Anyway, this last photo kind've puts things into perspective for the day. I hope you'll understand.
When we took the boys to the momo restaurant after exiting the park, I noticed these homeless boys playing with a puppy underneath a bridge. Those bags you see them sitting on top of are full of garbage waiting to be picked up by the Kathmandu Public Works Dept. The boy on the right is wearing an empty coffee can as a hat. At one point, both of the boys were digging water bottles out of the sewage below to sip on the drops of water remaining at the bottom.
This is Nepal. This is the conundrum and the ghost that defines my every waking moment in this country: for every CWC orphan Jason and I clothe and feed, for every child we take out to dinner or teach to play volleyball, there are thousands wandering the streets, destitute and dying. These boys are discovering joy in the bottom of a trash dump a block away from the nicest shopping district in the city. Nobody stopped to help them or offer them food or drink, not even me. And despite the perceived good I am doing here, I am haunted by the faces of leprous children missing limbs, crippled men, and homeless women cradling their starving newborns whom I pass up and avoid each and every day. My deeds are as filthy rags before the throne of God, and I will someday be held accountable for my lack of compassion.
Pray for the poor of Nepal, for the homeless, for the kicked-aside, cast-out, unemployed, and undervalued. Pray for the leper, the tax collector, the brothel owner, the enslaved child prostitutes, and the government officials. Pray for the Hindu, the Buddhist, the Muslim, the tribal healers and witch doctors, the taxi drivers, and the hoteliers. Pray for the Christian missionaries and the local pastors. Pray for Jason and I. None of us are holy save for the salvation found through the death of Jesus Christ and the gift of the Holy Spirit, so pray that God would draw the nation of Nepal to Himself and redeem this broken land.
Pray for peace in the continued battle between the government of Nepal and the rebel Maoist forces, and for the citizens who are affected by the ignorance of both parties. Pray for Rina, for the safety of her baby in the final months of her prenancy, and for the salvation of her husband Santosh. Pray for my body and for Jason's heart. Pray for the spiritual growth, physical safety, and mental maturity of the 52 orphans who find sanctuary in the Children's Welfare Centre of Nepal. Pray for our laptops, guitar strings, sleeping bags, and warm showers. Pray against crab spiders, pilo, and computer viruses.
Pray for 2007 to be a year of unprecedented victory for the Nepali Church, and a year of awakening for American Christians: some of us have been sifting through the trash when we're just out of view of the true kingdom at hand for far too long. I love you all, and may you have a blessed New Year.
Bear out.
This is Nepal. This is the conundrum and the ghost that defines my every waking moment in this country: for every CWC orphan Jason and I clothe and feed, for every child we take out to dinner or teach to play volleyball, there are thousands wandering the streets, destitute and dying. These boys are discovering joy in the bottom of a trash dump a block away from the nicest shopping district in the city. Nobody stopped to help them or offer them food or drink, not even me. And despite the perceived good I am doing here, I am haunted by the faces of leprous children missing limbs, crippled men, and homeless women cradling their starving newborns whom I pass up and avoid each and every day. My deeds are as filthy rags before the throne of God, and I will someday be held accountable for my lack of compassion.
Pray for the poor of Nepal, for the homeless, for the kicked-aside, cast-out, unemployed, and undervalued. Pray for the leper, the tax collector, the brothel owner, the enslaved child prostitutes, and the government officials. Pray for the Hindu, the Buddhist, the Muslim, the tribal healers and witch doctors, the taxi drivers, and the hoteliers. Pray for the Christian missionaries and the local pastors. Pray for Jason and I. None of us are holy save for the salvation found through the death of Jesus Christ and the gift of the Holy Spirit, so pray that God would draw the nation of Nepal to Himself and redeem this broken land.
Pray for peace in the continued battle between the government of Nepal and the rebel Maoist forces, and for the citizens who are affected by the ignorance of both parties. Pray for Rina, for the safety of her baby in the final months of her prenancy, and for the salvation of her husband Santosh. Pray for my body and for Jason's heart. Pray for the spiritual growth, physical safety, and mental maturity of the 52 orphans who find sanctuary in the Children's Welfare Centre of Nepal. Pray for our laptops, guitar strings, sleeping bags, and warm showers. Pray against crab spiders, pilo, and computer viruses.
Pray for 2007 to be a year of unprecedented victory for the Nepali Church, and a year of awakening for American Christians: some of us have been sifting through the trash when we're just out of view of the true kingdom at hand for far too long. I love you all, and may you have a blessed New Year.
Bear out.
4 comments:
that was the most sobering speech i've heard in a month. i'm humbled and encouraged. i wish i could be there with you both, right in the thick of need. i want to see the power of Christ as He transforms lives in a very real way. mostly, i just long for Jesus to return and to make all things new. thanks, friend. i will remember you in my prayers today.
Hey! I just saw my NEW, very true title for my blog on your page. That made me smile! I am thinking about you guys! I had an extra Dr. Pepper a day while I was home just for you! haha I am so glad you guys followed God to Nepal! He is doing amazing things through you guys!
praying for you and Jason. thank you for your transparency through this journey you're on.
-Virginia
hello dude. thinkin bout you all the time. love ya, bud.
- david hudson
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