First off, an apology. Things have been super crazy on the ground here so I haven’t gotten to blog. (Speaking of, if you’re not on the WhatsApp you’re missing out! Scroll down for more info!)
Over the last three weeks we have been in about 8 different cities. Starting in X we went to XN, then into Tibet, where we went on a tour from L, the capital, to the Nepali border. Over the course of one week we covered 32,000 vertical ft., 16K up and 16K down, staying at an average of 14,000ft for five days.
Our time in Tibet started when we arrived in XN, where we had the opportunity to learn about the region from a Worker who has been there for 20 years. She gave us copies of a movie she made that goes through the Bible from Genesis to Revelation in terms of Tibet culture, and told us that the region historically known as Tibet is split into three provinces, two of which are not officially recognized as Tibet, but are actually considered Chinese territory. We were in the third area, called the “Tibet Autonomous Region” which is only the smallest southern sliver of the greater plateau.
Even in the tourist-approved area, access is very limited. Our passports & Tibet travel permit were checked three times on our train ride, even though we hadn’t stopped; we were strictly instructed not to take any pictures of police or military, even by accident, to stay in certain areas of the city, and to ALWAYS have our passports when we left our hostel. Short of going out to buy food, we had to be accompanied by a guide at every moment of the day, and our travel permit was such that everyone had to go together or no one could go. No splitting up allowed!
Moreover, our worker friend also warned us that Tibet is spiritually dark. Tibetan Buddhism has roots in Burncult, which is essentially animistic Satan worship. Personally, I could feel the darkness almost as soon as I stepped off the train. It was much easier to get angry at each other; we were more apt to consider ourselves, and we barely slept due to restless nights and bad dreams. I got into the habit of praying over every bed I slept in, but most times still didn’t sleep well even though we were staying in nicer places than usual.
But despite the darkness and the restrictions, our powerful, amazing God was still at work! First, due to our “good karma” (really the Holy Spirit), the day after we arrived was a huge holiday and the start of the yak yoghurt festival.
Yes, you read that correctly… the YAK yoghurt festival.
This resulted in our guide LEAVING US ALONE at the Summer Palace of the Dalai Llama. One of our squad leaders saw 6 different people healed of knee injuries (including a dislocated knee), while another team gave a Bible and one of our DVD’s to a family of monks! Jake (on my team), gave a DVD to a monk he met while walking back. All of these things would not have been possible if our guide had stayed with us that day.
Once we got on the bus, our contact with locals was much more staged. We stopped at glaciers, beautiful prayer lakes, and breathtaking views. Much of our ministry consisted of worship & prayer at key locations, consecrating places that had once been dominated by dark forces back to the Lord. At one of our first stops, Eric, our squad leader, made friends with a musician and asked to play. This resulted in our entire group doing impromptu worship over a sacred lake. At another stop, we got to sing and dance to for Lord at a temple, but more on that later.
Winter Palace of the Dalai Lama in L, Tibet (12,000 ft.)
PC Rebecca Gutierrez:
Overlooking the valley (14,000 ft.) (PC: Kati Simpson)
To God Be the Glory! (Glacial Lake @13,000 ft.) (PC: Austin Goss)
Worshipping over Yamdroc lake as Eric leads (15,000 ft.) (PC: Kati Simpson)
So by this point you’re probably wondering about the title of the blog. Early on in our tour, we were told that we would get to go to Everest Basecamp, at a whopping 17,000ft., AND we would stay the night.
Now, it’s safe to say I was not as excited as my team. Everest basecamp may only halfway up the mountain (29,200 ft. total, y’all), but it’s still higher than the tallest peak in the continental US. Before coming I didn’t have a strong desire to see Everest. However, as the days went on, my nerves faded and excitement took their place. Not many people can say they’ve been to Everest basecamp, and even less can say they’ve been to the Tibetan side. What an amazing opportunity!
So you can imagine our disappointment when we were told (halfway up the mountain) that we didn’t pay for Everest, so it would cost 420 extra yuan ($57) per person to go.
And don’t forget, we have to go as a group or not at all.
There were at least three people (myself included) ready to throw down for the whole bus. I watched my teammate Jake, who’s been wanting to come to Everest his whole life, see his dreams get crushed. Then we found out that not only was it a money issue, but we also didn’t have the permits. To push through would put our guide, James, in an extremely uncomfortable position. Moreover, we hadn’t actually paid for the stops we’d already taken, so to cover the difference, the tour company had already cut James’ paycheck in half.
With all of that in the background, we decided to pull the plug on Everest. Instead, we ended up in this tiny Tibetan village called Tinggri—easily the most rustic place we’ve stayed so far. Just beyond the houses, a temple sat on top of a hill. James told us that we might be able to see Everest from the hill. “Pray to your God,” he said, “maybe he will move the clouds.”
God didn’t.
However, two of my teammates and I spent time walking around the temple and worshipping, even dancing to the Lord! We also took up a collection for James from our team money & my supporters via WhatsApp—together we raised almost double the amount that was taken from him! This will bless him immensely as he had a wife and a daughter in school who needs supplies.
The Lord clearly had a plan for our detour; James was more important to him than us getting to see a mountain.
The next morning, we trekked up to the temple for sunrise (I arrived a little later, because… sleep) and realized we’d been looking the wrong direction the day before. We shifted our view left, but the clouds were still covering the mountain.
We waited, prayed, waited some more, and finally the clouds began to clear, but now we were racing the clock since we needed to leave for the Nepali border by 9am. Jake & I decided to stay until 8:30 to see if Everest would clear. We were praying out loud the whole time, begging God to move the clouds faster so we could see the mountain. Just see it!
A few minutes away from total clear-age (no, that’s not a word, but you know what I mean), three teammates ran up. “That’s Everest” they said, pointing to a small peak even further to the left of the mountain that had been visible for some time. (For reference, where they were pointing would be behind my head in that last photograph.)
We’d been anxiously waiting & praying for the wrong mountain—Everest was already visible.
It got me thinking: how often have I looked for God, complaining that I can’t see him and begging him to show up, when in reality he was always visible and I just needed to shift my perspective?
Lord, shift my perspective to help me see the ways you are moving!
Well, that’s all for Tibet! We arrived in Kathmandu two days ago after a harrowing 11-hour bus ride (ever been on the Indiana Jones ride? Picture that, but in a broken down bus without seatbelts or guardrails) and are getting adjusted to life here in a humid city of back alleys. Right now we are doing debrief, so our entire squad is together as we spend ten days reflecting and training. After debrief my team will remain in Kathmandu, and this month we have a host—glory be!
That’s all for me! Stay tuned for more updates!
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