nepal
there are many things that really stand out to me from my trip to nepal. i can't disclose all of them simply b/c of time. but God taught me about myself, the people He chooses to use, and about Himself.
first of all... i am not in as good of shape as i thought. those mountains whipped me good.
secondly, God uses all kinds of different people in unimaginable ways. He uses former buddists, children, and sherpa's (to name a few) to tell the people of nepal the Good News.
finally (and most importantly) God taught me that prayer is essential and the most important thing we can do in seeing the light of Christ come to people who have never heard the Truth.
my story
our trekking group split into two seperate teams. one team was going to higher elevations. i was all for the higher trek (destination was approximately 4500m)! i love hiking, mountains, and anything that involves physical activity. i had even began exercising and training for this moment for 2.5 months prior to my arrival to nepal.
however, it is safe to say that out of our group i struggled the most with HAS (High Altitude Sickness). paul let me read his brochure about HAS. It said HAS can be life threatening if elevation is gained too quickly without proper acclimatization. medical doctors advise against ascending more than 400m a day once above a 3000m elevation. we ascended from below 3000m to just above 4000m in one day. that is almost three times more than what doctors say is safe.
symptoms of HAS include headache, dizziness, trouble breathing and sleeping, loss of appetite, nausea, and fatigue. if someone experiences these symptoms they should be brought down the mountain immediately.
well, i experienced all of these symptoms. in fact, i passed out at around 3200m from a combination of leaches sucking my blood, to altitude, to weakness due to lack of energy from lack of food and fluids. when we spent the night at 4100m i couldn't eat (which is rare for me). i was weak and tired and experienced some severe dizzy spells in bed. it was at this point i began to be concerned for my health.
i then began to pray. my team came in to my room and they prayed for me. then i realized that the other trekking team was praying for me, the team in kathmandu was praying for me. people in korea were praying for me. my friends and family in canada were praying for me.
God hears us when we pray. He answers prayer!
He took my dizziness away and the next day our team reached our goal high in the himalayas. we prayed for the people of nepal to see the light of Jesus. and we did it on the steps of a buddist temple looking down on the world below us.
God revealed to me through my physical suffering that prayer works!
i believe prayer will work for the nepali people who are going through suffering we will never know!
i was reading James 5:13-18. it said, "elijah was a man just like us. he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and half years." if God could shut the rain off at the prayer request of one man, wouldn't it be possible that at the prayer requests of many He could be made known in Nepal?
i believe it. it is happening now (slowly and surely) through the work of a former buddist turned pastor. it is happening now through the work of a small percentage of believers. it is happening now through children who were rescued from poverty, sickness, false religion, disease, sexual slavery, and death. it is happening now because people are praying.
i hiked. i learned about the people and culture. i learned about the work in nepal. i learned about myself and my God. i prayed. our mission trip is over.
but our mission is not! there is only a 0.2% population of christians (estimated conservatively) in the himalayas. we need to continue to pray for these unreached people of the himalayas and the believers there now.
i witnessed and heard buddists praying and chanting to buddah at 4:30am most mornings of our trek. they do it every morning like clock work.
can the same be said of christians? are we praying? please pray for the people of nepal.
here are some vids of the trip...
here are some pics of the trip...
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=57969&l=5ae54&id=845430102
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=57973&l=16301&id=845430102
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=57988&l=f0847&id=845430102
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=57983&l=67b38&id=845430102
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=58240&l=1938f&id=845430102
there are many things that really stand out to me from my trip to nepal. i can't disclose all of them simply b/c of time. but God taught me about myself, the people He chooses to use, and about Himself.
first of all... i am not in as good of shape as i thought. those mountains whipped me good.
secondly, God uses all kinds of different people in unimaginable ways. He uses former buddists, children, and sherpa's (to name a few) to tell the people of nepal the Good News.
finally (and most importantly) God taught me that prayer is essential and the most important thing we can do in seeing the light of Christ come to people who have never heard the Truth.
my story
our trekking group split into two seperate teams. one team was going to higher elevations. i was all for the higher trek (destination was approximately 4500m)! i love hiking, mountains, and anything that involves physical activity. i had even began exercising and training for this moment for 2.5 months prior to my arrival to nepal.
however, it is safe to say that out of our group i struggled the most with HAS (High Altitude Sickness). paul let me read his brochure about HAS. It said HAS can be life threatening if elevation is gained too quickly without proper acclimatization. medical doctors advise against ascending more than 400m a day once above a 3000m elevation. we ascended from below 3000m to just above 4000m in one day. that is almost three times more than what doctors say is safe.
symptoms of HAS include headache, dizziness, trouble breathing and sleeping, loss of appetite, nausea, and fatigue. if someone experiences these symptoms they should be brought down the mountain immediately.
well, i experienced all of these symptoms. in fact, i passed out at around 3200m from a combination of leaches sucking my blood, to altitude, to weakness due to lack of energy from lack of food and fluids. when we spent the night at 4100m i couldn't eat (which is rare for me). i was weak and tired and experienced some severe dizzy spells in bed. it was at this point i began to be concerned for my health.
i then began to pray. my team came in to my room and they prayed for me. then i realized that the other trekking team was praying for me, the team in kathmandu was praying for me. people in korea were praying for me. my friends and family in canada were praying for me.
God hears us when we pray. He answers prayer!
He took my dizziness away and the next day our team reached our goal high in the himalayas. we prayed for the people of nepal to see the light of Jesus. and we did it on the steps of a buddist temple looking down on the world below us.
God revealed to me through my physical suffering that prayer works!
i believe prayer will work for the nepali people who are going through suffering we will never know!
i was reading James 5:13-18. it said, "elijah was a man just like us. he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and half years." if God could shut the rain off at the prayer request of one man, wouldn't it be possible that at the prayer requests of many He could be made known in Nepal?
i believe it. it is happening now (slowly and surely) through the work of a former buddist turned pastor. it is happening now through the work of a small percentage of believers. it is happening now through children who were rescued from poverty, sickness, false religion, disease, sexual slavery, and death. it is happening now because people are praying.
i hiked. i learned about the people and culture. i learned about the work in nepal. i learned about myself and my God. i prayed. our mission trip is over.
but our mission is not! there is only a 0.2% population of christians (estimated conservatively) in the himalayas. we need to continue to pray for these unreached people of the himalayas and the believers there now.
i witnessed and heard buddists praying and chanting to buddah at 4:30am most mornings of our trek. they do it every morning like clock work.
can the same be said of christians? are we praying? please pray for the people of nepal.
here are some vids of the trip...
here are some pics of the trip...
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=57969&l=5ae54&id=845430102
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=57973&l=16301&id=845430102
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=57988&l=f0847&id=845430102
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=57983&l=67b38&id=845430102
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=58240&l=1938f&id=845430102
posted by TIM HORTON at 5:19 AM
2 comments
