hello, friends!
God has been moving in some pretty amazing ways since my last post. As of today, I have been gone for 20 days, but it feels like I left last week. Time is slipping by and I only have 9 days left on the field. It’s so bittersweet to think about coming home. On one hand, I really do miss my friends and family so much (and I also really miss eating meat… my lifestyle didn’t prepare me for fry-ri, cooked veggies, and chapati every meal!), but on the other hand, I have grown so much closer to God that it’s scary to come back to a life that I was so comfortable pretending to be so many different versions of myself. It is going to be a major adjustment for me to come back after so much spiritual, emotional, and mental growth, so I pray for your patience as I get reacustommed to stuff like A/C, driving on the right side of the road, and not fighting 13 other people to squeeze into a bathroom to brush my teeth!
This past week, my team and I have travelled from Kathmandu, to Chitwan-literally one of the hottest places on earth. Temperatures have fluctuated from between 106-108 degrees Fahrenheit. I don’t think I’ve stopped sweating since being here!! There is no air conditioning in the church where we are staying, but by the grace of God, we have two ceiling fans in our room that work wonders (when the power is on..)!!! All of our ministry here has consisted of walking (sometimes for over an hour) to go to family’s homes. The family is so very excited to see us, and usually invites their relatives to come by, as well. It’s so humbling to be honored by the hospitality here. Every single home/church we have been invited to, they have served us cold Coke, usually bananas, and sometimes water-buffalo yogurt and Creme’s (kinda like golden oreos)! If I don’t bring anything else back from this trip, I hope that I can take back this skill of welcoming people into my home.
When we travel to these homes, it’s usually about 20-25 humans crammed into a space as big as my dorm room (14X14ish?) all sitting as close as possible to feel a breeze from the one ceiling fan! My team and I have gotten many opportunities to share our testimonies and some lessons to believers, but our first day of ministry here, we got to witness to one woman who had never heard of Jesus before. Her entire family were Christians, but she did not believe. Joshua, one of the men on my team, shared the story of Mephibosheth and how the love King David had for him is a lot like Jesus’ love for us-we have done nothing to deserve it, but he still invites us to eat at his table. It was absolutely beautiful. As soon as he started telling the story, it was like I had teleported back to the classroom by the baby-nursery in church and was listening to Lisa teach Sunday school!
One of the most amazing things about being here, teaching the people who live here, is realizing how much they are also teaching us. The churches are filled with men, women, and children of God who have so much love for the Father and for others in their hearts, that they do not hesitate to share it with others. At the end of every visit we have in homes and churches and sometimes people just walking up to us off the street, each person asks for prayers (usually of physical healing). I have never thought of myself as someone who would ever be able to preform any kind of healing. But, in my stupidity, I forgot that I wouldn’t be doing anything. God is doing the talking, the teaching, the healing, and the loving that is coming from me. How blessed we are that we get to feel His constant love and direction always!
I actually got to give a sermon in one of the churches about an hour ride away (in a tuk-tuk-google it. you’ll love it). And I have gotten to share my testimony a couple of times in some homes. These times have been equally terrifying, and freeing. Like one of my Team Leaders says, a good leader is able to learn from their mistakes by telling others when they have messed up. I pray that my story has touched at least one heart while I’ve been here.
Monday, the team split into two groups and headed to different places to share the Word, and my small team of 7 ended up in the home of a family from the Tharu people group-the only known people on the planet to be immune from malaria. One of the women in the home shared with us that 4 years ago, another World Race team had laid hands on her and prayed for her brain tumor. She said she was healed at the snap of a finger. It’s miraculous to me how our God continues to work! These aren’t stories you’re reading out of the Bible, but real miracles happening to real people! We ended our visit by playing a little with the children, then taking a group picture (I’ll add some pictures to the blog as soon as i get back to my laptop!) The family asked us a few questions before we left that really hit me hard, and I thought it would be beneficial to share them with you so you could get a glimpse at what some of the beliefs are about people from the United States:
1.) Is the majority of America Christians?
- The idea of religious freedom is a very different concept to someone whose government tells them what they believe is wrong. This family didn’t understand why people weren’t Christians if they had the option!
2.) Why is America so rich?
3.) Why is America so powerful?
4.) Why is Nepal so poor?
These are questions I encourage you to take a few minutes of quiet time and find answers to biblically.
Like I said, I am excited to come home, but also sad to leave the kind of people who are so hungry for the love of God that they open up their homes and arms so wide to their brothers and sisters in Christ.
My team will be headed to Pokhara soon to do some trekking to reach untouched villages, so any and all prayers for our team are tremendously appreciated more than you know!
Thank you for being so invested
All my love,
Grace
