Kathmandu

In a few short days we will be leaving Nepal for Thailand and it occurred to me that despite writing two blogs since I've been here, I've told you very little about our month.

 

For majority of the month, our team and one other team have stayed in Kathmandu with a man named Reuban Rai, his darling wife, Rita, and his two sweet children. Rueben is quirky, offbeat and playful. He is a jokester through-and-through, but one of the most dedicated, hard-working Christian men I have ever met. He oversees several different churches while pastoring one in Kathmandu, holds Nepal's only free Bible distribution (people walk for DAYS to receive the word of God), runs a sports ministry (with several impressive trophies to show off), leads a Bible and computer school for theology students once a year, and is in the process of building a children's home and a school in two different villages several hours away. On top of all that, the Rai family directly sponsors a girl who has lost both of her parents and they have hosted 8 different World Race teams with 4 more on their way before the year is up.

 

Their family is marked by generosity. Both Rueben, Rita and everyone else we have met here are so servant-hearted. They have so spoiled us. We have our own home to stay in directly next to theirs. It has 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a living room and a kitchen. Outside there is a little courtyard where we work out and do yoga each morning and a clothes line for us to dry our clothes. Each meal here is prepared with love. Although fruits and vegetables are difficult to grow in Nepal because of the mountainous terrain, we have a huge variety at each meal. The 4 vegetarians on our teams are extremely grateful. There is always more food than we can eat and it is always, always delicious and very healthy (a World Race first). 

 

The grocery store, Bhatbhateni Supermarket, is only a 5 minute walk from here. It is HUGE (5 storys high) and so overwhelming to us after the miniature grocery stores we shopped at in Ongole. On our days off, we take taxi rides to a high-tourist area called Thammel. Thammel has endless hostels, coffee shops, cafes, restaurants and stores. You can do everything from booking an expedition into the Himalayan mountains to getting a tattoo. We have also seen on the map that Kathamandu boasts of an impressive zoo and art museum and we hope to visit at least one on our last free day here.

 

As far as ministry, we have put our hands to just about everything. We have lead church services, done prayer walks around Hindu temples, gone on house visits, evangelized, taught computer classes for the Bible students, hiked into the mountains to encourage Reuben's father who is a village pastor, and helped with Bible distribution. We have travelled for days to see both the foundations for the orphanage and the school. We have prayed over the land. Yet, surprisingly, more than anything, this month has been hugely about community.