It was about the second week of our time in Nepal. We were all out in Thamel, most of us Christmas shopping. It was busy, there were people everywhere, and at one point we all just wanted to go home. We flagged a cab and negotiated the over charged price down, because we were American, to something more reasonable, then left. As we got to our house, everyone grabbed their things, payed for the cab and got out. I got out thinking I’d grab everything. Unfortunately, I had grabbed everything but my phone.
We got out and I was sure it was somewhere in my backpack. I took everything out and laid it on the sidewalk, tearing my backpack apart to find the one of three items I would dare not to loose. At this point, I started to freak out. It was no where to be found, so I cried. I felt silly for crying, it was a phone. It was nothing I absolutely, positively needed to continue out my race. It just made me sad knowing that all my pictures from home and all of my pictures from Swaziland were gone. This fact made me cry even more. The last three months in Swaziland, every time God physically moved, every conversation, every laugh was captured to remember if I couldn’t and it was gone.
Back to me freaking out- so, me freaking out started to come to terms with the fact that I had left the last three months of my life in the back of a cab. That was it it was gone. Then one of my squad mates offered to call my phone on hers. With a small glimpse of hope, we did. A man answered the phone phone and spoke a total of no words of English. I started to get anxious knowing someone had my phone so I ran down to the store underneath us to see if someone could translate. with my luck, the store was closed. So Liz and I SPRINTED across the street to a liquor store where there were men in their early to mid 20’s working.
Without hesitation, I asked, “Do you speak English?”
He responded with, “A little.”
I asked, “Good enough to talk to this guy who has my phone?”, with a huge anxious smile on my face.
Saroo, the literal angel sent by Jesus Himself, was able to talk to the man who had my phone. It started with, “Brother,” and ended with a whole lot of Nepali. Saroo called the man on his phone and they talked some more. When they got off the phone with one another, he looked at me and goes, “I told him I was the police and that we needed the phone back right now.”. With a possibility of committing a felony of impersonating a cop, Saroo told us that some of us needed to come with us to the taxi stand because that’s where the man was meeting us. With there only being two girls we both very quickly said, “Um let us go grab one of our friends”, and came back with the two biggest guys on our squad. At this point, we’re all standing there waiting for something to happen. Saroo was closing his store, a bunch of our friends were getting home from Thamel in complete curiosity as to what the heck was going on. The situation got explained about 50 times.
Something got lost in translation and he then told us we all needed to get on a motorcycle with him and go to guy. Listen, I know what you’re thinking. Yes it sounds sketchy, but no we didn’t ride with him. The first reason being there was about six of us outside waiting to see how this played out, and six of us wouldn’t fit on the back of a motorcycle. And second- AIM’s policy about riding on motorcycles.
ANYWAY, we told him why we couldn’t go with him and he was like, “Well someone has to come with me so this guy knows I can take the phone.”. Liz came up with the solution that I’d call when Saroo got to the mans house and I’d tell him that it was my phone and that Saroo was aloud to take it. Saroo looked around and goes, “that works.”. Five minutes later he, his brother, and one of their friends get into a cab and drive Away.
I was thinking two things at this point, Either I just gave Saroo a free iPhone 10 or by the literal grace of God I was going to get my phone back.
About 20 minutes later I received a phone call. It was Saroo and he had my phone. And about 20 minutes after that Saroo and his friend showed up back outside of their store with my phone in hand.
Freaking out, now in the best way, I offered to pay Saroo. He kept saying, “No”. I told him I’d come back the next day with money. I gave him a hug and thanked him again and off they drove.
The next day I was up with the only money I had, put it on the table and said, “thank you”. He gave the money back immediately and him and I fought on him taking it. He then looked me dead in the face and said, “If you leave this money here, I will never, ever do anything nice for anyone every again.”.
Saroo never took my money and him and I didn’t talk again after that day. All he did was see someone in trouble and did everything He could to help them expecting nothing in return. I pray for Saroo often because of the way I saw Jesus in him that day.
Thank you Saroo for getting the last three months of my life back. Your treasures are great in heaven.
