This month, we’re celebrating men in missions – men who live the adventure of their faith and bring kingdom wherever they step.
Josh Stoneman of July 2015 T Squad was the very man a waitress in a Nepal needed to meet – the first to tell her she was loved by God and worth more than her body.
The other day I went with a group of people to a local restaurant in Nepal. This restaurant wasn’t typical though.
There were private booths in the dining room, with curtains to cover everything happening inside. The price of food was about 6x what it should be, because the price and amount of food ordered also included the amount of “service” the customer received.
Male customers go into these booths and order large quantities of food and alcohol. The amount on the bill determines the sexual service they receive.
Although known for sexual services, this type of business is a “legitimate” restaurant during the day. The dancing doesn’t start until nightfall, so the girls dress as waitresses before dark. We knew this and leveraged our tourism card, going in as if we didn’t know anything about the other side of this establishment.
My group, made up of myself and 7 female squadmates, walked into this restaurant with one intention – give hope.
At first I was really hesitant to go. Not only was I a guy going to meet these women, but I was the only guy in the group. What would these women think of me? Would they expect me to do anything? Would they think I expected them to do anything?
After 45 minutes of talking and just getting to know these girls, an opportunity came to share the Gospel with one particular waitress, *Kali. She was resistant at first and explained that in her religion, Hinduism, everything is already destined for her and she could not change.
“We have traveled very far to come here; we have crossed land and sea and have come thousands of kilometers to your restaurant today. How do you know that this conversation is not part of your destiny?” I asked.
Kali immediately got up from the conversation and left.
But a few moments later she returned, pulled up a chair, and said,
“Tell me more.”
That afternoon, I was given the opportunity to share the Gospel with Kali. Surrounded by sisters in Christ who were praying as I spoke, I had the distinct privilege to be one of the only men she had ever encountered who didn’t expect anything in return for her company.
Kali listened the entire time I told her of God’s love for her.
Then it was time to go. Kali pointed at me and said to my teammates, “When you come back, bring him with you.”
I was surprised. There were 7 other women who were investing in her and she wanted me? Later I realized Kali was attracted to this love that I carried, the love of God for her.
It was a love she’d never seen from a man before.
If there is anything about me at all that is attractive in the least bit, it is only because I am a dim and darkened reflection of Christ. But the image of God I carry was so compelling that even a woman who is abused day in and day out looked at me and realized I was different.
She knew there was something she had never seen before in any other man – a reflection of Christ.
I believe that day was the beginning of the rest of Kali’s life because I was able to introduce her to Christ. And I believe that seed will continue to grow, and that one day, she will be free, healed, and restored by his great love.
At the end of the day it’s not about us at all; it’s about how people see Christ through us. We may be the only Jesus people get to know. A light is best seen in the in the darkest places.
In Kali’s case, that was in a restaurant-by-day-brothel-by-night in Nepal.
*Not her real name
Is God calling you to live your faith on the 11 month adventure of the World Race? Click HERE to find out how you could GO in 2016.
