TAN Mission to Nepal

Nestled in the Himalaya Mountains between China and India, this small nation of nearly twenty-nine million people is still basically Hindu although the king was recently removed from power and a secular democracy put in place.  Hindus still make up seventy-two percent of the nation.  Buddhists claim nine percent, and Muslims comprise four percent.  Christians trail at fourth, with four percent.  However, Christianity is growing twice as fast as other faiths, and the church is growing faster there than in any other nation in the world.  In 1960, missiologist Patrick Johnstone reported just twenty-five believers.  Today the number has risen to more than a million, and that number is projected to double within the next quarter century.
William Carey’s Serampore Mission group prepared the way for evangelization activities in Nepal when it translated the Bible into Nepali in 1821.  The legendary Sadhu Sundar Singh trekked through Nepal on several trips to preach in the early 1900s.  Early mission attempts into Nepal included Scottish missionary William MacFarlane’s Eastern Himalayan Mission that focused on education and evangelism in the late nineteenth century, and the Australian Nepalese Mission that was founded in Melbourne in 1911.  Ganga Prasad Pradhan, born into a wealthy family in Kathmandu in 1851, became the first ordained Nepali pastor.  He was expelled in 1914 by the royal decree, “There is no room for Christians in Nepal.”  Some forty years later, his grandson, Rajendra Rongong (our personal friend), was among the first group of Darjeeling Nepali Christians to return to Kathmandu.  It was at that point that Christianity really began to take root in the country under the leadership of our dear friend Rev. Robert Karthak.  Other close friends of ours who came into Nepal at this same time to do social work and to spread their faith included Eileen Lodge who has given more than fifty years of service to the lepers of Nepal and Elizabeth Mendies who has cared for the country’s orphans for the same amount of time.  In addition, a group of mostly Western missionaries formed the United Mission to Nepal (UMN) in 1954, focusing on medical and educational work.  UMN missionaries signed a required agreement with the king not to proselytize.  However, some ethnic Nepali Christians were determined to be more open about their faith.  For example, the late missionary Prem Pradhan proclaimed, “Christ died for me openly before all; how can I proclaim Him privately?”  He received a six-year prison term for baptizing nine believers in 1960, but was released under amnesty rules on the king’s birthday, after serving four-and-a-half years in prison.  Despite hardship, Prem Pradhan established a missionary school in Kathmandu with support from US-based Christian Aid Mission.  However in 1972 royal troops closed the school and killed one of the teachers.  Prem was again sentenced to prison; this time for twenty thousand days (53 years), but he was eventually freed after paying a ransom of one rupee per day ($2,000).  While in jail, at least a dozen political prisoners became Christians who, after their release, helped spread Christianity and to establish churches.  Another missionary, a former Hindu priest, began circulating a Bible correspondence course in the 1980s; more than four hundred thousand Nepalis eventually subscribed to the course.

Today more than half of all Christians belong to independent groups, and charismatics number some six hundred fifty thousand.  When Every Home for Christ began its outreach into Nepal in 1982, it was illegal for Christians to share the gospel, but former EHC Director Solon Karthak began working with a handful of courageous believers with the vision of visiting every home in the country to share their faith.  To date, EHC has reached every home, even in the most remote villages and has more than halfway completed a second coverage of the country.  They report more than three hundred fifty thousand responses to their literature outreaches and have established almost nine thousand Christ Groups, which are essentially pioneer church plants.  The growth of Christianity in Nepal has occurred exactly the way it did as narrated in the book of Acts or in the gospels–through healing the sick, casting out demons, forgiving sinners, reconciling families, and giving the hope of eternal life.  Evangelism is easier in the cities because people are less connected than in the villages where everyone in part of a corporate whole rather than nuclear families or individuals on their own.  In the villages, Christians are considered unclean because they don’t participate in the Hindu, Buddhist, or Muslim rituals of the locality.  Those who eat meat, especially those in Hindu villages who eat beef and those in Muslim villages who eat pork, are banned from touching the community water supply and other facilities for fear that they will “contaminate” the other villagers.  The result is that they are essentially outcasts and wind up being excommunicated.

Though there is a tremendous revival spirit throughout the country, not all is peaceful.  Nepali Christians have faced all kinds of abuse and isolation in recent years.  Many have even paid the ultimate price for their faith.  Our translator recently wrote concerning an experience in which one of his pastor friends visited his home to share the gospel and show the Jesus Film.  Unfortunately, our translator’s father became very angry and forced the guest to turn off the film and run from the house.  But this kind of hostility is not only localized in a few homes here and there; it is widespread throughout the country.  Several months ago a bomb was detonated inside a church, killing two believers and injuring fourteen others.  Miraculously, the kingpin behind the bombing plot was arrested and placed in a prison where there is a very active Christian Bible study and fellowship.  Recent reports we have received from that group tell us that the man behind the bombings is now attending their fellowship meetings and responding to the gospel.  He has repented for his deeds and has extended an official apology to the church and asked for their forgiveness.  In addition to the religious hostilities the believers have experienced, the country as a whole has suffered greatly under the Maoist insurgency that has cost the country thousands of lives and untold difficulties through strikes that have totally shut down the government and economy of the country.  The people have experienced extreme shortage of daily supplies, and the prices of daily essentials have been increased unexpectedly.  However, Nepal’s churches are not shutting down despite the political turmoil in the country.  In fact, churches in Nepal are actually growing while the Maoist party continues strikes and protests.  At one point, the insurgents implemented a policy of extortion of Christian leaders in which demands for large sums of money were accompanied by threats of kidnappings or burning of homes if the funds were not delivered.  Very close personal friends and co-workers of ours in Nepal were targeted in these extortion plots; however, they were protected through God’s grace and the prayers of the saints.

The political system of the country has been in a constant state of flux during our entire experience there.  At present, there is no active constitution in place, though a constitutional congress of six hundred five delegates have been selected.  Unfortunately, there are no Christian representatives among them.  Although this body’s first task is to be to install a new prime minister, eleven attempts have failed to place a chief executive in power.  While extreme forces attempt to return the country to a Hindu state and a popular movement wishes to reinstate the royal family, the Maoists are claiming a commonality with the Christians because they both want a secular state based on a democratic process.  Presently, Christians have total freedom, Christmas is now recognized as a legal holiday, and in a recent public display (even broadcast on television) the government honored the Christian leadership for their contributions to the country; however, all that can change overnight if a new constitution is adopted which returns the country to its Hindu roots.

Charisma Magazine reported Nepal as the hottest spot on the planet for the gospel at this moment.  The article said that the church is growing there faster than in any other place in the world.  We can certainly confirm this report from having been an active part of the revival for the past thirteen years.  We have friends in the country who can personally remember when they could count the entire Christian population on the fingers of their hands; today, the number of believers is pushing one million!

Since religious freedom was granted in the nation in the early ’90s, Teach All Nations has been dedicated to going into Nepal to train leaders for this emerging church.  On our first mission into the country, we were asked to start by explaining what the word “hallelujah” means.  Since that time, we have been able to teach the leaders many principles including such practical truths as the operation of the gifts of the Spirit, spiritual warfare, and deliverance.  In addition, we have been privileged to publish a number of books and teaching materials in the Nepali language as well as to provide materials in English for those who know the language.  The following articles chronicle our work in Nepal over the years of our involvement.

1990
“Ask of me, and I shall give the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.” (Psalm 2:8)  When the Psalmist penned these words under the prophetic anointing, he was speaking forth the very words of God flowing from His heart to the nation of Israel.  Perhaps those words rang as notes of national superiority and territorial expansion in the ears of the Israelites some three thousand years ago.  Certainly, the Jewish people did not hear this message as a promise that the pagans would convert to Israel’s monotheistic faith.  On the contrary, the Jews at that time took a more defensive stance than an offensive one in the confrontations between their faith and the pantheism that surrounded them.  They protected their faith in a large degree by isolating themselves from the heathen world and certainly had very little interest in an evangelistic outreach to the world.  Hence, this Psalm must have conjured images of the defeat of the Canaanites by the sword of the Lord and of Joshua as one pagan tribe after another fell before the invasion forces of the Hebrews.  Perhaps these words inspired visions of the soon-to-come golden era of Israel’s triumph as the territorial boundaries would expand and international influence would reach its apex under Solomon.  Yet, the real message of these words was likely unheard for nearly a millennium.  It was only with Jesus’ Great Commission that the true essence of this message came forth–the world is laid at our doorstep.  Yet, after two millennia of having the promise of the eternal souls of mankind as our promised inheritance, perhaps too many in the church have failed to ask for our possession.  The Lord directed that we ask and He promised to do the giving.  It’s always interesting how easy He makes the yoke, and how light He makes the burden.  This past month, I saw God sovereignly fulfill His word in the nation of Nepal.  A number of years ago, I committed myself to pray daily for this Himalayan nation.  It’s not much more that a small blob of color splashed between the great nations of China and India.  Yet, this tiny kingdom contains the highest point on planet Earth, Mt. Everest–but more importantly, millions of souls held captive by pagan darkness.  The nationals hold their king to be a reincarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu and all non-Hindu religions are outlawed in the nation.  Although a few citizens do embrace the Christian faith, conversion carries a severe prison sentence and all the associated brutality.  In fact, the college supports an orphan in a Christian home where the director is presently serving a sentence for witnessing.  For several years, I have targeted Nepal with daily intercession that it would open itself to the gospel.  I have confronted the Hindu principalities that held that nation in bondage.  Ephesians 6:12 says that these spiritual forces are in high places and Nepal certainly qualifies.  Then suddenly, the door began to crack and the principality began to crumble.  The king has announced that he will allow a more democratic type government to be instituted in the nation.  I believe that this is a physical manifestation of a spiritual reality.  Certainly, these changes are going to result in a new openness for the gospel.  The fascinating timing of it is that the government will be changing just as LeSEA Broadcasting is building its new shortwave radio station in the Hawaiian Islands with a twenty-four-hour-per-day gospel message beamed right into Nepal! The spiritual principality will crumble just as God releases His Word to engulf the nation!  Let me encourage you not to faint in your intercession.  Your effectual, fervent prayers will avail much.  Target your family, your community, our nation, and the heathen who are scattered to the ends of the earth.  Their souls will be your inheritance.  That’s the only possession you can take with you beyond the grave.

1992
For centuries the doors were closed, but in 1990 things changed. The kingdom of Nepal, nestled in the Himalayan Mountains, has suddenly opened its doors to the gospel.  King Birenda rules this tiny Hindu state not as man–but as god.  He is considered by the populace of this unreached nation as a reincarnation of their deity Vishnu.  Yet, in May and June of 1990, he miraculously reversed centuries-old policies of persecution, imprisonment, and torture of Christians.  Religious prisoners were suddenly released and granted amnesty.  Prior to this point, simply being seen with a Bible resulted in arrest.  Today, gospel literature can freely be transported, distributed, and even printed in Nepal.  This new freedom was thrilling news to me because, a number of years ago, I had committed myself to daily prayer for Nepal.  For several years, I targeted Nepal with daily intercession that it would open its doors to the gospel. I claimed the promise of Psalm 2:8 that if I would ask God, he would give me the heathen nations as an inheritance.  I reminded God that the heart of the king is in the hand of the Lord (Proverbs 21:1), and I asked God to move on his heart to release the people.  I confronted the Hindu principalities that held the nation in bondage.  Praise God! It worked. Now, there is freedom to preach the gospel and freedom for the Nepalese to respond.  Recently, the Lord has given me a burning desire to personally go to Nepal and see the results of this effectual, fervent prayer campaign.  He has opened doors for me to not only pray the gospel into Nepal, but also to personally bring the good news through those once-locked doors.  In May, I will be carrying a large supply of Nepali-language Christian literature and holding gospel services throughout the nation.

