I needed to return to Nepal to visit an on going construction of a small orphanage we were building in West Nepal. As my big Thai plane's wheels touched the tarmac my heart jumped. It always does when I land one more time in a country I have learned to love.
I spent the night in Katmandu and was picked up early the next morning by my Overseer Ram Paudel. We caught an early morning flight for a trip to the west where I would visit some churches and look over the small orphanage. We flew on Air Buddha, a small domestic line I had flown many times. A curious name for an airline. As you fly west the Himalayans are on the right for about half of the trip. They then slowly give way to the low lands of the west. During our flight, Brother Ram and I chatted. I asked him how many people were required by him to declare a group of people a church. He said about 30 with 15 baptized members. Nothing else was said about it.
We landed safely just 10 kilometers from the Indian border and began our day trip in an old four wheel jeep. This part of the country is extremely hot and dusty. It is farm land with small very interesting villages. Buildings are crude and basic. Life is hard here. Farming is done mostly by hand. Harvesting done by ladies bent over the heavy laden heads of rice the entire day.
We stopped by to visit Brother Ram's dad and mom. Pleasant people living a very hard life. He farmed a small piece of land he owned. Before he came to the Lord he was a Hindu priest. Now a servant of the Lord. The visit was not long, but the memories are good.
Our first visit was to one of our churches of about 300. The pastor was full of life and very enjoyable to be around. He laughed a lot. He showed us various lively hood programs he is helping develop. From there we went a short distance to the orphanage. It is still under construction. We have one more building to build. Since my visit we have received our first children. Eight girls from the nearby villages who had lost their parents to war and disease. Death never seems to be far from these hard places where people fight the hard earth and sometimes fight one another.
From there we visited four other churches. All were made of clay and stick walls with thatch roofs. The clay is baked by the hot sun and becomes hard like bricks. Inside there are mats on the earth floor. There are no chairs. Women sit on one side and the men the other. It is their way. The ladies always cover their head during prayer time.
There was no worship service in the middle of the day when we stopped at one of the churches. We met with the pastor and three of his men. We sat in the church drinking tea and talking about future plans. While talking we were joined by another young man. He is in training to pastor a church one day. I was told he had just come from rat hunting. I wanted to know a little more about this hunt. There are 6 to 8 people who hunt together in the fields of the farm land. Three or four will go to one end of the field and three or four to the other. They walk toward each other driving the rats as they go. They find it very easy then to catch the rats. The rats are not caught for the same reason we might catch them. They eat them. He had caught 14. That was a good harvest.
I pondered this for a moment and then I turned to my overseer and said, "If he had caught one more you could have a rat church since 15 is what you require for a church." He looked at me for a moment and then began to laugh uncontrollably He then explained to the others our conversation on the plane and they began to laugh. We laughed and added to the story for some time enjoying wonderful fellowship in a very poor setting. The tea was good.
It is not often that cross cultural jokes or humorous story are understood but when it happens it is wonderful. I still get a reference to the "rat church" ever so often. We went on to enjoy a great afternoon before flying back to Katmandu. Wonderful. Wonderful. I will return.
I spent the night in Katmandu and was picked up early the next morning by my Overseer Ram Paudel. We caught an early morning flight for a trip to the west where I would visit some churches and look over the small orphanage. We flew on Air Buddha, a small domestic line I had flown many times. A curious name for an airline. As you fly west the Himalayans are on the right for about half of the trip. They then slowly give way to the low lands of the west. During our flight, Brother Ram and I chatted. I asked him how many people were required by him to declare a group of people a church. He said about 30 with 15 baptized members. Nothing else was said about it.
We landed safely just 10 kilometers from the Indian border and began our day trip in an old four wheel jeep. This part of the country is extremely hot and dusty. It is farm land with small very interesting villages. Buildings are crude and basic. Life is hard here. Farming is done mostly by hand. Harvesting done by ladies bent over the heavy laden heads of rice the entire day.
We stopped by to visit Brother Ram's dad and mom. Pleasant people living a very hard life. He farmed a small piece of land he owned. Before he came to the Lord he was a Hindu priest. Now a servant of the Lord. The visit was not long, but the memories are good.
Our first visit was to one of our churches of about 300. The pastor was full of life and very enjoyable to be around. He laughed a lot. He showed us various lively hood programs he is helping develop. From there we went a short distance to the orphanage. It is still under construction. We have one more building to build. Since my visit we have received our first children. Eight girls from the nearby villages who had lost their parents to war and disease. Death never seems to be far from these hard places where people fight the hard earth and sometimes fight one another.
From there we visited four other churches. All were made of clay and stick walls with thatch roofs. The clay is baked by the hot sun and becomes hard like bricks. Inside there are mats on the earth floor. There are no chairs. Women sit on one side and the men the other. It is their way. The ladies always cover their head during prayer time.
There was no worship service in the middle of the day when we stopped at one of the churches. We met with the pastor and three of his men. We sat in the church drinking tea and talking about future plans. While talking we were joined by another young man. He is in training to pastor a church one day. I was told he had just come from rat hunting. I wanted to know a little more about this hunt. There are 6 to 8 people who hunt together in the fields of the farm land. Three or four will go to one end of the field and three or four to the other. They walk toward each other driving the rats as they go. They find it very easy then to catch the rats. The rats are not caught for the same reason we might catch them. They eat them. He had caught 14. That was a good harvest.
I pondered this for a moment and then I turned to my overseer and said, "If he had caught one more you could have a rat church since 15 is what you require for a church." He looked at me for a moment and then began to laugh uncontrollably He then explained to the others our conversation on the plane and they began to laugh. We laughed and added to the story for some time enjoying wonderful fellowship in a very poor setting. The tea was good.
It is not often that cross cultural jokes or humorous story are understood but when it happens it is wonderful. I still get a reference to the "rat church" ever so often. We went on to enjoy a great afternoon before flying back to Katmandu. Wonderful. Wonderful. I will return.
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