“Today we are going on a treasure hunt!” our host Brian shouted over the chatter of 55 World Racers. Flashbacks of elementary school came to mind until he clarified that instead of toys and candy, we were going to seek out the people that God wanted us to pray over. We are His treasure.
Before leaving, my friends Jenna and dani prayed with me about who exactly we were supposed to meet with and pray. During prayer, dani had the vision of turning left, going down a hill, and crossing a bridge. Jenna saw an archway covered in ivy, something I have never seen in Nepal. In prayer, I was continually led to the Bible story of the servant finding Rebekah after praying that the woman he was supposed to find not only offers him free water but also waters all his camels. In the story, Rebekah goes above and beyond in hospitality, and I believed whoever we were supposed to meet would give us water and show this type of hospitality as well.
Trusting in God to lead the journey, we turned left and followed straight down a hill. It was only a few minutes more before we came across a bridge, which fulfilled directions dani felt were entrusted to her. Before crossing, we saw women washing clothes in the water below and went down to try and strike a conversation. Many of the women didn’t speak English, so we left and prayed for them from afar.
The three of us continued walking up another hill and scanned carefully for an arch covered in ivy. Nepal is beautiful, but it doesn’t have much vegetation in the area we live, so I wondered how we would come across the arch. During the search, Jenna stopped to pray over a woman and her daughter when dani spotted the arch across the street.
When we approached the arch above a gate, we tried to get a peak within to see if there was anyone we could meet with. As we looked through cracks in the gate, dani spotted a sign that made her believe the house belonged to a Christian organization. We also saw a large white cross painted on the door.
We tried knocking on the gate, but no one answered. I tried pushing the gate open, but it was sealed. Dejected, Jenna and I suggested walking around to find information on the owners when dani noticed a circle knob and opened the gate.
“Should we just walk in?” we wondered. No one greeted us except a happy puppy, but we truly felt this was the house the Lord sent us to pray over. We slowly walked into the courtyard feeling the awkwardness of breaking and entering in the pursuit of prayer.
When we turned the corner, a very confused woman looked at us, hustled inside, and returned with another woman. Jenna introduced us and we found that the woman, Rebekah*, spoke English and owns a mission/trekking company with her husband. Before she asked us to sit down (even after breaking into her home) Rebekah said she would bring us tea.
The three of us could not stop smiling. As I had felt during prayer, we were being given the drink by the stranger. Rebekah returned a few minutes later and not only had tea, but she also had three large pieces of apricot cheesecake. She said, “I made these this morning and didn’t know who they would be for, but now I do.” Like Rebekah in the Bible, this woman went above and beyond to make us feel welcomed into her home.
As we devoured cheesecake, Rebekah shared her story of owning the trekking company as a cover for hosting missionaries from various organizations. She shared about her daughters as well as the needs of Nepal. Rebekah said that because Christianity is growing, many young people are being born into Christian families and are not taking ownership of their faith. She sees many young people go to church and claim to be Christian but not even know why. Her prayer for Nepal is that these generational Christians grow deeply in love with Christ.
Before we left, we prayed over Rebekah and asked blessings for her organization and household. I ask that you also pray for this organization as well as for the young Nepali people to take ownership in their faith as Rebekah, our answered treasure, hopes.
*Name and organization changed to protect privacy
