Some of the most joyful moments in life comes from looking at the people who surround you and begin thank the Lord, know each of them were gifts from Him. That is exactly what happened when three beautiful friends from walked into my lifeI can’t use their real names or be specific about how I came to meet them for their own safety.
Rachel, Georgia, and Ruth are beautiful examples of how God’s love crosses all boundaries. All about my age, I met them at a restaurant nearby where we are staying in Nepal. We immediately bonded over our love for coffee. Quickly becoming friends, I watched how well they loved each other and serve the people around them with so much joy and confidence. On their day off from work, Kimmy and I had the opportunity to take them out to lunch and get to know them even more. We ended up talking for over 2 hours about how they all came to know Jesus Christ, sharing life stories, and comparing our matched love for coffee. I felt as if these girls could easily be my sisters. Rachel is the extrovert of the group and answers every question whether it is directed to her or not. Her sweet smile never leaves her face. Georgia is cute and petite, but her heart of joy is much too big for her to contain and bubbles out in every word she utters. Ruth is definitely a more quiet, beautiful soul and wise beyond her years. She has a passion for writing and traveling around the world. At lunch, she sang a song for us and I was awestruck by the beauty in her voice. Ruth is the same age as I am and I found that our testimonies have many common threads. Funny how God likes to speak to you through community where you least expect it.
After lunch, they showed me a nearby place to practice archery. Never in my life have I had so much fun being terrible at a sport. My instructor was the actually the owner of the archery facility and a previous olympian for Nepal! We all pretended to step into the shoes of Katnis Everdeen and took videos of each other missing the target by a mile. The owner wasn’t as impressed with our archery skills, but I don’t think he minded the company. Afterwards, we walked through the city and they showed me shortcuts to the best places to get coffee. It was a simple day, nothing extravagant or especially exciting. We just enjoyed one another and marveled at the beauty in how God created us so differently, but allows us to bond so easily into the tight-knit threads of friendship.
Even though my time here in Nepal will quickly come to a close, I don’t think these new-found friendships will. Thankfully, social media and the technological age have created a vessel for long distance friendships to thrive. But even more so, our common love for the Lord will keep us seeking and encouraging one another other through the walk of life. My afternoon with these women was one of the best days since beginning the race. Sometimes “ministry” and “community” can be as effortless as building friendships and drinking coffee.
