Nepal….the stories don’t do it justice. The pictures don’t do it justice.
I don’t even know where to begin here in Nepal. I could start with the mountains that we hear so much about. Nepal, the rooftop of the world! I have only seen the Himalayas from a distance and they still take my breath away. They are splendid, majestic, powerful, giant, beautiful, imposing, impressive, created. They were created by a Creator who embodies all of these traits and more than I will ever be able to write. It brings me to tears to see these mountains and remember that the hands who shaped them holds a place of glory that far surpasses them and left it all to come into a dying world to take on human flesh. To take on the death we brought, JUST SO THAT HE COULD BE WITH US. They are a reminder of my purpose. My purpose is in my savior.
Now we have all heard of the Himalayas and even though we may have never stood on them or seen them with our own eyes, their beauty is renowned. But have you heard of Deepak, BiBi, or Mes? My guess is no, but I want to tell you about them because they are the most important part of Nepal. They are her people.
Deepak is our main contact this month in Nepal. He has started an adventure business here that he uses to bring the kingdom of God. He organizes not only missions’ teams while they are staying in Nepal, but also trekking missions around the mountains and to Everest base camp. His passions are for the mountains and for seeing God’s word reach villages that have never heard Jesus name. BiBi and Mes are our cooks. They make the most delicious Nepali dishes for us, but their true talent is their passion to hear the people of Nepal “gospeled”.
Our month in Nepal has been split into two different areas. The first week here we spent our time going to local parks and recreation areas in the capital city of Kathmandu and meeting new people, learning about their lives and their beliefs and sharing the gospel. People have welcomed us and have been so interested to hear about the news we bring. Nepal is hungry for Jesus and the church is growing rapidly. After years under communist rule Nepal has an infant democracy, which is now allowing Christians to practice without fear of being persecuted. The body of Christ is united here in Kathmandu and is working together in ways the rest of the Christian church around the world should be watching.
After our first week we were able to spend two weeks in a small mountain village called Dhandabazar in the foothills of the Himalayas. We stayed in people’s homes and worked with a local pastor whose heart is to preach the gospel all over that region of Nepal. Every day we were blessed to hike the mountains and share the gospel with people who some had never even heard the name of Jesus before. The Lord gave me such a humble respect and excitement for the way that he was using my team and I to bring his word to these people. There is no more thrilling experience than telling someone the good news of Christ for the first time.
One of my teammates was telling me a story of when they were presenting the gospel to a family and the response was “this is too good to be true!” Praise the Lord that it is true!
