“En presencia de Dios y de Cristo Jesús, que ha de venir en su reino y que juzgara a los vivos y a los muertos, te doy este solemne encargo: Predica la Palabra; persiste en hacerlo, sea o no sea oportuno; corrige, reprende y anima con mucha paciencia, sin dejar de enseñar.”

2 Timoteo 4:1-2

Los Musahars son un grupo Dalit que se encuentra en el Terai de Nepal. Ellos hablan el dialecto Bhojpuri de hindi y nepalí. Tradicionalmente eran cazadores de ratas y aún existe incertidumbre sobre su orígen exacto. Se dice que la palabra Musahar se deriva de “mūs”, una palabra local bhojpuri y sánscrita (mūṣ) para una rata o un ratón, debido a su ocupación tradicional como cazadores de ratas, en la actualidad ya no se dedican a la caza de ratas y son principalmente trabajadores agrícolas sin tierra. Son uno de los grupos más marginados de Nepal e India y han sufrido discriminación. Creen en varias deidades tribales y ya un pequeño porcentaje de estas personas ha aceptado a Cristo.

En las zonas rurales, Los Musahar son principalmente trabajadores agrícolas en régimen de servidumbre, pero a menudo se quedan sin trabajo hasta ocho meses al año. Los niños trabajan junto a sus padres en el campo o como recolectores de trapos, ganando tan solo 25 a 30 IR ($ 0.20 a 0.30 centavos) diarios. La tasa de alfabetización es del 3%, pero cae por debajo del 1% entre las mujeres; según algunas estimaciones, hasta el 85% de algunas aldeas, sufren desnutrición y tienen escaso acceso a los centros de salud, prevalecen enfermedades como la malaria y el kala-azar, la forma más grave de leishmaniasis.

Nuestro ministerio de CHE está involucrado en un Programa de Salud y Nutrición entre algunos niños y mujeres de Los Musahar y a través de este programa también proporcionamos matrículas escolares a los niños que abandonan la escuela por medio de un Centro de Aprendizaje Comunitario (CLC). Tenemos unos 25 niños en la aldea de Aurahi, que se encuentra aproximadamente a 12 km de Janakpur en el distrito de Dhanusa. Arun Mandal y su esposa, Babli, son capacitadores de CHE que participan activamente en la enseñanza de los niños del programa de CHE. Tienen lecciones de salud e higiene e incorporan un estudio bíblico sencillo que utiliza historias bíblicas. Otros líderes de CHE como Sanjeev & Kiran junto con Sahendra Mahto están trabajando activamente entre este grupo de personas con nuestro ministerio en los distritos de Mahottari y Dhanusa.

Prateek pudo regresar a la Universidad en Estados Unidos después de un breve tiempo con nosotros y con el resto de nuestra familia en la India sin ningún problema adicional causado por la pandemia de COVID-19. Gracias por orar por la seguridad de su viaje.

Shalom!

Samson, Priscilla, and Prateek Retnaraj

Nepal

Lee mas…

The post Carta de Oración de Febrero 2021 first appeared on FRIENDSMISSION.COM.

The Retnaraj Family | Serving in Nepal  “In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and His kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season.” 2 Timothy 4:1-2

The Musahars are a Dalit group found in the Terai of Nepal. They speak the Bhojpuri dialect of Hindi and Nepali. They were traditionally rat-catchers, and there is still uncertainty as to their exact origin. The word Musahar is said to be derived from “mūs,” a local Bhojpuri and Sanskrit (mūṣ) word for a rat or mouse, on account of their traditional occupation as rat-catchers. They no longer engage in rat-catching and are now mainly landless agricultural laborers. They are one of the most marginalized groups in Nepal & India and have suffered discrimination. They believe in a number of tribal deities, and a small percentage of these people have accepted Christ.

