We have been receiving some stories from our missionaries and national leaders about what God is doing in the midst of the pandemic. We are sharing these stories with you so that you can be encouraged and also remember to keep lifting up our brothers and sisters in Christ around the world in prayer.
This story comes from Pastor Amen Thapa, president of EFC-Nepal. Amen and his family are based in Kathmandu.
When COVID-19 first started, we were worried because there were so many different symptoms and many of us had some of them. Thank God that they did not result in being positive for COVID-19!
All of our people lost their jobs and some of our members faced lack of food and money for rent. Even a few churches had difficulty paying rent. Thankfully, some of our church members with good financial conditions were able to provide relief for those who were struggling. We were able to provide them with basic needs (groceries, toiletries, and money for rent and medicine). EFM has also provided relief funds so that our heavy burdens were lessened. We would like to express our sincere thanks to all the supporters and donors.
It felt so odd to not be able to meet physically in our church. It was difficult to know how to move forward and we didn’t know what would happen with the ministry and our members. We also didn’t know if it would be possible to be connected and if we would be able to contact members. As time passed, God gave us wisdom and ideas to continue his ministry.
Personally, I have never felt I was good with media and have always tried to avoid giving my interview to Christian newspapers and magazines. But now, at least once a week, I am preaching on media (Zoom, Facebook, Messenger, etc.). Before lockdown I preached among 150 people in person, but now I preach to 1,000-2,000 people because they are joining in on our church page every week!
We also had a wonderful and blessed virtual Youth Conference 2020 via Zoom and Facebook live. We provided internet for most participants from the village region. There were over 500 gathered from 12 countries, including Nepal, watching live. Now we have over 4,000 viewers on our church Facebook page. We also plan to conduct a Women Conference, Sunday School Training, and Pastors and Leaders Conference in the near future. We appreciate your prayers for these.
We would like to thank you all for your fervent prayers and support. We are glad we have you, whom we share our hard times and good times with.
If you would like to receive on a regular basis prayer requests and praises for how God is working I encourage you to sign up for EFM’s monthly prayer letter. You can do that by clicking on the button below.
Also, EFM is still receiving donations to our emergency fund for COVID-19 related relief efforts. If you would like to contribute at this time you can do so by clicking here or using the button below.