Nepal

Five years ago, Bindu and her three children put their faith in Christ, becoming the first Christians in their village. Bindu’s husband, Hari, is strongly Hindu and actively tried to stop them from going to church. On Christmas day 2021, while Bindu and the children were preparing to attend a Christmas celebration, he began to beat them, knocking one of his daughters unconscious and chasing them out of the home. Bindu and her daughters decided to return home, and the persecution and abuse continued. Hari tried many times to open a case for divorce and finally left the village.

Local Hindus vandalized a church in an isolated area of Nepal recently and threatened its pastor, but the church continues to meet for worship and fellowship. When a group of Hindus busted the church’s windows with rocks in the middle of the night, the pastor, Amrit Mahara, began sleeping in the church to protect it from further damage. A short time later, the Hindus interrupted a worship service to demand that the church stop meeting.

Shiva and Kamleshor are leaders of a group of 20 Christians who have been meeting for fellowship in a Maithili-speaking region of Nepal. On June 24, a group of more than 40 Hindu radicals surrounded the home where they were meeting to threaten and mock them, live-streaming their abusive actions on social media for three hours. These brothers were discouraged but thankful for the body of Christ remembering them in prayer.

Pastor Amar Thapa reported that he received 25 Maithili language SD cards two months ago through one of VOM’s projects. Six Hindu monks in one of the villages in the district where he was working watched a video from the SD cards and learned about Jesus Christ.

Jagat Wagle was transformed from a violent career criminal to a passionate evangelist when he encountered Jesus in the Bible given to him by a stranger in 1996. Since then, he completed Bible school, became a pastor and now shepherds more than 300 believers.

Deepa and her husband, Surya, were overwhelmed with fear when witch doctors predicted an early, unnatural death for Surya. When Deepa confessed her fear to her brother, a Christian, he shared the gospel and led Deepa and Surya to place their trust in Christ. Deepa and Surya shared a house with Surya’s parents and grandparents, who were devout Hindus.

Goma Kunwar was very sick, but medical doctors and witch doctors alike were baffled and could not heal her. Christians in her village prayed for her, and God healed her. Her husband tried to dissuade her from going to church, but she wanted to attend out of gratitude for her healing. In spring 2022, she accepted Christ and was baptized.

Himal Paudel, 15, grew up in a Hindu family. His aunt shared the gospel with him, and he placed his trust in Christ in September 2022. Himal’s family have applied significant pressure to stop him from attending church, and his father, who works abroad, has repeatedly called and threatened him that he would be disowned and kicked out of the house.

Tara Rai, 36, placed her trust in Jesus Christ in 2020, and she took her eldest daughter, Khushi, now 16, with her to church. Tara Rai’s husband then beat her because of her faith in Jesus and demanded that she give it up. She left for Dubai to work as a housekeeper, hoping to earn money to support her children on her own.

Anu Dani earned money by predicting people’s future as a seer. When her young daughter grew very ill and no other efforts healed her, she took the girl to a Christian church. The pastor prayed, her daughter was healed and Anu immediately put her faith in Christ, turning away from her occult practices.