Koinonia is a transliterated form of a Greek word meaning contributory help, participation, sharing in, communion, spiritual fellowship, a fellowship in the spirit.
Christian or not, I think most, if not all, people have a desire to be part of a community, a group of people, whether big or small, where they can participate, share, contribute and spend time together. Even as an introvert who LOVES, LOVES, LOVES my alone time, I too need community.
In the States I was fortunate to be part of an incredible company, Great American Business Products, for over 13 years. And although it was not a spiritual fellowship, it did offer many aspects of koinonia in the sense of being a group of people who contributed, participated, and shared life with each other, not only at work, but as some of my dearest and closest friends and "family".
On top of that, Sam and I are fortunate enough to be part of LifeBridge Church, another amazing group of people who are truly seeking God, as well as being the church, not just "doing church" or "going to church".
And that's on top of our actual family and other friends!
So when Sam and I moved to Kathmandu, the biggest loss was not selling our house, cars, or furniture. It wasn't no longer having heating, air conditioning, 24 hour electricity, or even my beloved washing machine. It was being half a world away from all of the wonderful people God has put in our lives.
Luckily, God immediately surrounded us with community here in Nepal through Ambika, Prem, Aamaa, the girls and Ambika's sisters, brother-in-law, nieces, nephews, and friends, as well as Lazarus, Martha, Rajendra, and many other Nepalis, not to mention our dear friends from the States, the Kim family - who we met in Colorado before coming to Nepal!
It wasn't until we moved to Pokhara that we had to seek out koinonia a bit more. Of course, we already knew the Darvas' from Australia (who we had also met in Colorado before coming to Nepal!). They are wonderful, and introduced us to a great group of people, mostly expats, who meet weekly for dinner and fellowship, which has been an incredible source of koinonia for us.
However, finding a church home and getting to know our neighbors with our limited Nepali proved to be a bit more difficult. But now I am extremely excited to report that after almost 6 months in Pokhara, we have found a church home here, Santwana Church! It's about a 15 minute walk from our house, which means I can easily go even when Sam is away without having to take a bus or get a taxi. And on clear days, when the mountains aren't hiding behind the clouds, we get to walk most of the way to church looking at one of God's most incredible creations, Mount Machapuchhre, which is an amazing way to forget any troubles or worries and prepare to simply appreciate and worship God!
Also, the pastor and his wife know Abraham & Om Maya, some of our Nepali friends who live Houston, which is an added bonus. And although the entire service is in Nepali, I can actually understand some of it, and a few of the women have been nice enough to help me find the passages of Scripture in my English Bible, so at the very least, I can follow along with those parts of the sermon! What is really refreshing, though, is that as foreigners we've often felt like guests or even like we're on display at some churches we've been to, but at this church they just treat us like anyone else, which is exactly who we are!
And we're starting to build some relationships with our neighbors. One lady invited me over to visit and have apple juice last week. Also, two of the neighborhood boys came by asking Sam to play football (soccer) with them the day before that, which I think is beyond cool. Those same boys have also started coming by to borrow my bicycle almost daily since then, and two of the women who tend the field next to our house, who I've talked with and given bottles of water when they are out in the field a long time on hot days, came by the house recently and asked me if I like saag (leafy greens/ spinach). When I told them I do like saag, they asked me to come with them. We walked across most of the field to an area where they had just picked a bunch of saag and gave me a handful of it! It seems we are becoming part of the neighborhood, and not just the "bideshis" (foreigners) in the house at the end of the path.
Christian or not, I think most, if not all, people have a desire to be part of a community, a group of people, whether big or small, where they can participate, share, contribute and spend time together. Even as an introvert who LOVES, LOVES, LOVES my alone time, I too need community.
In the States I was fortunate to be part of an incredible company, Great American Business Products, for over 13 years. And although it was not a spiritual fellowship, it did offer many aspects of koinonia in the sense of being a group of people who contributed, participated, and shared life with each other, not only at work, but as some of my dearest and closest friends and "family".
On top of that, Sam and I are fortunate enough to be part of LifeBridge Church, another amazing group of people who are truly seeking God, as well as being the church, not just "doing church" or "going to church".
And that's on top of our actual family and other friends!
 |
| Our LifeBridge Family |
Luckily, God immediately surrounded us with community here in Nepal through Ambika, Prem, Aamaa, the girls and Ambika's sisters, brother-in-law, nieces, nephews, and friends, as well as Lazarus, Martha, Rajendra, and many other Nepalis, not to mention our dear friends from the States, the Kim family - who we met in Colorado before coming to Nepal!
 |
| The Lemmons, Darvas and Kims in Colorado |
 |
| Our Church Home in Pokhara |
Also, the pastor and his wife know Abraham & Om Maya, some of our Nepali friends who live Houston, which is an added bonus. And although the entire service is in Nepali, I can actually understand some of it, and a few of the women have been nice enough to help me find the passages of Scripture in my English Bible, so at the very least, I can follow along with those parts of the sermon! What is really refreshing, though, is that as foreigners we've often felt like guests or even like we're on display at some churches we've been to, but at this church they just treat us like anyone else, which is exactly who we are!
 |
| Sam playing football (soccer) with two boys from the neighborhood |
No comments:
Post a Comment