It's been almost a week since coming home from Nepal and this morning I got up to start my day like I do everyday, and I still have to catch myself not looking for the "Taj" brand of bottled water next to the sink to brush my teeth. It's ok to use the water from the faucet. In fact, the first night I returned home from Nepal and hopped into my own bed (which I love dearly), it was almost a little difficult falling asleep after being used to sleeping in the cold air, unknown sheets, and animals making noises outside (yes, this means the tons of stray dogs roaming Kathmandu as well).
For the first time, I felt a glimpse of what it meant to actually have the reverse culture shock.....after just a short 8 days, I found myself no longer use to the comforts I'd come to know and love in the US. You see, for the last 8 days, I'd gotten up and not been distracted by vanity once. Sure, I'd put make up on here and there, try to get my clothes to match, and well, just go about the day thinking of what lies ahead. This didn't feel different but it was....why? Because in Nepal, no one else cared about vanity either. Furthermore, the people of Nepal are more concerned about where their next meal will come from and where are they going to sleep that night.
For 8 days, I roamed the Nepali landscape with an awesome team of nine other individuals who are all committed to serving God in their best capacity. With all different personalities, it became more evident as to why God hand picked each one of us. The days went by too fast, but the lessons we all learned from the Nepali people - and from each other, will last a lifetime. If you asked me why I grew such an affinity for the country of Nepal, I couldn't give you a straight answer. The only answer I can offer is that God put me there, and the enemy fought to keep me from going a multitude of times. Actually, even up on returning, the enemy is fighting like crazy to keep Nepal out of my mind and trying to keep me focused on my weaknesses and circumstances in my own life beyond my control.
As I look out the window on the 38th floor of the downtown Houston sky scrapper in which I work, I think how clean Houston looks in comparison to Kathmandu. The smog I generally complain about seems like a simple collection of dust and nothing more. It looks beautiful outside, however, my mind doesn't seem to want to leave Nepal. It almost seems like in a couple hours I will be called to go downstairs and hop in the van with the team (with Rupak driving of course) and be shuttled off to our next village, our next destination, our next church full of Hindus to share the love of Jesus Christ.
I'll drive down the road in my red Mitsubishi coup and expect a full siege of Nepali Tata (it's a brand) trucks to come sailing at my vehicle and turn at the last minute as though we were driving along the mountains. Some might say post-traumatic stress disorder, ha, but I call it a unique type of homesickness.
More importantly, what is God telling me in this? I've been wrestling with this question since being home, and I do believe it takes some time to process. However, what I do know is this: there is more joy in having less. Now, for the the folks who get their joy or hope out of the next expensive sports car they buy, the next boat they wish for, the next cute guy or girl they date who could be the "one", the hair cut we can't live without, or even the fancy dinner you think you owe yourself.....I know this is a harsh reality to swallow, but there is actually more joy in having less. Chasing after the "next best thing" or the "bigger better deal" will always leave you exhausted.....why? Because there is always going to be something better and/or bigger out there to do, or have.
Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. - Matthew 19:24, NIV
It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. - Mark 10:25, NIV
Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. - Luke 18:25, NIV
Now, I don't have a seminary degree, but what I do know is that if it says this three times in the bible, it might be worth paying attention to - there aren't any unimportant words in God's word. It's all used for rebuking and teaching (2 Timothy 3:16, NIV).
Furthermore, God spoke to me a lot about joy. While I've felt sort of joyless in some ways over the last few months, God showed me something big about joy while in Nepal. You see, the majority of mission trips I've been on (and there are two international mission trips I've been on before Nepal), I strikingly notice that aside from the locals circumstances and poverty, they have incredible joy. Joy that anyone would want, and that joy usually comes from Christ. On the flip side, I'm encouraged by their joy, but strongly impacted by all the sorrow around me. Nepal was different for me in that sense. While I noticed locals again having joy, the last few days of the trip, I also noticed that I too was the one who had the same joy despite everything going on. Certainly not equating my circumstances with those of the Nepalis, but what I had mistaken for a numbness to poverty was actually a resounding well of joy. Joy that I had prayed for, and joy that I had prayed would be infectious to others. God is so good!!!
The trip to Nepal was one of the best trips I have ever been on, and would certainly go again. I await an opportunity to go back, to hug Bishwa and Ramila after having such a tearful and bittersweet good-bye. I await to go back and wander through all the mountaineering shops after having dinner at Fire and Ice; I await the opportunity to share my Savior - the love of my life - Jesus Christ, with these sweet Nepali people; I await to go to my 2nd Nepali Christian concert in the middle of nowhere at the foot of a Hindu temple; I await my second time to canoe through the Chitwan forest and ride a run-a-way elephant through a forest and sporadically placed rhinos; I await my second time to share the testimony God has given me to a church full of eager Nepali Christians who love Jesus like I do; I await my second time to see Mount Everest from afar as my airplane lands at Kathmandu International Airport.
If you ever are granted the chance, go to Nepal. Share Jesus Christ with these sweet people - many of which have yet to hear His great name, the name above all names. Go. Just go. Get on a plane and go. Take warm clothes, buy some bottled water, and go. In the words of Tim Hughes, we must go. Praying for you and where God is leading you to share His love in His name.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4vu-MNTYQE
Blessings,
K
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