Mission Moments: Nepal
God smiles on a Nepal family
By Gary Fallesen
Climbing For Christ president
Sumitra Pariyar has endured various trials in her short life. At the age of 7, she suffered a debilitating fever that left her crippled. In 2007, on CHRISTmas day, her father carried her paralyzed body to what was then a house church in the Central Nepal village of Dapcha. He had tried everything to help Sumitra.
The small group of Christians in Dapcha at the time prayed for Sumitra’s healing – and she walked again. The Pariyar family surrendered their lives to Jesus.
Sumitra has continued to have some health issues, causing her to quit school and recently requiring expensive medicine. And on April 25 a 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck Central Nepal and destroyed the Pariyars’ house.
Climbing For Christ and ministry partner SARA (Savior Alone Redeems Asians) stepped in to help.
“God is good all the time,” said Pastor Tej Rokka, SARA’s founder and a long-time C4C member. “He made Sumitra and her father smile even in the midst of earthquake pain.”
Nepal Earthquake Relief funds donated to C4C are being used to rebuild the Pariyars’ house.
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Gopal and Sumitra Pariyar receiving earthquake-recovery aid from Pastor Tej Rokka and Climbing For Christ. (Photo by Tej Rokka)
The church at Dapcha was C4C’s first build in Nepal in 2011. We have continued to help the church, including sending current pastor Gopal Nepali to Bible college in India. Church founder Krishna Lama is now attending the same school.
Sumitra’s story has provided inspiration for our work in Nepal – to reach the millions who have not heard the Good News.
“Thank you for your passion for Nepal and significant initiation to raise funds to help us in this crisis situation,” Pastor Tej said. “God bless you all abundantly. Thank you so much for being such faithful partners. God be praised.”
Climbing For Christ’s work in Nepal continues to grow – from Central Nepal (building churches in Dapcha and Kathmandu, and supporting SARA’s orphanages) to the Mid-West (building a church in the district of Rolpa) to the Far West (evangelizing and witnessing the growth of the body in the district of Humla from fewer than 10 believers to more than 125 Christians, prompting the need for the construction of the first church in Simikot). Even the earthquakes in April and May could not deter our efforts.
Instead, C4C members and supporters responded by giving more than US$26,500 in the United States and more than $4,400CAD in Canada. Orphanage buildings have been repaired or are being rebuilt, churches assisted, villages aided.
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Seven boys in the care of SARA’s orphanage stand with church members in Kabrasthali. Funding from C4C Canada is being used to build the structure behind the group. (Photo by Tej Rokka)
In October, Megh Gurung of ministry partner Milap Church and I will return to Langtang, north of Kathmandu along the border of Tibetan China. We first ministered there in 2012 and plan to return to some of the villages we visited and evangelized on Mission: Nepal 2012.
Leanne Bohn and Ann Marie Pavone also will travel from Rochester, NY, USA to again serve in the SARA orphanage. It will be Leanne’s third trip to Nepal and Ann Marie’s second. Our team will visit Dapcha to see the church and Sumitra’s family.
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