I wish that you could have been there!  I promise you that you would never have forgotten the scene.  One lone white man (me) in the middle of a huge mob of close to fifty cute little brown school children begging and grabbing for “ONE.”  Dubar Square, the temple plaza and city center of Kathmandu, Nepal, echoed with the chatter of these children as they all cried out for “ONE.”  They were pleading for gospel tracts!  In a nation where two years ago I would have been arrested for even owning gospel literature, I was allowed to freely distribute the little Nepali versions of the gospel pamphlet Help From Above.  In fact, on a couple of occasions, the police even helped distribute the Good News booklets to individuals we had missed.  The people so eagerly reached out to receive the tracts.  Their eyes and hands demonstrated a sincere hunger and a humble appreciation for our witness.  Our six-member team distributed over five thousand of these tracts during our visit.  We could have easily handed out ten times that quantity had they been available.  We only saw two or three of the pamphlets discarded.  Usually the people would stop and begin to carefully read the literature as soon as they received it.  Buddhist monks, Hindu sadhus, Hari Krishna devotees, the guards at the king’s palace, and even a few Americans who were in Kathmandu to study Eastern religions received our witness.  As we moved throughout the city and the remote villages, we could sense a real spirit of-freedom and revival in the land.  We considered it prophetic; the gospel of the kingdom of God was being preached in Nepal fulfilling the Lord’s words that it would reach every nation before the end of this age. (Matthew 24:14)  Our team preached in churches, testified in home groups, shared the gospel with a professionals group, ministered at a leprosy hospital, and freely witnessed on the streets, in the shops, and at the hotel.  In every sector we found a genuine desire to hear the gospel message.  Many could understand English well enough to talk personally with us and then be led in the sinners’ prayer.  One believer sized up the revival by saying that when he became a Christian some twenty years ago he personally knew every believer in the whole country.  Now, he says that he can’t even keep up with those who belong to his congregation.  God is truly pouring out His Spirit in Nepal!  Many of the believers have paid a dear price through imprisonment and other forms of persecution to bring this revival to their land.  Now, they are bringing in the precious harvest that was sown in blood, sweat, and tears.

Among those who had a real interest in Nepal was World Harvest Bible College who had sponsored an orphan there for the last four years.  With new freedom to proclaim the gospel, the college rushed in to assist in the revival.  One highlight of the trip was a visit at the Mendies Haven where we met Kaji, a young man whom the college has sponsored in the orphanage.  He is a handsome young man who really loves the Lord.  Our visit with him was an emotion packed experience as he attempted to express all the love he felt for his sponsors.  We laid hands on him and blessed him as we parted in joy.

Mary Ann Stewart reflects upon her experience:  The thing that stands out in my mind are the many opportunities we had to meet the native people.  We passed out tracts in Dubar Square and spent time visiting with the people who sold their wares.  Young children through adults, they were very persistent.  Riding a church bus and sitting scrunched up in an upper room for a professional men’s meeting was an unforgettable experience.  Visiting an orphanage, a leper colony, a hospital, and having dinner with several families also afforded us experiences that gave us an insight into the peoples’ lives.  At one church service I couldn’t squeeze into the meeting so I sat on the balcony and later found myself, to my astonishment, sitting in on a discussion by the speakers of the meeting from America and another man from Holland who came to film the revival in Nepal which he felt was second to the one that took place in South Korea.  When we met Solon, an apostle Paul for Nepal, driven with zeal to reach every home with the Gospel and he’s doing it.  Our leaders, Dr. Delron Shirley and Pastor Chris Strube, together kept us on the move doing lots of exciting things, from riding an elephant, to flying near Mount Everest, and taking a tantalizing ride up the side of a mountain on a very narrow road.  We always got to where we were going on time.  My final blessing was to be able to spend an evening and a morning with Mrs. Elizabeth Mendies, the founder of Mendies Haven. She is truly a gracious servant of God, who is very, very practical and loves her children so much and is helping them to grow into independent adults in the Kingdom of God.  I’ve heard of testimonies of saints going out and the Lord providing the opportunities–well it happened for us in Nepal.

Richard Laskowski evaluates the trip: I thought to myself, “No way, Buddy, not to India, that’s where they have things like cholera, malaria, and cold showers.”  Delron has asked me for the sixth time if I was going to go on the mission trip to Nepal, India, and Sri Lanka.  I told him I would think about it, but in my mind there was just no way.  One day a strange thing happened, I started to change my mind.  The strangest thing of all was when I decided to go, or I should say, God changed my heart, giving me the desire to go.  The words sounded foreign as I listened to myself tell Delron I would go.  India was a place I never thought I would see, but here I am writing this on a jet somewhere over India.  We started this trip in Katmandu Nepal where we distributed five thousand gospel tracts.  How exciting it was to almost be knocked down by the crowds of people pressing in to receive the booklets.  A place that once put people in jail for the very thing we were doing was now free and receiving the Gospel with joy.  Buddhist monks were chanting their prayers with Gospel tracts sticking out of their pockets, and Hindu sadhus were posing for pictures holding our tracts up with a smile.  In one instance a policeman who had received a tract came back and asked for another one for his friend.  The churches are strong in Kathmandu; many have attendance in the hundreds.  One church we visited had a new building and it was filled with over nine hundred people.  We left Kathmandu and went on to Calcutta, India.  While we were there two things were very evident.  First, that the devil hates people with a passion.  Calcutta, a city given to poverty and sickness as the result of worshiping false gods, is dedicated to the bloodthirsty goddess Kali.  We witnessed animal sacrifice and people taking the blood of the goats and placing it upon their foreheads in worship of the Hindu god.  The second thing that was evident was that God really loves these people.  He has raised up through Mark Buntain’s ministry a shining light in the form of a hospital, schools for children, a powerful church, vocational school, and feeding programs.  There are many who were once in darkness who now shine with the glory of Christ–their eyes shine with hope.  What a thrill it was for me to stand behind Mark Buntain’s pulpit and preach.  From Calcutta we went to Sri Lanka, a place of beauty and exceptional heat.  After a three-hour bus ride we arrived in a paradise called Kandy.  There I played cricket with children and was somewhat embarrassed by my poor performance.  What a privilege it was to pray with them.  They are exceptional kids.  We’re now on our way home and all the memories race through my mind.  But one thing is for sure, I have learned some important lessons.  First, God can break the chains of poverty and sickness upon a people if they recognize Him as Lord and Savior.  It wasn’t the Christians who were begging for money at the airport or lying sick along the road in Calcutta.  God is lifting the Christians out of those conditions.  The most important thing I learned is that people are the same everywhere.  There are different customs, beliefs, and practices, but a man’s heart in India is no different from a man’s heart in South Bend.  They both have fears, troubles, and challenges of life.  They both have a desperate need for the hope only Jesus can bring.

Chris Strube analyzes the mission: What a privilege it was to have a part in the mission trip to Nepal, India, and Sri Lanka!  We were able to preach, teach, pray for people and distribute tracts almost everywhere we went.  Two of the most memorable events for me happened in Calcutta, India, and Colombo, Sri Lanka.  I was speaking to the Nepali congregation of the late Mark Buntain’s church in Calcutta and ministered on the baptism of the Holy Spirit.  Nearly fifty people came forward for prayer.  About half of these began speaking with other tongues immediately!  In Colombo, I shared my testimony and spoke on tithes and offerings.  After the message, one Buddhist man came forward to accept the Lord.  The pastor later received an offering for me and it came to about thirty-seven dollars, which would be about ten times the equivalent here in the States!  The people had learned how to give themselves out of poverty.  God has been so good to make it possible for me to go into all the world and preach the gospel.  As opportunities arise, I intend on continuing this missionary outreach ministry.  If you have never travelled outside of America, you owe it to yourself to go and take part in at least one such mission.  If you need any assistance or would be interested in coming on any of the college mission trips, just give the office a call!

One American evangelist who has been involved with the move of God in many areas throughout Asia and the world declares that the outpouring in Nepal is the closest to the “Book of Acts” experience that he has seen.  Please continue to pray for this great move of God.  After revival must come discipleship to establish the church.  Pray that the Lord will send the right teachers and teachings into Nepal to nurture these new believers.  Pray that the right national leaders will be raised up in strength and anointing.  Especially pray for me as I am making plans on how to continue to bless this nation through repeat mission trips and producing radio programs which will be beamed into the country via shortwave radio.  On that first mission, we were thrilled to meet many of the Christians who had stood so defiantly against the satanic oppression in their nation.  Now, these believers have the opportunity, privilege, and responsibility of ministering freely in Nepal.  Some anti-conversion laws are still on the books–just enough to remind us of the urgency for our mission.

Let me introduce you to one of the apostles of the faith in Nepal. Solon Karthak will be working with our mission group as we travel and minister in Nepal.  He also serves as the interpreter for “The Voice of Joy,” a half-hour daily Nepali short-wave ministry which the Lord led my wife and me to begin.  For seven years EHC’s Director for Nepal, Solon Karthak, led a courageous underground crusade in his homeland.  Solon and his co-workers endured beatings from angry villagers and risked jail terms of six years or more to share the Good News.  During those dark years Solon and the crusade warriors reached more than half a million families with gospel booklets and planted two hundred village fellowships.  They have also rejoiced over the thirty thousand written responses received as a result of the distribution.  In 1990 restrictions on evangelism were lifted.  Today more than two million “paper missionaries” have changed hands, resulting in over sixty-two thousand responses and the formation of seven hundred sixty-eight village fellowships.

1993
“Kathmandu, Nepal.”  To me those words are almost musical. They have somewhat of a lilting, melodious ring.  They conjure up the most vivid and intriguing images: housands of cute, little, bright-eyed, brown children; majestic snow-capped mountains; bustling public plazas; ancient Buddhist stupas; and massive Hindu temples.  Those words hurl my memory back to the day I was mobbed at Dubar Square by eager school children begging–not for coins or gifts, but for gospel tracts.  Those words propel me to the thoughts of cramming over a hundred professional men and ladies into a tiny upper chamber that would comfortably seat less than half that number–brothers and sisters in Christ packed together to hear testimonies of their common faith and messages from the Word of God.  Those words trigger my memories of policemen, who only months before would have arrested me for simply owning gospel literature, stepping out of the crowd and asking that I give them copies of the Nepali Help From Above tract to hand to those in the back who had been missed in the distribution.  Thronging crowds of believers rejoicing in their new-found faith which was legalized only two years before, eyes and hearts hungry for the gospel message, and a tiny Himalayan lady cautiously reading word-for-word a Gospel tract as the crowded busload of humans, goats and chickens bumped over mile after mile of primitive highways–these are the memories bound to those magical, mystical words, “Kathmandu, Nepal.”

