Many places in Nepal can only be accessed on foot. Shriram, left, knows this well. He and Jaigath hiked in this part of the country for almost a month in 1993.
Shriram and other pastors prayed over the land for a new church building. |
When Shriram Tamang, a Gospel for Asia-supported leader in Nepal, hiked through a rugged, remote and largely unreached area of his country in 1993, he could not have known that 16 years later he would return—and witness massive changes in the spiritual landscape of this place.
In 1993, Shriram and his fellow pastor, Jaigath Shrestha, sent a GFA-supported missionary named Shyam Giri to serve in this area. They appointed Shyam to minister in a district where only a few believers lived—but no churches existed. After sending Shyam to his new assignment, Shriram and Jaigath hiked to the top of a mountain in the area and asked God to make His name known in the region.
“Father, we thank You, for You called us to preach the Good News, to make disciples and to establish the Church,” they prayed. “In that manner, we now begin our task, and ask You to give us many laborers so that many churches may spring up in this mountainous region. Lord, hear our prayers. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
After this, they hiked to several other villages in this rugged area, interceding for God to move and sharing the Gospel with people along the way. After almost a month, they returned home.
Now, in 2010, Shriram can say God definitely answered their prayers uttered during that long-ago, month-long missionary journey. In just two districts, 24 GFA-supported pastors and missionaries serve 19 congregations.
On June 5, Shriram returned to the mountainous region with another leader, Dagan Thapa. They held a meeting to encourage and teach missionaries there—some of whom walked three days to get to the event.
Not only did the Lord grow His Church in the district where Shriram and Jaigath placed Shyam, but fellowships sprouted up in other areas also. In the city where Shriram and Dagan held the meeting, Gospel for Asia-supported leaders had been praying God would provide land for them to build a church, and the Lord provided a perfect place.
The leaders look forward to constructing a church on the land, which lies near a highway for easy access.
Overall, God did amazing things in this area of Nepal. Sixteen years after his first journey there, Shriram got to witness the massive growth that occurred through radio broadcasts, Gospel-literature distribution, Bridge of Hope centers and new fellowships. A place that once deterred missions work because of its forbidding terrain now resonates with the sounds of believers worshiping. Please pray for continued growth in this area as more and more hear the Gospel message.