This past month in Nepal has been so refreshing. I feel like my batteries have been recharged.
The tail end of India was challenging, to say the least. 4 weeks ago, as I crossed over the Nepal border (on my 2 feet, might I add—there’s a first for everything), I felt physically exhausted, overheated, sick to my stomach, malnourished, and spiritually drained. After getting our visas finalized and our passports stamped, my team and I hopped on a very overcrowded bus bound for Kathmandu. That ride was anything but pleasant: it was bumpy, the mountainous roads were crazy curvy—thus I was nauseated the entire time—it was hot and stuffy, the air was dusty, it was loud… In summation, I was uncomfortable for all 12 hours of that ride… I digress.
You know what’s so wonderful though? God, in His Sovereignty, knows what his children need: Matthew 6:8 reads This is your Father you are dealing with, and he knows better than you what you need. (MSG version) // And God, in His loving kindness, always provides: Philippians 4:19 says, And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. (ESV)
God has provided a lot of surface level blessings this month, like:
- I’m no longer in a perpetual pool of my own sweat. From the time we left our hostel in India to the time we arrived at our hostel in Kathmandu, we literally dropped 50 degrees. FIFTY. 50!
- This place has a nice and quiet atmosphere. I’m currently living in a section of town where honking is prohibited. If you’ve ever been to India, you can understand why that initially brought me tears of joy.
- There are legit coffee shops on every corner. Hello, espresso.
- For the first time in months, I have been granted the gift of vegetables that are delicious and actually safe to consume.
- Nepalese Rupee has a much easier exchange rate for me to wrap my mind around. Fast math has never been my friend.
- This place is straight up beautiful. Holy Himalayas, Batman!
God has also provided several blessings that hold some deeper significance, such as:
- The people here are unbelievably friendly and kind. It truly is a heart-warming and welcoming culture.
- God has given me much needed physical rest. I did not realize how horribly I had been sleeping until my first night in Nepal. I woke up feeling like a new woman.
- I’ve been given the space and time necessary to dig deeper in the Word and to simply sit with my Heavenly Father in peace.
- I’ve got a new, baller team.
Perhaps one of the biggest blessings from this month has come in the form of ministry. The Lord provided my team and me the most incredible opportunity to work at a school all of last week. Through some really cool, God-ordained connections, we met up with some super sweet brothers and sisters in Christ that are living here for a longer term “volunteer assignment” at this school. Our new friends opened up their beautiful home to us and filled up our bellies with some seriously delicious food. Every morning after breakfast we would all walk from our guest house to the school, where we were guaranteed to be greeted with the sweetest smiles and hundreds of “Good morning, miss!” Then we spent the entire school day teaching and interacting with the students and staff. It was such a great week. I taught ESL to the best of my ability, I taught PE on a field surrounded by rice patties and a breathtaking view of the mountains, I gave 250 high-fives and fist bumps every single day, I helped paint some classrooms, and, y’all, my heart was filled to the brim. All I can say is, thank you Lord for this opportunity.
He gets all the credit. He gets all the Glory.
So, I’m leaving Nepal feeling refreshed and recharged and ready for the next leg of this crazy Race. I’m entering month 6 feeling so very thankful to my Heavenly Father. He is so good.
