Our first week in Kathmandu, Nepal, my team (Global Rootz) and team Tabula Rassa stayed together near the palace at The Student Guest House. It opens onto one of many winding streets lined with little shops for yak wool scarves, wool hats and gloves, hiking equipment, baggy Nepal pants and skirts, metal idols and incense and jewelry, fried snacks, cafes, Nepalese/Chinese/Indian/Thai & Middle Eastern food, bulk tea, books, hand-made paper lanterns and journals, as well as bars and strip clubs and tattoo parlors. Many of the shops are a room on the front of a person’s house (all tall, skinny, worn out concrete buildings). There are carts in the streets, motor bikes, bicycles towing people around in carts, and some cars, but mostly swarms of walking people. It’s dirty not only in the street but often in shops too. It’s poor; a doorway of a dirt floor with trash everywhere and a pan to roast corn or fry snacks could be the extent of one shop. Some have fruit hanging and juice. Some consist of the goods within a large metal basket attached to a bicycle. There is smoke and dust everywhere. Everything is bustling and colors are bright. People from many nations gather here to see the world’s highest peak: Mt. Everest. Random cattle, goats, chickens, dogs, and monkeys roam the streets and stop traffic. Animals rule here.
Deepak was a fabulous host. He brought us to The Student Guest House, ensured we traveled to and from the village safely, and planned ministry for us each day. I’m sorry there isn’t time to detail each day! We saw God work powerfully! We got to:
– Prayer walk in and around a Monkey Temple
– Visit slums by a river of trash to play with kids and pray. I got to share the gospel with one boy who spoke English. He said his mom had a Bible but hadn’t heard of Jesus and that he would tell her about Him. We also prayed for healing in a woman who is persecuted as a leader of the church there and a great burden left her.
– Attend church on Saturday, sitting on the floor with men and women segregated. The sermon was about replacing the lies we think and say with the truth of God. The pastor, who remained passionate in his late 80s, said we speak lies to ourselves so much that we start believing them and end up living contrary to God’s desire for us. This is something I’ve been learning to implement. Thankfully the sermon was translated through head phones. During the service, and at least during prayer, women wear scarves over their heads.
– Sunday we visited a Buddhist/Hindu Convent and prayed all over it. Buddhism and Hinduism are one unit here. The Hindu aspect works tirelessly to earn favor with wrathful gods. The Buddhist influence seeks unity between all things; it finds peace in empty, meaningless nothingness. A massive, majestic, mysterious temple is under construction at the nunnery. Looking inside taught me a lot.
There is a deadly calm within, as if everything really is OK. But it’s not. It’s like everyone sought meaninglessness and they are content with it. They are comforted by peace in nothing, peace that is putting them to sleep. Their doctrine is presented intricately; confusion upon confusion, twisted up with some confusion. A sickening amount of details (never thought I’d say that) lead astray and hide the fact that there is NO hope where they put all hope.
I prayed a lot and recognized areas inside (this happens frequently, I just don’t mention it – it is weird) and spoke with some of the women. I prayed that they would see through the haze and dead calm, and have their eyes opened to know their hope is based on nothing. I prayed they would realize there is hope available for them. I prayed God would reveal Himself to them and that He would open them up to receive Him.
I prayed crazily. I prayed for the whole convent to come to know Him from one of them becoming a Christian and sharing with the rest. I recognized a room I walked by while praying and remembered certain things: argument about the gospel, a Bible, fear of being found out, and I prayed. Julie was in there with a young girl who spoke English and was studying to be a nun. She had seen the meaninglessness of worshiping all the idols carried in by their own hands and she chose to follow Jesus.
She wanted a Bible and Julie told me before we left. I already had one I wanted to leave, but I hadn’t because it was in English. 🙂 Julie went back to give it to her and she said she knew Julie was coming back because she’d asked God to send her back. ! If you think it’s all coincidence, I won’t judge. It sounds crazy to me, but things happened like this daily so that we constantly marveled at the powerful acts God displayed.
– Monday we visited a leper colony after hiking to a far out village. (Out in the plants, pollution is greatly reduced.) We spent time there praying and sharing the hope of God’s love.
– Tuesday we served at a Christian Korean organization that fed breakfast to around 400 kids from the slums. It was neat to see how smoothly their ministry ran, their joyful service, and their hospitality. On the bus home I got to share the gospel with the man next to me who asked to hear about Jesus. He said he would seek to learn more.
Deepak was good at answering our questions and giving us background on things. He used to be Buddhist trekking guide, and now has the High Adventure Ministry to host missions groups. Nepal requires taxes from not for profit organizations like his, so he also leads tourists through the same title.
– I mentioned the Ku (spl?) last blog. For such a new democracy there is a lot of malcontent. There are many Mouist/Socialist/Communist rallies. Honestly I only saw zillions of socialist flags and heard Mouism’s popularity. Just tacked Communism on for good measure. They are eager for something they can put their hope in. Something that will change things. It’s like they realize the hollowness of their hopeless yet loyal religious acts.
– Deepak’s father in law and Jeevan’s dad came over from India together and started the Nepalese Christian church which now has 200 branches – all united. Napli Isai Mandali, the church we attended in Kathmandu, is one branch (plant). When they started out, these pastors endured great persecution. From what I gathered, things are different now thanks to the democracy. They continue to spread out and start up in new villages that haven’t heard. But here again funding limits the scope/breadth of their work. They don’t look for anything fancy: song books and Bibles, floor coverings, lights, a building (I saw churches made of stone and mud; tin; wood with a thatch roof … whatever is available), and that’s pretty much it. I really enjoyed listening to Deepak’s father in law. It was amazing to realize he is someone you read about in books and I got to see what God has done through him from his own mouth!
Sharing the gospel has been my favorite part of Nepal. The first week I felt a burden from my surroundings that is best described as a deep-rooted but comfortable sense of impending doom. It really isn’t what I’d guess that phrase to describe, but “impending doom” is the closest word idea I know. I didn’t let it keep me from what God called me to; I became aware of hidden things and I had to stick closer to God during that time. But God let me see more of Him and His incredibly greater power. God gave me boldness and words to share how He has worked in me and the hope He offers in Jesus. I was fully alive with the joy and peace that nothing else brings. I’ve never seen God speaking to me and working through me so clearly. God is too wonderful for me.
Lovingly,
Mere
