NOTES FROM THE FIELD
In this series, thoseinvolved with CLC foreign missions profile one aspect of our overseas endeavors.
[Ed.: the following is a report about current activities in the HCLCN. It is written, in his own words, by the indigenous pastor who is our main contact in Nepal. Names of people and places are being withheld because of the risk of persecution. The report is lightly edited for clarity.]
The Himalayan Bible Institute has two facilities to train and equip students with the Word of God for the church ministry. Of the fourteen students enrolled at one of them, we are going to tell about one young man who came to us for Bible training so he could lead and preach the Word at his rural church.
This young man was born in 1994 in Salyan district, which is in the western part of Nepal. He was the youngest child in the family. He has an elder brother and a sister. He was brought up in a Hindu family and grew up in the rural community which was bound by superstition and witchcraft. The place he belongs is one of the remotest areas in the country. As he is from a low-income family, he had to face many difficulties and challenges. He often didn’t get proper food, education, or health services as a result of his poor financial situation. He used to go to the temple of the Hindu god Shiva, but he did not feel peace in his heart, therefore he did not like idol worshiping. He received school education in the village school.
At that time, he heard the Gospel from a preacher from a nearby village. The Holy Spirit ignited faith in his heart. His wife’s uncle is a Christian, and he learned something from him. Our local HCLCN pastor went to him and had some Bible lessons and instructed him from the Word of God.
After several months going to our sister church in the area, he was baptized on January 26, 2014. He got some Bible classes and regular worship services. About six months later he went to his own village to preach the saving Word to the community who did not know Christ the Savior.
His father and mother are against his conversion from Hindu to Christian. He is hated and mocked and humiliated for being a Christian. His parents and a brother tried to persuade him to return to Hinduism. His sister is a Christian, so she supported him. He has a wife who is a faithful Christian woman, a son, and a daughter. Even though he is facing various kinds of persecution and difficulty, he is continuing the work of the Kingdom.
Eventually, this young man enrolled in our Himalayan Bible Institute. There he completed a two-year course and is now ready for graduation. He says the training has helped him a lot and he knows more about biblical teachings and truths which he can preach and teach to the congregation which he serves. He says that the Lord has brought more people into His flock.
Now he serves over thirty souls in his village. They gather in a small hut where he preaches and leads the congregation. The HCLCN helped them to build the hut as a worship place. We pray and look forward to training and equipping more local leaders so that many may hear and come to know the truth and be saved.