Nepal, Part 3

So we finally make it to the place where we start trekking. From here on out, we were on foot. The scenery helped. :)Dal bhat (pronounced "doll bot") is what people in Nepal eat for pretty much every meal. It's usually rice, lentil soup, curry (usually meaning "a mix", but also usually includes the spice), a veggie, and a super spicy curry. The locals mix everything together and scoop it into their mouths with their hands. I really wanted to take a pic of our guides eating, but thought that might be rude, so I never did. But I definitely thought about it! :) They usually don't eat off such extravagant plates/bowls. The place we stopped at on this day served us with these dishes to welcome us and to show us honor.

One of the best parts of the trip was meeting and getting to know people. And, of course, to tell them about Jesus. We ended up giving this sweet girl below a Bible. She's a Christian, but all she knows is what her grandmother (also a Christian) told her from when a missionary went through her grandmother's town when her grandmother was just a child! I love to hear how the Lord takes care of His own and the love for Him passes from one to another! The girl below never had a Bible before and was so excited to see us in her town. She immediately spoke to us with what little English she knew, told us she was a Christian, and asked if we had a Bible for her. Amazing!!! Oh, and isn't she just beautiful?We were sad to say bye to her, but we had to keep going where people had possibly never heard. So onward we went.

As we kept going, the villages got smaller and smaller. Soon there were no restaurants, so for meals we were able to go into people's homes. It was so neat to be welcomed inside their homes. Even just their everyday chores were fascinating! These people are pros at keeping the fire going all night long and keeping things dry when needed, wet when needed, etc. It was amazing to watch them cook! Especially with a stove like this: Oh, and talk about fresh food! Eggs straight from the source, a pumpkin straight from the vine immediately peeled and chopped for dinner(p.s. do you see the honker of a knife I'm cutting with??), and fresh milk. Yum!!!!

Of course, this is all made possible by the free-roaming farm animals everywhere. Look at that precious little boy! Oh, that's another thing - Nepali people are SUPER strong! We'd be going up the mountain with our 20-30 pound packs and hiking boots and rain gear on and we'd hear "pitter-patter" coming up quickly behind us. An 8 year old child with 75 pounds of weight on his/her head with BARE FEET or FLIP-FLOPS would pass by us like lightening. Amazing!! And yet, a little disheartening at the same time. :) (Really, why was I breathing so deadgum hard? I work out! I trained for this!) I think the biggest compliment our guides gave us one of the days was "You did good today. Made Nepali time. You moved like a Nepali today." Yup, definitely a compliment and made me smile proudly. :)