In the rural areas, Musahar are primarily bonded agricultural workers, but often go without work for as much as eight months in a year. Children work alongside their parents in the fields or as rag pickers, earning as little as IRs 25 to 30 ($ 0.20 to 0.30) daily. The Musahar literacy rate is 3% but falls below 1% among women. By some estimates, as many as 85% of some villages of Musahars suffer from malnutrition and with scant access to health centers, diseases such as malaria and kala-azar, the most severe form of leishmaniasis, are prevalent.

Our CHE ministry is involved in a Health & Nutrition Program among some Musahar children and women, and through this program we also provide school tuition to school drop-out Musahar children through a Community Learning Centre (CLC). We have about 25 children in Aurahi village, which is approximately 12 kms from Janakpur in the Dhanusa District. Arun Mandal and his wife, Babli, are CHE Trainers who are actively involved in teaching children from a Childrens’ CHE syllabus. It has lessons in health and hygiene and incorporates simple a Bible Study using Bible stories. Other CHE leaders like Sanjeev & Kiran and also Sahendra Mahto are actively working among this people group with our ministry in Mahottari and Dhanusa Districts.

Prateek was able to get back to college in the U.S. after a brief time with us and the rest of our family in India without any additional problems caused due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Thank you for praying for his safe journey.

Shalom!

Samson, Priscilla, and Prateek Retnaraj

Nepal

Click Here to Download Full Prayer Letter…

The post February 2021 Prayer Letter first appeared on FRIENDSMISSION.COM.

In Bardia we got involved in an electric welding project to make “Contactless Hand Washing Stations” which are in great demand these days in all the offices, banks, schools/colleges, hotels and shopping places. We continue to be involved in a Bio-Sand Filter Project in Bardia.

Please pray for our son Prateek Joshua who is currently living in Newberg, Oregon. We just heard that his status for the next year at George Fox University is safe for the second year in the Honors program as the college has decided to provide hybrid courses for all their international students. He unfortunately could not move anywhere for the summer due to travel restrictions (domestic and international) and, not having a job, he had to stay put in the accommodation provided by the college. He is 21 years old this month and we thank God for him and all the people who are involved in encouraging him by talking to him or sending gifts during these lonely days in the summer as he waits for college to re-open in September.

Samson & Priscilla

The post July 2020 Retnaraj Newsletter first appeared on FRIENDSMISSION.COM.

The picture to the right was taken last year during Evangelical Friends Church-Nepal’s (EFC-N) silver anniversary. Those pictured, from left to right, are Rachel, Sangi, John, Samson, and Amen Thapa (Rachel’s husband). Pastor Amen is the president of EFC-N and he is the one who answered the four questions I sent to missionaries and national leaders. Amen and his family are based in Kathmandu.

How is COVID-19 affecting those who live in the area where you live and minister?

• Nepal is in a state of lockdown.
• The lockdown has been greatly affecting our travel and daily needs. Many things are limited, like propane, sanitizers, and masks.
• Several Bible school students are stuck in Kathmandu and are living with us.

How is this situation affecting the ministry you lead?

We are worshiping in three ways:

• From 6 am to 6 pm there is a prayer chain for those of us who have access to the church building.
• There is a live, online service on our church page.
• We have fellowship by phone with those who do not have internet access (especially the elderly).

What are some opportunities you are seeing for sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with those who don’t know Him? 

• We who are Christians have opportunity to serve society, helping local government in the areas of cleanliness and sharing awareness.
• Many of our churches have opportunity to share the gospel as they are conducting worship services in different cell groups in different areas. Bhandara Friends and Jhurjhure Friends are good examples of this. In this way our fellowships have been expanded/extended.
• Church members are getting good time to read the Bible and pray.

What are two or three prayer requests that we can use as we pray for you and those you lead? 

• For a spiritual awakening at this time. That our members not lose faith in Jesus as we have to stay home during this period of quarantine. Pray especially for new fellow believers.
• For good health, wisdom, and knowledge from God to stay safe.
• For the financial situation. We have to buy groceries, propane, and other daily needs. Pray especially for full-time ministers as they do not have any other sources of income.

