Nepal part dos

Something that sticks out when I think of Nepal was a conversation I had with one of the guys that worked at the hotel we lived in. His name was Taj. One day, I walked in, and I was wearing a pair of cross earrings. He asked me what they meant. He said he knew they were for Christians and told me what he knew about Jesus. As a Hindu, he told me Jesus was a good man, a good prophet. Then he asked me what they stood for to me. The first thing that came to mind was to say “freedom”. When I think about it, I realize how big that was for me to tell him. For many years I didn’t think of my faith as something that was freeing. I saw it as something that was binding. I couldn’t just have fun, like I wanted, free of guilt. I realize now how wrong I was. I was bound by my own conscience and laws. Freedom. My faith stands for freedom. I am free. I love it. I think I’ve had revelations about the freedom I feel in Christ before now, but it was refreshed again.

Nepal was a month of God showing us his power. We saw and heard about miracle after miracle after miracle. Blind people seeing, deaf people hearing, legs that were uneven growing and becoming even, and people being saved left and right. God was doing work in Kathmandu. One of my favorite moments was watching one man whose leg had grown out at church one Sunday. When I got there he was running circles around the patio because he had never been able to do that before. It all started because he took a step of faith with God. I learned so much more about praying with expectation. A lot of doubt that I had previously was washed away. God is alive. He is still working. He is still a God of miracles. He is still with us. The great physician.

One of the days we were there we went to Pashupati. Pashupati is a huge temple. When I say temple I mean a series of temples. It’s well known for being a place where many Hindus burn their dead. They bring them, dip their feet into the river, and then burn them on pyres next to the river and then put the ashes in the river. I was nervous about going. When we got there we went straight to praying with the Sadhus. Sadhus are Hindu holy men. It takes them 25 years to become a Sadhu. After praying and talking with some of them, 3 decided to come to church that Sunday. Seeds planted. I thought that was just incredible. There is a room across from where they burn the bodies where women sit and mourn. They said that women are paid to mourn over the bodies with the families. I felt like God told me to go a pray over that room. So I did. It wasn’t easy. I was breathing in ashes. And everyone was staring. God can break chains anywhere, though. I trust he will continue to work in the hearts of the people at the temple. After that, Sophia and I prayed for man in a different part of the area. He couldn’t walk and crawled up to us for money. We gave him what we had- prayer in the name of Jesus. We walked out and then 5 minutes later we went back because Sophia felt like we were supposed to pray again. When we started going in Clem stopped us telling us only Hindus were allowed in that area. We told him we had already gone, unknowingly, so he said we could go back. We couldn’t find the guy anywhere. It was a huge area. I don’t know how, without legs, he could’ve gotten out without us seeing him. I have faith that he was healed.

We were also there during one of their biggest Hindu holidays called Holi Day. It’s the holiday that the color run mimicks. They have a huge party in the streets throwing dyed powder at anyone and everyone and yelling “HAPPY HOLI DAY!!!”. We were told not to participate because for the Hindus that become Christians in Nepal, they give up a lot. Not just their religion but their culture, also. So for us to participate in something they can’t is just kind of uncool. Living in the biggest tourist area of Kathmandu we quickly realized there was no escape. We made it to one stop without anything happening though so we thought if we walked with a mission we could make it without getting hit. Bad idea. We got attacked hard on the way to lunch. It was a bit funny though.

One of my other favorite days was the day we went to Beauty for Ashes. They have an awesome website you should check out. They take in women who are victims of trafficking or at risk of being trafficked and they give them jobs making accessories- necklaces, scarves, purses, earrings, bracelets, headbands, etc. The creations they make are seriously beautiful, the name has more than one meaning. We got to worship with the women and pray with them. Then we got to read about some of their dreams and visions for their lives. It was so encouraging.

One of the other incredible things we got to do was fly over the Himalayan Range. We got to go into the cockpit to see Mt. Everest. It was incredible. So beautiful. God’s creation, man.

The last and most important is this: I am famous. Just kidding, I’m not. And this isn’t the most important. But, it’s awesome. I got to record a song in a recording studio, and it’s on iTunes now! At church one Sunday in the youth they taught them to listen to God. As they wrote down what each group had gotten, they realized it all corresponded. They each heard God telling them about his love. So they turned it into a song. It’s really cool. And I’ve always pretended I was a great singer, so it was a big ego boost. I’m a background singer, and you can’t pick my voice out… But, it’s a step in the right direction!

I think that sums up Nepal in the simplest way possible. It’s hard to fit it all in there. God is good.