MMN June Mag 2026 Online - Flipbook - Page 6
was only on the third day we realised the reason why. Over a meal
of momos (Tibetan dumplings) he
described how only two weeks
before, he had returned from helping some church members retrieve
items from a landslide, to 昀椀nd his
own house completely buried and
everything lost. He was homeless
himself; but, supported by church
friends, s琀椀ll hosted our training.
Ilam is a very beau琀椀ful area and
tradi琀椀onally famous for tea, spices and potatoes, but now also for
blind supers琀椀琀椀on and suicide. Animism and fear of evil gods rules
many minds and lives here where
there are deep pockets of hidden
darkness.
The Price of Conversion
We visited an inspiring Chris琀椀an
school in Trishuli for 360 pupils.
The pastor here welcomed us so
5
generously and with his 94-yearold father, we celebrated his wife’s
birthday together with a delicious
昀椀sh meal. We learnt how he had
arrived there 30 years before, with
his wife and daughter in only the
clothes they stood up in, having
been chased out of his home village as he had converted to Chris琀椀anity.
There was an uncharacteris琀椀c outburst from one elderly par琀椀cipant
in Biratnagar: in ques琀椀on 琀椀me he
erupted and spat out: “even if we
as Nepalis get a good educa琀椀on,
we then go to work abroad and
we end up just washing pots”. We
acknowledged and sat with him in
his distress, which is clearly shared
by many Nepalis. Nonetheless, we
were surprised at the powerful anger and resentment just bubbling
below the surface and pray the situa琀椀on will change for Nepal.
