the Word is going out
January 26th
Dear praying friends and families,
Greetings from Himalaya in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ!
. . . they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his (Rom. 8:8-9).
Let's praise God for His faithfulness. He is always good, and He always helps us for His glory. As answers to your prayers, God a lot of things transpired during our recent trip to the West. Thank you very much for your continuous prayers.
First of all, I would like to tell you a story which I totally forgot to mention in my last update. I'm really sorry for that. When we drove to Bhairahawa on our former trip, we picked up a young man from Kathmandu. Mr. Ranjan Subedi was hitchhiking and had been waiting since 6am on that freezing cold day. We showed up at Kalanki at 9am, and he wanted a ride for the bus fare. We gladly picked him up and drove off. We talked about different things and, of course, about national politics. Then, we stopped for lunch and found out that he was a vegeterian and that his forefathers had never eaten meat as they were high caste Bhramins of priest tribe. After food, I asked him whether he celebrated Christmas. He did, but he did not know the meaning of Christmas. That's how I started a 4-hour discussion about the Gospel. I don't know how I finally got to Bhairahawa, but God kept us safe in the road. I never stopped until it was time for him to get down. The Gospel is very simple. Repent of your sins and believe upon the One True God, forsaking every false god, goddess and idol. That's what I preached to him with many different examples. He told me that, his "Christians" friends had never shared the true Gospel to him; they just invited him to wine and dine to "celebrate" Christmas. How sad! But, Ranjan heard the true Gospel and also paid the bus fare to me. He had many questions about Christiansity. Some cults had purposed him to become "Christian" for money and since then he had that concept. Also, he had a question as to why Christians do not participate in other religious festivals. He heard the answers, so now please pray for him. He is helping in his father's business, selling Chinese goods to Indians at the border with India. This was one of the best conversations about Jesus in my life.
Brother Bishnu & His Family, FPGM National Partners in Nepal
Below are a few recent reports from Brother Bishnu and his family who labor faithfully on the front lines in Nepal. We love these dear brethren and count it a huge blessing and privilege to partner with them for the Word of God and the Testimony of Jesus Christ.
Crossing the River to Target Another Village
During our recent trip, the Lord helped us to reach five villages. One of our friends in Kapilbastu has started to target the Madhesi tribe, and he had asked for help. So, a group of five, including my wife, helped that brother on Jan 15th. We saturated three villages in two groups: Naya Basti, Semari and another nameless one. We found only two believers: one young lady and one elderly woman. We were amazed to meet them and pray with them. One young man had forsaken fellowship with his Creator due to family persecution. I encouraged him to come back to the Lord and then show his family the true light as they are in utter darkness. We also went house-to-house; and I even preached in the Hindi language a couple of times. Many people gladly received the Word, and also many asked to declare what was written in the tracts. So, God gave us awesome doors to explain the Gospel. Praise the Lord!
Mr. Ramlal hears the Gospel.
We had wonderful time of teaching the believers in Kapilbustu, even until 10 pm. And, that was after they had come back from working in the fields. We went to Bhartapur in the evening and found out that some people did not come to the medical camp. So, we got to preach the Gospel to some villagers there. Then, the nationwide strike called by the political parties held us there in the village with my family. So January 20th, my family with two brothers walked for 5 hours for both ways to Padariya. We saturated that village in two groups. There was some opposition, but I handled it by focussing the discussion into personal sin and its consequences. At the very end of that day, while we were tired and walking slowly to our base in the mud hut, an elderly man sitting on the grass called us saying: "Hey, follower of Jesus religion, come here and give me some copies." Then we gladly reached him and shared the Gospel. He admitted openly that he thinks all the religions are the same and that all the gods and goddesses are the same. And, he seems worried about his death and afterlife. So, I explained to him: Jesus is the only Way, Life and Truth. We were humbled for that opportunity. I asked the local brothers to follow up with Mr. Ramlal.Last Thursday, we left for Pokhara from Butwal. We even got to preach to some people on the highway selling fresh oranges. We found that the ladies were open to the Gospel and one of them told me that she had stopped worshipping the idols a month prior. What an opportunity to share Christ! I passed one vendor and wanted to stop at them. I believe it was God's leading. Praise God. He uses us when we are ready to obey Him.
Though there were rumours of strikes, God brought us safely back to Kathmandu. I tried to exchange my propane cylinder without success. There has been a grave shortage of propane in the city, and we are using the last one we have. Please pray that the Lord provides. We saw a line of more than 500 people at a government office where a limited amount of cooking gas was being distributed.
Brother Naresh labors faithfully in Far West Nepal.
