Wander

We took some time to do some exploring in the small city where we are staying. It began with something really crazy. A drive to the top of one of the mountains that surrounds Surkhet valley where we are staying. 

To the Right is the mountain we drove up. The picture is taken from the roof of the small hotel /hostel we are staying in.

At first the road was they typical bad road that I have come to expect in this rural western Nepali region but as we went further and further up the mountain the road went from typical bad to unbelievably bad to "are we sure this is even meant for a car?" kind of bad. 

When we finally arrived at the summit, I took a minute to get my stomach out of my throat, then proceeded to hike around and see the sights. There were some small shops, and by shops I mean small huts with a few things for sale in them. 

It is a sheer drop from the top of this part of the mountain to the valley floor. When the updrafts are right thrill seeking hang gliders will launch from up here.

A short trail around the top gave us great views of Surkhet Valley which has become the new district and provincial capital so there have been a lot of construction and improvement projects in the works which means the roads are a mess, only short sections are paved.

We explored around the summit area for a while and began the stomach wrenching drive 

back down to the base of the mountain. After a short drive and time for recovery we made to a Hindu temple and worship area. The Deuti Bajai Mandir is the most well known Temple in Surkhet. There is a specially dedicated area for offerings to be made by the foot impressions of Shiva on a rock. 

This Shrine complex to Shiva (inside) is a hub of Hindu worship and religious activity at certain times of the year.

I am not sure what people offer to Shiva but I can tell you the flies really appreciated the offerings.There was one priestess there helping people with their offerings. There were also to women who were washing out one of the shrines. I suppose even the gods need baths 

once in a while. It is interesting that there are candles lit on the side of the shrine symbolic of prayers like Catholics do, and there are bells towards the front for prayers like the Buddhists. It seems that religious activity is religious activity no matter where you go. It is like... pick a religion, light a candle, say the right words and hope someone is listening.

After the Hindu temple we took a stroll through a park which was really a welcome change from the hustle and bustle of the dusty roads and angry horns of vehicles trying to tell you to get out of the way so they could get by. It was about as close to zen as I have come on this trip.

Bulbul Lake is one of the bright spots in this dusty city. It was recently cleaned and renovated and now seems to be a hub for teens to hang out.

We walked around appreciated a few moments of quiet and serenity and headed out for the last part of our excursion. The site we were headed to next is perhaps one of the oldest if not thee oldest touristy site in Surkhet. A little slice of history is what I really love.

This Buddhist temple or perhaps shrine is better is called Kakre Bihar. It is a Hindu-Buddhist Temple Near Birendranagar city where we are staying. Kakre Bihar has a shaped like the seed of a cucumber so it is called Kakre bihar. The Nepali word 

for cucumber is Kakro. The stones of what remains are strewn around the site and you can see by walking around that they are recreating the intricate designs of the broken stones so that each piece can be replicated and replaced.

This temple is believed to be built on 12th century by a famous king who fell in love with the Surkhet Valley. It was destroyed by an earthquake in 1866. Form what I can tell reconstruction this has been a very long process beginning back in the 1980s.

There is a somber beauty that surrounds this place. Almost like walking through a graveyard that even though it looks like it is falling apart you know there is some very old even ancient significance and presence to it. I wonder what it was like 500 years ago to walk the steps to this temple. I wonder how people felt as they approached its imposing size. Perhaps like the Europeans as they approach the Gothic Cathedrals of the middle ages - and still today. 

I suppose this is what religions do. They build massive and impressive structures hoping these structures will impress the God or gods they revere and honor. Religion wants to remind you how small you are compared to the greatness of the deity to which it points. They tell you this is where you have to go to worship your god so that when you get there you can't help but think how small you are when thinking about this god.

What would be really impressive is if one of those gods or God lived as a human so that they knew what it was like to suffer and experience pain and loss rather than just imposing their will all the time. Is that too much to ask? Hmmmm

Just a Meandering Thought...

SELECTED

You remember fourth grade kickball right?! You wanted to play but you also wanted to be picked first, or at least be among the first picked. You definitly did not want to be the last one picked becuase at that point the captain did not pick you, he was stuck with you. It was not about being picked last it was about being wanted least. Speaking of being picked I had jury duty recently.

As I walked to the main entrance of the John Joseph Moakley Courthouse in South Boston I noticed a few news cameras set up outside waiting for some news worthy people to walk in or out. No one moved when I walked by.  I spent some of the day in a large room in the courthouse waiting to see if we would be need to serve our fellow citizens as a juror. I won't go into the details of the of the cases that were seating juries, but sufice to say at least one carried national attention.

