Nepal was a Beautiful month.
It all began with team changes. Yes, once again I have been moved to a new team. Geena, Emily, Hannah, Savannah, Samson and Tyler were all put together in Cambodia and I was just added, our team name… Same Same but Different. Me, being the different. Ha. I thought it was pretty funny.
I have been looking forward to Nepal from the start, cold weather, mountains and adventure. We arrived and within the first hour of landing I was overjoyed just hearing the plans of the month.
Greeted by members of H squad, (These racers began their journey in July, putting them two months ahead) we spent the evening hearing stories of their previous months and the challenges they had overcome. I actually got to meet the team that would be heading to my contact home in India. It was neat to swap stories, them "preparing" me for Nepal and I doing the same with them for India. Seeing the dynamic of their teams and how they fit together touched my heart. They had become a family, some better friends than others but all loving one another and still pushing each other to become more like Christ. The race is definitely different than what I expected but I have in fact, been blessed by the community.
To often I get distracted wanting to tell of all the small details to properly set the stage. Each month I’m thrown into a new environment, one very different from what you would expect back home but has become somewhat normal for me on the race. Nepal would be spent in a house 14 hours southeast of Kathmandu. No a/c or heater, no hot water, a bucket shower, 1 bathroom sink and 1 squatty potty to be shared amongst 21 people. Crazy thing is… it works. We have mastered the long bus rides, all having special sleeping techniques. (Good headphones and a buff are crucial) No one fights over the showers, its too cold to even pretend you are in a hurry to get in there and somehow there was never too big of a back up for the squatty.
We spent the first week helping to build an orphanage. It was about a 15-minute walk from our home giving everyone a little morning exercise. Getting to dig trenches, move rocks, sort bamboo and lift bricks, I was eager to work together to build a future home for children who have none. It was nice to see the progression, to know my sweat had helped and at the end of the week my hands were actually a little rough… mission accomplished. Each brick was stamped with BABA. I thought it interesting that the letters unscrambled spelt ABBA, father. Here we were building an orphanage for children who might feel lost, overlooked or scrambled, but there in the orphanage they would find their ABBA.
One morning our leaders set up a sunrise prayer session at the orphanage. To spend time laying down a proper "foundation." This morning was especially foggy and the dew was thick. I found that the longer we sat and prayed, the pages of my bible, my fleece and fingers became wet, covered in dew. God is like that dew… all around you and the longer you sit in his presence, the more you will become like him, wet. Its a shame that we are too busy running from one thing to another, never taking enough time to let the dew settle.
A small river, aka steam, was just around the corner from our home and on the way to the orphanage. (side note… the closest I got to a shower last month was in that river. Take a bottle of shampoo and conditioner, bar of soap and jump on in. Plus your clothes get clean in the process!) One afternoon my team decided to have a leaf race. Sounds silly and it was but each member of SSbD (Same Same but Different) picked a leaf on the way, taking size, color and weight into consideration of course. We stood in the river and dropped our leafs on three. They all floated along, the seven of us screaming and cheering like we were up for the gold medal. Seriously one of the best memories, full of laughter. As we all cheered children from the village came to see what the commotion was about. By the time we got to the final two we had a good crowd watching and some even in the river with us, wanting to push the leafs along, helping their favorite to win. I might be stretching here but… we are those leafs. All of us different from the next but floating together in life. Some of us get held up on a rock or maybe get off to a slow start but we are surrounded by people who love us, cheering for us to make it to the finish, some even jump on in to give you a little push.
God is in it all. Our Abba, surrounding us so that we might become more like him as we float along his path.
