I‘m awake.
It’s 3:30, not p.m., A.M. I woke up an hour ago and got on the internet. Checking emails, reading blogs and killing time until i could go back to sleep. Let me mention that our air conditioner is leaking, so we turned it off and it’s quite warm in here.
My teammates are obviously asleep and I should be too. I’m afraid the clicking of my keyboard is going to wake up Nicole, but I have to write.
10 minutes ago I watched a CNN clip that brought me to tears. I felt God’s heart so strong that I knew it wasn’t just me crying, it was God. I felt God crying in me. At this moment, I’m crying and its’ blurring my vision.
Cory Asbury is singing “Where I Belong” on my itunes and all I want to do is scream and cry. I’m sitting here whimpering instead but the tears are good. They remind me how precious God made me and He’s speaking to me. He’s physically waking me up and spiritually waking me up to the need.
Let me back track just a little bit…..
The past month or so, God has been surprising me with little encounters here and there with Nepalese women. The first girl I met was in Hua Hin back at our debrief when we first got to Asia. I was walking around in the mega mall heading to lunch and I passed by a little shoe shop. I wasn’t just attracted to the shoes, I saw a girl sitting quietly hoping for a customer. I went directly up to her and starting a conversation. I knew the minute I started talking to her that I would share the love of Jesus with her. I did and I told her that Jesus wanted to come into her heart. She said, “okay, what time?”
I giggled and told her that right now he wanted to be in her heart.
We were interrupted by actual customers coming to buy things. I politely told her that I had to go and that I’d come back. I did and we continued our conversation until it was interrupted again. I went and saw her another time before I left and tried to meet with her after work, but her schedule at home didn’t permit her too. Her name was SABINA and I won’t forget telling her about the love of Jesus.
That was the beginning of God giving me a heart for the Nepalese. I would be walking around the streets of Phuket, the location of our last month’s ministry and God would tell me, she’s Nepalese. Sometimes I would just start conversations with the women, and I’d ask them if they were Nepalese. They would reply yes. It was kind of cool to practice listening to God and stepping out with what He was telling me.
I thought to myself, I’m in Thailand and God keeps drawing me to talk to the Nepalese women, I love it. I made such a dear friend SUNNITA while I was there, and she is Nepalese. Check out the blog I wrote about her.
http://birkleighforeman.theworldrace.org/?filename=sunnita-seeks-grace-at-the-shop
I knew right away when she started talking to me, that she was from Nepal. We formed a friendship and I still keep in touch with her through email. Some of my squadmates know these stories and they hear me tell them, “I’m going to Nepal.” I don’t know when and I don’t know why I’m drawn there. I just have to go. I started praying about it and giving it to God. In the meantime, the Lord has given me a heart for the Nepalese and given me opportunities to share the love of Jesus.
Human Trafficking
I knew about the human trafficking in India and suspected the same to be true in Nepal, but I didn’t know the facts. It’s a global issue, so its no surprise its happening in Nepal. I came across a past racers blog this morning and the title caught my eye, “Rescuing Girls from Sex Slavery.” Please read it and check out the video.
http://stephanietyrna.theworldrace.org/?filename=rescuing-girls-from-sex-slavery
I read it and watched the clip, and that’s when it happened, I broke. My heart broke for these women. I didn’t have to be there, talk to them or see it all unfold in front of me for my heart to be burdened. God had already given me a heart for the women I met the past couple months, so it’s no surprise that he leads me to this and I stay up til 5 am compelled to write this blog.
I knew in that moment I would be going to Nepal at some point and I would be a part of rescuing these women. It could be through a documentary raising awareness, and bringing justice. It could be going to volunteer. It could simply be to go and listen to them, cry with them and pray for them. It could be all of that. Each one of them has worth and value. Each one has a voice, a dream and a story. I will be a part of their redemption.
