Wonder

Hey hey hey!

Hope this week has been finding you well. I have a cool testimony to share with you about how God reconnected me with a family that I met in Holland Michigan about 4 years ago, in Nepal just the other day.

You might be thinking, “what the what & who, what, when, where, how, why?”

Haha, hold on, let me explain:

I have been traveling through Nepal this month..

About 2 weeks ago, I went to a resturant to eat with some friends. As we were looking at the menu-an american man close by suggested a few tasty food options. As this man chatted with us, I wondered if they might be missionaries, but I did not say anything at that time. Later on in the evening, as I saw them leave I felt led to ask what brought them to Nepal in the first place, so that is what I did.

This beautiful family went on to say, that really, they felt called to come here & share the love of Jesus to people through empowering the locals in a construction business that they had started up over 5 years ago.

So cool I thought! So I asked asked if we could get together & chat more.
So, that is what we did. After a few messages back and forth, we made plans to meet at a local restarunt the following week.

This is where re-connecting with a family I met in Holland Michigan comes into play.

The day came to where some friends & I were planning to meet the family who ran the construction business in Nepal. As we arrived to the resturant, I walked in the door & looked up to see a cute mom & 4 children sitting, waiting for their food.

The moment I looked at the mom, something in me was like “She looks so familiar!”

So, I walked up to their table and said something along the lines of “how are the tacos?!” Hahahaha.

I was determined to figure this out.

As we started some small talk conversation, this woman was looking more and more familiar to me, I just could not put a finger as to why.

I told her that she looked so familiar, & I thought that somehow we had met before.
She seemed a bit surprised, but then said “for some reason you look really familiar too.”

So I went on to ask, Are you from the states?
“Yes” she said.
Then I asked, are you from Michigan?
“Yes” she said.
Then I asked, are you from Holland Michigan?
To her surprise, she said, “yes I am!”

& I said, “ME TOO!”

Then it hit me. I knew why she & her children looked so familiar.

With great excitement I said, “You are the family I’ve been praying for! I met you about 4 years ago right before you left for Nepal at a Hope for the Nations event at my school. You guys inspired me so much & also gave me a prayer card with a photo of your family, I’ve had it on my mirror in my old room since, it’s gone with me everywhere!”

I could hardly believe it was that same family. Somehow their prayer card would follow me from Michigan to Minnesota to Chicago and back to Michigan in a span of several years. Seeing that small prayer card, would remind me to pray for them. & it totally did! 

This woman, lit up in the best way! After my big outburst of excitement, she remembered meeting that night too.

Both of us were getting goosebumps & she went on to say how crazy this was, but such a divine encounter that God would bring us together around the world, at a random resturant in Nepal at the exact same time.

This woman went on to say that they actually hardly ever go out to eat at resturants, they only were doing this today because that very same evening, they were moving into a new country in Asia-as they felt called by the Lord.

This family was literally leaving the country that same day & somehow God lined it up for us to meet again after about 4 years.

This cute mom went on to say “I will never forget this day! This is wild! God truly set this up!”

What the what is right!

From there, an opportunity came up to do my best to encourage & pray over her & the family for the upcoming journey. In a way, God gave me the privilege to “send” her family off-as I had the privilege to do so about 4 years ago in Holland Michigan that one night too. This blew my mind. I also was able to thank her for what her family was doing-for it encouraged my friends & I to just say YES to God in whatever He may be leading us to next.

God is SO COOL!

Shortly after this encounter at the resturant-the other new family that my friends & I were planning to meet with arrived, so we sat down to eat some really good Mexican food together.

We laughed, we chatted, we enjoyed each others company & fellowship. I was super inspired by this families heart to simply love the country of Nepal-saying yes to making the big move from America & leaving many things behind to start a new chapter here.

They were so filled with life, & joy! It was awesome. I also learned more about the Nepali culture, the beauty of it, the challenges, along with the trials & joys of choosing a life of long term missions cross culturally. They seemed to be thriving!

& here’s a little extra surprise that happened this day too.

Towards the end of lunch, my friends & I had the opportunity to also pray together with this family, & in that prayer time it was laid on my heart to pay for their meal.

As I went up to the counter to pay, to my surprise the worker handed me 3, 500 Nepali Rupee Bills, equivalent to about $15 USD. To my puzzlement, I asked, “what is this for?”.

The worker went onto say that the lady with all the kids I had been talking to, wanted to give this to me to help cover cost of lunch that day. This was the mom of the family I had originally met in Holland Michigan about 4 years prior.

Those 3, 500 Nepali Rupee Bills, covered just about the exact amount needed for the family that was on my heart to pay for.

All I can say is, Thank ya Lord for your provision & Thank ya cute mom from Holland Michigan for blessing us!

It’s days like these that I am reminded-this World can get small real quick!

It’s things like this that stoke me up so much. It’s time’s like these that make me realize what a privilege to be here on this journey, right now. It’s moments like these that it feels like God is reminding me, “I’m right here, I will always provide for you & surprise you with my goodness”. May we never underestimate a prayer. May we never underestimate the people we cross paths with.

I want to give a shout out to both families that my friends & I connected with that day. The family I met in Holland Michigan before they left for Nepal and the family I recently met in Nepal-have made great sacrifices of leaving a place of comfort in exchange for their obedience to a call from God. They have stepped into a new culture, with new people, new smells, & just about new everything to help share the Love of Jesus to this nation in a Holistic manner. Though I have no doubts the struggles might be real at times, the eternal fruit of this life decision they chose to make, my thought, surpasses it all. They are world changers-vessels for eternal change too! 

It really is such a beautiful privilege to partner with God in such a journey as these families have embarked on. I honor both these families in that! Thank you for being who you are!

May we never loose our wonder. Nothing is impossible with Abba, the Father of all that is good & right in this world 🙂

Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, who alone works wonders. And blessed be His glorious name forever; and may the whole earth be filled with His glory. Amen and Amen. -Psalm 72:18-19

Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age. -Mathew 28:19-20