Our Most Difficult Day in Nepal

Our final night in Nepal was probably the hardest for me. In fact, I selfishly thought, “I could have done without this last night.” Why? I felt helpless, and broken.

Gajendra took us to a church in an area that is not considered an official slum, yet the children were like the slum children. What I mean is their parents are carpet factory workers, brick makers, and other workers who made next to nothing after long days of work and lived in conditions you could never imagine where we live. Some woke up each day searching for work just to come home with nothing.

We arrived, parked on a dirt road, and had to walk down a muddy alley to get to the church. The church looked like a dried mud building that had two very small rooms. One was used as the church, and one was used for a family who served as “watchmen” for the church. This is typically the case for churches. They allow a family to live in a room that is behind, beside, or a part of the church to keep watch over it.  Usually it is a very simple, small room without a “bathroom” or shower.

Before arriving we learned a little about the pastor from Gajendra.  The pastor and his wife are volunteers for Awana Nepal. He used to pastor a different church, but decided to break off and plant a brand new church in an area that needed it more. The pastor found land, and started to build the church. He ran out of money, so he sold his motorbike, the only form of transportation for the family.

The church has been up and running for close to a year currently has ten believers/members, and thirty children on any given week with sixty attending tution classes every night at the church. The pastor told us that he is beginning to get discouraged but we quickly reminded him that the parents will come. Keep on using the kids to reach their families.

As for the kids? Here are some of their stories.

This little girl was asleep on the floor when we walked in. She was dead asleep. Nothing moved her. Kids would grab her and drag her out of the way. Gajendra told us many kids barely have room to sleep and cannot rest at home, so they stretch out  in the church and fall asleep exhausted. This particular girls parents are both HIV positive. She hasn’t been tested, but odds are she possibly is, too. Her dad passed away, and her mother remarried. Her stepdad then raped her sister who is not much older than she is. It took a while for the little girl to share and for the stepdad to get caught. But he did, and was finally put in jail. As far as the little girl? She was “rescued” and taken from her family in order to protect her.

As for this cutie, as soon as we walked in the door she put a HUGE smile on her face and ran straight for me. She threw her arms completely around me and held on tight. To be honest, I almost made myself pass out holding the tears in as she held on to me. She had the most beautiful smile and eyes. I know she is not smiling in this picture, and often the kids do not. But she is beautiful. Her little belly reveals the malnourishment that she and many of these kids face. She lives in the small room attached to the church building with her mom. The humble room has one small “bed” and a small burner for a stove. That’s it. Her father passed away not long before, and her mom has not been able to find work. She leaves each day searching for a job, and sometimes is able to make enough money for food. Her son was taken from her and put in an orphan home because she could not provide for him. My heart sank. From what I hear about the orphan homes in Nepal, I pray he was put in a good home. I am hoping and praying that the mother will find work, be reunited with her son, and not lose the only family she has left in this sweet, little girl. 

The night we spent with this group was like any other night in Nepal. We played games, sang songs, did a craft, passed out snacks, and told them about Jesus. But this group was different. I felt like they grabbed my heart and refuse to let go. I cannot get them out of my mind.

As we got back to Gajendra’s, Parker felt the same way. We wanted to leave everything we had with them. We wanted to save the little girl and her mom living in the church from a life of poverty. We wanted to give them money. We wanted to find her big brother. We wanted to keep her from being put in an orphan home.

I felt helpless.

They are just like many of the other people in Nepal that have grabbed my heart.

They are poor; yet, rich. They are hungry; yet, filled. They have little; yet, are content.

Why?         

They are happy. They have joy. They have hope. They are blessed.

But how can they be blessed?

Because people like this pastor and his wife, who have very little themselves, pour their hearts and lives into serving them. They have loved them, cared for them, and taught them about Jesus and grace.

That’s it. They have Jesus.

And they have realized, Jesus is all they need.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:3

Laterblog: "Sir, may I go to toilet?"

