Today was a blessing. Saturdays are the sabath here in Nepal, and Sunday through Friday are working days for all. Today began with an early morning skype call to my mom for the first time since being in Nepal…I just realized that this all rhymes haha. I can’t continue that way though…maybe as a Christmas gift. We then walked about 30 minutes to church with our host mom and dad. While sitting down Indian-style on the floor pads, girls on one side and boys on the other, the church quickly filled up and we were sitting knee-to-knee. One young man begins playing an electric guitar, 5 singers are leading worship in Nepalese, someone on the floor picks up the tambourine and starts shaking away, and I take my egg shaker out of my purse (slightly hidden in one of the middle rows…that is until we all stand up and I tower above every person) and start rattling as everyone else claps.
While Megh, our ministry contact, was giving the sermon I went and did an improv children’s class. This happens often on the race so we’ve all learned to just be prepared for anything. Since teaching at a non-Christian English school this past week I’ve remembered many childhood songs to teach the kids but have forgotten many kid’s Christian songs. So the kids did a great job teaching me some in English. We followed this with my story-telling, and their acting, the story of Jonah and the whale. Part of their upbringing is to also pray, pray, pray. So they have no hesitation to pray out loud, in big groups, all at once, strong and fast. They also take up their own offering.
It wasn’t until after the church service that we began to more fully see the church. We were going to help build a stage at the front of the church so we changed and began picking a few hand-made bricks up by hand and carrying them into the church. Before we knew it the whole church congregation, in their church outfits, began carrying bricks also. (I decided that I was not very strong after seeing a young boy carry just as many bricks as me). While this was happening, others began mixing cement and sand with water to create the cement. (I further decided that I’m glad I’m a female in America because a woman was initially shoveling the cement mixture to mix it all together, while all the men stood around watching). Further, there was a group carrying dirt into the church, kids and adults together. Once a brick wall (3 bricks high) was set up, we began leveling the dirt inside the newly formed area. The other bricks will be placed on top of the dirt in a few days to create the stage. I love seeing how things are built and how jobs are done overseas. For example, the other day I tried carrying a basket of rocks on my back, with a strap across my forehead, to experience what it was like to transport rock, used for building, in areas where vehicles cannot go. The women here to do this every day, all day.
In the middle of building this stage, children ran around, adults mingled, and a pot-luck (pot-luck meaning one person brings the beans, another the rice, another the potatoes and they are all cooked together) lunch was served on the lawn. I’ve decided, this is what I want in a body of believers.
