Unreal Reality

October 11th-13th I had the honor of being part of the Vision Network Nepal conference in the small town of Surkhet located in western Nepal. Going into it, I thought it would be a time to finally go beyond Kathmandu and get some fresh air. I had no idea how intense of an experience this would be.

I boarded a Nepalgunj-bound plane early Monday morning with Rita, the principal of Elims school, and Tanja, an American learning about different organizations in southeast Asian countries. An hour later we arrived in Nepalgunj, a very poor and dirty city in western Nepal only 20 min from the India border. We then drove in a bumpy small van to Surkhet, about 3 hours north of Nepalgunj. The ride was sooo beautiful! I was able to see rural Nepal… the many rice fields, small villages, and bundles of Nepalis walking the streets or riding in rickshaws. The drive also went through Bardia National Park… incredible! Bardia has about 100 Bengal tigers, 75 wild elephants, 22 one-horned rhinos, and many common animals. Sadly I didn’t see any, but the mountains and valleys were gorgeous.

After arriving in Surkhet, a lovely rural small town, getting lunch and a hotel room, we were provided transportation via motorbikes (so awesome!) to the Vision Network Nepal (VNN) conference. VNN started in 2003 to link the Christian churches and organizations throughout Nepal while providing them with a common goal: building the Christian community with a holistic focus. Rita was one of the main speakers over the next few days. They also took advantage of Tanja and I’s presence. We were notified that on Tuesday, the following day, we would be speaking in front of 200-300 women. What?? I am not qualified for this! I came along to see rural Nepal, get away from the city, and support Rita. But this is the Nepali way… taking advantage of everyone’s capabilities (even lack thereof) and just using them to build the community of Christ. It was okay that I am not a public speaker. I am a sister in Christ who is trying to be a servant of God, therefore qualified to speak to these women. The church in Nepal is so new. These Christians are mostly 1st generation Christians, so they are fighting the majorities of society. The women especially struggle because they are 2nd best in Nepal. So the empowerment given to them through Christ is not only new to themselves, but is new to others around them, causing struggles in their families, especially with their husbands. A new and higher value has been placed on them through God that was not present before. So the conference wanted to use Tanja and I, two American women who have previously learned a lot about the Word and share it with these women. So that evening was busy spent thinking about what I would be talking about and fighting off rising nerves!



Tuesday came and it was the day to speak for the conference! On our way to the church we were informed that they were now expecting 400-600 women. Oh by gollies! When we arrived there were about 200 women there, which was a disappointment to VNN, but I won’t lie, it was a relief to me! When comparing 200 to the possible 600, it doesn’t seem like such a large number. Entering the church was such an emotional experience. It was during their worship time and I’ve never seen so many women so passionate about our God. That morning many of them walked hours from their village just to come to this conference. They show such dedication to learning more about Jesus. And what an honor for me to stand in front of these women who are fighting cultural and gender norms because of their passion for Christ. The Spirit was so present and I was just so moved. Then it was our turn to speak for an hour with a translator. Considering their situation, I spoke about how important each one of us is in the body of Christ and encouraged them to explore their own gifts that God has given them and use them to grow in their personal relationship with Christ and help bring others to Christ. I especially placed emphasis on how beautiful they are, as I think this gets overlooked quite often. And there I did it, I spoke in front of 200 women. But only through God’s power was that possible, as that is waaaay out of my comfort zone! But it was such an honor to encourage them and walk side by side with them, Christian sister with Christian sister.

After the conference was done for the day, they wanted to show us guests what their church is doing and have us pray over it. Just thinking about it, as I’m writing this, is bringing me to tears. We were just chatting with some of the ladies when we were called over to a mother and daughter. They had the saddest expressions on their face. The 9-year old daughter had a very unusual growth around her knee and starting on her elbows. She could hardly even stand, let alone walk. Her mom had walked an hour from the village that morning carrying her daughter on her back and would soon be heading back home the same way. I wish that I had medical knowledge, but there was no advice I could pass on except that they needed to keep going to doctors. They had been to a few local doctors, but they do not have the knowledge to help and told them they needed to go to Kathmandu. This advice is nearly impossible for them though, and having come from Kathmandu I could understand why. The mother would have to walk an hour carrying her daughter on her back to a small town, take an uncomfortable crowded bus for 3 hours on very bumpy windy roads to the airport, and then fly an hour and a half to Kathmandu- which is so far out of their price range as the area is so poor. Or they could choose to take a 12-hour + bus ride on even bumpier and windier roads to Kathmandu. Once in Kathmandu they would have to pay for transportation to the hospital. Even upon arrival, who knows if the doctor could even help or how long it would take. They would then have to also pay for a place to stay, for food, and for all the medical help. During this time the daughter would continue to miss more and more school, playing with friends, and just being a kid. The mother would not be able to do the work to feed the family. A lot would have to change for who knows how long. Even if the doctor figured out what was wrong, who knows if the growth would continue. They may have to make several unaffordable and difficult trips to Kathmandu. But all we could do was pray for them. I wanted to help them so badly. Just seeing their faces and tears… I wish that I could build a hospital clinic in western Nepal so medical help would be much easier for all those in need. Or even just be a traveling doctor to provide assistance to the very poor. (So if anyone reading this feels compelled, they are ready for you!)

