Here I am sitting on top of our home’s roof overlooking the city of Kathmandu. It’s beautiful. Tall mountains surround the city with the snowy Himalayas peeking through the clouds in the background. The city is crowded and noisy below, but up here on the roof the sun is warming my skin and there’s a glorious breeze.
We’ve already been in Nepal for close to three weeks. Time is flying faster than I could ever hope to grasp it. This month my team is living with the sweetest Nepali family. Ma, Pa, their 5 kids (all between the ages of 11 and 28), their cousin, son’s wife, and grandchild all live together. With us included there are 15 people living under the same roof. Gresom, the 22 year old son, is our main host and is in-charge of organizing our days.
The entire family is incredibly musically gifted. Pa is a famous sarangi (a traditional Nepali instrument, kind of like a mini cello) player in Nepal. All of his kids know how to play at least three instruments. Both of his sons have their own bands, and perform frequently in Kathmandu, sometimes traveling further for tours in India and Europe.
Our ministry this month has been all over the place. Each day we do something completely different. We’ve hiked through the mountains to speak at churches in small villages, prayed over popular Hindu and Buddhist temples, volunteered at a Hindu school in hopes of building relationships with the teachers and sharing the Gospel, loved on orphans, and visited homes. I love the craziness of the schedule.
Each night we have devotions as an entire household. The whole family comes to our room and we all sit in a circle on the floor. Papa asks each of us to tell him about our day. He listens intently and encourages us. We read the Bible together and Papa prays over us. Devotion might be my favorite part of every day. I love all of us coming together and hearing each person’s experience. I love how intentional Papa is to love us well. After devotion Gresom tells us what our ministry will be the next day. I love it. It’s like a surprise every night to get to find out what type of ministry we will be doing next.
The family solely relies on public transportation, so each morning we wake up, eat a quick breakfast, and then walk the dusty streets about 20 minutes to the bus stop. We hop on a bus that takes us to wherever our ministry is for that day.
Last night we went to one of Gresom’s gigs. It’s a blast watching him perform with his band. He carries so much talent and passion and we got a front row seat to it all.
The whole family we live with has such a desire to spread the Gospel and allow ministry to seep into every area of their life. Getting to do life alongside them has ignited a passion in me like never before to keep my eyes open for any opportunity to share the Good News.
This is the first day in a while where I’ve created the space to allow myself to write and process everything that has been happening. The questions still keep coming way faster than the answers. Sometimes I’m amazed at the questions that my brain has the capacity to generate. I’ve never been faced with so many deep questions about spirituality, human nature, society, and culture. I’ve never had to deal with so many emotions as I see how some people experience life, and wonder how on earth I got so blessed. Soon we will begin month 8 of the Race and good Lord, that alone causes an avalanche of emotion. I still have no idea what I’m doing next with my life. Although, I am thinking about maybe writing a book? We shall see.
Thanks for reading! BIG love.
