I just wrapped up a beautiful trip to several Asian countries! So I wanted to share a few reflections specifically regarding a couple day journey in the majestic foothills of the Himalayas.
One of the most special days was a day where we trekked a couple miles by foot to get to a remote village where only five Christian families are to be found. It is a village as primitive but charming as you can imagine. From the homes to the ways they cook, to their daily lives, the contrast with much of the Western world could not be further apart.
It was meaningful to talk with the first believer in this village and hear his story of how he came to Jesus. He was a witch-doctor in another village, but someone ended up sharing the Gospel with him, and he gave his life to Christ despite being outcast by his family and not welcomed at first in the village we were in. Another of the believers we talked to came to Christ because of this first man, but not until twelve years later! He hated Christians (thinking Christianity is a Western religion/god, which is a typical misunderstanding).
Additionally, it was a great joy to visit this village that no one else would visit. We hosted a free medical clinic for people here who never can go to a doctor or afford even basic medicine. We also put on a program for forty of the kids from thirty families in a village reachable only by foot. I had the joy of sharing the Gospel with them, as well as giving out some children’s material that is engaging and interactive around Jesus.
This trip was also a great reminder of why we do what we do and why I am willing to leave my family and children at times. In fact, I shared with my kids that while they are privileged to know Jesus and have access to nearly everything this world can offer, there are still many villages, people, and children who also need to know that Jesus loves them.
The Himalaya region and for that matter the whole world is full of unreached people that Jesus loves! One of our Asian teams earlier this year gave out winter blankets in another village where no one from other “faiths’ has been welcomed until that day with our team. Sixty families heard about God’s love for them in Christ for the first time! The. First. Time.
We also gave blankets out in another remote mountain village, and I had the opportunity to share the Good News with people who are not followers of Jesus yet. In this village, the local pastor’s wife died a few years ago from a simple UTI infection. But lacking access to basic medicine that we take for granted, she did not survive. And yet, this pastor, with great joy in the Lord, continues to serve in this village faithfully and is overjoyed with us coming alongside him to share God’s love in word and deed.
Jesus is at work and walking himself in the Himalayas! Please continue to pray for the many villages, people, families, tribes, and children who have yet to meet him. And please pray for those going to bring that Good News to others in many sacrificial ways under challenging circumstances.
***To partner with ServeNow to show God’s love in the Himalaya’s and beyond, click here: ServeNow.
“How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” -Romans 10:14-15
Ben Foley 