Finally a team..

Yesterday was the first day we all became super comfortable around each other. It was an awesome day with everyone! I absolutely love it here and so thankful that God chose this team for me to be with on this journey. We are constantly checking on each other to make sure we are feeling okay, and making sure everyone is staying hydrated. The guys on the team, Tanner, Barrett, Austin and Matthew, have been so good about watching over the girls- especially when we are walking at night. Though the city is chaotic and a lot is going on around you- I love this atmosphere.

We got to experience our first visit outside of Thamel yesterday. Dhubar square is an area that is built up by temples where people still worship. In the Hindu culture there is also a “living goddess.” She is chosen from a certain family and put through tests to see if she is qualified for the role. Once she is chosen she is brought to Dhubar square where she will live. Her feet may never touch the ground so she has to be carried everywhere. After she hits puberty she will be released of her duties as goddess and expected to go back and live as a normal person. After you are a goddess, being accepted back into society is a very hard road.

Nepali language lessons are very interesting. Yesterday we learned more sentence structures and future tense. It was super intense and by the end of the hour we were all extremely lost. Our favorite sentence translates to.. “I ate water and sat on it.” That was Austin’s attempt to say “I will drink water.”

It is now 6:20am here in Thamel (at the time my internet isn’t working so this will be posted at a later hour). Today we will be attending our first church service and also be spending some time at our first children’s home. I am excited to see how this culture encounters God.

This trip is turning out to be so much more than I expected. I adore this country and my team. Sarah, our leader, is so incredible and such a great example. Though she is the leader she is encouraging and never looking down on us when we are trying to figure out how things work here. We all decided that she is one of the most hardcore people we ever met.. You kind of have to be when you live in Nepal.

Here are some prayer requests for these next few days:

-      -----We met a team from Azusa Pacific University.  They will be heading home in about a week. Pray for their debriefing time and their travels back home.

-       -----Pray for our interactions with the kids today on our first trip to the children’s home.

-       -----Ask that Jesus would continue to open our eyes to this culture and allow our hearts to be broken for these people.

-       -----As a team, we would grow closer together and continue to encourage each other.