published by Bill Mounce on Mon, 10/27/2008 - 22:30
A lot has happened since the first blog. Once again I find it a little difficult to put into words without it sounding like a cliche.
We traveled from Nepal to India, which is a two hour flight and a three hour drive. We arrived at 3 a.m., and after four hours sleep began the Pastors' Conference. There were about 120 pastors from all around southern India, and I spoke six times.
They were some of the most responsive people I have ever been with. Do they love Jesus! He is so real to them that their joy cannot be contained. They sang at the top of their lungs, not caring one bit what others may or may not have thought of them. I didn't matter; they were there to praise God in the midst of horrific circumstances.
There are two things that are most important to them. (1) They have been saved from their sins. Unlike all other religions that tell you that you have to do something about your sin, these men knew that God had done something for their sin. I could hardly say the name "Jesus" without their faces lighting up and their voices praising God. They know that no matter what happens to them, they will be with Jesus forever, and that is their joy.
published by Bill Mounce on Wed, 10/22/2008 - 20:59
We have just finished our first conference in Nepal and I wanted to get my thoughts down before we go to India for our second conference.
To say I am overwhelmed is to say the least. I find that many of the stereotypical thoughts and even pictures that I have heard and seen from missionaries are the same as my thoughts and pictures (see some at the end of the blog). The poverty is overwhelming. The culture is oppressive. The resources are so few. Sounds like the only hope is God!
We did a two day conference in which I summarized the New Believers curriculum that we have on BiblicalTraining.org. As we talked with people, we were encouraged that this was precisely the right material to discuss. Some of the people were from the main city of Kathmandu. Others like Paul are from so high in the mountains that after a three day bus ride he still has to walk 4 days. He showed us pictures of his church built with mud walls and a partial tin roof. He had been a Maoist (communist to us). He watched his best friend murdered and prayed that if God spared him that he would investigate Christianity. He is now the pastor for several villages scattered throughout the mountains. We have always heard of people like Paul from missionary presentations at church, but it is totally different to sit down with him and talk.
