If you haven't picked up on it already from my other posts, I have come to the conclusion that Nepal is so different from India. Beyond changes in the schedule, ministry and how we – as Americans – are accepted has changed as well.
I’ll start by explaining a day here in Sarlahi.
The fans are the main gauge that determines our day and how we will rest. Usually, the fans turn off around 5:00AM. My alarm goes off at 5:15 and I get up around 5:30. I spend an hour before tea having my quiet time. Tea time is 6:30. Everyone wakes up, rolls off their sleeping pad, ducks under their mosquito net, and trudges to the dinner table located down the drive, at the house. We usually start sweating around tea time. Yes, sweating at 6:30AM. We spend about a half hour at tea and then have buddy time. Buddy time lasts a half hour, and then we have free time until lunch, which is at 9:00. Free time is shaped by the fans. If they are back on by 7:30, we can stay inside away from the mosquitoes, but if they still haven’t come back on, we head out to the prayer bench to have quiet time. There, even though there are mosquitoes, we at least have a breeze. After lunch, we get ready for ministry.
We leave the house at 10:00 for village ministry, or start cutting bamboo at the house if we decide to stay and work on the fence. We finish ministry every day around 2 or 3, and return to the house/church. Snack is ready for us as soon as we get home. After that, we have free time again. We have spent the past few days pouring into the neighbor kids, John and Dabika. John is 8 and Dabika is 13. They are so smart and speak really great English. We have free time until 6:00, when dinner is ready. After dinner, we spend time as a team either playing bananagrams or watching a movie. We would play cards, but in Nepal we can’t because it is taboo in Christian circles. The fans come on anytime between 8 and midnight, and that influences our sleep pattern every night.
This is our schedule that we generally stick to. Ministry has been different as well. Let me explain.
In India, people flocked to us. They all wanted to sing and dance and shake our hands. They laughed at our toot-a-tot dance and did action songs. Here, we are frightening. If we have a crowd in a village, it is usually because Pastor calls people over. The kids don’t want to dance or sing. If we try to wave at them, they turn away or cry. I didn’t like feeling like a celebrity in India, but I don’t like being a monster here either. It’s so strange that something as simple as the color of my skin makes me an idol or a scandal. I’ve found that people generally like me from a distance. What I mean is that when I am traveling in a bus or in a truck bed, everyone wants to wave, but as soon as I get closer or am on foot, it becomes a game as to who can get the furthest away.
As a team, we’re trying to figure out the best way of approaching this culture. We’re trying to figure out how to connect with them and love them. Every day is a new puzzle. Every country and culture is a new challenge.