This June, we are going back and we’re going back in force! We intend upon making a lasting impact in the nation of Nepal!  Now that the government had granted freedom of religion in Nepal, we are heeding the call to help equip the emerging church with a thorough understanding of the Gospel.  Since returning to America, I organized a shortwave radio ministry to penetrate the nation with simple, but thorough, teaching on foundational Christian doctrines. The Lord provided the interpreter and a system for correspondence follow-up to all who respond.  The teachings from the first forty programs are being published in Nepali as a study guide for the Christian pastors and leaders of Nepal.  My wife, Peggy, has joined in the outreach and will be accompanying me to this once-forbidden Hindu kingdom.  This June, two leadership conferences are scheduled–one in Kathmandu for the Christian women and one in Pokhara for pastors and Christian workers.  In conjunction with these conferences, we are planning to take a team of Christians who will travel the area distributing tracts, ministering in home groups and churches, and assisting with the conferences and associated evangelistic crusades.

 1999

The 1999 Mission to the Roof Top of the World was a very successful trip into Thailand, Nepal, India, and Myanmar.  Thailand was just a stopover to catch our breath and get a good night’s sleep before hitting the ground running in Nepal.  We did that very literally as soon as we landed in Kathmandu.  Our first order of business was a retreat for the pastors and Christian leaders along with their wives; this was two days packed with teaching and encouragement for those on the front lines for the gospel in this Hindu nation.  As soon as this conference closed out, we divided the team members into pairs to minister in various churches and Christian groups.  We spoke in at least seven different churches, plus the Christian Professionals Fellowship and three Women’s Aglow meetings.

There was also a two-day women’s leadership conference and a wedding–Delron had the privilege to officiate at the marriage ceremony for Bob Wesley, a long-time friend from South Bend who in living and ministering in Kathmandu now; Bob married a beautiful little Nepali girl.  The national election shut down the whole nation with travel strictly prohibited.  That is, it shut down everyone except the Mission to the Roof Top of the World!  The only vehicles allowed on the roads were emergency vehicles with Red Cross flags–which we managed to get from a Christian hospital.  We were the only ones on the road as we traveled to three different Bible colleges and training centers to teach the students whose regular teachers weren’t even able to get to the classes!  The day after the election, we left Nepal for a three-day training conference for the pastors from the Himalayan region of India.  Well, let us say that we tried to leave Nepal–we were detained at the border because one of jeeps we were riding in had been involved in a hit-and-run accident with a sacred Hindu cow just before picking us up.  The car and driver were held by police for a lengthy interrogation.  When we were finally allowed to leave, we were so far behind schedule that I had to rush right into the pulpit without taking a shower or even changing clothes after the all-day trip in the sweltering heat and dusty conditions.  The pastors were so eager for the Word that they had waited for almost an hour after the preliminaries of the meeting had concluded.  These meetings that were held in Darjeeling, the home of the famous tea, drew pastors and leaders from as far away as the country of Bhutan.

After completing the ministry in the hill country, we headed toward the coastal city of Calcutta to spend a day with Zac Patnaik, a good friend of the ministry who operates a school for the children from the city’s great slums. From there, some of the team headed back to the US while the others stopped in Myanmar (formerly Burma) for a four-day training conference for the pastors and Christian leaders from the capitol city of Yangon.  The meetings were hosted by Rev. Dong Mang, one of the graduates from the Bible college here in South Bend.  In every place we visited, we saw signs of increased persecution of believers; at the same time, we saw tremendous growth in both numbers and maturity within the Body of Christ.  We were repeatedly told that our messages were exactly what the believers were needing and that they felt that our mission was God’s special boost to the church for this specific time.  Thank you for helping to make it possible for us to shout the Good News from the Roof Top of the World.

2000
The millennium year trip will actually be two missions in one.  Delron will be leading a group that will go directly into Nepal to participate in a nation-wide conference and Easter celebration.  There will also be a special service commemorating ten years of religious freedom in the Kingdom of Nepal.  Peggy will be leading a group that will visit the nation of Myanmar to host a national Christian woman’s conference and Easter celebration before joining the rest of the team in Nepal.  Again this time, we will be invading the Himalayan region of India as well as Nepal.  In addition, we will be ministering in a Bhutanese refugee camp in Nepal.  In my little book of Christmas Meditations, the chapter “Where’s Waldo” concluded with the statement: “I pray that it is among these lowly shepherds that I find myself.  May the Christ of Christmas so effect me that I am ready and willing to leave behind the mundane and follow the Great Commission, heeding the command of that favorite Christmas tune, “Go tell it on the mountain that Jesus Christ is born!”  In just a few weeks, I again have the privilege of seeing that prayer fulfilled by returning to the world’s highest mountains to loudly proclaim that Jesus Christ is born!  Nepal has been experiencing one of the greatest movements toward God in history; yet, it has been said that the church there is growing out, not up.  In other words, there has been a tremendous growth in numbers, but a marked lack of training and maturing in the Christian faith.  I believe that it is for this very reason that I have been called to work among these humble people; every year I am able to help correct the errors that they occasionally fall into through ignorance.

The personal teaching ministry and the literature I am able to provide plus the books that are published from the teachings I give in the country help to establish a solid biblical foundation in their leadership.  In a sense, I am discipling the men who disciple the nation.  This spring marks the tenth anniversary of religious freedom in the Himalayan kingdom of Nepal–a nation that was formerly dedicated solely to Hindu paganism.  It also marks my ninth mission to these lovely people.  On this year’s trip, I have before me what is possibly the greatest opportunity of my life to this point.  I have been invited to teach all of the Christian leaders of the nation in a weeklong training conference.  On previous missions, I have conducted national leadership training conferences in the capital city of Kathmandu and regional conferences in many of the districts of the country.  However, this is the first time we have been able to hold a conference of this massive scale that will encompass every district of the nation and bring their top leadership for intensive training!  I recently heard the statistics of the potential effectiveness of the discipleship and training ministry such as we do.  If an evangelist averages reaching twenty people per week, he can have the incredible results of leading over one thousand souls to the Lord each year.  On the other hand, a teacher may only disciple one person each six months.  However, part of that training will be to teach the disciple how to impart his training to another person during the following six months.  If he will, in turn, teach his charge to do the same during the following six months.  The end result is that within less than seventeen years, every person on the planet will be a trained disciple of Christ as opposed to the seventeen thousand converts that would have been won by the evangelist.  When the work of the evangelist and the work of the disciple are teamed together, completing The Great Commission will become “a piece of cake”!  Also on this year’s mission, Peggy will be ministering in the Buddhist nation of Myanmar to the nation’s top women Christian leaders.  She will then be joining me in Nepal to minister to the Christian women leaders there.

Afterwards, we will be traveling to Darjeeling, India, to hold a training conference for the leadership in than area.  Along the way, we will stop at a Bhutanese refugee camp where we will have the privilege of ministering to one of the least evangelized people groups on the face of the earth.  Our trip will conclude with a shorn stop in Calcutta, India, where we will have the opportunity to bless the little children who are gathered daily off the streets of the slums and brought into a Christian school where they are given hope for a future through the caring love of believers who educate them, feed them, clothe them, and teach them the Word of God.  One other highlight of this year’s mission will be the dedication of a piece off ground which the Lord has helped us buy for the construction of a Bible college in the city, of Pokhara, Nepal, where the next generation of national leaders is to be trained!

Our work in Nepal took a dramatic leap forward this year as we were able to secure a generous grant from a charitable foundation.  These funds enabled us to purchase the land for a Bible college in Pokhara, Nepal’s second largest city. The property already has a building that we will be able to renovate for the college use.  We were also able to help purchase a vehicle for the director of the ministry in Kathmandu.  This all-terrain vehicle will be used to take the gospel from one end of Nepal to the other–across the streams, over the mountains, and through the jungles!  In addition to these two special projects made possible through the grant, we have also seen a tremendous growth in what we have been able to do with the support of the friends of Tower Ministries.  Again, this year, we took a team of missionaries into Nepal, India, and Myanmar (Burma). Delron was honored to be invited to teach in a nation-wide training conference that brought in seven hundred delegates from all over Nepal and other Himalayan regions that are still closed to the gospel.  From the bottom of our heart, we want to thank you for being our friends and wish you a happy holiday season and a blessed year.

2001

Nestled in the Himalaya Mountains between China and India, this small nation of nearly twenty-nine million people is still basically Hindu although the king was recently removed from power and a secular democracy put in place.  Hindus still make up seventy-two percent of the nation.  Buddhists claim nine percent, and Muslims comprise four percent.  Christians trail at fourth, with four percent.  However, Christianity is growing twice as fast as other faiths, and the church is growing faster there than in any other nation in the world.  In 1960, missiologist Patrick Johnstone reported just twenty-five believers.  Today the number has risen to more than a million, and that number is projected to double within the next quarter century.
William Carey’s Serampore Mission group prepared the way for evangelization activities in Nepal when it translated the Bible into Nepali in 1821.  The legendary Sadhu Sundar Singh trekked through Nepal on several trips to preach in the early 1900s.  Early mission attempts into Nepal included Scottish missionary William MacFarlane’s Eastern Himalayan Mission that focused on education and evangelism in the late nineteenth century, and the Australian Nepalese Mission that was founded in Melbourne in 1911.  Ganga Prasad Pradhan, born into a wealthy family in Kathmandu in 1851, became the first ordained Nepali pastor.  He was expelled in 1914 by the royal decree, “There is no room for Christians in Nepal.”  Some forty years later, his grandson, Rajendra Rongong (our personal friend), was among the first group of Darjeeling Nepali Christians to return to Kathmandu.  It was at that point that Christianity really began to take root in the country under the leadership of our dear friend Rev. Robert Karthak.  Other close friends of ours who came into Nepal at this same time to do social work and to spread their faith included Eileen Lodge who has given more than fifty years of service to the lepers of Nepal and Elizabeth Mendies who has cared for the country’s orphans for the same amount of time.  In addition, a group of mostly Western missionaries formed the United Mission to Nepal (UMN) in 1954, focusing on medical and educational work.  UMN missionaries signed a required agreement with the king not to proselytize.  However, some ethnic Nepali Christians were determined to be more open about their faith.  For example, the late missionary Prem Pradhan proclaimed, “Christ died for me openly before all; how can I proclaim Him privately?”  He received a six-year prison term for baptizing nine believers in 1960, but was released under amnesty rules on the king’s birthday, after serving four-and-a-half years in prison.  Despite hardship, Prem Pradhan established a missionary school in Kathmandu with support from US-based Christian Aid Mission.  However in 1972 royal troops closed the school and killed one of the teachers.  Prem was again sentenced to prison; this time for twenty thousand days (53 years), but he was eventually freed after paying a ransom of one rupee per day ($2,000).  While in jail, at least a dozen political prisoners became Christians who, after their release, helped spread Christianity and to establish churches.  Another missionary, a former Hindu priest, began circulating a Bible correspondence course in the 1980s; more than four hundred thousand Nepalis eventually subscribed to the course.

