I’m sitting on our roof overlooking the Himalayan Mountains in awe of God’s marvels. We have 360 degree views of the mountains and they are breathtaking. We are currently living at an orphanage in a neighboring city of Kathmandu, Nepal. It’s 7:36pm, the sun just set, a cool breeze flows over me and I’m actually a little chilly. A few of us have chosen to set up camp on the roof. We have beds this month but waking up, looking out the side of your tent and seeing the Himalayan Mountains is pretty priceless. It also gets somewhat cold here at night so it’s nice to actually put our sleeping bags to use (its been in the 90’s or 100’s in all of our other countries). 

 
Nepal is beautiful. But there is much more to Nepal than its beautiful landscapes.

 

Beautiful on the outside but filled with such darkness. It’s easy to look past the poverty and the idol worshiping when you stare straight off the roof. But when you look down you see the inner darkness that we feel filling the country. You can feel the heaviness in the air. Half-dressed children roam the streets playing in piles of rubbish. Idol statues mark doorways of stores and houses. Animals [dogs, cows, ducks, chickens, goats etc.,) lay in the streets covered in mud, some no longer living. The sounds of musical truck horns, animals, commotion, and children crying fill air. People stand outside temples worshiping their gods.  People stare at us as walk the streets praying for this land. They smile when we smile but again the darkness is there. I think of the movie Mona Lisa Smiles and the quote, “She’s smiling. Is she happy? She looks happy. So that’s all that matters.” These people appear to be happy on the outside but when you look closely you can see the pain. The energy that they pour into worshiping false gods that will get them nowhere. They are empty. You can see physical beauty in the distance. But I pray that all of the spiritual darkness will soon leave Nepal. And that the beauty you see in the distance will cover all of Nepal.  I see a change coming soon for Nepal. I pray for a spiritual change in the near future. 
 

“But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness. They know the truth about God because He has made it obvious to them. For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities – His eternal power and divine nature. Sot they have no excuse for not knowing God. Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship Him as God or even give Him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools. And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles.”

Romans 1: 18-23