Unsplash

Nepal (MNN) — Nepalese churches are reaching their neighbors even as believers grieve their own losses following August’s devastating floods.

The disaster has taken more than 1,500 lives, while more than 5,000 people remain missing. Churches connected with Unknown Nations were among those affected.

(Public domain via Wikimedia Commons)

“Six of the churches that we’ve been a part of planting were totally destroyed in this flood. Two pastors were among the fatalities, and about 100 members are missing,” Greg Kelley with Unknown Nations says.

The destruction has left many families wondering what the next day might look like. Some had put their savings into their homes and now face the prospect of starting over.

“These people have lost their homes. They’ve lost their businesses. They’ve lost their farms,” Kelley says.

Alongside these material losses comes the trauma of experiencing the disaster itself.

“The idea of a 50 foot wall of water just coming racing down that canyon must have been absolutely horrific,” Kelley adds.

Yet this is also a time for the Church to walk alongside those who suffer, living out the call of Galatians 6:2: “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”

Kelley says the hope of the Gospel can come alongside practical help and resources. This is where you can find your place in the story — through prayer or practical aid.

“If we equip the body of Christ, these Hindu families will open their hearts to the love of Jesus because they see the compassion and care that Christians have for them,” he says.

Pray for believers grieving the loss of loved ones and pastors. Pray for the Church to be equipped to serve those in need, and for Nepal’s Hindu majority to find hope and healing in the love of Christ.

“We need to pray that God opens up the hearts of the people and that we can respond with expediency,” Kelley adds.

Visit Unknown Nations to learn more about gospel work among the world’s least-reached nations.

 

Header photo: Representative photo of a Nepalese man (photo courtesy of Lisa Marie Theck via Unsplash).