Nepal was my favorite month on the Race, but full of many trying times. We started out the month in the capital of Nepal, which is Kathmandu. We met with our contact Puran and stayed with his family in their home and worked with the youth involved in their church, Kathmandu Capital Church. Each evening we spent with the youth sharing about ourselves and our walk with the Lord, playing games, singing and dancing. We stayed with Puran and his family for the first 8 days and then we traveled to a village in the mountains where the teenagers put on a concert in hopes of bringing people in the village to share Christ with. We stayed in a house with the walls made out of a special type of dirt and we shared a room with chickens (which I am terrified of) and the occasional goat that would wonder in. We only stayed there 2 nights before we moved on to another village, but I remember waking up both mornings to at least 4 children just staring at us watching every move we made.
After that village, we headed to Pokhara to rest for a few days while some of the team spent a few days hiking in the mountains. We then took a 17 hour overnight bus and headed to Bardia, the town where our translator and Puran’s niece, Suzanna, was from. We spent less than a week there, but we spent everyday with a church and their children/youth. We played games, sang songs, and taught Bible stories, David and Goliath was definitely the favorite. We then took another overnight bus ( 13 hour) to Dan and spent 2 days in the town partnering with a local church and spending time with the youth group. Every meal we ate, while in Dan, was spent at one of the church members homes where each of them graciously opened their hearts and their homes to serve us. It was absolutely incredible! From Dan we took an overnight bus ride to Rolpa, up in the mountains. I remember sitting in the bus and watching the sun rise, just as we were reaching the mountain pass near the town, the view was breathtaking. Seeing the sun come up and spreading light over the mountains was one of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen and one that I will never forget. After just a short time in Rolpa, it was time to head back to Kathmandu for the end of the month debrief for the squad.
Nepal has been the prettiest and most breathtaking country I have been to and one day I hope to return for a visit. The people of Nepal are so beautiful, inside and out, and they are never short on generosity or going out of their way to make sure you are comfortable. The food was some of the best I’ve tasted since being on the Race, and I haven’t connected with a group of teens ever before like the ones in Kathmandu. But there were definitely some difficulties this month and the worst part was the transportation. We were on a new bus headed to a different town every few days. The shortest bus ride was 12 hours, and the longest ride was 17 hours, and the roughest roads I’ve ever been on. I remember our 13 hour van ride back to Kathmandu….I had a large man sitting in between my legs on the floor sweating all over me, passengers throwing up in the van and then stopping every half hour to have a vomit break. The van was so jammed pack with people that it was stifling hot so I opened the window and the driver would occasionally spit out his window and it would come flying back in my window and hit me. All I wanted to do was scream and move and I couldn’t do either, the only thing left to do was cry. I remember tears streaming down my face and my teammate, Christina K. just patting me on the back ( she had had a similar situation a few days earlier on a different bus ride which ended in tears). I can only say that that day was one of the worst for me on the Race and I was definitely not a happy camper or missionary and definitely did not have a good attitude. The last thing I was in the mood for was putting on a happy face and acting like a good Christian. It wasn’t one of my best moments.
We ended our month in Nepal in Kathmandu, seeing the rest of the squad, worshiping, having meetings, shopping, getting sick ( I got really dehydrated after a stomach bug and had to spend a night in the hospital getting fluids), and taking a flight to see Mt. Everest. All in all it was a very busy month full of lots of stress but also, so much beauty that you can’t help but believe in God, if for no other reason than His breathtaking creations.
