Our first day in Nepal we walked around Thomel which is this really fun shopping center that has lights and coffee shops and knock off north face jackets that all of us invested in. Its really cold here so none us were prepared clothes wise coming from 100 degree Swaziland. After stocking up on yak wool hats and scarfs and socks we were ready to set off on our adventures! The first day we visited a monkey temple and did a prayer walk around it since evangelizing is illegal here. The temple had three HUGE golden god statues and there were shrines all around and prayer wheels that the worshipers spin to send their prayers to the gods. The main religion here is Hindu and the second is Buddhist and walking around it you could see men in robes bowing hundreds of times as ceremonial worship to their god. There are many gods that the Hindus worship, up to 33 million different gods and goddesses! They also worship the monkeys that crawl all over the statues and shrines. The whole experience was pretty cool but there was definitely this darkness hanging about and I felt a bit uneasy being there.
The next day we went to an old peoples home and sang songs and encouraged some very elderly Nepalis. One women was 102! But they were laughing and dancing and singing and it was such a blast!
The next day we hiked into the Himalayans and walked across this very long and shaky bridge until we reached a leper colony. Most of them couldn’t speak English but they were so filled with joy to have us just sitting beside them and many of them had lost their fingers due to the disease that slowly eats away at them. They had such beautiful hearts and it filled me so much to be able to love on them.
After 2 rest day we visited a home for young girls who had been trafficked. We got to buy jewelry that they made and share testimonies and encourage them. Some of these girls were as young as 14, and 2 of them had just arrived that day. This home provided a safe place for them to learn how to live on their own and be reintroduced back into culture.
The next we went to our hosts home and drank tea and ate cookies while we talked with him. Nepal culture is very hospitable and almost every place we’ve been they have offered tea and cookies. We talked with them and encouraged them. After that we all went to an orphanage and sang with the kids and played soccer with them. It reminded me of Swaziland and the kids we served there and I missed it a lot.
Now I’m packing for Chitwan: a new adventure filled with trekking the Himalayas!!
