Monday, October 30, 2006

Angels in NEPAL

Angels. Have you ever thought much about them? Are they real? Do you believe in them?

I remember my youth pastor telling a story about an angel preventing him from a car accident. Other than that, I didn't grow up talking much about the reality of angels appearing on Earth.

Two weeks ago, our pastor spoke on angels during the service that Sunday morning. He shared a story that really moved me and caused me to long to see in the spiritual realm. Surely there are angels all around us. Consider yourself blessed to see one! Here's the story Gary told:

There was a missionary team in Nepal. The man had grown up as a missionary kid and spoke the language of Nepal. However, he and his buddies were in search of a small group of people called the Kahn (sp?) people. They didn't know where they lived. All they knew is that they lived in the mountains, several days' walk into the mountains. They are at a mountain pass and are at a loss for where to go next. Ahead is the crest of the mountain. Going forward meant sliding down a huge patch of ice, not knowing if they would be able to get back to the place they currently were because of the ice. That night, they prayed about where to go. They heard the Lord tell them that an angel would lead them. They fell asleep that night and woke up to find out that it had snowed in the night.

What did they see at the edge of their sleeping area? FOOTPRINTS. "An angel?" they thought. Most likely so. The footprints led toward the huge patch of ice and they saw that in the valley, the footprints picked back up again. So, they decided to follow the footsteps and slide down the ice, and follow the steps into the woods below. The footsteps led right into a village. A man meets them at the bridge that leads into the village. Who was this man? He was the ONLY man in the entire village who spoke BOTH the language of Nepal as well as the Kahn language. He could be their translator!!! When they met each other, the missionary asks this man if he can translate for him. The man agrees, but says, "Only on one condition." He retreats back to his room in the village and returns with a box. He opens the box and pulls out a New Testament and says, "I will translate for you if you tell me everything you know about this man named Jesus." He continues to tell them that the previous night he had a dream. In his dream were white men who he saw coming across the bridge. He knew in his dream that he was supposed to help the white men. Then he tells them that 20 years ago, he was riding a train, and a man on the train gave him this Book. He's been reading it since then and wanted to know all that they knew about him!!

True story. True God. Amazing God. That He intervenes in so many amazing ways! That He orchestrates the very details of our lives so that we too may "run in" to men like this Kahn man who was longing to know more about Jesus. We just have to keep our hearts open and our lives submitted to the One who gives us so much to be joyful about. So much to tell about. The One who gives us life eternal!!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Kim, were you in the youth group when Richard Lee played that tape where you could hear angels?

auDi tHis woRld said...

actually, that sounds vaguely familiar, but i don't think i can picture it.

do you remember when jeff talked about being delayed in traffic because of a small accident or something like that, only to realize later down the road was a fatal accident that he believes God saved him from being in. that's what i was referring to...

Anonymous said...

Yes...in fact, I tell Jason that everytime we are stopped by something! :)