darjeeling.

"Great and marvelous are your deeds, Lord God Almighty. Just and true are your ways, King of the ages. Who will not fear you, O Lord, and bring glory to your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous acts have been revealed." -Revelation 15:3-4

        i spent the last 10 days in darjeeling, india. darjeeling is on the border of nepal and india. i can't even put into words how much i loved it there. we spent our time with a couple who's been there for over 10 years and own a boys hostile, where they invite college boys to live with them and gradually share the gospel with them. at the moment, they have about 8 boys living with them. all believers! these boys have some of the most amazing testimonies of how God called them to himself. a lot of them are the very first Christian in their family. and some have been disowned from their family and are forbidden to go home to their village because of their faith. but this hostile is a place where they've formed their own family and where they openly and freely worship Jesus.
       the first night we got there, we had dinner with them and had bible study afterwards. right then, i could tell how much these boys loved Jesus. their exceeding joy in singing and reading God's Word was so contagious. it was like they knew full well what their purpose in life was...to glorify God and make His name known.
        throughout the week, the boys took us around darjeeling and introduced us to their friends, mostly girls, who were nonbelievers. we got to go visit these girls in their homes and spend time getting to know them. one of us always shared our testimony with them and prayed over them before we left. every night, we would go to one of the girl's homes and have bible study. all the girls, believers and nonbelievers, would come. the boys would lead us in worship, both nepali songs and english songs. so every night, i would be in a small room, cramped with over 20 people, worshipping Jesus, and studying His Word for countless of hours. i've never been more joyful!

our small plane to darjeeling.

one of the boys in the hostile and my precious brother, kuldeep,

showing me around darjeeling.

bible study at 5 every night. truly a glimpse of heaven.

we had a slumber party with the girls we met and 

spent the night playing different games with them.

one morning kacey and i rode ponies around

darjeeling. this is usually for kids but that didn't

stop us.

apparently darjeeling has great Ethiopian

coffee :)

sunjiv, kuldeep, and vishu. love them so much.

our last night, the boys and girls threw us a goodbye

party. so thankful to have met each of them.

swarnim, bullet, sundesh, sunjiv, kuldeep, mingma, and vishu.

i'm so blessed to know them.

:) yes, we did. #ZTA.

darjeeling, india will always have a special place in my heart.

      the boys at the hostile have reminded me just how precious God's Word is. because of their deep love for God's Word, they live everyday knowing that the Kingdom of heaven is something worth losing everything for. they don't have much and yet, they joyfully take hold of the things they've been blessed with...striving to make all they have as a tool to reach the lost with the gospel. i have no doubt in my mind that God is going to use them in a mighty way to further His Kingdom. i've learned so much from them. i want to continually beg the Lord to use me, for there is no better place to be than in His will. i want to passionately live out the gospel and urgently spread the powerful message of the Kingdom. i praise Jesus for reminding me this week to fix my eyes on things above, for there is hope coming for me, great glory that's yet to be revealed. my heart eagerly longs for His coming!

-milcah

sanga.

"But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it." - 1 Timothy 6:6


        i want to tell you about a remarkable woman i've had the privilege of meeting and spending time with here in nepal. her name is sanga. sanga is a nepali woman who's partnered with us this summer. she does most of the translating when we go to villages and disciple women. sanga also has 12 adopted children from 8 different villages that i adore so much. growing up as an orphan herself, sanga prayed that the Lord would use her to love on kids that were just like her. after becoming a christian at a missionary school, she dedicated her life to seeking children who were abused, abandoned, and helpless and taking them in as her own. and within a span of 5 years, she gave 12 kids a home, a family, and most importantly, a love greater than they've ever known.
       i am continually inspired by sanga and her beautiful heart. although she struggles with raising all these kids, she never stops sacrificing all that she has for them. she has faith that can move mountains. she's always depending on the Lord to provide for them daily and taking each day as it comes. because she relies on the Lord for all her needs, she has a deeper understanding of Jesus and a deeper love for Him. being around her makes me want to know my Lord more. she challenges me to have more faith and to find contentment in knowing that i always have hope in Jesus.
       for the past couple of weeks we had been praying for sanga and her kids to find a new place to live in because their landlord increased the price of the place they were living in at the moment. he gave them 10 days to find a new place and move out. when i found out about this, i was so anxious. i didn't know how it was possible for them to find another house in just 10 days, in the same community, when all the other houses around her were more expensive and out of her budget. but we started praying hard. and we prayed that they would find something close by so the kids wouldn't have to transfer schools. everytime i saw sanga, i would anxiously ask her if she has found anything. with a smile on her face, she'd say no but that she knows the Lord would provide. 3 days ago, 5 days before their move-out date, sanga told me they found a house right next door for a good price! of course i started crying and embraced her with so much joy in my heart...to which she looks at me and says, "The Lord will provide."

