Happy 2024! The new year has begun, and with your help we are off and running!
First, we want to share some good news from Nepal. Pastor Samuel and his team held four days of open-air evangelism over the Christmas season. This short video will take you on location in the foothills of the Himalayas to see what it is like.
I will be returning to Nepal this April and had planned to visit a district called Dang. But that plan changed after the Secretary General for the Christian Society, the main representative of the Christian church in Nepal, was arrested in Dang last week. Please pray for the gospel to have free course in this nation where over 50% of the population have yet to hear it.
Nepali pastors at Scott's December disciple-makers seminar
In India, Pastor Rajan’s church has been evicted from their rented space after more than 12 years, due to pressure from Muslim and Hindu tenants who have recently begun renting space in the same building. Agents from the federal government, controlled by the ruling Hindu Nationalist party, have long targeted Bethel Church because of Pastor Rajan’s support of dozens of village pastors and their work in discipleship training at other churches across the state. After Scott left in December, the pressure campaign increased as police told the landlord that Rajan is “working with foreigners” and training pastors from north India (both of which are true).
Bethel Church now must come up with 10 months’ rent ($1000) as a security deposit and move their entire church, including furnishings and equipment, to a new location, with no guarantee that the same thing won’t happen there as well. If you’d like to give toward this need, please use our eGive portal and select fund Bethel Church Security Deposit.
Bethel Church fellowship dinner
Scott will be home for the next few months before traveling to south Asia in April. Next week, he will begin a combined online weekly mentoring meeting with his ten national leaders from the Philippines, Nepal, India, and Kenya. Although Scott has been training these pastors individually for over five years, this will be the first time they will all join together for training and equipping - at 5:00 AM in Kenya, 7:30 AM in India, 7:45 AM in Nepal, 10:00 AM in the Philippines, and 8:00 PM in Missouri. Wow!
International Disciple-Makers Network fellowship
Finally, great news from the Philippines! Wilson and Angelica Flores, a couple Scott has been training for more than five years, have planted a new church. At God’s direction, Wilson quit his job as an architect to devote all his time to launch this new church. Wilson’s grandmother has been praying for God to open a new church in this area for over 20 years, now it is finally coming to pass! They had eight new people at their second service last week, bringing the total to 38 adults and 12 children.
Scott has a burden for this couple and would like to see TTC support the Flores family budget for the next six months. $350/month will cover 50% of Wilson’s lost income. Use eGive fund Filipino Pastor Support to give toward this need. Scott will be ministering in the Philippines in April.
Wilson and Angelica's second church service
Today's Praise Reports: Successful open-air gospel meetings in Nepal during Christmas break; new church thriving in the Philippines; TTC supports church prayer liaisons praying weekly for the ministry. Today's Prayer Requests: God’s strength for Bethel Church to stand firm in the midst of persecution; God’s clear guidance during planning for Scott’s April South Asia ministry trip; and National TTC leaders to be encouraged and equipped through new weekly mentoring meetings.
Making Disciples Among the Nations, Scott and the TTC team
Scott's Thursday-Friday seminar in Surkhet ended well, he preached to a large and receptive crowd at church on Saturday morning, and he and Mohan dropped in on a Hindu wedding before heading back down to Nepalgunj Saturday evening. On Sunday he led an abbreviated RDM seminar in Dang, and now he's about to head home!
Sunday's Prayer Requests:
1. God to make a way for the pastors who are eager to become disciple-makers to get the experience and training they need. 2. Safety and good connections for Scott as he travels home (four flights over the next two days); he and all his stuff to be protected and arrive intact and on time. 3. Good health for Scott; grace for both of us as we transition back into "normal" (what's THAT?!?) life at home in Christmas prep mode. = )
Sunday's Details:
Much has happened in the past couple of days, and Scott has sent us a lot of pictures and information.
Pastor Mohan recorded a 45-second audio update for us about the 2-day Surkhet seminar that concluded on Friday. You can listen to it here. (You may have to click "Download" and then press "Play.") Pastors and church leaders crying out for one disciple
The Saturday morning church service - at the same church where the RDM seminar was held - was packed, with nearly 500 people present, almost all seated on the floor. Here's a short video clip Scott captioned "Passionate Worship."
It was after noon by the time Scott started preaching. He taught on forgiveness, what it means, the Ten Most Powerful Words, and the freedom it brings. He also acted out an example of what happens to a monkey when he won't let go of a desired object and related that to what happens to us when we won't let go of an offense. The people really grasped that concept, and afterward, many stood to say they would forgive the person who had hurt them. Scott hopes they will follow through on those decisions.
Preaching on forgiveness
Before leaving Surkhet on Saturday afternoon, Mohan and Scott dropped in on the wedding of a distant relative of Mohan's father-in-law. Scott said, "It was a Hindu wedding, and the Hindu priest was officiating. They had to circle the banana shrine seven times." He sent us a couple of pictures.
