My time in Nepal so far has rocked my world.
How did I only know about a fraction of the spiritual world until now? There’s so much more to this world than I ever imagined. The Lord is full of mystery and wants us to begin to uncover more and more of who He is. He wants us to pursue Him, as He pursues us. What a delight.
And to believe that only a few months ago I believed God was boring, that I had it all figured out..not even close haha. I was lacking so much.
Since arriving to Nepal, our squad has had 2 weeks of Debrief and Training. Debrief is a time every few months that our Squad Mentor, Stephanie and our Squad Coaches, Mark and Jane fly out to spend time with us as a squad. It is a time of reflection, teachings, worship, relaxation, and one-on-ones with our mentors. This Debrief we focused on Inner Healing and the Father’s love for us. It was an incredible time.
After a few days of Debrief, our Squad Mentor, Stephanie stayed an extra week to facilitate some on field training. I honestly had been dreading a week of training because I would rather “be out there doing ministry”. How wrong I was!! Training week was probably the most mind blowing week of my life so far.
We dove into topics on spiritual gifts, spiritual disciplines, the Holy Spirit, how to share Jesus with anyone anywhere, and so much more. Every session I learned so much, and I have only become thirstier for more. I’m falling in love with the Father like I never have and am experiencing Him in new ways that I never imagined.
“Don’t Be A Chicken, Hannah”
One morning on the way to our morning training session, I stopped by a convenience store to pick up a water bottle! I had been to this store many times on the way to training, so I recognized the woman working. As I was paying, I asked the young woman how her day was going. She replied, “Badly. I am sick.”
In that moment, I knew I was supposed to do something. I felt the prompting of the Holy Spirit…
And what did I do?
I chickened out and only said, “I’m sorry. I hope you feel better!” And I left.
As I turned the corner to head to our training at the AirBnB, I felt it in my gut. The Holy Spirit wanted me to go talk with her and pray with her. That internal prompting was going off…
Training then began with Stephanie saying, “Today, we are talking about the Holy Spirit!” Haha the Lord has a funny way of doing things for sure. During the session, we broke into partners to go over some questions. I told my squadmate, Victoria about feeling convicted to pray for the young woman, but that I chickened out with excuses like that I had been alone and was going to be late to training. She is a good friend and said she would hold me accountable to make sure I returned. She even agreed to go with me.
So as soon as session broke for lunch, we made our way back to the convenience store. We walk in, and I greet her as her head is drooping down. I ask, “Can I pray a blessing of healing over you?”
First she was really confused. Then she she agreed. I asked her, “What hurts?”
She replied, “My head and behind my eyes”. I then asked if it was okay if I placed my hand on her head, and she agreed. And then I prayed in Jesus name for the pain to flee.
After I said, “Amen”, I asked her if she felt any pain.
She was perplexed…she replied,”The pain is gone…this has never happened to me before.” She kept looking back and forth as if she was in deep thought and didn’t say anything for awhile…
We then asked her if she had heard about Jesus before. She said she had. And I told her that it was in Jesus name and in His authority that we prayed for her. She told us that she was a Buddhist. And we talked a little more, and then exchange Facebook information, and I tried to arrange a time for us to meet up to talk more. Friends, please continue praying for her and her faith journey!
As we walked away, I thought I was going to pass out in shock!! Like GOD is incredible…He has given us such a sweet and powerful gift of the Holy Spirit, and He is working through us. This was the first time I had ever prayed for healing over someone outside of my World Race squad.
The Lord is so crazy good, and He has given us the incredible gift of the Holy Spirit!
Jesus said in John 16:7: “But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.”
Friends, I am so excited to continue sharing about how the Holy Spirit is transforming my life!!
Want More?
Are you interested in diving deeper than you ever have before with the Holy Spirit and aren’t sure where to begin?! I’ve been asked this question recently!
Here are some tips/steps that have helped me:
1. Pray to the Holy Spirit and ask to receive more of the Spirit in Jesus name! Have quiet time, be silent, and make room to listen!
2. Be expectant of more of the Holy Spirit! Check out and study passages on Spiritual Gifts found in 1 Corinthians 12:1-11 (For the Common Good, Confirming Testimony, and Edifying the Church), Romans 12:6-8 (To Serve/Function as a Body) and Ephesians 4:11-13 (To Edify the Body)!
3. Check out “The Art of Listening Prayer” by Seth Barnes (walks you through how to begin listening to and discerning the Lord’s voice)
4. Walk in faith and pray to the Holy Spirit for discernment and power in the name of Jesus. And then act upon your faith! When you feel a tug to go somewhere or say something…do it! Practice listening and stepping out in faith.
I will keep sharing more ideas/ways to go continue going deeper as I am just beginning this journey as well! 🙂
I’m so thankful for all of you! Please reach out to me with any questions or concerns anytime! My team and I desire your prayers as we finish up our time in Nepal and prepare for India!
In Christ,
Hannah
