My adventure in a land far far Away

Wow, these past two weeks were the hardest weeks of my life, but they were incredibly worth it. Two weeks ago my Thailand team left for our adventure to this little village named Away. Away was far up in the mountains and we could only get there by foot. It took four days to get there, the first day we took a bus, the second day we took a jeep (which broke down twice in the middle of the mountains) and then we hiked for two days. We stayed in two random huts on the side of the road which was quite the experience, and I wasn't able to shower for twelve days straight. One of the reasons this trip was so hard for me was because the day we left I was incredibly sick with diarrhea and vomiting. I was hiking up mountains on an empty stomach and I was also pretty dehydrated. I definitely learned to trust God in so many new ways during this trip and I was constantly surrendering my rights to him, such as my right to a comfy bed, or cleanliness, or any comforts that I'm used to, but I knew that the work that God had for me in Away was worth it. Even when I was feeling like I couldn't hike up anymore mountains and when I was so homesick that I was in tears, God reminded me from his word that his "power is made perfect in weakness" (2 Corinthians 12:9) and that "I can do all things through him who strengthens me" (Philippians 4:13). That was really encouraging during that two day, uphill hike, because I knew that God was taking care of me.

In Away, we stayed with the pastor of the only church in the village. It's crazy how hospitable nepali people are, the pastor and his family gave up their house for us and cooked every meal for us and even did our dishes, they wouldn't allow us to do anything! While living in that house I truly realized how luxurious my house is at home, in fact while I was in Away I realized how good I had it here in Kathmandu. I thought that Kathmandu was hard living, but at least here I have a toilet and showers and a stove and a bed, while in Away I slept on the floor, went to the bathroom in the wilderness, I didn't shower once, and all of our food was cooked over an open fire. It was a good revelation though because it made me realize that I don't really need all the luxuries that I have, I can definitely survive on a lot less.

The food that the pastor cooked for us was usually pretty good! We got more protein in Away then we do here in Kathmandu, which was definitely a treat because my body really misses all the protein that I used to eat. We still had rice everyday, but they were almost always accompanied with dhal (sort of like a lentil soup) and egg. It really amazed me how everything was cooked over an open fire, but because of that, meals take forever to make. I feel like if I lived there and had a family there (which I'm not planning on doing), all I would do all day is cook and do laundry.

Ministry wise, God did some amazing things through us in Away. We saw fifteen people become Christians and we even saw an old man who was deaf in one ear regain his hearing! One day, after playing volleyball with some teenagers in the village, I shared the gospel with all of them and three of them decided to accept Jesus as their savior. Almost every morning there would be people at the pastors house asking for prayer from us which was really encouraging. The hardest part about evangelism in Away was that everyone had all these excuses. They would say that they wanted to become Christians, but because their parents and grandparents were Buddhist or Hindu they couldn't because then they would be shunned by their family. It was so frustrating. But God still used us and we planted a lot of seeds in that village. One day, when we were going to one of the surrounding villages, we stopped in front of a herd of about 65 goats. We just kind of stood there looking at each other and then the pastor told us that we were supposed to pray for the goats. We were a little confused as to what to pray for, but we did it anyway, that was probably the funniest day of ministry.

The view in away was incredible! We were right next to a snow capped mountain and at night the sky was full of stars, I had never seen anything like it in my life, it almost didn't even seem real. My friends and I would joke as we slept in little huts by the side of the road, we would say we were staying in an all star hotel because we could see ALL the stars. Sometimes our situations were so ridiculous that we just had to laugh, otherwise I think I would have cried. A lot. It rained one day in Away and on all the mountains around us it was snowing. It didn't snow in Away because we were only 7,000 feet above sea level and in order for it to snow it has to be around 8,000 I think. But the view was so awesome after the snow and the rain, all the dust was cleared away and the colors were so vivid! I couldn't believe I was seeing it in person because those types of views you only expect to see on the computer backgrounds or something, but I did see it and it was awesome.

Even though getting to Away and living there for a week was one of the hardest experiences of my life, I wouldn't trade it for anything. I learned so much on the journey about myself and about God, and I really grew as a person, especially in toughness I think. Four months ago I never pictured myself doing anything like this, and I didn't want to either, but I learned during lecture phase that it's usually not Barbour what I want, it's about what God wants and he is worth everything that I am.

Well we only have about two weeks left in Nepal and then my team is off to Thailand! I'm actually getting really excited for that part of my adventure, I'm ready for something different. Please be praying for my team! Especially for health, I have a cold at the moment but it's not that bad. We really need to stay healthy though so that we can keep doing evangelism and everything else! Also being sick away from home is not very fun, so keep us in your prayers! 

Here is one picture from the trip. I promise I will post more soon, but I'm trying to have my friend send them to me and it's taking a while. But I will post a blog that is all pictures soon!

This was the last day of our hike to Away, I think the village was just around that little mountain.

Nepal

Sorry I haven't updated you guys in so long! I can't believe I've been in Nepal for two weeks already, time is actually going by quite fast. 

