Damak, Jhapa- Nepal Mission Trip Summer 2014

 

Psalm 46:10

"Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth."

 

Thanks to a couple wonderful churches and my family, here is a video of me sharing a few of my experiences and stories about a recent mission trip to Nepal... due to the quality, I have included the pictures below so you can follow along :) Also, the first couple minutes of the video are not related to my trip, I was blessed with the privileged of speaking to youth from the church and ministry I used to serve it- I was reminding them of a memory from a song we used to sing together often <3

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QnSM6HSrfx8

 

 

1) The Team! The body of Christ.... Family <3
PS- This was taken on the fourth of July (;

 

 

2) Mrs. Lisa and her sons- from the left; Rueben, Yuwaraj, and Amos.

 

 

3) What a joy it will be to learn your name the first time I see you in heaven <3

 

 

4) Story Time! 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish.... Jesus can provide ALL of our needs!

 

 

 

5) Quite possibly my favorite picture from the entire trip.

 

 

6) VBS!

 

 

7) Let me tell you about Yesu... the lover of your soul!

 

 

8) Nepali Style <3

 

 

9) Beautiful adventures with our lovely translators who were so much more than that... our friends, our family.

 

 

10) Hindu temple.

 

 

11) Rest in Peace, beautiful Malika <3

 

 

 

From my 700+ pictures, I had so much trouble narrowing everything down to fit into a speech. Hopefully I will be able to post another blog on here soon with new stories and pictures. Thank you so much for your support! I hope you learned a little bit about Nepal, and a lot about how much Jesus loves you!

 

Worship Him!

 

-SaraKate

 

India- February 2014

It has been approximately three months since I went to India. I thought as time went on, it would become easier for me to write this blog post. I'm not sure how I managed to convince myself of that, because I know better. But, regardless... I've sat down at this keyboard so many times, and every time I've given up. I've come back to a draft and reread, tweaked or just entirely deleted everything I had written. Because, really, how in the world am I supposed to express a ten day God experience on the other side of the world in a blog post? Just simply trying to explain all of the new experiences (sights, smells, sounds, tastes!) is overwhelming, not including the radical and supernatural spiritual elements of  the journey- which are even harder to put into words!

But now, as I'm preparing my heart to leave for Nepal (in less than a month! eep!) I'm realizing, more than ever, how my experience in India has dramatically changed the filter through which I see our world. And when I think of it that way, this doesn't seem so overwhelming. Memories, prayers and thoughts of India come to me daily. The things that stuck out to me the most, the things that changed me, the things that are still changing me. Those are the things that I want to share with you.

So many strange sights, sounds and smells in India. Some of my favorites are the traffic, the smoke and the spices! The air is constantly full. The honking of car horns, incessantly. The smoke and spices and odors all fighting for a chance to be experienced.The charge of excitement in the air, the constant chaos. Never have my senses been so overwhelmed, and I loved every second of it.

Peace was so clear to me in India- because amongst the chaos when His peace would flood my heart and soul, there was no doubt. A picture that I hope will forever last in my mind, this example of living in the world but not being of the world. (John 15:19 If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own. However, because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of it, the world hates you. ) My body was there, in a manual jeep, hurtling through the streets, stop and go, dodge a cow, dodge a kid, oh hey look a motorcycle. But my soul, heart and mind would just check out. I would catch myself, amongst the chaos, resting in His embrace. Relaxing, praying and worshipping. I am in the world, my body has no choice. But my soul, I can choose to rest in His hands- in His peace. 1 Corinthians 14:33 "For God is not a God of disorder but of peace--as in all the congregations of the Lord's people."