Well, this blog has been a long time coming, and it’s a long one. In Nepal, tutoring is referred to as “tution,” which completely threw us off at first! So here’s what a typical tution class looked like.

 The kiddos would arrive and stand at the door (shoes off) and would ask, “Sir, may I come in?” They would stand there with prayer hands until we said yes. Then, they would run in and have a seat on a very thin mat on a hard floor. In fact, Parker got so tired of answering their questions and giving them permission that he yelled, “No one ask to come in, JUST COME IN!” Too bad they only know a few phrases in English and didn’t understand him (heehee).

We let the kids get started on their own, and then we would work with them and answer questions. Several times kids just showed up and didn’t even have any books with them. These were typically kids that went to the government schools, not the private schools. Any kid that can afford it goes to a private school in Nepal because the government schools just don’t cut it here. A few times Rachel and Timothy (Gajendra’s children) would interpret for us. They were a HUGE help. SO many times Rachel or Timothy would say, “They want you to teach them English.” Parker served as our English expert, and I served as the math expert. I enjoyed watching him teach the alphabet and trying to come up with words they are familiar with hahaha.

The kiddos would work for a while, and then we would allow them to go outside and play when they finished up. However, they will not leave until asking, “Sir, may I go outside?” or “Sir, may I leave?”

We learned one of their little tricks. Sometimes many kids would ask at the same time, “Ma’am, may I go to toilet?” It was like a chain reaction! Obviously 10 kids could not fit in the toilet at the same time (nor would I recommend it as I often had to use the toilet). We realized the “toilet” excuse is often just like it is at home, and is just a way to get out of class. We often would see the kids chasing after chickens or bunnies, and not exactly “in the toilet.”

Then there’s the names. We tried our best to learn their names, but some of the names were so crazy we gave up! Then we had exchanges like this quite often:

            “What’s your name?”

            “My name is Nischal!”

            “Oh, Knee-Shawl!”

            “NO! Knee-Shawl!”

This went on back and forth as we would repeat their name ten times, exactly as they were saying it! They would start screaming it louder and louder to us (as if that helped). Then by the tenth time either they finally realized we said it right the past ten times, or they gave up. They would do the head bobble and calmly say, “Yes,” like nothing ever happened.

This whole idea of “tution” classes is an approach that Awana Nepal is starting to take. The government needs to know what Awana is doing “community service” wise for the country other than just teaching them about Jesus. Not only does tutoring attract the kids and families to church, but it also touches an area that is extremely competitive and important to parents and officials in Nepal: education.

Once the Hope Center is built, they will offer these same classes throughout the week. They will also feed the children a few times a week, and mix in a little Jesus at the same time. I am so excited that we were able to hold the first tutoring sessions for the Hope Center. We were able to see just exactly what the needs are when it comes to supplies and teaching methods, even the small things like flash cards. No one had any flash cards or really knew what they were!

After the last night the Pastor said parents were really upset that we were leaving. They said the classes were too short, and two weeks is not enough time! They said we need to keep holding the classes, because they can already see a huge difference in their children and they need us. How cool is that! A lot of these parents were still working while their kids walked to tutoring, so they don’t have the time to help. They need the community. It takes a village.

We started with about 18 kids, and ended with 60 on the last night. What a dramatic increase! Parker credits it to bringing his American football for them to play with. I credit it to my "nail-painting extravaganza," which is funny because I can barely paint my own nails. Who knows, but all I can say is that tution, American football, and running wild attracted sixty kids the final night as we shared the Gospel. Isn’t that what it’s all about? A great number of these kids are Hindu, and even more do not attend the church. Some are brick worker children, one of the poorest groups in Nepal. In fact, one Hindu girl, who does not attend church, chose to “win a prize” by memorizing and explaining the Gospel Bracelet after just learning it five minutes before.

At the end of the day, 18 kids stood up wanting to put their faith in Jesus. We do not know exactly what they learned, or what exactly they understood; however, as Gajendra said when we left, “We commit these children unto thy hands.”