Whoa! We're Halfway There

It’s so hard to believe that after four weeks, I’m halfway through my contextual ministry placement. Time seems to be going by so quickly and so slowly at the same time. I am excited for what this next month holds, somewhat saddened that my time here is growing short, but also thankful that I will be back in American soon. It is a strange mixture of emotions, but I think I’m learning to process them healthily.

This blog is all about stories. Over the course of this week, I had the opportunity to speak with many people about many things. I am thankful that I had the opportunity to sit (or walk with) and listen to so many people’s stories.

Tuesday, the shop owner took the day off for a much-needed rest after her visit to the village, so it was me and the girls again. The day was pretty uneventful until I left the salon. As I walked home on my usual route, I saw a new shop. I thought it was strange; this shop had not been here my entire time in Kathmandu. The shop keeper, a young Nepali woman, saw me looking and invited me to see her shop. I looked inside this room perhaps half the size of my bedroom in Atlanta and saw paper goods:  plates, tissue, q-tips, homemade soaps, and the like. Most little shops like this only sell snacks and vegetables, so this one caught my attention. I looked to the right and saw a boy, eight-years old, sitting at a desk doing his homework. His English was very good, so we talked for a minute or so. His mother invited me to sit down and spoke with me for a while. She gave me a mango (a sign of hospitality) and started to ask me questions. Her English was limited, so she asked me many basic questions about my life in America (job, if I was married, how many siblings I have). With my broken Nepali and her broken English, we were able to talk for over an hour. Her family’s story is something I never want to forget.

She has a Bachelor’s degree, but cannot find work. Her husband has a Master’s degree in Administration, is certified to teach +2 (which I think is similar to an Associate’s degree), and speaks English very well, but cannot get a job. The school board approves his written application and he does well in his spoken interviews, but they will not hire him. Other applicants bribe the school board with money, which they accept, and only hire those applicants. Out of integrity this man does not bribe the board; as a result, they do not hire him. This scandal has happened at each of the dozens of schools he has applied to. Out of frustration and desperation, they decided to open the shop. When I met her, they had only been open for two days. As she told me their story, she kept saying, “Life is struggle.”

In the midst of that struggle, they have high hopes for their son. Despite their lack of vocational success with their levels of education, she and her husband strongly encourage their son in his studies. As I sat in the shop, she made sure he finished his homework before he went to play with his friends. I asked him what his favorite subject is, and his face lit up when he replied, “Science!” He is a very smart kid and I hope he can go to university one day.

I also got to meet her husband. He is a very kind man who wants what is best for his family. From my brief interaction with him, I would describe him as a man of good character, determination, and compassion.

I want to help this family. I started to ask my friends here if they know of any good schools this man could apply to work. The only problem is that most of the people in I know in the educational circuit here belong to private Christian schools, and this family is either Hindu or Buddhist. Please, if you feel led, join with me in prayer that a school board of integrity would find this man, recognize his credentials, and hire him. I cannot imagine the fear and uncertainty they face as a family trying to live and support their son.

Wednesday, the salon owner came back. Oh, what joy I felt to see her! She is such a bright, beautiful light and I missed her so much over the past week. After she put her bag down, we went to the office and she told me of her time in the village. I have heard story after story of poverty in the villages, but it is so different when these stories come from the experience of someone you love.

Her village is rural and traditional. Every morning, the women have to wake up at 3 am to walk miles and collect water. Once they collect the water, they must carry them on their backs back to the village. These tanks of water weigh at least 35 pounds, if not more. They must carry these tanks for miles up the steep hill on which their village sits. Then, they spend hours in the hot sun, cutting grass for the water buffalo to eat; she showed me the cut on her calf from the tool she used to cut the grass. There was little safe drinking water, so, even though she got very sick one day, she did not drink much, if at all. Even though she was only visiting her family, she still had to do all of the tasks required of the women of her village. She was understandably exhausted. Even though she did not enjoy her time in the village, she still loves her village. She told me with great compassion and pain about how she wants to help the people in her village, especially the young girls. I cannot imagine coming like a place like that and wanting nothing more than to go back and try to help. Although she would never admit it, this woman has a heart of gold.

Thursday, after our time at the salon, I went home with the American overseer. We shared a good night of conversation and laughter. She shared with me about her time at the Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry and I shared with her about my time at Carson-Newman and the McAfee School of Theology. Despite our different schooling backgrounds, she was surprised by my openness and experience with supernatural encounters with God. It was also a great time to learn more about her and her background. I am thankful for the experience.

