Dirt is our stage and the sun our biggest (and hottest) witness as the bass drum knocks a steady beat out of our portable, black speaker. Rice fields border our left side a few feet away from us; behind us the dirt path continues some distance to a muddy river. On our right a newly-constructed, hardened-mud house stands, the material graciously given by the river. Gathered in front are the farmers and children of the village standing with eyes fixed on our performance.
Today we came to celebrate the completion of a house that we helped build for a few days in the past week. The village was heavily affected by floods and the shy young man of 16, Birkhe, for whom this house was built, stood in the crowd of people watching.
At the music’s urging we begin our drama and message on how Jesus is knocking on the door, asking to be a part of our lives. To celebrate the completion of the house, we came to pray over the house and to share the gospel with the villagers. I come up to speak after the skit, and give my testimony about why I follow Jesus. I tell them how God can take all the junk in our lives and transform it into something so precious and beautiful. Alyssa then shares the gospel through the wordless book.
Birkhe is an orphan who lives only with his handicapped uncle. Xiwan, one of our interpreters, invites him to speak with us, but he is too embarrassed and only manages to whisper to Xiwan how grateful he is for the house.
In the future there are plans for a shelter to be built in the village so that when floods come, there will be a safe place for the villagers to go with clean water and food. Much of the funds that were donated for our trip here are going toward the building of this shelter.
My hope is that God would continue to reveal Himself to the Nepalis in the village, and that His faithfulness will shine through the continued outpouring of love that Christians are showing in the area.