It has been a few weeks since I have been able to send out an update, but I have a great story I am excited to share!
We arrived in Nepal 2 weeks ago. Our ministry has focused on praying over the city and spending time with kids in the slum areas. Every other morning and every afternoon we make our way across the city by bus (which is an adventure all on its own) to spend time in a one room school house singing, dancing, teaching, and performing skits from Bible stories for about 20-30 kiddos. We greet the kids and the families in the slums by saying “Jaimasi” which is the typical Nepali greeting between believers in Nepal.
Some of the skits we have done so far include David and Goliath, Moses parting the Red Sea, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the fiery furnace, and Daniel in the Lions Den. Next week we are hoping to start a series of skits that goes through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ so that we can share the gospel with them. After our VBS sessions, we always hang out and play with the kids for a while.
Two Nepali staff members who are employed by the organization we are working alongside come with us to the slums and translate for us. Since Nepal is a closed country, their work can be dangerous for them. Both men know Nepali believers who have gone to jail for years because they were caught sharing their beliefs with others. It isn’t illegal to be a Christian here, but people can be persecuted for trying to spread their beliefs in any way. They live on a prayer trusting the Lord to keep them safe in their daily work.
One morning we were planning to do our typical songs, games, and skits at one of the slums. Last minute, we were told that one of the families in the slum needed some help with a job moving a pile of dirt and bricks to their garden area. A few minutes after we arrived at the slum that morning two police officers were walking around near the area we usually have our sessions with the kids. Because we weren’t having our school that day, the door to the school house was locked. The two Nepali staff members were very concerned; however, because we were doing manual labor that day, the officers did not approach us. After a few minutes of looking around, they left and we didn’t see them again.
That day ended up being one of my favorites. We used traditional handmade Nepali baskets to shuffle dirt from the street to a garden area by our school house. We still played with the kids in the streets, especially the ones who remembered us from coming back several days in a row. After we finished our project, a Christian family invited us for tea and cookies, which were so delicious. We were able to share fellowship together and talk about how Great our God is that he would change our ministry last minute and protect the work we are doing.
This trip has not been all fun and laughter and smooth sailing. There have definitely been some storms and some unexpected obstacles. But it’s during those times I hear the Lord whisper. “Do you trust me?” And when he does, I remember all the times that he has parted the Red Sea for me when in a way I least expected, revealing something far better than I could have hoped or imagined. God is good, all the time. But sometimes we can miss the miracles when we are too focused on the present circumstance and not the Promised Land.
