Today Kev and I went on a bike ride, and while the wind whipped through my hair and we chattered on about life, he suddenly turned to me with a large grin and said, "exactly a year ago we moved to Nepal"….
goodness! has a it really been a whole year?
I'll never forget the feelings that struck my whole body when his family dropped us off at the airport exactly a year ago. We hugged and said goodbye, and then started to walk away from them, towards our terminal. It was a surreal feeling. Just months before, we had been contacted by an aftercare home in Nepal to see if we could come and partner with them to build the infrastructure of the home (I worked on policy/procedural work, and Kevin worked on the accounting and financial side).
We had NO idea what to expect. A million thoughts ran through my mind…"what is our apartment going to be like?", "will the girls like me?", "what do people eat in Nepal?". Kevin and I were all nerves, excitement/nervousness/BRING IT ON!!! We wanted to embrace life to the fullest in Nepal and embrace the beauty that it would bring to our marriage, our hearts, and our faith.
To say that our lives were transformed in Nepal just doesn't seem to do our experience justice. Those five months were incredibly healing, abundantly restorative, and epically inspirational!
For nostalgic sake, here are my top 5 favorite things about our time in Nepal:
1. Being with the Girls: The home where we worked housed a handful of the most precious girls you could imagine. These girls were once in horribly abusive situations, some trafficked across international borders, and had been rescued and brought to the home. Kevin and I had the incredible privilege of spending many of our days with the girls, teaching English, planning movie nights, taking them on excursions, playing games, and just listening to them. I cannot express the loveliness of these young girls. For all they had experienced in their short lives, they fought bravely to accept their past and make a new future. Being around them was a passionate experience, as embraced every song, dance, and cooking endeavor with such fervor. The amount of times we laughed and giggled and cried with them will forever be engraved on my heart. They are my heroes.
2. Exploring a New City: We lived in Kathmandu, which is the capital of Nepal. And a colorful capital at that! It is a jam-packed, in your face, loud, crazy, fun, and colorful city. Every outing was an adventure, even the most mundane walk to the aftercare home each day was sure to surprise us. Some days we'd be walking down a path, and an elephant (with his master) would walk by us (um, HELLO elephant!), other days we'd have to shoo a cow away from the ATM to withdraw money. Some days Kev and I would hop on a micro-van for 15 cents and just get off wherever we wanted and set out on foot to explore {here}.
3. Meeting new friends: Moving to a new country can be hard, especially when you leave so many incredible friends and family members behind. However, in the same vein, meeting new people can be one of the greatest aspects to living abroad! God totally provided an incredible community for us in Nepal, as we met people so committed to fighting human trafficking and bringing freedom to the country! We met dear friends all around the world, whom we shared meals with, played in a volleyball league with, and just had fun telling stories and exploring the city with! I met 4 of the most lovely ladies whom I still keep in touch with from, that were from England, South Africa, Australian and the USA.
4. Spending every day with my Husband, working together for a cause that Mattered: This was a dream to me. Kevin and I love being together, and in the USA, we unfortunately had separate jobs that took us away from each other most of the day. But in Nepal, not only did we get to work together, but we got to spend our time on a mission that made a difference in the lives of the girls in the home. Kev and I got to dream, and pray, and read, and rest together. We laughed when the electricity went out all the time and we had to eat our dinner by the light of a candle. He supported me when I failed miserably in our Nepali language classes, and every day we set out together to figure out how to live in Nepal (like where to buy our produce, etc. {here}). My absolute favorite thing was watching my sweet husband with the girls in the home. You can read more about this {here}.
5. Seeing the Power of God's love: I have never seen the power of God's love in a deeper, more tangible way that I did in Nepal. In the home where we worked, all the staff members were committed Christians, however none of them ever "pushed" their beliefs on the girls. They just LOVED them fiercly and deeply. One day, a few weeks after a new girl arrived to the home, she pulled our house mother aside and said, "This is the first time i've ever felt loved. It's because your Christians, isn't it?". I was so moved by this statement. That this precious girl knew God's love, not because it had been forced on her, but because it had been generously given to her in the form of day to day care, in the hugs at night when she had nightmares, in the family dinners, in the smiles and warmth and affection that just flowed. God's love is powerful, and when it is lived out, it covers over so much. I saw this love, and experienced it, and it made me a new person.
