I’m currently in Nepal, on my way to a town that I cannot
even pronounce (Hetouda). Our team of five is cramped into a bus that is the
size of a mini van – which would be ok, but the problem is that there are seven
other Nepalese passengers traveling with us. Our huge black bags are sitting on
top of the bus (not strapped in!) and
we have our daypacks and guitars and groceries all piled in our laps on top of
us…even some of the kind people next to us are holding our stuff to help
everyone and everything fit inside the vehicle.
As we drive through the beautiful hills of the Himalayas, I
can’t help but think about what an amazing opportunity I have. It doesn’t seem
fair that I get to travel the world while as we drive I watch women carrying a
huge basket of sticks holding it up with a piece of fabric wrapped around their
forehead. Or kids walking home from school bare footed in freezing
temperatures. Not to mention the teenagers sitting around playing some sort of
game on a street corner. As these sights pass by my window, I can’t help but
wonder, why am I here?
Things that I used to care about no longer seem important.
For example, yesterday, I was attempting to make a phone call home, but the Internet
was not strong enough to understand them. The call either dropped or had a
delay of about 10 seconds. They were getting very frustrated, but it made me
remember that we can’t expect internet as fast as America in a developing
country, and that is ok. What is the big deal?
Yes, we are in a foreign country where the concept of a warm
shower is ridiculous, even though it is freezing ice-cold Himalayan water! This
water is so cold that it will numb your hands…heated showers are completely out
of the question. Even heat in houses is ridiculous, so you just bundle up,
which is ok. Internet…yeah it is mediocre at best when you get it. Western
toilets are a complete luxury. Even when you do find one, do you really want to
sit on a wet/dirty seat when it is freezing cold porcelain? I actually have
come to prefer squatties, even when who knows what is around the hole in the
ground.
The crazy thing about it is it doesn’t matter anymore…it
doesn’t matter that I can’t get good enough internet to call home, it doesn’t
matter if I have to squat while going to the bathroom, it doesn’t matter that I
have to freeze my hands off to wash my hair…what matters is the people. This is
why we came!
What has blown me away is that the people that live this lifestyle
everyday do it without ever complaining! They are so grateful for anything they
have. Who am I to think I am entitled to my American lifestyle? I am not here
to have it easy and live like a king. I am here to tell people about Christ and
to see hearts changed. I am here to bring the good news about Christ dying on
the cross for us. I’m here to share Jesus’ love and that He is the only true
God.
It doesn’t matter if I have the comforts of home. What
matters is their hearts. I am here to help people see how much God loves them
right where they are. How can they understand that we are here to show them
God’s love, when what they see is us getting more excited about seeing an
internet cyber café than a homeless person on the street.
It doesn’t matter about our
comforts. What matters is their hearts – The hearts that God has prepared for
us that we get the chance to love on, the hearts that are aching because they
don’t know what they are living for, the hearts that God wants to fill with love,
the hearts that God wants to redeem, the hearts that God wants to comfort. The
hearts.
