Today we got to see a little bit of the real Nepal. I love being in the city, but when stuck in a city, you lose a little bit of the authenticity of the culture. Around our house you can find many different kinds of food from all over the world, there are plenty of bakeries with internet, and plenty of beautiful, large houses. There’s a lot going on and endless variety among the people. But just take a 30 minute bus ride outside the city and you will find a whole new world. A world that is much simpler and moves a lot slower. A world that works a lot harder but remains a lot poorer. We were in rural Nepal.
Our ministry was to visit this village of laborers whose factory got crushed and homes were toppled. These young boys were brick makers. Some of the boys looked no older than 12 but their faces and bodies were worn by the countless hours in the sun and in the dust of the brick foundry. The earthquake destroyed a lot of their work, toppling their towers and snapping and tossing the many piles of bricks that they had created. Fortunately, the day of the earthquake was their day off, so many lives were spared by not being amongst the destruction, but there is still a lot of pain and hurt and suffering and damage making a tough life even harder. We came to help comfort these families who lost so much in the earthquake. We don’t have a lot, but what we brought them was some fresh clean water and some snacks to help sustain them as they continue to recover. Just up the hill from the brick foundry I found this tiny little shack. There were just a few young boys about age 4-8 who appeared to be taking care of themselves while their guardians were probably working so hard just below them. Upon reaching them, they seemed so sullen and dirty and lost. I pulled the water from my bag and he biscuits we had brought. Although they seemed really timid and unsure at first, they eventually grabbed the gifts and went to town on them. That really opened them up to me and I started joking around with them and we made funny faces and chased each other and laughed. These kids have a tough life and a really hard past week and their future seems unexciting, but right there in that moment they remembered joy, they remembered how to smile, and they felt loved. I didn’t solve all their problems or fix their working conditions or give them money or drastically change their future, but hopefully that reminder and that evidence of joy will be brought back to them every so often until they themselves can choose joy and see hope in every situation which will be the fruit of the Spirit in them.
After spending about an hour with the families of that laborers village we climbed up a hill overlooking the mountains and the fields and factory below. We spent time in worship and prayer for that community after experiencing some of the hurt they feel. It really felt like your cliche world race picture of 50 people overlooking a valley with hands lifted high in praise, but that’s really what it was and it was beautiful. Thank you Lord.