Please pray for Brother Naresh who has been laboring with us in Baidati. Please pray that the Lord provides for his family and for his travel expenses. He just got back from the field after having fellowships in new homes which the Lord opened up amazingly. Also, please pray for brother Reckon who has just joined us for the ministry and has the same heart for His Kingdom like ours. Please pray that the Lord provides for him as he serves the King mainly in a remote village in Ramechhap, east of Kathmandu where the Thame tribe lives. Please pray for our brothers down in Kapilbastu as they labor in the surrounding mountains. Please continue to pray for us. that the Lord helps us continuously to preach His Gospel. As the above text says, "Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his" (Romans 8:9) and "if ye love me, keep my commandments" (John 14:15). Let us keep His commandments if we truly have the Spirit of Christ and if we truly love Him.
Once again, Thanks a lot for your continuous prayers and we really appreciate your love and concern.
February 5th
The Bookstore in Kathmandu
Dear praying friends: I would just like to request that you to pray for a couple of Korean Jehovah's Witnesses. They came to buy Bibles at our shop and asked me for help picking out a good Nepali Bible. I showed them different versions and also showed them 1 John 5:7 from the KJV, comparing the text with other versions. In other Nepali versions, a whole verse is missing as in English which says, the Father, the Son and the Spirit are one. Then, we had good discussion for a few minute,s and I showed them many verses from John where Jesus showed His deity and proved that He was God. It seemed that they had never seen these verses. Please pray for these peoples and their followers. They may come again to talk to me. Pray that the Holy Spirit shows them the truth, and that they might come into the biblical Jesus' flock. It is always interesting to me for them to buy God's Word which they don't believe! God help us all.
Thanks a lot for your continuous prayers. Please pray for Nepal as the political situation seems very dangerous these days, and we don't want war again in this country. Please pray that the political parties can agree to the extent that they can issue an acceptable constitution.
Saved by His Grace alone,
Bishnu
February 9th
Dear praying friends and families,
Greetings from Himalaya in the name of its Creator!
Please pray for Mr. Hem Tamang. He works for a security company and used to work next door to our Gospel Center. He saw the Bible in our window. One day while I was opening the doors, he approached me saying, "I have to buy a Bible." Surprised, I asked, "Why?" Then he explained how much he was bothered by some people from a cult which says you have to observe Passover and worship a "mother goddess" for salvation. So, Hem thought that he couldn't just follow these guys who were pressuring him to come to their church. He decided to read the Bible and to know for himself what it says. That morning, before entering the Center, I shared the Gospel with him for half an hour, and I gave him a NT as a gift. I was very happy and praising God for His written Word and to see that Hem started right away to read the life-giving pages. He is now attending our church regularly and very interested to learn more about the Bible. Last Saturday, I preached from Acts 9 on Saul or Paul acted as a new believer: He took baptism right away, he joined the fellowship in Antioch, he preached in the synagogues, he suffered persecution near to death, he had to suffer in the church but had help from Barnabas, he was sent back to his hometown, etc. I asked him to read many verses from the Bible. He read it with difficulty as he has only recently become literate. His response was that that message was very suitable for him as his wife, still in the village with three sons, is asking him not to join the church. So please pray for Hem that the Lord draws him to Himself. He is coming to our Wednesday Bible Study and prayer meeting as well.
Thanks for your prayers. I'm spending some time with my children as they are approaching the end of their academic session. Please pray for them in their studies. Also, we are praying to help paint some iron benches and desks in a government school in a remote village of Musiwan where we had our medical camp outreach last month. We would like to help them when we go back to follow-up the labor and preach the Gospel again. Please pray for God's provision for the paint and brushes. The local church will help to do it, and I'm planning to have a picnic that day after the painting campaign. We covet your prayers.
Praying for you all that you may glorify Him in this only one life which is going to pass soon.
In His field Bishnu and Bimu
Many have never heard the Gospel in Nepal.
February 12th
Dear praying friends and families:
We wish and pray that this email finds you well. I have a few things for which I would like to praise God.
Our brothers in Kapilbastu led a team of believers to preach at the Business festival near Buddha Stadium. More than 5,000 pieces of Gospel literature were distributed for free among the Hindus in one day. Let's praise God for His hand upon that effort, and let's pray that many souls come to believe upon Him.
Kapilbustu Brethren spread the Word.
Also, God helped me today to supply hundreds of Gospels of John and Gospel tracts and the Story of Hope book to many of the pastors and leaders who live in a closed Himalayan country. Please pray for those from Bhutan who are carrying those materials tomorrow. Please pray that there will be no problem at their end of immigration and that the Lord blinds the eyes of the evil officers for the evil things and opens their eyes for the Gospel. I'm really excited about it. They said that these are the materials they were praying for. Praise the Lord.
Also, many Tibetan tribal pastors and leaders are taking those materials to the mountains of Nepal. Please pray that the Lord use these precious people and this literature mightily for His glory. These leaders come to Kathmandu once a year, and this is a perfect time to supply them with the most-needed materials. Praise God for His provision for the materials and lets also pray for those who are laboring to reach their own people in the face of persecution. Pray that the Lord provides for their needs, both physical and spiritual.
Thanks again for your prayers. God bless you in your efforts to glorify Him.
Bishnu and Bimu