This past Wednesday our team visited a leper colony and sat with, prayed for, and listened to the people that resided there. Below is a story of a woman who impacted us much more than we did her.
As we turned to the second room, a woman – whose name we did not catch – stepped out onto the porch with a smile the size of Texas in a bright, floral dress. I swear this woman radiated more light than the sun was beating down that day, with not a single cloud in the sky. We began talking to her and within minutes she was telling her story: She grew up Hindu and soon married, got a job, and had two daughters. Leprosy affected not only her but her husband as well, ultimately taking a large chunk of the husband’s back and her fingers and toes. Because of the illness, they were both out of jobs and isolated from their beloved communities due to lack of income and rejection. The family moved to the leper colony shortly after being treated, their daughters moving out soon after, seeking husbands and education. The woman said that she came to know Jesus through a team of evangelists that came to the colony one day years ago. As time went on her faith grew only stronger due to struggle after struggle: “I cried out to the Lord and found faith,” she said. Her husband and two daughters followed in her footsteps with the Lord and continue still to seek Him as well (her second daughter was actually divorced because of her conversion to christianity). As she served us tea she explained that though they are staying somewhere with barely any room she still “rejoices in the Lord” and “still grows in Him while [she] grows older.” Her joy was unexpected to all of us considering what she’s been through and she ended up pushing my team and I towards the Lord when we were there to do the same thing for her. I came out of that leprosy colony with a rejuvenated spirit and newfound knowledge that the Lord dwells everywhere, even in a place thought to be so hopeless.
Our ministry here in Nepal has looked so different every single day: hiking and praying on top of the Himalayas, serving the children in the slums breakfast, sitting with women taken in from the streets, and so much more. The pollution here is unlike anything any of us have seen and has taken quite the toll on a lot of us but everyone is pushing through! Today we travel to Chitwan to hike to unreached people groups in villages there so please keep our safe travels and health in your prayers! Below are a few links and resources to donate, partner, or get in contact with organizations that we worked with this week. Thanks so much for your continued prayers and support, much love!
Gentle Heart Foundation (for orphaned children and sexually exploited women)
+977-4425719 / 4410379 / 4376018
Dail Community of Nepal
+977-98494-58330
+977-98038-00670
There is a Dail community in the US as well: www.dailusa.org
