Howdy!
Since I was lazy in writing an update and am about to be out of WiFi for the foreseeable future, my teammate and friend Jordan has kindly let me post her blog here to show what we were doing last week. (Updates about trek ministry to come) so, thanks Jordan:
Week 2
What a packed week it has been! Katmandu is a great city surrounded by mountains that take up most of the sky (when it’s not smoggy which it is 80% of the time). Everywhere we go we are met with a warm cup of tea and sometimes even cookies! This will be a last post for awhile because we are about to head out on a treck through the Himalayas and do life with the locals in rural villages. What a cool ministry!
Leper’s Community
Anoop, our guide and translator, took us to the outskirts of Katmandu to a community of Nepali people living with leprosy. 2 bus rides, a long hike, and a wire bridge later we made it.. These people were sent away from their families and communities because of their leprosy. It brings “bad luck” and “dishonor” to their family. It’s an illness that’s simply misunderstood and easily treated. A local Nepali pastor oversees the community and cares for the people. They are given a place to live and they maintain a garden. I met a man that we’ll call John to protect his identity. John invited us to his home and made us a spot to sit. He had lost most of his hearing and we communicated with broken English and Nepali by writing on paper. He went to the back room and came out with us bible. He was so excited to show us it. We read psalms 23 together. He in Nepali and us in English. What a perfect picture of what heaven is like. People from opposite sides of the world that speak in a different language all worshiping the same God. We prayed with him and his wife afterwards. It was so beautiful to be apart of.
School
The following day we went to the only Christian school in Katmandu. Recently in the last few years Christianity has been under attack. The government feels threatened by it. Many Hindu gurus livelihood is threatened by it as well. Many Christians here have to be secretive. People can loose their jobs over their faith. The school we went to has been having trouble with the government over their beliefs. A majority of their students attend through scholarships. And many of them come from Hindu families. The school implements Jesus into their curriculum in small but mighty ways. We got to spend hours coming up with games and skits and songs. I’m talking old school Sunday school songs had to be brought out haha. I had the opportunity to share my testimony to the kids and share about who Jesus is and the impact he’s had on my life. It was just so fun getting to know the kids and just love on them. (Reagan here, while everyone was in the gym with the older kids I went to the preschool room that had one teacher for 15 three year olds so wild. One boy was running around without pants (or underwear) and they were all fighting on the tables. It was a wild two hours full of singing abc’s, counting to ten, and singing ”if you’re happy and you know it”. I love those nugs)
Women’s home
The next day we had the opportunity to go to a rehabilitation home for women that were involved in human trafficking & brothels. This program accepts girls ages 14-29. Rebecca, the woman that started and runs the program, explained that sometimes they have to make exceptions. Girls as young as 11 come in. Some pregnant. Most abused in ways that young girls never should be. The home provides a place for healing, counseling, shelter, food, and reintegration into society. The ladies stay in the program for 5-7 years. Their children stay with them. Most come back to help mentor the new ladies. Rebecca and other women go to brothels and build relationships with the women involved in sex trafficking. They have hopes that one day they will escape and have a safe place to come when they finally decide to.
One of the coolest parts is that they educate the girls that missed out on the opportunity. They also teach them skills and trades so that when they go back into society they have a way to make an income. These skills include jewelers making and sowing. They recently bought building that will be used as an inn and they will employ any of the women in the home that desire to work there.
We got to meet the ladies. Most of them are younger than me. We got to pray with them. Praying for people is what most of these ministries ask of us. That’s it. It’s a beautiful thing when people come together and pray.
Temples
Man this one is so interesting. Hindu people worship 330 million different gods and goddesses. The 3 main gods that are worshiped in Katmandu are shiva the god of destruction, Vishnu the preserver of the universe , and brahma the creator of the universe. The temple we went to was a big one. The people have to walk around the temple clockwise over 100 times and pray. It’s decorated with prayer flags and prayer wheels. There’s lots of bells of all sizes that are rung to wake up their gods. This wasn’t written to disrespect their beliefs. We have to seek to understand why and their hearts. For generations they are brought up being taught to be Hindu. The communities around them were taught the same thing. They simply just don’t know. They desire to worship. They desire to pray. But they just don’t know about our God. The one and only God. The God who doesn’t sleep. The God that doesn’t demand shrines and temples to be built on every sidewalk. The God who is love not destruction. The God who made the ultimate sacrifice and no longer demands sacrifices of animals. A God who wants to be close and involved in your life. That you can encounter anywhere and not in specific places like temples. A God who showers grace and peace on his people. A living God who has a living word. People just don’t know yet. And we can’t be angry at them or mad at them. They just don’t know. We simply have to love them and build relationships with them. Not curse them for worshiping wrong gods. That’s why as your people God you send us to our neighbors, our local grocery stores, our communities, and other countries to tell people about you. To tell of your forgiveness of our past that was bought with a price. To tell about your love. To tell about how you live in us through the Holy Spirit. To tell about your intricate designs of humans and nature. To tell about how deeply you know us and our pains. To tell about how good you truly are.
So we took the time to understand their beliefs. We took time to pray over the people at the temple.
Rehab
This was one of my most favorite ministries we served. Outside of Katmandu rests a rehab house for men suffering from alcoholism. 14 men were going through the program. The program lasts from 3-12 months depending on the persons needs. As I got there I was overwhelmed with love and compassion towards these men. Most of them in their 30s were able to admit they had a problem and wanted to do something about it. They were so honest with us about their stories. They were not prideful but filled with humbleness. Years of regret and pain that filled the cracks of their wrinkles melted away as we exchanged smiles and broken English words. A man that we’ll call Saul brought out the guitar and began singing classic Nepal songs as the others joined in. They were a tight knit community. Then the guitar was passed to our teammate Hailey. We then returned songs of worship and at the end sang together “this is the day that the lord has made” each in our own language. The room was filled with peace. We were sad to leave
Prayer requests
The people of Nepal that worship false gods that they would come to know the One true God.
We’re about to begin our trecking ministry. We need good health, endurance, and just willingness. (Finished the trek but now going to another village where we will hike an hour from the church to the village every morning so still applies!)
For the families we’re meeting along the treck. That their hearts be open to the gospel and for us to be bold in professing our faith
That our words not be ours but the Holy Spirit’s
That our ears and hearts be in tuned with whatever the Holy Spirit is speaking
That’s all from Jordan, also our host has an obese pug named gringo and I’m trying to convince deepak to let him come to India, stay tuned. I love you people a whole lot, see ya soon(ish)!
