Waking up in Nepal

Will in his new oufit and Pastor Tika

Kirk here…

It seems it is getting increasingly hard to blog. The power is down to two 4 hour increments a day with 4 of them coming sometime in the middle of the night. It is usually better on the weekends though.

 This weekend we will not be able to leave the compound due to it being the Hindu holiday “Holi”. On this day people throw water on each other in the form of water balloons and literal bucketfuls from balconies as you walk down the streets. It sounds fun until you realize that most of the time it is sewer water they’re throwing! Literally! No kidding! Sewer water! Someone actually threw one today (early) and broke out a window in Pramita’s room. Many of the participants paint their faces like demons. They are mostly all very drunk as well so it is not a good time to go outside. Many of the church members will come very early on Saturday and will not go home until the next day as Saturday is the main day. So we will probably have quite a few sleeping at the compound. We are getting extra food tomorrow to accommodate them. Quite a few people are killed each year during the “Holi” weekend as well.

We are getting a very good education on Hindu culture and there is nothing pretty about it. Pramita told us last night about a Newarri ritual every 12 years where there is human sacrifice involved. A year ago a boy went missing not too far from here and it is believed that Hindu “holy men” in his village sacrificed him to appease their god. The police knew about it but were too afraid to go into the temple there to investigate it. They were either too superstitiously afraid or simply too afraid of the people there. This is not made up but is very real. How anyone could ever think Hinduism is a “great world religion” is beyond me. They have obviously never seen it up close and personal and it is demonic to the core. Add to this the caste system which causes the upper castes to treat lower ones like dirt and you begin to understand why believers here want nothing to do with it and find no room whatsoever for compromise. There are many very sweet Hindu people that we have met (and our hearts ache for them) but as far as Hinduism itself is concerned it is very, very dark.

Well enough of all that brooding! On a happier note we thought you might like to see what Pastor Tika and his lovely wife Duraga did for Will. They wanted to bless him so they had a traditional Nepali suit made for him. It is called a Dhaka and he loves it! Everyone calls him a sweet Nepali baboo. He wore it last week to a Hindu wedding we were invited to. The mother is the lady who recently came to Christ and she wanted us all to come so her family could meet her new friends! It was a great honor to be invited and we were glad to go to support this dear lady. See pictures below of Will and some shots from the wedding.

In our Savior, Kirk

The Happy Couple

The Dancing Will

Offerings to the gods