Salvation in Nepal’s Refugee Camps | 17th July 2010
July 16, 2010 by admin
Filed under Prayer Bulletin
Thrust from their homes in Bhutan after Buddhist rulers embarked onan ethnic and religious purge, Christian refugees in Nepal face hostilities from Hindus and others but God is using this persecution tobring exiles to faith. Bhutan has expelled one-eighth of its citizens forbeing of Nepali origin or practicing faiths other than Buddhism since the 1980s.
Persecution in Bhutan led to the spread of Christianity in refugee camps in Nepal. It is estimated that, out of a current refugee population of 85,000, about 7,000-8,000 Christians are in the camps. There are 18 churches of various denominations in the camps.
Gopi Chandra Silwal was a Hindu living in one of the camps with his family. Two of his sisters became Christians, and he would rebuke them mercilessly, not allowing Bibles in the hut. But he contracted malaria, and feared he would die. One night he saw a white-robed figure holding a Bible in one hand and beckoning to him with the other,saying, “Have faith in me.”
He began to read the Bible, was soon converted and eventually became the pastor of a small church in the camp. The plight of the refugees improved after the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) stepped in, receiving permission from the government of Nepal to run the refugee camps. About 26,000 have now been given asylum in other countries, and Pastor Silwal and his family will soon settle in Australia.
“I don’t have grand dreams,” said Pastor Silwal. “In Australia I want to enroll in a Bible college and become a qualified preacher, and then return to Nepal to spread the word of God.”
Source: Compass Direct
BIBLE STUDY: John 15:18-19
PRAISE: God that so many refugees have discovered Jesus right there in the camps. Pray that pastor Silwal and others may realize their dream of going back to evangelise their nation.
