Sunday, July 1, 2012

chitwan.

"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled." 
                                                                                                                -Matthew 5:6


          this past week, we went to another village called chitwan. it was about a 6 hour bus ride to get there. we left early tuesday morning at 7:00am and arrived at chitwan around 1:30pm. we spent the afternoon walking around the community and shopping at different markets. the next morning, we woke up really early and went on an elephant ride at 6:30am. it was amazing. the elephant ride lasted for about an hour and a half. we went through the jungle and saw different animals, like hippos, deer, and tigers. it was so peaceful and a great time to be still and enjoy God and His marvelous creation. best morning i've had by far.
         the next day, we went to a church about 30 minutes from our hotel to disciple the christian nepali women there. we shared the story of the samaritan woman with them and taught them the henna drawing. i always cherish these times with the women. it was a wonderful afternoon getting to worship and pray with them. later that night, we went to see a tribal dance, which was awesome! i really enjoyed learning a little bit more about the nepali culture.
         we spent our last day in chitwan visiting an elephant breeding center and going canoeing! we got back to kathmandu this past thursday. we spent the weekend with sanga and her kids, which is always such a joy. 

our resort in chitwan.

this was on the outside gate of our resort. the
funniest part is that it actually was both wild and 
silent :)

with callie, the elephant. just the greatest
morning.

my new friend, Ruth. drew the henna of the
samaritan woman on her hand, while 
talking through it with her. encouraged
by her faith.

waiting to watch the tribal dance with candace and 
anna grace.

tribal dance...so fun to watch.

we surprised anna grace with breakfast on her
birthday. thankful for this girl.

can't get enough of little rebecca.

kacey, our last member of our team and one of
my best friends, arrived in nepal this weekend.
i'm so thankful.

           since i've been in nepal, i've been traveling a lot. we've been doing a lot of work and spending a majority of our time with christian nepali women. chitwan was the one place i've had some down time. i think one thing i've realized is how easily i can get distracted from the Lord while trying to serve the Lord. because we have to prepare ahead of time, i find myself thinking a lot about how i can best share a story from the bible or my testimony. while in chitwan, riding an elephant in the quiet jungle, looking around the glory of God radiating through creation, i realized that at the end of the day, God doesn't want my works. as important as it is for my actions to reflect my faith, the most important thing is Jesus, who He is and what He has done for me. He's teaching me to constantly stand in awe of the cross and who i am in Him because of what He's done for me. so i'm encouraged this week to know that Jesus just wants all of me, nothing else. and because of this, i rejoice greatly in my Savior.

-milcah

The Christian way is different- both harder and easier. Christ says, "Give me all. I don't want just this much of your time and this much of your money and this much of your work- so that your natural self can have rest. I want you. Not your things. I have come not to torture your natural self...I will give you a new self instead. Hand over the whole natural self- all the desires, not just the ones you think wicked but the ones you think innocent- the whole outfit. I will give you a new self instead.
                                              - C.S. Lewis










        


2 comments:

  1. Ahhh this week has me written all over it. Elephants, dancing,canoeing, henna! I lI've it! Thank you for the reminder that God doesn't want my works, just my faith and me as a whole. So good to remember! Love and miss you sweet friend! Keep blogging! Owens blog--coming soon!

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  2. Milcah! So encouraged to hear of the Lord's faithfulness in Nepal, and to hear about how His goodness has taught you so many things but most importantly that your works are not what allow you to be with Him for eternity. Blessed to hear He is speaking to you and walking you through that beautiful country of Nepal. Praying for those you are gathering with, teaching, and worshiping with. Praying that the Lord will speak through you, that they may be His words you are speaking not your own, and that your flesh may not hinder the movement of the Gospel through your life.

    Praising Him with you,
    Lauren

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