A Little about Nepal

We have officially been in Nepal for four weeks now which seems crazy! The days seem to go by so slowly, and yet the months go by so quickly. I’ve almost been on the race for 6 months now and only have 3 months left! I guess time flies when you are having fun. Nepal has honestly been incredible, we have had so much fun and have been able to make some beautiful connections at the ministry. 

While in Nepal, we have been doing two specific types of ministry under the same organization that has many different ministries including dance bar ministry, traveling to unreached villages, and supporting pastors in villages. On top of that, the ministry we have been doing is teaching English, math, and bible stories and playing games with kids in two of the 33 slums in Kathmandu also helping teach English, leading a bible study, and teaching exercises at a women’s center in a different slum. I have loved both of these ministries so much and has been so fun to build connections with many of the kids and women. The organization we are working with puts a lot of effort into providing resources and job opportunities to women who would otherwise end up at dance bars or being sex trafficked. It is interesting because many of the kids and women in the slums are from India and are looked down upon by the rest of society because they are living on government land and are not native Nepalis. The border between India and Nepal is open so many people pass freely between the countries. Being in Kathmandu and meeting lots of people, it has become evident that most people do not want to be in the city but have just come for job opportunities so their children can go to school. This was the case in India as well. Almost every taxi driver we encounter or woman at the center would say that they have come so their children can get a better education. In the village, the kids would have to walk many hours uphill to reach school and during monsoon season, that becomes nearly impossible. So moving to the city becomes the only option. Many families dream of going back, but probably will never be able to as there are no job opportunities. This shows me how much people here value their families and close communities, but are also so hospitable and welcoming to any foreigner. 

In Hinduism, the primary religion in Nepal, when a girl is born, the family mourns as they will have to pay a dowry when the daughter gets married. Because of this, many families will send their daughters to Kathmandu when they are young teenagers. People will come into the villages, promising the daughters good jobs that will provide money for the family. Parents usually see this as an opportunity to make money for the family and also, they will have one less mouth to feed. The parents are unaware of what their daughter is going to be doing, typically working at a dance bar or getting trafficked into India. In 2018, approximately 50 girls were trafficked into India from Nepal every day! In a year, that is 18,250 young girls! And then from India, many of those girls will be brought to other surrounding countries. This has been one of the most devastating things for me to learn while here. Many of the women do not realize what they are getting themselves into when they take these jobs and also view it as their duty to help pay for the dowry. As we take the bus to the slums and the women’s center, we pass by many dance bars and my heart breaks for the women inside. They did not have any choice and also didn’t want to disgrace their parents by admitting what they sent their daughter to without knowing. Through all this, it has brought me so much hope to hear of the ways that our ministry hosts are breaking into the darkness and rescuing these young girls from something they never wanted to enter into. And someday I hope to be able to do ministry in this area, encountering girls who feel of no value to anyone. Although we have not been able to do any work with rescuing women, being here has grown my heart for that area of ministry. And as I look at all the kids we are teaching, it breaks my heart to wonder if any of them will end up caught in that cycle, especially knowing that at the moment, I can’t do much other than pray.  

With sexual perversity being one of the largest strongholds here, along with many other spiritual strongholds, every day we put on the armor of God, not only mentally, but physically. This practice has become something that I love. It is easy to see the strongholds here and evident that we need to go into every day of ministry prepared to fight against the schemes of the enemy and not simply give in to his tactics. This is a practice that I am planning on continuing in Africa and also when I get home. And although the strongholds may not be as visible in those places, they are there and we can only stand against the temptation with the power of the Lord. During this past month, the Lord has also been teaching me what it looks like to take every thought captive, something that I could not do in my strength but only with His help and protection around me. To do this, I have started memorizing scripture. In school, we had to memorize verses for tests, but I would simply memorize those for the test and then forget them. But now I have a desire to truly memorize scripture and have it written in my heart. How am I supposed to fight back against the enemy if I don’t even know the truth of what the Lord says? There is no way to! Jesus sets the perfect example of this as He is tempted in the wilderness and continually combats the enemy’s lies with the truth of what the Word says. And as I’ve memorized, it has been beautiful to watch how, even in a short time, my thoughts have begun to shift and when a lie comes to mind, I know exactly what the Lord says and can fight back with truth. One of these verses is Philippians 4:6-7 which says “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God and the peace of God which transcends all understanding with guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” I can grow anxious quickly and this verse reminds me that I don’t have to live in anxiety and fear but can walk in peace with the Lord, knowing that He holds every situation in His hands and that it is better in his hands than in mine anyways! So if I become anxious and start feeling like I am never going to be able to do everything that I have to do, I am reminded of this verse and that He’s got it so I don’t need to worry because I trust him and have seen His faithfulness all through my life. On the race, there are also many unknowns, and as someone who likes to be in the know, that is difficult and sometimes makes me anxious, but this verse reminds me that it will all be ok and I can walk in peace even in the unknown. I’m excited to see how the Lord continues to use these verses and how I can keep memorizing verses and having them written on my heart so they more naturally come out of me. 

On March 4th we are leaving Nepal and going to Eswatini (a.k.a. Swaziland). Nepal has flown by and it truly is crazy that we are about to leave! With that, I am not sure how often I will be able to post and how much access to Wifi we will have, so the blog may be a bit quiet. Thank you to everyone who reads these blogs, it truly is a great way to share testimonies of what the Lord has been doing not only in ministry but also in my heart. It is also a great outlet for me as I honestly use it to process how I am doing. If you have any questions about what ministry has been like or how I am doing, feel free to comment and I will try to respond!

Prayer Requests

1. This week we are going into the mountains to small villages and will be driving quite a bit. there was a flood in October so most of the roads are damaged. in that, prayers for safety on the roads as we travel
2. Continued boldness in sharing the gospel
3. Lesser homesickeness, that I would be able to be completely present where I am at and not focused on other things, especially with my birthday coming up.
4. On March 10 my parents are flying to Africa and will be able to visit me for a week (I’m so excited!) and have very long flights. In that, also prayers that as they visit the Lord would move and draw us closer
5. For all the young girls stuck in trafficking here, that they would be saved and come to know the Lord, that they would know that their value is in the Lord.