We have been in Nepal for two weeks and it’s amazing. Despite the fact that its so polluted, it’s a breath of fresh air. Everything is so beautiful. God’s creation is so evident in Nepal. From the rolling mountains to the joyful people, you can see glimpses of the Lord’s character. Nepal is so laid back and easy going- full of back packers and coffee shops. Christianity is growing faster here than any other country. I could stay here awhile.
On the second day in Nepal we had been wandering around Kathmandu and one of my teammates spotted a purse she had been wanting. Now all of the shops in Kathmandu have all the same things and all of them claim to give you “best price” but for some reason on that Thursday we were drawn into this one.
The shop had garments, bags and bag packs in every nook and cranny of this shop. Sensory overload, everything had been hand sewn and was being sold for few dollars and pennies, we were hooked. My team lead Kayla starts looking through the purses she initially wanted, and I decided to start hanging out and making myself comfortable. I had met the owner Sameer, while Kayla is sorting through about 30 bags (no exaggeration).
Sameer was a kind middle-aged man, with a fatherly demeanor, no creepy vibes here. He had owned this shop for about 20 years and was pulling garment after garment to show me the hand stitching and how to tell the difference between hand- sewn and machine sewn. He could tell we were from the US. He has a brother that lives in Chicago and he’s been wanting to go. He told me about breakfast spots and the best place to buy trekking packages. He offered to bring us hot chai just for spending some time with him and lending an ear.
He wanted to give us everything for just stumbling in his shop. He didn’t want anything in return just our company. I thought surely this is a man following Jesus, but when I asked him if he was he said all religions were good. His silent coworker was a Christian, so he knew a few things, even “Jaimasi” which is a Christian Hello in Nepal.
I asked him if we could pray for him as we were leaving, and since we had been in Nepal for little over 48 hours I was not sure what was appropriate here. Could I lay a hand on his shoulder? I did it anyway. I prayed for his business, his family and for the Lord to know him. When I finished he asked me in broken English, “You know how you put a hand here?” and pointed to his shoulder. To which I responded with if it was okay that I did that. He replied with, “Yes you put your hand here and I feel something here,” as he pointed to his stomach. I thought it might have been pain that we needed to pray for, but he said it was a good feeling- something he never experienced before from my prayer.
Holy spirit is that you?
