Pashupatinath temple in Kathmandu is one of the spiritually darkest places in the world. David Platt calls it the closest place to Hell on Earth that there is. It is a Hindu temple for the false god Shiva, who is called the Destroyer, and it is where most of the dead bodies in Kathmandu are brought to be cremated out in the open. We go there often to bring the love and power of Jesus to the people who are visiting there. We pray for those who are mourning, we pray for the dead to be raised, we pray for the Sadhus (Hindu religious men), and we lift high the name of Jesus there and invite Him to come, have His way, and to use us...whatever that may look like. Over the years, we have seen Him do amazing things in healings and revealing Himself to the people we meet there. But, a few weeks ago, He completely shocked us in what HE did.
Our Pastor from the US, Jeff, was visiting us with his son and two of his college buddies. Tammy and I felt led to take them and one of our Iris sons, Dipesh, to Pashupati to see how God might use us there. As we entered into the temple grounds, a man in a wheelchair was selling bottled water and asked if we would like to buy some. I told him that we would come back and talk with him. We first felt to go and pray for the Sadhus who really like when we pray for them because they encounter the love and peace of Jesus every single time. We had an amazing time praying the peace and love of Jesus over them. One of them was even healed of back and shoulder pain. They all exalt the name of Jesus and have begun believe but haven't yet forsaken all other gods to follow only Jesus and inherit eternal life. We got to share some more of His amazing gospel message with them and teach them about His love and goodness. Step by step, they are coming closer to repenting and fully believing.
After ministering to the Sadhus, we went back to the man in the wheelchair who was selling water and asked him if we could pray for him. His name was Krishna. He had said that he had been in an automobile accident 4 years prior and severed his spinal cord just above his waist. He could not feel nor move his legs at all...completely paralyzed from the waist down. We told him about Jesus and how He loves every person and how He can heal the sick. He agreed to let us pray as a large crowd of Shiva devotees gathered around us. Many were mocking and laughing saying things like, "Jesus can't do anything here, this is a Hindu temple," etc. So, we prayed. We asked Krishna if he had felt anything while we were praying and if he could move his legs. He tried to move and couldn't. Absolutely nothing had happened. The crowd was growing and becoming even more mocking. So, we prayed again. This time, Krishna's legs both started violently shaking as we prayed. We asked him if he could feel anything and he said, "Yes!" We asked him to try and move his legs and he could lift them both up. We asked him to try to walk and he stood and slowly walked about 10 feet. The crowd was completely amazed! So were we! Krishna was crying as he sat down in his chair. More people asked for prayer so our Pastor, Dipesh, and the boys started praying for others. We stayed with Krishna and told him some more about Jesus and what had just happened. As we were talking with him, people from all over the temple kept coming and asking where the paralyzed man was who Jesus healed. Krishna would raise his hand and say, "It's me." They would ask him what happened and he would tell them that he was paralyzed and couldn't walk. Then, these people came and prayed to Jesus for him to be healed and now he can walk. They would then ask him, "Show us." He would then slowly get up and walk a few feet and then go back and sit down. They would then ask us to tell them more about Jesus. We spent a couple of hours there telling everyone about Jesus who asked as the testimony of Jesus spread throughout the temple. They would all leave glorifying Jesus and holding HIs name in high honor. Krishna decided to take off all of his Hindu jewelry, repent of his sins, and believe fully in the LORD Jesus. This all happened in one of the darkest places on the planet!
We have met Krishna again and he is reading his Bible learning more about the Jesus who healed and saved him. His legs are healed but still weak as he is not using them as he should to strengthen them. He is struggling to come to terms with his healing, it seems, because his handicap has been the source of his livelihood for a long time. In this part of the world, handicap people use their disability to beg or sell small things at higher prices on the streets and at temples to make money. We are continuing to meet with him and prayerfully help him get connected with a solid, loving group of believers on his side of town. Please pray for Krishna and everyone else who witnessed the agape love of Jesus on that day. We are still in complete awe of what Jesus did that day!