Nepal!

Hey everyone!! We only have two days left in Nepal + I am SO sad to leave. The people here have become a family to me + I have been so blessed to be here for the past month! Nepal has been such an amazing country of so much growth + I want to share some of that with you!

JOY

Something the Lord revealed to me almost immediately in Nepal was the fullness of His JOY!! “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” (Psalm‬ ‭16‬:‭11‬) The Lord showed me so clearly that my joy comes from His character + not my circumstances! Although my circumstances are ever changing, His character will never change! Within the first couple days of being in Nepal, I felt so filled with the joy of the Lord that I just couldn’t stop smiling + laughing. The Lord just overcame me with His presence in this way + it was so sweet. In the midst of so many different circumstances (+ trials throughout the Race), He continually reminded me of the steadfastness of His character. My middle name is Joy, but that’s not something I’ve identified with much in my life. I’ve always been a fairly happy person, but I’ve struggled to base my emotions on my circumstances + feelings, instead of on the character of the Lord. I was giving my testimony about joy at the church here, + while sharing, the Lord gave me so much revelation! He showed me that His desire for me is to identify with the joy that He gives. He reminded me that names have power, + my very name is Joy! As I’ve grown in the Lord + put my identity in Him (instead of myself or my circumstances), He has filled me with His joy!

WORSHIP

The Lord has grown my heart for worship so much while in Nepal! One of my prayers for Nepal was that the Lord would provide a guitar that I could play! Within a few hours of our arrival, I learned that not only was there a guitar I could use, but that our host family was INSANELY musical!! This has been the biggest blessing as worshipping in a family is something that fills my heart so much. Being able to worship alongside the family + the church has just grown my heart for worship even more! Many of the songs we sing in church aren’t in English, + the Lord showed me through that that His presence transcends any language barrier! Some of my favorite worship sessions here have happened while not being able to understand the songs, yet we can all feel the Lord’s presence + join together in worshipping Him!

THAMEL

The church we have been a part of is in the heart of Thamel- a very dark city. It’s the only church in the city + it has shown to be such a light in darkness. During the walks to church, we often walk through prostitutes, bars, + crowds of people smoking + drinking. The spiritual darkness is so heavy, but the second we step foot into the church, there is such a light that comes over you. Praise the Lord that darkness has NO power over the light! Part of our ministry is evangelism in the town + inviting people to the church + the worship night that night! Because we aren’t Nepali, we have more opportunities to share the gospel + talk freely! Everyone is happy to talk to the American tourists! There is a very small percentage of Christians in Nepal (very similar religious culture as India), + it’s a combination of Hindus, Buddhists, + Muslims. Many people just believe in whatever they grew up believing in, without knowing what they’re really worshipping or believing in. The Lord provided so many amazing opportunities to plant + water seeds of the gospel in people’s hearts through evangelism in the city! This was one of my favorite ministries! We got to just walk around, go into shops, + talk to people! So many sweet relationships were made with the people here, + people were mostly open to being prayed over!

COMMUNITY

By being so involved in our church, the Lord really showed me the importance of community. Our church was incredibly close-knit + it felt like a family. Every service, before the pastor shared, two people from the congregation would share a testimony or encouragement, + then two people from our team would share. It was so cool to take part in this, but also to just approach community in such an open way. The Lord does such amazing things through a body of believers + that was displayed so well in the church! There were many differently gifted people in the church, + almost everyone had some sort of role. Some people led small groups, some led worship, some did management, some were involved in politics, others greeted, + so much more. It was so refreshing to be in a community that was the body of Christ made up of many different parts- each put to use in their own purpose!! It also really encouraged me how close the church was + how vulnerable they were with each other. We got to spend so much time with the church body (church, God Talk, worship nights, youth hangout, worship practice) + it was amazing to hear their testimonies, what they’ve been struggling with + what the Lord was teaching them. Ultimately, the church taught me so much about community, the Holy Spirit, joy in all circumstances, the Lord, + family. I’m really going to miss them all. 🙂