Today more than half of all Christians belong to independent groups, and charismatics number some six hundred fifty thousand.  When Every Home for Christ began its outreach into Nepal in 1982, it was illegal for Christians to share the gospel, but former EHC Director Solon Karthak began working with a handful of courageous believers with the vision of visiting every home in the country to share their faith.  To date, EHC has reached every home, even in the most remote villages and has more than halfway completed a second coverage of the country.  They report more than three hundred fifty thousand responses to their literature outreaches and have established almost nine thousand Christ Groups, which are essentially pioneer church plants.  The growth of Christianity in Nepal has occurred exactly the way it did as narrated in the book of Acts or in the gospels–through healing the sick, casting out demons, forgiving sinners, reconciling families, and giving the hope of eternal life.  Evangelism is easier in the cities because people are less connected than in the villages where everyone in part of a corporate whole rather than nuclear families or individuals on their own.  In the villages, Christians are considered unclean because they don’t participate in the Hindu, Buddhist, or Muslim rituals of the locality.  Those who eat meat, especially those in Hindu villages who eat beef and those in Muslim villages who eat pork, are banned from touching the community water supply and other facilities for fear that they will “contaminate” the other villagers.  The result is that they are essentially outcasts and wind up being excommunicated.

Though there is a tremendous revival spirit throughout the country, not all is peaceful.  Nepali Christians have faced all kinds of abuse and isolation in recent years.  Many have even paid the ultimate price for their faith.  Our translator recently wrote concerning an experience in which one of his pastor friends visited his home to share the gospel and show the Jesus Film.  Unfortunately, our translator’s father became very angry and forced the guest to turn off the film and run from the house.  But this kind of hostility is not only localized in a few homes here and there; it is widespread throughout the country.  Several months ago a bomb was detonated inside a church, killing two believers and injuring fourteen others.  Miraculously, the kingpin behind the bombing plot was arrested and placed in a prison where there is a very active Christian Bible study and fellowship.  Recent reports we have received from that group tell us that the man behind the bombings is now attending their fellowship meetings and responding to the gospel.  He has repented for his deeds and has extended an official apology to the church and asked for their forgiveness.  In addition to the religious hostilities the believers have experienced, the country as a whole has suffered greatly under the Maoist insurgency that has cost the country thousands of lives and untold difficulties through strikes that have totally shut down the government and economy of the country.  The people have experienced extreme shortage of daily supplies, and the prices of daily essentials have been increased unexpectedly.  However, Nepal’s churches are not shutting down despite the political turmoil in the country.  In fact, churches in Nepal are actually growing while the Maoist party continues strikes and protests.  At one point, the insurgents implemented a policy of extortion of Christian leaders in which demands for large sums of money were accompanied by threats of kidnappings or burning of homes if the funds were not delivered.  Very close personal friends and co-workers of ours in Nepal were targeted in these extortion plots; however, they were protected through God’s grace and the prayers of the saints.

The political system of the country has been in a constant state of flux during our entire experience there.  At present, there is no active constitution in place, though a constitutional congress of six hundred five delegates have been selected.  Unfortunately, there are no Christian representatives among them.  Although this body’s first task is to be to install a new prime minister, eleven attempts have failed to place a chief executive in power.  While extreme forces attempt to return the country to a Hindu state and a popular movement wishes to reinstate the royal family, the Maoists are claiming a commonality with the Christians because they both want a secular state based on a democratic process.  Presently, Christians have total freedom, Christmas is now recognized as a legal holiday, and in a recent public display (even broadcast on television) the government honored the Christian leadership for their contributions to the country; however, all that can change overnight if a new constitution is adopted which returns the country to its Hindu roots.

Charisma Magazine reported Nepal as the hottest spot on the planet for the gospel at this moment.  The article said that the church is growing there faster than in any other place in the world.  We can certainly confirm this report from having been an active part of the revival for the past thirteen years.  We have friends in the country who can personally remember when they could count the entire Christian population on the fingers of their hands; today, the number of believers is pushing one million!

Since religious freedom was granted in the nation in the early ’90s, Teach All Nations has been dedicated to going into Nepal to train leaders for this emerging church.  On our first mission into the country, we were asked to start by explaining what the word “hallelujah” means.  Since that time, we have been able to teach the leaders many principles including such practical truths as the operation of the gifts of the Spirit, spiritual warfare, and deliverance.  In addition, we have been privileged to publish a number of books and teaching materials in the Nepali language as well as to provide materials in English for those who know the language.  The following articles chronicle our work in Nepal over the years of our involvement.

2002

Nestled in the Himalaya Mountains between China and India, this small nation of nearly twenty-nine million people is still basically Hindu although the king was recently removed from power and a secular democracy put in place.  Hindus still make up seventy-two percent of the nation.  Buddhists claim nine percent, and Muslims comprise four percent.  Christians trail at fourth, with four percent.  However, Christianity is growing twice as fast as other faiths, and the church is growing faster there than in any other nation in the world.  In 1960, missiologist Patrick Johnstone reported just twenty-five believers.  Today the number has risen to more than a million, and that number is projected to double within the next quarter century.
William Carey’s Serampore Mission group prepared the way for evangelization activities in Nepal when it translated the Bible into Nepali in 1821.  The legendary Sadhu Sundar Singh trekked through Nepal on several trips to preach in the early 1900s.  Early mission attempts into Nepal included Scottish missionary William MacFarlane’s Eastern Himalayan Mission that focused on education and evangelism in the late nineteenth century, and the Australian Nepalese Mission that was founded in Melbourne in 1911.  Ganga Prasad Pradhan, born into a wealthy family in Kathmandu in 1851, became the first ordained Nepali pastor.  He was expelled in 1914 by the royal decree, “There is no room for Christians in Nepal.”  Some forty years later, his grandson, Rajendra Rongong (our personal friend), was among the first group of Darjeeling Nepali Christians to return to Kathmandu.  It was at that point that Christianity really began to take root in the country under the leadership of our dear friend Rev. Robert Karthak.  Other close friends of ours who came into Nepal at this same time to do social work and to spread their faith included Eileen Lodge who has given more than fifty years of service to the lepers of Nepal and Elizabeth Mendies who has cared for the country’s orphans for the same amount of time.  In addition, a group of mostly Western missionaries formed the United Mission to Nepal (UMN) in 1954, focusing on medical and educational work.  UMN missionaries signed a required agreement with the king not to proselytize.  However, some ethnic Nepali Christians were determined to be more open about their faith.  For example, the late missionary Prem Pradhan proclaimed, “Christ died for me openly before all; how can I proclaim Him privately?”  He received a six-year prison term for baptizing nine believers in 1960, but was released under amnesty rules on the king’s birthday, after serving four-and-a-half years in prison.  Despite hardship, Prem Pradhan established a missionary school in Kathmandu with support from US-based Christian Aid Mission.  However in 1972 royal troops closed the school and killed one of the teachers.  Prem was again sentenced to prison; this time for twenty thousand days (53 years), but he was eventually freed after paying a ransom of one rupee per day ($2,000).  While in jail, at least a dozen political prisoners became Christians who, after their release, helped spread Christianity and to establish churches.  Another missionary, a former Hindu priest, began circulating a Bible correspondence course in the 1980s; more than four hundred thousand Nepalis eventually subscribed to the course.

Today more than half of all Christians belong to independent groups, and charismatics number some six hundred fifty thousand.  When Every Home for Christ began its outreach into Nepal in 1982, it was illegal for Christians to share the gospel, but former EHC Director Solon Karthak began working with a handful of courageous believers with the vision of visiting every home in the country to share their faith.  To date, EHC has reached every home, even in the most remote villages and has more than halfway completed a second coverage of the country.  They report more than three hundred fifty thousand responses to their literature outreaches and have established almost nine thousand Christ Groups, which are essentially pioneer church plants.  The growth of Christianity in Nepal has occurred exactly the way it did as narrated in the book of Acts or in the gospels–through healing the sick, casting out demons, forgiving sinners, reconciling families, and giving the hope of eternal life.  Evangelism is easier in the cities because people are less connected than in the villages where everyone in part of a corporate whole rather than nuclear families or individuals on their own.  In the villages, Christians are considered unclean because they don’t participate in the Hindu, Buddhist, or Muslim rituals of the locality.  Those who eat meat, especially those in Hindu villages who eat beef and those in Muslim villages who eat pork, are banned from touching the community water supply and other facilities for fear that they will “contaminate” the other villagers.  The result is that they are essentially outcasts and wind up being excommunicated.

Though there is a tremendous revival spirit throughout the country, not all is peaceful.  Nepali Christians have faced all kinds of abuse and isolation in recent years.  Many have even paid the ultimate price for their faith.  Our translator recently wrote concerning an experience in which one of his pastor friends visited his home to share the gospel and show the Jesus Film.  Unfortunately, our translator’s father became very angry and forced the guest to turn off the film and run from the house.  But this kind of hostility is not only localized in a few homes here and there; it is widespread throughout the country.  Several months ago a bomb was detonated inside a church, killing two believers and injuring fourteen others.  Miraculously, the kingpin behind the bombing plot was arrested and placed in a prison where there is a very active Christian Bible study and fellowship.  Recent reports we have received from that group tell us that the man behind the bombings is now attending their fellowship meetings and responding to the gospel.  He has repented for his deeds and has extended an official apology to the church and asked for their forgiveness.  In addition to the religious hostilities the believers have experienced, the country as a whole has suffered greatly under the Maoist insurgency that has cost the country thousands of lives and untold difficulties through strikes that have totally shut down the government and economy of the country.  The people have experienced extreme shortage of daily supplies, and the prices of daily essentials have been increased unexpectedly.  However, Nepal’s churches are not shutting down despite the political turmoil in the country.  In fact, churches in Nepal are actually growing while the Maoist party continues strikes and protests.  At one point, the insurgents implemented a policy of extortion of Christian leaders in which demands for large sums of money were accompanied by threats of kidnappings or burning of homes if the funds were not delivered.  Very close personal friends and co-workers of ours in Nepal were targeted in these extortion plots; however, they were protected through God’s grace and the prayers of the saints.

The political system of the country has been in a constant state of flux during our entire experience there.  At present, there is no active constitution in place, though a constitutional congress of six hundred five delegates have been selected.  Unfortunately, there are no Christian representatives among them.  Although this body’s first task is to be to install a new prime minister, eleven attempts have failed to place a chief executive in power.  While extreme forces attempt to return the country to a Hindu state and a popular movement wishes to reinstate the royal family, the Maoists are claiming a commonality with the Christians because they both want a secular state based on a democratic process.  Presently, Christians have total freedom, Christmas is now recognized as a legal holiday, and in a recent public display (even broadcast on television) the government honored the Christian leadership for their contributions to the country; however, all that can change overnight if a new constitution is adopted which returns the country to its Hindu roots.

Charisma Magazine reported Nepal as the hottest spot on the planet for the gospel at this moment.  The article said that the church is growing there faster than in any other place in the world.  We can certainly confirm this report from having been an active part of the revival for the past thirteen years.  We have friends in the country who can personally remember when they could count the entire Christian population on the fingers of their hands; today, the number of believers is pushing one million!

