buzz buzz buzz
Turn my vibrating alarm off, take out my earplugs (so I can sleep amidst an apartment of 15 other people), and unzip my sleeping bag. Swing out of bed, trying not to hit my head on the metal frame of the bunk bed above me. Open our room door and walk into the living room, completely unaware, thanks to a lack of mirrors, if I have sleep lines all over my face or puffy, tired eyes. Before I have a chance to say anything (not that I would anyways, I mean, I’ve only been up for 3 minutes and I need at least 20 wakeful minutes to function), I’m enveloped in a hug and someone jokingly tousling my hair. I’ve learned to (selectively) love the things I would normally hate in the morning after sharing an apartment floor with the other coed team. Brush my teeth and bucket shower in the single bathroom I share with 8 other girls and 7 other guys.
Look in the kitchen and see that one of the guys has already done the dishes from last night’s dinner. Sit down, still in a tired haze, when Jacob calls out, “Pancakes are ready!” Eat my pancakes from a collapsible bowl and with a camping spork, wash my plate in the bathroom sink because the kitchen sink doesn’t have running water.
Walk downstairs and greet the other 40-some people I’m sharing a huge house with (thanks to all squad month) and go over to our ministry host’s home. Have ahmad, time alone with Father for an hour to get in the right mindset, before heading out for ministry. Break up into teams, take a 35 minute, 7 cent bus ride (standing on a bus that’s filled to 2x its capacity and getting elbowed and shoved around by strangers), before getting off in the heart of Kathmandu. Walk over a bridge and into the “cabin restaurants” where we’ll be working for the day. These restaurants serve as a front for sex trafficking. Ducking as we walk into one such business, we see in the dingy lighting a few tables, and grab a seat at one. Call a girl over, buy some sodas, and start asking questions about her life. Where are you from? What is your family like? What is your biggest dream? Why are you working here?
Do you want to be working here?
No, she says.
Would you like a way out?
Yes, she says.
Yes! We trade phone numbers, rejoicing that soon a girl will be free. We will get her in contact with our host, who will make phone calls and talk to friends in order to get her a safe job and a place to live. No longer will she have to sell her body, making less than $100 a month.
Leave the cabin restaurant and share the amazing news with our friends. Take the 35 minute, 7 cent bus ride back to our home, getting back in the afternoon. Decide to head to Thamel, the area of Kathmandu that’s popular amongst backpackers and trekkers, with some friends. Take a taxi over and grab coffee at Himalayan Java, then wander the streets looking at the colorful trinkets and mountain climbing paraphernalia. Pick up a copy of Into Thin Air, so I can read about the Everest disaster while sitting in the metaphorical shadow of Everest itself. Read a couple chapters and decide that my next big pr@yer to Father is that He’ll bring me back so I can hike around the Himalayas for a couple months and make it to Everest Base Camp. (We’ll see how that pr@yer plays out, stay tuned.)
Have dinner at OR2K, our favorite vegetarian Middle Eastern restaurant. Sit on floor pillows at low tables underneath the black lights, causing the room to glow. Order shakshuka, my favorite dish consisting of over-medium eggs baked in a thick tomato soup, served with focaccia. Share a chocolate bomb (lava cake) with Allie. Spend about $5 in total on dinner.
Head back to the main street to grab a taxi home. Take in the lights and the loud music. Cram the five of us into a small taxi, the dust of the city covering the seats, and laugh at our simple, amazing night.
Head up to our apartment floor, pile onto the couch to watch a movie together before going to bed.
Look over at my friend and say
“Guys, we’re in Nepal.”
