that time we almost died. like last week.

 this week has been filled with the most beautiful and small inspirations. 

living life alongside precious girls who teach me joy in pain. 

all that to say, i've been a little preoccupied so the blog has landed last on my priority list. 

well, that and removing my month old nail polish. 

but today my mother-in-law called, 

and out of her mouth spilled

"katie! you can't leave us hanging...how did you almost die?" 

I forgot to share that minor detail with you! 

my b. 

so yeah, the truth is, we did almost die.

we had been visiting the town of Pokhara,
an 8 hour drive from Kathmandu where we live.

We went river rafting, which was flat out fun.
The tour had promised us "transportation" back to KTM.
Our notion was that they had a company van to drive us back.

umm....no.
it was more like the guides start bus hitch-hiking for us,
which, well....okay.
I get it, we're in a 3rd world county. 

bit, here's the freakin' deal. 

it was nepali new years, and every nepali and their five kids was on a bus back to KTM. 

Like seriously, these buses swelled with so many people that there were arms, legs and faces pouring out the windows, people standing in the aisles. 

Not gonna lie, I wasn't super stoked about carting my big bag onto a bus that probably didn't have room for a cricket. 

soon our desperate rafting guides were literally flagging down anything that had 4 wheels and a motor. 

kevin and I exchanged glances. 

jumping up and down, our guides soon pulled over a jeep. 

i stared, wide-eyed. 

There were already 7 {count it, 7!} people in the jeep, AND all their luggage. 

and Kevin and I had 2 backpacks and a huge suitcase. 

where in God's name did they plan to put us? 

kevin and I exchanged more glances. 

So basically at this point, 

we are shoved into the trunk of the jeep while all the luggage gets strapped on top of the car. 

We hop in, greet the family of 7, and then we all head on our merry way back to the city. 

At first, Kevin and I thought this was hilarious. 

Here we are with a bunch of strangers in a trunk with a LONG car ride ahead of us! 

We sat on pull-down seats, backpacks strung across our lap, our legs interwoven.

Kevin was so big he couldn't even put his head up straight. 

This is pretty funny for the first 5 minutes. 

Then, without warning, the driver starts picking up some major speed. 

now, mind you, we are on a cliff, hundreds of feet up above a river. 

faster and faster and faster we go. 

I clutch Kevin's hand with nervous laughter. 

like, haha this is funny, I can't wait to journal about this. 

There is so much traffic on the these cliffs, that our driver begins to pass buses like it ain't no thang. 

but here's the deal, the road is like NARROW, and we are like HIGH.

Not to mention that up to this point Kevin and I had counted 4 massive wrecks on the road, 

and by wrecks I mean like 2 huge buses collided head on. 

Now,  you may think i'm over exaggerating about the speed,

but finally one of the Nepali men in the car decides it's time to acknowledge us. 

He turns around, with a twinkle in his eyes, and says

"95 Kilometers an hour!" 

as if he wants me to be PROUD that his driver is trying to kill me. 

"Afraid?" he says laughing...

Kevin shakes his head and says "no", 

but i'm like YES, I'M AFRAID! 

{and I don't care if i'm being culturally insensitive now, I will tell you I fear for my life!}

he laughed. 

it's not funny homeboy, it's not funny. 

calming down a bit, Kevin and I decided to take in the surroundings, 

you know, get our mind off rolling down a cliff in our car.  

we tried to be a bit Pollyanna-like in our observations, 

suggesting things like "I bet this car is better than being in a bus"or "this will make a great story" 

but after a while our observations and conversations shifted:

me: "it smells like B.O. in here" 

kevin: "i just farted"

me: "what!?? we are stuck in this tiny space and you just farted, seriously??!?!?!"

kevin: "no one seemed to notice"

me: "that's true, ok i'm going to fart too then." 

kevin: "ewww gross. ok." 

me: "that guy hasn't stopped talking the entire car ride"

kevin: "i know {insert laughter}, and no one else has said anything"

me: "I bet you $5 that he doesnt' stop talking the entire car ride"

kevin: "ok, but I think you'll win" 

in case you were wondering, I won the bet. 

this guy had skill. like olympic medal status in speed talking. 

anyway, 

i digress. 

soon we hit a bit of a rough patch. 

and Kevin and I are bouncing up and down with such frequency and speed that i don't even know how to control my body. 

i'm pretty sure we both drooled. i know. gross. don't judge us. 

but no one seems to notice the massive white people trampolining in the back of the jeep. 

i'm really not sure how that was possible, but evidently it was. 

then we hit the breaking point. 

where our driver thought it would be a great idea to pass a huge truck, on an incline, on a cliff, hundreds of feet over a river gorge, with a car of 7 nepalis and two strangers. 

As we started to pass, Kevin and I gasped as we saw a van coming at us in the other direction. 

I dug my fingernails into Kevin,

all the while thinking, 

this is it. I'm bound to die in a jeep with strangers in a foreign country on a cliff with a maniac driver

(and by "maniac" I mean a very nice nepali man who saved us from being stranded in the middle of no where in asia)

you guys,

 we missed the van by an inch. 

and inch! 

after that, I couldn't even look out the front window. 

I just stared out the back window and prayed. 

that God would SAVE us. 

and guess what? 

He did:) 

And in all honesty, I know it was because of your prayers. 

you all have NO idea how much your prayers mean to us. 

Last week when I shared how discouraging my first nepali lesson was, 

so many of you shared that you were praying for me.

 This week language lessons have been amazing! 

{and I do NOT attribute that to my language skills, or lack-there-of!}

so thank you for walking this road with me in prayer! 

I cannot wait to share more of the exciting blessings Abba has poured out on us this past week. 

happy weekend:) 

love Katie