Treasured Jewels

“Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are mine. When you go through deep watersj, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you. For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I gave Egypt as a ransom for your freedom; I gave Ethiopia and Seba in your place. Others were given in exchange for you. I traded their lives for yours because you are PRECIOUS to me. You are HONORED, and I LOVE YOU.” – Isaiah 43:1-4

Her name is Neema. She is 21. She spends her weeks working in a dance bar in the capital of Kathmandu, Nepal. Her mom and sister who is only 13 live at home and her dad is gone. She works from 5:00 pm – 2:00 am every day of the week to make money in order to support her mom and sister. She loves fashion and would love to own her own clothing shop. She has dreams, she has desires, she is beautiful and she was made for more.

I had the joy and privilege of meeting sweet Neema last week in Bebo Bar. My wonderful team mates and I had the divine opportunity to help out with the dance bar ministry through a group called Agape International Ministries. Every week Agape goes into the heart of Thamel where I have been living for the majority of my time in Nepal and they meet the girls in the dance bars and create relationships with them in hopes of rescuing them and telling them about Jesus Christ. It was incredible to have the chance to enter into this ministry and the work of God in this realm within Nepal. I was terrified at first, but the Lord reminded me ever so gently that obedience is what he asks for and he will supply the rest. So I simply went in with an obedient heart and God was more than faithful to show up.

We did a prayer walk around the city before we committed to going into Bebo Bar specifically. During this time of praying and walking around the streets our leader, Brian (who has been doing this ministry for over 13 years), told us to ask God to give us visions or images or words as to which bar we should enter. So throughout this purposeful time of prayer our great Father aligned all of me and my team mates. At the end of the prayer walk we debriefed and shared what God had been showing us and we all were on the same page about going to Bebo Bar. I specifically had heard from the Lord as we passed by the dance bars, “These are my princesses, these are my daughters, my treasured ones. They are my golden jewels and I long to bring them back from the east and the west. Go find my treasure”. It was so beautiful to hear God’s heart for these women and to carry that spirit in me as we did the ministry. Also the Lord kept repeating to me the color gold and yellow. So boldly we approached the bar, which happens to be right above where we do our laundry each week, and we entered to usher in the Kingdom of God.

The atmosphere is colorful, distracting, loud and hot. We sat down in pairs of two and as we sat the bar workers sent us each a girl to keep us company. The first line of order is to ask the girl what she would like to drink and then to order her simply a soda along with yourself. Most of the girls normally drink alcholic beverages but we stick to cokes in this situation. Then the talking and getting to know each other begins. Neema was a sweet girl. She was beautiful inside and out, but you could tell that her face had lost some expression from being in such an environment. I could see right through her surface level discussions. It was wild to hear that she didn’t want to be dancing, that she only did it to make money for her family and that on top of that her mom had no idea that’s where she was working and would be so upset if she knew where Neema worked. Our conversations were periodically interrupted with dance breaks where Neema would report to the stage that was located directly across from me within the bar. As she danced my heart burst forth with prayers for her precious heart. I prayed that she would be set free from these chains of injustice and oppression, that she would know that she is a princess and a daughter of a Great King. I prayed that she would come to know life and life to the full through our wonderful Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I was amazed as she didn’t even crack a smile as she danced each routine on stage. When she would return I would reluctantly tell her good job and then try to carry on our conversation where we left off even though my heart was shattered into a million pieces due to witnessing all the hurt and pain that lied right in front of me. While Neema and I were talking she gave me her phone number and we talked about hopefully hanging out in town, grabbing coffee or lunch sometime this coming week and ask she wrote down her phone number for me I heard God tell me to ask her her favorite color. So as odd as it seemed to me I proceeded to ask her her favorite color and all to my surprise she said it was golden yellow. God had revealed that color to me earlier on the prayer walk and my eyes filled with tears as she told me the answer I already knew due to our all knowing and all loving Father. As our time at the bar was coming to a close I asked Neema if she liked to read and she confidently responded with yes. At that I pulled out a Bible I had that was Nepali and asked her if she would like to read this book if I gave it to her. She took a glace at it and realized what it was and asked me if I was a Christian. I gladly told her that I was. She asked to see my Bible, which I gladly showed her from my bag. She was interested and gladly took the Bible I had for her. I know in my heart that I cannot move anyone’s heart to give themselves to Christ but the word of God sure can. Right after that I gave Neema a hug and told her we would be in touch and that it was wonderful to meet her.

I don’t know if I will see Neema again – the tendency for girls to give their numbers out in the bar is high and their tendency to actually show up for lunch or coffee is low. I do know her face though, I know her heart, I know her name and I know her true Father, God. I ask you now to pray with me for her, lift her up daily and I believe that these prayers actually hold more power than any ministry I could come up with out of my own strength. God is a good God and he longs to rescue his sweet children. I am humbled and grateful to have had the chance to see God in his pursuit of the trapped and forgotten. God is on a mission and he is drawing his children back to himself and he is sending those who are eager for his Kingdom to come into the midst of this battle equipped and ready.

“Do not be afraid, for I am with you. I will gather you and your children from east and west. I will say to the north and south, ‘Bring my sons and daughters back to Israel from the distant corners of the earth. Bring all who claim me as their God, for I have made them for my glory. It was I who created them’ “. –Isaiah 43:5-7