Since religious freedom was granted in the nation in the early ’90s, Teach All Nations has been dedicated to going into Nepal to train leaders for this emerging church.  On our first mission into the country, we were asked to start by explaining what the word “hallelujah” means.  Since that time, we have been able to teach the leaders many principles including such practical truths as the operation of the gifts of the Spirit, spiritual warfare, and deliverance.  In addition, we have been privileged to publish a number of books and teaching materials in the Nepali language as well as to provide materials in English for those who know the language.  The following articles chronicle our work in Nepal over the years of our involvement.

2005

While traveling between South Bend and the island of Hispaniola for the Dominican Republic and Haiti mission trip, Delron received news of an escalation of political turmoil in Nepal.  The king had ousted the democratically elected government.  During the entire time we have been ministering in the Himalayan kingdom, we have seen the ebb and flow of the various forces that try to dominate Nepal’s delicate political landscape.  Over the last several years, the Maoists have continued to flex their muscles through violence and threats.  These hostilities, added to the already constant instability between Nepal’s monarchy and the democratic parties, have greatly intensified Nepal’s already sensitive balance of power.  Last year, he had to be escorted between the airport and the hotel by armed military patrols.  We had to cancel some of our conferences due to the Maoist-mandated strike that kept everyone off the public roads and away from any form of mass assembly.  On a previous mission, our visit coincided with their national election–a highly charged moment when violence is more than a threat; it is an extremely real possibility.

During the election, all the businesses are closed and no form of motorized transportation is allowed on the streets.  Had it not been for a friend in the hospital who arranged for us to be shuttled to the Bible school in an ambulance, we would not have been able to teach during this transportation ban. On another occasion, we had just left the country when the entire royal family except the presently seated king was massacred.  The present situation in the country is that the king has disbanded the elected government and taken full authority within the country.  Of course, there have been retaliations from the Maoists as well as the general populace.  The conditions have become so touchy that the United States and most European countries have brought their consulates from the country.  Our contacts inside the country and our friends in the deposed government all advised us that the situation is very volatile and that it was uncertain as to whether we will be able to hold any public meetings upon our arrival.  Therefore, we decided to replace our annual visit to Nepal with a mission to the tsunami-effected areas of India and Sri Lanka.  There was no concern or fear that any harm would come to us when we are inside the country.  Our concern is rather one of stewardship of mission funds and time.  We do not want to spend the Lord’s money and commit our time only to be quarantined in our hotel due to travel restrictions in the country.

Even before we received the news of the developments in Nepal, we had already been praying about the possibility of rearranging the schedule to allow us time to stop in India and Sri Lanka to visit some of the ministries we are supporting in their tsunami relief efforts.  As soon as we received the news of the tragedy, we contacted ministries we have worked with in Myanmar, India, and Sri Lanka to ensure that they were safe.  Once we learned how they were responding to the disaster, we immediately sent funds to help in their efforts.  In addition, we were blessed to be able to pay the shipping for a full container of food to be shipped to the tsunami victims in Indonesia.  When I walked into the office of the director of Feed the Hungry to ask him how much it would cost to ship a container of food, he responded with awe.  He had just received the donation of a full container of beans and had just gotten off the phone with the shipping company establishing the charges to transport it.  Now he was at his desk asking the Lord where the funds would come from to pay the freight!  A few days later, Delron was present at the warehouse to see the container loaded and precious life-giving cargo sent on its way.

2006
“I can’t come out.  I can’t come out.”  In perfect English intonation without even a hint of a Nepali accent, these words tumbled out of the mouth of a young man who otherwise couldn’t speak a word of English.  The victim of this demonic manifestation had come for prayer after the seminar in Pokahara, Nepal, reporting that he had some sort of sickness.  Before his interpreter could begin to explain what the young man’s problem was, the evil spirit that controlled him began to cause his whole body to launch into convulsions.  With arms thrashing, legs jerking violently, and head lashing from side to side, the poor subject of this demonic torment fell to the floor in the most vicious demonstration of fiendish control we had ever witnessed.  As we commanded the demon to go out of the boy, his lips became the instruments of the spirit telling us that he could not come out.  Rejoicing in the fact that the devil is a liar, we knew that this was nothing more than an announcement that he was ready to yield to our command.  Within minutes, the boy was again on his feet and calmly speaking to us in his native Nepali language.
This dramatic deliverance seemed like a graphic illustration of how the power of God is dynamically invading the previous strongholds of the devil in Nepal.  It seemed like a divinely appointed visual symbol of the powerful spiritual deliverance and religious freedom the region is experiencing.  Just as the young victim of the demonic possession was freed from his thrashing and restored to his right mind, the nation of Nepal has also experienced a great touch of God–unquestionably the result of the supplications of God’s people around the world.  One of the most significant outcomes of the conflict has been the declaration of the nation as a secular state.  Since Nepal is no longer a Hindu kingdom, the citizens have unprecedented freedom to follow Christ–not only in their own personal lives and convictions but in their freedom to preach and share their faith with others.

While in Nepal, we held a large pastors’ conference at the Bible college we help support in Pokhara.  We launched our visit by hosting a banquet for the local pastors.  In addition to a great meal, they received a challenging message from I Thessalonians concerning the five foundations of a successful ministry (the Word, the power of God, the fruit of the Holy Spirit, assurance, and a godly lifestyle).  For the next two days, the campus became a conference center with the auditorium and two overflow tents packed to capacity with the approximately seven hundred pastors and leaders from the entire surrounding region.  TAN had hired busses to make rounds to bring the delegates to the meetings.  Following seven different routes, the busses picked up the delegates from the congregations within a two-hour drive of the campus.  Some of the busses were so packed that delegates scrambled to the roof of the vehicles to ride in typical Nepali style.

A special highlight of our visit was seeing the new building that we have helped to erect on the campus.  We were also delighted to see that many general improvements had been made around the grounds and in the other facilities on the campus.  We also had the privilege of presenting the school with a tape duplicator, a gift from a church in South Carolina.  They put the duplicator into immediate use by offering pastors the tapes from the conference.  On the day before the conference began and each evening after the delegates boarded the busses for home, Delron and Fred Taylor ministered to the students.
The concluding days of our mission were spent in Kathmandu where we ministered in six different churches.  In one church, Delron had to preach three times due to the multiple services necessary to accommodate the growing congregation. A highlight of our visit was a banquet with about a hundred and thirty-five of the nation’s top Christian leaders.  In addition to being a time when we are able to input into their lives, this get-together also spurs networking among the local ministries.  TAN also held a two-day leadership conference with leaders from area ministries that reach throughout the whole nation and surrounding Himalayan region.  Peggy and Linda Easton were also featured speakers at a full-day Women’s Aglow seminar in Pokhara and a two-day Aglow conference in Kathmandu.  Not wanting to waste a moment of our time in Nepal, we stopped at a local Bible college and spoke in a chapel service even as we were on our way to airport to head home.

The theme of the pastor’s seminars was based on the letters to the seven churches in Revelation chapters two and three with a special emphasis on a pure heart which the Lord searched for in the churches and the open door He had set before the Philadelphian church.  We encouraged the pastors that they, too, have an open door set before them – a door that is getting wider and wider each day.  We drew examples from the initiation of the new Tibetan church and the news of the recently opened door to Bhutan as the king has decided to yield the throne to his son who has pledged to grant democratic government within the next couple years.  Another dramatic example came from the fact that the Nepali government has just given the Nepal Prison Fellowship permission to build a chapel inside the federal prison.

Top leaders within Nepal asked that the messages be transcribed and released as a book in Nepali.  Because of the scarcity of biblical teaching materials in Nepali, the available materials are highly treasured and are shared widely among the leaders.  Your gift toward this will actually have an unlimited impact as each book will pass through many hands and be carefully read multiple times.  Your special gift this month will help us pay some of the outstanding expenses from the recent mission and also help us get the lessons transcribed, edited, and published so that the teachings can be fully distributed throughout the country.

This past year in Nepal was marked by severe conflict, political deadlock, and loss of hundreds of lives. Many feel that it has been one of the worst years in the country’s history! One of our good friends in Nepal summed up the situation, “Killing of men and women has become like killings of birds and animals.  Only prayer can change the situation in our country.”  The king took direct rule and took total control of the country last February, aiming at crushing Maoist rebels who have been waging an armed campaign against the state for the past ten years.  Over 13,000 people have died as the Maoists have fought to turn Nepal into a single-party communist republic.  In addition to the tragic loss of life and the direct suffering and oppression of the people due to the violence, the nation has suffered economically due to the disruption of transportation, communications, and business during the many strikes and curfews imposed on the country and the major downturn in tourism, one of the country’s main sources of income.  The upheaval in the country has also prompted cutbacks in international aid–which finances about a quarter of Nepal’s budget–leaving the country on the brink of a humanitarian crisis.  A ceasefire between the government and the Maoists ended after four months with the Maoists claiming that the king had failed to reciprocate.  In the recent election, two hundred candidates dropped off the ballots after threats from the Maoists.  The light voter turnout and the pro-monarchy results have prompted some observers to claim that the election was rigged. Many leaders fear that the level of violence and abuse will soon escalate beyond control.

In many areas of Nepal, choosing to follow Christ can lead to ostracism, rejection or even death. After confessing Jesus as Lord, they are expelled from their Hindu families, cut off from support and considered unclean. In fact, when a believer visits the house of a strict Hindu, the home must be ritually purified after he or she leaves. In villages, Christians are many times forbidden from using public wells and must walk miles to find other water sources. The physical and psychological toll this rejection takes on new believers is great. Many Nepalese, seeing this harsh treatment of Christians in their homeland, are afraid to follow Christ even if they are convinced He is the truth.

As we have seen one natural disaster after another ravage our planet–from a tsunami in South Asia, to the hurricanes in the US, to the earthquake in Pakistan, to mudslides in Guatemala–this past year has helped us come to the realization that Mother Nature can become brutal and that even the most well prepared nation can be just as devastated as a developing third-world.  Every year, the rainy season ushers in tragic loss of life in Nepal through flooding and landslides.  Because the people live on the slopes of the soaring Himalayan Mountains and in the valleys below the peaks, they are always vulnerable as the streams can suddenly swell into raging torrents cascading down the precipitous mountainsides.  Since most of the country lacks modern early warning systems, entire villages are often inundated without prior notice.  Having seen how a recent earthquake ravaged Pakistan, we should remember that Nepal ranks eleventh among the list of most quake-prone countries.  Seismologists say that the nation is “sitting on a powder keg.”  Speaking of a deadly major earthquake, one expert on the area says, “It might strike tomorrow or ten years later, but it will inevitably strike some day.”  The increasing population, uncontrolled urban development, and the lack of quake-poof construction have made Nepal a very high-risk area.  Quakes in Nepal have been recorded as early as 1255 AD, when one-third to one-fourth of the population of the Kathmandu Valley was reported to have been wiped out.  This was followed by three low intensity quakes in 1408, 1618 and 1810.  But in the famous earthquake of 1833 in which 500 people were killed, the entire Kathmandu Valley was devastated.  The most severe earthquake occurred in the Nepal-Bihar region in 1934.  Measuring 8 on the Richter scale, it killed over 16,000 people.  The country has witnessed two more major quakes since then.  In 1980, a 6.5 tremor jolted northwestern Nepal, killing 178 people.  In 1988, a 6.8 tremor hit southeastern Nepal, leaving 721 dead.

