This is hopeless.
When you walk through a village of people who know about Jesus, but are too afraid of the certainty of persecution to convert from praying to earless idols to praying to the infinite creator God, its easy to think what you’re doing is useless.
When you climb mountains to Hindu temples to pray to the Author of our stories, knowing that you’re bringing His presence with you, but see no visible change, it seems like what you’re doing isn’t any more important than a tourist visiting the same temple.
When you pray for healing again and again and see no visible results, you wonder why God isn’t listening to your prayers.
When you go into a dance bar where underage girls, precious children created in the image of the Father of Lights, are displayed as common merchandise and sold by their pimps to a lustful/lewd/crude man twice their age right in front of you, treated as if they’re only worth the change in his pockets, and you’re unable to do anything but talk and laugh and dance with them, to try and bring joy to their lives for as long as you can, while their eyes cry out to you to rescue them from this way life they have no choice but to live, you feel INCREDIBLY useless.
When you walk through a brick kiln where the men make the equivalent of $40 a month and the women make half that, yet they’re trapped there with no education, no better prospects for their children, no Jesus, and no hope, you scream and cry in your head, wondering why there’s nothing you can do about it.
But, I can see hope.
But when you see how the faith of one man converted half a village to Jesus, you understand the difference one single person can make when living out the divine appointment the Lord placed on their life.
But when you can feel the darkness receding as you read the word of God out loud, you know that you’re not just any other tourist, but a bearer and bringer of the light.
But when the girl you’re talking to tells you she definitely want out and gives you her number, and you’re able to give the number to someone who’ll help her get away from the chains holding her captive, you feel the Light winning.
But when you watch a lame boy stumble-run into his mothers arms with a huge smile on his face, while tears run down her face, and a deaf man hear the prayers you lifted on his behalf, you understand the power of the Living God
But when you hear of just one family holding on to their faith and living out a testimony to their neighbours, you feel hope again.
Back home, people wonder why everyone loves Nepal so much. Well, its because we are able to see a country at a pivotal time in its history and take part in it. We are able to see the faith of persecuted Christians and encourage them to keep fighting. We are able to see the body of Christ working how its supposed to. We pray, and the Holy Spirit uses us as vessels to heal people. We make friends everywhere we go, because people here speak English and love making American friends. (or at least taking selfies with them!)
Rwanda was hard, for lots of different reasons. People were sick, we lost six people from our squad, we spent the holidays away from our families for the first time, and ministry was stretching for all of us. Nepal is also hard, but so rewarding. And though its incredibly hard to believe, we are at the halfway point now! In 3 weeks we have debrief, then we switch to the Philippines, then there’s PVT, then we only have 2 months until final debrief, then we come home! So while there are definitely lots more things that God is going to grow us and stretch us in, the time is going to fly through the end of our race.
God is good, life is beautiful. And there’s definitely lots of hope!
