So it’s been a while since I last updated my blog! A lot of time has passed and a lot has happened since I last posted, though most of you who know me know what I’m up to right now. I am currently in Nepal (in Katmandu) and am planning on being here for 5 months. I am leading a team composed of some of my best friends in the world! We are part of an initiative called the M24 Initiative. The M24 Initiative gets it’s name from Matthew 24:14 which says; “And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” 

We arrived in Katmandu on the 26th of February very tired but excited as well. We got settled in to the Iris guest house and a few days later we headed out for our first outreach to a village called Lele. Lele is a village that is about a 45 minute microbus ride from Katmandu. We arrived in Lele and met the pastor of the local church. After we had lunch we split up into groups and went walking from house to house to share the good news of the gospel. Each group had at least one Nepali brother or sister so that we could communicate with the people. We shared with the people about Jesus and why he had to come and die on the cross. There were many people who had heard about Jesus and had heard about the cross but they did not know why he came to die; they had never really heard the gospel. We also invited people to come and watch the Jesus film that night. 

We found a spot to show the Jesus film near the main road that goes through the village. There were around 30 to 40 people who came to watch the film and to brave the cold. Our team found a log where we could sit and pray during the film. We could see the stars (and our breath as well) as we prayed for God to open up hearts. The Jesus film suddenly stopped three quarters of the way through the film! We tried to get the movie going again but it just wouldn’t work. We also found out that someone had vandalized the Iris van while we were watching the movie and we felt that we were under attack from the enemy. Our translator Ganga gave a presentation of the gospel but no one responded. Needless to say, I was pretty disappointed but I knew that God didn’t need a movie to reach people’s hearts. 

The next day we went out again to do evangelism from house to house. We were amazed and encouraged by people’s responses to the gospel. We had the privilege of seeing six people give their lives to Jesus that day! I was again encouraged to see that the gospel is in fact the power of God for the salvation of those who believe! 

Right before we left the village, my friend Lauren as well as Jenn (my sister) were sharing the gospel with an older lady. Our Nepali brother Ram was translating and I was sitting there noticing some young men standing behind us. They were talking in Nepali and I thought that they were mocking us. I assumed that they were mocking us because this is a response that I have experienced before in other countries when sharing the gospel. I felt that God wanted me to share the gospel with them and so I stood up and tried the one or two phrases that I know in Nepali. I asked them if any of them could speak English and a few of them said that they could understand. I started sharing the gospel in English and then our translator Ram helped me out by translating into Nepali. When I asked them what they thought about Jesus and how he was the sacrifice for their sins, I was surprised to hear that they thought this was wonderful news! Two of them prayed right there in front of their friends and gave their lives to Jesus! We asked them if they had Bibles and they both said that they did not. We walked with them to meet the pastor who gave them each a Nepali New Testament. 

We were so encouraged to see God at work as well as the hunger of the people for Jesus. There is more that I could share but I will save that for another update. I know that long updates don’t always get read :) Thanks for taking the time to see what I’m up to and I would love to hear from you if you have questions or comments!