India/Nepal 2014: Trekking Adventure: The Bucket List Continues

We asked God to take us on an adventure, and He has not let us down.

On Wednesday, April 30th, our team left Kathmandu for the mountains of Nepal. We left the Apple Pie guesthouse in a nice 12-passenger tourist van with AC, thinking this was our ride for the next 14 hours. Low and behold, it was only a 20 minute joyride. We ended up on a local bus, with people in the aisle and Nepali music blaring through the speakers, on a sketchy, construction-in-progress, mountain road. The adventure officially began.

Thursday morning around 8 am, we arrived in Nepalganji at the YWAM base. We were warmly greeted by the staff and students. They offered us wonderful noodles (think Top Ramen on steroids) and a clean floor to rest on.

Later that afternoon, the team piled into a jeep and pickup for a 6 hour ride further north. Kyle and Peter, our native Nepali guide, rode in the box of the truck for the entire trip. The ride was relatively sane for much of the trip, but much of it was also a prayer of desperation. Think of a cliff with no railings and a road that isn’t actually a road. Then think about getting stuck in a landslide, driving through vehicle size potholes, in the dark, in thunder and rain. It was definitely a time for us to test our reliance on prayer. We were just happy to get some rest that night as we stopped in a village and encountered our first native hostel. Things were getting real.

The next day, Friday, all twelve of us piled into a jeep and drove 2 hours to a village where we had to cross a walking bridge. We stopped there for lunch and immediately a crowd gathered. Boom, ministry happened. God gave us an opportunity to get our feet wet as we presented the Savior and Healer dramas, and as Phil shared the gospel. Amazing to see how around 200 people showed up and heard the gospel on the spot. Many got the opportunity to pray for people. Kyle, Line, and Zach even got the opportunity to go to a house and pray for a man who was ill. Such a blessing to be an encouragement to the community.

From there we again piled into another vehicle for another 2 hour drive. At this point, we were getting quite good at being uncomfortably stuffed into random vehicles for large amounts of time. We also came to realize that we were checking things off our bucket list that we didn’t even know were on the list. God has taken us on this adventure through the mountains of Nepal, into His creation, showing us His people, displaying His sovereignty through us, and allowing us along for the adventure. So good.

After this drive, we met one of Ishak’s, our Nepali contact, former DTS students named Don. He walked us an hour to his village. It was such a blessing to finally arrive and be so warmly greeted. They blessed us by giving us a place to sleep, an icy cold river to bathe in, and black tea to warm our spirits. The girls were offered a room to sleep in in the house, and the guys slept in the grass hut church nearby. It was so cool.

The next morning, Saturday, we participated in the church service. Riley shared a message on grace, and we were able to bless the local believers by praying for them. After the service, we put on a program outside of the church for non-believers. They do the services separate because the non-believers believe that if they go into the church they must be christian. It was an awesome opportunity to gather the village and share the gospel with them. One of the coolest things for me, Zach, was to do the Savior drama and actually point to God’s creation, the mountains, and marvel at the beauty before us.

It was after church and the open program that a 14 year old boy approached us, asking to receive Christ as His Savior. So encouraging for our team to see someone, much less a boy, take the effort to approach us on his own. This raised our spirits very much, encouraging us that we did not travel all this way in vain.

That afternoon, we travelled to a nearby village to put on another program. We did the program in a cattle pen (they laid down a grass mat for us). I think it was at this point we realized why we were in Nepal. To this point, we had shared the gospel with 700 people in the various villages. 700 PEOPLE!!! How cool is that. In this village we also got the opportunity to pray and encourage a man who had suffered with paralysis issues.

The next morning, we began our actual trek. Sunday was our first encounter with the reality of the endeavor that was before us. We walked 6 hours along the river that cuts through the mountains. The day was also the beginning of the sickness bug going through our team. Many dealt with diarrhea and stomache issues at various parts of the trip, but all did a wonderful job of pushing through as we hiked.

The team received a great revelation of how water truly gives life. During the entire trek, we were blessed to walk along the river. The flowing river blessed us by satisfying our thirst and refreshing our spirits. We are also super thankful for our LifeStraw water bottles. Without the bottles and filters, we don’t know if we would have made it at all. With the bottles, we felt very confident drinking out of any stream or puddle of water we could find.

We continued walking all the way through Tuesday, and our team would regularly stop in the local villages for lunch. Our diet for the trek was rice, potatoes, and a lentil soup. This is a very traditional Nepali dish. We would also spend the night in the local hostels, which were adventures in themselves. We found wood platforms and space to be a luxury, and spiders our best friends. Regardless, we were very thankful and grateful for the space we were given. They weren’t much, but the locals did the best they could to treat us as kings and queens. The Nepali people are very generous, and we have been so blessed to have had the opportunity to get to know them.

Wednesday morning we woke up at a decent hour to begin our last accent, and a doozy it was. It was up and up, and down, and around. Our day turned into a 7 hour hike to the village of Ju. Upon arrival, the locals were even surprised that we made the trek, because even for them, the trek was very dangerous.

We were warmly greeted by the local church with juice and noodles and blessed by clean rooms, great food, electricity, a hose shower, scrub laundry, and clean squatties. It’s really the little things that matter.

