Grandmother Hijacking

It was a perfect opportunity to pray for more of the lepers and to share the gospel.

AND, since our whole group would be visiting the colony later in the day for a little church service, it was a perfect opportunity to invite them to come.

Once we had finished sharing, we found out one of the men in the crowd was a believer.  He worked in the hospital and took care of those inflicted with leprosy in the colony.  We also found that two of the men had grown up in Christian families but were not saved themselves.  At the end, both of them were contemplating if they should choose Jesus. 

After praying that these two men would soon see the light, we decided to continue our trek.

However, we were just as we were about to leave, a little old lady approached us.

Her name was Bibi.

She was speaking in Nepali and kept pointing to her throat.  She went on and on, and we had no idea what she was saying, but we decided to pray for her throat anyways.

We prayed and were about to move on, but it was clear BIbi was not content with staying put.  She grabbed onto my shirt and started to walk in the direction we were headed.  I walked slowly as she hobbled along by my side.  

As we walked, she kept pointing to her throat and saying, “monilla” (something like that), but we did not really know what she wanted.

As we were walking up a steep, rocky hill, we approached young men doing construction on the path.  

“Hey, that is my grandmother!!”  one cried out.

Oh, okay, this must be where she lived.

But, even if it was, she was NOT stopping.

I tried asking her several times where she was going, but she could not understand.

So, we kept on walking with her by our side.

In the back of my mind, I wondered if we would really make it anywhere near the top of the mountain at this pace.

Could we go any slower??

But then, I also thought that by walking with this woman, we could be Jesus to her.  By walking with this woman, we could show her love.  It didn’t matter if we could understand her or not.

Maybe we were supposed to “carry” this woman up the mountain like Stanley Yelnats was supposed to carry Madame Zarone up the mountain in the movie “Holes.”  🙂

Soon, Carmen had grabbed her other hand, and we were now an ambling trio.

I soon decided that, as we walked, we should sing.

So, together, Carmen and I broke out into “Our God,” “This is the Day,” “How He Loves,” “Jesus Loves Me,” “Dip,” “My God is So Big,” and other random praise songs.

During, “How He Loves,” we changed the words to, “He loves you, oh how he loves you . . . ” and would point to her when we said “you.”  She would smile so big each time. 

It was the same with “Jesus Loves Me.”  It became, “Jesus Loves You.”

Oh, and when we finished the “Dip” song, she was TOTALLY cracking up!

Many people were stopping, staring, and laughing at us. 

We were definitely a sight to see!

At one point, Bibi stopped and pointed to my water bottle.  She must be thirsty.

“Should I try pouring some into her mouth?” Carmen asked, picking up her own water bottle. 

Well, before she could do that, Bibi held out one of her hands, cupping it so that water could be poured in it.  Carmen slowly poured in the water, and Bibi lapped it up eagerly.  Boy, was she thirsty!

As we continued on, we tried asking several people where Bibi was headed.  Most could not speak English, but some said that she wanted to find a doctor for her throat.  Others said she was hungry.  Another gave her some money.

After walking with Bibi for nearly an hour (which was probably only a mile), we reached a little town . . . if you could call it that. 

We tried to buy her food, but she didn’t want any. 
 
We tried to buy her water, but she didn’t want any of that either.

What she wanted was a coke!! 

And did she ever guzzle it!

After she had finished drinking, we decided to carry on with our journey.  Bibi had reached the town and should be okay, right?

As we walked away, I felt bad. 

I felt like we were leaving behind a little, lost puppy dog. 

It reminded me of the time we were on a biketrip by Lake Superior and had a dog follow us for nearly 18 miles.  We were afraid it would be hit by a car, so we had a gas station tie it up so it could no longer follow us.  As we left, I remember it barking crazily, like we had broken its heart.

I felt the same way now.

“Are you sure we are doing the right thing?” I asked Carmen.

“Yeah, I think so.”

It was when I glanced back and saw Bibi slowly following after that I really wondered if we were doing the right thing.

But, soon, she had stopped by a man next to his motorbike and was asking for money.

Okay, maybe it was okay to leave.

So, we continued our trek. 
 

It took some time, but soon we reached the top.  

It was BEAUTIFUL!!!

With Andrew, we hadn’t reached the actual top, but this time we did.

AND IT WAS AMAZING!!!

We could see the valleys and clouds and green hills in all directions.

Who could ever look at this and NOT believe there is a creator???

After looking around in wonder for a few minutes and taking some pictures, it was time to head down.

As I said earlier, we were ministering at the leper colony later in the day, so we only had a little bit of time to actually enjoy the mountain.

We hiked, took a crazy bus that drove much too close to the edge, hiked some more, and were soon at the leper colony once more.

But before we reached it, we once again passed the group of men doing construction.

“WHERE IS MY GRANDMOTHER???”  one asked.

“Um . . . . she didn’t come back?”

“No.”

OH GREAT!!!

We were now guilty of hijacking a grandmother!!!! 

Just the crime I always wanted to commit!

After a little more conversation though, we found out she often wanders around by herself.  AND, one hinted she may have been a little tipsy at the time.  The guys were also laughing, so it assured me our little Bibi would be okay.

Once we arrived at the colony, I ran into one of the men we had prayed for earlier to soon come to Jesus.  He said that, after we had prayed for him, he had felt SO GOOD all day.  That really made me smile!!

Our trip up and down the mountain had been truly eventful.  We had met our goals, and enjoyed each and every moment.  Filled with joy, laughter, and beauty, it had been another “mountaintop experience!”

GOD IS GOOD!

Keep walking like Jesus, my friends!!! 🙂