Kathmandu: Photos & Stories from a Week in the Life

In Kathmandu, Nepal, we have been blessed with the opportunity to partner with The Agape Mission International.

AGAPE MISSIONS

Brian, the founder, dubbed this ministry “Agape” from a vision he received from the Lord where water fell quickest to the bottom. In parallel, the Father’s love is sent with great fervency and grace to those at the bottom of society. Brian’s vision, coupled with radical obedience and faith, catapulted Agape Missions to serve the least of these – specifically kids in the slums and sexually exploited & trafficked women. Their aim is to disciple those who don’t typically fit in the ‘normal’ church, because, as Jesus proclaims, “what you do for the least of these, you do for Me” (Matthew 25:40).

So, we put our salvation to work; becoming vessels of love for this ministry and encouraging their assets as well as their leaders. With willing hands and shepherded power, we stepped into what the Lord was already doing in Kathmandu. Here’s what a typical week looked like:

MONDAY:

06:00: We start waking up; some of us go workout at a nearby park, some move & groove (dance) on the roof, some sleep in. I’m often the last one to go to bed & the last one up in the morning. 

07:15: We meet up with our host and leave the house to take a bus to the Jadibuti slum. We stop for milk tea and samosas as we talk about the day’s lesson plan.

08:30: We arrive at the Jadibuti slum. We rotate who plans out each day, but everyone always plays a role in the execution. A day might look like a game, a song with the ukulele, a story, and a prayer.

We might paint their nails,

or, we might have a birthday party for our team leader, Denise!

The Father’s presence is so unbelievably evident in the slums; the proximity to the marginalized has opened my eyes to the way He leaves the 99 to pursue the 1 (Luke 15).

He loves these vagrant kids, even if they survive by begging or stealing. They need love as much as food, they need to be clothed with an unshakable identity and sheltered with the promise of mercy and compassion (Hatmaker).

The Lord sets the lonely in families (Psalms 68:6a) and we have been privileged enough to play a role in that. He is the Father to the fatherless and the Defender to widowed (Psalms 68:5). It is the greatest honor to be able to reflect His love here in the slums. We get to help instill in these kids that they are seen, known and loved; not outcasts but co-heirs with Christ. We get to love them like the Father loves us.

09:30: We leave the slums and head back onto the bus. It’s always a bittersweet goodbye as they grab onto us, hold our hands and give sweet hugs as we say ‘see ya tomorrow’! We jump (often literally) on another bus to go straight to the Women’s Center.

10:30-11:30: At the Women’s Center, we teach English. There are three levels and I teach the most advanced students. We are learning the concept of “hypothetical” and I love asking my ladies questions like ‘if you could have dinner with anyone, who would it be and what would you say’, or ‘what would you do with 1 million dollars’, or ‘if you could have any superpower what would you want’. 

I NEVER thought I would like teaching English so much, even though it stretches my patience and creativity daily (real talk: how do you justify how to pronounce “patient” and how the heck do you describe the Northern Lights without wifi to show them?).

Alas, some of these women were rescued from sex trafficking, some have to sneak to class because they aren’t allowed to be here, and some just want to learn so they can have greater opportunities for themselves and their families. Empathy becomes a flood that drowns out the impatience.

12:00: Lunch tiiiiime! From the Women’s Center, we walk home for lunch and some rest. We often get Kati rolls (yes, I know) which is an Indian chicken wrap, make ramen and eggs on the stove, or have lentils and veggies.

15:00: Then, we meet in the Prayer Room on the bottom floor of our place. Here, we have an intentional hour of rest, making God’s presence our home. This time is open for interpretation – to worship, read, pray, anything. We go to the Lord to sustain the work of our days.

16:00: We regroup to put on the armor of God (acting out Ephesians 6), hopefully feeling rested and rejuvenated to jump back into serving the Kingdom.

We then head back on a local bus to the Balkhu slum and follow a similar schedule to the morning.

However, this slum is ROWDY, the kids climb all over us, are loud and rambunctious, and just need a different kind of love – patient, grace-giving, and playful.

18:00: From there, we head back home. We have the rest of the evening to ourselves (for team time & feedback, that is).

