Hard Work and Real Love

I knew it would be hard work.  My backpack was light, only one pair of work clothes and the bare essentials.  I knew the work would be challenging, but I didn't realize the incredible beauty I would encounter on our four day trip to the village.

Set in the Himalayan foothills, this village had been heavily impacted by the earthquake.  As we jolted up the trail/road in a trailer, behind a tractor, I was caught off guard by the immense beauty all around me. 

The ministry we were working with had began a relationship with this particular village pre earthquake, and their relationship has only deepened.  The love of Jesus literally flows from the ministry campsite.  Visitors come constantly for prayer and love.  Children wander up for attention and more love.  The village knowns this site is different, they feel the love of Jesus.

Our days were simple: 

wake up from our tin open-air tent/shack

sip tea and gaze at the splendor of the hills

eat dal bhat at 9am

hike an hour to the worksite

work for 6 hours

sweat, sweat and more sweat

hike back to camp

eat dal baht

love people

go to sleep at 8:15pm

The work included tearing down ruined houses, moving rocks, digging for household items, playing with village children, pushing down walls, pick-axing the rubble for larger rocks and doing whatever else the villagers had in mind.

The sight of broken houses, collapsed roofs and ruined homes impacted my heart forever.  Yet by pulling down the homes and doing the demolition work we were inspiring the people and giving them hope.  They, in turn, found the strength to rebuild and start over.

Physically it was challenging.  The work was hard, the sun was hot, and my skin quite sunburned after the first day.  Water and a bucket was the only shower available to us.  The smells arises from our sleeping quarters were quite bad, to put it simply.

Yet I felt and saw a raw love.  Once again, Jesus was everywhere.  A man came for prayer and was healed of stomach pain and asthma, he is so close to knowing Jesus.  A woman couldn't move her shoulder so we laid hands on her and prayed to our Healer - full shoulder rotation was the result of God's Spirit moving.  

We didn't hardly need to go out, the people came.  Attracted to the love and the power of Jesus, this simple village will never be the same.  Lives are being changed forever, for Jesus.