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Pray that evangelism in Nepal will not be restricted as there are many in need spiritually.

Nepali Christians fear that proposed amendments to the country's new constitution, likely to come into effect this August after seven years of parliamentary discussions, could eventually render all Christian activity illegal. Christians are deeply concerned that the draft, though it affirms the right to profess and practise one's own religion, criminalizes evangelism and conversion.

Chhedar Bhote

After receiving a 12-year prison sentence, a pastor in a remote part of Nepal was released from detention on July 17th. Pastor Chhedar Bhote Lhomi, 37, who ministered among the Tibetan people and established a church that met regularly, was handed the lengthy prison sentence for eating beef. Although he served in an area of Nepal where this practice is permissible, in other areas of the country local Hindus do not eat beef because cattle and oxen are considered sacred.

Karuna

A church leader living among the Brahmin, the Hindu upper caste, recently lost his home and belongings when villagers burned down his home. While "Karuna's" primary job is to visit and encourage believers in the area, he has also led many Hindus to Christ, angering those in the village. On several occasions, villagers threatened to kill Karuna, his wife and their two children if he continued to evangelize.

An elder of the Believers Church in Nepal was tragically killed in the early morning hours of October 20th while praying for someone who was supposedly quite ill.

Pray for believers in Nepal who are facing hardships for the sake of Christ.

Buddhists in Nepal drove a pastor and other believers from their village, accusing the pastor of bringing a foreign religion to the village and promoting teachings against society. The oppressors accused Christians in the village of using bribery and coercion to covert local residents to Christianity. It is also believed a six-year-old girl was sexually abused by one of the individuals who incited the expulsion. A VOM worker has helped the victims resettle in another village and also prayed with the family of the girl who was abused.

Pray that the passion these believers have for Christ will be the light that draws others to Jesus (Matthew 5:14-16). Pray for healing for the girl who was abused. Please pray that hostility against Christians in Nepal will cease and that believers will be allowed to live and worship freely.

Please visit the Nepal Country Report for more on the trials believers face in Nepal.

Assumption Catholic Church after the bombing in 2009.

Two years after an explosion shook one of the biggest Catholic churches in Nepal and killed three people, the underground group that orchestrated the attack claimed responsibility for another bomb blast in November (for more on the 2009 attack, click here).

A crude bomb went off on November 22 in front of a leading Christian charitable organization's office in the capital city, sowing fresh fear and insecurity among Christians. Thankfully, there were no casualties. At the site, police found leaflets signed by someone calling himself a senior member of the Nepal Defence Army, a militant armed group that has terrorized Christians and Muslims, demanding that they leave Nepal. The leaflets asserted that the majority population in Nepal was Hindu and that therefore it should be a Hindu state. The leaflets also accused the charitable organization of converting Hindus to Christianity.

On the same day in the north-eastern district of Sindhupalchowk, local residents of the predominantly Buddhist village of Danchhe assaulted two brothers for leading worship services at their home, leaving one unconscious.

Ask God to grant courage and boldness of faith to Christians in Nepal. Pray that believers in Nepal will exemplify the love of God through consistent love and prayer for those who persecute them (Matthew 5:43-48). Pray for lasting peace in Nepal.

Please visit the Nepal Country Report for more on the trials believers face in Nepal.

Nepalese women reading

Five years after it abolished Hinduism as the state religion, Nepal is working on a new criminal code forbidding a person of one faith to "convert a person or abet him to change his religion." Article 160 of the proposed code also says no one will be allowed to do anything or behave in any way that could cause a person from a caste, community or creed to lose faith in his/her traditional religion or convert to a different religion. Offenders could be imprisoned for a maximum of five years and fined up to $685 CAD. Last weekend, the Nepalese government failed to complete a new constitution providing for religious freedom due to a protracted battle for political power.

Pray for all those in authority in Nepal. Ask God to bring about genuine religious freedom in this nation. Pray for the church in this nation. May it remain faithful and grow in strength and in number. 

Read more about the lack of religious freedoms in Nepal at the Nepal Country Report.

On March 20, thousands of Christians marched with empty coffins and empty stomachs in front of Nepalese government offices. The believers were begging the government of Kathmandu to allot them plots of land to bury their loved ones. In recent years, land available to Christians has been limited, forcing them to bury their dead on top of one another in the same tomb. In 2009, Christians were given the Shleshmantak Forest as a place to bury their dead. However, this forest was right next to a Hindu temple. The decision sparked protests from Hindus around the country, forcing the government to ban Christian burials in Shleshmantak Forest. Although the Nepalese government has lifted the ban, radical Hindus continue to stop Christians from burying their dead in the forest.

Pray the Nepalese government will have compassion for these believers and grant them land. Ask the Lord to provide for them. Pray these believers will be the light of Christ to their Hindu neighbours.

Learn more about the tribulations that befall Nepalese Christians at theNepal Country Report.

Six men attacked and brutally beat a Gospel for Asia-supported missionary in Nepal on October 17. The men accused Indra Rai Waglan of blasphemy against their traditional gods. They also accused him of forcing all the members of two families to convert to Christianity.

Indra and an elderly believer were travelling to a neighbouring village to conduct a prayer meeting when the attack happened. After the attack, the men left Indra unconscious beside the road. He was later able to get medical treatment. He has a broken rib and bruises all over his body. The police have identified and charged six men with the attack. Their case is now before the court.

Please pray Indra will be completely healed and fully restored. Pray he will be given the strength to stand firm in Christ. Pray also for the perpetrators and the police involved in the case that the Holy Spirit will lead them to repentance and belief in the one true God.

Find out more about the persecution of Christians in Nepal by visiting theNepal Country Report.

A 27-year-old woman belonging to the group Hindu Rashtra Bachao Samiti (The Society to Save the Hindu Nation) has confessed to police that she planted the bomb in the church building and has been arrested. On May 29, the militant group the Nepal Defense Army released the following statement: "We want all the one million Christians out of the country, if not we will plant one million bombs in all the houses where Christians live and detonate them."

Click hereto learn more about the opposition facing Christians in Nepal.