The jury room is a bit different from the fourth grade kickball court. Not only do you want to be picked last but you would be happy to not be picked at all. Now, I did talk with a few people who actually wanted to sit on the jury just to see what it was like but for the most part you could tell by the expression on the peoples faces that being on a jury was the last thing they wanted to do.

I think playing kickball was about being wanted - being seen as valuable. Jury duty is about just that, duty - something you have to do not something you get to do. People want to be seen as valuable and the way you do that is by asking them to help the team. Asking people to give of themselves and recieve nothing in return (other than the satisfaction of serving their country and their fellow citizens in serving justice) seems like it is asking a lot from people in our individualistic, and task driven culture. Serving in this way inhibits us from accomplishing the tasks we would rather be doing. 

 

I have to admit I am one who is too busy, my excuse is family and full time grad school, professors who won't hold off lectures just for me. I remember enjoying being picked in the first couple of rounds for kickball but I was relieved when I was told I could not serve on this session's jury.

We want to be selected becuase someone sees value in us, not becuase everyone elses excuse was better.

What does it take to be selected for who we are and not  for the service we could potentially provide?

Just a Meandering Thought...

JUSTICE Part 1 of 2

Most of us would say that justice is a good thing; it is one of the values that make America, America. We want justice to be served. When we are wronged or a crime is committed what we want is justice. We want someone to be responsible for the wrongs, the injustices. Then we fight for justice. That is who we are as Americans.

When the towers fell on September 11th, 2001, the entire nation reeled at the massive injustice that had been brought to our soil. We grieved, we searched, we pulled away rubble, we sifted through ashes. Even if we did not personally know someone who died, we still somehow felt the gaping hole. In the days following we learned who was responsible and soon we were in the fight - for justice.

The last ten years will likely go down in the history books as a decade that America sought closure and justice. For the lives that were taken from us, we wanted justice; for the hearts that were broken for their loss, we wanted justice; for the nation that was attacked, we wanted justice; for the memories that were seared into our souls of two towers burning and collapsing, we wanted justice. On May 1st, 2011 justice was served with an American bullet (66 years to the day after Hitler died from his own bullet).

It has been said that justice is about giving a voice to those who cannot speak for themselves. To the 2992 people who died in the attacks (minus the perpetrators) our voice on your behalf has been heard. We never forgot you. We all wanted justice for those who lost their lives. Yet if we were to receive justice ourselves for even the little things we have done we might think twice. Justice is a liberating event when you are the one wronged.

2000 years ago justice of a different kind was served with a cross and some nails. But you and I don't get justice, instead we get mercy. We don't get what we deserve, we get what He paid for. Because God never forgot or abandoned us. He hears the voice of those who call to him. I know this for sure, God is present in the places where injustice happens - to comfort those who have to walk that road. He sticks around to see that justice happens. Whether it is justice he accomplishes on our behalf, or just his presence in the stairwells of collapsing towers, God does not leave us but gives a voice to those who cannot speak for themselves.

Just a Meandering Thought...

Card

So I was getting some things done in the office today and I noticed a package in my in box. It was kind of large so immediately I am thinking I got a book in the mail which always gets me excited. I noticed the label on the large envelope stating that it was from the Southern New England District of the Assemblies of God. Right away I knew it was not a book but I was thinking it was a package for camp. Probably some information for planning purposes. This was not the case either.

I opened the large envelope and inside where a couple of envelopes and papers and booklets dealing with the inner workings of ministry for the A/G. I discovered that I had been given "final approval by the General Council of the Assembly of God." What this means was that I now have a "license to Preach." I am not sure if that means I have been preaching illegally for the past eight and a half years (haha) but it did mean that I was recognized by the A/G leadership as someone who could be now officially be considered an A/G minister.

It is kind of weird how one card, one signature, can change everything and yet change nothing. Receiving this card will not change a whole lot of what I do on a daily basis. At the same time there is a greater weight to what I do. It is like, before I stood alone as I preached, but now I am surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses.

There have been many great people who have held the card that I now have, and there have been many losers too. There have been people who have pleased God, some who have failed man; there have been some who have been honored in the halls of academia, and others banished to prison walls; some have held talks with heads of state, and others who have held the dying in their hands; some who have lived their whole life in the comfort of mediocrity, and others who have sold everything and lived a life in obscurity sacrificing every worldly pleasure and had no recognition.

Now that I have this card, this title, what is different for me now?? What kind of life will I lead, what legacy will be left when I leave this world? It seems that wide is the road of the mediocre and many travel that road (it is just easier), but narrow is the road that is travelled by the revolutionary. I hope I am known as one who journeyed on the road less travelled; according to Robert Frost, it has made all the difference.

In light of what others who held the position you now hold went on to do, what will you do in the position you hold today???

Just a thought...