I was so grateful for the weekend. I had the opportunity to see much of Kathmandu and to learn more about Nepali life in Kathmandu. After church (which I could understand more of! The sermon was on the importance of prayer for ourselves, for our family, for our community, for our country, and for the world), I went with two of my friends to explore the hills surrounding the Kathmandu valley. Despite the rain, we enjoyed four hours of walking, hiking, and exploring. It was so much fun! The views of Kathmandu from different points in the hills were beautiful. We also explored little nooks and crannies, like the one lone, tin café smaller than my bedroom where we enjoyed a traditional Nepali snack (and I held my own with the boys as we ate some very spicy chili peppers). They also showed me some beautiful parks and gardens and told me the history of each place.  After our 7ish mile adventure, we went back to the pastor’s house, where we shared a wonderful meal, great fellowship, and a good night’s rest. Their home is full of such joy and I am thankful that they are welcoming me into their community. They want me to come more often and want to get to know me more =)

Sunday was a holiday for the Kathmandu valley, so the schools were closed. The salon owner could not stay home to watch her son, so she asked me if he could come over. I happily agreed. He is nine-years-old, and such a fantastic kid. He is so smart and mature; I keep thinking he’s twelve or thirteen. That morning, I taught him how to play some Western games that were lying about the house (Phase 10 and Guess Who?). He creamed me at Phase 10, and was very proud of himself for doing so. Then, he showed me how he cooks omelets Nepali style. After a delicious lunch, he taught me how to play cricket. We played cricket and badminton for hours. Then, we raced each other back to the salon to meet his mom. That may be one of my favorite days thus far. He wants to come back and play again soon =)

Monday, my plans fell through, so I spent the morning and early afternoon exploring Kathmandu. I did much walking; it was nice to be able to walk around Kathmandu and know how to get places =) It’s strange, and wonderful, how natural life here is starting to become. It’s becoming normal to walk miles every day, to take a took-took every now and then, to buy fresh produce at the little mart just down the road from my house.

That afternoon, my new friends at the paper-goods shop invited me sit with them. The wife had to go to the bank (something that is not normal in Nepali culture) and pick up her son from school, so I sat and spoke with her husband. He explained to me that they have a bank account set aside for their son’s education. Every week or every month, they put something into the account so he can go to university later. “It is little what we put in, but it will grow.” They put 500 rupees in the account that day. That is roughly 5 American dollars.

As I sat with him, he explained to me the culture of his old village, how he left the village because Kathmandu is the only place in Nepal someone can go to university, and how he and his family are breaking away from the cultural norm. He expressed to me his frustration with corruption in the government, how the constitution of Nepal grants the people many of the same rights Americans have but politicians do not grant these rights to the people. “People do not know they have rights because no one has told them.” He expressed his desire to see the caste system die. “God only made three things:  man, animals, and plants. Everything else is manmade and should be ignored. Caste system is manmade.” He expressed to me his desire to get his PhD in Administration and to make change in his country. His frustrations and desires inspire me and I want for him to get in a position of influence in Nepal.

Shortly after his wife and son returned, they invited me into their home to share a snack. I’m not sure what I expected… but it wasn’t this. The son pulled back the curtain to their doorway and beckoned me inside. I stepped in, ducking because the doorframe is so low. It took every ounce of self-control I have to not cry. Their home is small, only two rooms:  kitchen and bedroom. Both rooms combined are maybe the size of the living room in my apartment in Atlanta. The only furniture they have are two beds. Along the dirty, pale pink wall, they had hammered nails. On these nails hung their clothes because they have no closet. On the wall next to the door hung their son’s academic calendar, placed where they can see it every day. I sat on the floor in the kitchen and watched the wife make some traditional Nepali flat bread. She said to me, “House is small.” But for all its smallness, it is a home, and a place where each of its residents show a beautiful kind of love. In their home, there is a love that encourages their son to be all he can be. In their home, there is a love that inspires a man to show respect to his wife, even though it contradicts the culture of his family. In their home, there is a love that welcomes an ignorant foreigner and asks for nothing in return. This kind of love adds something that no coat of paint, piece of furniture, or material object can add. In response to her statement, I looked her in the eye and said, “It is beautiful.”

After we broke bread, I told them I needed to leave; I admit shamefully I wasn’t sure how much more my heart could take. We made arrangements for me to share breakfast with them the following Monday (early enough so that their son is still there before he leaves for school). I am excited and honored to continue to build this relationship with them.

All in all, this week has been wonderful. I have been so blessed by the hospitality of so many people. I am excited for what this next month holds and for the adventures I will have. Thank you for your continued prayers as I learn to minister through presence, not just words.

Nepal Week 3

This week has been hard:  physically hard, mentally hard, and emotionally hard. I did not realize how much I took comfort in having some good American friends so close. I also did not realize how much I have grown to love the shop owner; I missed her greatly this week. Many times, especially when I ate dinner by myself, I just felt lonely. Granted, I’ve also been out of the country for a month and a half at this point in my journey and this is the first time I haven’t had a close friend nearby. I’m not homesick necessarily, but I am definitely people sick. I miss my friends and my family.

I’ve also felt discouraged this week. As I’ve sat behind a desk and recorded all of the salon’s receipts they have collected since November, I have not felt as though I’m doing ministry. Other than the occasional cleaning I’ve helped with, I’ve been in the office all week. It’s also been strange to have so much responsibility at the shop. They gave me my own set of keys so I could open the shop in the owner’s absence, asked me to record the daily finances, and asked me to supervise the cleaning. It’s an honor to know that they trust me so deeply so quickly and I do not want to do anything to jeopardize that trust; I just find it strange that they have done so this quickly. In all of this, I feel as though I’ve been learning how to run a business, not necessarily doing the ministry I thought I was doing this summer. I know all of these things are very important and still a vital part of ministry, but it’s hard to remember that when you sit behind a desk and crunch numbers for hours on end.

