This month we’re featuring stories of “The One” — the men, women, and children whom Racers will never forget.
While shopping in Nepal, a young man offered to show Allison Anderson and a squadmate of 2015 U Squad local Buddhist and Hindu temples. Yet by the end of the day, it was their faith he wanted more — for himself.
Kathmandu is an adventurer’s paradise.
We flew into this major tourist area of Nepal for debrief before starting our ministry for December. It felt as if we were on vacation with many adventurous excursions at our fingertips: flying to see Everest, trekking along the base of the Himalayas, bungee jumping, safariing, and white water rafting.
The city was ours to enjoy, with huge markets full of vendors trying to catch our attention to sell their handmade items so they could support their families. It was a reminder of poverty just beyond the tourist area.
The shops start closing their doors at 7. Everything is completely closed by 9 except for bars. The streets are empty besides the street kids who beg for food and milk, but then actually return those items to the same store for a refund and then use the money to buy glue to huff.
Despite the possibility of adventure everywhere, this city is dark. There’s a heaviness in the atmosphere. So at night, instead of going out like we would in other cities, all 54 members of my squad stayed inside to worship and intercede for God’s love to rain down on it.
I believed God would do it, but I still didn’t expect this to happen.
It was a few weeks before Christmas, so one day my teammate Kristen and I went shopping for gifts to send home. As we walked through the endlessly winding streets of the markets, a man approached me and asked where we were from.
When I said we were from the United States, his face lit up instantly. Then he asked if he could walk with us and practice his English. His name was Sonu. Kristen and I agreed, and we started walking together.
Less than 5 minutes later, Sonu asked if we wanted to see some temples just outside of the markets. We agreed as long as there were a lot of people around and we remained on larger, busier streets.
In all, we went to at least 5 temples, some Buddhist and some Hindu. As the day went on, we found out more about Sonu. His family lived in a tent village because their house was ruined by the earthquake. His family struggled to afford food and he was without a job.
Sonu worshipped at each of the Buddhist temples we visited, explaining what everything meant and why he was doing it. We asked questions about his religion throughout the day and he eagerly invited us to partake in the worship of his gods. We told him it was a privilege to watch him and his people worship, but we couldn’t do that because we only worship one God, Jesus.
Sonu just smiled and said that was okay.
At the first temple, Sonu performed the ritualistic maneuvers every other Buddhist believer did. He spun the peace trinkets, waiting for his prayers to be heard by Buddha. When the flags moved in the wind and the breeze traveled to the candles inside, it was a sign to him that Buddha had heard.
But by the last temples, something had clearly changed inside of him. He didn’t do any of the rituals. Instead, Sonu stood observant like we did, even in the Buddhist temples. By then, Kristen and I needed to get to a meeting, so Sonu took us back to where he met us shopping.
On the way back to the market, we stopped by his studio to see his artwork and Sonu asked us many questions about why we believe in our God. Kristen bought food for his family and gave Sonu a little New Testament Bible. We told him to read Gospel of John and it should answer any other questions he still had.
Before he left, Sonu thanked us for giving him the opportunity to practice English. We looked at him and said something along the lines of, “Sonu, if you want to follow Jesus, you can. He loves you and we believe that He wanted us to run into you today. Don’t feel any pressure from us to accept Him, but if you want to you can. But know that if you do, you cannot worship other gods or idols.”
Then Sonu looked at us and said he wanted to have Jesus in his life.
So in the middle of a crowded street of Kathmandu, Sonu accepted Jesus as his Savior. As he started to tear up, he said words I will never forget:
“I just feel so much peace inside my heart right now.”
This is what it looks like when someone genuinely accepts Christ. It was my honor to see it unfold. Neither Kristen nor I are responsible for anything. We were just there at the right time.
Sonu’s soul had been wandering for a long time, but now he is at peace amongst the devastation of his city.
Although the earthquakes were an awful natural disaster, they have opened doors for God’s Kingdom to come into this place. Before the earthquake, Nepal closed its borders. It would have been illegal for us to openly share the Gospel. Although the earthquake killed many, left thousands homeless, and devastated the nation’s economy, it also allowed Nepal to reopen its borders for relief to come.
God is using the devastation of the earthquake to bring peace to those who desperately seek it, like Sonu.
*first photo by Eva Cranford
Is God calling you on a World Race route to Nepal? Click HERE for routes to Nepal in August and in October!
