Hey y’all! I know I haven’t gotten very many stories out to you the last 6 weeks or so. India was a rough month all-around as my entire team (and almost the entire squad) got sick, but we’re on the mend now. We met some incredible people last month and I have an opportunity to share with you from India so stay tuned for that!
It’s hard to believe I find myself in month 8, in Nepal. It’s a beautiful country with beautiful people. My team and I leave in the morning for trekking through some villages at the base of the Himalaya mountains. Prayers are appreciated as we go to encourage believers, share the Gospel, and for physical strength and endurance for us all coming out of sickness. I am excited to see what God has in store for us here this month!
Fun and Interesting Facts on Nepal
- Capital: Kathmandu
- Population: 29,033,914 – 527 people/sq mi
- Roughly the size of Iowa
- Official Language: Nepali
- Religions: 81.3% Hinduism, 9% Buddhism, 4.4% Islam, 3.1% Kiratism, 1.4% Christianity, 0.5% other, 0.2% unspecified (2011 est.)
- Life Expectancy: 71 years
- Literacy Rate: 74.7%
- Nepal was never colonized
- The national dish is Dal Bhat which consists of a rice center, alongside lentils which are surrounded by various different dishes with sides of pickles, curried dishes, meat or fish, yoghurt, and chutney
- Average temperature in August is 82° and an average of 13 inches of rain
- It is the year 2072 in Nepal and they celebrate the new year on April 13th
- Nepali time is 45 minutes off the Coordinated Universal Time and is based off Mt. Everest, not the time zone lines
- The only national flag that is not quadrilateral in shape but is made of two triangles instead which are said to represent Hinduism and Buddhism, and the Himalayan Mountains
- Nepal has 8 out of 10 of the world’s highest mountains
- Home to the endangered Bengal tiger, Red Panda, and snow leopard
- “Namaste” is the standard greeting in Nepal and can mean hello, good bye, and thank you but translates to “I salute the God in you”
- Cows are sacred in the Hindu religion and cannot be killed; once a cow stops providing milk they are often released and the community is responsible for feeding her
- Since cows are sacred, so is their manure, and a common practice is to clean the home with water and cow manure, to clean and bless it at the same time
- About 90% of marriages are arranged and the bride and groom will usually not meet or see each other before the wedding day
