My morning started by waking up at 6am to pack my day pack with things I would need for trekking. It was going to be cold, so I made sure to stuff in some layers. I begrudgingly got out of my warm and comfy sleeping bag, rolled up my sleeping pad, and began squeezing things into my bag. One change of clothes should be fine for 4 days, right?!
After eating breakfast and having much needed tea, I got on a bus with my team. As we wound up, down, and through the mountains, the views were breathtaking. Only stopping a few times for bathroom breaks and to eat lunch, we made it to our location in about 5 hours. We jumped off the bus to drop our big bags off at a hotel and got back on for another hour ride to the start of the trail. With our day packs on our backs and shoes tied tight, we began our ascent. My host said that the first day’s hike would be the easiest and quickest (only 2 hours), so of course we believed him. No joke, 30 minutes into the hike, he took us up a “shortcut” that forced us to literally crawl on our hands and knees on loose dirt to get up a super steep hill. Once we made it to the top, he said, “Well, that was an adventure!”.
Down, up, up, up, down we went, stopping for pictures on the way, until we saw a little blue roof in the distance. That little lodge would be our home for the night. We walked down into the valley just to walk right back up some steep stairs where tea and friendly locals were waiting for us. As we got settled in and were waiting for dinner, our host, translator, and guide all shared their testimonies. It was absolutely beautiful to hear what the Lord has done in their lives, what he’s brought them out of, and what he’s accomplishing through them. Sitting and listening to their stories was probably the highlight of my day!
Then, out of nowhere, my left temple behind my eyebrow started to throb. “Crap, I hope I’m not getting a migraine!”. Migraines for me are completely debilitating. I have to immediately lay down and pray that I can actually fall asleep; no lights, no noise, nothing. I quickly ran down to my room before dinner was served and before it got any worse, kicked off my shoes and crawled into bed. As I laid there holding back tears, I was so mad. There was absolutely no way I was going to miss this experience. I prayed for healing and eventually drifted off to sleep.
In the morning, I woke up to my squadmate saying, “Guys, you have to see this!”. I opened my eyes and NO MIGRAINE! A little residual headache was completely fine with me. Praise the Lord! I crawled out of bed, opened the door and saw this from my doorstep.
As I sat, holding back tears of joy and gratitude, watching the sun rise over the peaks of the mountains, it’s as if God was saying, “Here, child, I made this for you! Look and rest in my beauty.”
We sang songs of praise, took billions of pictures and videos, and went up to eat breakfast. We again packed up our bags, tightened our shoes, said a prayer, and began the day’s trek. Some of us were a little sore from the day before, but we knew God would give us strength. This time, our host said that the hike would be more difficult with more ups and downs. Oh boy was he right! We climbed up and down thousands of stairs, stopping frequently for water and giving our shaky legs a break. 3 hours into the hike, high in the mountain, we stopped for lunch. Once getting more energy, it was another 2 1/2 hours down into the valley where we would meet our host for the night. This is where the story really begins.
I unloaded my day bag, taking out almost everything I brought, and put about 15 Bibles in. The whole purpose of this trek was to bring good news to people living in the mountains. Most of them, because they live in such small villages on the side of a mountain, have never been told who Jesus is! They live life in the same place they were born and rarely leave the comforts of home. They grow up believing the same thing their parents and grandparents do because they don’t know anything different. Not many people venture up to them to share their differing religious viewpoints; until us.
We hiked up out of the valley to a neighboring village where we ran into a friendly gentleman. Let’s call him J. J is an 83 year old man who has a wife and several children. He is currently living alone for a few weeks while his wife is in town getting treatment for an illness she’s had. He loves and misses her very much. As we sat and began asking him questions to get to know him, he told us that He used to be Hindi but now follows Buddhism (not sure why; we weren’t able to go too far in depth). We asked if he knew anything about Christianity and he told us that there was another American team that came and told him about Jesus not too long ago. We asked if he remembered anything they had told him. “Yes, but I want to hear what you have to say.” There was our opening! As we shared the gospel, he nodded in agreement and basically told us the story of Jesus’ life himself. We asked if he had any questions and/or wanted to make Jesus the King of his life. He smiled and thanked us for stopping by. He said that his wife had bought a Christian cd that they have been listening to that talks about the Bible and the life of Jesus. “She’s curious and open to other religions, so I listen too”, he said. I then asked him if he wanted a Bible to start looking through. “Nepali?”. “Yes!”. He gladly reached out his hands, stood up, and said he needed to start making dinner. Our conversation quickly came to an end, but we thanked him for listening and encouraged him to read the book of John. We walked away from this man’s home hopeful. Hopeful that he would open up the Word; hopeful his wife would return home safely; hopeful the Lord will change his heart and I’ll see him in Heaven.
