On the World Race we refer to life before and after the WR as, “my real life.” Well yesterday was a day for the men in my “real life.”
My team woke up for a breakfast of scrambled eggs, bread and peanut butter at 8 am. I indulged in two cups of “java press” coffee to get me going. After breakfast we had morning prayer time and worship with our host family. Lunch was earlier than usual to accommodate our afternoon activity schedule. It was a wonderful and delicious mix of green bean/potato/bell pepper & potato curry, salad and nann (an Indian flat bread). YUM! The vegetable options made me (and my stomach) so happy.
Lunch, though amazing, was not even the highlight of the day. We took a 2 hour hike through the mountains of Nepal to a Tibetan Buddhist Monastery. The hike was accompanied by Christian music played through a speaker we carried along the way. Having uplifting music singing praises to the Lord spreading into the Nepali countryside.
For Randall-I listened to my own music on the way back home. Fleetwood Mac played in my ears for the entire 2 hours. The rock ballads were the perfect thing to being me down the mountain. I was in my own world singing with Steve Nicks and enjoying God’s beautiful artwork. I knew some lyrics to the majority of the songs, but one song in particular stood out: Murrow Turning Over in His Grave. My stepdad Randall lives classic rock and seems to know all the lyrics to every song that comes over Rock 99.5 in Birmingham. I thought of him as the song played through my headphones and even repeated it so I could pray for Ran while Steve Nicks and Fleetwood Mac chanted in my ears.
For Dad- On the hike we passed many small vegetable patches. People here grow food primarily for personal consumption. I always think of you when I see farm, but especially when I saw giant watermelons on the vine!!!! The food here is always full of carbs, but we’ve been treated with green beans and cucumber slices. My team isn’t crazy about cucumbers, so I get to eat the whole plate (almost) by myself. What makes it even better is dipping it in GREEN CHILI SAUCE 🙂 I tell you, you’d like the food, but you’d drool over the veggies all the way to the dinner table, dreaming of veggies that don’t make their way to your plate.
**remember this day? Diamond Head, the beach-Waikiki…buying a time share?! OH MY!
For Wallace-The two hour hike reminded me of hiking in San Antonio with Wallace. The hikes and bike rides helped me to appreciate San Antonio’s outdoors. We walked for two hours up and around mountains, took nature’s steps, dodged animal poo, and carefully navigated the rocky paths.
**I had to get this from google, so don’t be mad that you’re in the frilly pink WSF shirt! 🙂
For Papa-For 4 hours we walked through villages and past small shops covered in Nepali people. I’ve said before that the Nepali people are the most beautiful people group I’ve ever seen. They are hospitable, friendly and social. As we walked I greeted everyone I could with prayer hands and a “Namaste.” Everyone we passed seemed genuinely pleased with the attention and reciprocated with a smiling “Namaste.” Nearly every elderly man who smiled back at me reminded me of my grandfather. My papa was the most social man I knew; he just couldn’t make a quick trip to the grocery store. Papa knew everyone in Birmingham and thus would need hours to greet and speak to everyone he saw. Nepalese people have a gift for aging. Their wrinkles are charming and handsome. Their greetings are heartfelt. They are working hard, hanging out with other men and all wearing Nepali hats. Papa was always working at the office or in the year. He had many, many friends as I alluded to earlier, and I can’t picture him without a hat. The entire 4 hours was a chance to reminisce about the most important man in my life. It was a wonderful blessing sent my way and I am over-the-top grateful.
