Hello everyone! I’m in Nepal now, and loving it so far. The mountains are beautiful and the people are so kind! I just want to give you a little update about last month. The last month-and-a-half was filled with so many moments that I just want to treasure. It was our first time in Asia! For some reason, I have always been drawn to Asian culture, so I was excited for this part of the race! We got to have a debrief with our whole squad, so we got to see our squad mates, coaches, and mentor from the states. We also had something called a Parent Vision Trip, so I got to spend time with my parents! I got to share my World Race experience with them, go to a village, explore a country that I love, laugh a lot, actually talk to them face-to-face, and give them a hug. There was a lot of transition throughout this month, but it was still good.
The majority of the month I got to spend time working with a children’s home for people who have disabilities and have been abandoned. We got to do a lot of cleaning, painting walls, Christmas activities, and some fun activities with the children. I think the greatest privilege was just getting to be in the presence of the children.
Before going to this country, my squad leader told me to read 1 Samuel 16. The passage talks about God choosing David out of all of his brothers to be the Lord’s anointed one. God ended up using David to do big things. David was the youngest and he did not seem like he could be the one by the looks of his outer appearance, but God told Samuel, “Man does not see what the Lord sees, for man sees what is visible, but the Lord sees the heart.” My squad leader reminded me that many times God uses unexpected people in the world’s eyes. He told me to look for the unexpected things in life.
The children may have been abandoned by their earthly family or may seem weak to the world, but they have a Father Who loves them, created them for a purpose, accepts them, and will use them. (Even if my father and mother abandon me, the Lord cares for me. -Psalm 27:10) Of course, I don’t understand why things happen. Why did these children have to go through the things they have? I don’t have a specific answer for that, but I see that they are so loved by God and the staff and they are making an impact in this world. I learned so much from these amazing children. They showed me what faith, love, joy, and strength look like.
One of the 10 year old girls can not hear very well or see. This child is so content and usually has a huge smile on her face. She is just BEAUTIFUL. When I look at her I am happier because of the joy she radiates. Her joy caught my attention, so I tried to figure out her secret. Although she can’t see with her physical eyes, I believe she sees with her spiritual eyes. I believe she has a different PERSPECTIVE, a good one. I believe she is not so caught up in the circumstances around her, but she finds joy in greater things. I want to have her perspective in life. I have just seen so much of the glory of God in this child.
There is also a teenager in the home who will try her hardest to give people as many hugs as she can. She loves to dance and sing. One day, she made me sit down. Then, she started passionately singing and prayed over me. I encountered Jesus through her and I want to radiate as much joy, passion, and love as she does!
There are many more stories I could share of how these children have touched my life, but you might get tired of reading. So I guess I will just leave you with some of the main things I’ve learned. I’ve learned that our circumstances do NOT have to dictate our joy. The things people have said about us and done to us do NOT have to dictate our future or our identity. EVERY LIFE was created by God with love and for a purpose. EVERY LIFE can have an impact on this world. Perspective, the way we choose to see, can make a big difference in our lives. I don’t have an answer for every single thing that happens in this broken world, but I trust that God truly does bring good out of every situation if we just give it to Him. I have witnessed it. We also get to be apart of His beautiful work of redemption if we are simply available and open our eyes to see those in need. He is near the broken hearted and crushed in spirit, friends. He really is so good.
*sorry some of the info is a little vague, but it’s just for a little security reasons for the people who live there long term. 🙂
