Christians…in Nepal?

For those of you that forgot, or didn't realize, Nepal is said to be 80% Hindu, 15% Buddhist, 4% Muslim, and 0.9% "other". So naturally, I figured Remy would be the only Christian I would meet here. Not so.

This past weekend we took a bus into Kathmandu to hang out there and meet up with Lee, a good friend Allison Taylor, and a group of Christian youth workers she works with. They were traveling in Nepal and Bangladesh looking at various places they could take University students to serve. My first experience with the Nepalese Church was when we went to a gathering of Nepalese University students at a Church in Kathmandu. We got to meet the students and talk with them about the Church in Nepal and how it is an encouragement to the worldwide Church, and to the Church in the west. So that was my first experience with Christians here. Very cool.

On Sunday morning, Remy was quite sick, so went with him to Peter Dalglish's house, where he was going to take refuge until he felt well enough to trek back out to the middle of nowhere…er…Bandipur. That left me fending for myself, trying to locate a public bus terminal where I could catch a bus back to Dumre (the nearest "somewhere" to our "middle of nowhere" village). Eventually I found myself in the back row of a public bus in Nepal…the only white person in sight. About 5 minutes into the bus ride, the guy next to me asked me a question about the flags on my backpack (I have a Canadian flag, as well as a Honduran flag…so he had reason to be curious). I told him what each of them was from, and after a couple seconds of conversation (I mentioned I had taught in Honduras, and was now doing similar volunteer teaching in Bandipur), the guy down the row leaned over and said:
"You are a believer?"
"I'm sorry?" I said. (WHAT!?)
"A believer...Christian?"
"…Umm, ya…yes I am…are you?"
"Ya, and so is my friend James here (indicating the guy at the far end of the row). We're both Christians. I thought you were a missionary."
Try your very best to imagine my reaction to this conversation. Just try. I dare you. But what happened next might even be more amazing…Lazaraus and I ended up talking the whole drive, sharing email addresses, singing songs together (he whipped out an MP3 player and we both listened to "Blessed be your name", "Here I am to worship" and we sang numerous other songs together!...I'm still trying to imagine what the other Nepali people on the bus were thinking.) He invited me to meet his family (they live in Dumre) and also invited us to dinner at his college in Kathmandu if Remy and I have time when we go back.

I still don't know how anyone in Nepal could turn to any stranger and just ask: "You are a believer?" That doesn't make sense…I felt like replying: "Do you know the odds of that!? NOT HIGH!" But what I'm more amazed with is the faith of the Nepalese Christians I have now met. They live in a country where they are the complete minority, and until recently (and still in some areas) were treated pretty badly for their beliefs. They also live in a country where there are huge problems with poverty, drug use, and lack of education (etc.) and they can't just be complacent with all of that staring them in the face. In the west, Christians (and non-Christians) can often be so insulated by their wealth that serving the poor is not necessary, or it is a simple donation to United Way away. Christians here don't quite live with the same insulation. Lazaraus and James are in a Christian worship band that gives concerts to recovering drug addicts and they both have done their share of work and service in impoverished communities in Nepal. Their stories and their faith have taught me so much about following God despite hardships, and just what it means to love your neighbour. It's like they are actually living as that guy Jesus did, and it's moments like that where I take a good look at my life back home to see how it compares. I think I have a lot to learn.

Peace.