Joy. This was the resounding theme to the recent relief trip I lead in Nepal. Joy amidst the rubble. 

It was a hard trip. Logistically, spiritually, and emotionally.  After 70 hours of travel my co-leader and I arrived at the Kathmandu airport. I was immediately hit with the familiar sounds and smells of Asia. 

Having lived in Asia for 5 months on the World Race, it was like coming home in a way. Nepal has always held a special place in my heart, but I know that I was returning to a broken and mourning country. 

The first day in Kathmandu, my team hiked up to a temple dedicated to Shiva, the Hindu goddess of fertility, and prayed over the city. The temples dot the city and grace all of the highest hills. It was a constant reminder of how this nations is a slave to fear and their gods. 

On the way down from the temple we met a family living under a plastic tarp because their house was too damaged to live in. They begged us to help them. After some prayer, evaluations, and measuring a group decided to come back the next day and build more permanent shelters for the family. Throughout the week, they were able to build five more homes in the neighborhood.

The rest of the team was able to go to a camp of internally displaced people from near the Tibet border, the epicenter of the earthquake. The entire village was made up of Christian families. Even though many of us had expected to work with Hindus, it was amazing to come alongside out brothers and sisters in Christ after they had lived through such a horrible event.

These people had lost everything. They had lost their homes, their livelihoods, and their families. But they still hung on to their hope in the Lord. I had never seen people worship the Lord with such joy and gratitude. No matter how dark a situation gets, or how hard life is, God's hope is always greater. There is always joy to be found. In the laughter of the children as we played soccer in the rice patties. In the smile of the old woman as we handed her bananas. In the eyes of the man as he opened the door to his new home. 

Joy has transcended the devastation this country has faced and hope in the Lord lives on.