To the Mon and Back

So, over the past couple of days, we've done quite a bit and seen quite a bit of Nepal. We were able to go on a 4 hour trek through the Himalayas and it was STUNNING - as I was trekking, I couldn't believe what I was seeing - it was just so breath taking and while I was taking all of this in, I just kept marvelling at how beautiful and perfect God's creation is - my Father created all of that - I just kept thinking about verses that describe the work of God's hands and how beautiful and perfect it is - seeing all that we saw in the Himalayas really made me keep thinking about His creation and at how blessed I was to see it. The day before, we had the privledge of going to a Leper's Colony and spending some time with them there - we were told that they didn't speak Englsh at all and that it was probably going to be a little awkward at first so before we got there, I was praying that God would give us all boldness and that we would be able to push past that awkwardness and establish some relationships and when we were talking later that night, I realized that we were all deeply affected and influenced by the time that we spent there. Before going, we had gone out and got some treats to take to them (like juice boxes, candy, and lotion to rub on their hands) and it was amazing to see their faces light up when we sat done and just spent some time with them. I was really affected by the time that I spent with a couple of them - after putting Lotion on one man's hands and arms, he turned to me and said something that I got translated which turned out to be 'I want to thank you for travelling so far to spend time with me - if I hadn't gotten leprosy, I never would have met you' - I was so moved by that and realized that time is the best gift that I can give to some and what a blessing it is. When these people got Leprosy, they were considered 'Untouchables', so the fact that we were rubbing lotion on them and just touching them really moved them as some of them hadn't had anyone touch them for 80 years... I had the opportunity to spend time with one woman and hear her testimony and it just broke my heart. She's been a Christian for most of her life which was amazing to hear but what got me was that when she first got Leprosy, her parents didn't outcast her but when she accepted Jesus Christ into her life, that was when her parents kicked her out - she was such an amazing person to meet and her faith in Jesus just amazed me - she said that whatever happened, she would never give up her faith in God. We later performed for them and it was just such a gift to see them smiling and clapping and just enjoying themselves - we were all moved by them and didn't want to leave but we eventually had to. Later that day, we were able to go to an orphanage where about 20 kids are currently living - it was just such a treat to play with these kids and see their smiles - we were able to perform for them also and the biggest hit was the Puppets, some kids just wanted to hug the puppets constantly and dance with them and never let them go. The kids were so playful and joyful and we just ad such an amazing time loving on them and caring for them! Today is our last day in Kathmandu where we are going to one of our translators houses and meeting his 5 kids that he's adopted and raising on his own and then have our last day of Street Ministry here - tomorrow morning, we are going to a city called Pohkara for a week and then we are returning to Kathmandu for a week of debriefing... I can't believe this trip is already half over - I love Nepal so much and I'm just going to keep on enjoying the time that we have left here!