Nepal
(MNN) — Nepal's political and peace processes remains stalled, resulting in
instability, anemic authority, and ineffective accountability.
Elections in 2008 led to great optimism about change in the
re-write of the constitution. However,
continued friction between the president and the Maoist-led government has
continued the four-year-old impasse.
Politics aside, there are many questions rising to the surface and
with that, growing disillusionment. That
means the door is open for the Gospel. Mawii Pudaite with Bibles For the World explains
the context of outreach in Nepal. "Of its nearly 30 million people, less
than 3% are Christians. Majority of them
worship over 20 million different Hindu gods."
In the beginning of 2012, BFTW's focus was to provide the Gospel to
people who were searching for meaning and hope. At that time, they announced plans to print and distribute 500,000
copies of the Gospel of John in Nepali.
Pudaite says God provided the funds for that project. But it doesn't stop there. Now, "We are offering a free copy of the
Nepali New Testament upon request to everyone who has received and read the Gospel of John. It costs $2.25 to print and mail a copy of the
Nepali New Testament."
Already, churches are requesting New
Testaments to meet a growing demand. Pudaite explains, "Dr. Mangal, pastor of
the largest church in Nepal, told us that he has 25,000 requests for Nepali New Testaments that his church has not been
able to fulfill, and he asked if we could include them."
However, that's just one church request. Pudaite notes, "You can see that our first
50,000 New Testaments will be exhausted in no time. Hearts are hungry for the Truth, peace, and
hope. We must give them God's Word while
the door is open." The urgency has
been reaching hearts around the world because God is providing, Puidaite adds.
"We have received more than 50% of
the total amount needed. The balance we need is $53,000 as of today."
Even as the scramble to meet the
demand for New Testaments gains momentum, there are other churches asking for
the Gospel of John. Another church worker
whom we'll call "Bhim Darnal" wrote BFTW to request 1000 copies of the Gospel
of John in Nepali.
"[Sic] all of the churches belong to us
will definitely involve in distribution. That should be distributed mostly
among remote areas where people cannot find the Christian literature easily. I
am hopefully waiting for Rev. John L. Pudaite's information. I have already
informed about these things to our ministers. Once in a month we have meeting,
and we discuss and share each one of us ministry and pray. We attempt great
things for God and aspect great things from Him. Thank you. May God bless you."
Pudaite says they're coming
alongside, providing not only the Scripture portions but also helping as his
team plans a strategy to reach out to the unreached areas.
Despite the lack of forward motion in some arenas in Nepal, there
are other parts of Nepal that will soon be at the forefront of change. "As we sow the seed of God's Word," Pudaite asks for financial help as well as prayer "for the harvest; we believe that there will be bountiful harvest of
souls."
