Greetings in Christ our Lord from the land of Nepal. I hope, by the grace of God you all are safe from Coronavirus. By the grace of God, all of our family members, as well as our church members, are safe thus far. We as a family are praying for the current virus situation, as it has attacked all the world. We know the situation is getting worse, and the infected and death rate is increasing. But we have our sovereign Lord who is in control of everything. However, in all these difficulties and suffering, we rejoice in the Lord always. We have our Savior and Lord who has brought eternal peace.
During the lockdown, our local church activities were closed. We were locked in our homes, but at that time I was able to take time to read and study the Bible. I was also able to read “Pastoral Ministry: How to Shepherd Biblically” by John MacArthur. Going through this book, my sins were exposed. I received many biblical truths that convicted and challenged me. I was greatly challenged by the life of Scottish minister Robert Murray McChenyne, who remarked: “Do not forget the culture of the inner man – I mean the heart. How diligently the cavalry officer keeps his sabre clean and sharp; every stain he rubs off with the greatest care. Remember you are God’s sword, His instrument – I trust a chosen vessel unto Him to bear His name. In great measure, according to the purity and perfections of the instrument, will be the success. It is not great talents God blesses so much as great likeness to Jesus. A holy minister is an awful weapon in the hand of God.” I am encouraged and challenged by this book.
During this time, it was a privilege to spend time together with my family; teaching, discipling, having fun, and raising them. I studied the book, “Shepherding Child’s Heart” by Ted Trip (Nepali version) along with my wife and the orphan workers. We were able to learn more from this book about how to raise children biblically. We have found the Nepali approach weak in raising children at home. Studying this book in a small group, with a discussion about our practical weaknesses, and the mistakes we have made was very helpful for everyone. Through this study, our Orphan home workers are growing in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ. All the children are learning Bible stories, memorizing bible verses, and studying English, Math, Science, and Nepali at this home. Please do pray for these children, for their salvation in Christ. May the Lord open their hearts through the gospel and expose their sins, and cause them to run to Jesus Christ the Lord.
During the full lockdown, I was not able to visit our church members. Though it was very challenging for me not to be able to meet them in person, I was still able to minister through phone calls. Our members have received several solid books, so we encouraged them to take time and study. They are studying church membership and church discipline. After two months, the lockdown opened a little so I took the opportunity to visit our Church members at their home by walk. During my visit, we had very fruitful conversations while encouraging them in the Lord. It was very joyful to my heart to visit them in their house during the lockdown. Praise God that during our visits, we had no objections or virus infections.
On May 14th, there was an unexpected and sudden accident that happened to my oldest brother. He passed away because of an electric shock. This incident rocked everyone in our family, my relatives and neighbors, church members, and friends. He was a farmer who worked in the field to support his family. After his sudden death, my father, sister, and I went to his house to help his family. I worked planting rice, while also taking care of the legal paperwork for my brother’s death certificate. It was an extremely hard time. It took one and a half months to settle everything down. After that, my family decided that it would be wise to bring my brother’s family back to Butwal. It was not safe for her and the two small children to be alone in the village. My desire is to show Christ’s love, so they may know Christ and grow in Christlikeness. Now they are at my house. We have a big family. Please pray for my sister-in-law and two children (7-year-old boy and 11-year-old girl) for their new adjustment, their spiritual life, and the new financial need. Please pray for me, that God gives me grace and wisdom to lead all my family members in Christ.
Now that things have settled at my home, for the past three weeks we have started our intern’s class. Brother Doug is teaching Homiletics and I am teaching through the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith. I rejoice that our brothers and sisters are growing in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ. Especially brother Gautam. He is truly excelling as he is learning deeper truths in preparation for his call to the ministry. He is growing in sound teaching, learning from solid books, and walking alongside our leadership. Please pray for our interns’ class. Pray for Gautam that he will continue to grow and mature in all the areas of his life, character, and ministry work.
In the lockdown, we were not been able to visit some of the villages that we have been investing our time in, because the police would not allow us to cross from one district to another. Currently, we are now able to cross into other districts. We are looking forward to a visit this coming Friday, where we will continue our meeting, and teaching from the book, “The Truth About Man” by Paul Washer. We have not yet finished this book and we want to continue teaching it. Please pray for our safe travel. Pray for our safety from the virus, and that our meeting would truly be fruitful. Thank you to all the HeartCry supporters- for your prayers and financial support for my family and ministry. Your prayers and support have been tremendous blessing for me in His harvest field. It has been a great blessing for Christ’s Church in Nepal. Please do continue to pray for the gospel work in Nepal. Thank You!