6. Sweet Rest: In moving to Nepal, I think I had the idea that we'd be "giving out" so much energy and time. And while this was true, I also found that the slow pace of life was restorative. For most of the day, there was no electricity so using the internet was out (which, leeezzz be honest, takes up a lot of our time normally, right?!). My Nepali phone was circa 2002, and was as basic as they come, so there was no distraction there! And I hardly knew anyone when I first moved there. This combination gave me a lot of time on my hands. Because of this, I did very revolutionary things….like rest, and read and pray:) There was so much healing when my heart and mind was forced to be still. God taught me so much about loving others, forgiving others, and choosing to always be positive. Those lessons lifted my spirits!
I will forever thank God for the experience Kev and I were gifted in Nepal. I look back a year later, and realize how the experience truly changed our lives!!
Happy Monday friends,
love Katie
This was such an encouragement to read through this morning. Your poured-out life is such an example. Thank you both! xo
ReplyDeletebeautiful post! I can NOT believe y'all left a year ago! I think next month will make 2 years of following your blog...what an adventure it has been!!
ReplyDeleteOh sweet Katie! Has it SERIOUSLY been a year?! I remember going on that beautiful journey with you and reading about how God used you both! Such a sweet memory! Heres to new adventures and memories!
ReplyDeleteWhat a difference a year makes!! What an incredible journey you guys went on... I have loved reading about your experiences and learning what God has taught you. He is so so good! :)
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ReplyDeleteI seriously cannot believe that was a year ago already!!
ReplyDeleteThis is so beautiful!! I'm so glad that you shared your experiences on this space...always so encouraging :-)
ReplyDeleteSuch beautiful pictures and what an amazing time in your lives.
ReplyDeleteWhat an amazing experience! Thanks for sharing and encouraging my heart.
ReplyDeleteWow what a beautiful post and what an utter blessing you and your husband were to those girls. It's so wonderful to know that someone can find God's love because it comes from within us to them rather than the over the top way some people choose to try and force religion on others. What a fantastic thing for her to know that she is so loved.
ReplyDeleteThankyou for sharing your story and your gorgeous photos.
x
This is such a beautiful post! What an adventure.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like you experienced Proverbs 11:25.
ReplyDeleteWow I admire your courage to pick up and move to another country. This sounds like it was such a life changing experience!
ReplyDeletexo dana
thewonderforest.com
So cool to learn you've lived in Kathmandu for a year!! I lived there back in 2012 teaching English at an elementary school. It was a life-changing experience!
ReplyDeleteYour photographs are breathtaking! WOW!
ReplyDeleteAnd what an incredible experience! You two were really blessed! Thank you so much for sharing with us!
What an amazing experience!
ReplyDeleteSO beaituful and so inspiring! Keep up the amazing work :)
ReplyDeleteI agree with Jamie - your story is absolutely wonderful, thanks for sharing!
Deletebless your sweet heart, Katie! you have no idea how much you inspire me.
ReplyDeleteWow, how has the last year flown so quickly?! I totally remember when you were getting ready to go. All your stories and photos have definitely made Nepal one of my top places on my list to visit.
ReplyDeleteWow! What an inspiring and thoughtful adventure you had in Nepal. It really rumbles up the fire in my belly to make it a priority in my life to do something meaningful, something that matters. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteLOVE this - nepal was the first country i visited overseas when i was 15 years old, and your photos have brought back so many memories. my husband and i also celebrated our third year "anniversary" of moving to cambodia, and i love reflecting back on what God taught us in that time. (found you off the "jack of all trades" link up!)
ReplyDeleteWhat an amazing experience. Your photos make me want to book a ticket right here and now, truly gorgeous. They belong in a gallery
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