We still had a little over an hour until we met back up for dinner, so we hiked down to the next home. It took us a bit since our legs felt like jello and our energy was quickly dwindling. We came to a home where a super cute pup greeted us and a faint “Namaste” was heard around the corner. As we approached, a man greeted us with a smile. Let’s call him B. B is 63 years old and he had been working in the field all day. His hands were covered in dirt and calloused. He lives with his wife and has 6 children; 5 sons and 1 daughter. He had a couple friends over when we arrived who were also hard at work. B is illiterate and uneducated. He practices Buddhism and believes in many gods. Not wasting any time, we told him that we were missionaries who had some amazing news to tell him. We asked if he had ever heard about Jesus Christ before. “We heard about him on the radio, but no one has ever stopped to tell us in person.” Our translator felt the Spirit asking him to share, so we let him take the reigns. He shared the Gospel and helped him understand that Christianity is a monotheistic religion where there is no need to perform rituals. He laughed and shook his head, telling us that he is grateful that we stopped by. He said, “If a Hindu were to stop by, I would listen to what he had to say. If a Muslim were to stop by, I would listen to what he had to say. And if a Christian were to stop by, I would listen to what he had to say.” We thanked him for taking the time to listen and offered him a few bibles to keep. Being illiterate and not having anyone around who can read to him, he said no and I reluctantly put them back in my bag. I walked away from his home feeling discouraged. B was super kind and open to what was shared, but his heart wasn’t ready. I so badly wanted him to take a bible and begin digging into it, but that’s not what the Lord had for him.
As I walked back down to our homestay in the dark, I felt the Lord ask me to turn my headlamp off and look up. Billions of stars were painted across the sky. As tears streamed down my face, God gently reminded me that He is the maker and creator of this world. I walk this earth and he guides my steps. I don’t know if B will ever accept Jesus as his Lord and Savior, but I do know that He loves him. Although my heart hurt from the rejection B gave, I was comforted by my Father as I again looked at his beautiful creation and heard him say, “Here, child, I painted this for you. Rest and be comforted tonight.”
We made it to our home for the night and had delicious dinner. Let me remind you, we’ve been trekking all day. I’m exhausted, sore, and can barely keep my eyes open when my host makes his way over and says, “After dinner, share a testimony with your local host.” Let’s call her S. I took a deep breath and asked the Lord for energy to make it through this conversation. We waited for her to clean our dishes and finish her meal and asked her to come sit with us. Her daughter-in-law joined. Again, we didn’t waste any time. We asked her some questions to get to know her and shared who we were; American missionaries. S is not married and has 2 sons. She runs a homestay as her job and loves getting to see people from around the world. She has an adorable home with super comfy and warm beds. She also has gods all over her home. One of my squadmates shared part of his testimony and I shared the gospel with her. She was so eager to listen! She said she knew who Jesus was and was open to all religions. We asked if she had any questions and none came to mind. She thanked us for our stories and for coming to stay with her. Before the conversation ended, we gave her a few bibles to share with her family and she gladly took them. Again, her heart wasn’t ready.
I curled into bed and the night went quick. I barely remember laying down. The next morning, I enjoyed delicious breakfast, packed my bag, thanked S for hosting us, tightened my shoes, and began making my way down into the valley where we were getting picked up by a bus to take us into town. We made a few stops on the way to soak in the gorgeous scenery. Eventually we made it down and found ourselves in a town, on a beautiful lake in the valley of huge mountains. I looked at my teammate, pointed at the mountains and said, “If God wanted me to go back up there right now, I totally would, despite how exhausted I am!”. Several hours of trekking and a very sore body are completely worth it for the sake of Christ!
J, B, and S are just three people touched by the good news during our trek. I didn’t see salvation, but I know an impact was made. God used us to plant seeds and in that, you don’t always get to see the fruit. I am beyond grateful for the experience I had trekking the Himalayas and it’s one I don’t think I’ll ever forget!
“How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.”” Isaiah 52:7
~A