I’ve also been discouraged by the increase of Westernization I’ve seen in Kathmandu. There are so many businesses geared towards foreigners, owned by foreigners, that just… take away from Kathmandu. All of the workers in these businesses are Nepali. While it is good that these businesses provide much-needed jobs, I think that they also promote an unhealthy mindset. None of the customers they serve are local; they are all white foreigners. When is it good business and when is it reinforcing the awful idea of white supremacy? Granted, I’ve been to one such coffee shop on multiple occasions to enjoy some coffee, use the wifi and speak with the staff,so I can’t pretend that I haven’t used those businesses, but I still feel uneasy about the whole concept. I can’t help but feel that I’m feeding a kind of ethnic hierarchy that I want no part of.

In light of this week’s struggles, I spent the best three dollars I think I’ve ever spent and I called my best friend. It was so encouraging to hear her voice and to laugh about silly things. She also asked me questions about India and Nepal that reminded me why I decided to go on this trip and how I really do feel God’s calling here. She spoke so many encouraging words to me that I will never be able to thank her enough for. She also helped me to start processing what I’m feeling about the Westernization I see; I’m nowhere close to any kind of resolution, but she helped me get started. Part of what I’m going to do is go to these places less often. Besides, it’s kind of fun to go into the small Nepali cafés and try to have conversations with people; if nothing else, it gives them a good laugh =) My friend really helped me to remember why I’m here. She also reminded me that all of these businessie things I’m doing are still ministry and still help the girls. I thank God for her, her wisdom, and her precious, precious friendship to me. At this point in the summer, she is exactly what I needed. Sometimes you just need your best friend.

There have been several good things this week, I promise! I got to help the girls at the shop prepare lunch almost every day. I impressed them with the one Nepali food I know how to make that they didn’t know how to make (quite a surprise for all of us, haha!). It’s like flat corn bread that you make in a skillet. I have no idea what the name of it is; I just watched the shop owner make it my first week here and copied what she did. Other times, we just laughed at how I tried to cut tiny little onions with gigantic knives because that’s all we have in the kitchen. Needless to say, those times were really wonderful bonding moments for me and the girls. Those were probably my favorite parts of each day.

I also got to spend a lot of time with the overseer. We finished one of the biggest projects they wanted to finish while I’m here this summer:  organize and record all of the receipts. Neither of us are particularly fond of math, so it was a long week for both of us. We are so glad to have that done and that’s one less thing the owner has to worry about when she gets back from the village. We still have a few kinks to work out with the budget, but that will get easier as we keep better track of how they spend their finances.

Saturday was a breath of fresh air. I decided to go to the church I went to last week. I wasn’t exactly sure how to get there, but that made it kind of exciting. I took a taxi to the intersection. This taxi driver is wonderful. I’ve used his taxi several times because he is genuinely kind. Many taxi drivers try to charge you high prices just to see how much they can get. This man always gives a fair price and does everything in his power to make sure I arrive there safely. He also takes the fastest route instead of driving around just to drive up the price. Even when I don’t need a taxi ride, he smiles at me whenever he sees me and asks me how my day is. As I’m learning more Nepali, I’m excited to learn more about him.

After I got out at the intersection, I couldn’t quite remember the path I took last week to get to the church. I turned down one street that looked familiar and started walking. At this point, I do know enough Nepali to ask for directions if I need them. I didn’t need too; it turns out I picked the right street =) As I got closer to the church, I heard something that I haven’t heard in ages:  the sound of someone calling my name, my American name, from a distance. I love my Nepali name, but there’s just something wonderful and homelike about someone calling your name. I looked up to see friends my McAfee friend introduced me to last week running up to greet me. Then, they each gave me a hug. One of my primary love languages is physical touch, especially through hugs. I did not realize how much I’ve missed hugs this week. That few seconds of calling my name and giving me a hug did wonders for my heart. They said they were happily surprised to see me. We spent some time catching up and then went into the service.

After the service, they invited me to stay for the youth group (youth is relative; there were several people my age and a little older as well as teenagers). They asked me to share a message from scripture (which is pretty common over here). I gave an impromptu lesson on the fruit of the Spirit; it’s something that’s been heavy on my heart and the team-building focus I’m using with the girls at the salon this summer. After that, we did something I’ve never done before. We walked through Kathmandu and gave people tracks. I’m sure we looked like quite a sight:  a group of local people and one foreigner who knows next to no Nepali. It was really fun. I got to know several of the people better and got to talk with some of the people I gave tracks too. After about an hour or so, we went back to the church and had lunch, which consisted of biscuits (cookies) and sprite. We laughed at some of the funny antics of one of the guys and we asked each other questions about family, work, and the like. It was so much fun; they really welcomed me in like one of their own. I made plans for Monday to see an organization that one of them runs to increase literacy and provide books to impoverished parts of Nepal, and I’m supposed to have dinner with her family sometime soon. It was just so nice to have community when I’ve felt so isolated the past couple of days. I am excited to get to know them better.

