Day 9 – Nepal

Nepal sits high in the Himalayas. It is beautiful, but spiritually heavy. For centuries, it was a Hindu kingdom closed to Christianity. Conversion was out of the question. Even now, laws against converting others make evangelism risky. In many villages, pastors are harassed, believers are shunned, and new Christians are disowned by their families. And yet, under all this pressure, the church continues to grow.

I think of one man named Lochbaugh, who lives in the remote village of Chepuwa, days of travel into the mountains. One night, when he was just a teenager, he was at church with his youth group, practicing for a Christmas recital. Suddenly, a group of men—Maoist rebels—broke into the building and began burning everything: their instruments, their books, even their Bibles. Lochbaugh was nearly beaten to death but managed to escape and warn the others.

As a result, many believers fled. Some walked away from the faith, but he did not. Today, he is a leader in a small church in that same valley. When I asked him about persecution—what it is like today compared to the past—he said something that has stayed with me: “If God has called us to suffer in his name, then when persecution shows up, what we should do is suffer it. When it costs you to believe something and you continue believing it, then you know you believe.”

Faith in Nepal is like that. It is hard. It is shaped by suffering. Yet even through that suffering, the light keeps shining. Psalm 121:1 says, “I lift up my eyes to the mountains—from where does my help come?” In Nepal’s rugged hills, believers cling to that hope.

So will you pray with me for the people of Nepal?