in-law, sister-in-law, brother-in-law and their daughter Prashamsha (meaning Praise the Lord) all help run the small church.
Out here electricity, water and transportation are in short supply; in order for Pastor Bipin to share the Gospel with surrounding villages, he must travel there by foot.
As we trekked to some of the surrounding homes yesterday, I was mesmerized by the simplicity and beauty of this place. Fields as far as the eye can see, organized by little mud and stonewalls, filled with emerald green grass. Crops of all shapes and sizes, arranged in neat patterns of columns and rows; cabbage, corn, radishes and onions. The hazy foothills stand majestically off in the distance. Goats trot by, followed by baby goats, followed by cows, chickens and then more goats.
The life here is so simple; grow your harvest, tend to your livestock, take care of your family, converse with your neighbors, cook, have tea, chat, have more tea, go for a walk, have tea again, cook, eat.
There is no doubt in my mind that out here is where I feel God’s Presence most. Out here in the countryside where you live off the land and truly depend on His provision. Out here where you awaken to the roosters crow, where you’re greeted by the trickling of the nearby creek, the grandiosity of the surrounding hills and their neighboring valleys. The whistling of the wind and the peace of the morning bless you.
Places like this remind me of my Creator. His beauty, His power and His love.
I love the Simple Life.