Sunday, I went to a foreigner church. In many ways, it reminded me of BCM at Carson-Newman and my church back in Tennessee. We were in the gym of a school with lawn chairs set up. They also had an electric keyboard, a drum set, an acoustic guitar, and a bass guitar. There was every kind of foreigner imaginable:  American, Russian, Chinese, African, British, Scottish, and even some local Nepali people. The service was in English. It was nice to be in a church that I did not have to struggle to understand the message or the lyrics of the song. Don’t get me wrong, I love the Nepali church I’ve been going to; I just don’t know enough Nepali yet to understand most of what’s going on.

Monday was absolutely wonderful. I met up with one of my friends from church to see an organization that she and some of her classmates started. It was originally just a project for their social work program at the university, but, moved by the great need in their country, they decided to make it an official organization. It’s called Quality Education Nepal (QEN) and their goal is to improve education in some of the most rural parts of Nepal. One of their biggest projects is collecting educational books to improve libraries in schools and in communities. Right now, they are working with an extremely poor school that meets in a one-room community center. The need in this particular community is very great; my friend explained to me that the teenagers cannot read English or Nepali and most of them cannot identify colors by name. We spent several hours making educational posters to help the students learn to identify shapes, colors, days of the week, and such. If you are interested in learning more or about how you can help, please contact me via Facebook or by email (krfreels73@gmail.com).

After we made several posters, the volunteers and trainees went home and my friend and one of her coworkers invited me to go to Bhatipur with them. I’ve been in Nepal for three weeks now, and they were surprised at how little I’ve seen outside of my neighborhood and the surrounding streets. Bhatipur is one of the old kingdoms in Kathmandu Valley. We met up with some of their friends and started to explore. Bhatipur has worked hard to maintain its cultural identity. The old buildings are still there and still in use. They took me to see one of the old palaces of a former king, a nearby temple, and some of their favorite cites in Bhatipur. They also had me try curd (yogurt) because Bhatipur is known all over the world for its curd; it was mito cha (delicious)! We then went to one of their favorite places:  a pond to feed fish. It was so nice to just sit and laugh with some people and enjoy the company. It was also nice to be somewhere quiet. At the pond, we did not hear the constant sound of car horns and busses driving by. We just heard the splash of water and the cries of birds. It was such a nice afternoon. They want to show me more of their lovely country, so we are making plans to go to the foothills after church on Saturday. I am so excited to see more of Nepal and to see more of what this church community looks like.

So, this week started out hard, but got better. I am glad to be making friends and to have a church community I enjoy. I am also thankful for the hard things of this week; office work is not the first thing I think of when I think of ministry, but I am learning that it is important and necessary. 

Nepal Week Two

Let me walk you through a typical day here in Nepal:  The sun starts to rise around 5 am; I get up around 7. After breakfast, I walk around the city a little bit. Sometimes I go to a coffee shop to use the wifi to check on family and friends; other times (if I’m feeling particularly brave) I go into a small Nepali café and order dood coschia (milk tea) and try to speak to the auntie in Nepali. As I get better at speaking Nepali, I hope to go into more shops like this and less cafés geared towards Westerners. It’s my personal growth challenge to be brave and to learn more Nepali. Around 10 o’clock, I make my way to the salon. It’s a short walk from where I live and from the coffee shop I’ve been frequenting. I get to the shop around 10:15 and help the shop owner open. At 10:30, we have a prayer meeting. At 11 o’clock, if there are no customers, I have an English/Western Culture lesson with the girls for about an hour. Then, they do some cleaning and the shop owner fixes lunch. The rest of the day is filled with meeting with the shop overseer, brainstorming future lessons, curriculum ideas, and team building exercises, organizing the paperwork and materials for the training school, sorting through old receipts and bills, or taking a moment of free time with the girls to learn more about them. At 6 o’clock, we close up shop. Then, I might stop by a small shop near my house and get some vegetables on the way home. I try to be in by 7 because it starts to get dark around that time. I’ve been advised against walking by myself at night, so I make sure to avoid that scenario. I’ll cook dinner, read or study Nepali (depending on whether or not I have power), and then head to bed around 9 or 10. That’s what most Tuesdays-Fridays look like. It’s always busy, never the same, and very exciting. That’s pretty much what this week looked like.

I’m starting to learn more about the women at the salon. Each one of them has a beautiful story and I am so excited to find out more about each of them. One of the girls comes from a big family that’s always lived in Kathmandu; the other comes from a small family and has a sister who lives in a village. Both of them have beautiful smiles and servants’ hearts. The owner of the shop has a Bachelor’s in Social Work and wants to get her Master’s in Women’s Studies. She also has an extremely supportive husband who fights for justice on an international level and a son who is more compassionate and mature than most kids his age. The salon overseer has lived in Nepal for 8 years and has traveled the world to look for God’s calling on her life. Each of them have beautiful stories and I am excited to be a small part of their stories.

