PART 2
After climbing into his fancy black car, we sort of tried to get a gauge of where he was going to drop us off at the top of the mountain. After a few minutes, we found out that he was actually a well to do real estate agent who owned his own business and was traveling to a new house he was having built to drop off paint and laundry. He asked if we would like to accompany him to the house to see it and we agreed since we had no other plans. He was confused why we would just up and join him and why we were walking with no plans so I had the chance to explain that Jesus had told us to simply leave everything behind for the day, and trust him with our plans. I told him we didn’t bring food or money, that we hadn’t eaten, and that we had no plans. After hearing this, he asked if we were hungry and immediately pulled off to a roadside stand, gave his friend in the front seat some cash and ordered him to get us some snacks and drinks. We were so excited. Seriously! We had just climbed into a stranger’s car, were hungry, and tired, and he immediately provided for needs that we had been praying over.
The funny thing is, when we arrived at this house he was having built to later sell, it was a beautiful 4 story home with marble floors and stairs, custom wood work, and an extra room for Hindu worship practices. It wasn’t the typical home we were used to seeing at all. We climbed to the top of the house and spent some time on the roof with him and his friend (who we later found out was the engineer of the entire project) as they showed us the city from the rooftop. Our new friend then turned to us and asked what we wanted to eat. We thought that the snacks would be our food for the day and were so grateful to God for them, but The Lord was just beginning to show us that he not only wanted to provide for our needs but that he desired to provide beyond our needs and delight in giving us beyond our expectations. We suddenly felt The Lord telling us that our faith and our prayers were too small and that we were functioning out of the orphan spirit still.
Our new friend looked at our confused faces and repeated, “What would you like to eat. Name anything and it will be yours today.”
What!? Seriously, God.
We simply started naming off some very traditional and cheap Nepali dishes that we had become familiar with, fearful of being too presumptuous and demanding. He returned our confused face with one of his own and began to ask why we only wanted cheap Nepali food. To be honest, we didn’t know what to do so we just started descending the stairs and heading towards his car, hoping that he would make a decision for us.
As we climbed back in his car, another one of their friends decided to join us for lunch and followed us on his moped. Our friend continued to ask us if we wanted burgers, pizza, or other American foods but we just smiled and told him it was his choice and we would enjoy whatever he decided. Soon, we pulled off the road in front of this tiny yellow shack that didn’t look like a place you should park your car, let alone eat at. He simply said, “Ok, get out. We are here.”
We followed him up a small little hill where there were a few shacks that all had an open wall. We turned around and realized that these were all open face private eating shacks that overlooked a lake from the hilltop we were now on.
We were led to our own private eating hut with our new friends and ordered some tea and food. After we ordered, our friend looked at us with an almost annoyed expression and asked why we each only ordered one dish. We told him we didn’t need a lot of food and that what we had ordered would surely fill us. He must have been annoyed enough to leave it be because we were left with our decisions. (PS I ordered momos and laughed at how it still fulfilled the only sort of feeling I got before leaving the house).
Our conversation turned from simple topics about where we were, what there was to do in Nepal for travel experiences, and questions about our lives in America to about the deliverance that Jesus provided for Bridget from smoking and drugs. One of the men that was eating with us had asked us if we drank or smoked and Bridget took the open door to share how it was only by the grace of Jesus that she was able to quit smoking once and for all. He praised her for it and began to express his desire for such help but his fear over becoming too religious like the radical Muslims many Nepali people seem to fear and even hate. The Lord opened up the time for us to share a few stories and encouragements over the reality of Jesus and his love rather than the ultimate requirements of “religious obligations” and radical hate driven traditions that they saw from radical Muslims.
As our lunch concluded, it was time to go back to the meeting place with the rest of our squad. Our friends had told us they would take us back home so we wouldn’t have to try and get transportation back through the city. Bridget had mentioned earlier that she would love to ride the moped and as we were walking to the car, our friend simply handed her the keys to the moped and winked. Her face (as well as Katie’s and mine) simply held shock! She hopped on with his friend and drove down the mountain, fulfilling one of the visions The Lord gave her that morning.
When we returned, I tried to process the entire day. I felt like I flew for the first time. I felt like I understood the rush Peter must have had on the water (see what The Lord revealed about that story in scripture in my blog “Stripped for a Ravenous Love and a Scandalous Grace”). It felt like pure joy. It felt like a high. It felt like jumping off a cliff without seeing what was below you. It felt like unadulterated fellowship. It felt like true freedom for the very first time in my life.
Jesus has this really great plan. A plan to redeem the world, throw the biggest wedding celebration, and then the best honeymoon for all of eternity. Our walk of faith on earth is a taste and a touch of our courtship with him. Is it a relationship filled with fear, jealousy, anger, lack of trust, stress, and inconsistency? No wonder why so many of us contemplate breaking up with Christianity and questioning the reality of Jesus’ unconditional love. No wonder why church becomes negotiable, scripture becomes a “pick what you want” cafeteria line of inconsistent theology and confusion, and love is distorted to conditions and lies.
Faith requires action. James is super clear about that in chapter 2 of his book in the New Testament. Sometimes action looks like speaking, teaching, praying, working, singing, playing, or being creative. But sometimes, it looks like actively and consciously abandoning worldly crutches of money, communication, time, connections, and safety and choosing to say, “Holy Spirit, move my feet. Give me words. Guide my heart. Give me the courage to jump and the strength to fly knowing I will not fall and You will not let me fail.”
Walking actively in faith feels like that moment right before the drop on a roller coaster. Or the first split second after jumping off a cliff into water. It’s the moment where fear and freedom collide into a wonderful mysterious, faith filled, adventure not caring where your feet just left and where your feet will land. It’s about the ride, trusting Jesus to bring you to the destination where He resides and has prepared for you.
Faith day changed my life. I look at possibilities of everyday needs and circumstances in a completely new light. I truly wish I had words to express everything. But alas, our human ways of communication are a crude representation of the spiritual wonder we get to live in as followers of Jesus.
Because of Him and by His grace,
Rachel
PS I’m a little over $500 away from my next financial deadline!! $11,000 is due by April first. If you want to partner with me financially, click on the “support me” link at the top of the page!
Also, please know that the adventure things and days off are not using fundraised donations. It is my own personal money that I have saved and that others have specified for days off. Such personal money has gone towards laundry, bus/taxi/train fare for days off, food outside of our team food budget, and fun excursions experiencing the countries we are living in. The money that is donated directly to Adventures on my behalf through my blog or through checks sent to Adventures is for the $16,244 total of the trip that covers travel expenses, food budget with my team, lodging in each country with ministry contacts, supplies for ministry and other expenses such as that. Just an FYI for all my supporters! :))))
