PRAYERS NEEDED // Kasia Parzysz

February 15, 2015 // St. Ann's Catholic Church // Pokhara, Nepal

I was sitting in the front row during my first Nepali mass

I didn't see many people because they were behind me

The first time I turned around was during the peace offering

Kasia was the first person I saw

She was sitting on the other side of the tiny church room 

With a huge smile on her face, we offered peace to each other

& I immediately knew it was the beginning of an incredible friendship

At the first moment we met & offered peace, I knew we were both thinking the same thing

 I was so happy to meet another Catholic westerner 

in a country where less than 10% of the people are Christians

After mass we started talking 

we shared a taxi back to lakeside where we both were living 

She told me all about her journey

moving to Nepal 6 months earlier to manage the building of a new hotel across the lake

Kasia is one of the fastest friends I've ever made

I was instantly drawn to her friendly demeanor and warm personality

For the next six weeks I was so excited for Sunday mass each week 

especially to see Kasia and catch up on our weeks 

Her presence during mass was so deep & reflective 

her connection with Jesus was almost tangible

We got to talking about how hard it is to feel connected to Jesus 

and to our faith while living in Nepal 

where hardly anyone shares the same belief system

I was so thankful to find someone to be in community with during my time there

One of my favorite moments with Kasia was on our last Sunday together

I was standing on the highway waiting for a taxi

On a road where taxis zoom by every other second, there seemed to be none that day

Finally after waiting what felt like 10 minutes but was probably only 2

I saw the first taxi going in the direction I needed to go

I flagged them down & they stopped for me

I realized Kasia was already in the back seat headed to St. Ann's!

That is some God-perfect timing!

I had been away trekking Annapurna Base Camp
so we had loads to catch up on

We spent every moment of that ride to mass catching up

on everything we had missed the past two weeks

I loved sharing my stories with her

I loved hearing stories of the ways they had to transport a generator across the lake

On my last night in Pokhara

Kasia met us at the Old Blues Bar
to listen to The Wave Band and dance the night away

We had the best time!

I am so beyond grateful to have spent that night with her
We made plans:
I would go visit her in Poland
She would come visit me in Florida
I was so excited!

March 26, 2015 // Evening // Phewa Lake, Pokhara, Nepal

Kasia and some others were crossing the lake by boat

a massive storm ripped across the lake

their boat sank

Kasia went missing.

The three others on board barely made it to shore

they are safe

Kasia is still missing. 

I am sitting here now, on the other side of the world.
Life is supposed to go on as normal
How can anything be normal?
nothing is normal right now
I feel so helpless
I am so far away, I can't do anything to help
All I can do is pray
I don't think I've ever prayed so hard in my life.
I wish I could be there
I wish I could search for her
How is she missing?
I don't understand how this scary, horrible, tragic, freak thing has happened
I can't believe this is happening
All I can do is pray
Please pray with me
Don't stop