Fast forward a week, and my team and I are at our destination for the month: Nijgadh. We are working in a Christian school that is made up of mainly Hindu students. I fell in love with the kids the minute I stepped into the class room. I am teaching 3rd, 4th and 5th grade. The students are eager to learn and love any love I give them… and you know I give them as much as I can 🙂 The Lord is working in huge ways here in this small village. The contacts we are staying with, Daniel and Teresa, are the founders of this school, pretty much built it from the ground up. It is through an organization called GEMS. They also built their house across the street and are raising their family there. They are both college graduates who could have gone on to have high earning jobs, but they chose to listen to the calling of God and establish this much needed school. I don’t know the exact number of students, but there are roughly 150. When the school opened 5 years ago, there were no Christian students. There are now 27. I know that doesn’t sound like a huge number, but if you understood what it takes for a Hindu to convert to another religion, you would be amazed at that number. God has kept this family protected, even though it was very hard for them to be accepted into this community. It reminds me of a verse in Matthew 10:16 “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.” God has shown this family favor and has kept His promise to protect them and provide for them as they build the Kingdom. As they strive to live for Christ and show His love through their own lives, it is clear to see how much they are loved and respected by all of their neighbors and the people in this community, even though they are not the same religion. 
On Thursday, we held VBS (Vacation Bible School) for all of the students for the last half of the day. When we were first given this assignment, my teammates and I were a little overwhelmed. What are we going to do with 150 students for 2 hours! As we got together in our groups (Me, Crystal and Ben were in charge of the older students) and we brain stormed ideas for the VBS, the Lord just really laid it on our hearts that we have to share the Gospel. We knew the importance of the truth being shared in this community. We knew we had to proclaim freedom over these people, and what better way than sharing the Good News of Jesus with these young people. Okay.. so we have a plan. Next thing was… how are we going to deliver it? The question that lingered on my mind was: Am I bold enough to get up in front of all of these students and pretty much tell them what I believe, knowing it goes against everything they have been taught and practice? It’s so easy to share my faith at home or to encourage fellow believers, but this was completely different. Then I remembered the words of Jesus in Matthew 10:32-33: “Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in Heaven.” There is no time for questioning… as a follower of Christ, it is my purpose in life to fulfill what the Bible clearly states in Mark 13:10-11 ” And the Gospel must first be preached to all nations… Just say whatever is given to you at the time, for it is not you speaking but the Holy Spirit.” Okay, God, I trust you… there is no reason to worry about what I am going to say or how I am going to say it… You’re in control!
Sure enough, the time came to share with the students, and I didn’t even use the notes I had so carefully prepared. I completely gave my worries to God and He spoke through the three of us that day as we shared Jesus with the students. They listened so intently, I don’t think one head turned away from the speaker the entire time. I feel like every word went straight to their hearts. At the end of the message, we asked if there was anyone who wanted to accept Christ as their savior, and more than half of them raised their hand and prayed with us.. including the teachers! Once again, God showed me how powerful He is and how he will use those who are available to Him. Our contact in Australia said this quote and it really stuck with me: ‘It’s not about your ability, it’s about your availability.’ I’ll never forget those words as they come true in every situation. I want to spend the rest of my life being available to God, and there is no telling how He is going to use me… I just know that His plan is perfect. I know He is a God who keeps his promises, too. I’ll end with a scripture about His love and promises for us from Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” I wanted to add a special thanks to my amazing Nepalese friend, Buddhi, for encouraging me to go deeper with my blogs. Praise the Lord for all of the amazing people He has brought into my life.