While we are providing this special round of updates to EFM’s largest email list (due to the world-wide impact of COVID-19), we will continue, as always, providing brief praise and prayer requests from each contributing field through our monthly EFM Prayer Letter. This is the easiest way to get regular, brief updates from missionaries and national leaders. If you do not currently receive the EFM Prayer Letter, we encourage you to subscribe by clicking the button below.

The post EFM COVID-19 Updates | Pray for Nepal first appeared on FRIENDSMISSION.COM.

On the other side, in Cha’pur we had Asha and the women prayer warriors getting involved through a simple Sewing Training Program to help reach out to non-believers with the living Word of God and leading families to faith in Christ. Some like Ramita from Mahida in the picture also experienced the saving Grace of Jesus, and gave their lives over to Christ, and became useful in their simple way by working for the needs of society, which brought opportunities to share the Gospel with unbelievers.

The Small Business Development (SBD) Training held in March 2019 at Surkhet with the help of Trainers from Wabash Friends Church has helped people like Tulsa and her husband who is a pastor in Surkhet to come to understand that it is good for leaders to have a tent-making ministry. They started a ready-made garment shop with a small seed grant from CHE and soon this helped their churches in being self-supported and sustainable.

On the home front, PRISCILLA (Ritu) has also shown determination and leadership qualities in leading and guiding these women to rise to the occasion and be considered equal in families and communities. Even with the pressure of all these responsibilities and working in a Nursing College, Priscilla was awarded a PhD by Walden University (USA)

We Praise God for all our activities which have brought Him Glory in small and subtle ways.

Por favor oren…

• For our CHE Trainers and their families as they serve God through various ways in different places and lead many more to Christ.
• For the work in Jugauliya among the Musahar people.
• The Eden CHE Committee in Cha’pur have taken the initiative of starting a Community Learning Centre in an attempt to become united and working among the poor and marginalized using CHE. They are led by Suleman and Pastor Ramesh.

We wish you, all of our friends and well-wishers, as well as our faithful supporters, a very happy and blessed time at Christmas this year, and a year full of his promises in 2020.

Shalom,

Samson, Priscilla, and Prateek

Nepal

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The post December 2019 Prayer Letter first appeared on FRIENDSMISSION.COM.

In Cha’pur the first group of 17 women went through the WCL training. It was so well received that another 23 went to the next one. Our Women CHE Trainers doubled as Facilitator, says that these first groups of women have taught at least one lesson to 1678 other women. This was eight years ago, and Asha was one of those teachers.

Kiran, another CHE Trainer says, “Women ask me how they should respond to their husbands when they don’t show respect for them. I tell them, ‘You can respond as if you are trash, or you can respond with self-respect, as a worthy person. Then your husband will learn to respect you too.’ The spiritual impact is transforming when women who feel they are unworthy learn that God loves them. I know now that I’m a daughter of the King of Kings! Such knowledge lifts my head. I can walk proudly like a lioness now!”

Read More…

The post September 2018 Prayer Letter first appeared on FRIENDSMISSION.COM.

In 2017, Friends CHE (Community Health Evangelism) Ministry entered our community through Suleman Rai. Friends CHE helped by organizing the CHE Vision Seminar in February 2017. I was not interested initially. I didn’t understand what CHE was and why it was helpful to our church. So, I discussed with brother Kedar about this matter. Since he knew Suleman Rai well, we agreed to host the Vision Seminar in our community. After the Vision Seminar, I really understood what CHE was and how it works for developing individuals and community both physically and spiritually.

All of this caused us to start Paurai CHE Committee in our own community. Now, Friends CHE Ministry is helping facilitate the program and provide different CHE trainings. We can offer health lessons and spiritual lessons as well. After learning from different CHE trainings, we are reflecting and trying to be an example to our community; so that we can witness to others. We even have picture booklets that have been very helpful in sharing our faith and knowledge to our neighbors.

I would like to thank Friends CHE, as we have benefitted both physically and spiritually through this ministry and are able to reach out to non-believers in our community with ease.

The post Nepal Testimony from Samson Retnaraj first appeared on FRIENDSMISSION.COM.