Kathmandu, Nepal
On our first ministry outing in Nepal, we visited the home of Lal, Anu and their son Samuel. Lal used to be a missionary in India.They are in their late 20s and have huge hearts for the Lord. They love to trek and the setting here right in the heart of the Himalayas would beckon me to do the same if I lived here, but 8 months ago, Anu suffered a spinal injury from a tragic accident when she fell off a roof when she was watering some plants (the roofs are flat here…more like a terrace…not like the A-frames you might think of when you think of a house in the states). Doctors operated and she now has several screws in her spine, but she has lost feeling from her hips down and lies in bed for the better part of her life.Â
When we gathered around her bed to pray for healing for her, I felt this intense spirit. As we prayed, I began to feel my eyes well up with tears. This 28-year old woman with so much life ahead of her, is struggling to keep up her hope. She doesn’t get to chase around her 5-year old son or walk him to and from school. She doesn’t get to hike the beautiful landscapes tempting her from right outside her window. She can’t get herself out of bed to so much as prepare a cup of coffee or brush her teeth for that matter. All of these things many of us may take for granted. But she does put her hope in one thing. Next to her fragile little body lay a little leatherbound book. That’s it…nothing else. Not a laptop or a journal or a stuffed hippo puppet named Jonathan. Just the sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:17).
I try to imagine my life in her shoes. Where would I put my hope? Would I welcome strangers to come pray with me in my worst state? Would I dig into the Word and find my hope in Christ? I have never been in her shoes, but I hope with all of me that my answers to those questions would be yes. I am excited to visit her more over the next few weeks and continue to pray for her. Maybe you can say a quick prayer for her right now, too, and I would love to be able to share with you her progress at the end of the month!!Â
