Walking down a dirt path off
the main road that went through town, I saw a huge monastery of buildings,
prayer wheels, equipment to help them in their rituals of good luck and hope
for a better future and next life. I
stopped and just watched as people walked by and spun every single one of the
20 or so prayer wheels and many circled the same building in the same direction
over and over. The sadness of all of
this hit me most when I noticed a lady bending down on her knees and then
laying prostrate with her face to the ground and then getting up, doing some
kind of hand symbol and then repeating this process over and over on a piece of
board.
Our host had just told us
that morning about this ritual and how many people go through this process even
in the streets because they believe the more miles they get in by doing this
will give them good luck and more hope of prosperity and good fortune in the
future. I don’t know much about what
they believe, but I do know that on that day in that moment I realized what
lies satan had spread throughout this nation.
Pointless rituals, false gods, and hope in hopeless things…so sad. I wanted to run up to the lady and tell her
she didn’t have to do that. I wanted to
tell her of a Savior who was all about grace and love. I wanted to show her Christ and what He’s all
about. I wanted to share with her a life
of freedom…but I couldn’t. She couldn’t
understand. It broke my heart. But I knew I could pray, so I prayed for that
woman specifically everyday.
As I continued walking, entering
the narrow paths of a small Tibetan village where homes exist right next to
each other, I found four small children playing hacky sack (made with feathers
and not actually a sac) and the one boy holding a soccer ball. I smiled, watched, and observed for awhile
before I motioned for the boy to set the soccer ball down. His eyes lit up as he realized that even
though I was different and we couldn’t understand each other’s spoken language,
I wanted to kick the ball around with him.
We didn’t need spoken language, motions were enough; a smile was
enough…God’s joy in me was enough!
The girls joined in and I
heard laughs, sounds of excitement, and fun.
They spoke in their own language and I just smiled back and made
statements of truth in my own language.
We played for awhile and then waved good-bye as the sun went down and it
got very cold. It was sad to leave
because I wanted to spend time with them, get to know them better, and show
them more of God’s love. Sometimes all
it takes is a smile and a little fun. I
wanted these kids to have hope and to know the truth. And God reminded me, He doesn’t need me to
work, He can use the Holy Spirit to work in people anytime. He just asked me to play and pray that day.
“Love one another.
As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know you are my
disciples if you love one another.” ~John 13:34-35
