Nepal

Bhaluwan Kumar Paiswan was serving a 20-year prison sentence for gang-related crimes when he ended up in a cell with a Christian evangelist. Annoyed at first, he eventually placed his faith in Christ and experienced new joy and peace. When he was released early, he met another evangelist who discipled him, and they began to work together. The church in that village grew to 25 people in a few years with many more showing interest.

Jailed as a murderer, Blawan Kumar Paswan had no hope. Then, a Christian in his prison shared the gospel with him. Blawan placed his trust in Jesus Christ and was baptized. A jailer observed the changes in Blawan’s life and recommended early release after he had served 10 years. Blawan returned to his village and dedicated his life to sharing the gospel, but persecution followed. His uncle evicted his family and took their possessions. On December 1, 2023, a group of drunken men beat Blawan and his wife, Bina. They accused the couple of spoiling their culture by preaching about Jesus.

After someone posted a video online of Pastor Keshab Raj Acharya praying against the spread of coronavirus in 2020, police arrested him for spreading misinformation about the virus, claiming that he told people they would be immune to it if they converted to Christianity. Investigations revealed other videos recording baptisms of new Christian converts, which further riled authorities. Eventually, the charges included “outraging religious sentiment,” proselytizing and other violations of anti-conversion laws.

For 15 years, Pastor Mahesh Mukhiya has led a congregation of 70 Christians for worship and fellowship in a rented house in their village. In September 2023, Hindu extremists threatened the owner of the rented house, demanding he cancel the rental agreement. After a second threat, the landlord agreed to evict the congregation. Pastor Mahesh searched for a new building in which the Christians could meet, but the extremists had issued warnings throughout the village.

During a worship service on Sept. 9, 2023, members of Hindu radical groups and Hindu media outlets aggressively disrupted the service and blamed elder Omkar Lohoni for promoting Christianity in the area. Police arrested Omkar and held him in custody for six hours. Brother Omkar leads three fellowships with about 250 believers, and he thinks Hindu radicals targeted him because he is a well-recognized person among the Christians in this area.

Two brothers, Pastor Pramod and Pastor Dilip, lead a group of 17 growing churches, and the members of one of these churches began constructing a new church building. Suddenly, a group of Hindu radicals swept into the location and completely destroyed the newly laid foundation.

Bishwas Thapa, a 10-year-old boy who has been regularly attending a children’s fellowship for the last year, received a children’s Bible during a distribution event. His mother, Kamala, was attracted by the colorful pictures and began to read the Bible herself. Through this Bible, both Bishwas and Kamala came to know Jesus Christ as their Savior.

Anisha and Ashish, who married early in 2023, went to a local church in search of healing from demonic spirits that harassed Ashish. Church members prayed for them, and Ashish was healed. The newlyweds began to read the Bible they had received at the church and soon wanted to place their trust in Jesus Christ. When Ashish’s parents found the Bible, they insisted that the young couple renounce Christ and stop going to church. Ashish agreed, but Anisha did not.

When Manju’s husband became a follower of Christ, Manju and their children were very opposed to his faith and berated him to abandon it. But in May 2023, a pastor asked her to watch a film about Jesus. He installed a memory card with several videos on her phone. The family began to watch these films, calling the pastor to explain parts they did not understand. Manju invited the pastor to her house one day. While he was there, 14-year-old Sharda was watching one of the videos by herself when she experienced a demonic attack.

On Aug. 30, 2023, three churches in one district were attacked in the daytime by groups of 20-25 people each. One Christian leader reported that the groups pelted the buildings with stones and bricks, causing damage to windows, doors and gates. The groups chanted Hindu religious slogans during the attacks.