On the flight to Nepal, I looked out of the window and was greeted by the most breath taking view of the Himalayan Mountains. The cold and crisp air was more than welcomed when we arrived. Especially after having over a year Summer time.
The bus ride from Katmanhdu to Sarlahi was over 10 hours long. The first 5 hours consisted of us swerving around mountains and over rivers. We drove through the kind of beauty I've only ever seen in magazines. There were gorgeous mountain peaks that touched the sky with crystal blue rushing river waters flowing down below.
It was hard to capture a photo through bus windows…So, you can just use your imagination here.
About halfway through our journey, the rivers came to an end and the mountains faded away in the distance. When we reached Sarlahi, it was obvious that God had placed us in the valley this month. We got off of a bus and stepped into an extremely rural village. I had to let go of all my expectations of being in the mountains. We were in the middle of no where and everything I thought we would have this month, we didn't. It was us, our contacts, the farm, the church, the water buffalo, and the village people. 😉
You would think us world racers did really adventurous things on our days off…Which is sometimes very true. This month, however, our off days consisted of our weekly shower and washing laundry by the well. There was no where close enough to explore and nothing we could really do. Sometimes we got kind of crazy and harvested potatoes. It forced us to spend more time together and form a little family out of our team. It was nothing we had wanted, but exactly what we needed. Our team had been feeling more forced than family. It's crazy how village life can bring people together.
Instead of dwelling on the things we didn't have, we started focusing on all that we did. We were surrounded by some of the most faithful Christians and some of the most unreached people. We learned how to live on a farm. Including how to turn buffalo poop into bio-fuel and use it for cooking gas. We threw bamboo spears at trees with village kids, rode on bus tops, and watched the stars from the roof of the school. We had a blast appreciating all of the little things.
We were blessed to get a glimpse of "Jesus ministry" this month. We walked several hours a day to surrounding villages and preached the gospel. We talked to everyone from "the lowest cast" on up. If we weren't received, we dusted off our feet and kept walking. We were even blessed to climb a hill on our last day of ministry and pray over the villages we had visited. It was really awesome to get the dust from my Savior's sandals on my feet!
As much as I love the crystal blue rivers and snow capped mountians of Nepal, I am glad I was in the valley this season
….But I will be back to the moutains someday! I love Nepal so much! Most beautiful place on earth 🙂
　
