When we arrived at our ministry location for the month, he was the first person I saw. He was on the side of the road, wearing short shorts and it looked as if he was muttering to himself. But throughout our month here, God broke my heart for this man.
Everyday he paces back and forth throughout the village from one end of the houses and shops to the other. He wanders with no destination. He’s barefoot and wears the same outfit for about a week. He likes to play with gravel rocks, so we see him sitting near the sewer counting and sorting them into groups.
He will stand in the sun and stagger down the street– just a little too close to every bus that zooms by. He is dirtied and malnourished. He is usually shooed off by people in the village. Really, no one pays attention to him and no one knows his name.
But in time, he became endearingly known as our friend. With each bus ride we took to ministry or into town, we had a few minutes with him. So we would stand with him, wave, and smile.
Oh his smile! I can’t put the beauty of his smile into words. His eyes light up, he smiles wide, and he makes a joyful sound as he frantically waves his hand reaching out to touch ours. It was always a better afternoon when we saw our friend.
One hot day, I was standing in the shade when I saw him. There he was, in the same outfit from four days before, patrolling the streets. I brought him a liter water bottle. He finished that thing in less than a minute. He was drinking so fast there were moments he was drooling and nearly choking on it. So this past week, my teammates and I have enjoyed bringing him water and counting rocks with him.
Throughout this month God has stirred up a great compassion in my heart for our friend.
The other evening, I was laying in bed (aka my sleeping pad), and God spoke to me about our friend. He said, “Lyndsay, I want you to tell my son about my love for him and about the love of Christ.” Sounds dramatic, but tears started to fall down my face (which by the way is really uncomfortable when you are wearing an eye mask).
Are you really doing this right now God? Was all I could think.
Don’t get me wrong, I felt conviction in my heart and a deep desire to be there for our friend. But did this message really have to come to me at 11pm?! I remember God specifically saying, “You are going to be challenged and want to give up, but do not give in. You need to push through and tell him about my love.”
Interesting, because the next morning we found out our school ministry was canceled due to a holy holiday. So I took that as the flashing, neon sign to walk in obedience.
I asked our translator if he would come with me so I could talk to this man about Jesus. At first he said no and he recommend not to do it because our friend would not understand. He explained that the man has a learning disability so there is no way he could understand what we are saying.
Ahhhh, ok God, I see what you are doing here. Here’s the moment I am challenged and there is an easy out of this conviction.
And a part of me wanted to give up because I know it sounded so stupid. But I knew I had to do it. I told him that God asked me to do it and that I would really appreciate it if he could help me. So he reluctantly agreed.
I asked the translator, “Please tell him God sees you walking up and down this street. You are not alone. He is proud of you and finds you precious.”
At that point, our translator was visibly frustrated. He said, “He doesn’t understand what we are saying.”
I told our translator, I know this doesn’t make sense, but that’s how our God works. He uses the weak to do great things. But this man needs to know this because what if he does understand. And if he doesn’t God can still reach him in ways that we can’t.
So he continued to translate, “God created this earth and you have a Savior name Jesus. He died for you and He will live in your heart if you ask him. You don’t have to say the words out loud, just tell Him. God is always with you.”
Then we each prayed over our friend. Later that afternoon we returned with more water and spent some time playing with rocks.
I don’t know if our friend understood us. I was not expecting him to fall to his knees and shout “I love Jesus.” But I do know that we each saw joy in his eyes, he brought his hand to his chest, and our conversation was full of smiles.
After sharing the good news with our friend, my teammate Katie showed me this excerpt from a book she is reading, Victory Over the Darkness, by Neil T. Anderson. She encouraged me to continue to listen to God and to love others because you never know what difference it can make.
Thank you Katie for your encouragement and sharing this truth with me! After hearing this testimony of Anne Sullivan I am reminded that even when things don’t make sense, God’s love has the power to overcome any obstacle:
“Before the turn of the twentieth century, an asylum in the suburbs of Boston
housed severely mentally disabled and disturbed individuals. One of the patients
was a girl who was simply called Little Annie. She was totally unresponsive to
others in the asylum. The staff tried everything possible to help her, yet without
success. Finally she was confined to a cell in the basement of the asylum and
given up as hopeless. A Christian woman worked at the asylum, and she
believed that every one of God’s creatures needed love, concern and care. So she
decided to spend her lunch hours in front of Little Annie’s cell, reading and praying
that God would free her from her prison of silence. Day after day the Christian
woman came to Little Annie’s door and read, but the little girl did not respond.
Months went by. The woman tried to talk with Little Annie, but it was like
talking to an empty cell. She brought little tokens of food for the girl, but they
were never received. Then one day a brownie was missing from the plate the
caring woman retrieved from Little Annie’s cell. Encouraged, she continued to
read to her and pray for her. Eventually, the little girl began to answer the
woman through the bars of her cell. Soon the woman convinced the doctors
that Little Annie needed a second chance at treatment. They brought her up
from the basement and continued to work with her. Within two years Little Annie
was told she could leave the asylum and enjoy a normal life.
She chose not to leave, though. She was so grateful for the love and attention
she was given by the dedicated Christian woman that she decided to stay and love
others as she had been loved. So Little Annie stayed on at the institution to work
with other patients who were suffering as she had suffered.
Nearly half a century later, the Queen of England held a special ceremony to honor
one of the most inspiring women in the United States, Hellen Keller. When asked
to what she would attribute her success at overcoming the dual handicap of
blindness and deafness, Helen Keller replied, ‘If it hadn’t been for Anne Sullivan,
I wouldn’t be here today.’
Anne Sullivan, who tenaciously loved and believed in an incorrigible blind and
deaf girl named Helen Keller, was little Annie. Because one selfless Christian
woman in the dungeon of an insane asylum believed that a hopeless little girl
needed God’s love, the world received the marvelous gift of Helen Keller.”
I’m not sure why God wanted to teach me this lesson in Nepal. Because outcasts of society, the least of these, people who are deemed as unworthy are not exclusive to Nepal. Throughout every country, every generation, and every culture there are people considered to be untouchable. But God has taught me His heart in this experience.
I’m called to tell people they are loved, valued, and they have a savior. No matter the place and no matter the circumstance. And even if I don’t understand the situation, I have faith that my God can go beyond human understanding and touch one’s heart with His love. I came on the World Race to grow, to walk in boldness and obedience. So I will continue this at home and wherever God leads me.
I would like to challenge all of us this week. To love someone who is considered an outcast and to bring light into that lie. Reach out to someone who is overlooked, not cared for, untouchable, and show them God’s love. Let them know their value. Even if it doesn’t make sense, share the love of Christ with them.
Our God does not make sense, we cannot fathom His love and His grace, and I’m grateful for a God that I cannot understand. I’m thankful that our Lord will use what is considered weak in this world to display His perfect love that truly surpasses all understanding.
Friends, nothing is wasted.
But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things– and the things that are not– to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God– that is, our righteousness, holiness, and redemption. 1 Corinthians 1:27-30
