Reaching The Ends Of The Earth

Greetings to you friends, we trust that you and your families are being blessed by the grace of God.

Our missionary journeys this year have led us once again to Nepal. For the last few years as may know, we have been working in this once closed country, deep in the Himalayan region of the World.

After crossing rivers, climbing mountains, and walking the dusty city streets, God has again brought me home safely for a brief rest. Though all of our mission projects have been successful, truly our last series of labors have been exceptionally blessed of God. There is much to share, but in this blog we will be mainly highlighting a new field of labor that God has opened up for us with the Chepang people.

The Chepang people are a tribal group, housed mostly in the deep forests, and mountainous regions of Nepal. Though Nepal has been rated as one of the world’s poorest countries, the Chepang tribe lists at the bottom of the poverty scale in this already severely impovrished nation.

Due to the harsh caste system of Hinduism, the Chepang have been listed as out-castes for many centuries now, and subsequently, none of the meager resources of Nepal reach these tribal people..

Only as of late have there been schools for this particular people group, and so even today, the majority of this tribe are unable to read and write.

To access the people, we had to take a bus which actually drove us 4 kilometers in the bed of a river. After a point, we were dropped at the base of the mountain where we had to hike a very steep 4 hour climb to access the 1st set of Chepang settlements.

The native people are usually able to make the trek from the river bed to their homes in about1 hour, but traveling with an American whose physique was not seasoned to the Chepang mountain life proved a small challenge, but thank God after 4 grueling hours, we entered the small settlement.

Hardships are a daily way of life for the tribal people whom we met. As there are no markets even relatively close, the people have learned over the years to carve out a subsistence from the land itself. Few of them farm, and others have learned how to harvest leaves, shrubs, gourds, mushrooms and what ever other edibles they can find to consume, in order to supply the food demands for themselves and their families.

Because of a lack of education, and systematic caste discrimination, the people have no tools with which to compete in the already overcrowded jobs market of Nepal. It would seem that the majority have resigned themselves to live as their ancestors have done for centuries, dwelling peacefully deep in the forests, and living off of the land.

As I mentioned before, survival in the settlement is truly only for the fittest, as there are no Hospitals, medical clinics, food markets of any kind available for the people in their small villages.

The rainy season had just begun in Nepal when I left, and so the temporary bus service through the river bed has now been temporarily halted until after the rainy season was over. During this time, the river bed will be filled with raging water more than 7-8 feet deep, and so the people have to hike through steep mountain passes for more than 9 hours, and cross these raging rivers in order to reach the closest town. My Chepang friend was even sharing with me how in attempting to get some food for the family last year, his mother was swept away by the raging waters. Thankfully, she was able to catch hold of a branch before being swept away down fast flowing river. Every year I am told, several people loose their lives during the monsoon season in this exact same way. The people’s provisions run out as they are unable to farm, or forge for food, and as they seek out food, they confront major obstacles.

The question may be asked, what are the needs of the people? And the resounding truth is everything. Not knowing the condition of the place, I packed a large bag filled with clothing, toothbrushes, toothpaste, hair clips and various other items for the people, as I suspected that their might be some needs. Word soon quickly spread that clothes and supplies had arrived, and within 30 minutes villagers (mostly women and children) had arrived at the small hut where we were staying. All were happy and even eager to receive the supplies. Size, color, style, all of these things were irrelevant, the people (some of whom only had 1 suit of clothing) were happy to receive the well needed clothing, as well as toothbrushes, soap, and other personal items.

Our connection with the Chepang was truly providential. A brother whose name was Prelad discovered the Adventist message from listening to Adventist World Radio on a short wave radio. This man was exposed to the Gospel through the work of some Pentecostals 18 years prior to our meeting, and without any education or formal leadership, he was pastoring a small congregation of christians hight in the mountains for some 17 years when we met. Prelad was the spiritual leader of this small Chepang clan, and as he was praying to God for more light, he and his son he found Adventist world radio. He reached out to the Nepali Adventist Mission who in turn reached out to our ministry, and so on the behalf of the Nepal Adventist mission we went to minister to this out cast group.

At the end of our time together, the Pastor and his entire congregation have decided that they want to all become Seventh Day Adventists.

The needs are great in this new vineyard. Some of the people have sustained major damage to their homes since the recent earthquakes, and even the small church that was used for worship is only partially repaired. Our aim by the grace of God is to renovate this Church building so that the people can have a safe, sound, structure to worship in once again, as well as to help some of our Chepang friends to rebuild their homes. Some are still living in small thatch roof shacks that offer little or no protection from the impending monsoon rains, and so we hope to help them to rebuild.

There are several Chepang villages much deeper in the interior. Some are quite primitive and still live in caves with their families. We hope in a future mission trip to also engage these villages also, as many are also pleading for the gospel to come to them. Please continue to keep our humble work in your prayers. If you are impressed to partner with us financially, you can do so in 2 ways: 1st you can make a tax deductible donation at www.3goingforward.com or you can send us a check to: 3 Going Forward Ministries, 266 Wunder Street, Mt Jackson Va. 22842. May God continue to bless and keep you in his loving care. Maranatha.