GORKHA

An amazing opportunity we had while we were here was to go to the jungle! This was something I had been so excited for the entirety of Nepal, but the night before we left, a few teammates + I came down with some food poisoning. We didn’t think we would be able to go(especially because the travel there included a 7 hour bus ride which included lots of off-road terrain + winding through mountains) because of our sickness + I was HEARTBROKEN. We talked to our host more + we decided to pray, take some medicine + see how we felt. Our host + a friend prayed over us, we took some medicine + VERY last minute decided to risk it + go anyway! The Lord answered our prayers + sustained us!! Gorkha was an AMAZING experience! We got to sleep in our tents again + spend time in fellowship with the family, as well as in worship + gatherings! I also thoroughly enjoyed the peace + quiet to spend time with the Lord + in worship- especially after being in busy + loud cities for the past few months!

HOLY SPIRIT

The Lord showed me a lot of the importance + the power of the Holy Spirit while here! The Lord moved in incredible ways through miraculous healings, deliverance from demonic possessions + witchcraft, emotional healing, + prophetic word!! The Holy Spirit is alive + moving! It was so refreshing to be in the presence of the Lord + witness His power! During one of the services, a boy had been brought by another woman who had experienced the power of the Holy Spirit. Her child had been healed completely from severe burns that had caused doctors to give up on his life. Praise the Lord that He is in control of all things. 🙂 The boy who had been brought to the service had been conceived through witchcraft, unable to talk or walk since birth, + had been abandoned by his parents. Our pastor began to prophesy over him + his life, that his life was going to be a testimony for the Lord! The Lord restored his ability to walk, + as we prayed over him, he began to manifest + hit at us + try to push our hands away from him. As we prayed, he began to calm down, + he started making noises + smiling(something he had never done before)! At another service, a woman had come to the service who had been unable to walk. She had been worshipping a “mother god”, but had heard about the healing powers of Jesus. She didn’t talk to anyone during the service + she wasn’t prayed over, but during the preaching, the Lord touched her, healed her, + she walked out of the service at the end. The next week she brought a group of her friends! One lady went through emotional healing, + another woman was delivered of a demon that had been put on her through witchcraft since birth! She had prayed to different gods, gone to other services + “healers”, but had never been delivered until she was touched by the Holy Spirit! Another woman was planning on killing herself, but had been invited to our Valentine’s Day service multiple times. She refused, but the morning of, she felt a prompting in her heart that she HAD to be at the service. After the service, she began to manifest by thrashing on the ground + crawling on all fours which continued as our church prayed over her. A demon was cast out of her, + the second the deliverance happened she fell to the ground.  We prayed peace over her + the name of Jesus, + she stood up, picked up her bag, + sat back down in her chair. The LOVE of the Lord brings freedom! Thank you Jesus for the power in your name!

Demonic oppression + witchcraft are incredibly common here in Nepal, + we’ve been witnesses to many deliverances, but also to so much spiritual darkness, demons, + witchcraft. The amazing thing is that demons FLEE in the name of Jesus. He has given us power + authority in His name to cast out demons, rebuke the power of the devil, + we are fully anointed in His power! Even in the face of such intense darkness, we have the power to rebuke it in the name of Jesus, + walk in full confidence + peace + angels fight on our behalf. Thank you LORD!

“Even the demons believe—and shudder!”

‭‭James‬ ‭2‬:‭19‬ ‭

“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”

‭‭James‬ ‭4‬:‭7‬

“for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.”

‭‭2 Timothy‬ ‭1‬:‭7‬ ‭

“The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.””

‭‭Exodus‬ ‭14‬:‭14‬ ‭

“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can not overcome it.”

‭‭John‬ ‭1‬:‭5‬ ‭

“Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you.”

