A few days ago we had the really cool privelage to prayer walk a Tibetan refugee camp. When China overtook Tibet, there were large numbers of Tibetan people that fled to Nepal for safety. We walked through a whole area of displaced people trying to make their home in Nepal.
When I go somewhere new, I’m typically asking rapid fire questions.
What’s the culture like here?
What do monks do when they grow up?
How do they pay for this?
How often do people come and pray in these temples?
Are the dogs okay to pet??
I started asking these questions to our translator, Sonju, and she couldn’t answer them so she directed me to a Buddhist monk. He was showing us around the temple, so I started shooting questions at him. He answered all of the questions super easily. I asked him about what he believed, why he believed it, and how it makes sense that this is the correct religion.
When he told me that he could never be able to directly communicate with Buddha, I felt the Holy Spirit prompting me to talk about Christianity (which is kind of risky because it’s very illegal to be a missionary in Nepal). I talked with him about what I believed, why I believed it, and why it’s the only thing that makes sense.
I walked away from that conversation bursting with joy because
1. I love relationships. I love deep conversation and getting to talk about the Lord with people.
2. I knew that the Lord was planting seeds in his heart. I knew that was a divine appointment and the Lord has a really cool story for this monk.
3. I could see my growth on the Race super apparently from that moment.
I remember getting asked questions like this in Romania and I didn’t have any idea how to answer. I knew what people had told me, but I didn’t know it to be true for myself. I couldn’t answer these questions with conviction because I didn’t know why it was true.
It was a super cool moment of reflection and really realizing how much more intimately I know the Father. It was a sweet reminder of who I was and who I am now.
