In this series, those involved with CLC foreign missions profile one aspect of our overseas endeavors.
[Ed.: the following is a report about current activities in the Himalayan Church of the Lutheran Confession in Nepal (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 Word of the Lord grows!
It is our pleasure to share that the Lord has blessed us with new congregations and new preaching stations. We are blessed with the new congregation in Siraha district, east Nepal. The new congregation is blessed with twelve families, and it is growing. The local pastor says that they are having more people in the church, and they are glad and excited that the Lord has blessed the church with new souls.
During lockdown the churches experienced a low point in the physical attendance of their members. Now the lockdown and restriction orders are lifted, and churches are seeing significant numbers of new members too.
In the western part of the country, the HCLCN has started the construction of a new church building. We are praying for the resources to continue the work and finish it before Christmas. The people there are praying that the building may be finished and that more people can join in services at the church. They are training with the Word of God sixteen young men who will witness to the Lord in their region.
The HCLCN is planning to repair other churches and preaching stations, and we hope to begin the work soon. We plan to repair the churches which are damaged or affected by the monsoon season, which was longer than usual. The monsoon affected many people and places—mountains got landslides and southern plains got flooded. That is why we would like to work in order to get the churches ready for Christmas and welcome new people at the local churches.
Congregations in the mountain regions report that there are new people coming to their churches too. One pastor says that they are having more new people from the community in the church. They are blessed with a majority of Christians in their village. We praise God for His grace and mercy toward tribal people that are coming to Christ and being saved. God is good and He is always working, as it says in Isaiah 55:11 “So shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.” (ESV)
The HCLCN is planning for mission trips in the mountains in coming days. We are excited to proclaim the name of our Savior and help more people know Him. The mountains are difficult to get to, with bad roads and unfavorable weather sometimes. We know that the Scripture says in Isaiah 52:7 “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation.” (ESV) Therefore we at the HCLCN are praying, and working to train more workers who can go out on the mountains to preach and proclaim the true Savior.
The Himalayan Bible Institute plans to begin training in early 2022 with ten students from different parts of the country. The preparation is going well. We pray that things go well according to our schedule. The Lord is blessing us with more people and more congregations, and the congregations need faithful servants who are willing to share the Gospel. We trust God that He will lead us and guide us in this.
The monsoon is over now. The weather is getting better and winter is going to begin soon. The Himalayas are getting much snow. We are praying that we can visit as many places as possible in late 2021 and preach the Gospel among many groups of people. The local churches are calling us to preach the Gospel in their areas. We are looking forward to working in the mountains with our beloved brothers and sisters that are spiritually hungry and parched. We are planning and working to saturate the country with the Gospel, in spite of the anti-conversion law which is in effect. We hope that the Lord blesses our efforts and work for His Kingdom.