i’m not sure what caused it, whether it was the somewhat frustrating and hectic preparations for our church missions luncheon this sunday for my team or listening to the sounds from caedmon’s call’s new album Share the Well, but i have been reminded of my trip to Nepal back in 1999 and decided to scan in some of the old photos from my scrapbook.
In the song Sarala, there’s a verse that reminded so clearly of my time in Nepal:
Ricksha walla begs the question
Are all these red lights just suggestions
Oh, it’s gonna be OK
They know dead men can’t pay, Sarala
riding in tiny taxis through the streets of kathmandu was one of the more frightening, yet somehow exhilerating experiences of the trip. the sensory overload of a foreign culture always excites me. i remember this brightly colored, wonderful smelling market:
and, in the village we visited, the after church fellowship meal for which preparations began in the morning with the slaughter and butchering of a goat. 
It’s interesting how sounds (like the music from Share the Well) can bring back memories. Even though the music is inspired by Ecuador, Brazil, and India, it brings to mind some of my mission trips to Eastern Europe. Now you’ve inspired me, Christiana, to maybe go dig out some of those old photo albums. I too loved the hub-bub of open air markets. Even though I was just an American kid buying a scoop of icecream in the midst of it all, I still felt a part of it. I think if I lived in a city, I’d enjoy walking out in the early morning and buying fresh fruit and bread.