Day 2 in Ghorka

Pastor Paul and Sumitra.  We were able to hear from them in regards to their needs and the needs of their church and village.  

Here are some prayer needs:

- pray for funds to come in monthly for their two boys to go to a better school.  Paul and Sumitra have sacrificed good jobs and opportunity in the city to come pastor the Vineyard church in Ghorka.  It doesn't cost much to live on the village as they farm their own food.  However without any cash, they are unable at this point to send their two boys to a good school.

- resistance among those in the village to the church.  If this was not Paul's home village, some folks would beat him for his work in the church.  But as Paul is from Ghorka they have not hurt him.  Pray for protection and provision for Paul, Sumitra and their boys.  Pray that the folks who are resistant would have hardened hearts softened.  

The Ghorka vineyard 

Mike shared and began asking what questions the folks here would like answered.  It was a great beginning to hear from our Nepali friends.  Mike then shared from 1 jn 1:5...walking in the light.

At Raju's family home there's never a dull moment with all the animals.  So much fun.  We all want a pet goat now! 

We left Samuel for 45 min and came back to see he had made about 15 new friends!  

The beautiful river.  Guess what?  We found the weather quite warm today so we jumped in the crystal clear crispy cold water!  What a treat to do this in Nepal.  Not something that happens in the city that's for sure.

Samuel is in his second month of having local people notice him and find him adorable.  He's not used to this! No one even imagines that our tall teenagers are still kids (esp as they tower over the Nepali adults) so Samuel gets a lot of attention.  

And guess what else?  While we were swimming, Raju caught our dinner!

Soccer game with the Canadians and Nepali kids!

How can we leave such beauty?  

God is light and in Him there is no darkness at all.  1 Jn 1: 5

Ghorka village

Love this village.  Here we are on the way...

The hike up is nothing compared to the 4 day trek we just did...

Hospitality here is off the charts.  Tea is served as soon as we land...

Love the animals here!  Here's the Buffalo ...

Goats...

Fresh grapefruit off their grapefruit trees!

And fresh peas.  What a treat!

It costs almost nothing for these folks to live in the village as they grow everything they need.  When a goat is 2 years old they sell it for meat for $200.00.  So every two years there can be a chance to earn some cash if they own a goat.  Many villagers just farm for themselves here.  Some farm to sell in Ghorka or in Ktm.  

Joseph is 15!

Here's Joseph today with Fishtail Mtn in the background.  For all of Joseph's life, he has loved the mountains.  So with great joy we trekked today day 4 on Joseph's 15th birthday.   We can't help as parents but remember what he went through last year at this time.  Wow, what a miracle and thankful we are...

Loved the jungle walk yesterday and today...

See the fireplace?  This was a lifesaver last night and this morning.  It's an old oil barrel with clay plastered around and piping going out of celing.  All the bedrooms are cold but this one room was warm!  It was around this fire that Raju shared his life story with us.  With laughter and tears we took in all he shared with us.

Having breakfast...

There are long trains of donkeys that we have to watch out for as we share the narrow mountain path.  They carry rice, supplies and people up and down the village path.  It's the only way supplies can go to and from these villages.  

See this local Nepali woman?  We are trekking for leisure but she has a basket soon to fill up of produce to take from one place to another.    It's amazing how hard these people work just to live.

Local Nepali lunch time!

What an adventure!

Day started at 5 am...12 hours later

Wow boot camp in the Himalayas...unreal diversity in terrain today.  First we saw the Annapurna mtns from poonhill-amazing!  Here's the group that got up early at 5 am for this adventure...

Here's what we conquered today...

Here's the start of the terrifying ice slide.  Yesterday 2 foreigners broke their legs.  I totally understand why.  There were times in this 2-3 hour period when I had no idea how we would make it through this. As I looked at the nightmare of ice that was our path and wondered how we would manage, local Nepali guides would be there to help us along with our dear friend Raju and our porter Harley.  

The camera came out again when the path was stable...

A stop for lunch after hours of stress and adrenaline rush.  I gotta say I didn't see ANY folks our age out there nor did I see ANY teens or kids.  Kinda tells ya something but I feel like I guess we can do anything if we did this!  

Beautiful mountain falls...

Again breath- taking beauty all around us...

Mikes pack is enormous and without a porter he has had to tackle crazy conditions but he's still smiling here!

Mike and Adam resting when possible...

Then a walk through the jungle...

See what creature is in the tree?  There were lots of them...

And then we saw wild monkeys- awesome!

On top of the world!

Wow here we are close to Poon hill.  Can't believe this family can do this with joy.  There are moments when we ask "how much longer?", but more often than not, we are engaging in conversation, song.  At the guest houses, we all collapse and warm up by the fire.  For myself it's amazing to actually exercise ALL day surrounded by incredible majestic mountains and waterfalls.   As we talk with the locals and pass through trekking villages, we get a new appreciation for all we have and at the same time we gain insight on what these folks have.  

Trekking!

Amazing view, unreal work out and a determined team makes for a wonderful week.  Here we are 1/2 way through our 4 day trek.  I gotta say I'm super proud of the youngest member-Samuel! 

It's been great to stop and visit with some local people in the villages.  Raju introduced us to the pastor of victory church.  We were able to hear his story and pray with him. 

For God alone my soul waits in silence,

for my hope is from him.

He alone is my rock and my salvation,

my fortress; I shall not be shaken. Ps 62:5,6

We tackled A LOT of stairs today but you can see how worth it, it's been!