It was our first day of ministry outside of the city. We hopped on a morning bus heading towards a village a little bit outside of Kathmandu and forty minutes later we arrived at our stop. We followed our translators through narrow back alleys weaving through the small town, until we reached a dirt road that led away from the buildings that enclosed us and dipped down towards an open valley of green and yellow.
The road sloped and bent and every direction was beautiful. There were yellow flowers brightened by the midday sun and rows of green to highlight their presence. There were hills beyond hills, colliding with the clear blue sky and outlined by the sun as they grew faint in the distance. Cottages and small brick buildings were placed sporadically around the fields and we walked deeper and deeper into the valley mesmerized by everything around us. Small bridges allowed us to pass over creeks and we walked over tall, wiry bridges that swayed when we swayed, making us acutely aware of the river beneath our feet.
We arrived at the bottom of the valley, a little out of breath… from the altitude… and feeling excited about the potential of the day’s ministry. Awkwardly, we walked through the gate leading into the leper colony we would be working with for the day and unsure of where to go or what to do, every one suddenly had to go to the bathroom. Myself and a few others sat down to wait and began to eat the Tibetan bread we were given for lunch.
After the time it takes for ten girls to go to the bathroom we were ushered into smaller groups and Ashlie, Paige, Susan and I left with our contact, Deepak, to have some conversations with the men and women who lived in the colony. The first man we talked to briefly, about life, family, and random subjects, and as the conversation faded we prayed for him and looked for another person available to talk with.
We came across a man sitting by himself on a mat. His legs twisted in front of him sat limp and unusable. He placed his hands together and greeted us with the traditional Hindu greeting of Nepal: “Namaste”.
We began a conversation where we were able to learn a little bit about his life. He was 81 years old and had been in this leper colony for 58 years. Like the first man, the affects of leprosy were obvious in his fingers and through his socks I could see the disfigurement in his toes. He told us that his hip had been dislocated for five years, but he didn’t have enough money to see a doctor to have it fixed.
He never married or had any children and his only family was his brother who also lived in the colony. He pointed to the other side of the courtyard and described his brother as the man in the specs with the beard and we waved and greeted him. During our entire conversation I could see his brother from the corner of my eye pulling on his friends, long, grey beard and laughing and then looking over at me to see if I noticed them goofing around, which, obviously I did – so I would smile at him, accidentally encouraging him to do it again.
Despite the distraction, the conversation continued and he began to talk about his spiritual beliefs. He explained that in his past he worshipped the Hindu gods, but recently he stopped worshipping idols and no longer followed any god. Deepak encouraged us to share the gospel with him, so I began to tell him the reason we came to Nepal and came to visit him in the first place.
I told him why Jesus came to earth, because he loves us and we need him – I told him how he didn’t ask for us to be perfect people – that’s why we need a savior – and it isn’t through our works, but by his grace that we are saved. I told him about heaven and how awesome it’s going to be and that in order to receive salvation and a life in Christ, all he had to do was accept Jesus as his savior.
After I shared all of this and a little more, we talked for a bit answering his questions, and he told us that he wanted to accept Jesus as his savior and Paige was able to pray with him as he gave the Lord his heart.
When they finished praying, Paige asked Deepak to tell him they were having a party in heaven for him. His excitement and smile was contagious and made me kind of giddy. He took off his hat and I told him he had really nice hair, which he did, it was very thick for an older guy – and we continued to make conversation for a little bit.
When we left him, he placed his hands together as he did to greet us, except this time he didn’t say “Namaste” – he nodded his head at each of us and said “Jai Mashi” – This is the Christian greeting/goodbye in Nepal and means “Victory for the Messiah”. Which was only appropriate for the situation because that day God added a precious soul into his kingdom and allowed us all to be a part of the process.
We left the colony, stopping at the church to eat lunch before starting our trek back through the valley. The afternoon sun shone brightly allowing everything it touched to turn golden. There were women heading back home after working in the fields, wicker baskets on their backs holding whatever produce they had plucked from the ground. I passed a woman on the road and she offered me some popcorn from a bag she was holding and I thanked her, grabbed a couple pieces and continued on our hike. As I walked soaking in the warm sunlight, I experienced what happens after any victory: celebration. Celebrating being a process of the biggest victory on earth, knowing that everything beautiful around me comes from the one who wins it all and celebration that every thing the Son touches touches turns to gold.
