A Four Hour Walk, Just Over that Hill & A Sermon on the Mt.

Me with the Christian fellowship~ it was fun to experience a Christian service Nepali style!

The people were so warm and grateful for my visit~ it was great!

During the training for teachers I met a young man who is currently finishing his education in teaching. His name is Ek Bahadur Gurung and I came to know through the training that he was a Christian, something rather rare in Nepal, and certainly out in the middle of Nepal. We chatted a little about our faith and beliefs and he invited me to his church fellowship. I told him I would be happy to attend and then found that his village w1 1/2 hours walk over the mountains. He makes this walk everyday to get to and from school each day and he walked every day to attend the teachers training as well. I agreed that I would visit his village and attend the church service and we decided on Saturday, August 8, 2009 (my son, Gabriel's birthday...)

While I was in Kathmandu at the bookstore I bought a NIV Bible for Ek Bahdur and a few other books and resources to help support their church. The monsoon has been raining fiercly off and on and I had already decided that if it was raining on this day I would not walk to the village, because the roads would be so muddy and there would be leeches for sure....I spoke to Ek Bahadur on Friday and told him if it was raining I would not go the next day. He said, "Then let's pray for no rain!" Sure enough, Saturday was CLEAR and SUNNY and we set off for his church at 8:15 a.m.

This beautiful cat caught my eye as I walked for hours through the mountains.

We walked through Bandipur past the Three taps area where many of the villagers go to wash their clothes, take baths, and collect water for their homes. As we left the village of Bandipur I felt fine and we began to walk and walk. The view was beautiful as we climbed out of the valley and over the side of one hill and down to the next. The road was a bit muddy from the rains before, but overall the quality of the road was good and it wasn't so hot, at least not as hot as it would be coming back. The walk was hard and long and the 1 1/2 hour walk for Ek Bahadur was a 2 hour walk for me... my face was red and I had to stop a few times when climbing really high hills, but I was okay. I have to admit I was tired and happy once we arrived! Pradeep, the manager of the Gaun Ghar Hotel, was with us and he walked so carefully in his perfectly ironed white long sleeved button down shirt and black shiny shoes! He was dressed for church, I was dressed for survival!!! (LOL!!)

"It's just over that hill." ~ Famous Last Words in Nepal! :)

After some time I couldn't help but ask..."Are we almost there???" "How much longer?"

He kept saying, "Just over that hill...." and I kept seeing hills that looked close, but I knew they were not!!!

Finally we got to his village, whose inhabitants come from three different tribes than are commonly found in Bandipur and the surrounding areas. The village and the people "looked" different and they even speak different languages. I told him I can only speak English and very little Nepali... and he taught me how to say, "Hi!" in Gurung... the children just looked at me like I was crazy... this happens often in Nepal.

The service was held in their "church" which was a small mud and grass hut, made in the common style of their tribe. It was quite interesting and wonderful! There were about 20 people including children and they all sang and spoke in Nepali actually. They used the Nepali drum to sing their songs and it sounded beautiful. The service was somewhat different than I have seen in the United States, but many things were the same. They said The Lord's Prayer, and read different scriptures, they took an offering, and gave testimonies of how they became Christian. Then I was asked to share something with them.

I shared my simple advice and favorite scriptures~ I talked about my Faith, Forgiveness, and Love~ They asked me questions about facing hardships in life and how to deal with the suffering of others~ We also discussed how to respond to those family members and friends who were not accepting of Christianity~ Faith, Forgiveness, Compassion & Love.... same as Buddha would say, or what we find in most faiths.... :)

It was a blessed day.