Welcome to all squad month in Kathmandu, Nepal, where 51 people are living under one roof, mountains surround the city on every side, the Nepalese greet us with a bow and a “namaste”, and our first week of ministry has been filled with prophesy and listening to the Spirit!
Every morning I wake up around 6am to the sun kissing my face through the windows, and the sound of dogs barking “good morning” (this sounds more glorious than it actually is, hahaha… they also like to bark “good night” at eleven pm and three am respectively). I am learning to love these early awakenings because I get to steal away to the roof, where God woos me with His majesty, and I spend an hour, just Him and I. This quiet time with the Lord in the midst of living among 50 other people has been precious and sacred. The more time I give Him, the more time I want with Him, and I am honored to be in His presence before my day starts.
At around 9:30am, we begin the thirty to forty minute trek to our ministry host’s house. If I had known at the beginning of the week how far we were going to walk daily, I would have squashed my guilt of eating cookies for breakfast immediately. As it is, I didn’t learn we were walking roughly eight MILES a day until yesterday. Needless to say, I feel no more regrets, haha. When we arrive at ministry, we enter right into “amad” which is an hour of quiet time with the Lord, to allow Him to fill us up so that we can outpour His love during ministry. Then, we worship with the squad, share stories from the day before, and receive instructions about what ministry will look like (it’s different every day), before we put on the full armor of God (we literally pretend to put on shoes, a breastplate, a helmet, etc.), and head out the door to begin the day (or afternoon. It’s usually about four pm when we get started).
On Monday, we went to visit a fertility temple where we built an altar to the Lord. We prayed and asked God what character trait He wanted to pour out on the city. We wrote the character trait we heard Him speak to us on rocks and built an altar as a prophetic act to proclaim that God’s promise was to pour them out onto the city of Kathmandu and the country of Nepal. God is in the business of answering prayers. He heard every word we spoke, and He WILL bring them to fulfillment.
On Tuesday, we were split up into three separate locations- the parliament, a Buddhist temple, and a Hindu temple. My team was paired with one other team, and we visited the Buddhist monkey temple to bathe it in prayer. I marched around the big golden idols (pictured above) seven times, pleading God to tear them down, and to show mercy to His beautiful children. I was filled with love for each face that I saw, because I knew how deeply the Father wanted them to know Him. Although Harold the monkey was less than pleased with our presence, I was certainly thankful to have gotten to meet him. As we entered into the temple, a woman grabbed Tate and I and gave us candles. We lit them and prayed boldly that God would tear the idols before us down and win back His people. Then, we were dragged over to get a “blessing”, and while the women dotted our foreheads, we spoke truth into them and prayed for them.
Wednesday, we did the coolest thing I think I have ever done. We spent time in prayer, asking the Lord to give us a picture, vision, or a word for whoever we were going to meet that day. Then, we drew what we heard onto a piece of paper, and went out in our teams to find the person God wanted us to speak to. As I prayed, I got a picture of a weeping woman sitting on a stair, offset from a door. I had some insight into why she was crying, and loaded up on verses to walk her through the gospel, so that I would have the encouragement she needed when I found her. I still have yet to find her. Prayers that the Lord would lead me to the right woman at the right time would be so appreciated. So many incredible stories came out of my squad because of this ministry activity. If you want to read more about what the Lord did through these prophetic cards, click on one (or all) of the blogs listed below:
http://jessicabundy.theworldrace.org/post/treasure-hunters-kathmandu-edition
http://stephaniehamilton.theworldrace.org/post/welcome-to-nepal
http://andrewandmadisonelkins.theworldrace.org/post/learning-the-heart-of-god
(Also, I’m gonna have to ask the woman I find for forgiveness for my crude drawing… I should have taken a drawing class haha)
On our last day of outreach ministry this week, it was National Children’s Day in Nepal. We got together in groups of three and made bracelets to pass out to the children around the city. In my group was Ashley and Ben, both of whom I dearly love. We made 13 bracelets collectively (shoutout to Ben for making eight), and then had a blast walking through a residential area, “namaste”ing everybody we met, changing the atomosphere simply by being carriers of the Holy Spirit, and finding little children to make their days. Let me tell you, there is nothing as cute as watching a 6.5 ft man crouch down to put a handmade bracelet on the wrist of a small child. My heart still melts into a puddle when I think about what an amazingly encouraging and joyful day that was. I will hold it tightly in my heart forever.
Friday, instead of outreach ministry, we participated in in-reach. We met at our host’s house around 4pm and helped make a Nepalese meal (how many Americans does it take to peel potatoes?). We worked alongside of some of the women who had been rescued out of abusive or difficult backgrounds, making food for 30+ adults and 10-13 children. We broke bread together, than gathered to worship our Maker, share some testimonies, and listen to a sermon. It was a manifestation of the kind of community modeled in the Bible:
Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
Acts 2:46-47
Nepal feels like home. Maybe it’s the mountains, or that my Wonder Church is truly becoming my family. Or maybe it’s the fact that my Father never forsakes me, and I belong wherever He is. Let me tell you, He leaves me in breathless wonder daily.
He is alive and moving in each passing moment. His hand is extended, welcoming us to step in to the work He is doing in, through, and around us.
And the best thing I have ever done is taken the invitation. Would you accept His invitation also? I promise you won’t regret it!
My squad needs prayer for:
-Health: Disease spreads like wildfire to fifty people living in one house together, and my teammate has been in the hospital for the past week with Dengue Fever and I want her back.
-Revival: For the city of Kathmandu, the country of Nepal, Hotel Ganesh (that God would claim it and change it’s name and turn it into an outreach ministry in His name).
-Rest: That my squadmates and I would find the rest that we need.
-Intimacy and community: For my Wonder Church Family to continue to grow in intimacy so that we can reflect the love of God tenfold.
-Finances: Many of my squadmates and I are very close to being fully funded, but we are each varying from a couple hundred to a couple thousand away, and we could use prayers and continued financial support to reach our goals!
Thank you so much for being an active part of my journey, and the work that God is doing through me every place I step.
