Darjeeling diaries

Today we awakened to a fantastic view of Kachenjunga, the third tallest mountain in the world. It's cold here in the morning, even though we are the same latitude as Miami FL.

We did tons of walking today. And up and down steep hills, stairways, and alleys. This is an amazing town that National Geographic should do a cover story on (if they haven't already). The homes are stacked on top of each other on the steepest of hills. There is hardly any western influence in this remote place.
We met with some relatives of our guide this morning after breakfast and drank tea. It is a black tea with milk and sugar. Then we went to meet with a member of the Indian military. While waiting, we were served tea again and were then brought some noodle soup. It was good but I was floating.
We then walked up to the top of the city's summit and met a student who is from the target country. He is Buddhist. Madison spent lots of time with him and shared the good news. Madison also picked his brain about how many of his people lived in Darjeeling, who we could meet, and a dozen more questions that might help us. Turns out there is a refugee camp nearby that we plan to visit tomorrow. The student may turn out to be a good resource for us-and who knows? He may just become a brother.

They have any kind of fish you want, as
long as it is carp.

We walked around the city some more talking. Before taking a long break in a coffee shop and discussing our strategy. We have been looking for a church to worship with tomorrow. Since we haven't found one, we decided to just have our own...publicly. Yes, it could be a little dangerous, but we think it is worth the opportunity it would give us to let some of our new friends experience Christian worship. As we planned, we realized we need a guitar. After asking around we were unable to find one.

 The student took us to a tiny hole-in-the-wall restaurant that makes momo--a kind of meat-filled dumpling, kind of like what Mijung Kang has cooked for us before. Mmmmm! I ate a plate full with their homemade hot sauce. Don't tell his new wife, but Madison ate two platefulls.

Dogs hanging out.

Chickens hanging out.

Many of these houses seem to hang
off the cliffs.

Looks like a church meets here.

This is the inside of a home of a lady who
served us tea. This wall is her kitchen.
The blue and yellow jugs hold fermenting
millet mash for homemade wine.

This wall is the god shelf, full of

Hinduidols that she worships.

 Our Sherpa guide saw a music store toward the base of the town so we went back down. We found one store that had a few awful Indian- and Chinese-made guitars. We asked if there were any more music stores and found out there was one more. Further down the mountain.  Away we walked. Again our guide found the store. The guy working was a Christian and his dad a pastor! We are going to meet his dad later to see what he knows about our target country. Well, I bought a really cool name brand guitar: an Alvariz. Heard of it? Yes, I spelled it right. All the crappy guitars in both stores have names that are misspelled name brands in the fonts of the name brand. I could have gotten a Gilson a Peevy, a Marten, or an Epiphune. I told Madison that where ever he is right now, Bryan Parris will get a cramp if I buy one of these. I bought one. $35 (including a pick and a backpack case). We'll give it to a church when we get back to Kathmandu.

Here's my $35 guitar. It actually plays ok.

The Alvariz's pick guard is a decal.
I'm so sorry, BP.

It's been a long, good day.

Jeeping to Darjeeling

The internet service here is terrible and we only have an hour to use it (the first 30 minutes it didn't work). I hope this posts! Ill try to get some pictures up, too
Long journey today. First a flight on Yeti Airlines to Bhadrapur, Nepal. Then we jeeped to Darjeeling, India, which is populated mostly with Tibetans and Nepalis. Its a very interesting place. I have yet to see a Westerner here but there is an amazing religious diversity. Hindus, Buddhists, and even Muslims are here in abundance. According to our driver and our guide, there are a good number of Christians here, too. Mosques and temples are ubiquitous, but I've only seen one church building and it was on the drive to Darjeeling.
The flight was good. It was really cool to see Everest and other peaks that are among the tallest in the world. I wish there would have been fewer clouds. Still awesome.

The peak of Mount Everest is the pyramid-
shaped white peak you can see amid the
clouds about 11:00 from the red dot on the
wing. This window picture doesn't do justice. 

