For part 1 of this incredible story, visit http://laurenclement.theworldrace.org/?filename=saved-by-a-comforter-part-1
After about 4 days of time in beautiful, but cold, Nepal, I received a phone call from Lauren Clement, team leader for Team Ignition. There had been donated to our ministry contact, a large sum of money for blankets for the people of South Nepal and two of the men from her team were to travel by bus with the bundles of blankets.
The very next day, these 2 men arrived ATOP the bus carrying 4 enormous bundles of blankets; thick, warm, heavy blankets. After many deaths in South Nepal due to the severe cold and poverty, these blankets were the answer to so many prayers. Most of the men, women, and children live in small huts made with sticks, mud, straw, and water buffalo dung, providing little to no insulation or protection from the wind, especially with the lack of windows and doors. Often armed with only one thin blanket per family, most face the winters in agony and without much hope.
After spending a day in prayer and preparation for the blanket distribution, we began to get even more excited. One by one, men and women began trickling into the church. The pastors opened up the service with prayer and began to share the gospel. They explained that what these men and women needed more than these blankets was a relationship with Jesus Christ. These blankets were to satisfy their physical needs, but only Jesus will ever satisfy their hearts.
As each man, woman, and youngster came up front to receive their blanket, smiles lit up the room. Each bowed their head in such gratitude for such a simple gift. Our prayer continued to be that these blankets would not only provide a physical covering for each person, but also a spiritual covering; that each time the blanket is wrapped around them, they will experience the love of God and His arms wrapped around them as well.
Throughout the next week we were able to visit these men, women, and children; pray for them, see how they live, and pray a blessing over them and their home. One woman in particular broke my heart. She was skin and bones, laden with tuberculosis; wasting away, not an ounce of fat on her body to keep her warm. Now with her burgundy blanket wrapped around her, she has a chance to survive another winter.
The following Saturday, as I was about finished preaching, women started coming into the back of the church, holding very small thin blankets. They were soon ushered outside to the schoolyard behind the church. After church, the pastor asked us to go and pray with some of the women. We followed him to the schoolyard to find the women, along with a few men, sitting in groups. We had no more blankets left to give them, but we had Jesus to share. So, one of my girls shared the gospel with the women in such a sweet way, and we began praying over some women with some body pains and illnesses.
Though difficult to truly understand what was happening without translators present, it appeared that women and men were being healed as we prayed for them! I thought, “Surely they are not, this is just due to ‘Lost in Translation.’” But sure enough, one woman went over to a few other women and pointed to her ankle, pretended to hobble a little, then walked without a limp proudly, and then pointed to us, smiling.
I was asked to pray for a man with a bad shoulder. I began praying and soon he was moving his shoulder above his head and around in circles, stating he no longer had pain! Yay, Jesus! Then as quick as the chaos started, it ended. We went back to our house for lunch. These men and women came for blankets and got healed instead. We were able to take their names down for the next time we had blankets to give.
That opportunity came the following week. Our contact was donated more money for blankets which enabled us to go out and distribute more blankets to those who had come to the church for them. We would go with a package of blankets to a village and with the help of the village chiefs, hand out blankets, pray for them and share with them the love of Jesus. We had the amazing opportunity to lead a married couple to a saving relationship with Jesus after giving them a blanket.
We have since learned that there were many new faces at church the following Saturday. God’s word does not go out void. We continue to pray that each time a blanket is used, that individual would remember the invitation to the saving grace of Jesus. We are all so grateful to those who donated; because of you, lives were saved.