Seventy to eighty percent of pastors in Nepal are semiliterate and, therefore, can’t read their Bibles.  At the same time, the church in Nepal continues to rank as one of the fasting growing churches in the world.  Every building is packed to capacity and many hold several services each weekend.  Our commission from the Lord is to go into all nations and teach the Christian leaders so that they have an adequate foundation from which they can then train their people.  As the dear people of Nepal face such uncertain times and threats on every hand–political, religions, and natural–they must have a solid foundation for their faith.  Our job is to equip their leaders, even though they must deal with almost insurmountable educational and economic hindrances.

We all know the Lord’s statement that the harvest is plenteous but the laborers are few.  However, I would like to suggest a little different consideration of the situation: the harvest is plenteous but the laborers are untrained.  When I see Nepali women harvesting her grain with very primitive implements, it also helps me get a glimpse of the need for training for the spiritual harvest as well.  When we first went to Nepal, I asked the Christian leaders where we should begin in teaching them; the reply was, “Well, start with telling us what hallelujah means.”  From there, we began laying foundations and building block upon block with each return trip.  The church in Asia, and Nepal in particular, has flourished and is considered to be the fasting growing segment in the Body of Christ today; however, there is continuing need for biblical training and leadership development.  This is why we have continued to return as often as possible to encourage and instruct the leadership.   Each trip is an occasion to build another layer on the foundations we have been laying. The missions are demanding and expensive, but we simply remind ourselves of Dr. Lester Sumrall’s vision of the combine tractor and the donkey-pulled plow.  The antiquated system took days to do the same task that the modern equipment accomplished within a few hours.  It is worth the investment to see that our brothers and sisters in Asia are able to adequately reap their harvest.

2007
In the December 25 issue of US News & World Report, Delron ran across a story about Barbara McCuen, a Washington-based web devel­oper who, while vacationing in Nepal, gained an appreciation for how hard the people work and how hard their lives are there.  Barbara said she came home with “a lifelong connection to a place.”  When he flipped the page to read the next article, he was surprised to find the account of Microsoft executive John Wood who had also had a life-changing experience while trekking in Nepal, a country with one of the world’s highest illiteracy rates. When he happened to walk into a school with dirt floors that turned to mud in the rain, he discovered that the school was completely devoid of books.  He was so disturbed by what he saw that he founded a charity that has built almost two hundred schools and over twenty-five hundred libraries in Nepal and other developing countries around the world.

Delron says that he was amazed that this secular magazine carried two separate stories of people whose lives were impacted by their visits to Nepal.  But the reality of these stories was nothing new to him for he has seen it dozens of times as we have taken guests with us on our mission trips to this Himalayan nation.  Delron has often said that the impact the mission trip has on those who travel with us far outweighs the impact we have on the nation.

True, the impact is reciprocal.  Even the first-times who have little experience leave a lasting impact upon the nation.  The gifts they bring give hope and joy to the orphans, the tracts they distribute bring salvation to the people on the streets, the prayers they pray result in healing and comfort to the afflicted, the testimonies they share encourage the believers, and the fact that they invested so much and came so far to share God’s love make everyone feel especially loved.  But we really feel that the most long-lasting impact is in the lives of those who made the trek to the rooftop of the world.  Many of these first-time missionaries are now full-time pastors, others are active in other functions within their local churches, most of them are committed to the fulfilling the Great Commission by prayer and financial support of various missionary efforts.
In Nepal this year, Delron was honored to be able to take part in the Golden Jubilee Celebration commemorating fifty years of Christian presence in the country.  We honored those who planted the first seeds of the gospel in this Hindu land and who nurtured the church through its many years of underground ministry and into recent days of harvest.  In the 1950s there were no Christians in Nepal.  By the 1960s there were a handful of Christians, but in the 70s and 80s, there was explosive growth.  At the present moment, the number of Christians in Nepal is unknown, but is likely approaching one million.  Nestled in the mountains between China and India, this small Himalayan kingdom is a bright spot where the church is growing faster than in any other nation.  The Nepali Christians have faced all kinds of abuse and isolation through the years.  Many paid the ultimate price for their faith.  The old saying, “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church,” is true for Nepal.  Yet great fruit has come from their sacrifice.  It was truly mind-boggling to see the crowds gathered for the Jubilee Celebration.  The event was held in the new building of Gyaneswor Church in Kathmandu, which was founded by Pastor Robert Karthak fifty years ago and is still under his active leadership.  The new two-story church building, which was opened just in time for the celebration, was built totally with local funds.  Although a few international ministries such as TAN did voluntarily contribute to the project, the church made a decision to raise all the funds themselves without asking for any outside assistance.  According to the official estimate by the church elders, the building seats fifteen hundred in the lower level and twenty-five hundred in the upper level.  From my personal observation, I’m sure that we had several hundred more than that estimate crammed into the facility for the celebration.  In addition to the awesome celebration service, the congregation also provided a free meal to everyone who attended–an incredible feat in itself!

Before heading to eastern Nepal to lead a pastors’ conference for the leaders in this region that Delron had not visited before, he ministered in a couple churches in Kathmandu.  In the east, he was thrilled to meet more than one hundred and sixty of the young men and ladies who have answered the call to evangelize and pastor their region.  The lessons from the life of King David spoke directly into their situations.  His last stop before reporting to the airport as I headed home, was in the Bible college to teach the students.

2008
Visit #1
This was Delron’s seventeenth visit to Nepal.  His old passport was so filled with Nepali visas that he was once asked by the immigrations officer why he didn’t just move there.  Since his new passport was issued just after his last visit and this trip’s visa would be the first one, Delron thought that he would avoid some of the usual questions about why he was coming back so often.  Instead, the officer asked him the same old question with a new slant, “Is this the first time you have been in Nepal this year?”  Delron says that he guesses that they have become so accustomed to admitting me to the country that they are expecting him to show up all the time.

Over the years that we have been visiting the country, we have seen some remarkable changes.  He has watched the country go through political upheaval with the assassination of the entire royal family and the Maoist-led civil insurgency.  We have seen environmental issues addressed with the removal of the heavily polluting auto-rickshaws, which were once the mainstay of transportation in Kathmandu.  We have observed the economic advancement of the people from year to year, evidenced in the changes in the way they are able to dress.  We have watched a younger, more educated generation move into leadership, obvious from the greater percentage of folks who can communicate in English and the fact that almost everyone now takes notes in the teaching sessions–something that was unheard of when we first began our missions in their country.  We have seen the church prosper and flourish with large, beautiful, new buildings–most of them with sound systems and other modern equipment.  With the recent removal of the monarchy and implementation of a democratic secular government, we have seen abolition of Nepal’s recognition as the world’s only Hindu kingdom.

This past December, the nation of Nepal passed two significant milestones in its attempt to enter the twenty-first century with recognition of human rights and freedoms–one good, and one not so good.  This past Christmas was the first in the history of Nepal which was recognized as a legal holiday; however, just days before the Christian celebration another group of Nepali was celebrating another legalization, the decimalization of homosexuality.  In fact, the Supreme Court went so far as to rule in favor of recognizing an additional category so that individuals who do not wish to identify themselves as male or female can classify themselves as “third gender.”

On April 10, Nepal will take what should be another giant step forward toward becoming a functional democracy as they hold a long-awaited free election.  Please pray that the nation will go through this vote peacefully.  When we were in the country on previous election days, we witnessed the country under martial law with all vehicles ordered off the road in order to deter violence.  Let’s also agree that the right men with the right motives will get into the right positions.  As evidenced by the two decisions that were made last December, it is possible for the attempts at democratic rule to have both positive and negative impact.

The primary purpose for this most recent visit to Nepal was to attend a meeting with the Every Home for Christ leadership from Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.  It was an excellent opportunity to get to know some of these leaders on a more personal level and to discuss how Teach All Nations can be involved in their countries.  Following the close of the conference, Delron taught a two-day seminar for pastors and leaders.  On the first day, approximately, a hundred and twenty delegates were present.  On the following day, about thirty additional students from a local Bible college joined the class.    When the call was given for those who had not yet been baptized in the Holy Spirit, at least forty leaders and students responded and came forward for prayer.  One pastor–in fact, the young man who interpreted for me in one of the sessions–later emailed to say that this conference had been a life-changing experience for him.  He had come to the meetings with real questions in his heart as to what his calling and purpose were to be.  During the time of prayer after the meetings, he received a clear vision of his ministry and is now ready to fulfill it.  We can imagine that that same testimony would be multiplied many times over if the other delegates at the conference were only able to communicate with me.  Delron’s last ministry before returning to the States was to preach at the large “mother church” in Kathmandu where a minimum of 1,500 celebrated the Lord’s Day and participated in the Lord’s Supper.  His friend Minister Potatohead, who had such a good experience on our recent trip to Haiti and the Dominican Republic, shared with the precious folks in the service from Matthew 13:15-16, “For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.  But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.”  He taught them that they must have their eyes and ears attuned to the Word of God because what we hear and see goes directly to their hearts to influence your spiritual condition.

Visit #2
May 2008 marked the twenty-fifth anniversary of Every Home for Concern in the nation of Nepal.  Because of the close relationship between Teach All Nations and Solon Karthak, the national director of EHC, Delron had a real desire to be able to participate in the celebration.  However, since he had just been in Nepal in November to take part in the fiftieth anniversary celebration of the Gyaneswor Church and because Peggy was to be in the country for a large women’s conference in September, he had anticipated not going to Nepal at all this year himself.  But as we all know, the Lord promises to give us more than we can think or ask (Ephesians 3:20), and He did exactly that!  After moving to Colorado Springs, we began to make friends with some of the international staff of Every Home for Christ, including their president Dick Eastman and his wife Dee.  As these relationships developed, it became apparent that there were some areas of ministry in which we could assist the global work of EHC–and the first area where they wanted me to assist was in Nepal.  As a result, Delron was asked to attend a conference for the South Asia leaders (India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and Bangladesh) in March.  And then came a follow-up meeting scheduled to coincide with the silver anniversary celebration in Kathmandu.  Before the follow-up meeting was actually on the calendar, Delron had received a number of emails from Solon asking him to be there for the anniversary; each time I responded that I didn’t think that it would be possible.  Finally, Solon replied that he was believing for a miracle; Delron, of course, acknowledged that it would take a miracle for me to be able to come again, especially so soon after the visit which I had not even originally anticipated.  Well, only two days later, Delron received the invitation from Every Home to join them for the follow-up conference.

A transportation strike in the eastern part of the country kept a large contingency from being able to come.  May of them had walked for three days from the mountains and got to the main road only to find that there were no buses operating.  Some stayed for several days hoping that a bus would finally come.  When they had used all their money for food and lodging, they had to start the long trek back.  It was really sad.  There were about thirty or so delegates who arrived late after having found some way around the strike.  I talked with one delegate who came in from India and was stranded for three days at the border crossing.  She finally got a motorcycle to take her around some back roads to get to the airport to fly into Kathmandu.  The delegation from Bhutan was able to take a train through India and then enter Nepal at a point beyond the strike zone.
Even though Delron was not actually ministering while in Nepal, there is no such thing as not being a minister even if you are not officially ministering.  The Every Home for Christ national director for India asked him to pray for since he was suffering from kidney stones and was in severe pain at the moment.  After Delron laid hands on him, the Indian director testified to having received immediate relief.

