KATHMANDU

We awoke, after sleeping soundly through most of the morning, to a home-made breakfast- made by none other than Ganga Limbu himself. We descended the stairway to the kitchen where we met Ganga for the first time. Ganga is a wonderfully charming, gracious, bright young man who has a passion for Jesus. He also works for Robbie- helping lead groups around that come to stay at Robbie's house in Kathmandu. So there he was, making omlettes for the three of us- which was wonderful.

We spent the rest of the day touring a bit of the city- eating lunch at a local Nepali restaurant in town, where we were fortunate enough to have our first taste of the Nepali staple meal: Dal Bhat. Essentially, Dal Bhat is a plate of rice, and you pour various foods on top and mix it all together. These include: lentil soup, sliced potatoes, and meat curry. Basically, it's awesome. Specifically when you join the Nepalis in eating purely with your hands. It's liberating.

We went to a shopping center, Namaste Market for a few items, and then it was back to the house for dinner. Stephano had to bid us farewell, as he was staying with a friend of his from Brazil, Rosana, who lives in Kathmandu. So the original group of four was now down to just Greg and myself. Luckily, we picked up the constantly spiritually deep conversation and high entertainment value of Robby Rai.

To be honest, the next week in Kathmandu was very low-key. Specifically when contrasted with the previous 3 weeks of my life. The main focus was on learning with and from Robby Rai: about evangelizing and relating to Nepali people, learning much about Hinduism and Buddhism, and building the firm foundations of our knowledge of the gospel. It was really different, and really good. I will outline the main events, but will keep it as brief as I, Matthew Ridenour, can.

FRIDAY, JULY 10

Greg and I awoke once again to "Omlettes with Ganga". We then walked to a house in the meighborhood to meet up with a group of three Canadians in KTM on a missions trip. From there, we hiked up a hill overlooking the Kathmandu valley, where they have a prominent Hindu temple and Buddhist shrine. We walked the streets of the neighborhood- very beautifully traditional village ambiance, praying for the people there. We prayed over the temples- that the Truth of Christ would be known. After our prayer walk, we had a delightful lunch of traditional Nepali Momo's (large pot-stickers filled with meat or vegetables). SO GOOD! Seriously- my favorite new food.

After lunch, Ganga asked us if we would like to pass out bibles to the local residents. I was a bit nervous about this prospect- I mean, how would the people receive us as we outsiders give them our Christian text? But before I knew it, he was already talking with the restaurant owner, sharing the gospel with the staff, and asking me to hand them a Bible. So there it was. It was that simple. If they didn't want it, no pressure.

We continued on, passing out Bibles to anyone who wished to have one. Surprisingly, we were met with enthusiasm and smiles as we passed out The Bible to a group of elderly Hindu men, just as with a group of younger women. It was wonderful.

As we walked around the town, we witnessed the filiming of 2 separate Bollywood movies- and they were both absolutely horribly acted. None of us could actually believe what we were seeing. But I will have to look out for both the movies- see if we made it in the backgrounds.

SATURDAY, JULY 11

In Nepal, the Sabbath is on Saturday. Maybe that's true everywhere. I'm not sure. But they go to church on Saturday. Which is different. Except if you're a Seventh-Day-Adventist. In that case, you would fit right in with the Nepali church-going calendar. Needless to say, we went to church on Saturday. Which was a first for me.

Also among the firsts for me were: everyone sitting on the ground (rugs) for the entire service, separation by sex: males on the right, an aisle and then women on the left, and a worship band with just a guitar, drum set, and 4 violins- accompanying a radical Nepali choir. It was a beautiful service, and I actually got emotional for the first time in years while singing "Lord I Lift Your Name On High", as I heard it in a foreign tongue it took on a whole new dimension. It was incredible to see the older Nepali women, dressed up in traditional long, colorful dresses and pashminas, standing up, lifting their hands, and singing their hearts out, praising Jesus. I was really surprised and overjoyed with the environment- the Spirit is alive there.

After church, a lady offered us some traditional food, so we ate up. As if that weren't enough, Robbie took us to the "best steakhouse in town"- Everest Steakhouse. It was here that I ate my first $4.50 fillet mignon. It was wonderful. Unfortunately, Robby forgot to mention that we should order our meat "well-done" instead of "medium". BIG mistake. Greg and I both payed for that one steak for the next few days- Greg more severely than I. Robby later apologized when he realized that our stomachs could not handle undercooked Nepali beef.