I want to tell you about a far flung
region of Nepal where very few Nepalese will ever visit, let alone visitors
from the west. The village of Siddhi is located in the Shaktikor district of
Nepal which is to the North and West of the capital city of Kathmandu. To reach
the town of Shaktikor from Kathmandu the locals will ride a series of buses for
about 7 hours. This trip will take you up and over several of the foothills of
the Himalayan mountain range as the road winds along the picturesque and
sometimes wild Trisuli River that cuts a deep path through the very steep hills
of the remote district.
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| Siddhi is located near the red X west of Kathamandu |
Once you have arrived in Shaktikor you are not even
close to the village of Siddhi. If you are fortunate enough to have the
financial means to rent or hitch a ride in a rugged and high clearance four
wheel drive vehicle, then you will be able to cut about three hours off of your
journey and you will only need to hike the final one hour of your trip. But
that final hour will be a brutal hike straight up the steepest “hill” you will
ever see. The hike will take you up switch-back trails that hug the side of the
hill and on rugged steps made of rocks and boulders of various sizes. If you
can’t find or afford a 4x4 ride then your trip will take more than four hours;
three hours of walking up the gradual incline of rocky roads and trails that
don’t seem possible to drive, and then the final one hour hike straight up.
Once you
arrive in Siddhi you will find rock-wall homes and out-buildings scattered
among the hillsides that have been terraced for farming. The other thing you
will find in this village that is very unique to the 1000s of villages
throughout Nepal is a church building in the most prominent part of the
village. How this church building came about is a story of God’s grace and
love.
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| Road to the bottom of the "hill" where you begin the one hour trek to Siddhi |
This is the second time I have made
the long journey to visit the Chepang tribal people of Siddhi, but this is the
first time I have heard the story of how the Himalayan Church of the Lutheran
Confession of Nepal came to be involved in this region of Nepal and how the
Lord has blessed this effort. Not long before the CLC and HCLCN started to work
together in 2007. Pastor JB (Raju’s father) had learned of opportunities to
spread the Gospel among these tribal villages and had made several trips. What
he initially found among these marginalized tribes was a mixture of Hinduism,
Buddhism, ancestral worship, and tribal superstitions mixed with a rather wild
and Pentecostal form of Jesus worship. Apparently the Gospel had come to this
very remote region at some point in the past but thorough training in the Word
did not follow and the people were left to without a firm and solid foundation
in the truths of Scripture. There was also very little formal education taking
place among the people so there was an inability to study the Scriptures on
their own since most could not read. Pastor JB saw and very real opportunity to
proclaim the truth. There were a few young and middle-aged men in the villages
who had managed to go attend school in the distant and larger town of Shaktikor
who JB identified as possible future leaders and perhaps pastors for the
congregations that were beginning to form under his tutelage. But he also knew
that there was much work to be done if these young men were to one day serve as
pastors. It was situations like this and others that led Pastor JB and his son
Raju to get on the internet to find help in training men to be faithful
preachers and teachers of the Word of God. Pastor Raju did a search for
Lutheran Pastoral Training and “stumbled” upon an internet blog that mentioned
Lutheran pastoral training seminars that had been conducted in India. His first
email to the CLC was a simple request; “will you please come to Nepal to offer
a pastoral training seminar?” The rest is an amazing demonstration of God’s
grace, mercy, and blessings.
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| 30 minutes into the trek to Siddi that began at the buildings in the distance |
Just ten to twelve years ago the
village of Siddhi served as a central location for the Chepang people in the
surrounding hill villages to gather. This area, about the size of a football
field, had leveled many years ago and had served for centuries as a place to
gather for the many Hindu and Buddhist festivals that take place every year.
From what I was told, it was not uncommon in the past for 1000’s of people to
gather for these idolatrous festivals. What is truly amazing is that this flat
spot among the hills of this region is now the place where a HCLCN church now
stands.
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| HCLCN church building sits where Hindu festivals were once held |
No longer is this area used in the worship of false gods. Instead,
children of God are worshiping in spirit and in truth. No longer are people
gathering there with the false hope of garnering the favor of an idol. Instead,
sinners are receiving the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy
Spirit through the water and Word of Holy Baptism. No longer are tribal people
offering prayers to Jesus alongside the long list of Hindu gods who they hope
will bring them earthly blessing and a better reincarnated life. Instead, they
are gathering regularly to confess their sins and rejoicing together in the
full and free forgiveness of their sins through the perfect life, sacrificial
death, and victorious resurrection of our Savior Jesus Christ!
The pastor of
the Siddhi congregation is Pastor Bhimlal Chepang. This man has faithfully made
the long trip by foot and bus to attend pastoral training most every month for
the past eight years. He has demonstrated a solid understanding of the truths
of God’s Word and has successfully completed a study of Luther’s Small
Catechism among other doctrinal studies.
Pastor Bhimlal graduated from his
formal training and was commissioned and ordained as one of the first pastors
of the Himalayan Church of the Lutheran Confession of Nepal on January 28,
2016. While he continues to patiently work with and instruct the people of
Siddhi, his work has recently increased as pastors and elders from other
independent Christian congregations have been inquiring about training for
themselves and those they are serving. These men have not had the opportunity,
nor do they have financial means to attend a Bible school or seminary. Through
their contact with the HCLCN they now recognize the importance of having the firm
foundation of God’s word upon which to build a congregation. Most of the congregations
that these men are leading are involved in the mix of Hinduism, Buddhism,
ancestral and tribal religion, along with a Pentecostal mix of Jesus worship.
So there is much work still to be done here.
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| Pastor Bhimlal Chepang is sitting on the far left |
Praise be to God who has opened
this door of opportunity to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ and all that He
has revealed to us in His Word.
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