Jai Masi from Nepal! “Jai Masi” (pronounced like it appears) is what we say here instead of “Namaste,” and means “Praise be to the Messiah” or “Victory in Christ Jesus.” Today marks four days that we’ve been at our ministry site, and God has already been rocking my socks off. The last time I posted, I shared that I have so many deep fears associated with being alone and being invisible. While those fears are not “gone” by any means, there have been so many times these past four days that God has told me, in no uncertain terms, that I am seen. “I see you, my daughter. I made you the way you are, with the passions you have the heartbeat inside of you, for a reason. Not a day goes by that you, in all your uniqueness and splendor, are invisible to me. When I made you, I said that ‘it is good,’ and I mean it. Don’t doubt me; I see you.”
Allow me to take the next 600 (or so) words and just brag on God and the amazing things He’s been doing in and around me. The first day of ministry, we got to hike up to a high point in the mountains of Kathmandu and pray over the city. How cool is it that I just got to use the words hike + mountains + pray in the same sentence! If you know me, you know that three of my top ten favorite things are hiking, mountains, and praying. I’ve never been a sports person, but I absolutely love hiking. Give me a mountain, a park, or a trail of any sort, and I’ll hike it. As far as I’m concerned, mountains are God’s special way of loving me and my heart, and it’s been such a huge piece of home to be able to look up and see mountains here in Nepal. I also love prayer, which is something God has been revealing to me more and more as the days go on. One of the things I’ve been quickly learning is how I love spending intentional time snuggled up with my Papa, just talking to him about my day, the world, and His Kingdom. Sometimes Papa and I talk on a roof, sometimes we talk in a coffee shop or on a soccer field, and sometimes (arguably some of my favorite times), we talk on a walk or a hike. Getting to a high point overlooking the city and talking to Papa was easily one of my favorite moments of the Race thus far; proclaiming growth for His church here, love over His people here, and the incredible fact that this place already belongs to Him!
Another rad story is about our time spent in Amad. Amad, as I understand it at this point, means time spent in love with God (literally making/having love with God in His Word), and it’s a Hebrew term that the ministry here has adopted as spending one solid hour with God in the mornings before going out to do ministry. Every morning, we have our Amad. Yesterday morning, I was listening to a sermon via podcast (podcasts being another one of my top ten favorite things) and the pastor was talking about Habakkuk 2. His main point was that God raised up the Babylonians (who were a vile and evil nation) to conquer the Israelites, even though the Israelites were God’s chosen people. Habakkuk (who was a prophet) freaked out at God, and couldn’t wrap his mind around why God would allow prosperity to come to people like the Babylonians. The Lord responds to Habakkuk, and in Habakkuk 2:14, the Lord says “For the earth will be willed with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.” This, the pastor explained, is the point of why we are here on earth. Our purpose is not to be happy all the time. The Israelites’ purpose was not to be the most powerful nation. At the end of the day, it’s not about us. It’s not about our happiness. It’s about filling the earth with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. Our purpose is to SATURATE the earth with this knowledge of the glory of the Lord. Our purpose is to make sure that every person of every tribe and every tongue and every nation has knowledge of the glory of the Lord. That’s it. That’s the point. Nothing else.
And you know something? I LOVE THAT. In selfishness, I know that it would be easy for me to get an attitude and tell myself that my life and my happiness should be the most important thing. But I LOVE living for something bigger than myself. I LOVE having a purpose given to me by the King of Kings and not just by myself. In no way do I HAVE to spend my life declaring the knowledge of the glory of the Lord; I GET to spend my life declaring the knowledge of the glory of the Lord. And to the rest of the world, that looks foolish. It looks crazy, it looks pointless, and it often looks irresponsible. And for the first time in a very long time, I’m ok with that. I’m ok with some people not being on board for this. I know that there will be some things that I’ll have to sacrifice, whether those sacrifices come in the form of possessions or relationships or a full-fledge plan for my life. But isn’t it all worth it, when we get to spend our lives serving a God who sees us, loves us, and has a purpose and a plan for our lives? I can’t imagine any other way I’d want to spend my life than declaring the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. It’s not about me. It’s about Him.
**I still need to fundraise $800! We have 12 days, so please consider donating if you can! If you donate $50 or more, I’ll send you a postcard from this beautiful country!**
