Last month was full of trekking, evangelism, sore muscles, heart breaking moments and in the midst of it all, lots of laughs.
My co-squad leader, Steph and I were able to travel to different parts of Nepal to visit our teams and join them in ministry.
The first week we spent with two teams, hiking 6-8 hours everyday. We backpacked into remote areas in the mountains and would stay a few nights at a local church, visit the surrounding families, share the Gospel, pray for healings, and hand out Nepali Bibles, before moving to the next “village”.
The “villages” were basically a few mud huts spread throughout a wide area. Some would take an hour to hike to from the church…others were a little closer on surrounding ridgelines or down the valleys.
All were farmers who had crops of millet and corn along the steep mountainous terrain.
Life is harsh in the Nepali mountains.
Electricity and water were practically non-existent.
One family we visited had to hike 5 hours everyday just to get water!
Another grandmother we met was living by herself, taking care of 3 small, naked children. She lost 9 members of her family several years ago because they ate mushrooms from the jungle that ended up being poisonous. My heart was broken for her as we sat and listened to the story of her life. Even still, I tear up thinking about this precious woman and how she didn’t want anything to do with God and wouldn’t even allow us to pray for her.
As we spoke peace and blessing over her, the local pastor picked up her children and took them over the the water barrel and started washing them with water and leaves. I was touched so deeply seeing that the pastor recognized a physical need and without saying a word, fulfilled it. On top of that, it gave me so much hope knowing that even those who aren’t believers in the mountain tribes are seeing and experiencing the love of Christ poured out through those around them.
(Photo cred: Kelsey Brown)
Although our caravan carried our own food and water, similar to the locals, we ate bitterroot, nettle soup, millet mash, and mounds and mounds of rice.
One of my favorite parts of ministry was visiting the families and sitting on the little mud “porches”, asking questions through our translators and getting to know them and their lifestyle a little better.
(Photo cred: Kelsey Brown)
Probably the best one-liner I heard during our first few days, was one particular day we showed up to a house. While some members of the team starting playing ball with the children, the rest of us were invited to sit down on the porch.
As I took my shoes off to step up on the mud surface, I placed my hand on a flat rock that was part of the porch wall.
“Can I sit here?” I asked,
“No, no”, the father said through our translator,
“That is the chicken slaughter rock!!”
He pulled out a straw mat and placed it on top of the chicken slaughter rock for us to sit on.
Conversation commenced as normal while the chickens who had not experienced the slaughter rock meandered and clucked happily around us!
The stark contrast of everyday life here compared to my “normal” at home is so, so different…
…yet at the same time, so similar.
Whether my front porch has a chicken slaughter rock or not, I realize that we all have an equal desire to be fully known and fully loved by a God who longs for a deep and personal relationship with us.
Please continue to pray for the hearts of the Nepali people.
Pray that God sweeps this nation with His unfailing love and that the seeds that were planted in His children this month would continue to grow and be watered through His Word and the body of believers here. Also, lift up the believers who continue to spread His kingdom here, in the cities as well as the mountain tribes! He is on the move in Nepal and it has been truly incredible to be a part of!
