I had been jealous of Bilbo Baggins. His spontaneous adventure had me wanting one of my own. I wanted someone to knock on my door and interrupt my life. A couple of weeks ago, that's what happened. I decided to go to Nepal within the next few days. Jesus said, "Hey, Liz. I'm going to Nepal. Wanna go with me?" I said yes.
There are moments like that in every Jesus follower's life. It might not be something like going to Nepal, but if you follow Jesus, He can be pretty random, ask you to drop whatever you're doing and go with Him. We just have to say, "Okay, Jesus."
It was quite the journey, too. Seeing what our team saw, breathing what we breathed, smelling what we smelt, walking where we walked, and sleeping where we slept can really change a person. I could to say A LOT (even though this will be pretty long) but I'm not a good enough writer and you're not a patient enough reader. But here's what I've got to say.
If my brother suffers, I suffer.
The Bible talks about how all Christians are like parts of a human body (1 Corinthians 12). If my stomach hurts, the rest of the body knows it and wants to lay down somewhere and groan. So if my Christian brothers and sisters in Nepal are hurting, I hurt with them. Going on this trip really helped me do that.
Because we were physically there standing on the pile of rocks that used to be a home, the suffering became real. At a church service, I was called to the front to say a few words. When I got up there, my eyes got watery. I was looking at the faces of suffering people who had lost loved ones. I felt so sorry. Our team went to a funeral for a 16 year old boy named Samir and watched his 82 year old grandfather cry. I sobbed.
Driving through the mountains for hours and going through village after village of completely decimated homes really wakes you up to how much pain and hurt and fear people are wrestling with. What could I do? What could I say? I don't even speak the language. But I had the chance to be there. I had the chance to dig through rubble just so a man's dead goats could be recovered. If that's what the hurting family wanted, then, yes, absolutely; whatever they needed to get through this horrible, awful, ugly, confusing time.
My reaction to news reports of disasters from now on will be very different.
Because we were physically there standing on the pile of rocks that used to be a home, the suffering became real. At a church service, I was called to the front to say a few words. When I got up there, my eyes got watery. I was looking at the faces of suffering people who had lost loved ones. I felt so sorry. Our team went to a funeral for a 16 year old boy named Samir and watched his 82 year old grandfather cry. I sobbed.
Driving through the mountains for hours and going through village after village of completely decimated homes really wakes you up to how much pain and hurt and fear people are wrestling with. What could I do? What could I say? I don't even speak the language. But I had the chance to be there. I had the chance to dig through rubble just so a man's dead goats could be recovered. If that's what the hurting family wanted, then, yes, absolutely; whatever they needed to get through this horrible, awful, ugly, confusing time.
My reaction to news reports of disasters from now on will be very different.
Jesus loves the little children.
All the children of the world. Runny-nosed, dirty-footed children. Children who would wear the same clothes the next day and the next day and the day after that. They called me "Liz Sista" and sang Nepali songs at me. They would unzip my tent in the morning and say "Sista! Good morning! Play game?" They would take me on hikes to pick mountain berries and I would feel sick from eating so many of them. They would wrap their arms tightly around my hips. They would give me big, slobbery kisses on my cheek and I would return them. They let me carry one of those baskets with a forehead strap and taught me to cut a type of medicinal grass with a small machete.
They followed me everywhere. Little Hindu kids who knew I was going to church where Christians would be wanted to come with me anyway. A young boy, Krisna, followed me to a prayer service. At that meeting the leader of our team was talking about Heaven through a Nepali translator. For the first time, Krisna heard about Jesus and the hope that Christians have.
My favorite moment was with a 5 year old boy named Bibke (beebek). We kept saying our names to each other:
Bibke: "Liz..."
Me: "Bibke..."
"Liz...." "Bibke..."
*giggling
"Liz!" "Bibke!" "Liz!" "Bibke!" "LIZ!" "BIBKE!"
I started tickling him. His laugh is the greatest.
Those kids are so incredibly precious. Even though I couldn't talk to them in a language they understood, I got to show them Jesus and I hope and pray that they will understand His love and know what it means to be friends with God.
They followed me everywhere. Little Hindu kids who knew I was going to church where Christians would be wanted to come with me anyway. A young boy, Krisna, followed me to a prayer service. At that meeting the leader of our team was talking about Heaven through a Nepali translator. For the first time, Krisna heard about Jesus and the hope that Christians have.
My favorite moment was with a 5 year old boy named Bibke (beebek). We kept saying our names to each other:
Bibke: "Liz..."
Me: "Bibke..."
"Liz...." "Bibke..."
*giggling
"Liz!" "Bibke!" "Liz!" "Bibke!" "LIZ!" "BIBKE!"
I started tickling him. His laugh is the greatest.
