I have officially arrived in Asia! For our first 5 days we participated in a debrief after our two months of ministry in Africa. Debrief is a time of rest, processing, exploring the city, finding adventure, and loving on our squad mates. But on Day 4 something happened that I HAVE to tell you guys about.
It started off as any normal day of debrief. We ate breakfast, we had a morning devotional, we had meetings with our leaders, and we had free time to explore Kathmandu. Beautiful Kathmandu, Nepal. I had an “adventure date” planned with my friend Rebecca at 1:00 pm and as I walked down to the lobby of the hotel, there she was. Looking radiant in her classic World Racer plaid. I knew this intentional time was going to be good, I just had no idea what the Lord had in store for us.
We decided to walk to a Buddhist Monkey Temple that was about a 30-minute walk from our hotel. Weaving through motorcycles and running across roads just like the locals. The rule is, once you start running don’t stop. Commit to that road. Commit to reaching the other side. We committed and we conquered. Every time a moto passed by us, they honked their piercing horn right into our ears. Every time we passed by meat stands on the side of the road, we held back the gags. Every time we stopped to take in our surroundings, we were amazed at God’s creation.
Without getting hit by any motorcycles, we made it to the front of the temple. It was beautiful. Covered in gold, prayer flags, monkeys stealing food, and steps, lots and lots of steps. I have a strange familiarity with Nepal even though I have never been here. It reminds me of Colorado. It reminds me of home. When I saw those steps and an old Buddhist monk walking up them with no problem, I thought bring it on. Then I was quickly reminded of this small factor called elevation. I was just on the beach in Africa, let me remind you, sea level to mountains is a fun adjustment. Especially when climbing stairs.
Stair after stair after stair, my legs started burning and my lungs felt on fire. Rebecca said she wanted to get her heart pumping. Well, mine was pumping after about 45 seconds. The Buddhist monk right next to me was just fine. Go figure.
As we climbed the last couple of flights, a security officer said we had to pay. Wait, what? So you’re telling me that you waited until now, after climbing 400 stairs in the mountains, to tell us that we have to pay to enter? Um, marketing genius right there. Wait until the tourists have worked their butts off, literally, and then tell them it’s not free. We handed our money over. No turning back now.
Entering that place, I felt an overwhelming sense of hollowness. Not dark, just hollow. Like these people and this temple don’t know the Lord. Rebecca looked at me and said, “Do you realize that WE are the most God in this place?” Dang girl. Then we saw something beautiful. This place is overlooking God’s beauty. This place is on God’s ground.
We walked around singing Holy Spirit You Are Welcome Here, Come Fill This Place And Change The Atmosphere. As we were singing, we saw some of our squad mates and they told us to go and eat at a certain restaurant because they have amazing views. We were hungry, so we went. They told us to ask for Kash who is the owner, so we did and he sat down by us. I ordered some chicken curry, which was amazing, and we started talking to 4 men who were in the room with us. It started off as an ordinary conversation, but quickly turned into something only God could orchestrate.
Kash and his brother Rafiq started explaining that they believe in karma and doing good and that in this life we are given 2 minutes and 53 seconds and those 2 minutes and 53 seconds equal 50,000 years in heaven. They told us that they are Buddhist, Muslim, and Hindu and that they believe in God. I just had a feeling that they were confused because every time we asked them a question they would talk themselves around and around in a circle.
I loved every second of hearing what they believed and I was very interested in everything they had to say. Different cultures and religions fascinate me and I love learning about how people view life and how people live their day to day life. As we were getting deeper into the conversation, I felt a strong urge to ask if I could pray for them. I asked. They all said yes!
We prayed for the Holy Spirit to come upon each person in that room. We prayed for Jesus to show His face to these men. We prayed for these men to come to know the Lord of Lords and the King of Kings. It was really cool that all of us could come together and pray to the same God. Then we had a plot twist.
Rafiq looked up at me and said, “I am blind in my left eye, my God has punished me for the sin I had in my past.” My heart. I looked him right in the eye and I had an overwhelming urge to pray for his eye to be healed. So I did. 7 times to be exact. Some of the men were cheering me on while I was praying, but some of them were looking at me like I was crazy. Each time after I prayed I looked at Rafiq and asked if he could see. He always said no. Some people would look at this as defeat, but I saw it as a chance to gain another member of my family.
I asked Rebecca and Rafiq if only we could go to the very top the restaurant on the roof overlooking all of Kathmandu and the Buddhist temple. The Lord told me there were too many doubters in the room so we should go and be alone. We went up to the top and Rebecca started talking about having a relationship with Jesus and how Jesus wants to talk to us each and every day of our lives. She explained how Jesus died so that we could have this relationship and how we can ask Him for anything and we will give it to us in His time. Rafiq asked for us to pray for his eye again so he could see.
We did.
Except this time, something told me to pray for his heart. I put my hand on his heart and prayed, “Lord please take away anything that is not of you in Rafiq’s heart and fill it with light. Show him Your light God.” After we were done praying, Rafiq looked at me with watery eyes and said, “My heart is full of darkness, how did you know to pray for my heart?” I responded, “Jesus told me.” That was it.
After we prayed, we gave each other hugs and I told him to ask Jesus to show them who He really is. They were very excited to get to know Him and have a relationship with our Savior. I realized in this moment that sometimes we can pray for an eye to be healed from blindness, but sometimes the blindness that they have is more severe.
Sometimes God doesn’t heal a blind man before our eyes because He wants the blind to have sight in a different way. Sometimes God wants the inside to be healed before He heals the outside. Sometimes God wants His glory and goodness to be made known in an intimate and peaceful place, not in front of a crowd. Sometimes we just have to trust that the Lord will heal in His perfect timing. Sometimes God heals blind men before our eyes, but most of the time He gives sight a whole new meaning. Rebecca and I were the hands and feet of Jesus to help Him heal a blind man, a man who was blind to the way, the truth, and the life.
Please join me in praying for Rafiq. Not just for sight in his left eye, but for sight to see who Jesus really is.
The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.
Matthew 11:5
