The Call to Obedience is Forever

It really was not that long ago when the Lord invited me to come away with Him. In my mind, I believed that invitation expired once I arrived in Nepal. 

I came away. 

I would think, I came away with Him. Is that not what He asked me to do? It was not until recently that God reminded me that the journey, the adventure, the call, the invitation has barely began. The call to obedience is not a one time agreeable question. 

No,

The call to obedience is a life time of saying, "Yes, God. Yes, I will follow you God forever. Even if that means you will call me to some uncomfortable places, because Lord, I trust your will over mine, forever." That is the real call to obedience. So as I adventure and journey through my life here in Nepal, please remember that I am continually having to surrender my will to Him, as He continually calls me to act on obedience.

It was a long day when I arrived at Agape orphanage on that Saturday evening. My eyes had rimmed a blackness that illuminated my tired feeling. Before I opened the gate I heard a "Jay-ma-see" (Nepali Christian greeting meaning, praise the Messiah!) coming from the roof of this brick home. I looked up to see only one child standing there, "hmm" I thought. But before I could look down I was getting tackled by many small children. One small one looked at me and put her hands in the air for me to pick her up. I picked her up and watched a huge smile appear on her face. 

I forgot all about how long my day was and how tired I felt. Being in the presence of children, particularly these children does this to me. Such peace that they bring into my heart every time I see them. 

Right now, I am writing this blog during my break at the international school that I am so blessed to be a part of. You see, it took me some time to realize how blessed I am to work here. At first I found myself frustrated because I was not working with marginalized Nepali kids. As I believed that the call to obedience ended with arriving in Nepal... I was a fool, friends! The call to obedience is forever and ever! And working at this international school is a part of His master plan that is beyond my own understanding. 

Here is a photo of one my students as we were practicing writing sight words in English. This student is from Brazil.

Working here now gives me another temporary mission as I am being thoroughly prepared for the next mission. I work with third culture kids. Some are children of missionaries and some are children of diplomats. Meaning not all of the children I work with know the Lord; however, we have the freedom to tell them all about Him! What a blessing to learn how to teach children in a way that glorifies God. Instead of giving a lesson about rocks that ends with a simple, "these are the types of rocks…" I have the freedom to say, "isn't God wonderful that even the rocks He created are unique!?" My students were amazed at the different types of unique rocks and how they are constantly changing, that we had to praise God for His beautiful creativity. 

Two of my students from South Korea do an activity to remember how to spell words.

I should note that the school administration is fully aware of God calling me here only temporarily, and we prayed together to see how they can best train me here to prepare for the next mission God has for me.

At the international school, I am able to pour into lives of children from all over the world. I have students from the Middle East, Brazil South Korea, India, Nepal, and many other countries. What a blessing to be able to pour Gods love on these children who will grow up and impact the entire world! 

It is beginning to seem that the main mission God has for me is to teach children to find their identity in Christ. One morning as I was talking to the students about countries all over the world, I had a student raise his hand. "Miss Barger, I don't know which country I belong to." He said glumly. I asked him what he meant by that and he proceeded with, "Well my dad is an American but my mom is from Nepal and I have been to America… but God told my family to live here. How do I know which country I am from?" He said with sheer curiosity in his eyes. An entire lesson about identity and being new creations (like a butterfly) came from his inquiry. 

I am beginning to realize that every day, and every where is a beautiful opportunity to be a missionary. My friend and I went to get tea on an afternoon while we prayed together and read our Bible. The waiter asked us about what we were reading. We were then able to share the gospel with the intrigued waiter. This friend that I speak of is a great friend of mine and has been serving with me at the orphanage as well as praying about partnering with me in the future ministry God has planned for my life. Here is a photo of him at the orphanage holding one little boy who was feeling sick, and the other who was excited to be in his arms.

 It continually brings tears to my eyes, as these children cling to him when they sense the love and compassion he has for them. God has called us to be the hands and feet of Jesus, and I feel that this friend of mine continually does this selflessly. 

Please continue praying for all the children God has under my care, including Aashika and Pratikchha who are orphans under the care of a dear friend of mine, Pastor Dawa Lama and their family. God placed it on my heart to fund their education and so please continue to pray that God will provide the funds to do that. 

Also, please pray for my Nepali language development. It seems that it comes and goes, but I would love to be fluent as that would open up more doors for ministry. 

Please pray for a Nepali friend who is in the need of a job. 

Please pray for the Nepali woman and daughter who I am living with as the woman is also seeking employment right now. 

It is His joy that brings me strength!

                                                                     It takes just

 one moment 

   to change everything. One split second of a car driving closer to me than he, or I realized. One hit to the side of my knee, and I am down.

 Everything changes. 

I have replayed my day from start to finish many times. 