The bride and groom. Possibly the banana shrine?
Scott said, "They had to circle a thing, and then they were dropping burning things and putting stuff on their heads... all kinds of stuff, [to me] really crazy." They didn't stay long at the wedding.
I wondered how long Hindu weddings are, compared to Christian weddings, so I asked Google. Here's a comment about Nepali weddings, copied from <thebigfatindianwedding.com>. "The pre-wedding part of Nepali weddings is the calm before the storm. Vedic Hindu Nepali wedding rites are extended sometimes over four days, not including the events that come before the wedding day. During the ceremony, multiple gifts are exchanged and blessings are invoked, each in their own ritual."
That's... well... different.
Scott's and Mohan's trip back down the mountain that afternoon was "uneventful," which I assume means there were no untoward encounters with tigers. However, there was at least one traffic jam.
Traffic jam!
Saturday evening Scott was able to give some toys to the kids at the orphanage, and the super bubble wands were a big hit. Here are a few seconds of video of two attempts. It was getting dark, so the video's not real clear, but I think the kids were having fun, as was Scott. = )Then on Sunday, Scott led a one-day DM seminar in a place called Dang. He said, "We had about 90 at today's meeting and most of them were pastors."
Mohan interpreting as Scott teaches Many pastors at the Dang RDM seminar
As you know, Scott will teach anybody who's breathing about raising disciple-makers, but because pastors can often have the most significant impact, they are his primary target audience, so a group that's mostly pastors always invigorates him. Lunch is served Taking pictures of the "Believer vs. Disciple" slide on the screen
While I was typing this, he just messaged me that, "18 signed up for a DM group yesterday." Pretty exciting! And at the end of that Dang seminar, Scott was officially FINISHED with all his teaching sessions for this trip!
At 6:15 PM Monday in Nepal (6:30 AM Monday MO time) he will begin his long journey home, flying from Nepalgunj, Nepal to Kathmandu, Nepal to Doha, Qatar to Chicago, USA(!) to Springfield, Missouri, where he will land at 9:30 PM Tuesday. That's a total of 39 hours, plus about an hour's drive time on each end, so... it takes about 41 hours to travel from Mohan's home to ours.
An hour before Scott was scheduled to leave Nepalgunj for Kathmandu, he sent me this text.
"Flight to Kathmandu appears to have been canceled. We can't get any information about it by phone or online, so we are rushing to the airport. No worries. God is fighting for us!"
Then a few minutes later, this.
"I got to the airport at 5 pm for my 6:15 pm flight. They told me my flight was canceled and moved me to the 4:25 pm flight that has been delayed. So I will actually arrive [in Kathmandu] earlier than my scheduled flight. God is so good! 😎"
He did arrive early, so instead of a seven-hour layover, he had an eight-hour layover. Not especially recreational. One of Pastor Mohan's brothers-in-law was traveling with Scott to Kathmandu. He's trying to arrange to go to college in the U.S. The two of them passed the time in a coffee shop near the airport. They were there so long that they ended up eating THREE meals there.
When the time finally came to board the plane for his five-and-a-half hour flight to Doha, we had this text conversation.
S: Upgraded to business class. 🤩 I think that means I can lay down flat for a few hours!
P: How did you manage that?
S: Grace and dashing good looks.
S: Well, maybe just grace.
P: Did you ask or did they offer?
S: They offered. I didn't ask.
He was able to sleep lying down for three-and-a-half hours on that flight! And when he initially boarded the next plane for his 16-hour flight to Chicago, the seat beside him was empty! I do hope it stayed that way. He will land in Chicago about 3:15 PM, and then it's just one more four-and-a-half hour layover followed by just a hop, skip, and a jump to Springfield!!!
Please pray for Scott's continued safety and good health.
I need to send you a special prayer update from Take The Challenge.
There was an earthquake in western Nepal around midnight Friday local time. There are over 150 confirmed dead and countless others buried alive under the rubble. You can read the details here.
Some of our TTC partners are in the area affected by the earthquake. They arrived in the area last night to check on the families and those who have been injured and/or whose homes have been destroyed.
Please pray:
For rescue workers to save any and all people still trapped under the rubble.
For those who have been injured to be healed.
For God to provide for those whose homes have been destroyed.
For no significant aftershocks to be experienced in the nation of Nepal.
That this tragedy would cause people to forsake their Hindu idols and embrace the one and only true God.
Come hear how Take The Challenge (TTC) is holding up the hands of pastors around the world and how your gifts and prayers are not only supplying the needs of the saints but are overflowing in many thanksgivings to God.
The banquet will be held at New Beginnings Fellowship in Hollister, MO, and will include an update on God's work around the world through TTC, a wonderful dinner, and an opportunity to join hands with what God is doing.
Details for 2023 Annual Missions Banquet
Date: Sept 7, 2023
For more information and/or tickets, contact us at the telephone number above.
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