In addition to those extra strands of adventure woven around my DNA, God has also purposed extravagant traveling as a source of personal rejuvenation for me! Since our family camping trip in the mountains of Idaho, my brother Caleb and I embarked on a journey that eternity will not soon forget. From eastern Idaho through Montana and back through Idaho into Washington, we drove...with broken windshield wipers in winter conditions. Your prayers for our safety are always appreciated.
After a long flight from Seattle and a quick nap in the Bangkok airport, we venture into the busy streets for a few hours in search of interesting Thai foods, which wasn’t hard to find! Before we know it, we are flying over the Himalayas of Nepal about to land in Kathmandu. Gratitude multiplies exponentially and worship explodes from my heart, yet still I have no idea what blessings God is eagerly waiting to dump upon my life! After a grand total of 168 hours traveling, I find myself in Pokhara, Nepal...otherwise known as Heaven on Earth in my opinion.
Set in the very heart of the Himalayas right next to a placid lake, Pokhara boasts the perfection of the tropics without the heat, and the magnificence of the mountains without the blizzards. Beautiful is an understatement here. Not only is the setting absolutely astounding, but the people are beyond description. As I wrote in my previous update letter, I’m joining a pioneering team for the first cross-cultural YWAM BSN (Bible School for the Nations) here in Nepal for the winter. We are all living in Christian community at a Frontier Missions Base nestled in a Nepali village. Caleb is resuming his Romanian-role of collecting milk from the nearby neighbors... this time from a water buffalo! Our 30 cent meals of rice 3 times a day is refreshing after eating only Mongolian meat for 3 months.
Despite my summary of perfection in Pokhara, this land is in desperate need of transformation. Water is extremely limited due to the caste system and our village location up on a hill. Electricity is sparse and comes randomly. Corruption runs rampant. Political unrest is sketchy. Poverty is on every corner. Hindu gods control people out of fear. Buddhist prayer temples scatter the land. Demonic witchcraft is common. Problems are innumerable. and so on and so forth.
I’m sitting Nepali style in a cafe overlooking the lake pictured to the right, pondering the purposes of God. How can such beauty and such evil be in the same place? My Heavenly Father has poured bewildering blessings specifically tailored to my desires over the years. I see now that every blessing is filled with so much purpose, even for this place and time! My “history” has truly become “His Story” as He intricately orchestrates so many of the details of my life. I received a prophetic word several years back just after I thrust my arms wide to the purposes of God no matter what it would look like or where it would lead me. God declared I would “eat of the good and the fat of the land because of my surrender and obedience.” Oh how that has come true!
God is simply waiting for His children to receive His tangible love, completely fall in love with Him, and abandon all else. When surrender begins, everything is possible. When everything is possible, stories become phenomenal. People listen in awe... even through translation in Nepal! God has purposed me to tell stories of His love!
After watching me clumsily eat my plate of rice and dhal (sauce) with my hands, my new Nepali brothers & sisters sit around and eagerly ask for another story... Every day is filled with stories and teaching the foundation of Loving God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength.
The transformation of Nepal begins with the heart-transformation of Nepalis falling in love with Jesus to the point of absolute surrender. God is using me here to unlock the doors of Heaven by teaching Nepalis to use the key of intercession which naturally flows from intimacy with God. Pray for Power!
Zach Hooley
Visionary Missionary moving to Mongolia
Staff on Bible School for the Nations in Nepal
Backpacker's Discipleship Training School
Youth With A Mission Idaho
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