Those kids are so incredibly precious. Even though I couldn't talk to them in a language they understood, I got to show them Jesus and I hope and pray that they will understand His love and know what it means to be friends with God.
The lowest of the low
Among those precious kids was a boy who all the other kids ignored, punched, and yelled at. Sometimes he would cry because of it. The reason they did this is outrageous. In Hinduism, there is a hierarchy order known as the caste system that's based on what family a person is born into. It starts with the Brahmans and goes all the way down to the Dalits. The Dalits are the lowest of the low. They're also considered the untouchables which means touching such a person has a very horrible meaning.
This boy was a dalit. I know because I heard kids shouting that word at him as they pointed. Just like Jesus is passionate about the lowest of the low, I wanted to be that way too. I decided to be very intentional about giving him affection in front of the other kids. I would choose to hold his hand as we walked in a group and I would pick him up and kiss the side of his forehead. I wanted the other kids to see that I valued him just like I valued the rest of them from higher castes.
When those other kids clobbered him and threw him over the edge of the terrace, you better believe I took those little hands that pushed him and gave them a good slap. Nothing infuriated me more than seeing that boy on the ground weeping from rejection as the other kids laughed at his pain. I picked him up in my arms and said, "I'm sorry... I'm sorry..."
"I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these, you were doing it to me." -Jesus, Matthew 25: 40
This boy was a dalit. I know because I heard kids shouting that word at him as they pointed. Just like Jesus is passionate about the lowest of the low, I wanted to be that way too. I decided to be very intentional about giving him affection in front of the other kids. I would choose to hold his hand as we walked in a group and I would pick him up and kiss the side of his forehead. I wanted the other kids to see that I valued him just like I valued the rest of them from higher castes.
When those other kids clobbered him and threw him over the edge of the terrace, you better believe I took those little hands that pushed him and gave them a good slap. Nothing infuriated me more than seeing that boy on the ground weeping from rejection as the other kids laughed at his pain. I picked him up in my arms and said, "I'm sorry... I'm sorry..."
"I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these, you were doing it to me." -Jesus, Matthew 25: 40
My real home doesn't have earthquakes.
This world is broken and it's not my home. I'm waiting for the day I get to go to my real home. That hope is burning in me after seeing so much brokenness. We Christians have sorrow, but we still understand that this world is not all there is and we're not going to be here that much longer. The world is like the waiting room of an airport.
Now, airport waiting rooms are fine. They're somewhat comfortable. You can entertain yourself there. You have good friends there with you. But, really, you're just waiting to get on the plane and go home. Your real home doesn't have earthquakes. It doesn't have mean people who push kids and call them names. It doesn't have heartbreak or rejection or sickness. It doesn't have motorcycle wrecks or freak accidents. It doesn't have murderers or cheaters or deceivers. A man who finally realizes that an airport waiting room does not satisfy him should not be criticized. Of course it doesn't satisfy him. It's not home!
You should enjoy your life, yes. You should have dreams and goals. You should go through hard stuff, but don't be satisfied here. Don't do it. Your real home is indescribably better and you're going there soon because of the love and forgiveness of Jesus! Be happy! Look at the joy that's ahead of you! Rejoice in hard times! You're going home soon AND YOUR HOME DOESN'T HAVE EARTHQUAKES!
And while you're here, help other people get there. Love them, serve them, live your life for them.
"If I find in myself desires that nothing in this world could satisfy I can come to the conclusion that I was not made for here." -C.S. Lewis
Now, airport waiting rooms are fine. They're somewhat comfortable. You can entertain yourself there. You have good friends there with you. But, really, you're just waiting to get on the plane and go home. Your real home doesn't have earthquakes. It doesn't have mean people who push kids and call them names. It doesn't have heartbreak or rejection or sickness. It doesn't have motorcycle wrecks or freak accidents. It doesn't have murderers or cheaters or deceivers. A man who finally realizes that an airport waiting room does not satisfy him should not be criticized. Of course it doesn't satisfy him. It's not home!
You should enjoy your life, yes. You should have dreams and goals. You should go through hard stuff, but don't be satisfied here. Don't do it. Your real home is indescribably better and you're going there soon because of the love and forgiveness of Jesus! Be happy! Look at the joy that's ahead of you! Rejoice in hard times! You're going home soon AND YOUR HOME DOESN'T HAVE EARTHQUAKES!
And while you're here, help other people get there. Love them, serve them, live your life for them.
"If I find in myself desires that nothing in this world could satisfy I can come to the conclusion that I was not made for here." -C.S. Lewis
Extras
Where were you when the second earthquake happened?
In a squeaky Toyota Land rover a few hours away from the capital after spending 6 days in the mountain village. The car shook and a big boulder rolled from the side of the mountain between the two cars our team was traveling in. We looked behind us and saw a lot of dirt in the air back in the area we just came from: landslide. We felt lots of small and sometimes not so small after shocks up to that point.
