Wonderfully magical, awesomely inspiring, super great DAYS OF ENCOURAGEMENT

Well I have to say it now feels like time has flown by considering we have only two weeks left here in Nepal. What a journey it has been!

We have had several very encouraging days in the midst of our street kid ministry.

Encouraging Day 1:

We have been blessed to be able to get close with two other teams working in Nepal. The APU team and the Vision team, from Nebraska, both working with our friends John and Aksha with Tiny Hands International. One morning, we were able to steal the Vision team and shared our struggles, joy, and philosophy about the street kids with them. The other night, we were feeling very discouraged that our work here was not actually doing anything. Given our short time here we knew none of our street friends would leave the street life. We came to the realization that much of our work with helping these boys would be when we returned to the states to inform as many people as we could. So finally we got to share how street life worked, the causes, some enabling factors, and possible solutions. Our advice was received well and a lot of the Vision Team was eager to learn more! Then we had the opportunity to take them around Thamel and introduce them to some of our friends in the street. Our hope is for a rippling effect to take place. We tell some people, they tell some more, and those people inform others. We have mentioned before that a harmful factor to street life is the tourists. Unknowingly, they enable street kids to remain where they are by providing food, money, and clothes. A step towards solving the problem would be informing the tourists that they may be hurting the kids when they think they are helping. Thankfully God provided an outlet for our team to share our feelings!

Encouraging Day 2:

A couple of days ago we woke up for what we thought was going to be a standard morning. Breakfast at a quiet café, play some cards, and then off the Ratna Park to spend the rest of the morning playing soccer and hanging out with the boys, little did we know this morning was not going to be very typical. We sat at our usual spot in Ratna Park, on the stair of a run-down amphitheater, and waited for the boys to come. During this time of year the park looks like a desert, which added to the dramatic scene of a large group of white people, armed with musical instruments, walking across the field to the shaded area. Of course the three of us we intrigued. As we made our way over to them, we could begin to hear a familiar tune. Singing English worship songs to a crowd of 50 Nepali men was an American group of missionaries. They had been in Nepal for two days and were planning on staying for 13 more. We were shocked that we were hearing English worship music. Many of the people listening probably had no idea what they were singing. Their behavior seemed culturally insensitive. When the musical fun stopped we tried to make our way through the crowd to hear just exactly what this group was saying. They preached the gospel with a translator, claiming that if people wished for healing they could pray and would be healed. Like God was some magic.

Now I know, you read this and say to yourself, “Wow, that’s incredibly harsh and judgmental.” And your right it is. It is far too judgmental and harsh. Sadly, this was our initial feelings. I personally was disgusted when I saw a group walk on to “my park” and preach the gospel without forming any kind of relationship with the Nepali people they were preaching to. I thought to myself typical “whites in shinning armor” with their Jesus magic. Wow. I stopped and thought about how nauseating I must sound. How put off some of you might feel from the paragraph I wrote before this. I had to admit a hard fact. Perhaps God was being glorified through their efforts and work in the park that day. And perhaps the Lord’s spirit was indeed filling the souls of some of those people listening. I limited the power of God and felt ashamed. We have no right to say what they were doing was wrong. We might not do the same things and we may not fully agree with them, but if God was being glorified then I should have nothing hateful to say. This revelation was so encouraging and very humbling. The fact of the matter is that we are only here for two months; our work is no greater than theirs. Admittedly this was a little off-putting, but you know the saying, “God works in mysterious ways.” And the way they did ministry was indeed mysterious to us.

Encouraging Day 3:

This past Saturday, Dilip took us to a rehab center that is located on the outskirts of Kathmandu. It was definitely a change of scenery. There were no honking taxis, people offering you Tiger Balm, or congested streets—only a serene view of the green mountains and a home filled with hope. We walked inside and were greeted by twelve men participating in an 18-month program in the home-turned rehab center. Dilip had asked us earlier in the week to prepare a message for our time with these men. We went upstairs into a small room and the service began with a time of worship. Hearing these men sing at the top of their lungs to Jesus was encouraging and raw. It was clear that they were singing to someone who had healed them or was in the process of healing them from their addictions. After worship, we played a game and I (Chris) shared a passage from Luke 8 about Jesus stopping on his way to Jairus’ home to acknowledge the courage and faith of a woman who had been bleeding for 12 years. Sarah also shared some thoughts on this story along with her testimony. Personally, it was amazing to worship with these men and continue to see the many ways in which Jesus is working in Nepal.

We are always so grateful for your prayers! They are defiantly felt!

Sarah, Chris, Kevin