And logistics. Oh, logistics. How I adore logistics. I love that God is a God of order. Only problem for me is that sometimes I forget to let His order be the only order in my life. I want to stick to the schedule. I want to do the gospel presentation step by step in the completely correct order. I want this blog post to be uniform and have key points. And, well, sometimes that's not what God wants. Acts 1:8 tells us that we "will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you". And for that, we have to be completely willing to let the schedule fly right out the window. 'Cause let me tell you, He has it worked out way better than I could ever dream of planning it. So maybe I was going to that house next, but now I'm staying at this one and praying. Or maybe I was going to tell a certain part of my testimony, but now I'm going to tell another part instead. All because the Spirit led me too. Other humans may think it's frivolous, to me it's a lot like "trust falling". But no matter the scenario, even when I'm scared to speak up- afraid that I will look stupid or fail- when I follow where He is leading, He never drops me.

I have never in my life felt so honored to be allowed to participate in something. When it comes down to reality, every little detail of my body ending up in India was orchestrated by our Creator. I didn't just spontaneously choose India... God led me to it. I didn't just end up with the team members that I did by random chance... God specifically chose them. I didn't just have financial support fall from the sky... God placed it upon other's hearts to give! Sometimes we speak of God's "masterpieces" as things that have already taken place. But all of these little details that He's put in my life are part of a giant masterpiece. They are the details, the colors, the lines and swirls that He is splashing onto the canvas of my life. God didn't need me to go to India. He doesn't NEED anything from us. He CHOSE me. He wanted to steal my heart. To teach me. To add some extra colorful dashes and dots onto my canvas. And He wants the same for each and every one of us. The beauty of His grand design is that we are each unique. We each need to be loved differently. Whatever steals my heart, won't necessarily steal yours. This was what it took for Him to woo me, to capture my heart- and because He loves us all equally, He has a grand plan, a canvas- just for you. He pursues each of our hearts in the way that is unique to how we each need to be loved, so He can love us- and we can love Him back. I tell you, Yesu (Jesus) is quite a romantic.

And still, despite this beautiful truth, we seek other things to quench our desires for happiness. He explains to us in Romans 1:20-22 "For His invisible attributes, that is, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen since the creation of the world, being understood through what He has made. As a result, people are without excuse. For though they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God or show gratitude. Instead, their thinking became nonsense, and their senseless minds were darkened. Claiming to be wise they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man, birds, four-footed animals and reptiles."

We have allowed the things of the world to cloud our minds in darkness and deceive us. In India, there are these little orange flags everywhere. When someone explained to me what they represent, I was shocked. These flags were everywhere! Varying sizes, but all orange. And they all represent one thing- idol worship. There could literally be a flag in the middle of a field, and when asked, you would hear a story such as "well my great grandfather saw a sparrow with a purple feather fall from the sky and land here, so now we worship this place." They worship anything and everything. We are all created to serve the Creator. But if it is not clear to us Who that is, then we will worship countless things in vain, trying to fill the void. I was so devastated by all of these flags! Who could possibly have so much false worship in their life? Who could possibly live with such vain imagination? And then I came back to America. Our country is smothered in these "little orange flags." Reality check- we would all be better off in India with our idol worship clearly labeled with bright orange flags than sitting here in America with our major life problems and idol worship camouflaged as the norm. Ephesians 5:14 “Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”

On that note, my very favorite moments in India were getting to see these dead hearts find life in their Savior! Oh, I have so many stories! One of my favorite thoughts from the trip was shared by a team member on our last day. To paraphrase, they basically said that we go on mission trips and we hope to see something really exciting such as someone having a demon cast out or someone being healed of a disease. (I did get to see a paralyzed woman healed and that was amazing!) but regardless, we are sharing the ultimate Healer with them! No matter if they are healed of their disease when we leave- if they have found Christ then they have found the Way, the Truth, and the Life! NOTHING could heal them more completely than that.

Our team was privileged to witness 886 people accept Christ as their personal Lord and Savior during our time in India. Those people then grouped together to form 65 established "home churches" so that they could carry on discipleship ministries with those we had trained alongside us daily (our nationals and translators).

"Worthy is The Lamb Who was slain! Worthy is The King Who conquered the grave!"

 

Psalm 63:1

God, You are my God; I eagerly seek You.
I thirst for You;
my body faints for You
in a land that is dry, desolate, and without water.