On that Sunday, November 24th, 2013, 

everything started out like a normal day. 

I woke up and prayed before I would ride my bike to church, as I usually do on Sundays. That morning though, as I bowed my head to pray a rush of anxiety flowed through me.

 I have so much to do today. I thought.

 I closed my eyes and began praying for the day before quieting my heart before Him. I remember hearing a few words that I will never forget.

 You need to slow down. 

The words were so clear and relevant to my life. 

But what was I to do? I already had many commitments to attend to that day. I responded nonchalantly, "OK. I will slow down tomorrow." I said this as I grabbed my backpack, threw it over my shoulder and locked my door. I didn't want to be late for church. 

I ran down the four flights of stairs to the kitchen. I grabbed some fruit to eat for a lunch. "This will have to due for today. " I said as I examined the two oranges and banana in my hand. "I have too many things to do today… " 

After church, I rode my cycle to the international school that I work at to pick up some things I had left behind accidentally on Friday. 

I sat there for a few minutes to catch my breath. 

I looked at my watch, I only had 30 minutes before I needed to be at the Nepali school that I teach at. I went through my lesson one more time, making sure I was ready to teach my bright and amazing year 7 Nepali students. 

I got on my bike and rode fast as I waved good bye to some friends who were also at the school that day. I was focused on getting to the school, it would be a new route today, yet I was still confident that I would make it there. 

I slowly gravitated to the center of the road, to prepare for a right turn I needed to make. (We ride on the left side of the road in Nepal). 

The traffic was terrible. I watched my turn pass by me. A spark of frustration bubbled inside me. I love those kids, I don't want to be late, I kept thinking. The road wasn't clearing up, I kept cycling farther away from my turn.

Suddenly, I heard the squealing of brakes. I started to turn to look and see what happened, when I felt a jolt on my left knee. My whole body reflexed itself off the bike and jumped forward. I quickly stood up, as I was in the middle of the road. 

Immediately I could feel my knee had been injured. I hobbled back to my bike, picked it up, and looked at the guy who hit me. He looked at me dead in the eye. His hands tightly holding the steering wheel, he looked down, reversed a little and then stopped. It was as if he was considering running me over again, but something stopped him from following through.

I decided it was not safe to stand there, and as soon as I had began making my way off the road, he sped off just as fast as he hit me. 

Now, that is the moment. The moment that changed everything. 

Most importantly, it humbled me. God provided me everything for me, and it was so clear and evident. Even as I hobbled off the road, the Lord provided people I knew to help me to the hospital. Then, I had some great Nepali friends help me in the hospital. 

Later, I spent some time with a family until they could admit me to the hospital and perform the surgery. 

I had the surgery where they implanted metal plates and screws. It was painful, but Gods hand was definitely with the surgeons during that time.

Now, I am getting better and as soon as possible I will go back to teaching. Once my doctor gives me the "OK" I will be back in business, crutches, and all. 

Yesterday morning, I began reflecting on this whole process. From that initial moment to now, as I am dependent on God, others, and of course my crutches. 

I realized something. I am pressed but not crushed. I might feel a little persecuted, but I am not abandoned. I feel a bit struck down, but I am not destroyed. His joy will always be my strength!

 As I say always, it is such a beautiful thing to trust in Jesus. Because of Him, I have peace instead of anguish and joy instead of mourning.

 Praise God for His perfect goodness! 

Thank you so much for your prayers. From that initial moment on, God has not left my side. I am full of joy right now knowing that people have prayed for me and loved me during this time. Thank you brothers and sisters. I am also praising God for some opportunities that have come up for this season of rest. I will be tutoring one girl in English, her mom will take her to me. As well as spending more time learning Nepali. I am still praying for a Nepali tutor who will be able to come to me during this season. Please keep this in your prayers as well.

 Thank you so much!

He died, so we can live

I have to be honest with you. 

I am Eve. 

A human who fell into deception. You see, the devils schemes are never clever. Yet, I did not see them coming. Not this time anyway. He told me lies about how God wanted me to have something. Why wouldn't God want me to have something? At first, friends, it didnt work. I rebuked the serpent and told him, "No, you see, Gods word says to not covet. It says to lean not on our own understanding and in ALL our ways, trust Him." But the deceiver never gave up. Alas, I took a bite of the fruit. Now, the fruit I took a bite of what coveting. Even when I tasted its sourness, there was nothing I could do because I had already eaten it. Thus, I felt cast out. Away from the garden and away from the presence of God. I began to feel like an onlooker when I saw people praising God within the garden of Gods perfect presence. 

The beautiful thing is, that right now I am writing from within the garden. As most of you know the beautiful story of Jesus, because of His perfect sacrifice on the cross my sins have been forgiven and I am now welcome back into His beautiful presence.

