“Jenny, would you like to go hiking?”
Um, is that even a question?
WOULD I EVER!!
It was our off day and most everyone had gone into town for shopping, pizza, and internet, except for me and a couple others. I didn’t want to sit in a coffee shop all day, especially when I didn’t even have a computer. So, instead, I read, took a nap, and was thinking about going outside for a bit.
That is when Andrew, our squad leader, walked into the room.
“Jenny, would you like to go hiking?”
Just yesterday, his foot had been throbbing, but now it was not. Now, it was healed. After a lot of prayer from someone at home, he had woken up with no pain. PRAISE JESUS!!
So, what is the first thing any active person chooses to do the day after pain goes away?
Climb a mountain of course!!
So, after Andrew had made us some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and purchased some bananas, we took off for the hills. We did not know how to get to the top of our so-called mountain, but we were up for an adventure.
Without hardly any directions, we found our way. We passed some crazy, cool temples and beautiful scenery. We took gravel and paved roads for most of the journey and were all the while searching for a path that would take us to the top. Finally, I spotted a group of goats trotting down the hill. There was our way! So, we turned off the road and headed up into the unknown. After a quick lunch amidst the pine needles, we contnued our hike. It was a bit steep and slippery and we were huffing and puffing, but it was BEAUTIFUL!
After climbing for a bit, we happened across a resort/restaurant at the top of one of the hills.
We didn’t have any idea there would even be anything other than trees up here, so it was a surprise. It was so pretty and actually open to visitors on Saturday and Sunday. There was an amazing outlook, and from it we could see all of the Kathmandu valley. We took pictures, enjoyed milkshakes, and spent time reading our Bibles.
While reading, I was struck mostly by these two verses:
“On this mountain he will destroy the SHROUD that enfolds all peoples, the SHEET that covers all nations; he will swallow up death forever.” -Isaiah 25:27
“Even to this day when Moses is read, a VEIL covers their hearts. But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the VEIL is taken away . . . And we, who with UNVEILED faces all refect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is Spirit.” -2 Corinthians 3:15-16, 18
From the mountain, I could see a valley covered in haze, a valley where things were not clearly seen. But, I know, when Jesus returns, the haze will leave and things will be seen for what they really are. The shroud, the sheet, the veil will be lifted, and God will reveal himself to everyone. Down below, many of these people were living with a veil covering their eyes and their hearts. Back at home, many of my friends are also living under this same shroud. And as I read, my prayer was that the people I loved would no longer live with this veil. My prayer was that their eyes would be opened to God and His great love for them.
A little over an hour had passed, and we decided it was now time to go. The mountaintop experience was over. However, Instead of taking the little path, we found a wider, rockier road that had a more gradual grade because of the switchbacks.
I was asking Andrew all about his search for Christ and what he had thought of the other religions he had studied. We were in the midst of this very interesting discussion when we came across a woman walking along with her four goats. We said hello to one another, and she asked where we lived. She introduced herself as Krishna, and we told her a little about ourselves.
It was during this that I felt urged to ask her if we could pray for her for anything. She thought for a bit and said she would like prayer. She wanted to become a tour guide and had an interview the next day so that she could be in a course that would allow her to fulfill her dream.
We prayed for her, and afterwards, she went a little deeper with us. She told us, two years back, she had been really sick and had been hospitalized. She had almost died!! She said that hardly anyone went to visit her. The only people that visited were her sister and Christians that would come to pray over her. I asked her if she had ever been healed when they prayed, and she said that yes, a believer had prayed over her and all pain went away.
But today, she said she was once again suffering from a headache and slight fever. So, we asked once more if we could pray for her. She said yes.
During this time, another woman happened upon us, and it was Krishna’s aunt, who, surprise, surprise, was a Christian. We asked if she would also like to lay hands on Krishna, and she agreed.
So, we prayed once more, and by the end Krishna’s headache had left completely.
I told her if she knew who had healed her, and she said “Jesus.”
I asked her what she believed, and she said was searching. It was funny because I had just been talking to Andrew about his search for Christ, and here was another woman in the same situation.
I told her that the same God who had healed her today was the same God that had healed in the hospital. I told her how much Jesus loves her and went into the gospel story–the story of redemption and freedom.
By the end, Andrew asked her if she would like to receive Jesus into her life.
SHE SAID YES!!
So, we prayed the prayer of salvation with her.
I told her the angels were rejoicing in heaven for her decision.
Afterwards, we prayed for the Holy Spirit to completely fill her.
By the end, she said she felt so happy.
By the end, she knew Jesus now had a place in her life.
And by the end, she told us that we needed to continue our “globalization,” that we needed to continue to go into all the world and tell everyone about Jesus.
We encouraged her to attend a church with her aunt and to find a Bible.
Andrew showed her where it says in the Bible that she is now a new creation.
I turned to the verse I had read on the mountain and showed her how now the veil had been lifted from her heart and she would now be the radiance of Christ.
I told her that when she becomes a tour guide, she wouldn’t just lead them to new places. She would lead them to Christ.
We exchanged email addresses.
And then, we took some pictures together.
And you know where we took some of these pictures??? (This is the CRAZY part!)
We took pictures with her in the EXACT SPOT she had taken a picture with Hillary and Chelsea Clinton 16 years ago.
How weird is that???
She said that Mrs. Clinton had given her email address to her, and Krishna sent her several messages. However, the once first lady didn’t respond. I told Krishna we would not do that to her. We would respond! (Lol.)
Soon, we were off sprinting to catch a bus and our time with Krishna came to an end.
We were both ON FIRE from our experience!
One day earlier, I had been believing the lie I was not an effective evangelist, and through this unexpected meeting, I saw the lie for what it was worth . . . NOTHING!
We took the bus halfway back and walked the rest of the way.
As we finished our hike, the sun was falling behind the hills.
WHAT AN AMAZING DAY!
If I had gone to Tamil with everyone else, this hike would never have happened.
If Andrew’s foot had stil been in pain, we never would have ventured into the hills.
And if we hadn’t taken a new way down the mountain, we would never have met this beautiful woman, who was so ready to receive Jesus.
Jesus is working.
He is working here in Nepal.
And He is working ALL OVER the world!
BE BOLD!
BE HIS LIGHT!!
Don’t keep sitting at home.
Don’t be stagnant.
Climb that mountain to seek Him out.
And, after seeking Him, don’t just stay on the mountain, but be willing to come down and radiate that light to others!
There is a world waiting for the veil to be lifted from their hearts!
There is a world waiting to see the light of life!
SHINE ON, MY FRIENDS!!! 🙂
