“Travel is the only thing you buy that makes you richer.” –Author Unknown
As the current began to sweep her off into the oblivion, her teammate reached out her hand and pulled her back! Together they were able to make it to the other side. She climbed out of the swift waters and sat down on the sandy beach. The worst was over, much to her delight, and she thought was ready for the hike up the mountain to the village. To her surprise, it was a more difficult trek than she had anticipated. Her body ached from hiking and carrying the heavy bag on her back. The inclines sure didn’t help, in fact, they revealed to her how out of shape she had become on this journey called The World Race.
Huffing and puffing she made it to the top of the mountain where she laid eyes on the bamboo hut where she would be staying. She threw her pack on the ground and took a deep sigh of relief. They had made it! It was quite the journey, but they all arrived safely at their location.
After resting for a few moments and eating lunch, they all began to get their tents out and started setting up camp. You see, they would be sleeping in tents or hammocks over the next ten days. Although she wouldn’t really consider herself a super outdoorsy girl, she was somehow excited to get into her tent. Maybe it was because being in her tent brought a certain sense of being alone and since she lives in 24/7 community, alone time is more priceless than gold.
This place was breathtaking and quite remote. No electricity, no running water…nothing but the luminous light of the moon at night and the glittering flecks of the sun in the daylight. The water situation was quite the scandal to master. You had to carry empty jugs down a steep mountain to get to the spring. Then, after filling up the bottles, you have to carry the heavy things back up that mountain. It was quite the workout. Once the water was retrieved, you had to then transfer it to a kettle and begin boiling it over the open fire. Finally, you poured the boiling lava hot water into a silver pitcher that stored the now pure water.
The river became the only place to do laundry or bathe. Dignity kinda gets thrown out the window when you’re in another country and living with so many people. Honestly, you have to get over it and just get the job done. This wasn’t easy for her. She tends to be a fairly modest person and getting naked in a river in the broad daylight wasn’t on the top of her to-do list. But she had to get clean and there wasn’t an option to bathe at night. She took a deep breath and tiptoed into the icy-cold water. Her and some of her teammates were bathing, attempting to be brief so no one would see, when a Nepali man came floating down the river on a raft. He floated about 3 feet from where they were bathing. To say it was awkward would be an understatement. She couldn’t help but just laugh to herself and say “When in Nepal…” At this point, she had to accept the fact that nearly half the village had seen her unclothed. Oh the joys.
Over the next ten days, they carried sand, rocks and water up and down the mountain to help construct an addition to a school for the village children. This school taught the kids about Jesus, which is rare here in Nepal. They would go to the beach and pour sand into bags, then carry those bags up steep slopes to empty them at the top. It was intense manual labor and sometimes it seemed like their bodies couldn’t keep going. But they did. They pushed through each day with the vision of those little ones learning about Jesus.
Each night it was a mystery as to what they would be eating. The last night in the village they brought a live chicken into the camp. The boys had been begging to kill one since we arrived, and they finally had the opportunity. One took the chicken and the other took the blade. Some of the girls were frazzled and going “PETA” on them, but you know what? People got to eat. This is not the time nor place to be a vegetarian. The boys took action and the chicken’s life had ended. Later that night he was turned into a delicious soup. It was warming to the heart and soul on that cold night. The weather up in those mountains got quite cooler than what they had been used to. It’s all about layers.
You might be amused to know what their greatest fears were throughout the days. It wasn’t the massive spiders the size of your face, it wasn’t the chances that you had bugs in your hair (which she already had – oh the joys of serving the Lord), it wasn’t the fact that someone could take you or you never make it back home – it was the fear that someone would SEE you going to the bathroom in the woods! Ha. Seems childish once it’s down on paper, but honestly there weren’t a lot of private places to take care of business. Unfortunately, she had been exposed to one of the guys “relieving” himself and she was scarred for keeps. But that’s part of the price you pay for living this kind of adventurous life. You see things you wish you could un-see, but they are small in comparison to the things you see that you want to never forget.
The time there was peaceful and she found herself falling in love with the quiet. Each afternoon, she would crawl in her hammock, open her Bible and see what nuggets she would pick up for that day. While reading, she would take breaks to look up and attempt to drink in the paradise that was before her. God truly painted a beautiful world here for us to enjoy and we should never take it for granted. Some of her favorite times were sitting around the campfire, singing songs of worship to her boundless Creator.
Before she knew it, she found herself packing up her bag again and headed out for the downward hike back to civilization. Part of her heart was saddened, but she was ready to embrace what was before her. This time, she wouldn’t be crossing the rivers. Instead, they would be hiking uphill for about 2 hours and then downhill for another hour to arrive at the base of the mountain. This was the most intense hike she had ever attempted and her body was feeling it for sure. The decline was steep and dangerous; she slipped on gravel rocks going down and fell backwards. Thankfully, her giant and heavy pack was there to break her fall. “I guess I shouldn’t be so hard on you. Sometimes you are helpful”, she mentally told her pack, Pumba. The climb was grueling and demanding but the view on the way was magnificent.
As she made her way down the last little hill and around the bend, she saw the van waiting. “Thank you GOD”, she whispered under her breath and she took off Pumba and sat down. She grabbed her Nalgene and chugged what was left of it.
What an amazing journey. She would never forget what she saw or experienced. This life of thrill, adventure, challenges and fulfillment would be something she will cherish for the rest of her days here on earth.
“I don’t know where I’m going but I promise it won’t be boring!” –David Bowie