The drive today was gruelling. It was about six hours long. 99% of it was straight up mountain roads. Scary doesn't even begin to describe it. We were flying up one-and two-lane roads that had nothing keeping you from falling 1000 feet.
Tomorrow we hope to go to the target area (I need to speak in code) border. This is the part that is the primary reason we came. We will probably be on trails and in some uncharted territory. Depending on your prayers.

A Muslim mosque in Darjeeling. 

Of course you can't tell that we're going fast, horn blowing, and there's a 900 ft. drop to the left. Our driver folded in his mirror and had inches on either side. Cool line of Jeeps, btw!

God is at work here. We are sitting now next to our guide who is a Christian Sherpa. Pretty awesome guy. I'm very excited about what God is doing here and about our prospects for starting a work.
We're only traveling with backpacks right now going as light as possible.  I AM, however taking my lice & bedbug prevention stuff! I have had perfect health and bodily functions thus far. I pray this continues. The food has been awesome. However some of the restaurants we've been in have been a bit roach infested. Yeesh!
Despite the difficulties, Jesse, Madison, and I are having a blast. Three extroverts...it is unending conversation and laughing.

A Productive Day

There are some amazing people here. After an early start, we ate breakfast with a Sherpa couple who have awesome testimonies of God's saving grace. The husband's uncle was there, and is also a rather recent convert. His life's story is amazing. He has a very obvious tragic injury to his face and head. I'm not trying to be shocking here, but half of his face is severely deformed from a very serious wound from very long ago. Turns out it was from being mauled by a bear when he was in his late teens.

We've met with several contacts today. One has been given an incredible opportunity to work in a closed country where we'd love to plant. He's got a close friend who is a best friend of the ruler. Like...of the country. Another contact is the only Christian in his mountain village and only one of about three in his entire people group. He is going to be our guide when we "jeep" and walk up near our target area. By the way, I love that they commonly use the word "jeep" as a verb here, even in the native language. I don't think I've seen a real Jeep (brand) vehicle here. We will ride in a Mahindra or Toyota Land Cruiser or something tomorrow. Madison promises that this several-hour 4x4 trip will be very rough, and not fun at all. We will probably not have internet service after leaving tomorrow, so it may be a couple of days before I am able to post again. Please pray for us as we fly to Darjeeling and "jeep" to the border of the closed target area. This is where it gets dicy and this is why we came. The next two days are very important.

As you have probably been able to tell, we have been doing a lot of walking throughout the town. A lot of walking. I'm constantly thinking about how cool it would be to wear a Go Pro. There is no way to describe the madness of the streets here. Motorcycles darting in and out of crowds of people walking in eight-foot-wide alleys with the occasional car wedging its way, all the while everyone is honking horns.

But the people here are great. They are interesting and most are very kind. The colors of this city are stunning. Here are some pictures. They are straight off my phone in unedited form.

I snuck the following shots while waiting for Madison who was in the bank. They were all taken within a period of two minutes.

A Buddhist monk. These guys are everywhere!

This is one I took out the window of a coffee shop.

And one more...this is me with the driver of this truck FULL of Mountain Dew!! They love it here!

Luggage Found. And a Few More Pictures

Good news!  The airport called the place we are staying and said they had our bags. Whew! Thanks much for praying.  The trip there was the typical insane drive through Kathmandu to go get it. Our host graciously gave us a ride. He is a confident driver who just talks and checks texts while driving through the absolute chaos. Honestly, I've never seen anything worse (and I've sees some terrible driving in this world)! But we made it there, got the bags and arrived safely
Here are a few more photos from our area:

And yes, the food is still great. No one has yet had stomach issues. (Lord, please continue this great grace!)

A Taste of Nepal (and Tibet)

We are in Kathmandu, Nepal, reconnecting with some of Madison's friends and contacts before traveling closer to our target area. We have already gotten some great leads. Here are some pictures of our day thus far.

