:: Reaching Nepal ::

My journey out west is over. I am tired and look forward to a time of rest, but all the work was worth it.

Our original plan was to fly to Jumla and then hike to Polkhara, it took me forever to find anything written on this trail but when I finally did I realized it was to much for Hari, Josh and, I. What I thought was 14 days of good hard hiking was really more like 30 days of climbing several peaks over 17,000 ft. I opted for plan B and we decided to hike from Pokhara to Duni- a real 14 day hike where death is less likely.

I have had this type of trip in mind since I got to Nepal but this was the first chance I could get out of the Kathmandu Valley for such a long time. We took two buses to get to Beni and then we took an off-road jeep until the trail got too small for vehicles. We?ve all have been camping and love the outdoors, most of us have no idea what true wilderness is. The Nepalese do. Most of there country is inaccessible by roads. You heard right- no roads. There are villages here in Nepal that take over a week to get to- on FOOT! So next time you complain about a long car ride remember Nepal. J

We where taking this trip for several reasons: to evangelize, to locate churches and see just how great the need is, to encourage those churches we did find, and to get students for our Bible college. We were able to local 3 churches, but most of the villages we entered had no church and no believers. We hiked to over 12 different villages and every time we asked the people there if there was a church and if there were any Christians. The answer was almost always no. Imagine the heart break we felt as we walked past thousands of houses who had never heard the name Jesus. We felt so small and alone in this place of darkness but God was able to use this to give us vision and passion for the future. As I sit here in my home in Kathmandu I am encouraged by the number of growing Christians and churches in this city, but as I think of the west I can?t help but feel I?m in the wrong place. The need is there so why am I here. But another lesson I learned on this trip is that the Nepali people are the only way we are going to reach these hard places. When I step into a village all they see is white skin and money, the gospel takes a back seat. That hurts to say, but right now in Nepal our job as westerners must we to equip and send Nepalese to these places.

The trip was amazing and eventful. As we were headed to Duni, about the third day on the trail we where approached by the Maoist and they demanded we pay them a tourist tax. I explained to them that I was not a tourist and that I worked for a company in Kathmandu that was here to help the people in their villages. They told me that as soon as I paid them their money I could help anyone I wanted to, but until I paid them I could do nothing. Needless to say I was infuriated that this so called ?People?s Army? had no concern at all for the people of Nepal. I made sure they understood my displeasure and assured them I would never give them money. At that moment my heart was torn because my desire was to reach those villages that where deep in the mountains, but I knew if I gave the Maoist money to pass by I would be supporting the murder, rape, and abuse of the Nepali people. My heart was steadfast: I wouldn?t give even one rupee to these savages. We turned around and head back but we were not defeated. We took another trail and continued to head out west.

Not every part of our journey was filled with darkness. We spent the night with one Christian family and the next morning we meet with their pastor and planned a training seminar for his church. He was an amazing man that had been pastoring that small church for 25 years but he had no education at all. He desperately needs training and we hope to help him with this need. God also lead us to a village with a church that had over 60 people! The amazing thing is that no one started the church. A few people around that area had traveled to Kathmandu and Pokhara and had been lead to the Lord. As they returned home they began to tell their friends a family about Jesus. Before long people were getting saved and they decided to start meeting in a spare room. Now there are over 60 believers still meeting in a room that?s 12ft x 12 ft and they have no pastor. We were able to stay a few days and I preached that Saturday. Despite all the imperfections, this was one of the most Christ-like churches I have ever seen. You can feel the presence of Jesus in those people. Pray for this village as they need a pastor.

I have so many stories from this trip, but this web post is already way to long. Long story short: God is good. Nepal is dark. People need Jesus

Josh sitting with the Christian family we stayed with.

One of the many villages with no church.

Yeah. That’s our jeep in the river. Just one of many we crossed.

Me preaching on Saturday morning.