Last month in Nepal our ministry was evangelism.
If you know me or my story at all, you know this was a hard pill for me to swallow. For many years, the non-relational, forceful method of evangelism that I saw Christians employing kept me from pursuing a relationship with God. It still infuriates me to see people imposing religion on others, instead of letting their lives witness to others. How was I going to handle awkward, point-blank questions about Jesus, when I believe in showing how a relationship with Jesus has changed my life — through simply getting to know people, loving and serving them, hearing their stories, and then offering my own as a witness to the truth of Christ?
It’s been humbling to learn on the Race that part of my calling here is to honor the contacts my team has been given for the month and to trust God as I try to submit to their wishes. I asked God to open my mind and my heart to a different approach.
And He answered with amazing, glorifying results.
One morning our team was off to a late start. We started out for our day’s ministry about two hours behind schedule.
We took a tempo to a remote part of Hetauda, our hometown for the month. Having arrived, we started walking down a dusty road with cows ambling about and a few shops and homes on either side.
A pastor, whom our contact Susan knew, stopped us. He greeted us and redirected our path, telling us that if we turned around and took a different turn we would encounter more non-Christians, some of whom had never heard the gospel.
Off we went, praying for divine encounters and for God to give us the words to say (and not say) when he did.
A woman appeared in our view, sitting outside a small hut with a blank, lonely stare. Our contact encouraged us to approach her. I braced myself for an awkward, forced conversation.
But it was as if she were expecting us. She smiled, waved us over, and pulled out a small mat for us to sit on. Water and tea were offered to us, and soon we were answering questions about why we were in Nepal and what we were doing here.
“We’re here because Jesus has changed our lives, and He has called us to share His love and our stories with others.”
An unsure smile spread across her face.
“Do you know about Jesus?”
She’d never heard of him. Neither had her husband, who joined us.
Sharing the gospel with someone who has never heard of Jesus is a beautifully humbling opportunity. There are no preconceived notions to maneuver around, no scarring experiences with Christians to recover from, and no knowledge whatsoever. It’s a blessing and a daunting task. I asked God to help me give her and her husband the right words to convey His beautiful character, one marked by unsurpassing love, power, grace, and supremacy.
He gave me words, but it wasn’t pretty, and soon I started sharing my own story and completely neglected to share what happened after Jesus died on the cross… You know, only the most important part: that He rose from the dead, ascended to the right hand of the Father, defeated death with His great love, and gave us His very heart and mind through the Holy Spirit so that we could know Him and have new life in Him.
God, I’m so sorry! Ugh, I can’t believe I blew it! Please redeem this situation, and let your strength shine through my weakness!
Our contact started sharing with them how he came to Christ: through the miraculous healing of his mother, who had such low blood pressure that the doctors had told her she had but days to live. She was a faithful Hindu, but in her desperation, she accepted the offer of her nephew to invite the Church to visit her and pray for her. She was healed on the spot, to the confusion of her doctors.
Little did we know, this woman’s husband had a bad knee. For the past six years, he had walked with a limp because the pain was so great. They were Hindus of the lowest caste, and therefore they weren’t even allowed to enter the temples.
He finally spoke: “If Jesus would heal my knee, then my wife, our whole family, and I will believe.”
Oh boy, it’s time. Jesus, you orchestrated every detail of our day and theirs so that you could come knocking on their doorstep. You delayed us two hours; you redirected our path; you prompted her to sit outside as we passed along; you even had me totally screw up so that Susan could share about his mom’s healing and prompt prayer for this man’s. You know their hearts. This is your will, Jesus. Give me faith!!!
Tim and Thomas laid hands on him, and we all prayed, asking our God, who alone heals the sick, lame, blind, and deaf, to heal this man.
A crowd had formed all around us, as this man’s family and neighbors (all Hindus) watched to see what would happen.
We waited.
And then the man got up.
He stretched his leg, walked around, and a smile spread across his face.
He was fully healed.
“This Jesus, he healed me! We’ve spent years of our lives going to different doctors, spending money on different medicines. This Jesus!” he said in disbelief.
Susan asked him if he still wanted to accept Jesus into his life, as his Savior and Lord.
“Yes! Yes! My wife too! My family, we all have one heart. We all want him. He is God!”
I watched with awe as this crowd of people bowed their heads and repeated after Susan a simple and heartfelt prayer. I felt the indescribable joy of the Lord rise up in me, as I remembered these words:
“Suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Does she not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” (Luke 15:8-10)