 

God is in control,

-SaraKate

Local Mission Field <3

On October 17th, 2013 in Nashville, TN- I asked God to teach me the art of letting go. To show me that I can't be in control of it all, to learn to leave it in His hands. 

I must have been feeling insanely brave that day. 

In the last 12 weeks of my life, I have been given so many things, and then taught to let them go.  

Some of you may know what I've been up too- others may have no clue. In the last three months,  I have lived on the mission field in a city one over from mine, helping take care of four beautiful souls.

On November 9th, 2013, God led me into darkness. He took over my hands, my feet and my heart. In the middle of despair and heartbreak, He used my arms to hug and my mouth to speak life. And if you ask me to tell you details, or to explain to you what I did- I can't. Because I'm a weak little white girl with an autoimmune disorder. All I have is the Spirit of God in me, and a heart that wants to love as He loves. And the fact that He chose me, that He saw me as a vessel He could use, overwhelms me so much that I can barely type because I'm shaking so hard. And I can barely see, because the tears fill my eyes so quickly.

He held my hand and walked me straight into discord. He showed me just enough control, for me to see that I really had none. He placed the responsibility in my hands, to teach me that it's really all His. He allowed me to be one of the blessed souls, that helped fight for the freedom of three. He showed me how He can turn the evils of death and abuse into beautiful life that brings glory to Him. 

My time in Nashville truly opened my eyes to the power of prayer- and without it, I wouldn't have made it through the last 12 weeks. The things I have seen and done, I would have never imagined being apart of. The bondage of souls that I witnessed at first- and the freedom that salvation brought to all three. Through strongholds, hate, unforgiveness and mental retardation- I have seen the power of Christ fight, and heal, and protect. 

My heart has been twisted, kicked, emptied and shattered. It has ached and throbbed and mourned. I have felt helpless and tiny. I have sobbed and I have begged. I have laid on my face and prayed until my feet were numb and I didn't know what time it was. I have had to blindly let go. I have not been in control. And I wouldn't trade a second of it. 

I would say that I've learned to love, but I know that even in the depth God has stretched my heart- it's still only a tiny piece of all He has yet to reveal to me. 

But for now- at this time- it feels so huge. My heart feels so deep. And the fact that I am no where near grown to the potential He has for me, just blows my mind. 

In the last couple weeks I have officially said "goodbye" to three of those beautiful souls. I know I will see them again someday, but they will never again be "mine" to feed, comfort or protect. The little bit of control I actually had, I have no more. I have left them at the foot of the cross, in the hands of our Savior. Because even though I am blind to His great plan, I know that the plans He has for them are to prosper them and not harm them(Jeremiah 29:11). I know without a shadow of a doubt that they are His now, and that He has insanely beautiful futures in store for them. I have witnessed Him comfort them when they were far beyond my reach, and for that- I will be eternally grateful. 

As I prepare now to say "goodbye" to beautiful soul "number 4", and venture to India for 10 days- my heart is overflowing. The joy and peace that have been brought to me, I can not describe.

Psalms 139:10 "even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me." 

It was then that He carried me,

SaraKate

Ma Doshro (I Am Second)

My bags have been unpacked, most of my stories have been told. I've washed the Nepali scent from my clothes, I've sent thank you cards. I've stuffed down my feelings and put off writing this post so I wouldn't have to face them. I haven't let myself dwell on the memories, because the fact that I'm here and they're there breaks my heart.

They ask us to make an "I will.." statement about something we would do when we came home. All I can think now is, "I WILL NOT FORGET." I'm so afraid that my daily routine will overtake my life again, that my busy-ness will drown out my memories, that I will forget to pray for their beautiful souls. With a deep passion, I do not want to forget!

