Day 7: Pokhara Church & Shopping

This morning, we went to a Nepali church service since they meet on Saturdays here rather than Sundays. They split their sanctuary into seating for women and men but we got there early so I was able to sit just across the aisle from the rest of the guys. During their worship, we attempted to follow along with hymnals they made that had Nepali in Nepali characters, Nepali in English characters, and English in English characters. There were a few songs that we were able to recognize the tune but many of them we just followed along as best we could. There were a few announcements and then they asked anyone visiting for the first time to stand and introduce themselves. We all stood up and Van Dyke introduced us in Nepali. A few other people around the sanctuary stood as well and after they all said a word, we continued on in the service. The sermon was entirely in Nepali but the notes projected on the screen were in both Nepali and English so we were able to at least follow the main ideas. After the church service, we met with the pastor for tea. He told us the story of how he became a Christian in a country where converting from Hinduism was illegal. He grew up in a Hindu home and his father and grandfather were both priests. His first main interaction with Christians was when he heard about a Christian hospital that was trying to convert people and giving them better treatment if they converted to Christianity. He went to the government to report this place but didn't have any specific names so he was sent back and told to return with a list of names of people working at the hospital so that they could be arrested. So, he began attending some of their meetings out of spite to try and get their names and get them punished for trying to convert people from Hinduism. But the Christians there showed him nothing but kindness. They weren't forcefully trying to convert him nor were they giving different medical treatment to Christians. The more that he learned about these Christians, the more that he liked them. At one point, someone gave him a New Testament Bible. At first, he rejected it but the guy told him he could read it and, whether he agreed with it or not, he'd at least have more information about Christians even if he was going to use it to argue against them. So, he accepted the New Testament Bible and began to read it. He continued to attend the meetings and the people continued to show him nothing but kindness. He realized that all the negative things he had heard about Christians from his Hindu family was false. He never went back to the government with that list of names he initially set out to find. Instead, he converted to Christianity even though it meant being rejected by his family. Years later, he is now the pastor of a growing Nepali church and his family's hearts have softened. When he first put His faith in Christ, there were only 2 churches in Pokhara and they had to meet in secret in order to avoid being caught and arrested. Now they have religious freedom in Nepal and there are more than 100 churches all around the area! It was really neat to hear his story; we were all so thankful that we decided to stay. We stopped back at the hospital and then took a taxi into the center of Pokhara where we got lunch. Then we walked down to Lakeside and did a lot of shopping and bartering. Our main mission was to find a good deal on paintings. So we went to a couple different stores and compared prices. Then we tag teamed to get the best bartered prices wherever we thought we could get the best deal. We got dinner while we watched a Nepali/Indian dance show and then took taxis back to the Hospital in the pouring rain.

Total: 115 tea

Picture: Nepali church