Day 1;
We arrived this morning after a pretty awful 12 hour bus ride. I am lying in my little second story wooden house, pink mosquito net around me, looking out the window to a mountainous small village whose name translates to “jumping monkeys”, hearing nature and birds all around me, the faint smell of Nepali food cooking downstairs. I hear the voices of locals, a beautiful language, completely unclear about what they are saying. I have said Namaste one hundred times already today, and it is 11am, I have walked and wondered at the beauty of the place around me, beauty that words cannot capture. This is my Creator’s creation, and I am sitting right in the middle of it.
We are back to squatty potties and bucket showers and I feel like I am being reunited with an old friend that I left behind in Month 1, and it feels like a really sweet reunion. Prisca and I are back to washing each other’s hair under the shade of a tree and today we’ve went for braids to complete the look.
We went out this afternoon to a local man who is a Christian, to pray for healing of his diabetes and his eyesight. The Lord is going to teach me a lot this month about healing, and how he can do it far better than I can, and that is going to be a hard pill to swallow. I know I could help this man if I had simple resources accessible, unfortunately here there are none.
Bible study in the Village
Tonight we rest, we are all exhausted after said bus ride last night, and we are eager to fill these next 7 days with story upon story of things that will glorify our Heavenly Father.
Day 2;
We slept through an unbelievable thunder storm last night, I genuinely felt like our wooden house was going to blow apart! I woke up freezing in the middle of the night (the best thing ever on The World Race). This morning we hiked for an hour to super remote houses and were able to meet believers there and have fellowship with them.
We had french fries for lunch!
This afternoon we went to a local family of believers to encourage and sit with them in prayers for healing for their physical ailments. On the way home we came across a huge field of children who we were able to play football with, tickle, laugh, play with & just enjoy time together. We are now back telling stories with a group of children who don’t understand us. Life is beautiful here.
I am now tucked up in bed after a beautiful team time with NKOTB and I can hear wildlife all around me. I’ve just started a book on the apostle Paul. I wonder will life ever be like this again after The World Race.
Encouraging our local village friends
Day 3;
I am lying in my bed and the rain and wind is howling around our wooden house this morning, what a beautiful way to wake up, I’m watching it through my little second story window. Once again, we may blow away, but what a way to go, am I right?!
We walked many more miles this morning and we got to see our wonderful men of F squad share the Gospel message to a group of local villagers. We hiked around the National Park that we live in and then came back for lunch. It’s so hot and sticky today, like it needs to rain a lot more than it did this morning. I’m homesick this afternoon, I miss being able to speak Charlie, it’s really hard having no cell service at all, even though I love it on one hand as well.
We have a leadership call and it’s hilarious having to walk for 45 minutes to get any service to link in to a call lol. Leadership call was long and we had to leave because they told us we were going to get eaten by tigers. What is life.
Stone clearings make for the best leadership call locations
Day 4;
We woke up early this morning for church and we now have the rest of the day off. It is SO hot. I am currently in my pink bug net and about to take a nap, the heat literally exhausts me.
Nap done. I spent most of my day with my Prisca. We washed hair, showered, washed clothes & journaled outside for a while while eating cookies with peanut butter and drinking sprite. Chelsy organised for so many of the local kids to come around and did songs, the story of Jonah & games with them, it’s incredible to see her just live a life of love and ministry on our ‘off day’. I see us all starting to just live a life of ministry now, instead of it having set hours. It’s a beautiful thing. It’s now 8pm and I am tucked back under my bug net to avoid a million mosquito bites. Day off tomorrow.
Impromptu kids club – complete with balloon prizes & Bible stories
Day 5;
Today is our off day, I woke up late (7.30) after a night of sleep broken by incredible thunderstorms and torrential rain all night. We ate breakfast (popcorn & eggs – obviously) and I then finished Man in White by Johnny Cash (shout out to Kep for the incredible recommendation.) I adored it, it’s a novel about the apostle Paul. I then listened to an incredible sermon by Levi Lusko, his series on the presence of God appearing in the Bible as smoke has literally blown my mind, I loved every single one. We sat outside in the afternoon and listened to a podcast on the enneagram and then Chelsy ran another afternoon of activities for the local kids, I played sheep #5 in the story of David and Goliath. So fun. I’ve now showered and am lying down quickly before dinner to catch up on today’s entry. Tomorrow we hike to a village around 3-4 hours walk away, I think Chitwan is a never ending web of villages in every direction. We have made friends with the women who live in our little collection of huts and they show us how to wash our hair under the water pump – learning new things every single day.
Day 6;
Today we are up early for a hike. We are walking to a completely remote village in Chitwan (yes more remote than this one) and meeting the people there. We walked for 2 and a half hours to reach out first house, the walk was tough and hilly and my ankle ached pretty much from the moment we set off but we made it! The first house we came to was that of the Witchdoctor of the area. I have to say, before I read the latest Bob Goff book I’m pretty sure I would have been scared and ran in the other direction at this, but instead I was able to share the Gospel to him with Bri and Jess. What an incredible honour to get to plant seeds in his heart about our friend Jesus. We then went to a close by house and it was probably the worst living conditions I have seen on the Race. They lived in a 2 story hut basically, with really only one wall holding it all up at the back. There were 6 children to two young parents and they were all either unclothed or their clothes were dirty and rotten with flies absolutely all over them. We shared with them too and then left for a quick lunch.
The hike back took 3 hours, it was long and hard and running out of water in a 38 degree heat hike is pretty intense. But overall the pains of this day are nothing compared to the experience of it, truly once in a lifetime.
Hiking to remote houses
Day 7;
Up at 5am, terrible nights sleep because I was just so warm. Body aches! Started and finished ‘A Thousand Splendid Suns’ between last night and this morning, my favourite book. There is definitely a lot I will miss about this beautiful village; the early morning sounds are just one of them – the kids singing Nepali songs, the river beside me flowing, the chickens, the pots and pans, someone playing a guitar, the sounds of nature all around. It is peaceful.
Our little collection of bamboo mats & bug nets
I had to miss afternoon ministry today because my ankle is so sore from yesterday. Reading an incredible book called ‘Finding God in the Waves’, by Science Mike from the Liturgists. I see why Prisca loves it so much. I would love my Dad to read it. Sleep early tonight in preparation for our last day tomorrow! I’ll miss life here more than I can say, but I cannot wait to be able to call my people and tell them all about this week.
Day 8;
Today is the last day in Chitwan! I woke up at 5am again and just lay and read beside my window, my favourite morning spot. We went out this morning to a few more houses of believers to pray with them and worship and encourage them before we left. We packed up and the buffalo cart came to pull our luggage. 45 minute walk to the ‘town’ and we had cold Fantas while waiting on the bus (!!!). I’d say it’s approx 38 degrees today, the kind of heat you can’t breathe in.
The bus ride was as hideous as I remembered it. Honestly imagine a rollercoaster for 12 hours and that pretty much sums it up. We have arrived back in Kathmandu now, it’s 6am, time for a nap!!!
What an incredible, life changing, perspective shifting week in Chitwan.
A gift from God I will always remember.
Love,
Chloe xo
