PhotoShow: A Climb to Build a Church

If you cannot see the PhotoShow, please make sure you have JavaScript enabled and that you have the latest free Macromedia Flash plug-in. Click here for the free plug-in.

---

Text from this PhotoShow:

Early every morning, Suraj Magar set out on his three-hour climb up the mountain. Even though he often trudged the narrow path with steep drop-offs in snow or rain, he knew he had to finish the hike.
Finally, exhausted from the extreme physical exertion, Suraj arrived at the tiny, remote village in Nepal just in time to begin his work . . . as a GFA World missionary.
Joyfully greeting everyone he met, Suraj began forming friendships with many of the villagers. And as time went on, several people chose to follow Christ through Suraj's witness.
The group of new believers began meeting in a small, rented hut, but soon they outgrew the building and needed a larger place. So, they decided to build a church of their own.
Unfortunately, the village was filled with temples of a traditional religion that did not want Christians in the area. They forced the villagers not to sell their land to the believers. So the Christians had nowhere to build.
Thankfully, a new believer, Amal Bansi, decided to donate some of his own land for the new worship center.
The leaders of the traditional religion became furious with Amal and sent him a letter telling him that they were excommunicating him from the village. From that point on, Amal's family was treated as if they did not live there.
The believers faithfully met and prayed about the situation, and the Lord led them to persevere and continue with the building project.
Because the village sits high in the Nepali mountains, the believers had to carry large loads of building materials on foot up from the bottom of the valley.
After three long years of tears, prayers and hard work, the building was complete! And the leaders from the traditional religion knew that the Christians had a real God, who had provided their needs. So they asked for the believers' forgiveness for treating them so badly.
As a result of the church building, a young man named Kavin Rushil gave his life to Christ. As he grew in his faith, Kavin felt the Lord's call to be a missionary, too. He attended a GFA Bible college and has now returned to serve as pastor of the church, so that Suraj can go to other Nepali villages to minister.
Today, the believers happily worship the Lord in their church building. The building stands as a testimony to what the Lord has done, and to the perseverance of the believers in this secluded village.
date posted 05/27/08