This weekend, I spent some time with one of my McAfee friends. I had the opportunity to see Nepal through her eyes. I got to see the place she called home for nine months. I got to worship in the church she still calls her own and had the joy of hearing her preach there. I had the pleasure of meeting her adopted family and saw how they welcomed her like their own daughter. I got to see some of her favorite shops, favorite hills, favorite views, and her favorite people. Not only did I get to see these beautiful things, I got to be a participant. She and her friends and family welcomed me in with open arms. After spending a couple of days with the people in her Nepal, I understand why she loves it so much. The people here love her so genuinely and so compassionately that it’s impossible to not reciprocate that kind of love. The opportunity to watch these relationships blessed my heart so deeply because it is so beautiful to see a love that crosses nations, languages, and religions. That kind of love is a beautiful gift.

This week I would greatly covet your prayers. Yesterday (Tuesday June 10), the owner of the shop told me she had to leave to deal with a cultural emergency concerning her family back in her home village (about 13 hours away by bus). It is a stressful situation for her, and I know she would appreciate your prayers as she journeys to deal with this issue. She will be gone the rest of the week, maybe longer. I would covet your prayers during this time as well. Because the shop overseer has university classes in the mornings and early afternoons, I am now in charge of opening, running, and closing the shop. It’s a little nerve wracking; I’ve never done anything like this before and I have no experience in cosmetology or beauty training. I would specifically ask for prayers of discernment as I work with the girls, capability as I record the finances, and an open heart to remember why God has me here this summer. I would also appreciate prayers for company. Today, my McAfee friends leave Nepal. I am starting to make friends elsewhere, but it is a little sad to know that some of my good friends will no longer be a short bus ride away.

It’s an exciting journey, for sure! You never know what’s around the corner. I am still excited for what God’s doing here this summer and for how I fit into this puzzle. I hope and pray that we continue to grow as a community and that I will not get bogged down in the logistical side of things that I forget to do the ministry kinds of things. 

Week One in NEPAL!

So, I’m FINALLY caught up on my blog posts and I can tell you about my first week in Nepal. It is beautiful here. As the three of us walked out of the airport, I was captivated by what looked to be a replica of the Smokey Mountains. I said, “Oh my goodness, look at the mountains!” My friend, who had lived in Nepal for nine months four years ago, laughed and said, “Kali, those are hills.”

As we walked outside the airport, I saw the woman with whom I’ve been planning my contextual ministry. She greeted me with a smile, and hug, and an enthusiastic, “Welcome to Nepal!” After a few quick introductions, I separated from my two McAfee friends and left to see my home for the next two months. This goodbye wasn’t bittersweet; we knew we’d see each other over the next few weeks.

The house I am staying in is nice, nicer than I expected. I am blessed to have a kitchen and refrigerator (so I can save money by buying groceries instead of eating out all the time), a washing machine (which I did NOT at all expect), a comfortable bed, a desk to do my school work, a short walk to my ministry placement, and neighbors. I am not roughing it by any means, which is a blessing. I do want to make an effort to explore the city more, though. I want to get to know the people.

One thing that is very different than the US is how conscious the Nepali people are of their energy consumption. Kathmandu runs on hydroelectric energy. The government rations the amount of electricity everyone gets every day.  The city is divided into 7 zones, and each of the 7 zones has no power for two parts of the day. It rotates so that each zone has no energy at different times, but everyone has roughly the same amount of power each day. During the winter when there is less water, people get less electricity. In the summer a.k.a. monsoon season, people get more energy. While this seems like a hassle, I think it is brilliant. How much energy could the US save if we did something similar? How many non-renewable resources could we conserve if we did something like this? I know that this kind of energy rationing would cause only a million and a half hissy fits across the country, but I think that the world could learn from Kathmandu’s example.

This week, I got to meet the people at the ministry I’m volunteering with. They are so wonderful. The owner of the salon is a small, feisty, compassionate Nepali woman who radiates the love of God. She gave me the warmest smile the moment she saw me. There are also two young women, one older than me and one younger than me, working in the salon. They are both graduates of the six-month training school the ministry puts on once or twice a year. One is a Christian and one is a Buddhist. They are both sweet girls and I am excited for the opportunity to get to know them. I also met the business visionary. She is an American who’s lived in Nepal for several years. They immediately welcomed me into their family and I feel at home here. They even gave me a Nepali name, partially out of wanting to welcome me and partially so people wouldn’t laugh at me. Kali in Nepali is an endearing, kind of joking term that means “blackie” to kid someone affectionately about her dark complexion. Because I am very obviously white, this presents a comical problem. They gave me the name Asha, the Nepali word for hope. I like this name =)

Let me take a moment to clarify the ministry. I am working at a salon that also does trainings for women who have either been exploited or are at risk to be exploited in the sex trafficking industry. Recently, they opened a salon to fund their ministry efforts. I am helping them make their business functional while preparing new material for them to use in their mobile, month-long training/devotional ministry. Needless to say, I am in for a busy, wonderful summer.