How did you get around?
With the two beauties on the ends of my legs. However, we did ride in a truck on dangerous mountain roads for 6-7 hours to get out to the village we would be staying at. Several times, we met another vehicle coming from the opposite direction and were forced to squeeze past each other right next to the edge of the road which was a big, scary drop off the mountain side. Sometimes the slope was so steep, the truck couldn't make it with our weight. We had to get out and walk up hill for a little while as our driver gunned it all the way to the top of the slope. When we traveled from village to village, we would walk and hike.
In a squeaky Toyota Land rover a few hours away from the capital after spending 6 days in the mountain village. The car shook and a big boulder rolled from the side of the mountain between the two cars our team was traveling in. We looked behind us and saw a lot of dirt in the air back in the area we just came from: landslide. We felt lots of small and sometimes not so small after shocks up to that point.
How did you get around?
With the two beauties on the ends of my legs. However, we did ride in a truck on dangerous mountain roads for 6-7 hours to get out to the village we would be staying at. Several times, we met another vehicle coming from the opposite direction and were forced to squeeze past each other right next to the edge of the road which was a big, scary drop off the mountain side. Sometimes the slope was so steep, the truck couldn't make it with our weight. We had to get out and walk up hill for a little while as our driver gunned it all the way to the top of the slope. When we traveled from village to village, we would walk and hike.
Did you ever get to shower?
In our hotel in Kathmandu, yes. In the mountain village, no. I used baby wipes twice but found it almost meaningless because I got so dirty every day. I would wash my face, arms and legs at a small spring water hose that disconnected at one section.
In our hotel in Kathmandu, yes. In the mountain village, no. I used baby wipes twice but found it almost meaningless because I got so dirty every day. I would wash my face, arms and legs at a small spring water hose that disconnected at one section.
What did you eat?
Rice
Goat meat
Daal (surprisingly tasty bean soup)
Meal-Ready-to-Eat. Just add water. Thank you, U.S. military.
Isalu (mountain berry that looks like an orange raspberry)
Banana pancakes (at the hotel)
Nepali tea (the best tea ever. seriously.)
Rice
Goat meat
Daal (surprisingly tasty bean soup)
Meal-Ready-to-Eat. Just add water. Thank you, U.S. military.
Isalu (mountain berry that looks like an orange raspberry)
Banana pancakes (at the hotel)
Nepali tea (the best tea ever. seriously.)
Where did you sleep?
In a tent in a sleeping bag on a ground that was pretty bumpy. I especially felt tremors during the night when my body was lying completely on the ground.
In a tent in a sleeping bag on a ground that was pretty bumpy. I especially felt tremors during the night when my body was lying completely on the ground.
What was your bathroom situation like?
Horrible, terrible, awful. Hole in the ground surrounded by tarp and two planks of wood for each foot when you squatted. It got worse as the week progressed. A feeling of dread overcame me whenever I needed to use it.
Horrible, terrible, awful. Hole in the ground surrounded by tarp and two planks of wood for each foot when you squatted. It got worse as the week progressed. A feeling of dread overcame me whenever I needed to use it.
Most surprising moments?
-In the capital seeing a gold box on a vendor's table labeled "CANNABIS"
-Seeing a woman cook over an open fire with an undershirt, a sweater, and a jacket in hot weather.
-Hearing several loogies being forcefully hocked. Men and women, boys and girls alike.
-Dogs constantly barking right before a huge, scary tremor.
-A goat we named "Dinner" trying to eat my hair.
-Different goat pooping on me.
-Seeing a goat being slaughtered
(probably for dinner that night. Take that, goat. You were tasty).
-Lifting up a kid and seeing then feeling their snot fall on my face.
-Completely peeing on my pants at my rusty attempt to squat.
-In a shop seeing a guitar case completely made of hemp. I bought it.
(THC free)
-In the capital seeing a gold box on a vendor's table labeled "CANNABIS"
-Seeing a woman cook over an open fire with an undershirt, a sweater, and a jacket in hot weather.
-Hearing several loogies being forcefully hocked. Men and women, boys and girls alike.
-Dogs constantly barking right before a huge, scary tremor.
-A goat we named "Dinner" trying to eat my hair.
-Different goat pooping on me.
-Seeing a goat being slaughtered
(probably for dinner that night. Take that, goat. You were tasty).
-Lifting up a kid and seeing then feeling their snot fall on my face.
-Completely peeing on my pants at my rusty attempt to squat.
-In a shop seeing a guitar case completely made of hemp. I bought it.
(THC free)
Are you gonna go back?
Maybe I will for a very short time. The missionary asked me if I'd consider coming back to work with the kids. I'm praying about it.
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