Today's experience, ones thought

My name is Rhoman Goyenechea and this is my first time to Nepal; though I have been to Kolkata, India the past two summers. My experience here in this region of the world is not new being in Nepal. Nepal is a very moderate form of Kolkata. In a way this place is a good way to prepare the rest of the group for the next stage in our journey since we will be leaving Nepal soon to go to Kolkata.

As a continuation of the blogs and journey of Nepal, today was another powerful day; not in the sense that people were being saved, but more in the sense that we all spent the day with the street kids. i am not talking about kids that simply live on the street with their families because they have no place but kids that have no one else but each other. these kids are hard. they age from 10 to 16. two days ago we met specifically with a man and his wife by the names of Ranjit and Sarah. Ranjit, spent some time telling his testimony. Ranjit's story was "out of this world" because it was so intense that I had to believe it was true. I say that because often times in my experiences back at home, someones divine encounter with God has never been so specific and intense. yes, i have heard amazing conversions but one quite like this one. Also in my experiences overseas, testimony's tend to be more gut-wrenching because western culture has allowed us to not depend on Him to sustain our wants and desires. i have said this before that in reality, we, western culture, can find ways to meet ends meet without Christianity or means of dependence because culture has made that possible. when i am over here, people are persecuted for being a follower of Christ so when they say that they believe they are not just talking the talk but walking it out. i have never been persecuted for believing what i believe let alone have to hide my faith. my struggle is not being comfortable but rather spiritual thirst and constant dependence on my Lord. i actually had a discussion with Ranjit about this explaining to him what i just wrote. Please ask who ever you know that is on this trip about his testimony because i could write for days. further in the meeting with Ranjit, he asked us of our availability; remember as was written the previous blog, all of us were debating a trip to Pokara, an outragiously beautiful place in Nepal, to work with some kids for a brief time, and travel would be possibly up to 8 hours by bus on unsafe terrain. Ranjit had answered many of our unspoken truths by planning out a few days of what he would like us to do for him. those were to build a garden for the princess home, take the kingdom kids out and play soccer with them, take the street kids to the park and feed them, and finally go to the dance bars and see his ministry there with girls that live this life by dancing for money.

i am going to focus on today's experience with the street kids. Street kids are some of the hardest around because they used to have family and now don't. there family is each other. the ones we were with ranged from 10-16 years of age. these kids sniff glue, smoke anything possible, inject (fix), you name it and they have probably done in. i have hard time connectin with street kids because what goes through my head is that they just want our money and food and dont want to change. for a lot of them, they feel like they dont have a choice because based on there faith, they deserve the life they have because of their past life. in the place where we are staying, it is a tourist section of kathmandu. these street kids are very manipulative in words to gain money and food from foreigners because we feel bad for them in their situation. i learn to have a hard heart because the more we give the more we allow them to depend on us foreigners for daily satisfaction. this will then perpetuate their stay on the streets. so what we do for them to help is to not do anything at all and allow people like Ranjit to minister because he knows the situation and can provide more than we can unless we stay for an extensive period of time which is a temptation for the future.

originally, Ranjit had a group of kids that he has been talking to for some time and was going to just take them to the park. the night before last, Kolt talked to some kids that came up to him asking for some money and food. He invited them to go to the park with you the next day, and they were interested. we ended up taking a bus load of kids to a big park where we played games, ate food, and sat around. there was also a little wading pool so the kids ripped their clothes off and went splashing in the water. it was one of those moments where i laughed at myself because it looks like we are impacting their lives but really we are simply being exposed to their struggles and daily battles for one day. i do think that is the first step in the right direction to want to have an impact on a person's life. we need to be convicted in hearts to want that change and reality.

these kids are buddy buddy at one moment and then wanting to rip each others head off the next because one will have glue to sniff where the other does not. we didnt try to take their glue away at anytime of the day because what does that do, nothing. on the bus ride over, i sat in the back with kids on my left and right. they were sniffing away like crazy, high as a kite and i just sat there in amazment and shock. looking at these kids, i saw ripped clothes, some have no shoes, jeans/shorts ripped, scars all over their body, and malnourished bodies. it is annoying to know that what we did that day may not have any affect or impact in their lives, but i also think that it was a powerful day for the group's exposure for a changed heart and world view.

on our way home we were waiting for our buses to pick us up, but we got word that there was a riot/strike in the city and that any mode of transportation would be burned down if caught in operation. Ranjit told us that we would need to march home with the kids. home was many miles away so we were in for a long hall. we passed by a fire in the road and i felt like i was in a middle of a warzone marching to safety. Ranjit explained to us that those walking were not in any danger because it was not about the people. So this may sound scary but in reality it was a sweet experience walking with the kids. some vehicles would operate and the kids would jump on the back to catch a ride. they had a blast doing this and i enjoyed watching them. finally vehicles were allowed to run again so we got a ride back home.

this day was a powerful day in unexpected ways. i believe it had impacted differently for each person in the group. as for me, this was a brief description as to what i experienced along with thoughts about it. peace be with you all where ever you are at.

hands, feet, words, attitude....

rhoman g