When I was a child, my grandma and her friends made a quilt of fabric swatches that couldn’t have been more uncomplimentary, and yet everyone called it beautiful, a true work of art. I didn’t get it at the time. But as I matured, I not only began to appreciate the beauty of such “uncomfortable” collaboration, but also the tender care and commitment it takes to make it work.

Like my grandma’s quilt, in Nepal I was reminded of how Christ uses seemingly mismatched people in surprising and wonderful ways.

After the 2015 earthquake, it would have been easy for One Great Hour of Sharing (OGHS) and International Ministries (IM) to simply raise money and rush in and do our own thing, congratulate ourselves for our noble effort and come away in an afterglow of pride in our accomplishments.

But instead, IM, OGHS, and our long-time Nepali partners, MCDS (Multipurpose Community Development Service), took the long view and worked together with the Nepali government and the Buddhist community to build or renovate 19 homes that had been damaged or destroyed in the quake, and to train villagers in cattle and poultry management, solar systems, trauma care and veterinary medicine.

Yes, it took three years (so far), and a sometimes difficult collaboration and negotiation, but the results are evident. In surprising and beautiful ways, the Lord knit together the human resources at hand, fueled by the monetary gifts from the US and Puerto Rico, to create an outcome that is a glorious reflection of his kingdom on earth.

Stay tuned for my upcoming blog posts that show the amazing work that God is doing through his workers of all shapes, colors and sizes.