Lunch. A Tibetan Buffalo and noodles dish with some kicking hot pepper paste. Awesome. Oh, and Darla will be pleased to know that Mountain Dew flows abundantly here--the real deal made with cane sugar. Mmmm!

The view outside the place where we ate lunch. The lady is sweeping rainwater off the street with a homemade broom.

Madison and Jesse walking on the street. Notice the rough-cut marble and slate cobblestone street. 

On a street overlooking the Tibetan population area of Kathmandu. Notice the building with a cross on on its red roof. It is the only church we've seen thus far. I think we're going to worship there Sunday. 

Very common sight: fresh produce sold at a store on the street. 

Madison walking with an old friend who was surprised to see him. It was a reunion I wish I would have gotten on camera. 

I'm drinking Nepali tea, sitting with a Buddhist monk. He's drinking American black tea. Ironic.

I'll try to post more later. Right now we have some sporadic, slow, and weak internet, and I'm having to post with my phone (my cord to get pictures from my phone to my computer is in my bag, which is still missing). We hope to get our lost bags back. That would be a good thing for you to pray for. But especially pray that God will open doors and show the way to the unreached people group he wants us to work with. That's the real prayer.

Finally in Nepal!

We made it to Kathmandu. And we made it in style (or at least, first class). We were upgraded at the gate as we were boarding,  and let me tell you, it was, in the words of uncle Eddie in Christmas Vacation, "Real nice, Clark."

Wide, reclining, leather, massage seats; equipped with a personal TV screen with a vast database of movies, games,  and TV shows. All the oppulent comforts, luxury service, and great food that you would expect from an airline that flies gazillionaire oil sheiks around the world.  I don't want to tell too much or some may think we're doing this for the wrong reasons! It was a small gift of God after a 13-hour layover.
All was peachy until we got to Kathmandu and discovered that Madison's and my luggage didn't make it. Not cool. Here's the mystery: Jesse's luggage was waiting for us. After going to the authorities with our tracking tabs and tickets, we found out that Madison's bag is evidently still in Chicago. Mine, on the other hand, is not even showing up in the system! What?! "No problem," the Nepali baggage claims guys told us, "They will probably be here tomorrow." I really hope so.

Kathmandu is an incredible city! As always I was expecting something much different. This is a sprawling, buzzing metropolis that feels (in many ways) like going 100 years back in time. Some parts of it remind me of other third-world areas of the world where I have been. But it is more exotic and strange. Hinduism and (especially) Buddhism is everywhere. The lostness of the majority of people is evident. There is sooo much to do. This is just the starting point for us. We're going to make contacts with people who have contacts among some of out target people groups and go from there.
Please keep praying!

Long flight is over.

The first and second legs of our flight are in the can.
I'm writing this from the Abu Dhabi airport in the United Arab Emirates while we're waiting for our luggage. We just endured the long flight from Chicago of 13 hours. I have what we Sparks call "the gift." It is the ability to sleep anywhere for any period of time in pretty much any circumstances and feel rested afterward. It is at times like these that I am especially thankful for it. Here's the description of my flight: after finally taking off, I watched a movie (and ate during it), slept 8 hours, and watched another movie (eating during it, too). So I feel pretty good. They even served Pepsi on the plane!

The counter scene as we try to figure
out what happened to our bags. 

Where's the luggage? 

It's 9:45 pm here (8 hours ahead of home). We've got a long layover, so I guess we'll eat (something really cool I'm sure) and  then sleep some more!
Well, something seems to have happened to our bags. Gotta go figure it
Thanks for continuing to pray for us the next 2 1/2 weeks.
UPDATE: our checked bags  are apparently headed to Kathmandu. I guess we'll see.  We just ate butter chicken over biryani rice. Well, Madison and I did. Jesse got Burger King. I really don't know what to say about that.

Now it's time for sleep. It's 1am here. We board at 8am. Next stop: Katmandu, Nepal.

In the Air

Here I am with my brothers on the way to the Himalayas. Please pray for us. We have just now boarded for a twelve-and-a-half-hour flight.
I'm so ready to get there and begin seeking God's pleasure and watching him work.
Argh! Delays. Should have expected as much here at the Windy City.

