Nepal: ‘You’re dead to us’

Pradip is from Nepal. He was brought up in a poor Hindu family – his upbringing was pretty tough. One of his sisters had become a Christian, but he wasn’t impressed – he didn’t like Christianity and so began to treat his sister pretty badly. His family was already struggling and Pradip and his parents thought his sister’s choice to become a Christian was just making things worse.

One day, his cousin, who was also a Christian, asked Pradip to go with him to Church – knowing the church often shared food after the service, Pradip agreed to go as he was really hungry – he wasn’t bothered about finding out more about Jesus.

A flash of light

At the end of the service, the pastor prayed for him. That night, as he was thinking over what he had heard in the church, he suddenly he saw a flash of bright light in his room. He didn’t know what it was, so he asked his mother, but she hadn’t seen anything. But in his heart, Pradip was curious to know about the bright light.

He tried asking other people about the experience, but no-one could give him a decent response, so he decided to look to the Bible. He found his sister’s New Testament and began reading – he read for some time, but, understandably got a bit switched off reading the genealogy of Jesus.

But a few days later he tried again. He opened the Bible to the book of John. As he continued reading, his eye caught sight of the verse ‘I am the light of the world: he that follows me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life’ (John 8:12).

When he read this, he suddenly remembered the light he saw inside his room. He’d found the answer that he’d been searching for – he felt peace in his heart and accepted Jesus as his Savior.

Image: The Himalayan Mountains in Nepal.

‘Dead to us…’

When his parents came to know about his faith, they weren’t happy – they treated him pretty badly, telling him to never call them his father and mother again. They said that he ‘was dead to them’ and expelled him and his sister from the house. The whole village found out and supported Pradip’s mum and dad.

Pradip and his sister had no other choice but to leave, they had no money or support from their parents. Their only options was to go and stay at their church. In those hard times, the verses from Isaiah 41:10 and Joshua 1:9 gave Pradip and his sister strength to stand strong in faith.

A new beginning…

Thanks to your support, that isn’t the end of Pradip’s story. Through a local partner in Nepal who have been helping Pradip,his faith has grown and grown, and he’s now studying in a Bible College.

“I am very thankful to God for answering my prayers. I am also thankful to the organisation who encouraged me and gave me assurance that they are with me in my difficult situations. When I decided to join Bible College, I didn’t have money but by faith and prayer, I joined the College. I kept praying to God to fulfill my financial needs. Eventually, God blessed me through your organisation and now I am able to complete my course. The support has helped me move closer to my vision.”

Now, with a qualification, Pradip has a dream to help and strengthen other young people who have chosen to follow Jesus. He’s keen to make sure others stand strong, no matter what they face!

Amazing.