At our first day of ministry in Nepal we took an hour long bus ride to a church to encourage the believers there. It was a day of woman’s ministry, so my team prepared a couple short messages and testimonies which our host translated for us.
When we were done sharing we spent some time talking (or trying to talk- most women in this area are uneducated and don’t speak English) with the women to get to know them. I met a beautiful lady named Mahima and her daughter Prasansha, who is about my age. Mahima shared a bit of her story with me; I thought I’d share it with you. I don’t really have a way to sum up the story or a lesson behind it. I kind of just wanted to share her testimony in hopes of giving an idea of what life looks like here for some people. All I have to say in regards to this story is, “praise God!”
Mahima’s family forced her to get married when she was just a young girl. She told me she had never even seen the face of her groom until her wedding day. When Prasansha, their daughter, was still in her early teens they found out that she had a brain tumor. In Nepali culture, many people believe that if something like this happens to you it means you’re cursed and they want nothing to do with you. So Prasansha’s father left her and her mother, never to return. Mahima and Prasansha were left alone in one of the most difficult times of their life. They were still practicing Hinduism, praying and worshiping idols and man-made gods when Prasansha’s first brain surgery approached. The attempt to remove the tumor failed and they were left with no progression and much less money. Next they tried to see if a witch-doctor could heal Prasansha, but the attempt again failed. Sometime after that they came to know the Lord and started following Jesus. The time for Prasansha’s second brain surgery approached. They had prayed to God, the true God, for healing. This time the surgery was successful. After this Mahima and Prasansha have been devoted followers of Christ for years. Mahima is still a single mother raising a teenage girl. Prasansha is still suffering the effects from her tumor, but is taking medicine and working towards building her strength to go back to school. The passion and devotion these women have towards God is genuine and pure. I found that in my mission to encourage them, I ended up being encouraged so much as well.
1 John 1:12-13
“Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God- children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husbands will, but born of God.”
