This month we have doing construction work up on a mountain on a Yak Ranch, so on our off day we decided to go down into the main town Pokhara. We stopped at a coffee shop so we could connect with some of our family back home. My iMessages and Facebook calls weren’t working so I couldn’t talk to anyone back home, nothing was loading because everyone was on the wifi, and I don’t like coffee, all this to say I was pretty bored and frustrated.
I decided that instead of sitting here frustrated I was going to do something useful with my time, so I grabbed the book I have been reading and set off to find a good spot to read. So I went downstairs on my mission.
A guy nearby got my attention and asked me what I was reading. I told him that the name of it is “The Jesus I Never Knew”. He pointed to the name Jesus and asked if he could read it once I was finished. I was very confused and caught off guard by his question. On top of this flustered state that I am already in from my wifi problems upstairs, I am borrowing this book from our ministry host back at the Yak Ranch, so I am really conflicted on how to respond to him.
He notices my confusion and explains that he wants to know more about this man name Jesus and that’s why he wants to borrow my book. At this moment it clicks, “Omg this is one of those moments that you read about in worldrace blogs, those moments that don’t sound like real life. Of course Katelyn you have to show him the love of Jesus… this is the exact reason why you are traveling the world. Give him the book Katelyn, you can buy the Yak Ranch another one!”
He continues talking and introduces himself as Sofi and explains to me that he is a guide for trekkers in the mountain. He explained how his house was destroyed in the earthquake last year, and the government only gave him $15 to rebuild it. He tells me that when he takes people up into the mountains he likes to have a book to read because it is so beautiful and peaceful. He tells me that he has been wanting to learn more about this man name Jesus so a book like this would be great to read in the mountains.
*Second caveat I have* This book is written by Philip Yancey, who is a phenomenal author but speaks with complicated words and complex concepts. I have been struggling through this book the entire month… and English is my first and only language. This is not your “first steps toward Jesus” kind of book… it’s more like “I know a lot about Jesus but want to see him a new perspective” kind of book. So I am struggling even more with giving this book to a Nepali man who asks what the word “Knew” meant on the cover. I decided that I was going to give it to him anyways. We serve a God who can raise people from the dead, so translating this book into words that Sofi can read is nothing he can’t do! Caveat overcome!
I give him the book and tell him that I want him to have it so he can learn more about this amazing man. I asked him since I was there if I could answer any questions he may have about Jesus. He gets really excited about the book and starts asking me questions. He says, “What the difference is between Jews and Christian?”
I explain to him that Jews don’t believe that Jesus is the Messiah they had been waiting for, they just believe he is a good teacher. We as Christians believe that Jesus is the son of the Creator God (clarification of which God is very important here in Nepal) who came down to earth. He came down, lived a perfect life but choose to die a sinners death to pay the price for all of our sins so we could be reconnected with Creator God.
I started to explain the difference between the Old Testament and New Testament when it hit me. I asked him “Do you own a bible” and he said no. I told him that is my absolute favorite book and it is the actual words of this amazing savior Jesus. I asked him if I could give him that book instead. He said of course, so I ran upstairs, grabbed my Bible (that I have grown very found of) and brought it back down to him. We went through it for the next 15 minutes, him getting excited about all of the underlining that I had already done and that he would get to read the red words of this amazing man. He let me pray with him in the middle of this marketplace and said that he was going to read through this entire book starting with the New Testament. He had to go and we ended up going our separate ways, but it was the most encouraging God moment that has happened to me so far on my race so I wanted to share it with you! Please feel free to encourage me and others with any spectacular God moments that have happened to you recently!!!
