After several days teaching pastors and leaders in one village, we set
out for another. A two hour bus ride found us in Jiri, and from there we
continued by foot. The local pastor with us assured me it was a three
hour walk. But several hours passed and two things had become abundantly
evident: 1) this was a trek, not a mere walk; and 2) we were in for
more than three hours. The ominous theme song of Gilligan's Island began
to echo in my thoughts: " they set sail that day on a three hour tour; a
three hour tour..." I actually sang it out loud to myself at one point.
The sun set; no sign of our destination. We strapped on headlamps and
continued on, soon descending into a steep ravine and passing over
swinging cable bridges spanning a river we could only hear below. It was
over five hours of hiking before we reached the village. During the
next two days of teaching, most of my team was in and out of illness and
all I could think of was getting them well enough to hike out of the
ravine with their backpacks. The night before our departure I was
informed that to catch our bus in Jiri we would need to set out from the
village at 5am, hiking the ravine in the dark... again. This time going
up it. Ugh.
Suffice to say we made it (some with an enormous amount of effort, due to weakness from being sick) and ended up on top of a packed bus (again) back to the town from which I now write. We planned to be away in the villages several weeks, but the pastor has relented and we are on an overnight pit stop which means good news: my second shower of 2013! And a few minutes online:)
Next it's on to another village to train pastors and church leaders with the biblical foundations of Christian life. We are astounded that church leaders are so untrained that they are amazed at the most basic teachings about the Cross. It's s privilege to build up the Kingdom in this way in Nepal. I heard about the need, but the reality of the situation here astounds me. Please continue to pray for me and the team as we push ahead here, despite frequent challenges. (Most recently, I lost part of my rear left molar and have a jagged broken tooth! It's one thing after another these days!)
In the midst of everything we are full of joy and embracing the wild ride. Thank you for your prayers!
Suffice to say we made it (some with an enormous amount of effort, due to weakness from being sick) and ended up on top of a packed bus (again) back to the town from which I now write. We planned to be away in the villages several weeks, but the pastor has relented and we are on an overnight pit stop which means good news: my second shower of 2013! And a few minutes online:)
Next it's on to another village to train pastors and church leaders with the biblical foundations of Christian life. We are astounded that church leaders are so untrained that they are amazed at the most basic teachings about the Cross. It's s privilege to build up the Kingdom in this way in Nepal. I heard about the need, but the reality of the situation here astounds me. Please continue to pray for me and the team as we push ahead here, despite frequent challenges. (Most recently, I lost part of my rear left molar and have a jagged broken tooth! It's one thing after another these days!)
In the midst of everything we are full of joy and embracing the wild ride. Thank you for your prayers!
