From Shawna

Last week, we had the opportunity to travel to one of the most beautiful places I've ever been, Pokhara, for our InterServe conference. We had chartered a bus and all of us from Kathmandu were headed toward Pokhara for a six hour journey. We made it about halfway to Pokhara, and were stopped by an insane traffic jam. We decided to walk 4 kilometers to the nearest village, Mugling, to have some lunch.

On the walk to Mugling, I was nearly crushed between a bus and a truck, and I felt totaly out of control. I looked around and I couldn't find Jon and I panicked. I am finding that this feeling of being out of control has been becoming more frequent each day in Kathmandu. Not knowing the language or understanding the culture has presented many challenges for living in Nepal.

On my walk to Mugling, I felt a sudden overwhelming urge to pray. As I was praying, I looked up and saw a convoy of 6-8 army trucks with soldiers perched on top holding REALLY BIG GUNS. Jon noticed that the trucks had bullet holes in the side. I felt an overwhelming need to pray for our safety at that time--for often where the army is, conflict with the Maoists is also. I felt very vulnerable at that moment.

I am ashamed to say that I did not continue in my attitude of prayer. Rather, I found myself cursing the idiots that blocked the road. (The bus and truck drivers thought it would be a good idea to pull into the oncoming traffic so that they might get ahead, but ALAS! They only made the traffic jam worse, preventing anyone from either side to get ahead.) I found myself very angry and I was ready to go back to my country, where I was very comfortable.

Deep in my heart, I know that we are called to be here in Nepal. But at that very moment, if I were offered a one-way ticket back home, I would have jumped on that plane without looking back. I was ready to throw in the towel. But again, I know that is not what God has for us right now. God has us here for a reason....I must press on. We were stranded in Mugling for 5-1/2 hours, and our 6 hour journey turned into a 13 hour journey. We later learned that the reason for the traffic jam was because of a conflict between the Maoists and the army--thus the bullet holes in the truck.

We made it safely to Pokhara. I was looking very forward to three days of spiritual renewal. Instead, Luke ended up getting very sick. He wasn't holding any food or drink down. He had giardia, and it was coming out of both ends. This lasted for the rest of the conference, and so I did not get to attend many of the sessions, which was a disapointment. It was very hard for me to see Luke so sick.

We stayed in Pokhara for 2 nights after the conference to give Luke an opportunity to get better. He didn't seem to get any better, so we decided that I would fly back with Luke. Jon had the option of flying, too, but of course he'd rather travel by land than by air when given the chance. Luke and I flew home on a short 20 minute flight while Kody and Jon came back on the bus.

Fortunately, this time their journey only took the expected 6 hours. So we praise our God for bringing us back safely to Kathmandu. We also offer praise because Luke is getting better each day and is getting his appetite back.
I know that many of you who love us are tempted to pray for our trials to end. But I would ask you instead to pray for God to be glorified in the midst of these hard times. Please pray for our hearts to be turned toward God as we face difficult times. As I wrote earlier, I am ashamed to say that it is not always so.

Often the stress of living in Nepal gets to us and we lose sight of why we are here. We have been stripped of everything that makes us comfortable--our language, our cozy home, our friends, our church, our family.....We are forced to depend on God, as we have never had to before. I am finding that my time in Nepal is more about changing me rather than what I have to offer the Nepali people.

Brother Yun, a Chinese believer, said in his book, The Heavenly Man, "If persecution stops, I fear that we will become complacent. Don't pray for persecution to stop,b ut for God to be glorified in the midst of persecution."

Isaiah 57:9-11 I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations; I will sing of you among the peoples. For great is your love, reaching to the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies. Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth.

Posted by Shawna at January 11, 2004 01:10 AM