Nepal had long been a dream destination of mine. The lure of Mt. Everest is undeniable, but seems as how I won't get a chance to view that beauty, God has opened my eyes to another beauty here: people. Nepal has just as great a diversity of people types as America. There are people who look Nepalese, people who look Chinese, people who look Indian, people who look eastern European. I didn't expect this level of cultural and aesthetic diversity, but seeing it has created a love not only for God's creation in landscaping but also in societal makeup.
Kathmandu is HUGE! I was expecting a city about the size of Austin, Texas, but I completely missed the mark on that guess. While it still feels like a small city as you wander through the narrow dirt roadways and alleys that criss-cross around concrete buildings, when viewed from a higher vantage point, you can see the city stretching from horizon to horizon in every direction with no break in density. Our first few nights in Kathmandu were everything I expected and like nothing I had ever experienced thus far. For starters, it's cold. The city rests at about 4000 feet in elevation, surrounded by mountains in the distance. While it rarely snows in the city (as I was told by a local) it does get cold. It actually reminds me a lot of Texas: cold nights and warm afternoons. If you've come expecting a heater in the bus or in your accomodations, you'll be unpleasantly surprised as there are none, making for a more exciting sleeping environment. The power is so unreliable, you probably couldn't keep it running long enough to warm up your room anyway. Oh, and the water situation isn't any hotter. 500-1000 liter poly-containers sit on the roof tops and feed water through the lines in each housing unit, providing nice COLD water for everything, including showers.
So night 1 was spent sharing space in a 'hostel' room with another squad, all of whom were preparing to depart the next day. The following couple of days were spent leisurely readying for the next few weeks away from town. Some of the squad went bungy jumping and canyon swinging, but I stayed back with a few others and attended church with our contact/pastor. I was blessed with the opportunity to share a message about the importance of getting familiar with God's word. Meals were suited for a Westerner's appetite, which pleased most of the squad. Our departure came the following morning via a 15 hour bus ride to the far eastern side of the country.
This month is marked by split ministry. During the first week or so, we stay in a town/village called Urlabari in the very eastern side of the country working on an orphanage building. This is a brick and concrete buildindg resting on a small square of land in the midst of farms and modest homes. The first floor is a skeleton of brick and concrete with a fresh concrete roof. Bamboo poles held up the forms until midway through our first week when they were removed. I helped trench and fill a foundational footing for a balcony and did a bit of dirtwork. It was good for my body and my soul to do some manual labor. From the rooftop, you can look northwest and see the feet of the Himalayan range. I know Everest is hiding back there somewhere.
A creek of mountain runoff meanders through the village, and it proved to be a great spot to wash my clothes. Kids from all over the village will crowd around us and ask questions and coax us into games of sorts anytime we leave the house. As I was doing laundry, a school bus stopped and a child got off to hand me a flower, saying, "here, take" and got back on the bus and drove away. That's the level of happiness and acceptance and love felt in this village. During a soccer game I sat for a solid hour doing my best to converse with a man named Bhim about life and learning language. He invited me to come and stay a month with him and his family so they can teach me Nepali and I could teach them English. At another game, a squad mate and I sat with teenagers and an older intoxicated man and discussed the differences between Hindu beliefs and Christianity. Most of the men are familiar with stories of Christ, but adhere to Hindu beliefs out of familial obligation; generation after generation carried the same beliefs. I pray that one day they see the Truth and cease to worship gods who live under bridges and don't have a known purpose (as one example).
So for now, ministry is orphanage construction and relationship building at futbol games in the joyful but distant presence of one of the most pleasant mountain scenes on the planet.