2010
Visit #1
Linda Easton, a long-time friend and TAN board member who has accompanied us on most of our missions to Nepal, joined Peggy in Chicago by as she headed off on their seventeenth trip to Nepal in fulfillment of their commitment to help develop women of the region.  Peggy says that as she gazed out the airplane window looking for a glimpse of land after traveling for almost two days, she had little idea of the extent of blessing that God had in store for this mission. Linda commented that driving through Nepal and India is quite an experience.  She says that it is like stepping back in time. We traveled over some rugged paths, as well as bumpy, unpaved dusty roads.  Merchants cry out, selling vegetables, spices, and multicolored fabrics.  Pilgrims pray aloud at small shrines.  Rickshaws honk their horns.  Sacred cows wander serenely.  Everywhere you turn, fascinating scenes of life hardly changed over centuries are played out before right before your eyes.  The ladies did face many close calls such as the Maoist-instigated strike that was planned for the day they were scheduled to return to the US.  The strike was called off at the last minute–certainly an answer to prayer!  This attempted strike is just one symptom of the continuing turmoil in the Himalayan nation.  Even though the Maoists have been given a position in the government, there are still terrorist-like activities that flare up from time to time.  In addition, some hard-line Hindus who are not happy with the secular model that the state has adopted are targeting churches and individual Christians, blaming them for the abolition of Hinduism as the state religion and the end of monarchy.  Some Christians actually say they are in greater peril now than ever as they face extortion and threats to be run out of the country.  On the other hand, there was no way they could have envisioned that in each of their seventeen meetings during their fourteen-day mission the Lord would fulfill His promise from Acts 2:18 of pouring out the Spirit upon His handmaidens.  She says that all the people were so spiritually hungry and full of childlike faith that she and Linda just stood back and watched as the Holy Spirit moved, bringing many instant physical and emotional healings as He gave them words of knowledge concerning the people’s needs.

Their first ministry stop was in Pokhara where they ministered over the Easter weekend.  Ten non-believers received the Lord in Peggy‘s service.  At Linda’s church, twenty-two students from the Bible college were filled with the Holy Spirit and one non-believer accepted Jesus.  They also ministered for three days for the Women’s Aglow where Peggy taught about The Great Commission as the heartbeat of God and the fact that He desires for women to step up to be missionaries in these last days.  A large number of the three hundred ladies present came forward to be released as missionaries–some to their own regions and some to the foreign field.

After a quick trip into India, the ladies returned to Nepal for their final stop in Kathmandu, Nepal’s capital city.  Peggy was allowed to speak to both the men and the women at a local church–a privilege that is seldom extended to a lady minister in this part of the world.  At the end of her message on getting over offenses, she asked those who were caught in the snare of offenses to stand.  The whole congregation stood up–with the pastor leading the way!  At the Women’s Aglow meeting, Peggy and Linda prayed for a woman who was miraculously healed of a cancerous condition.  When the lady burst into tears during the prayer, Peggy asked the translator what had happened and was told that the lady said that Jesus appeared to her during the prayer.  By the next day, the tumor had started to shrink, and the woman’s Buddhist husband was so excited about what Jesus had done for his wife that he wanted to come join the Women’s Aglow meeting!

Because it is still very common for the women in these developing nations to silently suffer all sorts of domestic abuse, the Lord has led us to always minster healing to their brokenness. To illustrate His concern for these women, the Lord had me take some flowers out of the bouquet next to me on the stage and throw them on the ground and crush them under my feet.  When I did, wails and cries went out all over the auditorium.  I truly had “hit the nail on the head.”  Because Nepali and Indian women keep their feelings very personal, they had never expressed the hurts they had experienced at the hands of their husbands and society in general.  But this day, God wanted the pain and hurt and all that goes with abuse to come out so that He could heal it.  As these poor women continued to cry full of anguish, the Holy Spirit comforted, healed, and restored them to their places in His bridal bouquet!

But it is not only in Nepal that women need this message of healing and the challenge to rise up and be the women of God they were called to be.  Peggy writes about the call to minister to these desperate women: “Since the inception of Teach All Nations, women’s ministry has been a vial part of our vision.  I have also led several women’s conferences in Myanmar and will be returning there again as well as going to Thailand later this year.  In addition, we have sponsored women’s meetings in various locations in Africa—from the capital cities to the remote “bush.”  Of course, “all nations” even includes the United States of America, so we have been careful to minister to the ladies here at home as well—in churches, in women’s Bible study groups, even in prison.  Many times I come home with tear and mascara stains all over my blouse from women who have wept all over me as the Lord ministered to them.  Those tears started out as tears of anguish but turned into tears of joy as He touched them.  At one meeting, I ministered to the wife of a nationally known minister.  The tragic story in that he had walked out of their marriage for another woman.  This poor woman was so devastated that she had not been to church or any kind of Christian meetings for months.  Her life was one of pain and criticism as the blame was somehow shifted from him to her.  I am so happy that she felt directed to come to my meeting because God met her there!  We cried together, and the Lord spoke and ministered to her.  The deliverance and restoration was so powerful that I felt that all the work and preparation for that meting would have worth it had she been the only one who present.”

“Last year, the Lord directed me to host a “Daughters of Destiny” women’s conference here in Colorado Springs.  The Lord proved His faithfulness to my obedience by filling the room to capacity—and with women whom I didn’t know!  In that auditorium, I saw exactly the same thing that I’ve seen all around the world—women hungry to be fed, set free, and encouraged.  I also saw something else that I’ve seen around the world—an outpouring of the Holy Spirit on everyone who was expectant!”

Visit #2
Delron’s October trip to Nepal was his twentieth journey to the country.  Upon arrival in Kathmandu, I was greeted by a living, breathing, walking miracle.  Ravi Rai, who has been our tour guide, friend, and ministry companion since my first visit to Nepal in 1992 met me at the airport.  Nothing unusual here in that he has met us on every visit that Peggy and I have made to the country except for when Peggy visited in April of this year.  At that time, he was totally bedridden with a paralysis that could have actually taken his life.  But, now he is up and walking!  Even though he has a cane, he doesn’t really use it.  What’s amazing is that the elevator in the hotel was out of service, and he walked up three flights of stairs to my room.  Ravi had been suffering from problems in his feet and legs and was examined by a doctor in the Philippines when he was there for a ministry trip.  The physician was trained in regular Western medicine and specialized in cancer treatment.  His parents were also cancer specialists; however, his father died of cancer, and his mother was diagnosed to be terminal with cancer as well.  When the mother received her diagnosis, she refused treatment, stating that she had treated hundreds of patients who died anyway.  She would just as soon die without going through the treatments.  At that point, the son began to explore other treatments and came up with a treatment that combines Oriental and biblical treatments, requiring the patient to follow a strict biblical diet, drink gallons of water, fast regularly, and believe God for healing.  He gave these treatments to his mother, and she lived!  Ravi’s diagnosis was that he had 100% functionality of his heart and lungs but minimal capacity from his kidneys and liver.  In fact, the doctor said that had he not been a walker and swimmer to keep his heart and lungs healthy, he would have been dead long ago.  His main difficulties were a result of poor diet and the pollution in Kathmandu.  During his recovery period, Ravi went through six grueling months of paralysis with periods of mental incognizance.  However, today his is back to traveling the length and breadth of Nepal to train Christian leaders how to effective raise up other leaders within their churches!

After only about an hour’s stop in the hotel to wash his face and change clothes, Delron was off to my first assignment at the Stuti Prasansha Church’s eighteenth anniversary celebration.  The church, which was begun the same year as my first visit to Nepal, now has twelve daughter churches throughout the country and across the border in India.   A hundred twenty delegates from nine of these daughter churches along with the full congregation from the local church were present to praise God for their successful history and to gain inspiration for an even more successful future.  Delron learned that some delegates from the remote areas of the country had traveled for as much as four days—three days of walking and then another day of bus travel—to be present.  What a humbling experience it was to stand before such dedicated believers who had given so much in order to be trained and equipped.  Upon arrival at the church, he was given a program for the conference with the explanation that the other scheduled speaker had been selected as a delegate to the Lausanne World Evangelism Conference in South Africa so Delron was to have the privilege of speaking in all the sessions for the full three days of the program.  The theme of the meetings was based on Ephesians 5:14, “Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light,” so he dedicated several sessions to studies on sleeping, waking up, and the power of the light of Christ in the life of a believer.  Since the scriptures often speak of sleep as a time of rest and renewal, he shared on the importance of having times of rest when we are refreshed in our vision and spiritual energy.  However, the scriptures also refer to sleep as a negligent disregard for vigilant watchfulness and activity.  In fact, such non-productive sleep is even likened to death.  Therefore, he shared with the delegates the need to have a proper balance between our renewing rest and our progressive activity for the kingdom of God.  Then, Delron began all the way back with God’s first creative act in Genesis chapter one to show the significance of light in the life of a believer.  What a blessing it was when the coordinator of the conference can to me and shared that his twelve-year-old son had been able to explain to him all the major points of the teaching.  He was certain if this young man had understood that the message must have been clear and relevant.  In the closing session, we asked the Holy Spirit to fill the believers and heard at least two testimonies of delegates who received the baptism in the Holy Spirit during the prayer.  The elders form the church summed up the conference in an appreciation email by saying, “We all have received a new direction to develop our spiritual life.  It was truly a revival conference.”

Once the Kathmandu conference came to a close, Delron was off to the city of Pokhara to minister at the Bible college which TAN has helped sponsor.  The school was founded the same year I first visited Nepal.  When we first visited it, it was in cramped rented quarters.  Miraculously, Teach All Nations was able to raise enough money to buy an old factory and renovated the building as a campus for the school.  We understand that, due to the tremendous appreciation of   property values in Nepal since we first purchased the plot, the property is probably worth a million dollars now!  With the new facilities and encouragement from Teach All Nations, the school has become a vital force in equipping Christian leaders for the Nepali-speaking world.  To date, over seven hundred fifty graduates have been sent out into the harvest fields of the Himalayas, with over ninety percent of them presently active in the ministry.  The current student body represents twelve of Nepal’s twenty-seven districts and also represents the full range of Nepali life from the exuberance of the youngest eighteen-year-old student to the maturity of his oldest sixty-three-year-old classmate.   The director of the school had asked that Delron share on the theme, “Let’s Get Excited About Building the Body of Christ,” a theme which had also been chosen for the city-wide pastors’ conference which was to follow my time at the campus.  On his first day with the students, Delron taught all the classes from eight in the morning until five in the afternoon.  The day was climaxed by a dinner with college’s board of directors.  Since next year will mark the tenth anniversary of the construction of the new campus, we used this opportunity to strategize how to further the work of the college as we move into a new decade.  We identified a number of major needs which need to receive the focus of the board’s attention—the major point of which is the expansion of the dormitory building in order to optimize the student body since classroom facilities will accommodate several times more students than can be housed in the resident hall.  The second day, Delron only had two sessions with the students—one hour for teaching and one hour for ministry.  What a blessing it was to see at least eight of the students receive the baptism in Holy Spirit to empower their ministries!