sanga. love this woman so much.

sanga with her youngest daughter, rebecca.

this week, teams from Mississippi and Virginia

came to Nepal and spent some time with sanga and 

the kids.

sanga's three boys; ruben, aaron, and benis.

can't tell you how much i love them.

this family has been the biggest blessing to me and 

so many others. 

          when i put myself in sanga's shoes, i can't help but get overwhelmed. what she's doing is so hard yet absolutely incredible. she's not only loving on kids but using that as an instrument to reach many villages with the gospel. both sanga and her kids are such a light in the midst of darkness. they have taught me about what it means to delight in the Lord, despite our circumstances. i feel like they all have a real understanding of how temporary life is here on earth. they have such a heavenly perspective, in which they have a faith and knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life with Jesus. even though they don't have a lot physically, they are spiritually wealthy. sanga has given her children the most important treasure. she has pointed them to Christ and has taught them what life is all about...to live for the One who gave it all. what an extraordinary mother.

-milcah

"Fame, pleasure, riches are but husks and ashes in contrast with the countless and abiding joy of working with God for the fulfillment of his eternal plans."      -Campbell White

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

        

the ganj.

"In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel." 1 Cor. 9:14

         this past week, i was in a small village called nepal ganj. nepal ganj is a 12 hour bus ride west of nepal. my team and i left early last saturday morning and arrived at the ganj that evening. nepal ganj is known as the hottest place in nepal. i might disagree. i think it might be the hottest place in the world...it was about 115 degrees almost the whole week we were there!
         we met with a missionary who lives there, named Autumn, who led our team that week. everyday we left our hotel at 8am and went to different churches in nepal ganj to teach the women of the church how to share the gospel through henna. we told them different stories from the Bible; such as the creation story, the bleeding woman, and Jesus feeds the five thousand, and drew the story on their hands with henna. the women at these different churches were mostly all believers. we taught them how to disciple women in their communities. having the henna on their hands is a great conversation-starter so we explained the significance of each story and how they can use these stories to ultimately share the message of the gospel. we shared this with over 70 women that week! we made sure they all understood and had a couple of them share with us the way they would to their hindu friends.
        the last day we were in nepal ganj, we went to a place called rescue. it's a restoration facility for women who have been sold into prostitution. we got to meet some of the girls who've been rescued and the women that work there. the girls in the facility were mostly nonbelievers. we got to share the story of the bleeding women with them and gradually shared the truth of the gospel. even though no one came to Christ that day, i'm continuously praying that the Lord would grow the seed we planted at rescue. please be praying for these women as well.

on our drive to nepal ganj. (this is for you, dad)

everyday we had about 20 women from the church

who came to learn about how to share the gospel

through henna.

the first woman i drew the creation henna on, while

explaining what each drawing means and the significance

of the character of God we see in the story of creation.

one morning we went to a zoo nearby called the jew. 

yeah, everything about it was hilarious.

playing duck, duck, goose with the beautiful children

at the orphanage we visited one afternoon.

of course i was in love with every single child at the

orphanage.

how can i forget...happy belated father's day to my 

favorite man in the world. forever i love you, dad.

     this past week was food to my soul. nepal ganj is not the easiest place to be in. however, the times i spent in the small church rooms, cramped with over 20 women everyday, learning more about Jesus, will forever be in my heart. the presence of Jesus was undeniable. the way these christian nepali women hunger for more of Jesus and their eagerness to tell their hindu friends, was so incredible to watch. 

     going to nepal ganj was so humbling. the Lord has been showing me the importance of preaching the gospel to myself daily, because i need it. being in a hard place like nepal, there's a tendency to sometimes make things about myself. He's continuously teaching me to depend on Him alone.

     things might have been hard in the ganj, but the more i lean on Jesus, the more He's revealing to me who He really is: infinitely satisfying. the more i fix my eyes on my Savior, the more joy i find in working with Him for the fulfillment of his eternal plans.

-milcah

"Many of us can not reach the mission fields on our feet, but we can reach them on our knees." 

