I had the coolest experience the other night.
I have been a part of youth bible studies before, not necessarily in another country, but they have been a big part of why I started following Jesus.
Well, we got to be a part of a small group of high school girls from a small school outside of Kathmandu.
After they had finished their work in school, they cross the street to talk about their lives, what they are learning, and their faith in Jesus.
In Nepal, Christian conversion and evangelism is illegal.
These girls are in a school surrounded by classmates who are Hindi or Buddhist.
I was sitting with the four girls in the high school who believed in Jesus.
They are between 16 and 17 years old and finishing up their senior year in school before thinking of what to do next year.
They love Korean dramas (great conversation for me!!) and they love all of their brothers and sisters.
These four girls live in a children’s home that we had the privilege of serving in teaching English and playing with 24 beautiful kids who either lost their parents in the earthquake or were found abandoned on the street.
These girls are working hard for their future and they truly hold so much compassion in their hearts for others.
One of the last questions asked to the group was “When you see the persecution and the way people look at Christians today, are you excited or frightened for the future?”
The girls sat in thought for a minute, and I was thinking of my answer as well.
In all honesty, the first thought that popped into my head was frightened.
I wasn’t sure where the root of that fear stemmed from, but I had just read an article of another school shooting.
One thing that I have seen throughout the countries that we have been to so far is that they look to the USA as a Christian country.
They see the mass shootings and school shootings and think,”What is happening? Is this what Christianity is?”
They ask us for answers and we have none. We can barely keep up with the news a week at a time!
But I was shaken out of my thoughts when a quiet girl started to speak up.
“It makes me excited! It encourages me to see people persecuted for their faith. It shows the strength of faith that you must have and that I need to keep fighting to be that strong.”
Not even making Christian evangelism illegal prevents these girls from singing worship songs in school.
These girls shut my thoughts of fear up by proving to me that the youth is stronger than I could have ever imagined.
They were living out Matthew 5:10-12
“Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad for great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
They don’t live in fear but with excitement to grow in their faith and exude the strength that Jesus has given them. They can’t wait to show the authority that God has instilled in them.
At just 16 years old, the girls had the courage of David and were ready to face whatever giant may come.
Whether the government wants to create new laws against what they believe, whether their classmates ostracize them, or whatever this world throws at them, they believe in the Lord’s provision.
I started to ask myself, do I have faith like that?
If I was stopped in a country and questioned or started to enter some dangerous areas in countries that do not look highly on Christianity, would I be more bold or sit in silence?
Would hostility or judgement from people really prevent me from sharing about this love that I know will change their lives forever?
The rest of the race I am focusing on building on what childlike faith really looks like.
I made a list of about 30 ways that I could build on what faith like a child would be like in my day to day life.
Some of them are a little silly like having a set bedtime and wake up time or being picky with your food. (Trust me, overseas you should be picky)
Some of them are things that I know I need to build on like praying bold prayers and finding the fun in everything.
Children don’t care what you think and they know that everything they have to say is important. I want to live like that.
If sharing your faith was illegal where even your neighbors can turn you in for being a Christian, would you still walk boldly where Jesus is leading you and say the words that you know He has for His people?
I am well on my way to being fully funded for this amazing adventure I am on! I am looking for 18 people to pledge to donate $200. 18 people can donate $25 over the next 8 months for me to reach my final goal of $18,700! OR you can do a one time payment of $200! Just click the orange button above that says DONATE! And fill in the information! If you become a monthly donor or donate an amount that adds up to $1,000 you will get a post card from me on the field! Who knows, maybe I will send you two because I am tankful for all of your support! Please prayerfully consider to help me reach my final goal before June 6th so that I can stay on the field for the full 11 months! Thank you so much for the prayers, conversations, comments, and emails you have sent me while I have been on the race. Your love is something I am truthfully so thankful for and has helped me through some challenging things these past 5 months! I love you all! Thank you again for all of your support! Please share my story with friends and family as well!
