I never really understood what the phrase “Jesus wrecked me” meant until I simultaneously had a sinus infection, ring worm on five different parts of my body, a parasite, and an ear infection and was told to hike through the Nepalese jungle for four straight days spreading the gospel. But what I soon discovered was that that plethora of issues wasn’t really what was being wrecked inside of me. What I was seeing around me for the five days spent in Chitwan shattered me but allowed me to face the cold, hard truth that this world is broken far beyond my mental capacity. I saw the bones of men under flesh eating wounds thanks to lack of healthcare in such rural villages. I saw women trying to breast feed their malnourished children but were malnourished themselves so milk just did not come and most likely would not come for that meal. I encountered a family of women who gave their lives to Christ weeks ago but are illiterate so the truth of the matter is that their faith stops after the physical act of baptism. I prayed with drunk men and children, numbing and drowning out the pain and sounds of hunger. I saw child after child with ripped clothing or frankly none at all. I sat with families trying to explain that we believe in a God of provision but surrounding me were flooded crops and parents unable to feed their children. I could go on and on and on about the sights and experiences that broke my heart each day.
I left Chitwan aggravated by this world’s lack of empathy and my own ignorance to a lot of what’s actually going on beyond photos and what’s talked about. I also left though, with a newfound appreciation and zeal for education and the opportunities given in America. I was talking with Emily and Lindsay one night, and we all realized that we came into this year thinking we would dislike America for it’s “bigger and better” mentality but now it’s actually the complete opposite. Praise the Lord we are women who can attend school, that our only job isn’t marriage at age 12, birthing children, and raising them. While that can be beautiful and fruitful in some ways, we now have the ability to actually come into these communities and find tangible ways to help. In all honesty it was draining to see this pain, but now I can go back to America with this knowledge of the needs of unreached people groups in the depths of not only Nepal but other parts of the world. I could potentially change the cycle of brokenness and bring God into those communities – speak words of provision and they understand, bring bibles and they read them, raise up faith leaders who understand the culture and work with it instead of against it. The amount of work to be done is deafening, but the Lord is bigger still and the knowledge and trust of that is all I need.
Please keep the people of Chitwan in your prayers, that they can come to truly know who the Lord is: not a god who instills fear like the gods they worship now, but rather a God who drives out fear in perfect love.
Samaritan’s Purse
This organization came into the Chitwan village we stayed in and installed solar panels after a lot of valuables were wiped out by the massive flood that hit recently. Here’s how you can help: https://www.samaritanspurse.org/
