This month in Nepal, our team (Awaken Depth) along with team Unveiled and team Pursuit were privileged to work along side Reuben Rai and his fellow cohorts to accomplish unimaginable feats of dexterity and strength. Having arrived in Kathmandu, we boarded a bus and traveled twelve hours by land to the city of Urlabari where Reuben was building an orphanage. The bus ride was brutal, and we were tossed around like laundry in a drier as we sat in our seats while the bus driver determinedly pushed forward over pitted roads and past river valleys. He honked his horn ruthlessly at every vehicle, person or animal that dared to cross his path.
We settled into our accommodations in Urlabari, seven people to a cramped room, and quickly befriended a lot of the local children such as Susetta, Camena, Eunice, Rosan and Rowan. There were many more whose names I didn’t learn, but I suppose we were a curious sight – 20 Americans in a remote Nepali town. We worked for a few days at the orphanage, mostly doing site cleanup. We enjoyed a couple evenings with a bonfire and roasted meat before we continued our journey to the mountain village of Gung Gunge.
We departed Urlabari and drove by bus to a small town situated by a river where we had lunch. Then we continued our journey by foot and began a three hour hike to the village. This hike included over twelve river crossings through waist-deep water and strong currents. It also required us to traverse steep terrain with our packs as we walked along narrow trails. The scenery was beautiful and the hike was enjoyable. We had sunshine and the joy of the Lord, which was our strength.
When we reached the mountain village of Gung Gunge, we saw a few scattered wood and bamboo buildings, built simply. There were pigs, cows, goats and chickens a plenty. We stayed with Reuben’s parents, and though the quarters were tight they were more than sufficient. Evenings were cool, and the mornings were shrouded with fog. We had a fire going almost constantly, which was welcome in the coolness of night.
Work in the village consisted mostly of heavy lifting. This included carrying several hundred concrete blocks from the river, up and over hills and finally to the schoolhouse so the walls could be finished. We also bore loads of concrete and sand, removed heavy wooden posts that had been buried in the ground, and helped to mix concrete. We also walked around the village, which was about 60 people, and passed out treats to the children or had tea with some of the Christians who belonged to the local church. We joined these believers for worship on Sunday morning, which was encouraging to all of us. Reuben exhorted the local believers to keep contributing to the school, which we all hope will soon be finished!
There are a lot of side-stories involved with our time here, visit the blogs of members of the aforementioned teams to get some insights. We hiked out the way we came in, bussed out back to Urlabari and finally back to Kathmandu where I’m now writing this blog. I wish the internet were better, I’d add a picture or two… but that’s not going to happen. I’ve enjoyed my time in Nepal, the people I’ve met have been very friendly and have great personalities. They wore themselves out taking care of all us world racers, keeping us well fed and supplied. This month definitely had the most interesting travel experiences, I’ll never forget how we forged through the rivers and mountain valleys to get to Gung Gunge!
