This month was we ended up being mostly on our own for ministry. We did some work with an organization that helps women get out of sex trafficking and teaches them skills (such as crafts or working in a guesthouse) to get jobs. A large majority of our time was spent in prayer for the city and dance bars, the people of Pokhara, and just loving on the people we met in and near Pokhara. We had the chance to build relationships with some of the people we met and will be able to stay in touch with some of them after we leave. We were also able to bless people in various ways: we made art for the women the partner organization works with, we bought things from local vendingrs/businesses, prayed over people and businesses, shared food, and went wherever God took us each day.
Working with the organization (which I’ll leave nameless in the interest of protecting what they’re doing) we learned a few things. There are two types of businesses that they visit to try and build relationships with women: cabin restaurants and dance bars:
Cabin restaurants(CR): brothels that are classified as restaurants but only serve drinks. They act as a front for the sex trade.
Dance bar(DB): dance bars where connections are made that often can lead to more than just the dancing. It’s not always true that women in the dance bar also do more, but they are certainly more at risk being there.
While we didn’t get to be as involved in the ministry as we had hoped, they are doing good work and we were glad to get to join up with them where we could. If you would like to read about a visit to the dance bar, read this blog: http://annakawelty.theworldrace.org/post/a-trip-to-a-dance-bar
Location in Nepal:
Our ministry was in Pokhara, a beautiful city off of Fewa Lake. We also spent some time in the capital city Kathmandu for our month 4 debrief and team changes.
My teammate Ashley and I also did a two day trekking trip which she vlogged about, you can watch it here: http://ashleyancona.theworldrace.org/post/the-mountains-are-calling
Language:
Maya- compassionate love
Prem- intimate love, like between us and God or a husband and a wife
Namaste- hello. The most common greeting in Nepal and even the smallest of children will hold their hands together (similar to the prayer palms together or the yoga om/namaste). It comes from the Hindu religion and is a recognition of each other’s souls/life.
Jamase- some Christian believers greet with this instead of Namaste.
Dan yu bod-thank you
Random things:
-In warmer months there’s more power because there’s more rain and more sun for it.
-When we met children we are often greeted with either “nameste” and their hands held together or “chocolate?” (The chocolate request happened most often in the mountains)
-Masala tea was a favorite drink this month. The spices come from India and, while we saw it there, we saw Chai more. Masala is very similar to Chai and equally delicious.
-Nepal is a new democracy in the past 2 or 3 years. We learned this when being shown how the money had changed. The old money carries the last king’s portrait while the new money carries a picture of Mount Everest. The coins also carried the king’s name and a temple but now hold a picture of Nepal and Everest. The coins here are perhaps the most beautiful ones I’ve seen but are rarely used. Businesses will round bills up or down to avoid using the 1 and 2 rupee coins. The exchange rate currently is about 106 rupees to $1 and the Nepal 5 rupee bill (their smallest bill) is worth less than 5 cents.
-Beef is rare in Nepal
-Del bhat is one of the most commonly eaten dishes here. It consists of rice with various sauces to be mixed in. Some of the sauces have potatoes or lentils, all of them have spice. The dish may also come with Nepali pickles (a very hot pickle we were told would be too hot for us) or yogurt/curd which you can mix in to cool the dish down.
-If you order a chicken burger it’s more like a chicken patty with vegetables in it than a chicken breast.
-According to our trekking guide and friend Prem, about 82% of Nepal practice Hinduism, about 10% are Buddhist, and Christianity has grown in recent years bringing it to about 4%. He said many of those who are spiritual will practice multiple religions. While trekking we met a Jewish man and Prem was curious about the differences between Judaism and Christianity so we had a chance to talk to him about what we believe and hear about his beliefs.
-When you are handed something, they will hold out the item with one hand and place their other hand on their elbow while holding it to you.
-There are a lot of Tibetan refugees in Pokhara and there is a refuge camp right outside of the city. You can see their influence in the type of jewelry and other fashions. Their jewelry and style is beautiful and include lots of natural stone.
-Leaving we were patted down (most invasively yet) in airport security and upon finding candy in my pocket she demanded I give her a piece.
Sorry to add these in so late, but here are Nepal’s image documentation. 🙂
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