This week’s country of focus is Nepal. When doing a search for information about this country, an article popped up about a Nepalese nun who has become a popular musical artist. Her name is Ani Choying and she became a nun because of childhood experiences with violently aggressive father. She sought out peace and believed being a nun would provide that; however, she’s a bit of a spunky nun. My kinda girl! I like to do things to prove people wrong and that girls typically don’t do J She held lots of anger at the discrimination against women which drove her to prove “them” wrong. Females are typically not allowed to be educated, not allowed to drive, etc. So she proved them wrong by achieving some of these things; and with the money she makes being a popular artist, she funds a school for other young nuns. Her recent popular song “Zariya” is what was named in the article so I checked out the video. I tried to also look up the meaning of the lyrics, but they don’t make much sense to me so I won’t attempt to explain. As a musician, I loved how the culture shines through the musical arrangement of the song and I’m fascinated with some of the instruments I saw in the video. They feature the chick on bass at one point and she is rockin it!! Anyway, take a look if you’d like to get a glimpse into their culture. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlaZSx6tqRo
Other than enjoying the unique and beautiful musical composition, I’m saddened knowing that Ani’s childhood story is too common in many places. This is one of the many reasons why I’m so looking forward to our journey next year and getting to visit places like Nepal. We have the opportunity to share about a Savior who loves unconditionally and deeply values both men and women. We have the opportunity to share about how Jesus is the peace and significance they are seeking. How awesome, would it be to be able to share with Ani and others like her that there is something even greater than what she has found?!
In other news about the country, the tourism industry is booming which is great for the economy; however, that also brings about the concern of the ways they reduce the natural beauty and natural resources to keep up with demand. They have only operated under a democracy since 2008. Nepal’s largest religious group is Hinduism; and while there is religious freedom for people to choose, it is illegal to attempt to convert anyone to another religion.
Prayer Points:
~As with many other countries, the political system and structure needs prayer for wise and godly leaders to rise up and stop corruption within the government.
~The caste system creates a lot of social barriers as in India. Pray for those walls to be broken down and that people would come to know Jesus Christ and therefore become heirs of a much greater Kingdom and treasure.
~The trafficking of young girls to India and the Middle East is a huge problem. There are over 250,000 who fall victim to this, are terribly abused and many will not live to see the age of 25.
~With any lesser developed culture, there are health issues and rampant spread of disease. Ministries are present to help educate and offer medical services. Pray that necessary medical resources are available and that as generations rise up, they would work towards taking precautions against some of these diseases.
~Pray for unity amongst the body of Christ and that denominations would not creep in and create division.