In addition to the ministry at the campus, he was able to minister in a one-day conference that Teach All Nations sponsored for the local pastors and leaders.  Many of the approximately one hundred sixty delegates representing almost all the churches in the area who gathered for instruction and encouragement shared with Delron how the word that he ministered on was exactly what they needed at exactly this time in their ministries.   He concluded the meeting with a challenge for them to recognize the significance of the Bible college for the Body of Christ in Nepal and to begin to aggressively support it.  He then shared with them the vision for the expansion of the dorm and told them that they should plan to build it with local funds rather than waiting for someone from outside the country to send the money.  As soon as Delron concluded, the chairman of the board grabbed the microphone and challenged the delegates to respond immediately.  The result–a fifteen-thousand-rupee offering.  Although this is far from the two to three million rupees needed to make the vision a reality, it is a great start in a country where needs are great and funds are scarce.

One of the blessings of his time in the country was the opportunity to reconnect with many of the friends we have made over the years.  Since Peggy was in Nepal this spring and her new book has been released in the Nepali language, it was a daily occurrence that the women would come up to me with messages to bring back to her about how much they had been blessed through reading her book.  Delron was also greatly moved by the number of men who came up to tell him about how they had been trained in previous leadership conferences and were now pastors or leaders within other ministries.  The pastor at Stuti Prasansha Church told him that he was at a retreat that Teach All Nations had sponsored for the Kathmandu Valley pastors in the early 1990s.  He then added that that opportunity for the pastors from the various ministries to get together for fellowship and direction was a breakthrough that brought unity among the pastors and revival to the churches.  One significant aspect of our ongoing work in Nepal is the translation and distribution of our books in the Nepali language.  Again, during this visit, Delron was able to meet with the leadership team and submit new materials for review and evaluation for future publication.  He was also able to review the needs for further reprinting and distribution of existing materials.  It was a blessing to receive emails even before I returned to the States reporting that the books are presently be taken to more and more remote areas of the country.

Nepal 2013

After waking up in my hotel room in Bangkok, Thailand, at what would be 2:30 AM in Kathmandu, Nepal, I headed to the airport for the first flight out to New Delhi, India, and onward to Nepal.  Though I had scheduled the earliest possible flight out of Bangkok and the quickest connection in Delhi, I still arrived in Kathmandu too late to catch the last plane of the day to Pokhara.  I did not have the convenience of being able to wait the night in Kathmandu and fly out the next morning because Pokhara was only a transit point on my way to the city of Jamsom in the Mustang district of Nepal on the Tibetan border.  Since the flights to Jamsom must always be scheduled in the early morning hours while the air is still calm in the pass that the planes must take between the mountains, I would not be able to make it Pokhara in time to catch a flight that day, delaying me a second night.  Therefore, I jumped immediately into my host’s jeep and settled in for a seven-hour drive across the mountains.

We had to make two separate stops for dinner on the journey because Nepali culture, as a holdover from the caste system, prevented our driver from eating with us.  In spite of my insistence that he join us for dinner, he waited in the car while we had our meal.  Then we waited for him to eat at another roadside teashop further down the road.  By the way, when I was able to get him to eat in same restaurant with us later in the trip, he still insisted upon sitting at a different table.

When we arrived at our destination for the evening, Ravi (my host) and I commented that the totally clear sky was a good sign that we wouldn’t have any weather delays the next morning.  With that assurance, I crawled in bed for the four hours of sleep I would enjoy before my cold shower and the drive to the airport for the first flight to Jamsom.  We had purposely scheduled the earliest flight so that we would have priority in case there were weather delays and some flights had to be canceled.  Unfortunately, when I walked out the front door of the hotel, I discovered that there had been a total change in the weather.  Instead of the clear sky from the night before, it was pouring rain.  Hopeful that the weather might clear, we checked in for the flight and waited, and waited, and waited–five hours, to be exact.  Even though the skies did eventually clear up in Pokhara, the weather pattern simply shifted to the mountain pass, blocking our way to Jamsom.  Now, our only options were to wait the day in Pokhara in hopes that the planes would be able to fly the next day or to drive to Mustang.  Since we had a two-day conference scheduled in Jamsom and were going to miss one day of it already because of the canceled flight, we knew that we couldn’t afford to gamble on another delay the following day; therefore, we chose Plan B–the drive.  Our choice was based not only on our own logic but also on the fact that I had bumped into an old friend while we were waiting in the airport.  She told me that she had been scheduled to fly to Jamsom to speak at a three-day seminar and that she had been stranded in Pokhara for the entire time, hoping each morning to be able to catch a flight.

The road trip for the day was to take us through two restricted areas for which I had to have special travel permits and the vehicles had to be registered in order to travel the road.  The result was that we wound up using three different vehicles in order to make the journey–the one we had left from Kathmandu in, one to get us through the first restricted area, and another one to transit the second restricted area.  Our nine-hour drive took us through the second-deepest valley in the world on roads–some of which pretended to be paved–requiring an off-road vehicle.

We stopped at a little roadside hotel for dinner, a short night’s sleep, and another cold shower.  When I walked out of the hotel the next morning, I discovered that I was surrounded by a breathtaking panorama of the beautiful Himalayan Mountains.  But there was little time to take in the sight since we still had another two-hour journey ahead of us.  When we finally arrived at the church in Jamsom, I discovered that it was on a hill overlooking the airport, essentially within walking distance of the terminal–AND that the runway was a busy with planes taking off and taxiing in from their flights to Pokhara.

Had we waited, we could have arrived by plane at the same time we did by car.  But we knew that the gamble would not have been worth the risk.  Now we had to make a decision about gambling on the flight back the next morning.  Even though we knew that we could have won the bet on the trip to Jamsom, we now had to determine if we wanted to take the risk on a return flight.  After some careful calculations, we opted to redo the torturous journey.  That meant that we’d have to leave immediately after teaching all day in the conference, drive as far as possible that evening, stop for a short night’s sleep and another cold shower, and press our way over the rugged terrain in order to make the early afternoon flight to Kathmandu where we would be picked up for the five-hour mountain drive to the next conference in the eastern mountains of Nepal near Mount Everest.  In addition to all the factors we figured into the calculation, we had even more unknowns such as a broken suspension rod on our vehicle in the Mustang plateau and an overheated radiator in our jeep on the road to the Mount Everest region – all this on a road where the service station consisted of a teenage girl sitting on the side of the road with a five-gallon jug of gasoline and a funnel.  By the way, we did make the right choice time in that we discovered upon our arrival in Pokhara that all fights from Jamsom that day had been grounded.

Well, I guess you’re wondering why I’m talking so much about the travel and saying nothing about the ministry.  I simply wanted to set the stage so that I could ask and then answer one simple question, “Was it worth it?”  The answer is, “Definitely, absolutely, positively, unquestionably, and unequivocally yes!”

Even though we missed a full day of teaching at the conference in Jamsom and I only had from 9 AM until 3 PM for teaching on the day that I did have with the delegates, the training was pivotal for these fairly new believers in this area where the gospel is just beginning to get a foothold.  The theme of the conference was on becoming disciple makers–the most effective way to penetrate an area with the Good News.  As each believer develops a vital relationship with Jesus and purposefully shares that living faith with other individuals so that they can also pass this new abundant life to another, the Body of Christ grows exponentially and essentially effortlessly.

And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also. (II Timothy 2:2)

The delegates from not only Jamsom but also the surrounding towns and villages listened intently as I taught, eagerly interacted during the question-and-answer session, and gladly received the Nepali versions of my books.  It was readily apparent that they were enthusiastic about taking the message to heart and putting it into practice.  The Mustang region of Nepal will soon experience a gospel harvest from the seeds sown during this strategic meeting–a harvest that will be well worth all the difficulties it took to be able to sow the seed.

They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.  He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him. (Psalm 126:5)

The east Nepal conference drew the pastors and leaders from eleven churches in three districts in the eastern Himalayan region.  These handpicked delegates are the men and women from their area who are determined to take positions of influence and become agents of change.  As I looked around the room during the praise and worship before the opening session of the conference and observed the intensity in each delegate’s eyes, the Lord spoke the words of the Apostle Paul into my heart, “I will very gladly spend and be spent for you.” (II Corinthians 12:15)  Almost all the delegates were energetic, well-educated young professionals, bumbling over with zeal for the Lord.  Recognizing their potential, I immediately knew that the huge financial investment that TAN had made in this mission and the days of grueling travel that I have endured to get to them were well worth it.  The first day I taught from my latest book Interfaces, encouraging and challenging them to step into places of authority and decisive change in their society.  It was only that evening that I learned that this particular area of the nation is quickly developing as one of the most strategic centers of economic power in Nepal.  In fact, it is estimated that within five years it could actually become the center of the nation’s wealth–and when that significance is realized, there will be a core group of leaders with a biblical worldview and scriptural ethic guiding the region’s newfound clout.  The second day was dedicated to training the delegates on discipleship techniques and Bible-study methods, providing them with tools to truly impact their world with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

After another day on the road to return to Kathmandu, I had the opportunity to spend some personal time with my long-time friend, Solon Karthak, who for many years was the man of influence who opened the door for ministry for Teach All Nations in Nepal.  Now, he is living and pastoring in India as well as overseeing outreaches into Bhutan.  I also had the privilege of visiting with the director and the new chairman of the board of Pokhara Bible College, the school that Teach All Nations has supported for the last ten years.  The two men had flown down to Kathmandu especially to meet with me because it was not possible for us to connect when I passed through their city en route to Jamsom.  We spent the afternoon sharing vision for the future of the college strategizing the necessary steps to turn the vision into reality.

 

My last day in Nepal was spent with my dear friends at Gyaneswor Church where I ministered in two services.  This church was planted by pioneer Christian workers who entered Nepal just over fifty years ago and has been the fountainhead of most of the gospel work in the country.  It is always a blessing to be able to fellowship with Pastor Robert Karthak who is still actively ministering in the church, around the nation, and among Nepali communities outside the country–even after more than five decades, most of which were during times of persecution and suppression.  Today the church draws more than a thousand worshippers for each of the multiple services each weekend in addition to capacity congregations at several branch locations around the city and a large following through their live-streaming internet broadcasts.

Many church members came to me after the service to express their appreciation for the encouragement and challenge of the message.  On particular young man, a medical doctor, said that he had come to the service crying out for an answer to issues that had been particularly challenging and perplexing him all week.  Then he pulled out the notes he had been taking during the sermon and pointed to one specific line, proclaiming, “I got my answer!”  I believe that many others also received the answer that God has for their lives, ministries, and futures during this mission to Nepal.  I am sure that there will be visible changes in the Body of Christ and the nation as a whole when I return for my next visit.

My last time of ministry was to a group of Youth With A Mission missionaries from the Maui, Hawaii, base and a group of Campus Crusade missionaries from Korea who were all just finishing their ministry in Nepal.  Since most of these young people were headed back their homes and college campuses within just a few days, I shared with them the story of Legion who asked Jesus to let him travel with Him after his miraculous deliverance.  Instead, Jesus insisted that he go back to his own family and friends and tell them what great things had happened in his life.  The result was that more than four thousand came to hear Jesus the next time He was in the region.  I then encouraged them that they could have as great am impact back home as they did here in Nepal.