My emotions overwhelmed me on my first Sunday back at church. For starters, I was extremely disappointed when I woke up and remembered that I was home, I had dreamed of Nashville all night. Then, I don't know who picked the Operation Christmas Child video that was shown during the church service, but it was filmed in Nepal. Seeing the children and hearing the language just broke my heart. Memories flooded my mind. The four year old boy with the brilliant smile, riding a bike that was way too big for him all over the place by himself. The sincerity and passion in Rita's voice as she accepted Christ as her Savior. Her beautiful laugh and the way she says "Phillip" and "Isaiah". 14 year old Ambika, and the loyalty she has to Hinduism. Little Oosaipaw and his marbles, the way he tugged my arm and absorbed my affection. Kamari, who was too afraid. 18 month old Alex, watching cars in Nepali and cuddling his daddy as Mitch shared the story of Jesus with him. Mon trying to teach us how to say "thank you" in Nepali. Our Nepali Christian interpreter Tika, how she would reach out and hold my hand in such a sweet affection, or when she was scared. So many more faces and names. The tears and the giggles. The fear and the freedom. I would have much rather been in their strongly scented homes, sitting cross legged on the floor in a long skirt, eating whole sardines and using a bathroom with no toilet paper than sitting in the sanctuary at that moment.

The pastor had asked me to speak, and I thought I had my emotions under control enough. But as I stood before my church family, as the passion of God overwhelmed me, I just cried. Worship songs that had just been sung with a lack of passion, "Lord have mercy on us, Christ have mercy on us." and "Oh God let us be, a generation that seeks Your face... that turns our eyes from evil things... that casts down our idols." All I could think of was the people I had told Jesus about, who had refused Him. The houses where all we could do was pray, Lord please have mercy on these people!! They know not what they do! These families where literally generation after generation have worshipped idols. And those of them who did discover Christ, who knew that they might be beaten or mocked and were still willing to turn their faces from their idols and share the story of Jesus! And yet here Christians stand, eyes closed to the spiritual battle. Singing deep words without an ounce of passion. I expressed all of this. I stood there and bawled and urged them to worship! Missions exists because worshippers do not. The closing song for the service, Ten Thousand Reasons. 90% of the congregation was standing at the front of the church, before the alters, singing the very same song we had sang more than once in Nashville. Bless the Lord, O my soul. Your beauty steals my breath, every single time.

During our time in Nashville, I was a member of a team of 86 people. 44 of them were "nationals" from Nashville. We shared the gospel with 397 people! 47 of those people accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior, and 5 of them were baptized! 24 new I Am Second groups were started. The 44 people who live in Nashville will follow up in our absence, and disciple the people who accepted Christ.

So far, I have been able to train the youth leadership group at my church, and one of our middle school after-school clubs in telling a story about Jesus. We will continue meeting each week in a fashion very similar to "I Am Second" groups. Seeing them learn and share the stories blessed my heart more than I can express. I pray that the fruit of our labors will be abundant in this town. You're the God of this city!

Obstacles are the greatest opportunity for God to move.

♫ Spirit lead me when my trust is without borders, let me walk upon the waters- wherever You would call me. Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander, and my faith will be made stronger- in the presence of my Savior ♪

-SaraKate

Day five!

Imagine a dreary day. A gray sky full of clouds, crisp air settling around you. You are standing with a crowd of people gathered around an animal trough full of water. There is anticipation and excitement hanging in the air. Everyone is holding a camera or cell phone, ready to record what you are about to witness. The women go first, three from the Sudan. Cheers rise from the crowd. As silence falls, everyone is asked to put any form of a camera away. Two men emerge from the back of the crowd- two men from Iraq who could be persecuted for what they are about to do. They step into the water and sink to their knees as the women did. A voice rings out- "do you believe in the Most High God? Have you agreed to serve Him for the rest of your life?" The reply, a confident "yes!". A hand reaches out to show him how to cover his nose, hands bend him forward into the water with the words, "I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost!" As the last man rises from the water, 100 singing voices rise from blessed spirits- "Bless the Lord, oh my soul, whoa my soul, worship His Holy Name. Sing like never before- oh my soul, I'll worship Your holy name." Chills climb your arms, not from the cold- but from the beauty of the presence of the Lord surrounding you.

