A lot of our time has been explained to you in only words. Special treat! We have a few pictures to give you a little glimpse of our time here in Nepal.
FIRST, an update. Coming back from Pokhara to Kathmandu was a definite change. Even though we were gone for one week, getting reacquainted with the hustle and bustle of the city was quite a shock. We used the day of travel as a rest day to prepare for the remainder of our time in Kathmandu.
We decided to split up our team into different groups based on our passions. The groups are: street children, children's homes, sex trafficking, and sports. Each team member is part of a group and lets the team know what opportunities there are throughout the day. For example, Eddy and I (Chris) are heading up the street children group. On this past Thursday, we let the team know about a chance to hang out with the street kids with a group called Agape.
A man named Shuresh led our time with the street children. Shuresh is 23 years old and has a driving passion to minister to the street children. Why? Because Shuresh was a street child himself. At the age of seven, he ran away from home. He lived a life on the streets- sniffing glue, violence, hunger, etc. He became addicted to the streets. Because of the way the church fed him and showed him Jesus' love over the years, he realized that there was a better life for him at the age of eighteen. He now leads worship at a church and leads the ministry to the street children.
What does "ministry" with street children look like? We just hang out with them. We show them love. We laugh. We joke around. We pray with them. We do the simple things in life that most people won't do with them. It's amazing to see what happens when we do this. People gather around and stare. They watch us and wonder why we would care about the children that society has literally and figuratively thrown to the curb. All these kids want is for someone to notice them. They are searching for love. Angela has been amazing at relating with the kids and listening to the Spirit as she interacts with them!
I could go on and on about the experiences so far with the street children. I'm so excited to see what God is going to do with this ministry in the future, even if we do not initially see any fruit! Pray that we would be open to the Spirit and that we would be able to show them Christ's love in a way that we could never do on our own strength.
A great treat for our team was having director of the Office of World Missions, Chiraphone, here with us. Chiraphone was able to experience life in Kathmandu! We took her to a dance bar and continued our ministry there. She met with Bishnu, father of the Morning Star Children's Home. SIDE NOTE: Those of you APUer's, get excited because Bishnu is coming to speak at chapel in November for Global Vision Week! But really, having Chiraphone here reenergized us and we were truly thankful for her visit!
Today we went to the church where Shuresh leads worship. I couldn't help but think of Shuresh's past and where he is now! PRAISE GOD. It is that kind of transformation that I pray for every single street child we interact with. Something amazing at the church service was the elderly women dancing during worship. So much beauty and grace came from these women that I could only imagine God's smile at the sight of their worship. Stephen had the chance to find out the story of one of the dancing women. She became a Christian after she was beaten up by her husband and was left on the road, battered and broken. A pastor walked by and picked her up off the road. From then on, she began dancing for the Lord and continues to do so! How cool is that! The rest of our time today was spent at different children's homes. So much joy comes from these homes! We are always rejuvenated after playing and worshipping with the kids!
We are continuing with our time in Nepal. I cannot believe that we have less than two weeks left! Please be praying for our different areas of focus. Pray that we would love supernaturally. Pray that we would be open to the Spirit moving. Pray that we would stay focused on Jesus!
Thanks so much for checking up on us!
-Chris
Here are a few pictures from our trip!
1. Bonfire with two children's homes in Pokhara.
2.Our view of Kathmandu! These are the streets that we walk everyday.
3. Chris with two neighbors of the Cyrene Home.
4. Angela with her buddy at the Cyrene Home (Street Children home)
5. Stephen with his friend walking at the Morning Star home.
1 comment:
CHRIS - these blog posts are amazing. I cannot wait to hear about your experience when you return!! Praying for you & your team every day. Two more weeks - the time has flown!
Love you cuz - Sar :)
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