Month 5.
This month was FULL of adventure. We hiked up mountains, we went into villages, and we entered into new territory for the sake of the Gospel. This month was physically exhausting but spiritually…it was an awakening.
SOOO let me break it down on how this month went…
1. We first began in the city.
- We visited a mother’s home that holds women in it who are widows and can not financially/physically/or emotionally support themselves. We prayed and sang amazing grace with them.
- We visited an orphanage and loved on God’s innocent ones.
- We spent time at the slums and performed a dance/song in front of an audience of children. None of us knew the song lyrics or moves but that’s just the world race for you!! Winging it almost every time!! We then passed out food to over a hundred of children who are apart of the program that provides nutrition for them and shares the gospel.
- We then visited a place where they take in girls who have been exploited at a very young age. We heard there stories and got to see the Lord’s loving kindness through their stories. These women showed us what it looks like to forgive what seems to be the unforgivable. It was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen.
- We then went to a leprosy colony that is hidden at the bottom of a valley. We prayed healing over them. We prayed that they would know, even if the world rejects them, God never will. He is a good, good Father.
- We also hiked up a mountain to intercede and and did prayer walks around the temples. This part was difficult. We could physically feel the darkness. God is jealous for us and I could just feel His heart during these times. Full of love for the people, but also full of heartbreak because they do not love Him back. So we prayed and prayed and prayed. Prayed for an awakening.
2. We then began our trekking journey.
- Our first stop was this tiny village in the middle of nowhere. We stayed at the only christian church close by and were almost eaten alive by frogs at night (only being kind of dramatic!!) We walked for hours everyday to pray for the village and share the gospel with the people who lived there. And friends…can I be honest? Because this last part of the month began to be a REAL challenge for me. Physically, I was so exhausted and COULD NOT stop sweating. I felt disgusting. Spiritually, we were seeing no fruit in what we were doing. It felt like we were getting nowhere. Emotionally, I just wanted my mom. I just wanted coffee. I just wanted to cry all the time. SO all in all, it was a hard week. I even remember sitting outside and just crying to God. Asking Him to hold me and remind me of His faithfulness. And you know what?!!? HE IS GOOD!!! The very next day we were getting ready for ministry and our host told us we had the morning off. So we went to a coffee shop and just got to rest our bodies. And then the very next day we went out for ministry and something beautiful happened! 🙂 We went to pray healing over an older man and while we were waiting for him to come home, these 2 young guys (around my age) came over and wanted to practice their English. So we chatted and later invited them to the house we were headed towards. They came along and got to hear the Gospel!! They knew very little about Jesus and by the power of the Gospel, one of them surrendered His life to Christ that day (AMAZING!!!!!!) He told us he was going to share the good news with his family and truly believed his family would follow Jesus too! And that very same day, we shared the gospel with a young girl and SHE ALSO GAVE HER LIFE TO THE LORD!!!!! SO basically God is so sweet and He is seriously the best ever. He knows how to show up right when He knows our hearts need it.
- We then began our trek into the Himalayas!! This was AWESOME!!! We trekked up the mountains, were eaten alive by leeches, and saw the breathtaking beauty of God’s creation. We stayed at the cutest little village and lived in rooms that looked like they were made out of mud. We had no wifi and had very few showers. I am such a city girl but friends, my heart was at complete rest here (even when we wrestled with a few spiders and other creepy crawlers. We are survivors). We went out again and visited homes near by. We shared the good news EVERYWHERE! We met people who have never heard of the Gospel. We saw more people give their lives to Jesus. We walked in complete boldness from the Holy Spirit. Praying with people and taking territory for the kingdom of God.
This month was unlike any other. We were pushed to speak in complete boldness, we had to believe that the Holy Spirit would strengthen us, and we had to keep going (even when everything in us told us we could not do it.)
I look back on this month in complete awe of Jesus.
I am in awe of the Gospel.
I am in awe that this is my life and I get to do whatever it takes to go after the ONE. Just like Jesus does. Leaving the 99 just to reach the 1.
So to end this blog I will leave with this beautiful verse that reminds me of this month:
Romans 10:14-15
“But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? 15 And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, “How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!”
With so much love, Shelby