We then learned about 2 awesome ministries the church has started. First, they are in the process of building a home beside the church for widows. They will have bed rooms, a common living room, and a kitchen. They will no longer be living on their own hardly able to make it. They now will have more friends to help them emotionally and physically through life. Second, they have a house for recovering alcoholics. The men live there for 6 months to become clean, grow together in friendships struggling with the same thing, and receive counseling. They also get back on track with their previous work or find new work so when they are done they can provide for their family again. We prayed for both of these ministries. I was just so inspired by the works of this church and dedication to including all those in society, particularly the broken.

While walking from the widows’ house to the men’s recovering house on a dirty path, a girl ran beside us. Her family left her because they thought she was no good. The church has taken her in and gives her a bed and food. Suddenly at that moment this girl fell to the ground and her body was shaking. One of the church leaders stood beside her fallen body while pointing and yelling for the demons to come out of her. However, with my training and experience at a camp for people with disabilities, I knew that what was happening was not necessarily a demon attacking her. She was having a seizure. After about 30 seconds her body stopped shaking and her body went limp. Her eyes glazed back and forth as her body fought to come out of the seizure. Her body was exhausted from what it had just gone through. The church leader tried pulling her up right away to get away from the demons. But she was not fully out of the seizure yet so that would only end with her falling again. So Tanja and I carried her off of the dirty and rocky road into the church where there’s at least carpet (no chairs or pews in these churches) where she could rest. We tried to explain to them that she should see a doctor because seizures are medical. I can’t blame them for thinking she was demon-possessed, after all biblical concepts are new and they don’t have adequate medical help nearby therefore they strongly lack in medical knowledge. But it’s important they recognize that this is medical otherwise this girl who has already been kicked out of her home will keep hearing that she is demon-possessed. And that is not good for her mental health.

Our time at the conference finished Wednesday morning. We squished into a jeep and made the 3-hr journey through Bardia National Park back to Nepalgunj. We had an hour before needing to go to the airport so we met with a Nepalgunj church to discuss the problem of human trafficking. Oh, it is just so sad. This part of Nepal is so poor that children and parents are very desperate for income. A man will come by that promises a job in India that pays well. The family trusts him and sends their child off to make some money. But he is a man of lies. He takes the child over the India border just 20 min away and sells her into sex trafficking where she is drugged and forced to have sex every day. This is a huge problem in the area. The church and local organizations are working to fight it, but it’s not very easy. Even if they rescue the children and capture the men, what do you do with them in a corrupt society? The children are often too ashamed to go back home because they come back with no money and now have a new stigmatism. The men, if caught, are thrown into jail, but are often let go or pay little to get out. Without accurate discipline, sex trafficking will keep happening. How do you fight it in such a poor area where families are so desperate for any income and the government is corrupt? The church we spoke with works on rescuing the trafficked women and returning them back home. They are doing great things, but it surely takes much more work than one church can handle.

We had a 1 ½ hr delay at the airport (which isn’t too long, but it is in a small airport that has nothing but a few benches) but finally made it back to Kathmandu on Wednesday night. I gratefully was taken home by Rita after discussing taxi prices with the taxi drivers that were so obviously very drunk. This is not unusual for public bus or taxi drivers at night, another reason why it is important to not travel at night. But luckily I made it home safely after 3 days in western Nepal. It was a trip that I expected mostly rejuvenation out of, but it ended up being an incredible trip of being stretched, feeling so broken for those people, learning so much about what this country needs, and being inspired by the passion that the 1st generation Christian church has for God.

Tomorrow morning I leave for an 8-day trek through the Kathmandu Valley into Lang Tang Himals! There's a great group of 4 of us and I'm rather pumped :) Hope you're all well!