melanie----i know the world is filled with sin, but this is impossibly perfect

the people here are living happily on one set of clothing, white rice, and a hut shared with other families. it's amazing to me how three or four days ago i thought i was --by far-- the sweatiest, dirtiest, hungriest i'd ever been. but day by day, i prove myself wrong. last night, it had been about 2 days sleeping in 8-hour sweat matted on my clothes. i was wearing a brand-new target tee.. and it's really discolored and pill-y now. i didn't really think that was possible. my feet were sending shocks of pain as we tumbled our way down the mountain yesterday. i was sure my brain was bruising against the sides of my skull. my fingernails were discolored with dirt and left-over nailpolish from the last time i manicured myself in america. my muscles were sore and tired from the fouth day of hiking sequentially. but.... despite all these little physical weaknesses, God has blessed us all with a strong pull to follow His Will. there's no way pastor ohlmann would let me sit and watch while everyone else hiked ahead of me. there's no way any of us would leave each other behind! this isn't hard work for the locals. that's why it's funny to laugh at later. well, not yet, but maybe in a couple years. OH MAN, that time i was sweating more than all the guys?! ha. i'll feel better about that one in a couple years.

yesterday, we caught a ride back from the bus station to where our hotel was. from the hotel, we got our ride back to our base camp!! we took a van and had plenty of space (even with the some 14 people who occupied it, we were used to tiny rickshaws and buses filled with dozens of bodies). the ride over was incredible. let's see, i think we left around 5:30? so our scenery evacuating the mountains included a beautiful purple-yellow setting sun. it was gorgeous. i stuck my head out the window and fought my body's heavy inclination to give in to a nap with all my might. these drives are always different, every single one. no matter how many times you take a TATA through the mountains or a city bus or a rickshaw, each experience in entirely unique. the curious eyes you meet along the road, the smiling children, the twists in the road, the vegetation, the songs on the radio. every family and house we pass as we drive along, i can't help but wonder what if? what if we stopped and talked to them? what if we stopped in every single village and taught our little lessons on the bible to every person.. every single soul? if only time was on our side. it seems to be our constant battle here. we just whoosh past these beautiful people and their beautiful lives. we just drive through, carrying on our own mission here. but we still have that fifth of a second to recognize and acknowledge another's life.

well, that's what i think about when looking out the window.

in the last village we visited, the worship room was no bigger than my sister leah's bedroom back home. and some 40 children filled it. we got recordings of them singing praises to the Lord. they would close their eyes for prayer, every last one of them. even the 2 year old little boy who was completely distracted during the lesson. it's obvious, the hold the Lord has on this congregation. they are filled with love for the Lord. and in their harsh living conditions, they cling to what they love, what is absolutely vital to them in their lives. food, shelter, clothing, and their Savior.

wow, i think listening to music while blogging probably isn't the best idea. i get a little carried away sometimes. so many emotions fill me while i think about the passion of the kids here, and i try my best to word it right :)

now i sit here on the balcony in the middle of all my new friends who've experienced similar experiences, listening to the head and the heart, drinking pastor ohlmann's authentic new nepali tea, freshly showered, wondering how everyone back home is going to respond to my experiences. i wish i could've brought you all along. there's nothing i'd wish more than for you to have similar experiences.

God is good and has kept us all in relatively excellent health. good food, good exercise, good experiences. thanks for keeping up with us!