November 10, 2012
We had to go off roading to find this house of worship; over 1,000 families live in this undesirable community. The most polluted river meanders around their dwelling place; sheets of metal on the roofs secured with large rocks and old discarded tires to keep it in place. I have never witness poverty like this. The dust is much thicker because of the unpaved roads and you can only image what happens during the Monsoon season. The Slum Church (that is the real name) is very well maintained with laminate flooring and ceiling fans but the most interesting thing about the church, the congregants. I counted 14 in the choir and when they started singing “How Great Thou Are” in Nepali my eyes flooded with tears of joy. So spirit filled and anointed, these people have little to nothing but are true humble examples of what we call Christians. We left them with a suitcase filled with medicine and were off to our next assignment.
We received an invitation from the president of Nepal and believe or not now we are 18 in the van. The traffic delayed us by a couple of hours and the president was called into an emergency meeting. The Palace was heavily guarded and modest in size, the garden made a grand impression of neatly lined colorful flowers standing to greet us. The festoon of this floral garden filled the air with sweet flavors of fall, the colors of orange, magenta, and gold matched the the palace. We were received by Naraine Koivola, the secretary to the president and Administrator of Foreign Affairs. Mr. Koivola escorted us to a private meeting room on the second floor, the ceiling was adorned with bright vibrant orange flowers and what looked like real gold. Served Nepali tea and delicate cookies we shared stories with this kind gentleman for over an hour. We prayed and left a box of See’s candy for the president. Our day continued with yet another divine appointment.
From the palace to the Chief of Police, Rabindra Pratup Shah was equally cordial but was called into a meeting as well, before excusing himself he graciously received prayer from our team. God showed us great favor today; on the ride back to our hotel we quietly held these encounters in our hearts and gave credence to our Creator.
