I was going to type out a blog regarding this amazing, incredible thing the Lord did while we were in Nepal – yet my main squeeze, Sophia Nalty, beat me to it and my words wouldn’t compare –
“This month my team and I are in the urban ghetto of Kathmandu, Nepal. We have been commissioned to scout out ministries that have already been established here and really just support the Body of Christ. It really has opened my eyes to what it looks like for the Body to work together. Oftentimes our effectiveness, our reach even, is hindered because we don’t know how or refuse to practically work together. But that’s for another blog altogether.
What I’ve seen so far in this city are people under many different ministries/organizations coming together to support each other. They come together to pray, worship, fellowship and support each other laboring when more hands are needed. The focus is Jesus and the desperate souls that run rampant here, just like everywhere else.
Where we stay in particular is a neighborhood full of travelers and tourists from all over the world called Thamel. I’ve heard them referred to as “seekers.” Hippie-types that enjoy the trekking, New-age/Buddhist , yoga-enthusiast environment of Kathmandu. People searching for something. People needing Jesus. My team joined forces with a ministry that takes the Gospel to these people.
Our first night out, just after meeting the outreach team and before we could even pray for the evening’s direction, the Lord sent souls to us. A lady approached us selling henna (temporary tattoo art) and the leader, a skinny Holy Spirit filled dude named Clem, felt led to ask her, through our translator, if she as dealing with back pain. She said no. He asked her if there was anything else ailing her that we could pray for in Jesus’ name and she said no, but that her father suffered with severe back pain. (In such a “spiritual” culture, it’s not uncommon for native people to accept prayer.) As we laid hands and prayed, the woman suddenly exclaimed that she was feeling heat all over her back. Jesus was moving! Then she started to show us that oil was coming out of her hands and feet. Sure enough oil was literally pooling in her sandals and covering her hands!
She began to get scared and ask us what was going on and if this was witchcraft? Our leader explained that no, in the Bible the elders would anoint people with oil when they prayed for them. At this point he asked one of us to share the Gospel with her, so I shared a rapid hot-fire version. The lady soaked in the who, what, and why of the Good News eyes wide with wonder. Clem (the leader) explained that Jesus was anointing her with oil to demonstrate His love for her and His power, so she could lay hands on her father and he would be healed in Jesus name! She said if Jesus was real, He would heal her father right now: Challenge. Accepted. Where was he? Far away. Fine. Let’s call him and pray over the phone. After struggling with a horrible connection, we were finally able to get through and as we prayed the Lord began healing his back: Over the phone. In India.
Needless to say, that woman and her fifteen year old son both accepted the Lord that night!
While all this was going on, our little gathering on the street corner had drawn the attention of other people passing by, including a little fourteen year old girl selling henna. Apparently she had already received Christ through this same ministry and was so excited to see us that she began bringing more people to us, telling them we were good people that could pray for them.
Next up was a trio of Chinese tourists. (Did I mention she could speak at least three languages?) Clem began speaking with them in Chinese and the lady in the group asked us to pray for her mother. After we prayed, that lady also felt the same heat all over her body and was so amazed and grateful. One of the men with her asked us to pray for him to because he wanted to experience the same power. We prayed and he did. Boom.
Clem went on to minister the Gospel to that man in Chinese. Some of us prayed for the little girl in English and some continued to encourage the first lady we encountered in Nepali. (At church the next day, she testified that the Lord had given her a dream of the Crucifixion that night!) We ended the night feeding some of the teenage boys who live and/or work on the streets at a nearby restaurant.
It was one of the most amazing things I had ever seen. One of the most beautiful displays of God’s glory and love.
My entire team and I have been extremely blessed by all that we have witnessed and been a part of so far here in Nepal. God is at work and I’m definitely excited for what He has in store. I don’t have a little lesson or moral for the end of this blog. I could go a million different directions, but I just felt led to share. How ever the Holy Spirit is tugging at your heart strings to respond…do it.
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because of which he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to send out in freedom those who are oppressed, to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.” (Luke 4:18-19)“
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As the month went on, this woman became one of the sweetest blessings the Lord has given to me on the race. Almost everyday I would walk the streets of Kathmandu and run into the brightest smile ever. She would grab my arm, hold my hand, and tell me thank you with tears in her eyes. Her statement frequently mentioned, “Now I so happy. Jesus make me so happy. I am so happy now.” I couldn’t help but to marvel at her excitement, joy, and new found freedom she had found in Jesus.
She spent the next couple Sundays at church with us, where she fit right in and her faced shined bright as the morning sun. She even went to the great price of paying for a bus and walking the rest of the way, as church is about a 20 minute drive away. This may not sound like much, but when you live off of the income you make everday, time away from the streets, and money spent is a huge sacrfice. But she wasn’t concerend about the price she had to pay – she knew no matter the cost, it was worth it. Jesus had encountered her in a way that was real and nothing could steal that away from her.
One afternoon after church, she was going to take the bus an then walk to where she works the streets doing henna in the city. I told her she could walk with us to get a taxi and we would ride with her back to the city. She held my hand all the way to the taxi and smiled as if Jesus alone was walking with her in that moment. She thanked me time and time again and then tears strolled down her cheeks again. We got into the taxi and I told her earrings were beautiful – without hestitation or even time to blink, she began to take them off and make it known she wanted to give them to me. I told her that I wanted her to keep them and theat they looks so beautiful on her. She pleaded and begged for me to take them and proceeded beyond my wishing to place them in my hands. In that moment, I began to cry. One of the greatest things I will take away from this race is the earrings this woman wore.
I thank God for her and the work that He allowed for me to witness in her life. He is so faithful and good to us.
