Grace Camp
When I first knew that I was coming to Nepal, I was faced with the same questions I faced before Kenya, and Uganda. The why, what, who.. all the w’s were ever present with me, admittedly sometimes even causing me to lose a little sleep. But time and time again He has been there for me, leading me, protecting me and encouraging me. He has never failed to take me to the places He has already gone before me to prepare. (Deut. 3:18, Ephesians 2:10, Psalm 90:17).
Thankfully, this leap of faith based on a whisper has proven His intentionality and faithfulness in Nepal as well. As soon as I met the Director in person on my first trip here, I knew I was in the right place for this season. The reassurance that once again God had gone before me, and was preparing the works of my hands for me, was a balm to my soul. In the short time that I have been here I have been stretched, encouraged, and humbled time and time again and I know there is so much more to come.
Grace camp is one of the places that He opened the door to when I asked Him to lead the way. As you can see, it is a humble place, located on a tiny little piece of land that the Lord has set apart for a small group of children and a small business. It is because of the small business that they are allowed to operate, since it is not an outright Christian organisation. When I first stepped foot there, I felt a deep sense of the gift that this place was to the community it sits in the middle of. It is located right on the edge of a river where Hindu death ceremonies and sacrificing happen every day. I feel like there is a smile on God’s face as He dreams of all that is possible for those in this place. Who knows if as I wrote about last, “news will spread of Him” even here.
My first tour of the children’s sleeping and study quarters was all I needed to see to know that these children were in the best place possible, given where they had come from. Most of the children are from such extreme poverty, and lived so deep in the mountain villages, they had only the hope of survival. Word of mouth and inquiries about families in need allowed for the directors to go these villages personally to see the situations they were living in, and to determine if coming to Grace Camp would be feasible and a blessing for those that were trying to care for them. The reason for this effort was of course to raise them up out of abject poverty beyond our imaginations, but also to give them an opportunity to go to school.
In addition, because going to school is optional in Nepal, children are quite vulnerable to human trafficking. There is so little in place to support and empower the next generation, much less protect them from the evils rampant in our world. The children of Grace Camp are therefore, firstly, safe. Second, they are clothed, fed and very well taken care of by a mother/father duo who are their guardians for this season. The camp is run on donations from Westerners entirely to accomplish this task. There is zero financial cost or responsibility for the guardians or parents that the children came from. The children are thriving now, and I am excited for all that is to come.
They all attend a private Hindu school down the mountain from Grace Camp, and are receiving a standard education which will give them so much more of an opportunity to overcome the massive obstacles of Nepal. There is currently a frenzied effort in the Gen Z population to leave Nepal due to the absolute lack of any hope of thriving here. The job market, the lack of infrastructure, the immense poverty, and lack of natural resources, and so much more makes this place a desert of dry land. Youth are practically willing to sell their soul to get out of here.
That said, I believe that children carry a great potential for exemplary leadership and innovation, especially children who know their maker. The children of Grace Camp are learning so much more than reading, writing and arithmetic, but about who they are in Christ. This matters, because our lives are not our own, and finding the authentic expressions of who we truly are and why we are here on this earth is what will give them a leg up in overcoming whatever Nepal throws at them.
To that end, it has been an honour and a joy to love on the Grace Camp kids in this season. We have had what I am calling “Joy Camp” days, adopted from something we enjoyed in Uganda, where play is our job and joy is our outcome. I love to worship with them, and sing with them, and play with them, and in general just spend time with them when I am not serving the small fellowship in town and people in the community. In addition, I have begun a tiny library for them, and envision many more books to fill the shelves that will expand their whole world in so many ways. You know how important that is to me of course since I built a library with well over 2000 books in Uganda which is still growing. There are plenty more dreams in my heart of course that extend well beyond the boundaries of what is possible now, but my heart is full knowing that this small group of children is being educated, loved and cared for so well. It feels like Jesus Himself has gathered them to Himself and has beautiful plans and I am so humbled to even be a tiny itty bitty piece of it all in this season.
Will you join me in praying for Grace Camp children, and all that God has in store? As you can see, it is an extremely humble place.
There are two more children not pictured here who are the children of the mother and father of this group. They are such a precious little family tightly knit with one another and most of all, the Father who made them.
One side note to make you smile and possibly do a little dance with me. Khumar and his family that I frequently write about on this blog series, have all started coming to Grace Camp for the nightly children’s bible study and prayer time so that they can learn more and more about Jesus. I cannot love this story enough, as it was a dream in my heart that I did not make mention of, but simply prayed about. He heard my prayers and now they, like all the little children, are sitting at His feet to learn more as well. How incredibly beautiful is that?!!!