Visited the riverbed on Monday with Pastor Shem, Karina & Alana. Our friend was patiently waiting at the bridge, since our bus had run out of gas a mile away. We went to his home and found that his wife was expecting a baby in about a month. We asked what she was going to do when the baby came and if there were a medical facility nearby. They said they couldn't afford a hospital but that the local ladies would probably come and help out. Of course, Pastor Shem explained that Karina was doing some midwifery training, which is about the worst thing to say to a Nepali. He immediately took this as an offer and Karina is now expected to attend the birth, which could come at any time. During the visit, he asked us if we would be starting a service on Saturdays at the riverbed community. There seems to be a sudden growing spiritual hunger and interest in pursuing relationship with our church. Pastor Shem is asking for prayer in wisdom and discernment now as to what our next step should be and what the Lord is perhaps directing him towards.
We finished our meeting with him in prayer for his family and the new baby. He then took us to the other lady we had encountered in the slum area, who had informally invited us to her home. We were immediately invited in and seated on floor mats. Her son ran out the door and soon returned with cold bottles of pop for the 4 of us - what hospitality! At 20 rupees apiece, this almost totalled a Nepali's daily wages (150/day). We graciously accepted them but drank them knowing the cost to our hosts. Soon several children from other homes surrounding this hovel made their way in and soon we had about 20 of them crowded into this 10x10 room. Karina wanted her picture taken with the baby of one of the women present, which was a mistake as it led to the children eagerly gathering around the camera. This led to a 'photo shoot' of what seemed to be half the riverbed community coming in and out to get their pictures taken. They were overjoyed to see their instant pictures appear on the camera screen (of course it's a digital). It became so packed in the room that we had to cut the meeting short, after a short prayer again for the family. We promised to return next week, after the elections.
Praise God for His Kingdom advancing into the lowest of places (which is where Jesus seems pleased to go)! Continue to pray for hunger and an open door, perhaps even to start a weekly service here (as the Lord leads Pastor Shem). (posted by Ken)
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2 comments:
i am absolutely thrilled with this story, ken, i'll be praying for those people down there.
Too cool. So, Karina... Now you are both a university professor and a midwife. It just goes to show what the Lord can do with a willing heart. Perhaps you can start a camara ministry as well, in your spare time! God Bless.
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