Fellowship has been real, intercession has been real, and the enemy has shown his ugly face.
For the first 3 days our team has been teaching a seminar on the Great Commission. It has been challenging as a team, put very prosperous for the church and for our biblical knowledge. The first day we broke down what the Great commission was. The 2nd day was about how we can practically live out the Great Commission. And the 3rd day was about what happens when we step into that call and when we do not step into that call. The following 2 days after the seminar we went out to evangelize, and pray over the different villages we have yet to go too. As we set out further up the mountain went came upon a Hindu temple where we spent 2 hours of the time in intercessional prayer. It was extremely powerful and we heard more of our translator’s personal testimony! Went then walked back through the village near by handing out tracks and sharing the gospel to who would listen. …But back to our translator’s testimony.
He grew up a Buddhist and His father wanted him to go train to be a monk. He told his father that he did not want to and started to work in the brick factory. Soon a believer came and handed out a track to him. He began to wonder about this Jesus he had heard about and eventually became a Christian through believers evangelizing at the brick factory. When his father had heard, He immediately kicked him out of the family and his whole support system collapsed. He continued to work in this brick factory until he was 15, then he got a job at a local hotel as a dishwasher. He prayed to God to continue to provide and eventually he became a waiter and then cooks assistant. Following this provision he stepped in YWAM DTS and now is planting churches in Buddhist communities at the age of 21! He is an amazing disciple of Christ who is not afraid to share the gospel and pray passionately! His story is an inspiring testimony, but is actually very similar to many who convert to Christianity in Nepal.
Since nearly all people have a Buddhist or Hindu backgrounds; once they declare they believe in the one true God, they are kicked out of their homes and can no long afford to go to school. They are on their own. Talk about barriers to entry! On top of that, the church is hard pressed financially as the economy in Nepal is so broken. And the fellowship that does give tends to be of the lower poorer caste. They can’t support everyone who comes to faith, financially speaking. The Battle is real for Christians here in Nepal, and dependence on God is crucial!
Furthermore, in 8 months the government of Nepal will try and pass a bill to outlaw Christian evangelism. Christianity is seen as a threat here because it cripples the Nepali Caste system. It creates pure equality. And all the powerful government officials want to stay in power and maintain wealth/status, so they want to contain the spread of Christianity as much as possible. It sickens me to see how hard it has become for the Word of God to spread! But it has sparked a fire in my soul for the people of Nepal and how much they do need the loving salvation that is through Jesus Christ! Please pray with me over the current body of believers that God would continue to move in them and that His provision would be immense! Yet still, though the enemy is fighting the body of believers through the false religions of Hinduism & Buddhism he is also rearing his ugly face through demonic possession.
Just today at the weekly church service, we were nearing the hour & a half mark of worship. Everyone was singing and praying all at once aloud. The Spirit of God was definitely present. But out of nowhere a young girl fell right next to me shrieking and contorting her body in odd ways. The manifestation of a demonic spirit arose in her. I had only ever heard about it from others and never actually witnessed it. But right away I started praying for this young girl. They took her in the next room and Myles and I eventually followed and began to pray over her for the next 3 hours. That whole time she was freaking out, breathing oddly, saying nasty things and slandering Christ’s name as we declared it. A fellowship elder eventually put a cross on her and the demon in the young girl when crazy trying to break it and throw it off her. Needless to say it was a very intense time of prayer and declaration of God’s name to cast that demon out of her. After the 3 hours she calmed down and we had heard this has happened to her before because she has yet to fully accept Christ as Lord and Savior.
You see the battle is real for Christians in Nepal. The devil is pulling out all the stops to make sure no more Nepali’s hear the Word of the Lord. Because there is TRUE power in it! The devil fear’s it! I write you this to share the reality of the situation, not to scare you, but to tell you that the Lord is still on the move! Just yesterday, 2 girls came to faith in the Lord and I was privileged enough to share with them why we accept Christ as Lord! So awesome! And just before the church service today 15 people got baptized!! Hallelujah! So know that the ministry of encouragement, testimony, and intercession is a powerful and my team & I are bless to be a part of this here in Nepal!
On a lighter note, we have finally figured out the public transit system. We are still cramming into places on micro vans were only one person should fit, but we somehow manage to get 3 full size people in it! Haha! And we no longer get lost in search for the glorious wifi! Haha. Tomorrow is BUNGEE JUMP DAY!
WR Fun Facts: Micro van capacity = 30 people (only the size of a mini van).
I am still using the squatty potty successfully (just thought you should know).
Power always shuts off at random times
And personal space is something of the past for Nepali men. We are basically in each other’s laps throughout the church service!
Bungee jumping was EPIC (Video to come)
Esula Paipili Prim Gurnu Huncha = Jesus Loves You!
