Nepal was my first adventure. Between squatty potties, rice and beans every meal for a week, experiencing my first ever anxiety attack, getting knocked over by a donkey, and not showering for 10 days straight – it was a pretty big adventure to kick start my purpose (and I came home with a LOT of stories).
How did I get there? At the time, I was an intern for one of our youth pastors. I knew he was leading the trip, but I was not prepared for him to pull me into his office and say, “Grace, I want you to come to Nepal.”
My immediate response, “Why?”
He said, “Give me a reason why not.”
And I just stared, mind churning through possible excuses to stay in America where I’d be safe for the rest of my life.
None of the reasons I had were good enough.
Money? The Lord provides.
Finals? I go to a bible college, they’ll let me make them up later. (They did).
Scared? Valid.. now get over it.
The list went on.
So, I started getting ready. I bought my gear, I worked out, I worked hard, and the Lord provided. Next thing I knew, I was on a plane with 20 other team members on our way to Kathmandu.
I wrote a little about it in my first blog post, but I will say it again: Nepal was the most difficult thing I’ve ever gotten through physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.. but I wouldn’t change nor do I regret that experience for the world. I learned what I can do, what God will do, and how those intertwine.
So here I am, three years later, receiving news that our route changed and instead of going to China and Mongolia, we are going to India and Nepal. Only this time I asked God, “Nepal, again? Why?”
And God said, “Give Me a reason why not.”