Nepal is crazy! It's crazy to wake up every morning and watch the sun rise over the Himalayas, it's absolutely beautiful. Everything here is completely different than what I am used to. I guess I just was so caught up in western culture that I didn't realize that not everyone in the world lives like we do. I mean, I had read about it and seen pictures of the way other non-western cultures live, but you aren't able to grasp it until you actually live in it. One of the most shocking things that I had to get used to was the fact that there is trash everywhere! They don't have garbage cans anywhere, they just throw the trash on the ground or in ditches or in a river. I also had to get used to squaty potties and (cold) bucket showers. I think I've only taken 4 showers since being here, I know that sounds gross, but I've surrendered the right to be clean and to look good and honestly, life is much easier.

Ministry is going so well. The second day here we were in a village evangelizing and right before we were about to go home, a man just came right up to us and asked us if we could tell him about Jesus. We did of course and he became a Christian right there. It was incredible! The people here are really open to hearing about Jesus, but they are really attached to their Hindu culture and that is what's holding them back from accepting him. Be praying that those barriers are broken down! The people are also so friendly and generous. When we go to villages we are almost always invited to have tea or something to eat. It's crazy to think that these people have so little yet they are still willing to offer us what they have. Even when we went to a slum we were invited back by a Christian lady who lived there to have tea. Her "house" was maybe half the size of my bedroom at home. It made me realize how blessed I have been and it also made me decide to never complain again about anything, because I have no right to. Going to the slum was pretty eye opening. I was really not looking forward to it because it was so far out of my comfort zone, but now I'm actually pretty comfortable out of my comfort zone. Anyways first we played some soccer with some of the kids in the slum which was pretty fun, I think they thought we were giants.. (Everyone here is tiny). But then my friend Julie and I found some girls who were about my age and we started talking to them a little bit. One of the girls was clipping her toenails and Julie asked if she had any nail polish so we could paint their nails. She brought it over and before we knew it about ten little girls were flocking around us want their nails painted! The girls loved it so much, I could just see it on their faces. They asked if we could come back the next day and to my surprise, I actually wanted to! It was just so awesome sharing God's love in that way.

We have been really blessed though while being here so far. The base that we are staying at has wifi and they have beds for us which we weren't actually expecting. They have also been feeding us really well. It's a lot of rice and lentils, but we also get a lot of potato and cauliflower curry! That's like one of my favorite things at home! We has chicken at maybe three times a week, but we don't get much meat besides that which was kind of hard to get used to. I'm very thankful for what we get though, and I'm especially thankful for the tea every morning!  It's so yummy!

Everything is so cheap here! It's dangerous to go shopping because since everything is so cheap I buy a ton of things but then I end up still spending heaps if money. I bought a really nice inflatable sleeping pad and a couple of fleeces, a North Face and a Jack Wolfskin, and then a North Face thermal which I've worn for a week straight now, it's really warm :). I don't understand how shop owners make any money here because it seems like everyone has their own shop and they all sell the exact same thing, it's very thought provoking. 

I almost forgot to tell you guys about the bus system here! Almost every day we take the bus to our ministry location. The "bus" is basically a 13-15 seat van that 25-35 people are crammed into. Sometimes I sit there with 30 other people squished next to me and I think that there is no possible way that more people can fit on this bus, but somehow they manage to get like 5 more people inside, well some of them are hanging out the side I guess. Everyday is a new adventure, and it seems like everyday a new record is set as to how many people we fit inside a bus.

I can honestly say that I have really enjoyed these past two weeks in Nepal, it has made me appreciate everything that I have so much more. Each experience has grown me in some way; squaty potties have given me a deep appreciation for western toilets, holding beautiful babies in the villages we go to has really given me a heart for the people here, and sitting through 4 hour Nepalese church services has made me realize how much I miss my church back at home and how important it is to gather with other believers and worship God. But tomorrow I am off on a new adventure. My team leaves for Dhading tomorrow, and from what I've heard, it's going to be very different then here in Kathmandu. We're taking a four hour bus ride to a children's home in Dhading where we will be staying the night. The next day we will be starting a two day trek to an unreached village. We will stay in that village for five days and then trek back to the children's home and then take a bus back to Kathmandu. Basically I will not be showering for 11 days and I won't be doing laundry either. It's going to be an unforgettable experience, that's for sure. But I'm so excited to share the gospel to an unreached village! That is such an awesome opportunity! 

Well that's definitely not everything I've done since being here, but at least you get an idea of how I've been living and what I've been doing these past two weeks! Please be praying for my team as we leave tomorrow, pray that we make it safely and that nobody gets sick while we are there. Also pray that people will come to know Christ as we share the gospel with them! 

Okay, hopefully I can blog when I get back from Dhading. I really really miss everyone at home! Love you! See you in two and a half months :)

Here's a picture of my team in the mountains! Sorry there aren't more pictures, I have them but they're on my phone and I don't have wifi on my phone.

Xo, Helen