My team had been up in Bridhim, a small mountain village located thousands of feet up in the stunning mountains of Nepal. We were working out details for an upcoming program. It had been a productive day. And I was really enjoying the perfect weather as we headed back down the mountain toward the road. This village is only accessible by foot in a climb that is not for the faint of heart.
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| Bridhim can be seen through the Buddhist prayer flags at this halfway point up the mountain |
As I rounded the corner following my co-worker Tom, I saw a group of people standing in the path ahead- well, blocking the path ahead was my first thought. I could tell a lively conversation was going on and as I continued forward I was taking in the environment trying to figure out what was going on. I looked around and saw some materials lying around and I figured the group had stopped to take a break while traveling up the mountain. I had seen CGI (corrugated galvanized iron) all along the path, so I knew people had been working on carrying it up. Something was different in this scenario though, and I felt this sense that something was going on. All of this is darting through my mind in seconds as we came closer to the group and suddenly- reality sinks in as my pulse picks up and my body tenses.
A person was lying on the ground.
Within milliseconds of this realization my immediate reaction was scanning for- yes, there it was- an injury. An elderly man was lying across the path leaned against a rock. A pool of blood was on the path and blood was covering part of his head and face. The group didn't seem to know what to do as they were gathered around but doing more discussing than wound dressing. As soon as we reached them- and as my mind was spinning through all this information processing, Tom and I both immediately took off our backpacks and began pulling out whatever first aid materials we had. Suddenly, I was so thankful that I decided in my last trip to REI that I needed to buy a first aid kit and that I had been lugging it around on each hike that I'd done in Nepal... now I just have to figure out what exactly was in it.
As we are working on cleaning the gash, the rest of our team arrived (not everyone approaches descending a mountain with such... vigor). In the process we were realizing that there was no way we could give the treatment that was really required. The closest health post is in Bridhim... from which we had just come halfway back down the mountain. On top of that, the health worker was gone on holiday. I looked at my leader and explained my concerns. The gash had to be properly cleaned and must have stitches. I was afraid if we left him to be carried home, he would not receive the treatment he needed leading to a serious infection. We knew what needed to happen- he needed to come with us back to our town, about an hours drive to the hospital. With the rest of our team had arrived a couple of our guys who could translate and they began explaining. Up to this point, Tom and I had just jumped into action without even being able to converse with the group.
My concern was growing that they would choose not to come with us. The man had become much more alert and had even sat up a little. We waited for his family to be brought down from their home to decide what to do. As we stood there, it dawned on me how much this scene was shaping up like Jesus' story of the Good Samaritan. In nearly 5 years of working with Samaritan's Purse, I have never found myself right in the middle of a story that felt so similar to our namesake Scripture.
We had come across a stranger in need of physical help. He was not our neighbor in the sense of proximity, culture or even being able to speak the same language- but it wasn't even a thought in our minds to walk by or even to leave him there with only meager treatment. We weren't trying to be spiritual, we were just reacting in a spirit of compassion and love for someone hurting and in need of help. As much as this was hitting me in a wave of overwhelming realization, it was what happened next that I don't think will ever leave me.
When the daughter (I'm assuming) arrived and we explained the situation, the decision was made to get him down the rest of the mountain to our car. The guys that had been there with the man helped him to his feet and then one hoisted him onto his back and began to carry him down the mountain. The two guys took turns carrying him. We reached another house along the way and the ladies brought a piece of material that could be tied around him for extra support. One of the men stopped his work on the house and joined the the other two.
As we descended this steep and at times slippery path down the mountain, these three guys took turns carrying the elderly man on their backs. This was such a picture of love to me. Some of those guys may have been related to the man, but not all of them were relatives. They did know Christ, this was a strongly Buddhist society, but as I looked at them exhausting themselves to help this man, I saw the love of Christ in them.
This wasn't exactly the parable of the Good Samaritan, but Jesus' teaching of love for your neighbor- whether it's who you would picture as your neighbor or not, was demonstrated right in front of me. I will not be able to read/hear that story in the Bible again without seeing this day in my mind.
In the years of working with SP, I have heard and talked about the parable many times. Just the other day I actually had a girl walk up to me and ask where the name Samaritan's Purse came from and I was able to tell her a Bible story! I've talked the talk, but this day God gave me the opportunity to be a part of walking the walk- in a way that felt almost like stepping into the story in a modern context.
We got the man and his daughter to the hospital in our town, made sure they had what they needed and our contact information if they needed anything else. The day after we had our driver take them back home.
Many times you will hear people talk about God's timing in having them in just the right place at just the right time. I am overwhelmed to have been in the middle of it on this day.
God's love for us is great and overwhelming.
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