Nov 12, 6:30am. Almost seven months since the first major earthquake on April 25th, the place I sit was demolished. All around me is rubble, piles of stone and timber where there once stood two story stone and mud homes, where a prosperous Nepali community thrived. There seems to have been little effort to clear the rubble. Paths have formed where houses once stood, steps laid and temporary shelters of steel, corrugated iron and timber have become their residence. In a small clearing, a tent has been erected on the hard packed soil looking out of place. This is our sleeping quarters for the last two nights, the women are in one of the tin shelters.
There is electricity here, two wires pass through the village overhead. To connect, two hooks are draped over the wires, connecting to the mains, and hang down into the homes where they enter a power socket nailed to a wooden post inside.
Below me is a rudimentary shelter for several goats and their kids. It's hard to tell how many are supposed to be there, some of the neighbours goats have come over for a snack as well. To the left is a staircase that leads nowhere and leaning against the staircase is a steel wardrobe, bent and mangled, with a mirror, still intact. Bent iron, old clothes, broken basket, black water pipe and timber doors and shutters lie in the rubble. To my right I can see stone walls, a home where the roof collapsed, now covered with iron and tarpaulin. A large crack runs up one wall. Dotted around are the curved iron shelters supplied by World Vision and installed with the help of a Kathmandu church, who have made significant improvements to several villages in the area. They have installed the iron shelters and a water supply that will eventually be connected to the homes, once they have been rebuilt.
We are staying with Maka and his family. Maka normally lives in Kathmandu, but owns land in the village where three houses and animal quarters once stood. He is a member of the church in Kathmandu that is helping the community. Maka lost two buffalo in the earthquake. He also lost a sister who tried to save some children in another village nearby. He is a farmer, trekking expedition leader and chef.
Beyond this surreal village, the hills appear. At night they hills are alive with light. During the day more tin and timber shelters are visible on terraced hills. This area is so steep, it is surprising people settled here.
The village people are busying themselves with the daily routines – collecting water from the community tap, lighting fires, cooking, feeding animals and clearing their throats. Some normality has returned, but there is so much to do that it is difficult to know where to start. Many, like Maka, find it too hard to begin clearing the remains of their homes because underneath lies what made it a home. Books, table, chairs, kitchen, personal belongings. It's easier to avoid it for now. No insurance here. He lost everything. Even his rice field, lower down, was taken out by a landslide.
Our job wasn't to come here and fix things, though, it was to help bring the gospel, healing and peace to a people who have so much pain, both physical and emotional. We have had opportunities to pray with and minister to some in the three village we have visited. Like the re-building of homes, the spiritual journey will take time. There are some believers here and people are open in their confession of faith. Several are fine with us ministering to them.
Although we don't see the miraculous before our eyes, we hold onto the hope in faith that those we prayed for will be healed. We ministered to a man whose eye had been injured. It was blood-shot, weepy and swollen. We expected a rapid healing but there was perhaps a slight improvement. Why wasn't there a miracle, an instant healing? We are just a link in the chain. There are several who are working here to bring good news to the villages. The Nepali church in Kathmandu has been working here for six months, bringing physical help in the form of shelters and water supply. They are also bringing the gospel and sharing faith with the villagers. The people are listening, hearing the good news and allowing it to sink into their minds and hearts. The one who gives up Hinduism for Christianity is subject to persecution. They may even be thrown out of the family home. We meet a woman to whom this has happened. Her husband left her when she became a believer. There is no social welfare here. She is either looked after by the village or must go and work.
The time will come when many here will turn to Jesus. They are seeing their friends healed and their communities changed for the better. We look forward to the day.