I praise The Lord for His wonderful works I have been allowed to experience this week!

Not only did I get to witness 5 baptisms today, but I got to share the gospel with 8 people! I got to go back to Rita's house and teach her another story from the bible, a story about how to pray (the Lord's Prayer). She was delighted. Telling her goodbye broke my heart. She hugged me, pinched my cheek and said, "you so sweet. I love you!" (I can still hear her voice in my mind, I wish I could share it with you.) Her eyes and smile are so full of hope and joy now! She hopes to be baptized soon, but is afraid of her parents. Please keep praying for her! 

We also got to visit several new homes from different people groups today. There's one community that we found where we thought Nepalis lived but it turned out that about six different people groups were represented in this community of about 20 houses. Unfortunately in all of those places Jesus was rejected or we weren't able to tell about Him at all. Two in particular stand out in my mind. The first house, a Vietnamese man named Tom. He was cooking food for his children, and finally answered the door as we were walking away. He stood on the porch and talked to us for a while but made it clear that he was catholic and had no interest in religious conversation. He said he had to leave because he was cooking dinner, so my quick thinking partner for the evening (Jeff) went into this story about how much he loves food, and invited himself in to see what was being cooked. I excused myself to the bathroom (a habit I've adopted to buy a couple minutes and pray for the house). As I was using the bathroom and praying I spoke the words "may we be a light in this house". As soon as the words left my mouth, the bathroom light went off! Ok, God I get the message. I prayed and I prayed, I sent the darkness from the house in the name of Jesus. My prayer is that they will not be able to forget about Jesus in that house. And when they stand in that bathroom, their eyes will see and their hearts will hear and their Spirit will feel God as they never have before! 

The other home the sticks out in my memory is the house of Yawna. Yawna is Russian! She has a beautifully decorated home full of bright colors, relics from the holy land and crosses as decorations. She is Greek Orthodox. She was incredibly friendly and personable, telling me lots of stories from her home and explainin her beliefs with me. She let me tell her the story of Jesus! However, she recites prayers every night from a book that her grandmother taught her when she was young. It took a while for us to explain the different between her prayers, and a prayer to accept Jesus. She told us the story with the cube and said she would think about it. She also said she would tell her husband the story when he got home. She later told us that he does not believe in God and mocks her for it. The simple fact that she offered to tell him anyways is fantastic!! Please pray for them both. For her to realize her need for Jesus and to have strength. For him to actually listen to her, and hear the words of God. 

It is funny the ways of speaking I have adopted this week. When talking to people who barely speak English, I have been using a lot of hand motions or a translator- and when you speak with a translator it is best to not use contracted words (can't, don't, won't, etc). So now in normal conversation I catch myself speaking with very clear articulation and lots of hand motions ( even more than before! haha)

As the evening ended, we were standing in the cold in a Nepali community waiting for our ride. A man invited us inside his home, and we learned that they were Nepali Christians! We spent an hour learning from them and hearing their beautiful story. Two of the men preach at a Nepali Christian church! It was a wonderful, encouraging way to end the week. As I was sitting in their home I realized that all of my clothes are saturated in the Nepali smell. It's a scent of their cooking spices and body odor, I really don't know how to explain it. It's a disgusting yet beautiful smell that lingers in everything. The women usually cook in the garage or outside to keep their house from smelling. However, a lot of the families we worked with this week lived in apartments and did not have that advantage. Washing my clothes, losing that scent, will be very bittersweet. Maybe I will keep a shirt and never wash it ;) 

Here's my heart, Lord- take and seal it, seal it for Thy courts above!

-SaraKate 

Day Four!

Joy mâché!

I wish I could simply sit down and accurately articulate to you my feelings and thoughts from today. I have learned so much! Right now, I am simply exhausted. The weather has been dreary and rainy all day... The majority of my afternoon I was wet and cold. Because of this, I have had some bad waves of pain from my rheumatoid arthritis. 

