Back home!

I made it home safe and sound! After 43 hours of flying and sitting in airports, our team finally made it back to Chicago. Some went on to spend the night in a hotel and fly home the next day, but I was greeted at the airport by my amazing family that I missed so much, who were holding up a 6 foot, neon, sparkly banner that read "Welcome Home! We Love Penny!"

We spent the last week of our trip debriefing our experience, spending as many as 5 hours a day journaling, sharing stories, and preparing to return home. It was great to have this time set aside to process the tremendous things that God accomplished in our lives over the course of our 6 weeks together. I took intentional time mentally preparing to return home, knowing that 4 days after I returned home I’d be back at band camp for a week and a half. Having rehearsal from 8 AM to 9 PM didn’t exactly leave me time to be jet-lagged!

The past 2 weeks has been a week of readjusting, from little things like eating protein and dairy and sleeping at normal times to bigger things like not living with a family of 37 and having to make time to do devotions daily instead of one hour of my schedule being set aside for it. Thankfully, we had some pretty phenomenal teachings during debrief week that prepared us for coming home as best they could.

As I was reflecting back on my trip, 3 of the conversations I had after street performances really stuck with me. These 3 people not only made an impact on me, but they were also impacted by the message we had to share through our street performances. Their names are Krishna, Thapa, and Kirsingh.

Krishna: a well-educated man who had never heard the name of Jesus.
I met Krishna when I was walking through the crowds after a street performance in Kathmandu. He had seen a large crowd gather, so he decided to stay and watch our show. He was very intelligent, fluent in Nepali, English, and German, but he said he was very confused by our drama. He didn't understand the message. Keep in mind, the dramas we perform are somewhat confusing on purpose for someone who is not a Christian so that we are able to start conversations by explaining them. He had actually never heard the name of Jesus before. After he explained to us his philosophy on life, I was able to have a great discussion with him. Some of the things I said he agreed with, while others he did not. He thought that as long as your actions did not negatively impact anyone, you were not a sinner. Even so, he agreed to attend church with our translator's contacts the next week. We left him in connection with the local church, 2 of our tracts that explained the Gospel and common questions about Christianity.

Thapa: an upper-caste Hindu school girl curious about Christianity

Our last day of ministry in Pokhara before heading back to Kathmandu for debrief the team visited a boarding school called Gandaki. This particular school prides itself in teaching English, so there were many, many great conversations that day. I got to talk with 4 of their 5^th grade girls. At first we talked about everything from the girls’ boyfriends to their love for Justin Bieber to what it’s like living in America. Then, we started talking about the street performance they had just seen. One girl named Thapa was very interested. She explained that she was Hindu, but she had heard about Christianity and wanted to know more. As we worked our way through the Connecting with God tract, which is similar to the 4 Spiritual Laws, she told me that she wanted to become a Christian, but she didn’t want her parents to find out. As the oldest child, she bears more responsibility in the family religion than other children. Even though she did not commit to becoming a Christian then, as we were walking out, I could see her continuing to study the tract.

Kirsingh: an adult hated by his parents for his faith

If I had to pick the experience that single-handedly changed me the most, I would pick my interaction with a man named Kirsingh. This particular day of village ministry was a little bit different than most. Instead of performing in a town square, Job, our team leader, took us to a bus station, which is basically just a really big parking lot. We began, as we always did, prayer-walking through the area where we were going to perform. As we then went out to go invite Nepali people to come watch us, we noticed an abundance of men with very few women. Later we came to find out that we were in the red light district of Pokhara. In addition to the people waiting for buses, we also had many owners and workers in this district were in attendance. Because my knee was injured, I wasn’t allowed to perform, so I instead stood on the side and began talking with people in the crowd. After many brief conversations, I began to talk to a young girl. She called her friend over who in turn called her dad, Kirsingh, over. I began talking to Kirsingh and soon realized that I needed a translator. My friend Michelle and I were trying to carry on a basic conversation when out of nowhere one of our new translators appeared (When we first arrived in Pokhara, we ran into a full-time missionary on the street and ended up using his 3 translators in addition to the 3 that travelled with us from Kathmandu- a huge blessing!). As we continued to talk, we learned that he, his wife, and his son had once been in the Christian church, but his parents were angry and began physically abusing him because of it so they left. As the conversation began to wrap up we asked if we could pray for him, and our translator told him what we were praying as we prayed. A big part of Royal Servants overseas trips is memorizing scripture. We memorized over 50 verses in our 4 weeks of ministry, and we also were allowed to choose some verses of our own to memorize. God really lay on my heart to share 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 (“So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”) He really took the verse to heart and said he would consider becoming a Christian later in life.

One of the biggest lessons I had to learn this summer was trusting in God’s timing. Another bit of Royal Servants memorization is the definition of successful evangelism: taking the initiative to share Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit and leaving the results up to God. Even though I did not immediately see the effects of my ministry this summer, I realize that God is capable of working in these people without me. My job was just to go a plant or water a small seed in their hearts that may lead to salvation at a later time. In all things, God’s timing is perfect. God’s perfect timing also applied to my life coming back home. On July 15th, I fell and injured my knee hiking. I was able to keep walking on it, but by July 27^th I needed crutches. Learning to be dependent on other people was quite the struggle, but it also taught me how other people might need someone to serve them, even if they don’t want to ask. I had to rely on people to carry my backpack everywhere we went, to get my food at mealtimes, and to walk a little slower while I navigated the Nepali streets on crutches. Going through international airports on crutches was also very interesting to say the least. Thankfully, I was only on crutches for 2 weeks and only missed a day and a half of band camp. My knee is now doing much better, but I will be going to physical therapy for a while to completely recover.

As I move forward with my life, not only will I be continually praying for the people I encountered, but I also feel God burdening me with a passion for the water crisis. Having encountered first hand the effects of drinking bad water when I was sick with an 104 degree fever among other medical issues, I am deeply sorrowed at the thought of children growing up without access to clean drinking water. These same children fall ill with many life-threatening diseases all the time because of their lack of access to clean water. Please pray with me for this water crisis and for me as I figure out how this new passion plays into my life back home.

This summer, my team had the priviledge of being used by God to bring 55 Nepali people to Christ. Countless hours of preparation, dozens of performances, thousands of tracts, and the end of it all was witnessing 55 Nepali people come to Christ. It doesn't stop there though. We talked with hundreds of people daily. Thousands of people watched us as we walked through the streets, ate meals, and interacted with each other. Through our words and actions, we were able to show the love of God to many people who had never heard the name of Jesus before. We may never know the final count of how many people came to Christ because of this summer, but what I do know is that each of you had a hand in it. Without you and other supporters like you, our team could not have done what we did this summer!

Thank you guys so much for all of your support this summer! Every dime you gave, every prayer you said, every time you thought of me meant so much. This trip truly has changed my life in more ways than I can count. I have matured physically, emotionally, and spiritually. The memories I made in Nepal will last forever, and I couldn’t have done it without my supporters. I hope that someday I will be able to share more of the countless stories that I have with you guys in person, because I could literally write another million pages about how God used me, worked in me, and changed me this summer. Thank you so very much for everything you did to support me this summer. I wouldn’t trade this experience for anything in the world!

My wonderful, amazing, fantastic team!

- Penny Shirey

2 Corinthians 12:9-10