But it is important to not forget the important lesson learned here. The devil taunted me with a fruit that could have been easily matched up with scripture, but it was the way he lied about me deserving this certain thing. It is so similar to the way he tempted Jesus in the Bible, even using scripture. 

Ah, I am so full of joy that his evil schemes have been revealed, and I am now back in the presence of God!

I must admit, it has sure been awhile since I have written a blog. I actually have written quite a bit since my last blog; however, with internal conflicts I kept deciding last minute to not post them. I apologize for this, and hope you will find this long over due blog a joy to read.

Moment by moment, the world moves rapidly around me. Sometimes I feel like a push pin, placed on the earth into an intentional location. But that does not mean I automatically know and understand everything about my surroundings. I find every day a learning experience, even though it being 3 months since my arrival now, I still feel I learn something and experience something new every day. Even had to have my first doctor visit this past month, after having a high fever for a few days.

There is no doubt that the season I am currently in right now is a season of work and preparation. I have many opportunities to grow as a teacher and a missionary here in Nepal.

Currently, I teach 5 different classes at two different schools. 

Also, I started working with an organization to pilot a new program that will be designed to work with Nepali students after school hours, to teach them English with intensive instruction. Starting next week, we will begin the pre-assessments, then the hard work of creating lesson plans begins! 

Please pray for this program, as it is a pilot program and so we are completely dependent on God as to what exactly it should look like. 

One of the schools I teach at is an international school, where I am teaching ESL. My students are primarily Nepali and Korean, and they are teaching me as much as I am teaching them, I believe. They are so full of thought and are unbelievably innovative! Their language skills sometimes comes as a deterrent for expression, but they are amazing students that I feel so BLESSED to work with. 

One of my students learning basic CVC words.
He is looking for a letter to complete this word.

The other school I teach at, is the Nepali community school. I am teaching class 7 students and working hard at using their first language as a basis for their English development. The students are progressing, but my prayer is that they keep their motivation. The school they are at ends at class 7, and most of them don't plan on finding another school to go to next year. They plan on getting their first job. Please pray for the Lord to use me as an influence in their lives that they will be motivated to stay in school. 

Recently, I have found myself obsessing over understanding God and His will for our lives. In this longing and desire to understand Him and His will, He has brought me to a humble closure. 

It was something that Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me…” Matthew 16:24

I know the cross that He has chosen me to bear. I know the burden that I have for the marginalized Nepali people. But I found myself asking God how it all makes sense. 

I teach at a Nepali school, but I also teach at an international school where I work with non-marginalized Nepali kids as well as Korean children. How could that be a part of His plan? I found myself asking quite frequently. 

But never did I realize that part of this act of denying myself, is also an act of denying the right to know and understand everything. God knows. He knows my plan. He knows your plan. We should surrender and allow Him to take the lead. He is far more wise than any of us, anyway. 

God is working in me. He is training me and equipping me. I work hard and some days, I come home to find that I must fall down into the presence of God because it is there that I find my rest. 

Friends and family, 

Thank you so much for all your prayer. I believe God has been supplying me all my needs, and I thank you for praying to Him. Thank you for those who have supported this ministry God has me doing, teaching and working towards a bigger vision, financially.

I pray God will bless you for your obedience.

Now, here are some updated prayer requests:

-Please pray for Nepal. There is an election coming up. Please pray for the right person to come into the office. Right now there is a party running who would like to abolish Christianity in Nepal. This election really needs your prayer! The other problem is that many Nepali are afraid to vote because of what the rebels might do to them. Pray for boldness in this country. 

-Please pray for ALL my students. Pray for me as I teach them  and for them to continue to grow. As well as their hearts being open to God.

-Please pray for the EEP pilot program where we will be teaching English after school. Pray for wisdom and guidance for me and my partners.

-Please pray for the international school I am working at. They are accredited and there is an inspection coming up. Pray for no stress and peace for that. 

-Please pray for my Nepali family- extended and immediate. They have been such a blessing to me. I don't think words could ever describe it. I pray that God will show His favor to them always. 

-Lastly, please continue to pray for my Nepali language development. Pray for confidence. I am getting closer to being able to share the gospel in Nepali! But I need prayer to have that conversation afterward! :)

Please feel free to check out:

http://www.vineyardsa.org/index.html

Vineyard church is my sending mission, and I am honored to be a part of their community. If you live in the San Antonio area and are looking for a church. I strongly recommend this church. They are more than a church, they are a family who believes in every member growing into the person God meant them to be.

Also,
http://www.treeoflifechurch.org/main/ 

Tree of life has been 100% Supportive over the work God is doing.

If you ever feel led to donate please go to: 

www.gofundme.com/nepal 

OR for a tax free donation 

http://www.vineyardsa.org/Online-Giving.html