This morning, I woke up with the intention of giving a testimony when we got to church. I prepared for it before I went to bed last night and fell asleep stress free because I had everything ready. Before my feet ever left my bed though, I found out that I wasn’t giving a testimony but rather, asked to give the message. I answered with a panicked “yes” and tried my best not to show the stress I was feeling on the inside. I gave a message on Esther when we were in Lesotho and Jess told me to give the same one because I had written it down, but I had actually given the written copy of it to a woman back in Africa. I decided to give that message because I love Esther and it is easy for me to talk about because I know the story well. A couple of girls and I sat down at a coffee shop where I wrote down as much as I could as quickly as possible but we were supposed to be picked up by the pastor at 8:30 so I finished writing on the bus ride to church, covering my journal with sloppy handwriting and jumbled thoughts. When we got to church, we took our shoes off and went inside where we were greeted with warm cups of ginger tea. We talked for thirty minutes before beautiful Nepali people started walking through the door.
We started the service on our knees, praying, and it was beautiful to see. Those who arrived late fell to there knees as the rest of us were all standing and prayed before they joined us on our feet for worship songs. We didn’t know the words, of course, so we stated back and forth an hummed along and Jesse and I even danced with some kids in the back of the room for a couple of minutes. I was distracted from any thoughts of panic or anxiety that normally come with speaking because the Lord kept giving me so much joy from the people in that room. Jesse and I whispered some non-church related things because we tend to drift away from our surroundings pretty often and then all seven of us girls were called up on stage. The worship band went to their seats and we were all asked to introduce ourselves, which we have become very familiar with. They gave us all a scarf and a big hug as a welcoming gift and Abby introduced our group and explained what the World Race was and then Jess, Kendra and Katherine joined her on stage to sing songs while Abby played the tambourine. I don’t think I stopped laughing the entire time they were on stage. After they sat down, I went on stage and gave my message on Esther. I explained that you have to be willing to let God use you for him to be able to. I related how terrified I was to get up and speak to how Esther must have been feeling when she had to talk to King Xerxes and try and save her people. I got a couple of “Amens” and sounds of affirmation from the congregation, so I left the stage without bursting into tears or cringing for an extended period of time. Kendra followed by giving a testimony about learning to be in a posture of reverence towards God and she too received some “amens” and nods.
After the service was over, we put our shoes on with the intention of leaving to get on the bus to head home, but we were ushered into a guest room. We took our shoes off at the door and sat down on the mats on the floor, assuming we were just waiting a couple of minutes before we left. We were given bottles of water and joined by some of the worship band and the pastor that brought us to church. They sat down and started asking us questions about us and tried guessing our ages. They all assumed we were five years older than we actually are, of course, and told us their ages. Then, to our surprise, we were presented with lunch; an incredible lunch. It was rice and chicken and spinach and something that looked like pork rinds. We were also given something pickled and I kindly hit it under a pile of rice so that I didn’t seem rue for not eating it. I was content at this point, but it gets even better. After we ate, one of the guys went and got a guitar and we all sat around singing a strange combination of worship songs, Justin Bieber and Bruno Mars. Mily and I laughed the whole time because all of the other girls were singing in angelic voices while we sounded like old men with incredibly monotones voices. It was hilarious. On the bus ride home, we talked about conspiracy theories and quoted old vines. When we got home, I watched an episode of Teen Wolf and ate too much granola before Jess and I headed out for tea and bad cheese cake. Today was a much needed and very unexpected good day. One of the best days I have had on the race in a while. It started so stressful and could continued that way but the Lord is so kind and gave me this day. The people around me, Nepali and American are so kind and teach me every day about the beauty of God. Thank you for today, God.
