Greetings from Nepal!
We have been here 9 days and I truly love our time here so far. The view flying over Nepal was absolutely gorgeous. It's extremely lush and green and mountainous. The mountains look different than home because they are bright green and completely covered with trees. So pretty.
This month we are traveling to several different locations on
"gospel campaigns" (going to houses and meeting people to share the gospel). We arrived in Chitwan and found out we were staying at a Pastor's home for one week. His family consists of his wife, his 2 biological teenage sons and 5 "children's home" children (either orphans or children whose parents can't provide for them). The 5 girls on our team were given one of the 2 rooms in their home to sleep, which was a huge upgrade from the big church room in India. The home is small for all of us but has been surprisingly comfortable. I'm so thankful the family was willing to give up a room for the girls, and all the men are sleeping on the floor in the church next to the house. The family is so loving and generous and took such great care of us for the week we were there.
The one funny living condition thing is that there was no shower at all, not even a bucket shower. We were told the women wake up at 4am to go to the well to pump water over themselves. "They take showers in their clothes?!" Oh yeah, they wear a wrap around dress as they "shower". Showering is a team sport since one person pumps as the other person washes. Pastor Sanu saw our confusion about these types of showers and he made an area with a tarp and a bucket so that us crazy Americans can shower naked. It was actually pretty nice showering outside with a breeze looking at the clouds, I'm just glad I didn't have to do it in a dress.
As for ministry, we have split up into teams of 2 or 3 Americans and 1 or 2 Nepalees to go house to house to share the gospel and our testimonies. I was nervous at first because this would require a lot more individual talking than in India, where we stayed together the whole time. We had 2 pastors and the 2 pastor's sons to go with us to translate. The first day, Jaime, Amanda, and Dierdre met a 27 year old guy, David (his Christian name), who just graduated from seminary. He is a Nepalees orphan, a converted Hindu to Christianity, and now a pastor of a very small church in the neighboring village. A couple of our girls stumbled upon him after he prayed that morning for God to do something great that day. He was facing a lot of loneliness as an orphan with no siblings. He was overjoyed to meet our team, come to service on Saturday, and go out to do ministry with us each day. He has served as a translator, since his English is the best we've heard. He hasn't stopped talking about how excited he is to have met us, and we just love him!
A few days ago during ministry we had something very exciting happen. I was on a team with Amanda, GaNene, and our new friend David. We were going through the Brahmin area, which is the high caste, rich area of the village. They live in more American looking houses rather than straw and clay like many we go to here. We went to the largest house on the street and the man of the house invited us to come and sit on the bench outside, which is typical since we never actual go into the homes. We asked about the man's beliefs and he mentioned that he has a small "temple" in his home where he worships. In my curiosity and against all social norms, I said, "Oh! I'd love to see that." Right after I said it I was thinking, "Oops, probably a little forward." He actually spoke pretty good English and he said, "Why not?" Yess!!
He took us up about 4 flights of stairs of this mansion looking home and at the very top was a small open area with pictures of gods, incense, and the materials Hindus use to make a mark on their heads. I was so interested to see this and also felt compassion on this man who believes that this is his hope in life. We looked only briefly and then walked back down to the kitchen where he invited us to have tea. He had an actual kitchen table!! We sat and were actually served coffee by his mother which was great, and also apple and slices from an enormous cucumber probably 4 times the size of ours at home but exactly the same taste.
So, we found out this man is pretty much the top richest guy in the village and has a lot of influence and power. He has been to London for a month and owns a lot of land. I was so nervous as we were sitting at the table chatting about family and life, because I knew I had to share the gospel with him. It was my turn to share out of the 3 of us. Amanda helped transition the conversation to why we were there and then turned it over to me. I whispered to GaNene to pray for my words and then I started telling him about my life in America and how I had left everything good behind to travel to share about how Jesus has changed my life. I also shared the story of how God sent Jesus as the final sacrifice for our sins and that we are made new in him. After I shared, he said he really liked Jesus and his brother is a Christian and he is interested but it would be too hard to be a Christian because of his position in society. Although he didn't accept that day, we were so grateful and excited we were able to share with this powerful man.
India was a warm-up. I'm getting so much more comfortable sharing the gospel and my testimony and I truly find joy in sharing it instead of the fear I had in India. It's amazing to let God use my voice to share with his people. So good!!
Praise Jesus for all he's doing in us! I still can't believe that this ordinary girl is the one God is using to share his message with people. I feel so incredibly blessed and honored to be here and share Jesus with so many Hindus who have never heard about him. They look confused when we mention his name and it's amazing to share the gospel and help them understand what God did for them in his son and present them with a New Testament Bible.
Okay our Pastor Krishna just got to the cafe so I have to run, and sorry I didn't get to edit this at all. I hope you enjoy hearing what I'm doing! Love you all. Pray for me today as we're going to spread the gospel to whoever we meet during the day today and again tonight!
Love,
Ali
