I want to go to church
Building another house of worship in Nepal
By Gary Fallesen, founding president, Climbing For Christ
Dave Stoessel stood in awe of God when he heard about our opportunity to build a house of worship for the church at Ghapa in Nepal’s Mid-West district of Rolpa. Dave, a friend from our home church in Rochester, NY, sat with me and about two dozen Nepali brothers and sisters in Christ on an empty plot of land on the side of a mountain in 2012.
He could not imagine a church standing there, but five months later the church at Korchabang was meeting indoors during monsoon season – a time when worship was not normally possible.
The church at Korchabang grew and sent out disciples to make disciples elsewhere. Soon a church was planted in Dharmashala. Later, Climbing For Christ built a house of worship for believers there. More church planting, more growth, and now another request.
This in a Hindu-majority (and Buddhist-minority) country with anti-conversion laws.
“A few years ago, a few believers were coming to worship at the Korchabang church. Some of them asked me, ‘Could we worship at Ghapa?’” recalled Megh Gurung, our Kingdom worker in Nepal. “I said, ‘Let’s pray first. If God will open the door, we could do worship at Ghapa.’
“We prayed for almost a year, and I kept in touch with them. While I was in Rolpa we talked and prayed with them.”
I prayed with them (along with my future son-in-law Mitch Harris) during Mission: Nepal 2017. At the time, there were 17 believers meeting in a house. Today there are nearly 70 brothers and sisters in Christ meeting every week.
Mitch Harris and Megh Gurung, left, meeting with members of the early Ghapa church in 2017. (Photo by Gary Fallesen)
“The leaders of the church are asking with prayer to purchase land for the church building,” Megh reported on July 22. “And they found the land for the church!”
Three days later, he said, “They are buying land to build the church there. I suggested paying for the land by tithe and offerings from the church. But they do not have enough to pay for the land. They already paid 70 percent. They are waiting for help from Climbing For Christ. Please pray for Ghapa.”
We have been praying.
On Aug. 9, during an ice-cream fundraiser at our church (for a medical mission by C4C’s New Generation in Haiti), I shared the news about Ghapa with Dave. He was scooping ice cream. He shook his head in amazement. Ghapa would be the seventh church Climbing For Christ has helped build in Nepal in 10 years. Korchabang was our second build there.
God at work. All glory to HIM!
The cost of finishing the land purchase and constructing the church is $7,777 USD. To support this church build, send a check to Climbing For Christ, P.O. Box 16290, Rochester, NY 14616-0290 USA. You can also CLICK HERE to give online via PayPal. In Canada, make cheques payable to The Great Commission Foundation, and on the memo line add Climbing For Christ CANADA. Mail your support to: The Great Commission Foundation, P.O. Box 14006, Abbotsford, BC V2T 0B4. Or CLICK HERE to give online.
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