India (MNN) — India has suffered under a devastating COVID-19 wave over the last four months. But neighboring Nepal suffered just as badly, registering thousands of cases per day since April.
John Pudaite of Bibles for the World says the virus has killed many Christians in the country, including many leaders. “We have lost a very senior leader, Pastor Robert Karthak, who came to Nepal as a missionary in the 1950s. He planted one of the first churches there in 1957.”
Later, Robert Karthak’s son died as well. He too had been heavily involved in the church leadership. Pudaite says, “There’s going to be serious gaps in leadership, not only in that specific church, but across the country. We’re hearing reports of the loss of a Christian human rights lawyer who has been very active, even as Nepal has passed the anti-conversion law across the country.”
How to pray
New COVID-19 variants continue to infect more people and drive more suffering. Ask God to protect Nepalese Christians as they risk their own safety to reach out to their neighbors.
Bibles for the World will be sending a team to Nepal this autumn to encourage and strengthen the Church there. Pudaite says, “There will be a gap in leadership in the coming years. And this is going to affect that part of the world for 10 to 15 years at least.”
The header photo shows Nepalese Christians. (Photo courtesy of Iankgibson, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons)