                                                                                                          -T.J.Bach

   

namaste.

        hello from kathmandu! i left the U.S. exactly a week from today. my travel to nepal went so smoothly...thank you for your prayers. a lady who sat by me on my flight from New York to London was actually a nepali woman on her way to kathmandu as well. how awesome is that? so i got to hang out with her all the way to the kathmandu airport. i'm so thankful for the time i got to spend with her.
        the past couple of days in nepal have been really good but definitely hard and challenging in so many ways already. kathmandu is one of the busiest places i've ever been to. there are so many people on the streets...it can definitely be overwhelming at times. candace, anna grace and i live in a small apartment called apple pie! even though i like the name of the place, we've had so many problems... such as bed bugs, for example, that we've switched rooms three times already. but since we still have bed bugs in our room, we're moving into another guest house next week.
        last saturday, i got to go to a nepali church with one of our field partners, sanga, and her 12 adopted children. (the nepali Christians go to church on saturdays). although the church service was over 3 hours long, i was so encouraged watching the Christian nepalis worship the Lord in their language. from the kids, to the adults, the glory of God was clearly radiating through His precious children. after church, i spent the whole day with sanga and her children. it was the sweetest time i've had in nepal so far.
        on sunday, i went to an international church filled with people from all over the world. it was a great time of fellowship and prayer for the people of nepal. that afternoon, i learned how to draw henna on women and share the gospel while doing it. there's an American girl named holly who lives right beside us and is one of the girls who's leading our trip. on sunday afternoons, she invites nepali women to come to her house and then she tells them about Jesus by telling them a story from the Bible. afterwards, she paints henna on their hands and explains more about who Jesus is and the reason for our faith. it's amazing. i absolutely love sunday afternoons with the women.
       the last couple of days, i've spent much of my time with sanga touring the city, going to two of the largest hindu temples and prayer walking everywhere we go. yesterday, i taught 6th and 7th grade boys and girls about david and goliath. i let them act it out afterwards and we all just had such a great time.

My favorite kind of transportation.

One of my favorite boys at the  Christian nepali church.

Telling the story of the woman who

washed Jesus' feet while drawing henna on their

hands.

Just lovin on some of the precious kids that 

play outside my apartment.

The monkey temple, one of the Hindu temples

we visited. 

Anna Grace and I on top of the monkey temple.

The 6th and 7th graders I had the privilege of 

meeting and teaching God's Word.

            i am so thankful for the opportunity i've been given to come and spend my summer in nepal. this is truly one of the hardest places i've ever been to...but i wouldn't want to be anywhere else. my heart is so heavy as i watch men and women and children bow down to idols and go to temples to become "righteous." there is so much darkness here and i can feel it all around me. there are countless of people who are blind to the truth. so many people who don't know the one true God. so many people who are going to be forever separated from God and are on their way to eternal damnation if they don't come to accept Christ as their Lord and Savior. being here and watching this is so hard. harder than i can put into words. my living situation and the lifestyle here doesn't make things easier but at the end of the day, i really don't care about my comfort. i am more concerned about these people's salvation and their eternity. please, please be praying for this nation. beg the Lord to make Himself known and to reveal to His people their desperate need for Him alone. 

-milcah

"If sinners will be damned, at least let them leap to hell over our bodies. And if they will perish, let them perish with our arms about their knees, imploring them to stay. If hell must be filled, at least let it be filled in the teeth of our exertions, and let not one go there unwarned and unprayed for." 
                                                                                                                        Charles Spurgeon
  
    

nepal bound.

          Tomorrow will be the day i leave for Nepal. for those of you who didn't know, i was supposed to fly out last week. however, things didn't go the way I had hoped. actually, mostly everything about this trip has been the complete opposite of how I had thought it would be. praise the Lord i'm not in control of my life!
          A week before we were supposed to leave last week, one of my team member's (Kacey) mom was admitted to the ICU for liver failure. So she decided not to go. And then I came to find out that my passport wasn't going to come in time for me to fly out with the rest of my team, Candace and Anna Grace. so Candace and Anna Grace flew last week but i stayed behind waiting on my passport. thankfully, my passport came in a couple of days later. the church booked me another flight for tomorrow from Atlanta. i'll be flying from ATL to New York City, to London, to Bahrain, then finally to Kathmandu. It's a little over 42 hours of flight with layovers included...which is about 10 hours less than Thailand last summer, so Praise Him!!
         The other fun part is that i get to fly to Nepal all by myself. i'm definitely both excited and nervous. but then i remember the promises of my Savior...to be with me to the end of the age and i'm reassured that i have absolutely nothing to fear. at the end of the day i know my goal for the summer and that's to serve and love the people of Nepal, to be a witness for Christ, and to fearlessly proclaim His name, all for His glory.
        Thank you so much for your continuous prayers and support. please be praying for my travel tomorrow and that i would even meet people in the airport that i can share the gospel to! i will arrive in Nepal early Friday morning!

until then...

