Monday, October 15, 2012

Crumbling Walls (Day Eleven)

     June 21st, 2012     Kathmandu, Nepal
     I have never been pushed so hard in my life. I know I started out this trip shouting 'Push me!' to my leaders and to the Lord. But I never imagined how hard I would be pushed. From hours of drama training to our travel days to sharing the Gospel- I am being pushed. Today I have felt sick all day, but I keep going, keep doing the drama because I did not come all this way to sit on the sidelines.
     Michelle and I both don't feel well, but together we push on and press forward. No reserves. No retreats. No regrets. I do not want to regret a second of my time.
     At our first site there was a boy who was disabled. My human response was to shrink back, but watching others love him- it made my heart soften and I loved him. I played with him and loved him. Because we all loved him, we were able to share the Gospel with his mother, who accepted Christ! The boy is fifteen- the same age as Chris, who is in my MIG. But you would not be able to tell. This boy looked about eight, not fifteen. Christ gave a piggy back to him and we laughed because they are the same age. The boy would just laugh so hard whenever we interacted with him. When we had to leave, all of our hearts were breaking. He came to us and tried to hold onto us.
     Daniel tried to let go, but the boy would not. To one of the girls,he cried out "dee dee!", the Nepali word for sister. When we walked away, to hike to our next spot, we didn't look back. But God loves that lonely boy and no doubt, one day I will see that boy again. I can hardly wait!
     Our second site was right next to a huge Hindu temple. I could feel the heaviness, the oppression. Most of the people who were there had never heard of Christ! Old men, hearing Christ for the FIRST time! Seeds have no doubt been planted today, and one day these people will make a decision that changes their eternity and life here!
     Where we were was beautiful- mountains covered in green with clouds swirling around. God created this beautiful country! At the temple, Deepak told us why there was a shrine. 'Myth' says that men were guarding their goats and sheep. But then they decided to make a tiger out of mud and have it watch the animals. They left to get what they needed for the tiger's tongue, but when they came back, all the animals were gone except for the mud tiger. They decided that the tiger MUST have eaten all the animals. So they never gave the tiger its tongue. Now they worship this tiger.
     It is crazy and ridiculous! But they believe it. My prayer while we were there was, 'Lord, break these chains. Make these walls come tumbling down.'
     We hiked down the mountain and got on our bus to the last site. Several people from our last site were there. Two men in particular, who was had talked to. But they were not understanding- they even suggested we go to a Buddhist temple. They didn't understand why Jesus is the only way. Then they wanted a picture with us and we were discouraged. But I keep reminding myself that our job is being done. I am so exhausted that through ministry I felt comatose- like I wasn't helping. But I am giving all I have, even when I feel like I have nothing left!
     The two men who wanted us to go to the Buddhist temple were at our last site, so we steered clear and let our TL's talk to them if they wanted to. We were not ready for another argument, which is all the conversation had amounted to.
     We were so crowded and packed in at our last site, and even when few accepted Christ, many seeds were planted and we rejoiced! We had to leave before we were finished talking with a group of genuinely interested men, so we gave them tracts. It is hard for me to just give someone a tract, but I know it is better than leaving them with nothing.
     I really didn't feel good all day, but when we got home I just sat at a table and ate white rice for supper. I got messages today, and the one I got from mom made me cry because I miss her! She said Dad paused a movie Sunday night and said he felt like he needed to pray for me. That was Monday morning for me and I was feeling homesick and it was our first day of ministry. Thank the Lord my family is all believers! I need to be covered in prayer!
     Our mag time consisted of making lists of ten things we must have and can't stand in a husband. During that time, Candace came in to talk about how I was feeling and then we shared our thoughts. We had to narrow down our ten things from a list of fifty, some of them were funny and a lot of them we had to ponder.
     While we were talking, there was a knock at our door. We asked who it was and our response was a high pitched, 'Housekeeping.' We thought it might be a boy and Candace said not to let them in. But then we realized it was Beth Anderson! our codeword for getting locked doors opened is 'Chocolate Pudding' and we even asked Beth if she had a codeword for us. But because she arrived today, she didn't know it.
     She laughed when we finally let her in and joked that we locked her out, but she told us she would rather have us be safe.
     Sarah then shared her 'boy story' with us. God protected her in so many ways and she is so thankful for it. Today she loves the Lord so much. I am so thankful for her.
     Marissa visited us before we went to bed and told us about her TL's night out. She gave Sarah new toothpaste, and then she gave us candy.
     Then we crawled into our big bed! God is good and sleep is sweet!

     Highlights of the day:
     *Playing with the little boy who is disabled. He is genuine and his smile is sweet. I never want to forget the boy who walks on his toes. He couldn't stand flat feet, but he dances on tip toes!
     *The disabled boy running to Rachel and crying 'Dee dee!" He called us family because we loved him like a family should. Love is powerful.
     *The beauty of the Nepali mountains, surrounded by clouds of white. Green blue and white in the perfect mixture. God is a great artist!
     *Walking through the streets of our second site, the mountain village. It felt like walking through a movie set. It was so peaceful, not so busy. IT was a part of Nepal I really felt I could live in, but it is much more spiritually heavy by the temples.
     *"Who is it?" "Housekeeping -high pitched squeal-" "Uhhh.....do you have a word for us?" "No-squeak-" We keep the door shut and continue our conversations. "Wait, is that Beth Anderson?" "Yes, it's me! Beth!"

This little girl had some SERIOUS dancing skills!

Our first drama site!

Where we met this precious jewel!

And then suddenly we were all pushing together to get a picture with the kids and pastors we were working with.

Love. 

Taylor has such a huge heart. She loved on these girls at this site.
 

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