"For this reason I kneel before my Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord's holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge - that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God."
Wide, long, high, and deep. These are words that impeccably describe the incredible terrain of Nepal, the land of the looming Himalayas and their foothills. Just yesterday, as I was climbing up the narrow switchbacks and clambering up rocks to get to the top of one of the foothills, this passage came to my mind. What I saw at the top was unlike anything I've ever experienced. Surrounding me on all sides we're similar hills (and let me remind you that these are hills only compared to the Himalayas), with buildings scattered around them. The only way to get to them is in foot. A lot of the buildings are wooden, there are no roads-especially not paved ones, and livestock is dispersed throughout the hill. The people that live there, live a seemingly simple life, with no large department or grocery stores anywhere near them. I have come halfway around the world (which I am reminded of through my lingering jet lag), to speak to these people who have very little in common with me. Very little except the most important thing - God's love.
How wide and long and high is God's love that it is present throughout the entire world. How deep is God's love that He sent His Son as a sacrifice for the sins of everyone. It is truly humbling and moving to be able to tell the people of Nepal about this love and salvation that connects us all.
So far, the mission helper trip has been filled with unexpected circumstances (which I think makes everything more fun), from 30 hour bus rides due to landslides to hitching a ride up a hill on a tractor. All of the mission helpers have maintained a positive attitude because we are here to tell people about the one thing needful - faith in Jesus Christ. We may be sweatier than we have ever been and exhausted by the time we get to the tops of these hills, but once we start teaching, we forget all of that. We are willing to go wide and long and high to share the message of how deep God's love is.
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