Vision Trip Reflections By Alan Beringer (Volunteer from Indianapolis)
The first thing that people ask me when they find out I have been to Nepal is, Where is Nepal? This opens the door and provides me an opportunity to tell them about it and share about my amazing experience, where I was a part of a team of seven that spent a week in Nepal. Our church, which partners with ServLife International, leads a vision trip each year to Nepal allowing people to get a glimpse of how God is moving in Nepal by being immersed in the culture and working alongside ServLife’s ongoing ministries there.
Upon arriving in Kathmandu, Nepal’s capital, we were greeted by ServLife Staff member, Mark Storm, and he along with other ServLife staff members guided our trip throughout the week.
One of our first experiences was taking part in an international missionaries’ bible study, and it was incredible. We praised God for all the wonderful things that He has done in Nepal, through songs, bible verses and prayers. The gathering was not about the missionaries or what they have done to further the Kingdom; it was about what God was doing in Nepal, changing hearts one at a time in a land that does not know the Lord. We were deeply impacted by the meeting and desire to bring the same spirit of worship back to our bible studies at home.
Our team traveled to Anandaban, a leprosy hospital in the hills just outside of Kathmandu, where we spent time in the women’s wing of the hospital. We brought beanie babies with us and gave them to the women and children. Their faces lit up as we handed them out, and it was truly amazing to see how they were affected by our simple gifts and time spent with them. One of the women saw that we had a bible with us, got a big grin on her face, and then started to look for something. She pulled out a bible and began to read a passage out loud in Nepalese, which we found out later was Psalm 23. What an impact that had on us! There we were in a leprosy hospital with people that are abandoned by their families, missing limbs and have nothing but the clothes they’re wearing and one of them is praising God, saying she has everything that she needs. It was a very humbling experience to say the least.
Throughout the week, we spent time at ServLife’s Children’s Home in Kathmandu, and the first time we visited, we were greeted with flowers, and the children sang several joyful songs. Each child was introduced to us and we heard the stories of how they came to live in the home. As we spent more time interacting with the children, we could see how well loved each child was and how God is blessing the home. We played several games with them, sang songs, made hand puppets, and even folded balloons into animal shapes.
While our team was there, we put in a basketball goal there at the home. In America this would have been a simple chore with a post hole digger and a bag of concrete. In Nepal, it was slightly more difficult. While some of us worked on the hole, others worked on turning a pile of rocks and sand into concrete. The children were very excited when we finally placed the goal post. Knowing we would be putting in a goal post, we brought a basketball and air pump with us; once the air pump was discovered there were about 15 flat balls that appeared out of thin air. After that, balls were bouncing everywhere, and the kids were beaming with joy.
God is moving in Nepal, and it is apparent with all the things we witnessed in just seven short days. As we were heading back to the States we were overcome by a realization: this God of ours is everywhere, even in places where the people have never heard of the Gospel. God is waiting patiently to have people turn to Him and receive the unconditional love and grace that only He has to offer. We come back to America with new hearts for the people of Nepal and are committed to sharing our stories and praising God for everything He is doing in Nepal.
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