Our first week in Nepal was a week of debrief. A time to reunite with the whole squad and process together this life we have been living and all the change we have encountered. It’s a week to refuel emotionally, pour into each other and to simply enjoy the presence of the people surrounding us.
Our second week here in Nepal, we started ministry. I wish I could adequately explain the depths of how the Lord has worked in the past three weeks, but I can’t do it justice. Ministry is different every single day. The past three weeks looked like working with children in the community, doing prayer walks throughout the city, working in the slums, creating a home/workplace for women who are victims of sex trafficking, preaching/visiting churches, and building relationships with women working in dance bars and brothels in order to pull them out of that environment.
Here are a couple specifics about some of the things we have been doing in Nepal.
Friday, Januray 12th:
Our first day of ministry here in Nepal, we climbed to the top of a mountain in Kathmandu that overlooked the whole city. At the top of this mountain was a Hindu temple where many locals go and ask for blessings over their children. We stood on this mountain and worshiped and sent prayers up over the city. We prayed for the people of Nepal and that the Lord would break the chains of bondage. We prayed for freedom over these people and for healing in all the areas of brokenness! We prayed that the Lord would give us boldness and equip us to share his glory and goodness all over Nepal. Big prayers!
Wednesday, January 17th:
One Wednesday, we walked around gathering kids from the streets and the slums and brought them to a huge field to play soccer. My heart was so happy as the field filled with smiling kids from all over the city playing soccer and running around. I loved watching these kids finding joy in the little things. Some kids spent a solid 45 minutes laughing and trying to push this massive piece of construction over haha! We watched this one kid climb a pile of dirt over and over again as he screamed, “I CLIMBED THE MOUNTAIN!” to his friends every time he reached the top as if he had conquered the whole world. After all the kids were done playing, the family we are working with brought huge buckets of food out to feed all of the kids. We all sat on the ground in a huge circle as the kiddos scarfed down rice and chicken curry to fill their stomachs.
Cabin Restaurants & Dance Bars:
Cabin restaurants are places that look like an everyday coffee shop on the outside, but on the inside are filled with women selling themselves to men. We walk in and see stalls and tables. Here people buy food or drinks for a much higher price, because they are also buying the girls’ time. Dance bars are set up around a stage and are very similar to cabin restaurants in the sense that the women sell themselves. My heart literally aches typing this out because it’s processing that this is reality! This past week we have been into several different cabin restaurants and dance bars where we buy the girls’ time and simply sit down and talk to them about their lives. We encourage them and share the redemptive hope and love of Christ. The ministry we are working with builds a safe place for the girls and helps them find alternative jobs so they are no longer stuck in their old lifestyle.
The ultimate goal of this ministry is to go in and build relationships with the women and then ask them to meet up for coffee outside of their work. Once they are out of the building, we can tell them about the opportunities they have and how we can help them build a new life for themselves.
This ministry breaks my heart over and over again every single day and is honestly one of the hardest things I have ever done, but we have already seen the fruit of our efforts in just one week. We are building relationships with the girls and already have 3 girls being placed in new jobs! God is so cool and has a higher power over the darkness that surrounds these places.
Overall, this month has been a whirlwind of emotions and a constant cycle of having my mind blown by the wonders and works of our Father in heaven! Praying for boldness and opportunity. Thank y’all so incredibly much for reading. Y’all rock!
So much love,
Amanda 🙂
