Nepal. My eyes have never beheld anything as naturally beautiful as this place. It’s a place that leaves you speechless. It’s so FULL of the wonder and creativity of our Lord. We arrived in Kathmandu (Nepal’s capital) last Wednesday, on Friday our team took a 5 hour bus ride (of which some of us got to ride on TOP for awhile-fun!) deeper into the mountains of Nepal to a village named Khadichaur (hours from the border of Tibet, and also one of the least developed places in Nepal), where we will be doing our ministry for the month. We are living in a church that is built into the side of a mountain and right next to an incredible river with a canopy bridge (that’s what I call a “backyard!). We are so close to the river that we can hear it at night as we sleep. The unfortunate part is that we don’t have access to bathing (running) water many times and so we have been “bathing” in the river-talk about becoming one with nature! The water is quite cold too :o) Our ministry this month is evangelism to remote village huts, trash clean up, spending time with kids in school, and preaching in church services. We knew this month was going to be a challenge because going to the “remote” villages requires hiking straight up mountains for hours, we got our first taste of this yesterday-on our schedule it said a 15 minute hike…for a Nepal native, yes, for an American…NO, it took us about 2 hours there and back. It was so worth it though, we spoke the Name of Jesus to families who had never even heard of Him! Our team also remained positive because although the temperature is cooler than India, it is still warm, and our legs haven’t had to do this much “work” in a while :o) I plan on making a video soon that I will post of where we live-pictures just won’t do it justice. Also the place where we are is famous for a bungee jumping and rafting spot, so pray for our team as we all plan on throwing ourselves over a cliff and braving the rapids in the coming weeks!
This place is perfect for relaxation and spending time with God on our down time. I have challenged the team to an “observation” hour recently-this is simply finding a place of solitude in nature, quieting your mind and heart before the Lord, and observing all the many ways around you that you can truly see and feel Him in (you should do the same!), also listen for scripture that He may bring to mind. During the past couple of times I have done this He has brought Isaiah 53:2 to mind as I observed a fresh green shoot growing out of the ground at the bottom of a hill in India, it reads “He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to Him, nothing in His appearance that we should desire Him.” And during one of my times at the river here John 7:38, when Jesus says “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.” I thought of this analogy as well-there are different types of rivers I have observed (and swam in!)-in Cambodia we lived on the Mekong-the Mekong did not flow very fast and was pretty dirty and the water murky, the one we live on now-the Bhotekoshi is fast flowing-to the point of being dangerous, with crystal clear water. I realized that the faster a river flows, the cleaner it is, I know that when debris or anything else begins to accumulate at any point in a river that that part hinders the overall flow of the river and if left for a long time, could turn almost swampy. Our lives can quickly become like a stopped up or slow moving river, it is important to do regular “self-examinations”-asking God to point out stagnant areas of our lives that are in a sense preventing Him to flow though us the way He desires to (Psalm 139:23-24 “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”) I thought of the fact that even though a fast moving river may feel more dangerous to us, this is the ONLY way I want God to operate in my life, I want Him to RUSH through me, I want Him to OVER POWER me, I want Him to flow through me like a RAPID, I want nothing in my life to “stagnate” His spirit (including my often unwilling and fearful heart). The definition for stagnant reads, “not flowing: still; foul from standing still: stale; not changing or growing: inactive.” The definition of flow reads, “to move or come forth freely like a fluid; to circulate, as blood; to move or proceed steadily and easily; to be plentiful: abound.” My new team mate Justin brought up the verse in Luke 6:45 this morning during prayer when Jesus says, “The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the OVERFLOW of his heart his mouth speaks.” I want Jesus to flow freely though me, and I want to be so FULL of Him every day and every hour and every second that the OVERFLOW of my heart and life is simply Him, for in Him we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:28). The only reason I can give goodness and love to others is because of Him, the only reason I want others to come near me is because they see Him in me. Living for Him should never be a burden (Matthew 11:30)-(this is not to discount the “burden” Christians carry for those to come to Him and receive Him), loving and living for Him and serving others should come naturally and out of the overflow of your life and time spent with Him. This is a recent revelation to me and one I take seriously. I will take seriously the exhortation to stay FULL in Him and FULL of Him, this will be my pursuit all the days of my life. I love my WONDERFUL Savior and BEST Friend and Lover of my soul SO much!!! Thank You sweet Daddy of my heart!!! There is NO ONE like You, there will never ever be anyone like You!
