As part of our series on program updates from the field, I had the pleasure of interviewing Tek, the director of our TCT Nepal program. It was encouraging to hear about the changes that are already taking place, even though it is our newest program. Throughout our interview I was struck with how excited he was for the future. You could tell God was truly working through him and the other trainers in Nepal to help transform their country.

When we began our discussion he told me about how they had just done follow-up visits with some of the communities they did trainings in. His expectations were not high for these follow-ups since it was the first training they had ever done in these areas. He was surprised when he arrived to find out that almost everyone who attended the training had done something to reach out in love to their community. It was humbling to see that even in situations that seem bleak to us, God can use them for His great work.

As he looks to the future, Tek is excited for a group of 44 churches in the eastern region of Nepal, which just completed a training. During the training each church made a plan for how they are going to implement the TCT program in their community. Through the training, Tek saw that their hunger to serve God and their communities was growing. Many expressed regret for not having done anything for so long and they now felt that they needed to make up for lost time. We are excited to see what God is doing through these churches and pray that they remain passionate for the Lord.

I asked if he had one story from the past six months that he would like to share with others and he immediately began to tell me a story about a family in the far western region of Nepal. “There was a family living there that did not like any Christians. They had a very low view of them, they thought they were low caste and often spoke badly of the Christians they knew. A few months back, a flood hit their community and this family lost everything they owned, including their house. When the pastor of the local church heard about this they offered to bring the family into their home and give them shelter and food. They stayed with the pastor’s family for about 2 months until their house was rebuilt. After this experience, the family began telling everyone that they had never experienced a love like this before. They no longer speak badly of Christians but defend them whenever they hear people speaking badly of them. They have not yet come to know Christ but the local Christians can see God working in their lives.”

Please keep the work in Nepal in your prayers. There are many struggles that the trainers and churches face on a daily basis and they grateful for your prayers. Tek asked for special prayer for safety as they travel to different areas of the country. The roads in Nepal are very dangerous. It is not uncommon for roads to be washed away by flooded rivers or for there to be dangerous, narrow mountain roads. Also pray for the families of the trainers that are traveling, as they worry about their safety as they are away.

Please also pray for Tek and his family specifically. God has been teaching them that in the midst of the challenges they face in their work, they need to be attentive to how their actions glorify God. God has been faithful in guiding them through this and showing them ways that they can give the glory back to God and not to themselves.

This year, we hope to continue to see TCT grow. We are currently working in over 1000 churches and so far have seen more than 200 communities move out of poverty. As a way to celebrate Reconciled World’s first birthday, we are encouraging church sponsorships so we can bring TCT to more communities in Asia. The average cost of supporting the training of one church, including trainers stipends, transport and materials is $240 per year ($20 per month). Also, there is currently a matching grant for this project, so for every church you sponsor our partner will sponsor another. If you would like to contribute to this project you can do so here.

We thank God for Tek and the rest of the team in Nepal and how through them God is changing the hearts and lives of the people in Nepal.