Day 2

Today was absolutely unbelievable in every way.

First of all, I'd like to apologize for the scattered nature of my writing in the previous post. You'll have to forgive me, there's not much time to proof read.

Today began early – 5:15 to be exact. Mark Storm, our ServLife partner in Nepal, took us on ten minute walk to his home. We spent two or three hours there eating breakfast and praying with other missionaries in Nepal. It was incredible to meet people from South Africa, Brazil, and Nepal who are living in Kathmandu to do God's work. The prayer time was something I wish you all could have been with me to experience. Everyone there with us was so confident in their prayers, so profound and genuine with their words. Life in Nepal is far from similar to that of ours in America. The government here is completely corrupt and indifferent to the problems facing its citizens. It was just last month that thousands of dollars worth of equipment for the creation of hydrostatic power was thrown into the river by Maoist extremists and the government did nothing. There are streets are lined with trash and four year old children roam dark alleys at night looking confused and helpless. There is sex trafficking. There is extortion like you wouldn't believe. There is so much that needs prayer in Nepal. But there is also hope. We prayed a lot about that hope, lifting up different people and programs that send church planters to villages all across the country. These men leave all they have to travel to places where they know maybe two people, often living in places where Christianity is unheard of. They do this because people living in remote areas don't have access to churches, so they have to find the nearest one. That can sometimes means a four hour walk and sometimes six. There's so much to say about all I heard today about church planting in Nepal, but one thing I find especially interesting is that about 90 percent of the people who come to know God don't do so because of books or long conversations (there are 49 languages just in Kathmandu), but by the miracles God has performed on their people. Large families of fifty people will become Christians because church planters will come into their village and pray for dying family members and it is not uncommon for these people to be healed within days or even hours. Hearing this was amazing. How can anyone doubt there is a God when miracles like this are happening every single day?

Later in the afternoon we headed to a place called TouchNature. It's a house where single mothers and widowed women work to make soap, candles, and other materials. We toured the house and I was in awe of the amount of materials and stations they had to make all of it. The company hires these women and offers free childcare for their children in the home. I was encouraged by the program and how it incorporates something as simple as soap into a much bigger plan. The women working there are not all Christians, some are Hindu, but many end up finding God as a result of other workers. Every morning women gather at the house for devotional time where they help support one another and share their burdens with those who understand it most. It's so frustrating to me writing this because I wish you could experience seeing all of it. The spirit of the people working there is very different from the average woman on the street. I did buy a ton of stuff there, though, so I suppose some of you can experience it after all.

Right after TouchNature, we took a taxi to a jewelry store that allows men with disabilities to have work. Men with injuries received after birth and several men with polio work there. The men only are paid when the jewelry is bought. Seeing that everyone in our group spent quite a lot of money there today, it was nice knowing that they wouldn't go home empty handed.

Finally it was time for dinner. We trekked to the home of a family that houses seven adopted girls. The girls were quick to introduce themselves and sing songs and dance as well. It is common to do these things when eating with friends or when visitors come into town. We ate on the roof of their house which overlooks Kathmandu, and enjoyed the cool breeze as the sun set. The children played games and competed for Solomon's (Mark and Jennifer's one year old son) attention. I spent time talking to the oldest daughter who is 21. She speaks good English and looked surprised when I pointed at the mounatins behind her and asked if she'd ever been to them. "Our life is not like yours in America," she said. She told me that she and her siblings were not free to wander about the city alone, but they always stayed with their families. Such a life seemed unreal. Once everyone was done talking, we picked up a taxi and headed back to Aloha Inn (our hotel, haha). It just so happened that our taxi ran out of gas and so we were forced to walk the rest of the way back. The city is even more sad at night. Imagine poverty everywhere; dogs and chickens roaming, cars zooming straight at other cars and people just before swerving to miss. The air is putrid at times and the alleys are mostly mud. Life is different here.

Tomorrow we're going to be visiting a Leprosy Hospital and attend a meeting for individual's saved from sexual abuse or trafficking. In the meantime, here are some pictures:

edit: apparently the picture uploading isn't working right now. i'll try and get some visuals in the morning. night, night.

Taylor