Tonight is our last night in Nepal. In some ways it seems like I've been in this country and with all these people for a very long time. However, at the same time it seems like everything went way too fast. I don't feel like I should already have to go back to the "real world" of work and school. My time here has been filled with numerous good times and amazing experiences. But I feel like the people I have met and observed have had the most impact on me. I have been so inspired by the all the pastors, laymen, Sunday school teachers, children, and everyone who has been involved with this church body. They are so hard working and involved in what they do. They are so eager and hungry to serve God, praise God, and spread his word. The only thing that is keeping this church body from growing is funding and training. As the pastors are so enthusiastic when they talk, yet you can tell that they and their congregation could greatly benefit from better training.
I was a little disappointed that we could not travel and see more congregations. Of course I understand why we can't, with our limited funding and limited transportation. Yet I am very glad that the people of this church spend so much time and effort in traveling around Nepal (which is not an easy country to get around) and helping to start and support new churches. These men have their own jobs and school. Although we may have been excited about a long hike up hill in the 100 degree weather, they don't necessarily enjoy their journey to these remote village churches. Yet they still do it. They still consider these 'tribal' people worth long bus rides and long hikes.
There were so many wonderful sights on this trip, from watching children get so excited to sing to God, to beautiful landscapes and waterfalls. However, I have also seen some very sad things. Yesterday we went to one of the biggest tourist sights in Kathmandu. I forget what they actual name of the place was, but everyone calls it the Monkey Temple, from all of monkeys that hang out there. It was a temple built for worshiping Buddha. We also saw a Buddhist monastery, and a few Hindi temples. As inspiring as it was seeing so many Christians in Nepal, it is extremely sad seeing so many people taking this Buddha and Hindu thing so seriously They truly believe in having to do all these crazy rituals, while all they need to do for salvation is believe that Jesus, the Son of God came and took our sins away from us. I really wish we could do more to help this country, as well as the many other countries following false religions.
All in all I have torn feelings about leaving. The time has gone so fast, probably the fastest three weeks of my life. There are many things about America that I miss though. I think we end up talking about food about twenty times a day. I would defiantly encourage anyone reading this to help in any way that you can. Whether it is joining a mission helping trip, or just help in supporting the Mission Fund. The opportunities our out there.
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