Thursday was a day of rest and how glorious it was. A time to rest, read, clean up, and watch movies (Ishak surprised us by bringing his hard-drive and projector. We were able to watch classic, cheesy christian movies. Felt like home. Haha). The team really needed the day to regather themselves, reconnect with themselves and reconnect with the Heavenly Father. Oh how beautiful He is.

Thursday night we also had a time with the local believers. Phil, Kyle, Naomi, and Moira shared a word for them all. It was very exciting to see the local church, to see their passion, and to see their vibrancy.

Thursday afternoon and Friday morning were also great team times. We had the opportunity to speak out how we were doing spiritually and to encourage one another. Fredrik had us do a team exercise where we wrote down everyone’s name and jotted down encouragements for one another. Friday morning we then went around and shared with each other. This was a very defining moment for our team. It brought us together and gave us each an opportunity to speak. It also gave us an opportunity to truly share our hearts. A monumental for us as we continue to move forward in ministry together.

Friday afternoon, we went to Ssun village, a village we walked through a couple days prior. We first ministered outside a school. The time was very encouraging and fun. We shared the Machine, Savior, and Healer skit. It was just a great time to have fun with the students.

We then walked back up to the village (The school was at the bottom of a steep hill. I just imagined gym class being a hike up and down the hill. haha) and shared on a rooftop. There weren’t as many people as normal, but it was still a great time. We shared the Set Me Free drama for the first time, and got a great response.

Saturday morning we had church, at 6 am. The guys slept in the church, but were loudly awoken to Jamasee (Bless the Lord) and a kicking in of the doors at 5:30 am. The service was a great blessing, much of which was loud worship and prayer. Very cool to see the passion of the people displayed in worship. Fredrik shared a message on calling based on Nehemiah. It was a very encouraging message for the locals and our team as well. The church also honored and blessed us, as this was our last full day with them.

After the service, we received the opportunity to pray for people. We prayed for peace for a new believer who was struggling with family. We prayed with another man to accept Christ. And we prayed with another elderly woman, casted a demon out of her, and led her to Christ. Very encouraging time for us to see fruit and for the locals to see a moving of the Spirit.

Saturday afternoon, we did a program on the rooftop of a nearby home. It was our first time encountering the extreme cold haha. The ministry went really well. We got the the opportunity to pray for a mute and deaf man, who later was able to say and hear “Hallelujah”.

Sunday we left on a 2.5 hour trek to Juphal. There we did a program outside the local school. It was a very encouraging time. We were initially only allotted a specific amount of time by the principal, but half way through, he enjoyed what we were doing and let us go longer. We performed the Savior, Healer, Liquid, and Set Me Free skits.

That night we were hugely blessed to stay in a nice hostel. We had beds, electricity, a shower head, Snicker bars, a tv, and macaroni with cheese. Again all little things, but we have grown to appreciate them so much.

Overall, ministry went quite well in Dolpa. Many seeds were planted. We estimate that we shared the gospel with nearly 3,000 people. But I think we are all waiting and wanting to see so much more. We know that God is faithful and that He moves in mighty ways. We just have to continue to be obedient, and trust that He will use us for his kingdom. But we are also praying that our continued obedience will bear more fruit.

The Nepali people have been in their traditions for many, many years. Often in our ministry times, we were met with blank stares and apathy. God does have the capability to change and move in a single day, a single moment. But we also know that He uses the local church as an encouragement and lighthouse for a region. We didn’t see a lot of fruit in our ministry time, but we saw much fruit in our encouragement to the local believers. They haven’t had the courage or boldness to share with any of the area villages. And through us, they were encouraged to do more. So through our time there, we hope that we were able to pass the baton, to ignite a fire within the local church to act and move.

Monday morning we woke up early to get to the airport in Juphal. We caught our flight in a little 15 passenger Twin Otter plane, and nearly an hour later, we arrived in Pokhara. It was a much different travel experience then our adventure to Dolpa. Felt very different to arrive back in “civilization”, but I think we all had a new appreciation for it.

That day we spent it resting and taking a “tourist” day. Pokhara is considered a tourist city, so we spent the day checking out the local shops, searching for wifi, and eating western food. Our hostel was also a huge blessing again with beds and one of our first warm showers in a couple weeks.

Tuesday morning we boarded a very nice tourist bus bound for Kathmandu. Again, this was a very different experience then our previous bus adventure, much nicer. After a 6 hour bus ride, we arrived back in Kathmandu at our new guest house, the Bethani house. Our contacts have been very gracious to us and have made a great effort to bless us with their hospitality. We are very grateful for their thoughtfulness.

We have roughly a week left in Nepal before we depart for India. We are not sure what ministry will look like in our last week, but we are trusting it to God. That He will lead us. That He will bless us.

Please continue to pray for us. Pray for:

Health amongst the team

Ministry opportunities

Open hearts

Boldness and courage

Faith

A reliance on the Spirit.

The team has been supremely blessed by our time in Nepal. We have realized that not many people get the opportunity to do what we have done. To drive on death defying cliffs. To stay in spider infested hostels. To eat rice, potatoes, and lentils for weeks. To hike treacherous cliffs. To share with 3,000 unreached people. To be a blessing to a church community. To be used.

We are so grateful for what has happened and excited for what is to come.

The adventure continues and the bucket list is adding up.

Until next time.

Cheers from Team India Nepal.