What an amazing week! The plan was to spend a couple of days in Shimla to practice trekking before the trip to Nepal. Daniel had met a missionary couple a year ago in KY who were based in Shimla and they invited us to stay with them. We took an exciting train ride, I even made a new friend, and were greeted at the train station by some of the NICO staff. They took us to the home of Dinesh and Rachel who founded NICO (North Indian Community Outreach) and have been working from Shimla for the past 13 years. There we met their four beautiful children, the children's teacher Heidi, Marsha, the NICO staff and Bhovan the cook. We discovered one of the young men working for NICO, named Rakesh Saklani, was very interested in joining us for the hike.
We got off to a slow start the first day but after a couple of bus rides and lunch at a golf course we finally began hiking. We hiked all day but never made it to the mountain we had planned on climbing, Shali Tiba, but it did remain in site the entire day as we hiked half-way around it on the opposing mountains. We enjoyed the adventure though, meeting some of the locals as we stopped at several homes asking for directions. After a long day we returned home for a wonderful meal supplied by Bhovan. The next day we set out a little earlier, this time in a taxi headed for Kanton. This is a small village at the foot of the mtn we wanted to climb. More trouble as the taxi overheated around 2K from our destination so we took off on foot with our trusted guide Saklani. Three hrs later we reached the Kali temple perched atop Shali Tiba. The view was amazing! Gazing upon God's creation from atop the peak I was reminded of Psalm 121: I look up to the hills- where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip- he who watches over you will not slumber; I am comforted and strengthened knowing that the maker of the all that we see is watching over us day and night.
We completed our trekking but weren't quite ready to leave. Dinesh and Rachel were gracious enough to put up with us for a couple more days. On Saturday we had devotion with the family then on Sunday attended a church that Dinesh started in Shimla. The worship there was contagious. Everyone was singing and clapping, giving testimonies and just praising the Lord. I shared a bit about how the Lord brought me to Delhi and Shimla, followed by a message courtesy of "Pastor Daniel Roberts". During the entire week I was constantly reminded of my weakness and reliance upon God and that He always anwser our prayers, but in in His own time so we must be patient.
The following days included devotion with the NICO staff and a few visits to villages throughout Shimla where the NICO team is taking the good news wherever God leads them. On one of these days we were fortunate enough to attend the opening of a sewing center where 12 young ladies were overjoyed to receive their new machines and immediately began praising God. They lifted their hands and voices in thanksgiving to the Living God whom they knew had made this possible. We then began our ascent up another mountain. The narrow one lane road snakes back and forth up the side of the mnt. The ride was similar to a wooden rollercoaster as we were thrown back and forth inside the Qualis as it wound up and down the switchbacks. The roads became less and less traverseable, most being nothing more than mud and potholes . But after several hrs we reached the top and quickly decided the rough ride was worth the blessing we received. Once at the village we met a women who accepted the Lord through the church in Shimla. She'd returned to her village armed with a Bible and began telling everyone the good news. How inspiring to meet someone so excited about Jesus and His love, because when you have good news you want to share it and thats exactly what she did. As we praised the Lord with this group I was inspired by their belief in the power of God to strengthen, heal, teach and protect.
Overall it was an incredible trip, more than I'd ever expected.
Broken down on the road but we finally made to the Shali Tiba Kali temple
ah, we miss ya marshall! be safe, but be obedient.
ReplyDeletecome home safe and soon. you have a wedding to attend. ;)