Nepal 2019
Day 2_Wednesday

Joo Hee + Henna Tan

Battles Conquered, Victories Won

“Do I have to lead morning devotion?”, I thought to myself. I wanted so much to avoid it because I have never led a devotion before, let alone in English. I’m Korean and English is my second language. However, thanks to Yang’s encouragement, I managed to do it! He kept encouraging me and persuading me to lead a Korean style prayer, which is really simply praying out loud together at the same time. 

It’s been a long time since I’ve prayed out loud like this. It brought me back to the old times, to a church I attended as a new believer back in Korea. It was such a good time of prayer, although I felt really tired after. I did feel that God was reminding us to equip ourselves with a lot of prayer during the trip. 

After breakfast, the team split into two groups, the guys and the girls. The guys visited the construction sites where funded houses by BLi will be built at, and the girls remained in Ropheka Church to lead a women’s ministry session.

Whilst the boys were away, exploring the village; the girls had the beautiful opportunity of meeting the powerful women of Ropheka church (ages ranging between young adults to grandmothers). As the only medic in the team, I had the privilege to share about women’s health! Doing some research just the night before - I found a global health article that states a few interesting facts of what happens during menstruation in a third world country. The best part was this study’s population included women living in Nepal. 

Some of the facts stated were, during menstruation

• I had to sleep separately from other members of my family

• I am not allowed to cook 

• I do not attend school 

When preparing for the session, I was expecting approximately 50% of hands raised for the above, taking into account the older generation. However, to my surprise, almost all women raised their hands for all of the above! The shock came from the fact that physical rejection is what women still face when menstruating. It was however refreshing to reassure them of what God has done for us, and that we are all cleansed and made righteous when Christ died for our sins. We moved on to general hygiene advice on how to look after our physical bodies as women. Isabella then took over and continued on the topic of looking after our emotional and spiritual health. 

After lunch, we were reunited and we set off to visit another BLi house that had been recently built for a pastor. It was situated in the mountains, in a place called Chingapur. We had a little jeep tour along bumpy roads and an eye opening experience of what driving in Nepal looks like. We were given the insight that not only were there no road markings; there were also no traffic rules when it comes to driving! We however did get to Chingapur safely and in one piece. 

We then did a little trek down some stoney path to a well hidden house behind a rocky patch. There stood a small bungalow and welcoming us were the pastor and his family (including chickens and some goats). BLi have previously raised money for the building of this house. What a joy it was to visit and see the seed come to fruition!

However, I was shocked at the shabby and unhygienic condition of the house. At the same time, I was overwhelmed by the love of God, knowing that there was a church located in such an isolated area, where 90 families gathered for services. I couldn’t believe how a church could be located deep within the mountainous area. Many thoughts had crossed my mind. I can’t fully describe the feeling I had.

We got to spend some time with the pastor, praying and sharing. He comes out of his house every day, looks left into the forest; reminded of the days of his youth when he attempted to commit suicide on an exact tree to the left of where he lives today. However, his efforts were in vain and in amongst all of that happening, God reached out to him. He is now a pastor who faithfully and obediently serves God alongside his family. 

Something that broke our hearts was learning that some of the villagers are in desperate need of fast earnings due to their gambling habits, that they are willing to sell their kidneys. We prayed out loud in the midst of the mountains as a team over the pastor and his family. We also lifted our voices to pray for that village, believing that God truly did break chains and bondages in that village, where darkness seeps. As we continue to keep them in prayer, may the Gospel continue to spread through the village.

After spending some time at the pastor’s house, we headed back as it was getting dark. Back in Ropheka church, we had dinner and a time of debriefing after. I really enjoy the time of sharing we had each night, because we can share our thoughts and also get to hear others’ thoughts, changes and growth in themselves. I remembered learning one thing from Hui Hui that night. She shared that she realised why praying out loud was sometimes necessary.

When we pray out loud, it’s as if our prayers were like a trumpet call. Similar to the collapsing wall of Jericho, read in Joshua 6:20: “When the trumpets sounded, the army shouted, and at the sound of the trumpet, when the men gave a loud shout, the wall collapsed; everyone charged straight in, and they took the city”, I was reminded of our prayer time at the pastor’s house, where we trust that battles were conquered and victories won.