Josh and Christine, Global Disciples partners from Texas, travelled to Nepal on a Global Disciples vision trip. As they prayed about going, they sensed it was God’s invitation to step into something new. They believe God brought them together as a couple for a Kingdom purpose and this experience underscored this conviction. Josh shared their reflections with us.

“We went to Nepal with few expectations and an archive of Global Disciple’s God-stories running in our brain. And a niggling question: Did the dramatic, miraculous God-stories really happen? Would we come home with our own dynamic God-story to tell?

On Sunday morning, we joined a local church service outside of Kathmandu. At the end of the service, Christine and I were invited to pray specifically for healing. What happened next was completely unexpected.

Men, women, and young people came to be prayed for. We prayed for more than two hours! And it seemed like ten minutes.

Exhausted and elated, we went to the local pastor’s home for lunch. After lunch, he invited us to come and visit a woman battling ovarian cancer. We were shocked when we saw her—pain and suffering evident on her face. Her daughter and four aunties were with her. We anointed her with oil and prayed.

Her daughter spoke English. She told us that she didn’t believe in Jesus. She wanted Jesus to be real, but she wasn’t convinced. She shared that her father had left the family, and her mother could not forgive him.

And we prayed.

The Holy Spirit gave us the words to speak. We asked the mother when she first experienced hurt. We could see that the question took her back to another place, and the Holy Spirit was beginning to work in her. Then we asked Jesus who she needed to forgive. She raised her hands and began to pray. She poured out her heart and prayed with the power of the Holy Spirit. She forgave her husband and his family who had hurt her. She repented of her own sin. She prayed for seven or eight minutes.

As she prayed, one of the aunties vomited violently. Shocked, God’s Spirit enabled us to pray

against the evil spirit within her. We also prayed that the daughter would know Jesus and that

He would be real in her life.

After we returned home, we received a video from this family. Our new friend is regaining her strength. When we saw her face, we were thrilled to see just how much stronger she looked. God’s healing power is at work.

We are grateful that Jesus invited us into the story of the Nepalese church. We met ordinary people just like us who accepted the invitation of Jesus to be a part of building the Kingdom of God in their community. We experienced the power of prayer and healing. We shared meals with men and women persecuted for their faith yet never relenting in their desire to share Jesus and invite others into the Kingdom.

We have returned home changed. Most of all, we clearly heard the invitation of Jesus, ‘Come and follow me.’”

–Josh and Christine

Josh and Christine continue to engage with Global Disciples, introducing us to their circle of influence, and participating as intercessors. They are eager to join another Vision Trip and this time, take their children along.

To learn more about Vision Trips and ways you can participate in our mission, contact Partner Relations at partner.relations@globaldisciples.org. 

Portions of this article were previously published by Global Disciples Canada. Used with permission.