“The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God,” -Mark 1:1
The first four books of the New Testament, also known as the Gospels, are books that tell the story of Jesus: from the miraculous conception to the death, resurrection, and commission for us to GO and make disciples. What we see in these gospels is Jesus’ life; how he taught us how to pray, have compassion, love, how to teach, how to be humble, and how to live. We see prophesies fulfilled of the coming Messiah, the Son of God. We see that the blind receives their sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the Good News is preached to the poor (Matthew 11:5).
“Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deep and the mute tongue shout for joy.” -Isaiah 35:5-6
These gospels many of us have memorized verses from. We have heard different stories told repeatedly, especially that of the birth, death, and resurrection. In the repetition often the significance of the most important parts salvation the good news about Jesus the Messiah almost gets lost. Without digging into the Bible and always looking for what might not have been clear before then everything just becomes stories and nothing more.
The past couple of weeks our team leader challenged us to read the book of Mark as we went on a trek into northwest Nepal. My thought on this challenge was that I have read Mark multiple times and there are other books in the Bible that I felt the challenge would be better suited for. However, as I read through Mark with my team and as we discussed different points and brought in different questions I fell in love with this book again.
As we walked through a small portion of the Himalayan mountain range going from one village to another things from the Bible seemed to be made more clear, not only from the book of Mark but throughout the Bible as a whole. To share a little bit with you about this journey I am going to come directly from my journal that I kept during my time there.
We are a couple of days into our trek to Rara Lake in Jumla. This is the area just below Humla (where we previously ministered). This trek has been very eye opening for me in the religious area as well as in the area of herbal remedies for my research. One of the villages we stayed in worship a god called Baal (Numbers 25:3, Judges 3:7, 1 Kings 16:31-33, 2 Chronicles 28:1-2, many more). In general Baal was a fertility god who was believed to enable the earth to produce crops and people to produce children. It was a false god that led Israel into sin many times throughout the Bible. Our trekking guide told us that in this village where they worship Baal the villagers do a lot of practices that other Nepalis find very weird. At this village however, despite the spiritual battle taking place I was able to learn a little bit more about herbs thanks to a random farmer who enjoyed showing me his green house. This farmer also introduced us to a root called ground apples. This root literally tastes like an apple it is very interesting.
Something else we have been doing a lot of is watching the sheep with their shepherds as we walk. The shepherds leading their sheep to a safe place to eat each day. The shepherds sometimes will join their flocks with others for a time to eat and then separate at the end of the day without a problem. The sheep as funny as they are to watch at times know the voice and the whistle of their shepherd. It was not abnormal to see a shepherd carry a little lamb on its shoulders and it was fun to see lambs running with their mothers trying to keep up with the rest of the flock. One of the men from our team after watching the sheep for a while said it well when he said, “the Bible seems to come alive and take on a whole knew meaning as you watch the sheep. The thought of killing a lamb is an awful thing” (1 Peter 1:19). What Christ did for us that through him the perfect lamb we might believe in God, who raised Him from the dead…. Salvation.
A couple of days later I wrote again.
A big experience that we had about the time I last wrote was climbing a hill (to us mountain). We did it on one of our afternoons after we had trekked. We have trekked shorter treks each day than our previous treks in Humla so we can spend more time in each area. Anyways, this day we went straight up about 1,000 feet. We stopped for a short time between rocks. Close to the last stop I got altitude sickness and was not going to go further but my teammates encouraged me on. We saw a black wolf close to the top and then on reaching the top the view was amazing. We were able to see a small portion of the Himalayan mountain range, yet it seemed to stretch as far as the eye could see. God’s creation so often can just leave us in awe.
Yesterday then we were met by a man who was sick. He was told we were there (it is common knowledge the foreigners carry medicine here) and he came and sat with us for devotions as we read and discussed the book of Mark. It was being translated into Nepali as we talked so our porters who are believers could understand and participate in the conversation. After devotions he allowed us to pray for him then we gave him some medicine. The exciting thing being the possibility of a seed planted.
A couple days later again I took time to write.
Today we arrived at Rara Lake. The view of the mountains and their reflection in the lake was and is amazing. The hotel has been a step up from the coldness of the tents and the sketchiness of the rat-infested rooms we have recently stayed in. A warm bucket shower also felt nice after going over a week without taking a shower. This trek as a whole has not necessarily been what we hoped for as far as a Buddhist population for us to work with and minister to. However, this trek has been eye opening and good for us to see the vision of other Nepalis who are believers. To see their heart for their people and to see them work in this area that they have claimed as their mission field. There is a U.S. missionary who also works in this area and some churches have been started. Our trekking guide who is a well-respected man has a huge heart for this area. I really do believe that God is going to do big work through his people here.
A few days before heading home.
Today we took a walk through the capital city of Mugu. It is always nice to walk without ones trekking gear. However, no matter how much you are carrying it is always easier on the lungs going down hill than it is coming back up. As we were about halfway down the hill today our trekking guide stopped us at a little shack (shack even for Nepali standards). He told us that this was the church in the area and all I could do was stand and look. My mind honestly couldn’t comprehend how anybody at all could fit into that building. Our guide proceeded to tell us that this is the church after being rebuilt 3 times. The first time it was destroyed by a rockslide. The second time buffalo had fallen on it (it is at the bottom of a cliff). Now, here it stands not very nice at all but holds a congregation of about 15 people. After hearing testimonies and stories like this one I just want to hide my head in shame. The people here are hungry and passionate about their God. They are willing to meet to learn more even in a shack that has been destroyed multiple times by natural causes. What do I have to say anything about?
Now I am home working to get all my information together to finish my research project and reflecting on what all happened during our time there. Honestly as I write this I am crying. God is so good. My experience over the last several weeks and the work He is doing and has yet to do leaves me inspired. This was a good last trek before I leave this beautiful country for a little while.
“The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God,” -Mark 1:1
“Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deep and the mute tongue shout for joy.” -Isaiah 35:5-6
The Bible is living and active. I encourage you to dig into the Gospels this Christmas season. Read about the story of the savior of the world. From the miraculous conception to the death, resurrection, and commission for us to GO and make disciples. Learn from the life of Jesus; how he taught us how to pray, have compassion, love, teach, how to be humble, and how to live. Do not let yourself read just for another story but challenge yourself and discuss different points with others. See what new jewels you can discover as you take the time to read and learn about your creator.