First off, sorry that I haven’t blogged in a little while. This month you can find me and my whole squad in the beautiful city of Kathmandu, Nepal. When I say my whole squad is in this city, I do mean my WHOLE squad. So, that means that this month all 50 of us are living in one house and doing ministry together. It has basically just been one giant reunion with everyone trying to tell everyone else about their past two months on the race. We are working with an incredible ministry that has had a lot of experience with the World Race already. Each week they have us doing a different type of ministry. Instead of trying to tell you about everything in one swift blog I’ll try to post a couple in the next coming weeks.
As half of my squad crammed into a packed bus and headed to the slums, I had no idea what to expect. I have seen poverty before. Part of me thought that it would look the same but at the same time, I could feel that I was in for an entirely new experience. We walked through a few houses but followed the sounds of laughter coming from the swarm of children playing on a swing. There was a festival that went on for what seemed like days and giant swings have been put up all over town made of large bamboo sticks. We were immediately tackled by kids who were so desperate for love that it hurt, literally.
They were pulling us every direction, fighting over who got to be held. We played for about an hour, leaving my once clean clothes caked in dirt and sand.
Dilop, one of the missionaries we are working with, took two of my squad mates and me to go visit people in their homes to pray for them. We were lead into a home by one of the children. We walked through the houses made of bamboo, tin, rice bags, and scrap wood to find a woman with her 4 year old son. Dilop translated for us and told us that she was Christian and we were able to speak with her. She asked for prayer for her son who was having stomach pains and for her house which she believed had bad spirits. Each of my squad mates took turns praying over her child and her house. I then asked if I could pray for her because I was just overwhelmed by her selflessness.
I remember thinking how incredible it was that this woman’s first instincts were to ask for help for her son and for her household instead of asking for her own needs.
I held her hands and we prayed together. I thanked God for showing me His love through this woman. I asked Him to bless her and to fill her life with joy and goodness. I prayed over her for a long time and when I said “Amen,” she was crying heavy tears. She immediately wanted to take us to her mother’s house so we could pray over her as well. We walked deeper and deeper into the slums. I was overwhelmed by the poverty I saw during this walk. Everywhere I looked I saw hungry people who looked like they were just about out of hope.
I remember thinking, is God even here?
When we got to her mother’s house we were asked to take our shoes off at the door and then they gave us coke and cookies. Here we were, sitting in the red dirt of this woman’s home as she served us. She was serving us and I was just so confused…that is the complete opposite of what I wanted. Everything in me was saying to jump up and stop her; to sweep this family out of these slums. But, God had different plans. As I sat there and accepted the coke I saw the pride she had in her home and felt ashamed for every wanting to reject their gift. Slowly other people started to pour into the house until it was full of different women, all of whom wanted to share their stories with us and ask for prayer.
We sat there and prayed for over 2 hours for all of these women. God filled that little home in the depths of the slums in Nepal with His everlasting love that day. He gave my squad mates and me the words to say to these women.
Words of encouragement and empathy.
Words of the grace of Jesus and all He is going to do for them and through them.
God showed me that day that even in the darkest places, when it seems like He couldn’t possibly be there, that He lives; that His fire is burning brightly and waiting be kindled.
