We had no money, food, or water. I carried nothing but the clothes on my back. Our hearts were filled with prayers to try and mask the fear that God wouldn’t come through; that we would return home that night hungry and ashamed. We doubted yet God still came through. This is a story to give you a glimpse into what happens when all you have is a little faith and a big God.
I think most everyone felt the nerves as we left for our hosts home that morning to then head out to do ministry. This last month in Nepal has been full of being pushed out of our comfort zones, but Tuesday was the greatest of all. For this day is what our hosts call “faith day”, where they send us out to the city with literally nothing. We had to trust that God would provide our lunch and transportation. To be honest I had pretty low expectations for the day, and was more then willing to go hungry if it meant not having to ask like a beggar for food and free rides.
Throughout the morning though God began to prepare my heart. My doubts slowly turned into boldness, my worries into joy. As I left with a two others from my squad I felt a rush of excitement. I saw a picture of a mountain, Bridget knew she would ride a scooti by the end of the day, and Rachel was along for the ride, wherever it would take us.
So off toward the mountains we went. On the way we followed a lady herding cows, told a group of Nepali women that we were going to see Jesus, and then in the dump yard next to the river we found a shepherd with his herd of sheep. After of course taking a pit stop to pet the baby sheep, we continued along our path. The dump yard turned into a construction supply yard. At one point Rachel felt as though we should turn back as it was a bit unsettling. Just as we turned around though we saw a lady in a pink flowy sari walking toward us. I tell them she will take us to the mountain! It turns out she spoke little English, but she did take us across the bridge and up the road to the mountain. She did nothing but smile as she tried to communicate to us in Nepali. She was certain that I could understand her. I would just laugh as I said I don’t know, and to that she would reply with more laughter. She was our beautiful angel of hope, our sign to continue across the river to the mountain. And as we parted ways I knew God’s hand was on her.
At this point we had been walking a good half of an hour when we all started to get a little thirsty. Bridget saw a sign to a place called Paradise Guest House. We decided to go see if they could give us any water. We sat down and told the Hindu cook our story of how we got there as well as what we were doing. Five minutes later we were on our way with a bottle of water in hand. The cook told us about a park at the top of the mountain so we decided to continue walking uphill. After a bit of wondering what God had in store, we saw two of our squad mates pass by on motorcycles! We waved and then something magical happened, the car behind them stopped. I immediately knew this was the ride we had been praying for.
The driver was a realtor and his passenger an engineer. We told them what we were doing, and how we got there. They asked if we would like to go see a house they are building. We said sure! On our way..without us asking…they stopped to get us each a snack and soda. Then we got to tour their house that was in the building process. With my background in interior design and working with builders it was so neat to be able to connect and share some of my story. They then insisted on taking us to lunch where we were able to share more of how Jesus is the center of our lives. I don’t know if any of it soaked in or resinated with them, but I leave that part up to God.
As we went to leave the restaurant one of our new friends handed Bridget the keys to his scooti. Her dreams of getting to drive one came true! We headed back to our neighborhood. As we stepped out of the car I felt absolutely in shock. Did that day really just happen?! God went above and beyond in His provision.
This month for me has been all about learning to have a simple faith. The more we hand over to God, the more He can do in our lives. On faith day He proved this to just about every single person on my squad that went out. We need to stop trying to control our relationship with Him and instead allow the Holy Spirit to guide our every step. We need to become more like children to experience the full lives we crave. “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. “ Mathew 18:3-4
I am determined to let go of trying to find meaning in every little thing and to live a life free from worrying about money, time, or what my next step should be. Instead if I center my life on Jesus and His love I will find everything I will ever need. We are not called to figure out the meaning of life. We are called to love.
I am learning to trust and it is beautiful.
