Chitwan, Nepal
I’m currently sitting in a cute little cafe that supports an orphanage, which is run by a woman who’s son died and now has eight children. How long, but beautiful is that sentence?!
Chitwan is absolutely what my heart needed. Our five hour drive here was breathtaking. Coming from the business of Kathmandu, to the rural peace and quiet of Chitwan, I knew that I’m right where I’m supposed to be. I believe my first words stepping out of the bus were, “this feels like Swazi”. When I say that, I mean so much more than the fact that we’re surrounded by fields and there’s barely anything going on. It means rest. It means peace. It means LITERAL quiet time with the Lord. This is what my heart needed.
David, our ministry host in Swaziland, told us before leaving to write down the things from our three months there that we loved and to try and implement them in our next countries that won’t be like Swaziland.
Well, my first week in Nepal, I failed at this. I got sucked into the busy lifestyle. I still spent my time with the Lord in His Word and in prayer, but not as much as I had just a week ago in Swazi and my thoughts were not putting Him first. Having fun doing new things in the city is not the issue, but allowing my mind to get caught up in it is. I felt so far from the Lord and unaware of where He was leading me.
Getting away from the city and being in a remote village allowed me to see this. Being uncomfortable once again, in the sense that I have little availability, forced me to rely on the Lord and see Him more clearly. Though I was uncomfortable my first week in Nepal, I was able to subdue those emotions with the comfort of coffee shops, WiFi and shopping.
To put it lightly, I allowed my circumstances to affect my heart, mind and soul instead of allowing the Lord to do so, which would then affect my circumstances. This is going to be a constant learning process, not only while on the field, but once I’m back in America. I believe this is a struggle for many Christians today.
I had a conversation with one of our bus drivers once about this. We were talking about faith and Christians in Africa compared to America. I shared with Him how many people are Christian in America, but sometimes they’re only Christian in word not action. I explained to him that people in America often don’t NEED Jesus on a physical level, so it’s hard for them to realize that life with Him in control is INSANELY better than without in both the physical and emotional.
