Ministry here in Nepal has been my favorite so far. Most days we don’t know what we are doing until last minute and I LOVE that! I used to need to have everything planned out to the tee. I would have lists upon lists of things I needed to do, write, plan, etc. I’m not saying this was a bad thing but I noticed I became a lot more happy when I simply let go of my own specific agenda and followed Gods.
On September 13 we did something called ‘prophetic card ministry.’ Our Pastor/host encouraged us to take some time to pray about what we should write on these cards and who God wanted us to give them too. After about an hour of praying and drawing I ended up with 4 cards. After finishing I asked God who these cards were for. I didn’t get any specifics besides gender and general age group for each card, (He revealed more throughout the day). My team and I came together and shared our cards with one another and then set off for another town a few miles away.
We ended up getting dropped off right in the middle of a very busy city; we were surrounded by tons of shops, traffic, stray dogs and livestock, and swarms of people. As we began praying and walking through the town I felt like God was saying that the man I was going to give the card too was going to get mad and refuse to accept it. I shared this with my team as we drank tea and ate lunch at a restaurant. Which leads me to a shop owner that caught my attention as we were walking later that afternoon. The ‘shop’ was actually a bunch of items that were hung up on the side of a building and laid out on a table. My teammate Caitlin and I ended up stopping to meet the man standing out front. We introduced ourselves and started talking to him but when I handed him the card and began explaining why I was giving it to him he immediately got super uncomfortable and handed the card back to me.
To give you an idea of what the card looked like, it had the word truth on it in blue letters and I drew the t to resemble a cross.
He then told us to wait while he called his brother. It turned out that his brother had a tattoo of a cross on his arm and is also a owner of the shop. When the brother arrived we spent time getting to know more about him and his family, his shop and the country of Nepal. He shared about the earthquake that took place in 2015 and how it affected many people. He told us how he had to rebuild part of his house due to the amount of damage that was done during that time. At one point throughout our conversation I ended up giving him the card and explained that his brother called him over because the card had a cross on it just like his tattoo. I shared with him how God led me to draw the card earlier in the day and directed me to his shop. He did not say much about it but accepted the card! PRAISE! It is neat how God works. He is so creative! 🙂
The next card I gave away was at a neat store that my team and I stopped at. This store supports women of all different backgrounds. Some of these women are living off of a single income, others were unable to afford or finish high school, and some have even been rescued from trafficking. These ladies go to Development Skill Centers where they are taught how to make different items that are later put in these stores. This provides them with work, a solid income and prevents them from having to take out loans or get a job could potentially be harmful or unhealthy for them.
One of the more colorful cards I drew had the words, “Pure, Worthy, Clean, and Loved” on the front with a sun and a cross on it. Earlier in the day I shared with my team that I believed this card was for a women that was close to my age and that was at one point in her life a victim of abuse or previously stuck in trafficking or prostitution.
We ended up spending a good amount of time at this shop where we both admired and purchased some of the things these women made. There was no doubt in my mind that I was supposed to give one of the employees this specific card but I was a little discouraged because of the language barrier. I decided to go sit on the steps with Morgan until the rest of my team payed for there things. This is when something crazy, yet amazing, happened!
As Morgan and I sat on opposite sides of the stairs an elderly lady began walking down the steps in between us. This beautiful Nepali woman has a bad limp, was walking with a cane and one of her hands was crippled. She stood outside the shop and waited for one of the young ladies who was working to come over and take money from her. Then she turned around and walked over towards the stairs to head back up and down the street. This is when I said hello and asked what her name was. She looked at me with a confused look, not able to understand what I was saying. So I put my hand on my chest and said “Caleigh.” The lady still did not say anything and there was a brief moment of silence. Then something out of the ordinary happened; the lady slowly reached our her crippled hand and held it there. Not like she was begging or asking for money or trying to shake our hand, but like she wanted prayer. That is when Morgan came over and began praying for the lady. After she finished praying, the lady looked at us, gave us a sweet smile and slowly made her way up the stairs and down the street. That is when I looked over and saw Morgan with a shocked look on her face. Earlier that day she shared with us girls how she was struggling with this specific ministry and whether or not she was hearing from God. Morgan then went on to tell me that when the elderly woman was standing in front of us, Morgan was praying and telling God that if He wanted her to pray for this woman, to have her turn right then and there and look her straight in the eyes. Before she even finished the prayer, the woman turned and looked her straight in the eyes. That is why Morgan was quick and more than happy to pray for her. God is so good! I love how He shows up in different ways.
When the rest of our team finished paying for the items they bought I went back inside and handed the young woman that was working the card that I explained above. Due to the language barrier I wasn’t able to hear her story but when I gave her the card, the smile on her face and the hug we exchanged was confirmation enough that she was the one I was supposed to give it to.
The last card I gave away this day was to a middle aged woman at a tea shop outside the restaurant my team and I ate at for lunch. When my team was paying for there meals at the beginning of the day I walked next door to this ladies shop. The moment I entered her shop, I knew one of my cards was for her. We talked about her 3 daughters, her outstanding tea shop, and what I was doing in Nepal. One thing I realized was that she was a Hindu by the decorations in her store and the red dot on her forehead and I was hesitant on whether or not I should give her the card since it had a cross on it. We continued talking to one another but when my team finished paying and I ended up saying goodbye and leaving without giving her the card. BUT when we were walking to our bus at the end of the day, we passed this same shop and my new friend was standing outside. We made eye contact and a big smile came on her face. I ended up making my way back over and giving her the card and explained why I drew it and that I truly felt in my heart that Jesus wanted me to give it to her. The card said, “Your Story Matters” on the front and had a short letter on the back. When I handed it to her, tears immediately filled her eyes and she brought the card close to her heart and held it there. I cannot explain how much joy this brought me seeing her react in such a way and accept the card with that amount of happiness. We ended up giving one another a big hug and going our separate ways. But this moment will be a beautiful memory that I get to hold onto forever.
Needless to say, this has been one of my favorite types of ministry we’ve done here in Nepal. 🙂
