Jomsom to Lete
Saturday, July 14, 2001, was a long, hard day but the view was incredible and the trek was full of joy and laughter. We set out from Jomsom at 9:00 am. The first leg of our trek was through the Kali Gandaki Gorge, the deepest gorge in the world as measured from the river to the top of the highest bordering peak.
Since we were losing altitude there were no horses; we carried our backpacks. In a few places we were acutely aware of the previous team’s horse that had fallen into this gorge. I recently searched YouTube but could not find a suitable video of that stretch of trail. As in the previous couple days, there are just not words to describe the beauty of what we saw and experienced. The closest I have seen to that trail is depicted in the movie Himalaya: L’Enfance d’un Chef (Caravan), which I had purchased in Kathmandu (WotH Part 25) but did not watch till we were back home in Alaska. One segment of that film is identical to the trail we walked. At times the trail was narrow with rocks tumbling into the Gorge. A couple of times we crossed gaps in the trail over bridges made of branches and rocks, likely built by trekkers to fill in spots where the path had eroded away. At one point we had to carefully find our way over debris from a recent slide. My toes were very sore and my feet hurt from previous days’ walking, so to compensate I used the wrong muscles and my legs tired quickly. With every step, however, I felt more and more buoyant as more and more oxygen became available to my lungs and muscles and, for me it was an incredibly joyful trek filled with the glory of God’s wondrous creation. It was beautiful and exhilarating and totally worth the effort and the pain.
It rained all afternoon and the landscapes we passed once again grew lush. At one point we had to cross the river on foot. It was fairly deep and, while not raging, swift enough that we had to cross by making a chain of human bodies for support and stability.
At 6:00 pm we arrived at the guest house in Lete, cold and exhausted. There was no sight of Robby, Leona, C & LB, nor of Daniel G and very quickly the darkness of night was upon us. We sat around large tables which had coal-burning fire pits built underneath them. They were wonderfully comforting to our cold, wet feet and bodies and we sipped glorious, wonderfully hot Nepali chai as we waited and prayed for their safety. Finally Daniel G burst through the door limping badly. They had gotten off trail and were lost on the mountain, he explained. The others arrived shortly after; Robby also was in much pain due to a flare of gout.
We awoke somewhat slowly the next morning but feeling much better. The Nepalis led worship for our morning devotions and it was wonderful, full of joy in God’s Presence and the company of good friends.
We divided into two groups, each visiting one of the two local schools to offer clinics and school programs. One of the Bible Institute students led two young men to salvation. After school some returned to play football (soccer) with the high school students while others handed out pamphlets, seeking conversations throughout the village.
Katie had felt impressed to do a prophetic act on this trip. In the afternoon we all found a stone and with marker each wrote some of the names of our Eternal God on their stone. We then stacked them into a pile, poured oil representing the Holy Spirit over the stones, and prayed that God would manifest Himself in all of His facets to the people of that beautiful land.
Sunday evening after dinner we had impromptu worship. Katie led a couple songs then passed off the guitar to the Nepali team. It was a glorious evening of laughter, song, and dancing before the Lord Nepali style!
Coffee, Tea, and Reverie 