Thursday and Friday we nailed down exactly what my responsibilities are going to be this summer. My biggest responsibility is to help the two salon employees with their English and to do discipleship/mentorship with them. They also want me to do some team building with all of the employees at the salon. After that, I am to organize their papers and materials for the training school they offer. Along with the six-month program, they offer a month-long mobile program that they take into the homes of formerly exploited women. They want this ministry to be devotional and educational, so they are asking me to write a devotional curriculum that goes along with the educational curriculum of self-care (for example, care for the feet and “beautiful are the feet that bring good news”). When I am not doing those things, I am helping organize monthly receipts, helping run errands, and typing up lessons. It’s never a dull moment, for sure.

Friday evening, I had the pleasure to go to the salon owner’s home for dinner. She has a simple home, but you can tell she is proud of how beautiful it is. She immediately changed into a dress that Nepali women wear traditionally around the house and started cooking dinner. I sat in the kitchen and she excitedly showed me how to prepare a traditional Nepali dinner. Soon, her son, husband, and mother-in-law returned. Her son is the sweetest boy. He is so polite and fun to laugh with. Her husband is very kind and so supportive of all his wife is doing. Her mother-in-law is so sweet. She does not speak any English, but the boy translated for my sake. At one point, she did not want me to leave, but to stay with them. After one short evening, I was welcomed as part of their family. I was, and still am, deeply touched by their hospitality.

Saturday I went to church with a friend. Saturday is the only day most Nepali people get off from work, so Nepali Christians go to church on Saturday instead of Sunday. It was quite a hike! I went with the friend who met me at the airport. Every word of the service was in Nepali, but it was beautiful. The woman who preached the sermon was passionate about the message and the people were genuine in their worship. It was a nice service. After church, we met up with one of the girls from the salon to shop and bond over typical girl time. It was nice to get to know her a little bit outside of the shop.

Sunday, I got to see my McAfee friends. Even though I’d only been at the salon a couple of days, it was nice to see some familiar faces. We spent the day together, shopped a little, and then took a taxi to Nagarkot, a hillside village just outside of Kathmandu. It was one of my friend’s birthday and she wanted to revisit a hotel in Nagarkot to watch the sunrise over the Himalayas in the morning. We stayed up part of the night, laughing, joking, and telling stories, and then got up at 4:45 to watch the sunrise. There are few things more beautiful than watching the sun kiss the snow-capped mountains of the Himalayas first thing in the morning, including the peak of Mt. Everest. While I’m sad that my camera is not working, I know that I could never do that view justice. After the sunrise, we trekked a little way down the mountain to a bus station and took a bus back into Kathmandu. We enjoyed lunch together and then went back to our perspective dwellings.

Other than that, there’s not much to report. I have been so blessed by the open arms of the women at the salon. I already feel like one of the family and am astounded at how compassionate they are towards me. I love them so much and I am excited to do ministry alongside them this summer.

Pune

After Kolkata, we jumped on a plane to Pune. It was a bittersweet plane ride because we knew it would be our last as a group. In a few short days, we would disperse literally all over the world:  Thailand, France, Atlanta, and Nepal. It was hard to believe that our 2 ½ week journey together was almost at an end.

When we got to Pune, we were greeted by one of our group member’s friends and church family. She lived in Pune for 5 years as a teenager and considers Pune to be like home. They gave each of us a wreath of flowers to wear, provided a nice bus for us, and gave us lunch to eat on the way to Arangabad. It was a touching moment.

Five hours after climbing on the bus, we arrived in Arangabad. We saw some beautiful caves. Now, when our professors told us we would see caves on this trip, I pictured holes in the sides of mountains. Those were not the caves we saw. These caves were magnificent temples that people carved into the sides of the mountains hundreds and hundreds of years ago. There were three temples:  a Hindu temple, a Buddhist temple, and a Jain temple. It was amazing to me that a) so many different temples were so close to each other and that b) people carved these temples out of the solid rock of the mountain. The next day, we drove back to Pune.

When we got back to Pune, we did some shopping. Our local group member showed us her favorite places to shop and some of her favorite parts of Pune. Then, we went to her parents’ house to debrief and spend our last night together as a group. We held a small worship service and shared a meal together. Some of us stayed at the house and the rest of the group stayed at the YMCA down the road. In the morning, we would say our goodbyes.

It was a strange feeling in the morning. I was excited about going to Nepal to start my contextual ministry placement, but I was sad to be leaving this wonderful group of people. As the rest of the group came to pick up the group members not going to Nepal, a strange mixture of sadness and joy hung in the air. We all knew that it wasn’t goodbye forever; most of us have classes together in the fall. It’s just… many of us had gotten to know each other on a much deeper level. People who had just been friendly faces in the hall at school are now good friends. People who had merely been acquaintances are now close companions. I could go on and on about how close-knit our group became, but no words can ever do justice to an experience like this. We all knew that experiences like this one (the trip, the group dynamics, and the leadership) only come once in a lifetime, and we were fortunate enough to share it together. I think that as we joined hands to pray together, the reality of this idea dawned on us. One of our group members blessed those of us going on to different countries with a beautiful prayer, and then we said some very tear-filled goodbyes. After several long hugs and loving words, the group departed. As the three of us going on to Nepal stood on the side of the road and waved goodbye to our friends in the bus, the realness of the rest of this summer hit me. I am about to go to Nepal for two months. 

