The Mountains of Kharbu

Hello all!

An excerpt of my journal on April 9th.

I am in the most remarkable setting.
The village of Kharbu.
The Himilayan hills of Nepal.... terraced slopes skillfully carved out, sparse brick houses sitting stoutly nestled in the hillsides.

A rooster crows in the distance,
Indian radio fills my right ear,
and local boys playing the guitar fill my left.
A baby goat bleats,
and the rising sun burns hot against the chill of the morning.

I got the opportunity along with 10 others to go up to the mountains for 4 days.
We arrived yesterday, after a 2 1/2 hour jeep-ride up winding one-lane, unpaved roads. The ride was an experience in itself! Many times we were close to the edge, and had to sqeeze by buses too, but I wasn't scared. I've learned that you can't even compare cultures.... if much of what I saw/experienced here took place in Canada, people would be freaking out. (traffic, fitting as many people as you can in a car, no stop lights, people walking in front of cars, etc). But these people know what they're doing, so just sit back and trust.

We arrived at the richest man in the village's house (the only one with a squatty toilet). The girls room is a cement floor with unfinished stuf walls and a few pieces of metallic wrapping paper (?) taped to the top. For decoration I suppose!
I love it! 7 of us fit lying down, which is all we need.
We went on a 2 hour hike up and up on winding goat trails. The air is thinner here, and cleaner, 2,000 metres above sea level.
I find myself wanting to speak in parables and proverbs, it just seems to fit the scenery!

I am in a constant state of awe and thankfulness, and beauty of God's creation and God's people. People are self-sufficient here, they grow their own crops, gather their own water, and plow their own fields with oxen and a wooden plow.
We met a family along the way up our hike and they were picking fresh peas from their garden. They offered us some, and there we sat:

eating fresh peas,
with smiling Hindus,
in the mountain villages of Nepal.
Not saying anything.
Then we picked peas with them!
What a precious moment!

"No eye has seen,
no ear has heard,
no mind has conceived
what God has prepared for those who love Him."
1 Cor. 2:9



God is definately moving here. People get saved everyday.
We did lots of health care and did on-the-fly presentations of sharing testimonies and preaching and dancing. Most people had never heard of the gospel before.
It was really such a priviledge to be there! And bring hope.We handed out a lot of nepalese new testaments to the people who were thirsty for this Jesus they heard about, and we got to pray for lots of people too.
It was cool, many of them said after we prayed for them, they felt lighter and more peaceful. I think it's because for a short instant we were able to bring God's presence and lift the oppressive spirit of Hinduism.
I was speechless a lot of the time, because the world is just so beautiful!
3 little girls attatched themselves to me so we'd play clapping games everynight with the light of the fire.

P.s. I got to hold a baby goat in one of the villages. Best moment ever.
p.p.s. My friend Brooke and I got to help make dinner around the fire... it was chicken. real chicken.They chopped off the heads, drained its neck blood into a grassy trough and then we pulled out all its feathers. It was quite the experience! A little bit hesitant but thrilling at the same time. I'm glad I did it. I now know how to make chicken from ultimate scratch!