The Lord has been taking me, my team, and my squad through a lot of transitions since we left Ghana and came to Nepal. We have been learning what it means to walk together, love each other better, and walk in what God wants for us even if it is hard to see why God wants it in that time.
Since we arrived in Nepal our whole team was shifted as we had a member of our team leave and go home. It was hard to accept. It was hard to understand. I loved having her on our team, I loved getting to share the experience of the World Race with her, and I loved being able to serve her and watch how she served the rest of our team so well. It was hard to accept that her leaving was what God wanted. It was hard to put my feelings of sadness and confusion up against God’s sovereignty which I know to be true and constantly present. I had to check myself and say that if this was being allowed to pass and happen then that means that God knew it would happen and wanted it to happen because He is sovereign. I had to check myself and see if I was really acting as a person who really wanted what God wanted and was seeking after that no matter what it meant, or if I was just acting as a person who wanted what I wanted. The Lord says in Isaiah 55:9, “As the Heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts are higher than your thoughts.” That means that even when I don’t like or understand something I have to look to God in that because I know He is in control and that He is sovereign. We never get to tell God who He gets to be or how He gets to operate and if we try all we do is diminish God and attempt to elevate ourselves. I want to be the kind of person who wants what God wants even if it is hard at the time.
Since our teammate left our team didn’t feel the same. We missed having her there and everything she added to our team; and we still do. She was also the treasurer for our team and that position was left empty. One of the things that was spoken over me several times at the beginning of this month was that I shouldn’t hold back and that I need to step into more of what the Lord has for me. I need to desire more of God and more of what He has for me even if it is uncomfortable. Psalm 63:1 says, “O God, You are my God; I shall seek You earnestly; My soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You, In a dry and weary land where there is no water.” I want to experience more of God and know Him better. So even though I hate math, I was asked to step into the role of treasurer. I was asked to step into what the Lord has for me in taking on more responsibility and serving my team more. Through that stepping in the Lord has really been teaching me a lot more than I thought I would learn by just keeping track of money and spending. The Lord has been showing me what it looks like to really serve my team more. To really step in and love them in a different and better way than I was before. I have already made a lot of mistakes as treasurer and there have been little mess-ups along the way but I am trying to learn from them. I am having to go back to my team and apologize ask for grace and forgiveness and continue trying to serve them well. I am praying that God continues to show me what more He has for me in this new position and for the remainder of the Race.
Ministry so far this month has been really cool and a much different start than our last two months. Our squad had a debrief at the beginning of the month so we were able to go over the things that had happened in The Ivory Coast and Ghana and how we can continue to move forward in what God has for us in Nepal and the countries to follow. When we got to our ministry site and began ministry at the beginning of this week nearly everyday we went out and just prayed over the areas, people, and churches in Kathmandu. It was a really cool lesson from the Lord because instead of just jumping right into ministry He stopped us and allowed us first to pray over the slums we would be working in, the Hindu and Buddhist temples, and the city of Kathmandu in general. In it I had to check myself, ask, and learn how to intentionally pray over people, places, and situations. I got to find out what it means to really have the Holy Spirit go out before us into areas that we would be returning to later in the month. Prayer is so powerful and some of the places we are going into are very dark. So going into those places and simply praying over them, the people there, and the work that God would be doing through us was very powerful.
In a slum that one of our groups went to we also got to pray over a family. It was a really awesome experience because we prayed over a young mother, her house, and her family and then after we prayed for her she asked us to come to her mother’s house to pray for her mother. When we got to her mother’s house her grandmother, aunt, and cousin also came and wanted us to pray over them. It was really cool because instead of just praying and blessing the family and then leaving after 10 or 15 minutes we stayed and kept asking if there was anything else they needed prayer for. So we would pray over them and then they would ask if we could pray over something else and then something else. We ended up praying over and with this family for over 2 hours. It was awesome to be able to make that connection and build that relationship with the family. It was also such a cool learning experience and gave me a shift in perspective because we don’t need to go out and just do a quick prayer for as many people as we can. We need to be intentional and build relationships and seek after the Lord together and go to Him together in prayer. 1 Chronicles 16:11 says, “Look to the Lord and His strength; seek His face always.” We need to be constantly praying and seeking the Lord together as well as alone. We are called to share and help one another with burdens. When we pray with one another and seek the Lord together we can build each other up and experience more of God’s love for us and calling for us in community.
Nepal is really awesome and extremely beautiful! I cannot wait to see what the Lord has in store for the rest of our time here! Please continue to pray for my squad and my team as we continue our ministry in Nepal! Thank you so much for all your love and support!
