Just to share a bit about what we are doing here in Nepal… 🙂
We literally have THE coolest hosts this month, and I am in love with Nepal so far. No joke!
First of all, we are in the mountains! That is my happy place, and the people are no short coming either. Everyone that we have run into, whether that be at our hostel that we stayed at when we first arrived, or our hosts, who have been incredibly hospitable and kind. Nepal is beautiful in every way. It is so lush, and the city itself is so quaint and the roads remind me of the hills in San Francisco. We are smack dab, right in the middle of the himalayas at the base of the mountain range. The clouds hang low on the tops of the mountains, and when the day clears up, you can see the entire outline all around. Eagles soar all around the skies, and their are people walking all around the streets in beautiful, brightly colored kurtas. It’s gorgeous, and I feel incredibly thankful to be here.
So, to break it down a bit, we are staying at a families house who are basically a “secret church”. It can be dangerous to be Christian at times here in Nepal, and so the fact that they are Christian and not under a large organization to back them up, can potentially put them at risk for physical harm. There are many stories of pastors being openly beat in public, or one man was even hung on a tree by his hands because he was talking about Jesus to people.
We live with a man who we call “Papa” (because he told us that we are all family, and wants to welcome us in as so), and his sons, and daughters who also live here with us in their flat. They are a part of the musical cast here in Nepal, called “Gandherba”. This basically means that their family falls into the legacy of families who in early Nepal held the blood line of being the musical people in society. This has been passed down from generation to generation, as all the casts here, and as well as in India have been passed down. They don’t choose it, but they now choose to use that musical blood to spread the love of Christ to the people here in rural villages of Nepal. It’s so cool too because by them doing this, and holding gatherings in their home to worship and speak about Jesus, they run less of a risk of being put in danger for being Christian.
Papa came to know Jesus when he was young, and didn’t have anything. His father had left him, and his mother was very abusive and told people to not care for him when she had kicked him out on to the streets. He told us (with tears streaming down his face), how he would be laying outside and feeling so alone and sad, and didn’t know what his life was going to look like. Then one day, he was able to get a “Sarangy” which is an instrument that is common here that sounds sort of like a violin, and began learning to play. His story was hard to fully grasp all of the details because of the broken English, but I could see his heart on his face. Music, and finding Jesus in 1990 rescued him. Now, he uses music and the gospel to reach literally every part of Nepal that he can in order to share hope with people. He is immensely humble, and it is very evident that he is a good man who loves and serves so well.
Our month is going to be us just walking alongside him and his family, going up into the mountain villages, playing and singing music, and sharing stories about who Jesus is. We aren’t going to bible thump, we aren’t going to press our will on anyone. Literally, we get to walk alongside a man and his family and contribute stories of how God has moved in each of our lives, connect with people, listen to their stories, and play music! How stinking amazing is that?!
