Some pictures and talk of a skit

As promised: Pictures. From top to bottom: View from the rooftop (mosque and smoke on the mountain), that centipede was about 8 inches long and about as big aroun as a tire iron, the clocktower of the customs bulding at about 6:45 AM, the jetty right before nightfall (3 block walk from where we stayed, and finally looking down an arched sidewalk in the city.

So I am not really a sucker for anything performing arts, no offense if this is something you are into, it just isn't my bag. This was a factor as I was looking for a DTS to actually apply for. I don't mind acting in plays and I love to see musicals, but I just think the whole interpretive dance or pop-song skit is just a bit hokie if you ask me. As we approached about the third day of our midterm outreach, what do I find out? The abhorring news of our team's performing art activity we will be doing for three different groups of young to middle age Nepali men, set to the song "Everything" by Lifehouse, which, keep in mind, is in a language most of them cannot even understand. If you think I was thrilled at hearing this news you are so sadly and terribly mistaken. For some reason, my teammates decided it was most appropriate for the only white guy on our team to play Satan, so I used the excuse, "I'm just trying to get into character," anytime I felt it necessary to be a jerk due to my immature unhappiness.

When it all breaks down, over the course of the weekend we performed our "skit" at three different services, a service on Good Friday followed by two Easter services. Over the course of my weekend of pouting because of the "embarrassment" I was going to have to entertain, I began to soften up to the idea. My whole mood change after the second time we "performed" and noticed that in a room full of Nepali men, and one Myanmarese guy that we found out about later, there were people crying. The normal pastor preached after we were finished and we left a bit early to go eat some dinner before the next service that was 45 minutes away. We went through the same routine and sat through a Nepali man preach, in Nepali of course, and figured out things to do. I sat quietly in the back of the room and read a book in English, since this IS my first language and enjoyed myself. At the end we were all excited about the 4 men that decided to accept Christ at this service and watched in anticipation as they declared before all of their brothers their new found faith and acceptqance of Christ. We listened as Ramayah explained what was going on and she suddenly said, "Oh yeah, 17 men accepted Christ at the last service." Over the course of the weekend a total of 27 Nepali men accepted Christ, also along with the stealthy Myanmarese guy that snuck into the Nepali service. We were so thankful and so proud that night and still are.

My lesson was this: Despite my frustration with the way that we presented ourselves at these services in front of these men, God worked through as and the speaker and 28 people are now a part of his kingdom! Thanks for reading!