We have been sitting on the runway in Chicago for over an hour now!  I am seated next to a very nice Indian woman. She has already helped me decipher the menu!
I want to take off so I can sleeeeeeeeeep!  Once we are in Asia, I will have to be very careful about my communication. So if I give updates you will have to understand.

Packing for the Unknown

As I wrote on the previous post, I am going on a trip to the Himalayan region.
Before big events the adrenaline flows. I'm always nervous as I pack. This time there are so so many questions and variables. And we're going to stay wet. Packing is not easy, because I need to travel light.

Besides the usual stuff, I need plenty of protein bars and beef jerky (don't know what we'll be eating), underwear and socks (I'm fine being wet and nasty everywhere else but not there), water filter, sleeping stuff (including measures to keep bedbugs at bay), all in a waterproof pack.
The most important way to prepare is spiritually. That's something that you can't do last minute.
Thanks to all for your prayers on our behalf.

Getting Ready to "Go."

Jesus commanded his followers to "Go...make disciples of all nations" (Matthew 28:19).

Beautiful Himalayan children. 

I'm not really sure if this it is a good idea to post about this or not... but here goes. I'm about to go on a very important trip. For years our church has been wanting to take the gospel and plant a church in a truly unreached people group. There are, according to estimations, about 1000 people groups (Greek: ethne = usually translated, "nations") in the world that are yet untouched by the Gospel. That means there are "nations" that must be reached before Jesus will return (Matthew 24:14). If every American evangelical church our size and larger would just take responsibility to reach one of these groups, we could easily cover them all in our lifetimes. We (our elders and our church) have prayed, researched, talked, talked, talked. How do we determine where God wants us to go? How do you prepare? What about the many risks? What will it cost? When do we pull the trigger? Truth is, (in my opinion) those questions can't be answered with absolute certainty (barring supernatural communication from God). As I read the New Testament, having answers to these questions is not a prerequisite or even the priority. We are called to go. Christians in the New Testament just went. No culture-training, no plan for when things go wrong, no classes, no fundraising campaign. They just went.
We Americans tend to over-think things. We set our objectives, prepare, train, and execute. We attempt to do it all in a timely fashion. Some of us (me in times past) set unreasonably ambitious goals. The rest of the world--or most of it anyway--doesn't roll like that. Their days creep by. Change comes slowly. Something different (like say, following a God about whom they have never heard, whom they can't see, yet who desires the total surrender of their lives) takes time to sink in.
I'm not advocating recklessness or ignorance or arrogance in proceeding. I'm advocating proceeding. Wisely, carefully, lovingly, with determination and intentionality. Is it dangerous? Maybe. But Christians must be willing to face danger. Dying is gain. We are called to give our lives for this gospel. We do it with joy, knowing that there is incomprehensible joy that awaits us and all those who receive Christ because we told them. Additionally, this is how we change this world. We can be dismayed at the state of the world, vote for politicians who have a plan to help, and even pray for world peace. But going gives the world the Prince of Peace.

This is a church planter in the region near where we are going.
God is moving among some of the people groups in the
Himalayan area, but there are many more yet unreached.

God is at work in the region where we are going. But we are going to some of the spiritual frontiers, where he has not yet been known. This is a pioneering, "first contact" reconnaissance trip. God willing, there will be many more intentional trips to the area in the future. I know many of you (especially among our Providence men) are biting at the bit to take part. I love our church.
Want to help us? Yes, pray for smooth travel (it's monsoon season there) and health so that we can accomplish our mission. But even more, pray that God will open doors and prearrange the right contacts. Pray that we will be wise listeners and learners. Pray that we will have opportunities to share the good news, that God will raise up new disciples, and perhaps even a future indigenous church planter (that would be a huge miracle). Pray that we will come back with a God-inspired strategy for reaching one of the many truly unreached groups in the area (Himalayan Asia) where we (Jesse, Madison, and I) are going.