On to Kathmandu!

Tab and I arrived in Kathmandu after a very long flight via Bangkok, leaving us very tired. We met our new Chapter Director at the airport, who I will call Nabin for his protection. He gave us a warm warm Nepali welcome and we were on our way. Nabin was raised in the upper class of the Hindu Brahman. This is the highest honor one can have in Nepal. However, he rejected his Hindu upbringing and became a Christian around eighteen. His parents kicked him out of the house, and he had to live in a Campus Crusade facility while attending college. Eventually, he worked for CRU and during that time, completed an MBA in Nepal. He is now a professor and is working on a second MA in apologetics.

Taking in the sights and sounds of Kathmandu was amazing. I had never been in a country so foreign, unique, and different. I immediately noticed the Hindu influence, the Asian architecture, and the smells of curry and cooked meats. Our hotel was nice, very affordable, and the breakfast was top tier. The waiting staff was a lot of fun as well.

Our goal the next morning was to take breakfast, find an e-sim and some local currency. Sobit didn’t seem to know where we could find an ATM and we couldn’t find one on google either. I used my traveler’s intuition to locate a mall and hoped that we could withdraw some cash there. Sure enough, there was an ATM at the entrance of the small shopping center on the way to the cell phone store. But this ATM experience would soon turn into a fiasco.

People have asked me what my greatest fear is when going into these developing countries. Without a shadow of a doubt, losing my debit card overseas while on a long-term trip would be at the top of the list. To my horror, my card was rejected for whatever reason, and the machine started making a lout clicking sound. About the time I reach down to grab our debit card, the ATM machine sucked the card in, and we all just stared, feeling rather helpless.

We didn’t know what to do. Nabin started speaking Nepali to a security guard. Their conversation almost seemed like an argument, but the security guard soon smiled and said some thing like “one moment” and left in a hurry somewhere. Nabin said, “Just wait.” Mind you, I was totally in dark and had no clue what was going on.

My mind racing with thoughts like,

We have how many more countries to go through!?

How much emergency cash did we pack!?

What are going to do!?

How could I get a new card overseas!?

How will I contact our bank if we don’t have cash to buy this e-sim???

Even if they can get this card back, what will we have to go through to get it!?

The mental torture was very difficult, and I could tell that Tab was terrified, which made matters worse. But I did what I always do in these situations: I prayed. As I prayed in my spirit, an overwhelming peace and calm came over me that was nothing short of supernatural. The Holy Spirit reminded me that Jesus commanded His disciples to go out with nothing but the clothes on their backs, and He would take care of them. There is only one way to describe this kind of peace, and that is a peace that surpasses all understanding.

About the time my thoughts were taken captive, a well-dressed woman came toward us with a key in her hand and the security guard next to her. She apologized, opened the ATM, and fetched my card. I was astonished. In the States, it would have taken at least 24 hours to retrieve a debit card from an ATM machine. This is one of the pleasantries of traveling through developing countries. If you know who to ask, you can get things done quickly. Our crisis was averted, and now we were off to get an e-sim and find transportation to our next destination.

Nepal’s transportation services were like Uber and went by the name, Rango. We quickly found out that you could book the ride, but we were forced to pay with cash. Most other places took credit cards, so this was a mild inconvenience. Thankfully I withdrew enough cash that I did not need to tangle with the ATM machines again. What cash was left, I determined we would donate to Nabin and his family. Getting around Kathmandu wasn’t too bad. Although the drivers and Sobit were very apologetic about the traffic, I thought the congestion wasn’t too bad, or at least, not any worse than most of the countries I have visited.

Nabin was a keen to show us some beautiful sights around town that next day. Walking through Nepal is like walking through history. The huge  Buddhist Sutras in some of the city squares, the temples, the culture, and truthfully the entire atmosphere of Kathmandu was otherworldly. Apart from Buddhist and Hindu temples, there was a growing presence of mosques as well. I could hear a call to prayer in the morning when I walked outside which reminded me that I am definitely a foreigner and part of the minority in this land.

Nepal is somewhere between 1.7% to 5% Christian, depending on who you ask. There are conversion laws that can be brought again any Christian who shares the gospel with a person of another faith. People our contacts know have been arrested for attempting to reach out to the local Hindu and Buddhist populations. Monks walk down the street in front of you. There are little Idols everywhere. Surely, I felt like to apostle Paul when he entered Athens and Scripture says that his “spirit was provoked within him when he saw that the city was given over to idols.”

The next day, I went to the café at the hotel and had a fruit juice while I worked on some ministry notes. I got acquainted with a waitress named Dee Pa, who was a practicing Hindu and a microbiology student. She was obviously brilliant and very good at her job. Thanks to her high English comprehension, our conversations became helpful as I practiced communication through the boundaries of a very reserved and traditional culture.

Her being a waitress provided a professional buffer zone so I could practice communicating with the Nepalese culture. Communication is very difficult in Nepal because of the almost ceremonial way people get to know each other there. I will say that the formal nature of their communication was hard for me to embrace. But I can also see how earning your friendship through a system of mutual respect could be very beneficial. There is a lot to learn through practiced, thoughtful communication.

This is how you learn about a new place – talk to the locals, and especially restaurant employees and cabbies – they see the best and the worst of people in their profession. Dee Paa and I became buddies, and I hope to break through that Hindu barrier sometime soon and lead her to her savior. Please keep her in prayer until then!

On the day of the conference, there were quite a few in attendance. My task was to discuss the historicity of the resurrection, American cults and LGBT issues, the case for apologetics, Paul’s apologetic approach in Athens, and a Q&A session. Nabin also gave a talk in Nepali on the character of Christ and how the life Jesus lived was as much an apologetic as anything else.

The next day I spoke at Nabin’s church. I gave a sermon on Nicodemus and how Jesus used apologetics to reach him. My translator was excellent, the message was well received, and I was asked to speak to the youth group afterwards. They were a delight!

After about 15 minutes of talking with them, they all agreed to attend the conference the next day. Sure enough, when we arrived at the conference, the youth were all there.

Sobit used his church for the inaugural conference, and the house was packed. The students were very engaging, and my translator was excellent. We started at 9 am and finished around 6 pm that evening, with a lunch break. The Q&A was quite lively as well. Since part of my cults presentation addressed the Word of Faith movement, I received some pushback from some of the elders who were present. Pentecostalism is often popular in developing countries, and they have little discernment about which TV preacher to follow. Benny Hinn is especially popular in Nepal as his Indian background feels familiar to the Nepali people. But the questions were handled well, and it is always wonderful to have the opportunity to clarify any confusion your presentations may have caused.

After the conference, we had dinner in Thamel, an ancient, somewhat touristy part of town. The vibe there was a mix of knick-knack shops, restaurants, and 2,000-year-old religious temples. The traffic meandered through the very tight streets and alleys, and no one, I mean no one, had a right of way, not even pedestrians. This was not beginner-level chaos. This was the kind of place that forced you to stay aware, all the time. The whole experience was absolutely surreal.

Our last couple of days in Nepal were spent touring the religious sites around Kathmandu and hanging out with Nabin's young family. We had a blast touring The Monkey Temple, The Buddhist Stupa, and the ancient Imperial city. Kathmandu is a one-of-a-kind place. Nepal was certainly an adventure and I hope to make it back there soon!