Nepal has a special pull to it. You can feel it as soon as the Himalayas are in sight from your plane window. There aren’t any skyscrapers in its capital city of Kathmandu. It’s not known for being wealthy or modern. It’s known for its people’s generosity and the amazingly diverse landscape from anywhere else in the world.
But Nepal has its struggles as well. I remember hearing about the earthquake in 2015 and how much it hurt Nepal’s tourism industry for quite a while. Now I get to hear people’s own accounts of everything it affected. I get to hear about the families torn apart and the buildings that came down (some of them yet to be rebuilt.) I get to hear about people who lost every single thing they own that wasn’t already on their back. A lot of people outside of Kathmandu don’t have enough money to have a need for a bank account- the majority of those people lost every penny as well. And the people who owned cattle, sheep , etc. had to watch their only source of income disappear.
Over $4 billion was reportedly donated to the country after the earthquake hit. Yet in conversations with multiple locals, they all complain about not seeing any of the aide personally. Each of them attributes the slow rebuilding time to the lack of morality in government positions. I can’t say much toward the issues of money or the government here, but I can still see how great Nepal and its people are, and that they’re looking for direction.
During our slum outreach ministry in Kathmandu, I was able to take this picture to show how great of a divide there is in classes- people who can’t make enough money for a four-walled home on the left side of the river, and newly rebuilt cities on the right. I was told recently that within the Hindu religion, it would be doing a beggar a disservice to donate to them. According to their beliefs, that person did something in their previous life to earn this life of suffering. With that said, and a government who doesn’t seem to be in a hurry to provide the relief money, these people on the left are stuck in a cycle they have no way of getting away from.
Next week we will be going out into villages in the mountains to tell the people about a God who loves them and provides for them and hears their prayers. Right now they bow down to statues who they believe require different levels of sacrifices for them to receive what they offer.
All of this to say that we know this is exactly where we need to be. They need physical help rebuilding and regrouping. They need spiritual help to stop praying to gods that don’t hear them and can’t help them.
Along with the sad stories resulting from the earthquake, I’ve been able to hear so many stories of hope. I’ve heard how people are able to worship the Lord in such new ways because they now know life can end at any second. I’ve heard of families whose relationships were restored because they realized that their love for each other wasn’t worth the potential of losing them.
Please pray for Nepal!
