A PREPARED CHURCH
The Himalayan region is home to the highest mountains in the world and old but beautiful architecture. India is famous for its heritage and culture. Nepal is an excellent place for adventures with its Himalayan trekking. Bhutan offers high-value, low-impact tourism with its untouched nature. Although these countries are popular for tourism, the state-sponsored restriction on Christianity is overlooked and under-reported, which is very sad.
Persecution has increased in India since Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) took power in 2014. The BJP is the political arm of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), an all-male Hindu nationalist volunteer group described as a paramilitary organization formed in the 1920s. The RSS ideology is Hindu nationalism associated with right-wing extremism and fascism with intolerance of minorities. The BJP supports a national anti-conversion law where it is illegal for an Indian to convert to any religion except Hinduism. Eight out of twenty-nine states have implemented anti-conversion laws.
Our EAM Country Working Team (CWT) reported that persecution of Christians is ongoing in Odisha State. Hindu leaders imprisoned some co-workers for three days for sharing the Gospel among the tribes. Yet, they continued to preach in prison, and two inmates accepted the Lord. Now that they are out of prison, they continue to preach the Gospel. Chhattisgarh State is currently the most dangerous place for Christians to practice their faith in Jesus. Prayers are requested for six recently converted families from Kanker and Bastar districts. Hindu extremists attacked them and drove them out of their villages, threatening to kill the new believers if they returned to their homes. Last November, Hindu villagers attacked a Catholic church during a Sunday service injuring the priest and four congregants. The church reported the attack to the local police, who did nothing.
Our EAM team member reported that the number of Christians is growing and the Church baptizes hundreds of new believers every week. Even with restrictions during the pandemic, they dedicated more churches and conducted discipleship training. The churches are working hard among the unreached. The team member concluded, "there are stillchallenges; please pray for us."
The Nepalese constitution prohibits converting a person from one religion to another. BBC World News reported last January that, despite this, the Christian population has possibly increased by 68 percent in Nepal in less than a decade. Our Nepal CWT said, "As we become active in the ministry, the enemy is engaged in disturbing our work but new believers have been persecuted. Many of our single believers have experienced physical torture by their families, who disown them; making it hard to continue their studies."
In Bhutan, Christians are forbidden, by federal law, to have a church building and proselytizing is prohibited. Those who openly follow Christ can be stripped of their citizenship. Nevertheless, the church thrives. Recent evangelism efforts have yielded positive responses.
Let us remember our co-workers in the Himalayan region. May they remain resilient as they face complex challenges in practicing and propagating their faith. Pray also for new converts to stand firm in their newfound faith.
“Then He said to them, “The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray
the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.”