It’s September 4th. I’m at the airport saying goodbye to my family. My mom’s crying. All three of my sisters are crying (Kajal, the three year old, only crying because the others are). And that of course means I am crying as well. I was leaving my family for a year, of course I was crying.
My expectation was that I wouldn’t be crying like that for a while. A long while. But that expectation was broken this month.
Our team this month got the pleasure of meeting a beautiful family this month. And I fell in love immediately! Their family had a ten year old named Yoanesh and a fifteen year old girl named Deepika. I literally spent time with Yoanesh everyday this month and Deepika a lot as well. Their family would invite us over to have food. They would make food for our team. They would pray for us. They would be at church with us. Their family was now my family. Yoanesh IS my little brother. Deepika IS my little sister.
Therefore you could only imagine how hard it was to leave. I wasn’t leaving for a short time. I may not see them again on this earth. And that is literally bringing tears to my eyes as I type this now.
So it is now our last day in Sarlahi, Nepal. We wake up bright and early for tea and then head to church. Yoanesh has already found me at this point and we head to church together. Natalie gave an amazing sermon on loving one another and the importance of forgiveness.
After church we had a little snack and then it was time to go. I DID NOT want to say goodbye. I wanted to take Yoanesh and Deepika with me. But of course that was not a possibility. Tyler, Natalie, and I went over to Yoanesh’s house to bless their family with some money that our team had been able raise. And I lost it. I was the one explaining that this is all God’s provision, and none of it was from us. And all of a sudden I heard my voice starting to quiver. I felt the tears starting to come.
And then boom, my eyes were like two waterfalls on my face. I could not control it. Yoanesh ust looked at me. Thankfully he did not start crying otherwise it would not have been a pretty sight. Deepika kept telling me not to cry. That this was a happy time. That this was a joyous time. That we would see each other in heaven in one day. And I knew she was right. We may not see each other on this earth again, but we will all see each in eternity.
And that is something that has been something I have to keep reminding myself on this journey. Every month we leave people with the potential of not seeing each other ever again. But it’s so amazingly comforting that this in fact is not the last time I would be seeing these people. That I in fact would be seeing them in heaven. That we are now an eternal family! And that is the glory of our God. That is the Kingdom our God has promised us. And that is something we can all rejoice in! The party that God has planned for us!
I have been so blessed this month by this family. And I am excited to see them again one day!
Thanks for reading! Y’all have been such a blessing!
Much Love,
Raj Mahal
Ps. I am still in need of $800 to be fully funded. How amazing is our God that He has already provided so much. If you feel called to donate I would appreciate it so much! Just click the “support me” link on my blog page! Thank you so much for all your prayers and support!
