Our first day exploring Kathmandu, my friend Leah and I made a couple friends outside a bakery near our hostel. The next night our friend, Connor, joined us and we had the opportunity to go spend time with one of them.
He brought us to a bar where we played pool and a couple of his friends joined us. We were playing in teams and I was partnered with his friend, who I nicknamed Sid, because that is all I could understand when he told me his name in his thick Nepali accent. Later on in the game we were talking about trekking and he was excited to show me his trekking license, so we sat and started talking about nature.
Trying to understand what he believed, I asked questions about the creator of nature and all things and let him speak. We talked about the purpose of all living things then he pointed to the pool stick I was holding.
“This pool stick has a life,” I kept letting him speak trying to understand his point, “It will not last forever- it has an expiration date.”
“Do you believe humans have an expiration date?” I asked.
“I believe our bodies do but our souls live forever.”
“Me too. Do you believe in Jesus?”
This was the beginning of an hour long conversation where I explained who Jesus is, why he is necessary and the power of the Holy Spirit. He explained Buddhism, Hinduism and meditation… but as we kept talking he had so many questions about Jesus. I felt a nudging to pray over him but first to explain some of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. I shared a testimony about healing, I shared about the gift of translation and gift of tongues and how they work.
“I am going to pray for you, first in English then in tongues, okay?”
“Okay.”
When I opened my eyes again, my new friend’s eyes were huge and he was so excited! He explained how he felt an electric shock through his whole body… how when he does meditation sometimes he feels things but how this was different. He was at a loss of words of how to explain what he felt, but I explained it was the Holy Spirit and how God (YHWH- not Shiva as Hindu’s believe) is alive and wants him to understand His true power.
I cannot explain why I had a urge to pray in tongues out loud for my friend, except that God wanted to teach him something through it.
I had an extra Hindi Bible I picked up from a church in India, so I asked if he could read Hindi and he said yes so I gave it to him.
All I could do was smile and praise God. How great that He doesn’t need us at all but He loves us and wants to partner with us in this life.
