The Party of the Year!

December 8, 2009
Anniversary parties. Even amidst the silence of the world due to the Maoists, the preparations for the party went on, and praise God life was back to “normal” on Tuesday for the party! The excitement started for us days before (that whole field cleaning bone burning excitement called serving!) and on Monday, we had some real excitement. That is, we cut the goats to be cooked and eaten the next day.

So, there are these two cute goats tied up outside in the field, grazing in the grass, completely happy with life, totally ignorant of the fact that they’re about to become part of a feast. Out flood the men and boys, armed with these curved knives that are “sharpened” and there’s a huge pot of boiling water. So, they prepare the goats (I had nothing to do with this excitement, outside of taking a few pictures!), and then phwack! And a goat squeal like you’ve never heard. Within a few seconds the head’s off and laying on the ground, and the next one goes. Then comes the boiling water to open the pores enough to scrape off the hair. We then moved them into the yard to wash completely, before blow torching them. I have no idea why, but it was rather interesting watching them torch the bodies and the blackened heads. Then, they began to slice and dice, for a few hours, chopping and whacking over and over again. 30 kgs of meat in all. That’s a whole lot of very fresh meat!

So, now, fast forward from that long aside to the morning of the party. Huge tents are set up, with a long stage at the front with hundreds of chairs lined up on carpet (yep, we rolled out the carpet for the event!). Kids are darting to and fro finishing this and that while the hired workers cook the food for several armies and finish setting up everything. Things slowly fall into place, and as Rami told me, “Sister, the party starts at 10, but that’s Nepali time. Maybe 11, or 11:30 we’ll start?!” There are times when it’s really nice to live in a relaxed time schedule like that!

The party finally starts, complete with pastors from all over Nepal and members of Parliament (who were not Christians) adorning the stage. There are children and friends and grandmas and parents all over the field. We started with a couple of praise and worship songs, and then floated into the pastors of the Feet Ministries Churches giving their annual reports of their church. Some of the kids sang and danced, while others acted out a Bible story, and Isha and Laxman gave their testimonies.

Everything went really well, but Isha stole the show. While I couldn’t understand her, she speaks with a passion and I could read her story on her face. During the parts about her past life, her eyes filled with tears and her voice became choppy. Her words brought tears to everyone’s eyes, and Pastor Krishna was weeping on stage. As she moved on to her time in the home, her words became more fluid, and a smile bloomed on her face as she told of the love and care she’s had here, as this truly is her only home. Even the children were mesmerized with her speaking. One day, I won’t at all be surprised if I hear that she’s a traveling speaker for the Gospel through her testimony!

After everything finished, one of the members of Parliament spoke with Krishna about how impressed he was with the program. The transparency of the organization was evident as they told exactly where all the funds came from and where they went, which he’d never seen before in all his work with religious organizations. Then, he was moved to tears by Isha’s story, and stated that he’d never heard of a child’s life changed like that. He complimented Isha on his way out, bringing a rose hue to her brown cheeks. In a very real way, his life was changed by the Gospel on Tuesday. Not that he’s made a decision for Christ as of now, but he’s seen the transforming power, and his heart is being broken by the true power of Jesus! It was such an encouragement to see God move like that!

Then, the feast began, and we got to eat the goat and more rice than you can imagine alongside pickled spicy relish stuff and fresh sliced vegetables! After seeing God move, nothing could make the day better, but the feast was an awesome way to end a great day! So we ate and talked and talked and ate and slowly people meandered back to their homes. As the sun set, everyone’s hearts were alive with the joy of Christ’s movements while their bodies craved the comfort of their beds!