When I step on a plane to Nepal at the end of September, it will be with a suitcase of mixed emotions.
It will be just more than a year after I packed up my entire family and stepped on a different plane to move to Nepal for for what I thought would be the beginning of a long-term adventure. We were prepared to stay in Nepal for at least three years to start, training Nepalis to be better church planters and evangelists following years of planning, fund-raising and, most importantly, prayer.
Alas, only a few months later, we were forced to leave the country under threat of expulsion and never re-entering the country again, while being followed and harassed for the last couple of weeks we called Nepal home.
It was devastating to say the least and this past year has been spent recovering and healing, asking God many questions– sometimes getting answers, sometimes not, but always seeing and receiving His blessings.
Nepal isn’t the Nepal I know anymore. Two major earthquakes and hundreds of aftershocks (they are still occurring) since have left thousands of people dead, tens of thousands without homes and what little infrastructure that existed in a shambles.
With our oldest daughter still living in Nepal, all that major shaking in April and May left us full of fear for her safety and well-being. God be praised she was always physically well, but such devastation leaves an emotional toll.
So when I step on that plane– no, really, when I arrive at the Kathmandu airport a day later–I have no idea what to expect.
Earlier in the year, I was invited to travel to India to help with a pastoral training program that’s getting started there. I’ve never been to India, and the thought of returning to mission work, a part of my life for the past 10 years, seemed like a great way to get re-started. I hadn’t considered trying to work again in Nepal.
But God has different plans for my life, and while India may be on the books early next year, it’s a trip to Nepal in September to which He is calling me.
There are homes to construct, communities of Christians in need, families being overlooked for assistance, even harassed because of their faith. It’s time to rebuild the walls around Nepalis who call upon the name of Jesus because right now they are vulnerable to disease, sickness, even physical attack.
I could say “no,” and believe me, there are people who have suggested such, but if there’s one thing that I want my children to learn and appreciate, it’s that we should always obey when the Lord calls.
There have been a few times in my life as a Christian where I purposely said “no” to God. Usually, it was because I couldn’t see enough of the big picture to feel comfortable saying “yes.” During those moments, I was filled more with doubt than faith.
While I can’t always say I know why He’s asked me to do something, it’s been those “no” times that God has allowed me to see the outcome of my foolish decisions. There have been points in my life, sometimes years later, where I can say, “Oh, I see why saying ‘yes’ to You that time would’ve been better.”
As difficult as those moments are, I’m blessed to have them, because they’ve helped me understand why saying “yes” to God is always the answer.
Each day we wake up, we are given thousands of opportunities to say “yes” to God — some little, some huge, some easy, some so life-changing it’s impossible not to be filled with trepidation.
Sometimes the path of “yes” is difficult, sometimes it’s filled deep with emotion, sometimes more pain than joy. Yet, by saying “no,” I miss out on a part of what makes me who I am, who God intended me to be. I lose every time in that equation, and that’s no way to live.
And so here I go, preparing for what is the return to a country that may not be ready for me, and me not ready for it. But I’ve learned to trust God that His ways are best, even when I can’t see past the runway.
We are raising funds to rebuild homes of Christians living in Nepal. Drawing on his past emergency management experience, Christopher’s first trip is a chance to assess the damage as well as to visit two villages were rebuilding has already occurred. If you’d like to help, please click the donate button below. Thank you!
I relate to so much of your story; saying yes to God in an international move and needing to return much sooner than expected or desired, breathing deeply and trying to make sense of everything, saying yes again into an even greater unknown.
May our gracious King carry you into Nepal and open the Ephesians 2:10 opportunities He has waiting. Amen