Reminiscings from the Roof of the World
The Delay
Flash forward to 1999. Since that first call to the Himalayas I spent several years in Latin America after which my family and I returned to Alaska and settled in as pastors in Nikiski. There I was leading a community-wide outreach to children, loving it, and feeling fulfilled in what God was doing there. Well, almost. By then that yearning for those Asian mountains was burning in my bones and I felt as if I were nine-plus months with child and about to burst with the sense that the time was upon me.
I had been dreaming of Tibet but upon doing some online research it became apparent that due to the political climate and related restrictions travel to Tibet was not going to happen so I diverted my focus to the tiny Hindu Kingdom of Nepal. The more I learned the more excited I grew. At some point in the listening to what must have been my nonstop jabbering about this trip I was anticipating, my now adult daughter, Katie, caught the vision and decided to lead a team on an outreach trekking expedition to Nepal. When she shared her plans with me and invited me to come along I could hardly contain my excitement. But. As I prayed I had a hard NO from the Holy Spirit. This would not be my time to go; I would have to wait a little longer. Strangely I had peace with that decision and fully supported Katie as she put her plans together. And then while she was preparing her trip to Nepal something strange and frightening happened to me.
It was on a Saturday night. A group was meeting to pray at our church in preparation for Sunday services. One participant requested prayer for their brother who throughout his lifetime had vanished numerous times; his most recent disappearance had already lasted for years. As we began to pray I saw something like black smoke leave the person and fly towards me. I knew that it was an evil spirit and closed my eyes and silently screamed, “NO!” A few days later my husband and I drove to Anchorage to attend a weekend marriage enrichment seminar. While there I began to feel more and more agitated. That night I was sleepless and began thinking seriously about running away, vanishing. I spent the entire night thinking of how I could disappear without a trace, where I could go, how to get there, how to survive, how to become unfindable. Never once did I consider the idea that someone might miss me or that my actions might be hurtful to my family. The next day was no better. I knew that the spirit from Saturday night was harassing me and was the cause of all this turmoil but I felt powerless to free myself or even to ask for help. That evening when my husband came to our room to get ready for the next session (he was a social butterfly and had spent all of the time between sessions mingling) I mustered all of my strength and managed to ask him to pray for me. He prayed quickly, but thank God, that was enough, I was free.
What did I learn from this experience? — The enemy of our souls is merciless when it comes to protecting what he considers his domain from threatening intruders. — I am not a superhero immune to the enemy’s attacks. - God knows the future. — I must be dependent on the Holy Spirit for every breath and every step. — Never give the devil a foothold (Ephesians 4:27 NIV). I had come to the prayer meeting angry with my husband and from there proceeded to be critical of the guest speaker’s methods. Unresolved anger and criticism are sins that opened a door to the enemy.
Although I didn’t have an inkling of the strongholds and dark powers that I would ultimately face I full well knew when I saw the 1999 team off at the airport that I was in a weakened state after that battle and I thanked God for His protection by keeping me home a little bit longer.
As it turned out, as least from my point of view, that first team was like Joshua and Caleb exploring the Promised Land. They came back with a full report of all they had done, seen, and learned. Rolls and rolls of quickly developed 35mm film (this was the pre digital camera age) along with their never-ending stories was a crash course for me. I learned about boots and blisters and moleskin and liner socks, breaking off toothbrush handles to lighten a backpack, lack of oxygen at high altitude, the difficulties of trekking steep inclines for days on end, outhouses and no toilet paper and just a bush where there was no outhouse, and the icy showers which were far between and always a blessing. I also learned about the amazing Nepali team that led them — never tiring, full of joking and laughter and love, fully committed to the cause and passionate to reach those who had never heard, arguably the most hospitable people on earth. They told me stories of treating the sick because Tylenol, bandaids, and Neosporin were treasures unavailable to the mountain people along the way. Most importantly I heard the stories of the exhausting spiritual oppression and how the booklets that the team handed out to the villagers were mostly all tossed to the ground unread by people whose minds were blinded (2 Corinthians 4:4).
All of that intelligence was immensely useful as Katie and I began planning the next trip which would occur March 2000. We would trek the same trail that first team had traversed, a portion of the Annapurna Circuit. Robby Rai, who had been recommended to Katie to guide her first trip would again be our leader. We would be a team of fourteen men and women, students to middle aged. As I prayed in preparation for this, my first trip, I felt strongly impressed that I needed to go ahead of the team to prepare the way by prayer walking the circuit so that strongholds might be weakened and hearts and minds might be open to receive the Good News. Two ladies volunteered to go with me, Vivian who was my age and Holly a young adult. We raised funds, recruited prayer support, and collected donations of medical supplies to gift to schools along the way.
As a sign of support my husband bought me a brand new, heavy duty back pack from a local outdoor shop. I filled it with the items on my packing list. When I tried it on I immediately fell over backwards from the weight! A bit of fear gripped me for a minute; was I physically strong enough to do this?! I thought I needed all that stuff, lol, but downsizing was definitely required. I unpacked and repacked again and again until I had it down to a bearable weight. At last March 1, 2000 arrived, that marvelous day I had anticipated for almost seventeen years. I was ecstatic, downright euphoric.
The flight from Anchorage to Kathmandu was approximately 24 hours in the air plus layovers and an overnight in Bangkok. I never felt tired; joy, excitement, and a lot of adrenaline would carry me through the entire month ahead. It was March 3 on an early morning flight when approaching Kathmandu I finally glimpsed those snowy peaks I had been yearning for.
Nothing can prepare one for their first landing at KTM, Tribhuvan International Airport, Kathmandu, Nepal. The mind-boggling sights, the concrete building’s echoing sounds, the pungent smells, the endless queues, the confusing procedures of clearing immigration, the sari-clad women bent over sweeping with tiny asian grass brooms — it was unlike anything I could have imagined, which was true of that entire first visit to my beloved Nepal.
Once Vivian, Holly, and I had cleared immigration and were officially in Nepal we headed outside where we were quickly retrieved by our Nepali contact, Robby Rai, along with Daniel G., and our driver Mr. G. (It was Robby’s practice to never speak the name of a false god so Mr. G’s name was shortened to an initial.) The high altitude sun was intense on our Alaskan skin as we weaved through the dusty parking lot and climbed into Robby’s white SUV. It was as if I were in a dream — shocked, dazed, everything a blur. Once we were settled into the car and bumping along the pothole-riddled roads, Robby turned to Daniel G. and said, “Shall we take them to the pit of hell?”
Coffee, Tea, and Reverie 
I look for your post every day. When they show up I know what I will be doing for the next hours.
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Ah, that is so sweet of you. I truly appreciate that encouragement. ❤️ Blessings, graceful lady.
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What!? A cliff hanger? I can’t wait for the next post! This is so exciting! Thanks Jackie.
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