‭‭Luke‬ ‭10‬:‭19‬ ‭

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”
‭‭Psalm‬ ‭23‬:‭4‬ ‭

EVANGELISM

During our first evangelism day, a teammate  + I got to meet an amazing woman in a jewelry shop! I felt the Lord prompting me to talk to her about faith, but I felt very ill equipped + although I repeatedly prayed for words to say, nothing came to mind as I awkwardly walked around the shop. I was reminded of Moses + the burning bush, + how the Lord made a way for His words to be shared, even in Moses’s inadequacies. I bought a ring + while I was paying, i just asked her, “what do you believe in?” She shared that she was from a Buddhist family, + I asked her if she knew about Jesus. She started to share her life with me with so much honesty + we ended up talking to her for a few hours. She was raised in a strong Buddhist family, but had been exposed to Christianity through her university. She had made some Christian friends + had heard about the Lord through them + began going to a church with them. She started to experience + hear about the gospel, but her family found out + persecuted her for it. She was threatened to be kicked out, told she wouldn’t be able to marry, wasn’t allowed in anyone’s home, was told to block her Christian friends + was prevented from returning to church. When we met her, she had been struggling with trying to discover what truth was. She was hearing that Buddha is truth from her family, but also hearing about Christianity, Jewish faith, Muslims, + Hinduism from other people around her. We were able to share with her that although many religions have similar elements, Christianity is the only way where we get to have a two way relationship with the Lord. In all other religions, you worship something that will never love you. You are the one to chase the god down, but the god will never pursue you, or desire a relationship with you. Jesus is the only God who pursued us + loved us first. She began to cry as we shared with her, + continued to share how her heart was so confused about what was truth. We encouraged her to pray to the Lord + ask Him to show her what truth was, because the Lord answers prayers! She even asked us to pray over her before we left that she would find the truth, + when we were done praying she couldn’t stop crying. She said that she “felt something in her heart” (YES HOLY SPIRIT COME)! We told her we’d continue to be praying for her + we’d come back the next week! We continued to go see her every possible week + we developed a really sweet friendship. She was so overjoyed that we took the time to get to know her + every time we visited, we’d sit in her shop + she’d get us tea + we would just talk for hours. She told us how the Lord kept sending people into her shop who talked to her about Jesus. She started to pray to the Lord + reached out to some old Christian friends to ask them questions about Jesus! Her grandmother had been struggling with her asthma + was very sick due to not being able to breathe, + we prayed for her together + the Lord healed her! Every time we visited her, we shared encouragement + prayed over her before we left. The last time we got to see her, she was FILLED with joy!! She shared how she kept being surrounded by people who knew Jesus + she just wasn’t sure how she was stumbling upon so many believers who wanted to talk to her about the Lord + pour into her! She had been praying regularly + the Lord has been answering her prayers! She’s trying to figure out a way to attend a church (she currently can’t because of her family), + has been reading the Bible on her phone! She told us how she was so sure the Lord had sent us that first week + every week after to show her what truth really was! She joyfully told us how she now knew what the real Truth is + she has been praying that her family would come to know the same Jesus she now knows! She shared how hard it has been in her family, but because of how much she wants them to know the Truth, she is continuing to share the gospel with them! Thank you Jesus!! Angels are rejoicing in heaven!

ORPHANAGES

We also got to go to a couple orphanages! This was such a sweet part of ministry + I LOVED getting to spend time with the kids! In each orphanage, we got to dance with the kids! They showed us some of their native dances, + we taught them some line dances! Cotton Eyed Joe has now been taught in three different countries:) We also got to play games, worship, teach the kids “Jesus loves me”, + share testimonies/encouragements! I was so touched by the kids! The kingdom of heaven belongs to them! One of the orphanages we went to was a Christian orphanage, + although it had only been open for 7 months, the Lord had clearly provided for them in abundance! They had 12 kids from the jungles + they were able to teach them about the Lord, feed them, clothe them, give them shelter, + a FAMILY! We got to share a meal with the hosts, + it was so sweet to hear about how the Lord had blessed their vision for this orphanage in truly miraculous ways! The love of the Lord truly radiated through them, + their orphanage was such a beautiful light!! Thank you Lord!

Well, this wraps up about all I have to say for now!! Thank you for reading + for your continued prayers! Please be praying for our team as we are about to have a long travel day to Africa!!