January 19th 2018
It’s our first full day of Manistry (ministry, but with just the men) in the beautiful landscape of Chitwan. Doing outreach in Nepal I figured it would look like we were in the Lord of the Rings trekking through snow capped epic-ness to reach a family on the side of a mountain in an enchanting hut… Not so this time around. Where we are is near the Northern border of India and on the Southern border of the Chitwan National Park in Nepal. The landscape is lush jungle as we walk from village to village across dry river beds. Pineapple, tobacco, and livestock abound. It’s other-worldly in the best ways coming from the hustle and bustle of the city. I really enjoy the peace that rural places bring, oh and there’s no cell service, so it’s way easy to disconnect from the outside world and immerse yourself in what God is doing right in front of you.
God did so many amazing things during our time there, but I want to highlight one for you today. This is how it played out from my perspective.
On this particular day I got to go with five Gap Year men and Deepak, there are 12 of us here including myself. We crossed two dry river beds and ended up at a beautiful thatch roofed home. What I noticed first is that there were almost no men, they had all gone to find work mostly in hard-labor construction.
They put out two handmade reed mats for us. We sat and introduced ourselves and got to hear a little about these wonderful people through our guide, Deepak. Apparently, just 20 years ago this people group, and these particular people, were literal Nomads living in the jungles of Nepal. They settled here and are still practicing Animism. We heard that they can go into the forest where the monkeys are and recite incantations that make the monkeys sleep and fall out of the trees, then they would collect them and eat them.
We shared God’s heart for them. From Genesis to the resurrection of Christ and His free gift of love and mercy, and being part of His family. How He has laid down His life for them, out of His love for them. No one was ready to receive Jesus that day. We were sowing and watering seed.
Afterwards, one woman was speaking intently to Deepak. I noticed that while we were speaking she was paying the most attention. I was curious what they were talking about because I could see in her eyes that she had light there. Deepak said that she and her husband were Christians before, until sickness hit them about two years ago.
This is part of their story: Shortly after she and her husband accepted Christ they were very zealous for the Lord. Then the husband became paralyzed on his left side and went for prayer from the pastor. He didn’t get healed through prayer then so the pastor suggested seeking medical help- not the easiest to get to since they are in such a remote area. He ended up getting healed through the medicine but now had medical bills to pay that he couldn’t afford. He asked the church to help him pay for the bills but the church had no money either. He and his wife felt hurt by the church so they stopped going and went back to their old way of life, that was about two years ago.
We could see the Light in their eyes, her husband was there also, his name is Bickram. We each encouraged him. The Lord gave me a prophetic word to encourage him, about being a strong pillar in his home that will be a refuge for his family and those that will come to know Christ, sons and daughters.
Before we left we laid hands and prayed blessings over him. I specifically remember praying that he would have a dream that night, that he would encounter the Father’s heart for him in his dream. I pray that over as many people as I can because an encounter with the Father’s heart changes everything.
The next day we were out in the village again and Bickram walks up to us BEAMING. His eyes are so full of Joy and Light. He tells us that the night we prayed over him he had a dream. In the dream was a big bright light and there was a voice that said “I love you, you are my son, you are saved, now you must go and tell people about me.” Holy sweet Jesus, how cool is that! Our God is AMAZING! He is so zealous for people to know Him and encounter Him!
I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Ephesians 3:16-19
Be blessed!
There are more stories to come 🙂