I share these negative things with you, to share the beauty. Without pain we can not know comfort. If you have never experienced the comfort and peace of Christ, I can not explain it you. It's simply something that has to be experienced. When I am sharing Christ with someone, when I am lost in His presence and lost in worship- I do not feel these worldly pains in my body. All I can feel is the joy and strength of The Lord resounding and pulsing through my Spirit! I wish that is something I could explain with others, that I could share a glimpse of. When a 14 year old girl is sitting across from me, claiming Hinduism with every fiber of her being because that's what her elders have engrained in her, when I am sad and frustrated because my word about this otherworldly pleasure is simply not enough. When elders respect our stories of Jesus but will not accept them, when Jehovah's Witness' have gone before us and left confusion. These are the moments when I have to leave the Holy Spirit in control, because I want so badly for these people's eyes to be opened to the truth. 

Please pray for us all. We are worn out; spiritually, emotionally, physically. But at the same time, we are more vibrant and alive in Christ than ever before. 

Many of us will be returning for one last visit to their communities tomorrow, and we need to be covered in prayer in the name of Jesus. Pray for Mon and Ash, for Kamari and Amber, for Waihay and Ehdah, for Sun and Ganga, for Somati and Harka, for Mon, Ambika and Darma!(these are only the ones that I have specifically worked with) These Nepali people have all now heard of Jesus, some of them for the very first time- and refused Him. Pray for our translators wisdom and articulation. Pray for myself and my team members strength, wisdom and protection against the strongholds in these lives, generations and communities. 

"Elegance does not occur when you add flourishes. Elegance occurs when you take away everything that is not necessary, and are left with what truly matters. "

 

In the name of Jesus,

-SaraKate

This is my name in Nepali :) I got to work with a beautiful translator today named Tika! She is only 14, a Christian Nepali! Without her, many people would not have heard stories about Jesus today!   

Day Three!

Holy Spirit You are welcome here, come flood this place and fill the atmosphere!

Since I woke up this morning, those lyrics were in my mind and heart. With my morning devotion I doodled them into my journal and claimed them in the name of Jesus for the places we would be visiting today. 

Yesterday, I mentioned a girl named Rita. She was the only person out of the Nepalese that I got a chance to share with that did not express fear at accepting Jesus as her Savior. She understood the story perfectly and expressed a desire to follow Jesus. But for some reason, she could not follow through with the sinners prayer. I could see in her eyes her desire for Jesus, the desire of her heart. However, when she opened her mouth to pray, she physically could not say the words. Because of the underlying strongholds I was sensing, I asked her if i could come back and bring a friend with me. Tonight I was able to go back and see Rita along with two of my dear teamates. We spent time praying over her, binding any strongholds, witchcraft or generational curses in the name of Jesus. I claimed in the name of Jesus that His Holy Spirirt was welcome there! Within a couple minutes of our prayer ending, Rita beautifully gushed the sinners pray in her own words!! Her mother was in the house so we asked Rita if she would like to share the story of Jesus with her mother. We got to watch as she led her mother through the evangicard in their language. Although her mother did not received Christ tonight, she was very receptive and the entire scene stole my breath with it's beauty! Her mother's name is Somati and her father's name is Harka. Rita tells us that they do not believe in Jesus, and do not want too. Please pray for them!! We got to spend more time with Rita, telling her another story about Jesus. Seeing her eyes light up at the wonders of her newfound Savior filled my heart with awe. Words truly can not express. 

Tomorrow we will be going back to feed her hunger and share more stories about Jesus with her. Please earnestly pray for these people, there are such deep generational curses and strongholds binding them in ways they can't see. Many of my team members where rejected by atleast one person or group tonight. Satan is seeing the hope we are bringing and he is fighting against us. We claim in the name of Jesus that he will have no grip on their hearts!  

Holy Spirit You are welcome here,

SaraKate