In this series, those involved with CLC foreign missions profile one aspect of our overseas endeavors.
Because of the pandemic and other scheduling issues, it had been six years since CLC Mission Helpers traveled to Nepal. But as the Lord is faithful, He provided and blessed another opportunity for thirteen individuals to spread the Gospel in Himalayan foothill cities and villages where the Himalayan Church of the Lutheran Confession of Nepal (HCLCN) is active in teaching and preaching the truths of God’s saving Word.
The thirteen 2023 Mission Helpers, ages eighteen to eighty, came from six different CLC congregations in Missouri, South Carolina, Minnesota, Illinois, and Wisconsin. The Mission Helpers, blessed by our Lord with unique individual gifts, personalities, and experiences, let their lights shine as they served our Savior by serving others and one another.
The Mission Helpers all met at Messiah Lutheran Church in Hales Corners, Wisconsin, on Monday, June 26. After a devotion by Pastor Michael Eichstadt, prayers, and hymns, they made their way to Chicago O’Hare International Airport for an evening flight to Istanbul, where they then boarded another flight for an early morning arrival in Kathmandu. Over the next couple of weeks, they would travel by bus, automobile, tuk-tuks (three-wheeled taxies), SUV, and more buses. During their time in Nepal, they spent over fifty hours traveling to remote locations, spreading the Good News of Jesus.
The theme for the child evangelism lessons was “The Bible Was Written So That We May Believe That Jesus Is Our Savior.” The children learned Bible stories from the New Testament that reveal Who Jesus is and what He has done for all people. Some of these children were members of HCLCN congregations and preaching stations, but many were not, having been brought up in Hindu families and being taught to worship literal idols with the goal of pleasing the “gods” to earn their favor and, they hope, be reincarnated into a better station in life after they die. While some of these children may have already heard the name of Jesus, this would have been the first time they had heard the truth of God’s grace and mercy in what Jesus has accomplished for all people through His life, death, and resurrection. The Mission Helpers taught these simple Gospel truths to nearly 1,500 children, along with many adults who also gathered to listen in. While no one knows for sure how many of these children will one day join us in Heaven, we rejoice in the promise that God made when He declared through His prophet Isaiah:
“For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, And do not return there, But water the earth, And make it bring forth and bud, That it may give seed to the sower And bread to the eater, So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:10-11)
is a full-time visiting missionary for the Church of the Lutheran Confession.