Take nothing, I heard him say, I will be your refuge.
Our ministry this month would be traveling to many different parts of Nepal preaching, giving testimonies, devotionals, and healing prayer.
We had arrived in Kathmandu thinking this was where we were going to stay the entire month, but the Lord had different plans. We had been staying with a family in a small house, and had already preached at three different churches before the trip, and luckily we were able to leave things from our packs there, knowing we wouldn’t be back until the end of the month.
So I took my small REI day pack filled with some clothes, my bible, my journal, leaving behind my music, books, or any small forms of comfort from the items in my back pack, and off we went on a wild bus ride! Let me just say that Asian transportation was not created for tall people with long legs. Also there was a lot of talking to Jesus while looking over the side of a cliff to what could quit possibly be a fall to my death as the tires were a few inches from the edge while the driver was sporadically steering a huge bus that I am convinced he thought was a small smart car.
So far the first three days in Kathmandu had been filled with a little bit of culture shock coming from Europe.
I learned to use a squatty potty and wanted to hug and thank the man who invented the toilet seat. There is nothing like being in a steaming hot squatty infested with spiders and bugs, sweating from head to toe, trying to aim things you have never had to aim before, and realizing toilet paper is NOT a thing in Asia.
Showers consisted of buckets of water, which wasn’t bad at all except for the fact that you were still just as sweaty after the shower as before.
I learned quickly that personal space does not exist, and when they come around trying to put food on your plate for seconds, thirds, fourths, and fifths, no somehow translates into yes, and you will still get it! But shortly these things became normal, and we learned to just hide our plates quickly after the first serving.
I have never seen people worship the way the people of Nepal worship. They are so filled with joy and they love praising and thanking the Lord!
The first place we arrived to, after a 9 hour bus ride full of landslides, sweat, sweat, and more sweat, was called Gorkha, and the view was absolutely breathtaking! The Himalayas spread out as far as my eyes could see, and the clouds lay against the green trees. We were staying in the garage of a wonderful family, which was our base. Each day we would travel to a different village via a small truck (18 people was the number reached in it) or walking.
These people were so incredibly giving, each place welcomed us with scarves, and would listen so intently to everything we said! After we preached and gave testimonies, they would come up and tell us their testimonies in front of the church.
I think it was the first time I ever saw a church be completely vulnerable with each other. Then people who needed healing prayer would come up and we would pray with them. Afterwards the people would always serve us tea, rice (bhat), and lentils (dhal)… sometimes it was really hard to receive their love, because they had nothing and would still give and give.
We both had things to offer, the Lord gave us many encouraging things to tell them, and they taught me what true joy and thankfulness looked like.
One day I just decided to sit down and read through the book of Matthew. Jesus is amazing, and pretty much a total bad ass! He spoke the truth, and while he spoke it with love, he was still direct but yet showed so much patience with his disciples and followers. He walked in who He knew was. He came with authority, and he passed on that same authority to us!
He healed the sick, cast out demons, made the blind to see and the death to hear, and sometimes we hear this and think that was the olden days, or this is just history and is no longer applicable... NO! These things still exist and He passes on that power and authority to His disciples, and to us, through the Holy Spirit! Jesus says,”I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father.”
It was no coincidence that I had read the book of Matthew. The next day at church after we got done speaking, a woman came up front and asked for prayer because she was hearing voices, and she told us she could feel an evil spirit dwelling within in her. As soon as we began to pray she started convulsing, snorting, and trying to rip her hair out…
I had never seen anything like it before…
(To be continued in Part 2)