Bodh Gaya and Kolkata

After our stay in Hyderabad, we flew to Patna and hopped on a bus to Bodh Gaya, the place of the Buddha’s enlightenment. After a five-hour bus ride, we settled in for the evening, had a discussion on one of the Buddhists’ holy texts, and rested up for the next day.

It was very different than the other temples we had been to up to this point. The temple was located in a beautiful location, surrounded by trees and flowers. Because it was so far out in the countryside, it was quiet, which is a rarity in India. Everywhere you looked, monks and visitors alike were meditating through sitting, prostrating, and walking. Others chanted prayers and still others sat under the Bodhi Tree, the tree under which Buddha received enlightenment. From the moment we stepped into the gate, it was obvious to all of us that this was a very sacred place to many people.

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed our time here. As I walked around the grounds, I was moved and inspired by the monks’ devotion to their spiritual disciplines. I thought about how different our lives as Christians could be if we took our devotion to the teachings of Jesus as seriously as these monks took their devotions to the teachings of Buddha. How much stronger would our faith be if we took the time to seek God through prayer and sit in God’s presence through meditation consistently? How different would our lives be if we prayed Holy Scripture daily? I think many Christians could learn much from the devotion of the Buddhist monks we encountered that day.

Inspired, I took some time to meditate. I sat under a tree, closed my eyes, and concentrated on one thing I am usually quick to forget about:  the peace of God. Every time my mind wondered, I repeated the word “shalom”, the Hebrew word for peace, over and over until I regained my focus. Honestly, it is the most relaxed and peace-filled I have been in months. It felt as though the peace of God was wrapped around me like a blanket and I felt at comforted. Before I knew it, a half-hour had passed. It seemed like no time at all.

After my time of meditation, I ran into a monk. He invited me to participate in a prayer. After a moment’s consideration, I decided to do it. I am secure in my faith, I know that God is the god of all, and that Buddha was just a man. I wanted to show this man the love of Christ by learning more about his tradition. Honestly, the prayers were prayers that any good Christian should pray anyways:  help me not to lie; help me not to steal; help me be patient; help me be generous; help me fight against injustice. For me, it was a time to reassess my values and the way I walk out my Christian faith. I asked God to help me in all of those areas. It was a nice moment. He then asked for the first names of my family members so that he could pray for them. I wrote them down, touched that he wanted to pray for my family. Then, things became a little awkward; he wanted money for walking me through the prayer. I gave a little, but I felt uneasy about it. For me, it kind of ruined the sweet moment of interfaith conversation we had just had.

Later, I found out that some of my classmates experienced the same thing with the same monk. One of our professors helped us process the situation; I am so thankful for his wise words. He reminded us that in every religion, Christianity included, there are people who will use faith to their advantage to get something that they want. I thought of televangelists who always ask for money, organizations who ask for money but do very little ministry, and Christians who justify their actions by saying “it’s ok; we prayed first.” This helped me to not judge the entire Buddhist community by the actions of one corrupt monk. My hope is that my Christian brothers and sisters around the world can do the same for every religion, race, and ethnic group. We do others a grave injustice when we judge their entire group by the actions of just a few.

Our stay in Bodh Gaya was short, just one day. After that, we flew to Kolkata. This is the part of the trip I was the most excited about. Since my freshman year of undergrad, I have felt as if the Lord is calling me to do long-term ministry in Kolkata to work with victims of human trafficking. It was hard to believe that I was going to walk the streets of this city. I was nervous, excited, and happy all at the same time.

Kolkata is very different from Hyderabad. It is busier, more Western, and hotter. There was also more poverty than we had seen in Hyderabad; people slept on the sidewalks during all times of the day, clothed in little more than rags. Men washed themselves on the sides of the road, drinking that same water as it rolled down their bodies. Older women sat on the sides of the road, collection bowl in front of them, too tired to ask people for money. In contrast to this awful poverty is the Westernization of the city. More people drove individual cars instead of riding public transit. More people walked around in blue jeans and t-shirts. More restaurants like Pizza Hut, KFC, and McDonald’s were everywhere. In many ways, it is not much different than the poorest parts of Atlanta. There are just many, many more people

Our first full day contained more contrast than I think I’ve ever seen in my life. We started the day with another temple visit. It was the Kalighat Durgakali temple, another Kali temple. This Kali temple was about as different as it could be from the Mahankali temple in Hyderabad. As soon as we entered the domain, we felt a desperation, almost frenzy, among the people. Our guide instructed us to stay close to the group, hold tight to our bags, and to not lose sight of the group. As we approached the temple, we were pushed by the people trying to get inside. When we got to where the image of the deity was, the people showed no reverence. They pushed and shoved each other out of the way, desperate to get to the deity. I didn’t even see a priest giving out blessings. Our guide explained to us that because Kali destroys evil, everyone was desperate to get to her to get rid of the bad things in their lives (anger, etc). I can write all day and never find the words to describe the darkness of that place. At least at the other temples I could see why it was a sacred place to the Hindu people. Nothing about this temple felt sacred.

