Ordinary People: Extraordinary God
29 Sep 2021
Greetings in the precious name of the Lord Jesus Christ! My name is Uttam from a remote village in western Nepal, the land of Everest. I come from a very religious Hindu family. My grandfather married a Hindu woman and through her Hindu beliefs and worship came to be part of my family history. Once the richest man in the village, my grandfather sold almost everything he owned and used the money to build a temple and carry out many other religious activities.
In search of salvation, he took a vow not to speak. He built a huge temple in the forest where he lived in silence. Since my grandfather was Hindu, his descendants were automatically Hindu. He had a thirst for knowledge and used to visit India often to meet with gurus (teachers). On one such trip he happened to bring a Christian tract back with him. As a young child I was always curious to read the materials stored in the temple. One day I came across this tract which talked about Jesus. I found it so revolutionizing and extremely powerful! I was filled with questions, but since there was no one in my village to answer to me, they only remained as a seed in my heart.
My father was struggling to raise his children, and he did not like how my grandfather was spending his time and money. We were on the verge of being enslaved by the rich people in the village and had to freely work in their fields in order to get our food, which we later had to pay for.
My father died when he was only 37, leaving behind 5 kids and my widowed mother. I was around ten when he died and I began to search for the meaning of life. People expected me to succeed my grandfather in priesthood work. I struggled to understand what happens to the soul when a person dies. If my grandfather, who was the holiest man I knew, was not assured of goodness in his next life, how was I to be confident of my destiny?
Then God began to grow the seeds of faith. I used to go the nearest town to buy salt and kerosene and I began to make friends there. One time, one of these friends invited me to church (underground). I did not understand what he meant by asking me to go to church, but I agreed to go along. The experience was amazing. I saw people worshipping God as if He was hearing their worship and prayer!
It was incredible! I found the Bible to not only be a true historical recording, but also the inspired word of God. It was indeed Good News to me. I was free for the first time from all the myths I had been practicing. There and then I gave my life to the Lord. To truly know and accept the free gift of salvation was wonderful! But there was a cost to following Christ. My friends tore my Bible. I could no longer sit with them the same table because I was untouchable. I was lowered down to the lower cast from the higher cast and I brought the shame to my family. In this hardship and loss, a verse from the Bible began to speak to my heart; “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters — yes, even his own life — he cannot be my disciple. And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. Luke 14:26-27
When I finished school, my father’s cousin gave me an opportunity to come to the capital city of Kathmandu for further study. I began to look for Christian fellowship. Sometimes, my uncle’s kids also wanted to come with me to the fellowship. My uncle began to smell Christianity in my life, and he was ashamed of me. It is a great tragedy in a Hindu family for someone to give himself to a cow eating religion. In Hinduism, cows are sacred – the punishment for killing a cow is equal to murdering a person. Uncle devised a plan and began to spread a rumour to our friends, family and relatives that I ate cow every day. I began to get a lot of pressure from my family and relatives. My uncle thought that his plan was successful and I would quit going to church. But instead, I went to my uncle and told him that I was going to leave his place! Since I had no money, he thought that I would be forced to stay with him and I would quit the church and continue my school. He was so unhappy that his plan had failed.
I went to work for a parliament member from my district and stayed with him. This situation was very difficult. The work was hard and the hours long, and my boss also threatened to put me in prison. But, by the grace of God I was able to finish my junior engineering. Praise and glory to His Name! I went on to complete my bachelor’s in civil engineering and receive an MBA. During that time the Lord more specifically asked me to give my time for evangelism. Once again, my family felt the weight of shame at my choice to serve God in this way but, praise and glory to His Name! It is the greatest honour to obey the calling of Christ.
The Lord used my life to lead my three brothers and their families to Christ. My relatives gave their life to the Lord! My friends gave their life to the Lord! We have a fellowship of Christ-followers in the village I grew up and we want to reach the whole region with the gospel!! Indeed, my Heavenly Father has given me many times more than what I could have asked for. My life is dedicated to serving Him!! Through many years of ministry God has allowed me to be part of great things He is doing among Nepali people.
Nepal remains a country that is closed to the gospel and many of my fellow countrymen and women have never had the opportunity to hear the Good News of Jesus. But God has opened a door for me to use media to share His message of salvation through media. Together, with other Pioneers workers, we want to claim freedom in Christ for Nepal and dedicate it for His glory. I invite you to join us.
- Uttam, a Pioneers worker serving in South Asia
To learn more about Uttam and his team, call the main office on 1800 78 78 89 or email info@pioneers.org.au
To partner with Uttam and his team, you can:
Give: Click the link to partner financially with Uttam’s team. And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? – Pioneers
Pray: Your prayers provide the foundation of our work. We have already seen so many God-ordained transformations because of the prayers of faithful people.
• Pray for hope and light to reach many across the world through media. Pray that our digital campaigns will be
effective in spreading hope and reaching those who are in most need of knowing Jesus.
• This past year has been challenging for many people across the world. Pray specifically for those seekers
who came to faith last year and are still waiting for an opportunity to meet with someone face to face.
• Pioneers media ministry continues to innovate with the ever-changing technology and adapt to new
changes due to the pandemic. Pray for our teams as they navigate these changes and pray for inspiration as they look to the future.
• Ask God to inspire and guide ministry teams using social media to find people interested in knowing
more about Jesus and the Bible.
• Pray for the Nepal Media Project to reach and equip Nepalese globally.
• Pray for the work of Uttam and his family amongst the Nepalese speakers dispersed around the world.
• Pray for our Arabic ministry team. Launching online campaigns to reach seekers involves in-depth research and detailed preparation. Pray for creativity and perseverance as they put together their campaigns.
• Pray for new believers as they grow in their new faith and share it with their families,
friends, and communities.
• When is the right time to transition from an online connection to a face-to-face meeting? Pray that many
seekers would desire such a connection and that those responding would have wisdom in taking the
next step.
Is God calling you to join the mission field? Get in touch.