I have been blown away by the stories of faith I’ve encountered here in Nepal. So it only seems fair to share a few snippets of the testimonies we heard along the way.
Pastor Uncle: It is culturally inappropriate to call someone older than you by their name in Nepal, therefore we referred to our ministry host as “Pastor Uncle” all month. What an incredible man of God. Raised Hindu, he came to know the Lord in his thirties after his sister showed him the truth of Jesus Christ. He experienced radical transformation. Pastor Uncle says, “Before, I don’t love my honey. Now, I love my honey” describing the renewal God did in his heart on his affections for his wife. His passion for God was contagious and soon he was making disciples all over the small village of Haripur. However his efforts did not go forth without trials and persecution. He was once imprisoned for baptizing new believers and tortured in jail for 3 days for not renouncing his faith. While we were working with him in the village, government officials came by warning Christians to stop spreading the Gospel. As of March 1, it will be illegal to convert someone to Christianity in Nepal. Pastor Uncle is instrumental in gathering believers together and encouraging them in their faith, frequently going on house church visits to worship and pray with believers in other villages. Pastor Uncle is a real life Hebrews-11 kind of inspiration of faith for me.
Bhuvan: Bhuvan was our initial contact who led us to Pastor Uncle’s church at the beginning of the month. Just 15 minutes with him and I was already inspired to live even more radical life for the Lord. Church bombings happen frequently in the communities Bhuvan is a part of. Having to hide his family for a few weeks at a time because people are out looking for him is not an uncommon occurrence. Yet he kept saying, “It is normal life. We see God and His face when we go through it. We see His mercy and His grace.” Even his family persecuted him. They cut him off until he decided to come back to Hinduism. Needless to say, he has not turned back from Jesus. He believes that right now is the right time for the Gospel to infiltrate Nepal. People are looking for hope and the only way they will find lasting hope is in Jesus Christ. Bhuvan is a real life Hebrews-11 kind of inspiration of faith for me.
Probha: Upon our first encounter, Probha said, “You know rhyme?” to which I replied, “Sure” and began to lead the old C.O.P. camp song “Aroostasha” in front of her classroom full of snot-nosed kindergardeners. Probha and I came to be close friends over our two and a half weeks together. She is 22 (like me!) and lives in the house right next to the school where she taught and we stayed. Besides giving me awesome henna, Probha taught me so much about living a life sold out for the Lord. She led a youth group with the teenagers of the church we went to on Saturday afternoons. Talk about removing all the pomp and circumstance. Youth group consisted of about 15 young people gathered in a circle, singing praises to God with their voices and a guitar. There were long periods of prayer and a few people shared encouragements for the whole group. In class, we told dynamic Bible stories, dramatically unfolding the events of the life of Jesus without using His name because we weren’t supposed to tell the 100% Hindu students about our really awesome God. Probha is a real life Hebrews-11 kind of inspiration of faith for me.
Pastor Uncle, Bhuvan, and Probha are just a few of the awe-inspiring Christians I got to encounter in Nepal. But without fail, whenever I would tell them just how much the encouraged me, they always pointed it back to the Lord, the founder and perfecter of their faith (in true Hebrews fashion). I hope this glance into their stories encourages you as much as they encouraged me!
Forever His,
Grace
(and some bonus pictures just for fun)