After the Kali temple, we went to the home of the Sisters of Charity, the order that Mother Theresa founded. We registered to volunteer with them later in the week and looked around the monastery. We actually got to see Mother Theresa’s tomb. It was a somber and holy moment for the group. We sat on the benches surrounding the tomb and stared at the flowers on her grave. They spelled out the words “Prayer changes everything”. It was a peaceful place, but I found myself overwhelmed with the ministry of this woman. She was so brave and so obedient to the will of God. She literally changed the world and saved the lives of so many people in India. All she did was love. How different would the church be if we obeyed the command to simply love?

The next day, we went to Serempore. This is the place where William Carey, the first Baptist missionary, founded a university for the Indian peoples in the 1800’s. We had the opportunity to meet with the current president of the university, see the Carey museum, and see many of the original books from Carey’s library. As we walked through the library that students currently use, I was filled with so much hope. I saw books on equality, psychology, sociology, physics, every subject imaginable. It filled me with such hope to see such strides in education in a developing country. It gives me much hope for the future.

After we left the school, we went to Carey Baptist Church, which is still operational today. We got to see the baptismal where many people, including the Judsons and Corrie Tin Boom, were baptized and see Carey’s lecturn. The current pastor took the time to meet with us and share with us what the church is doing this summer (I must say, it was strange to be in such an old, historic building and see VBS posters everywhere!). He told us of the church’s partnership with anti-trafficking ministries in Kolkata; needless to say, this caught my attention. He explained the needs they have for house mothers, repairs to safe houses, and married couples to pastor the women. After he finished speaking to the whole group, I spoke with him one-on-one to share with him my call to long-term ministry in Kolkata. We talked for a while about the needs in the city, my heart in the matter, and the church’s current efforts. He gave me his contact information so we can stay in touch. Even if this is not the door that God is opening for me to stay in Kolkata in the future, I know it’s a hallway that can lead to several doors.

The next morning, we got up early to go to the Sisters of Charity to share breakfast with the other volunteers. Sleepily, we accepted our bread, bananas, and tea from the sisters and took a seat. Soon, other volunteers came in and did the same. It was beautiful to see people of all ages and nationalities there to serve God by serving others together. There were people from China, Brazil, France, literally all over the world to serve together. After we finished breakfast, we turned to one of the wall hangings and meditated on the prayer written there. Then, we prayed it aloud together and sang a worship song. All of us, brothers and sisters, Christians from all over the world, worshiped our God together as one body. It was such a beautiful moment, one I’m sure I will never forget.

After breakfast and prayer, we split into groups to go to the different ministry cites. I went with the group to Prem Dan, the home for the elderly and handicapped adults. It took us about forty-five minutes to walk there, but that was a good way to see the poorer parts of Kolkata and to bond with our teammates.

When we got to Prem Dan, we split:  boys to the men’s side and girls to the women’s side. The veteran volunteers took us to the break room and told us what we would be doing that day. It’s such a strange, yet beautiful, system. Because there are always new volunteers coming in and old volunteers leaving, each day the veteran volunteers explain to the new volunteers what tasks need to be done. Because there’s no way for all of the sisters and all of the aunties to know every language of every volunteer, this is the most effective way to pass the information along. Once they told us what to do, we each grabbed an apron and went to the main sleeping quarters to clean the beds and mop the floors. Once we finished those tasks, we went outside to the dining hall to help the sisters finish distributing breakfast. Then, we went around to each of the women and put lotion on their hands and feet, offered to paint their fingernails, and helped clean their hair.

As I was looking to see who needed lotion, I noticed a woman sitting by herself. I felt compelled to go over to her to put lotion on her hands. As I approached, she didn’t move. I think she was blind and I wasn’t sure if she could tell I was there. I reached out to touch her hand. As soon as my fingers made contact with hers, she grabbed my hand reached for my other. She held on tightly, as if she was afraid she would lose this moment. I sat next to her and held her hands for what must have been an hour. Every once in a while, she would scratch at some extremely dry skin and I would put lotion on it, or she would play with the hair on my arms. For the most part, we just sat in silence. She just wanted someone to be there.

Eventually, one of the aunties asked me to help feed some of the other women lunch and I left my post. She handed me a spoon and directed me to a mentally disabled woman who could not feed herself. She carried such joy! I smiled and said hello to her and she gave me the biggest, brightest smile back. As I blew off each steaming spoon full of rice and lentils, she smiled at me. She smiled when she opened her mouth. She smiled as she chewed her food. She smiled at everything; her smile was contagious. I couldn’t not smile while sitting with her. After she finished her food, I helped a friend clean the tables and chairs. While we were cleaning, the sisters were putting the women down for a nap. When we finished cleaning, we were told that we were done for the day.

The rest of that day was relaxed. We had the option to see a palace or to stay back and rest. Several of us, myself included, chose to take a much needed rest. We popped a movie into someone’s laptop, ate dinner, and enjoyed some wonderful girl time. The trip had been fantastic up to this point, but sometimes you just need a night in with the girls to relax and recharge =)

Our time in Kolkata was so affirming for me. As I walked down the sidewalks, something just felt right. I am excited about my future here, whenever it will happen. I can’t wait for God to open that door.