-milcah

"May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine upon us, that your ways may be known on earth, your salvation among all nations." -Psalm 67:1-2

greater things have yet to come.

We are a chosen generation, rise up holy nation, God we live for You. You have called us out of darkness, into light so glorious, God we live for You.


"Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things--and the things that are not--to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God--that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord." 1 Cor. 1:26-31

i am finally home. after getting back to the states last thursday night, my team and i headed down to florida to report about our journey to beach project. after spending the weekend there, we all parted to go home. it is definitely bittersweet being back. as much as i've loved getting to see my sweet family and friends, i still wish i was in thailand longer. i almost feel like i don't belong here because of how different everything has been and will be. however, as i sit and meditate on the wonderful works of our Lord, i get excited thinking about this year and applying everything i've learned this summer in my daily life.

the Lord has blown me away this summer. i can sit and talk with each of you for hours about everything He's taught me. i wish everyone could have experienced what my team and i have experienced. i expected to learn more about evangelism before this summer and i have...but i never thought i would be able to discover myself and most importantly God in the way i have. i think i went on this trip thinking i knew what i needed to know about myself and about God. i quickly found out i was completely wrong as the Lord rocked my world by showing me the depth of my sin. i realized that i was worse than i ever thought i was. i was able to see sin in my life i didn't think existed...pride being the root of it all. however, the Lord didn't stop there. in the midst of my sin, he showed me the beauty of the Cross. he broke me so he could revive me. he stripped me of my comfort so he could show me how much i really needed him. through this emptiness, i was able to taste the grace of God in a way i've never before. His grace became sufficient. it became abundant. and through it, i was able to find eternal comfort and hope and every good thing i've been given by my Savior.

my chains are gone
i've been set free
my God, my Savior has ransomed me
and like a flood His mercy reigns
unending love, amazing grace.


i also began understanding that i can't ask the Lord to make me more like Him half-heartedly. i can't let go of the things that are easy to let go of and hold onto the ones that are hard. i need to give Him my everything and beg Him whole-heartedly to mold me into His image. and in that moment, i was able to discover the freedom that i'm meant to live in daily. if i surrender every aspect of my life to Him, i'm left with nothing but freedom. His freedom. this is what my God desires for me...to live my life completely surrendered to Him so i can enjoy the gift of life in the beauty of His freedom.

"Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom." 2 Cor. 3:17


thailand and the people i've met there will forever be in my heart. living in the midst of a lost world has put into reality the greater need that's found outside the U.S. there are people who've never heard of the name of Jesus before and who don't know the good news that ultimately brings everlasting joy. i've realized even more now the responsibility i have as a believer to go and make disciples of all nations. it's not about what i can do or say but the willingness to give God to use me in any way for His Kingdom. it's been so encouraging to see that the Lord is moving in thailand. He's still present even in the midst of those who don't know Him. He's raising up leaders and opening doors to make Himself known. the Christian thai's are a prime example. observing their lives this summer has reflected Christ to me and has challenged me to live my life the same way. they have inspired me and encouraged me to give up everything i am for the sake of the gospel. they've exemplified humility to me in a way that's going to be impossible to forget. God is moving. please continue to pray for the people of thailand...Greater things have yet to come and greater things are still to be done in this city. 


although this part of my journey is over, i still plan on blogging about the next chapter of my life. thank you from the bottom of my heart for all your prayers and support. the Lord is so good to me to have brought you all in my life. there's no way i could've been able to experience these unforgettable two months without you all. i'm praying that through my journey the Lord has given you a deeper understanding of His love for you. i hope He has drawn you closer to Him and given you a desire for more of Him each day. i hope you're encouraged to make Him the supreme passion of your life as you learn to love and imitate Him in your everyday walk.

 

                                     the most amazing team i've ever known. i'm so thankful.

Jesus Christ's kingship will not crush you. He was crushed for you. He followed his thread to the cross so you can follow yours into his arms. -Tim Keller

-milc