TUESDAY:

Each weekday looks pretty similar, but we have some different opportunities throughout the week. One of which, is going to the dance bars and cabin restaurants. I’ll eventually post a blog describing this in depth, but essentially, we go Thamel (the busy, touristy district), do a prayer walk, and go where we feel the Spirit leading us to intervene and minister. We go into a dance bar or cabin restaurant and talk with the women who are being sold for sex. We have to buy them a Coke to get time with them, but we aim to foster relationships, build trust, ideally get coffee with them the next day, where we can leave the door open if they want to leave that life for one of freedom and liberation. Agape Missions has welcomed these sorts of women into their beauty school, English classes, and even homes to help bring them to a healthy and safe place, both physically and emotionally.

WEDNESDAY:

With total freedom in our curriculum for the slum kids, we are able to step into and teach from our passions. For example, my teammate, Hannah, loves health & hygiene! The slums lack trash pick-up, proper restrooms, and access to modern health care. Just last week, someone passed away from diarrhea, a preventable and treatable disease. So, we taught them what germs are and how to kill them – by washing our hands!

We brought some soap, clean water, patience, and a whole lotta love to help meet the needs of these kids; from sanitation & hand washing to joy & friendship, we’re here for it all.

THURSDAY:

Like I said, our afternoon Balkhu slum kiddos are ROWDY – so every Thursday, we channel that energy and play soccer!

We take them all on the local bus (pure chaos) then head to an open field (shared with water buffalo).

It starts with friendly competition and ends in completely muddy outfits and a little (humorous) trash talk.

Then, we take the kiddos to get momos (traditional Nepali food) before heading home.  

FRIDAY:

On Fridays, the entire family gets together for Shabbat Shalom – to rest in God’s presence. When I say the entire family, I mean about forty people. It’s nuts. We scratch the afternoon slums and instead go to our host Brian’s house to learn how to cook Nepali dishes to prepare dinner for the masses. While the other teammates cut veggies with the older kids, I teach a dance class to the girls of the family while Denise teaches a rap to the boys. We performed for each other (I dare you to ask me for the video), then continue into the evening with worship on my uke, testimonies, and teaching.

Last week, my team wanted to bless our host family who has shown us such gracious hospitality. We have been overwhelmed with gratitude for how they welcome us in with unlocked doors and open hearts. So, we went to the store and came back with more food than we could carry, “borrowing” a shopping cart for the night.

We cooked veggie and chicken stir fry (ok, not the most “American” dish, but we were strapped with a tight budget, a limited grocery store and the daunting thought of all 40 mouths we were feeding). 

Afterwards, our host mom, Ruth, taught us a Bollywood class and let us wear her old dance costumes!

SATURDAY:

In Nepal, Saturday is the only day the working class has off. So, we go to church on Saturday! We leave at 08:00 to get there by 10:00, then again lead worship on the uke, share testimonies, and teach the Word. Afterwards, we visit the Pastor’s home for tea and biscuits. We are reminded that the service is over, but Church is not, as we continue to encourage and empower the church leaders (& cute kiddos) in these communities. 

SUNDAY:

Sabbath! After a fun yet wildly exhausting week, we REST. No plans, no schedule, no nothing but sitting in His presence, undistracted and hungry for more. For when I rest in the silence and peace of His presence, I don’t need the noise of the world to fill the holes.

This could be a hike,

supporting New Creation Salon, a ministry branch of Agape Missions that employs women through their beauty school,

hand washing my clothes,

or more likely, editing photos and videos.

WELL, there it is folks.

I am so grateful to be partnering with The Agape Mission International, a sweet family who sees and meets the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of their community. A team who is uncompromising in their pursuit of the least of these, with resounding assurance that love is greater than anything that has or is happening in these people’s lives.  

ALSO, I’m still FUNDRAISING!

I would love for you to join in with the work the Lord is doing around the globe. I am in need of partners in both prayer and finances to help bless this ministry to continue to allow Heaven to come closer to Earth. I invite you to prayerfully consider joining in and click ‘donate’ on the top of this page! Every single bit helps me reach my goal of $19,800 by November 30!

JOIN ME IN PRAYER:

Lord, we know we are unfit & unworthy, yet You choose us to be Your hands & feet. We cast lethargy and tiredness to the wind, knowing You fill us with rest & sustain our days. You don’t need us for Your mission, but you want us. We are famished for what You have to say so we come hungry to You, the power source, because we know we can’t run on empty.

We pray we never become unaware of our privilege. Lord, comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable. Break our hearts for what breaks Yours and give us the courage to respond with love. Make us agents of reconciliation; use our time, talents and treasures, and remind us that those are all still secondary to our identity in the Kingdom. We pray for provision, that you move in hearts to provide the means to continue to allow Your will to be done on Earth as it is in Heaven.

We love you & we thank you, amen.