A teammate of mine named Brad, and I decided to go for a run today and check out the sights in and around the area that we live in which is on the outskirts of Kathmandu. On our way back to the boys home we decided to take a different route back and instead of taking the main road back through the town we took a route that I had taken on a run the first morning we were here. On the way back we were talking about what was going on this month and talking about all the things that God had been doing in the last few weeks. Brad was opening up to me about a few things that God had put on his heart that he needed to address and change. Little did either of us know our day and our race was about to take an unexpected turn.　
As we approached the hole in the wall that separates a little stream from the housing area I noticed a woman curled up in a ball and laying 　in a fetal position. As we rushed up to her we realized she was covered in flies and she smelled of death. She was gasping for air every few seconds and her eyes and mouth were barely open. Her condition didn't look good. Immediately I knelt down, shooed the flies away from her face and mouth and begin to pray. Not knowing what to pray I simply asked God to heal her body, restore her life and raise her up. A group of young girls appeared and Brad and I told them to call the hospital, the police or get help somehow.　
I continued to pray…..
　 　 　 　 　Minutes passed…..
　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 She kept breathing….
More people started to gather and one of us asked someone to get her a drink of water. A lady appeared with a cold glass of water and started to drip it down her lips. She didn't even move her tongue.　
I kept praying….
　 　 Minutes passed….
　 　 　 　　She was still breathing….
　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 But then she stopped….
　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　　 Brad said "dude look she's not breathing, I don't see anything moving….."　
About that time a police SUV pulled up on the scene.　
I put my fingers on her neck and checked her pulse, heart heart was still beating, but it was fading….
People were standing around us, talking in Nepalese, they didn't know what to do.
I kept praying….
With my fingers on her neck still checking her pulse, her heart slowly and gradually stopped…. I checked for a pulse again hoping for the best, but still no pulse…..　She had just died…..
I kept praying…　
My prayers shifted to "rise up in Jesus name. awake in Jesus name. come to life right now in Jesus name.…"　
Still nothing….　
　 　 　 　 　 　 　 No pulse….
　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　No breathing….
After she passed I sat there for 5 minutes hand on her should praying until the police officer motioned with his hand for me to back away. I stood up and helped them drape a blanket over her.
Since day one of the race nearly 9 months ago when I first signed up my prayer was to lay hands on a dead body and watch God breath life into it. Without a doubt in my mind I knew today was the day that I'd been praying for, and I knew she would come back to life. But she didn't….
In that moment, it was if death had won. I've experienced death numerous times throughout my life, and in my old occupation I've even dished it out. My normal "go to" process for death is to make light of the situation, laugh it off and throw it on the back burner and move on with my day. But something inside me has changed, something has shifted. I didn't feel any of my normal emotions, a new emotion rose to the surface: compassion.　
Brad and I walked away and headed back to the boys home in tears. When we got back it was lunch time. Rather than sitting on what had just happened and allowing it to surface eventually, I decided to bring it to the surface and tell the team what had happened. I am grateful for our team that supported us and helped us process through this situation. Not wanting us to be brought down by this situation, or question God to the point of disbelief and not trusting in Him and His goodness, I decided that there was only 1 thing we could do:
worship Him….
　 　 　 　 　 it was time to give Him praise……
　
I told the team that I was going to head to the roof and worship God, because there was nothing else I could think of to do in this moment. The team decided to join me on the roof and for at least a half hour we worshiped, prayed, and shared tears…
I even sung a song I wrote a few days ago called, "There You are", which for me seemed to be the exact cry of my heart today and for the last few weeks. God spoke to us today on that roof, He consoled us, encouraged us, and uplifted us. The Holy Spirit was present and we felt Him, He's been with us all day and has never nor will ever leave.
There is no point in trying to make sense of this situation. We can ask God what was the point of it all, or we can trust that He has every situation in control. I couldn't justify why she died but I know that the thief comes to kill, steal, and destroy. The bible reminds us that God has come to give life and life more abundantly,　so I wasn't going to blame God.　I will say this though, the last words that woman heard included the name of Jesus. And with my hand on her shoulder, the last thing she felt was Gods love. And that is the point. God is so sovereign and so amazing that He chose the last 15 minutes of this woman's life to be the moment where she would experience Him and his love through Brad and I. What an honor and a privilege it is to serve Gods people, to show His love, and be moved by His heart. She wasn't a spectacle to be watched from afar, something to tweet about, or something to stand around gossiping about. She was a woman who's life had run out, and hope and love intervened in her life for the last 15 minutes. Rather than watching from a distance, hope stood in the gap, and love embraced her for her last minutes on earth.　
God is wrecking me through His compassion. I'm learning that God moves through compassion and heals through compassion. The closer I get to God the more I realize how much compassion He has for people. Some may see the sorrow in this story, the frustration and hopelessness of it all. I see God and I see His love for a woman who desperately need Him and in her last minutes on earth she experienced His love, hope, and peace.　
"O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?"
1 Corinthians 15:55
The team worshiping on the roof. The devil always tries to throw things in your face to disrupt your life and decrease your faith. We chose to throw it back in his face and instead worship the God that give life. This moment was a breakthrough moment for our team as a whole and individually as we sought God in the midst of a trial, and in the midst of pain and He answered us. Let worship always define who you are, God is worthy of our praise regardless of the situation.
