Waiting All This Time
While he was still working out of Ghenthu, Suraj
lived next door to a school where some students from
Tienbeh were studying. That’s how he met Chetro, a
ninth grader. When Suraj told Chetro about Jesus, he
could tell that the young man was excited. Chetro
came to Suraj the next day, begging him to come to
Tienbeh because his mother wanted to know more
about Christ.
Suraj knew the boy’s family was from the Limbu
tribe, strong adherents to their traditional religion
and open opponents of Christianity. Limbus also have
a history of turning to violence to solve their problems.
“I was very scared initially because I did not know
if it was a genuine request or just a plot,” Suraj admitted.
So he stalled—and prayed.
“I told the boy I could not go that week; I’d
come the next week,” Suraj said. “I started asking the
Lord to help me. The next week the boy came to me
and told me that his mother asked me to come home
with him. The following Friday it was a fasting day
for me, and I went to Tienbeh with much caution.”
Despite his concerns, Suraj received a warm
greeting. He learned that Chetro’s mother, Tendral,
had heard the Gospel from some Christians she met
while living in Kathmandu many years earlier. She had
been waiting all this time to learn more about Jesus.
“That day I shared the Gospel with all those who
had gathered,” Suraj said. “I told them all that I knew
about the Lord Jesus Christ. That evening, six of
them said they would like to follow the Lord.”
This encounter helped Suraj see Tienbeh in a
different light.
“The moment I saw people eager to receive the
Lord, I was very grateful to the Lord for choosing me
to serve Him and bring these people to Him. I was so
happy,” he remembered.
And when Suraj’s leader asked him to move to
Tienbeh, he was ready to comply.
The Beginning of a New Life
Tendral had been quietly contemplating Jesus for
many years before Suraj came to her house that
Friday. While living in Kathmandu, Nepal’s capital
city, some Christians she met had given her a Gospel
tract. Many warned her not to read the tract because
they viewed Christianity as a low-caste religion. But
she couldn’t resist.
“The title of the tract was The Beginning of a
New Life. As I read the title, I was curious and
interested. I liked what was written in it,” Tendral
explained. “I began to understand that Jesus Christ
would listen to my prayers. But I didn’t know what
prayer was. I didn’t know how to pray.”
Over time, Tendral realized that following Jesus
would require a radical change in her lifestyle. She
would have to stop worshipping the gods and
goddesses of her village. She would no longer be able
to eat food or drink the home-brewed alcohol that
was sacrificed to these deities. Tendral decided it was
worth all of that to follow a God she knew would
hear her prayers.
Her husband, Amal, was less than enthusiastic.
“He told me that I could stop worshipping
the gods, but that he and our son would continue
to worship them. He insisted on following our
forefathers’ tradition and religion, but I insisted
on worshipping Jesus,” she said.
During this time of soul searching, Tendral and
her family left Kathmandu and moved back to
Tienbeh. She desperately wanted to know more about
Jesus, so when her son brought her news that a
missionary near his school had Bibles, she was
excited. She had never owned a Bible.
Tendral was delighted to finally be able to learn
more about Jesus. The one sadness in her life was the
fact that Amal still refused Christ’s offer of salvation.
Amal told his wife that he was too old to change, but
she knew his real problem: alcohol.
“He did not receive Jesus Christ then, but he had
that curiosity and eagerness to know more about
Him,” Tendral explained.
One evening, as Amal was walking home in a
drunken stupor, he stumbled, fell into a deep gorge
and passed out. He woke up three hours later in
severe pain and dragged himself up to the road. As he
was lying on the side of the road, Suraj and another
Gospel for Asia missionary happened by. They helped
him back to the village.
This was a pivotal moment in Amal’s spiritual life.
“After that incident, I made up my mind and
promised to myself that I would not drink anymore
but would follow the Lord Jesus Christ,” Amal
recalled. “I believed in the Lord and received Him
that day.”
