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LittleJohn FCF July 10th 99, Hudson bay group
Royal Ranger Straight Arrow Lt. Cmdr
Maryville 7
Royal Rangers May 96
--------- Forwarded Message ---------
DATE: Tue, 28 Sep 1999 09:41:17
From: "Bonnie Burton" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Bonnie Burton)
>To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>Subject: Mission Impossible
>Date: Tue, 28 Sep 1999 09:07:47 -0400 (EDT)
>
>Mission Impossible???
> Charles was no stranger to prison life. This was the third
>time he had been incarcerated in less than 2 years. The police knew him
>well. Sharing a cell with drug users, thieves, rapists, and murderers,
>Charles was considered, according to Nepalese law, the worst of
>criminals. He had
>been arrested again and again for converting Buddhists and Hindus to
>Christianity. Anyone who was caught baptizing a new believer would be
>sentenced to death.
> On the king's birthday, Charles was released from prison and
>he returned
>to his small house nestled in the foothills of the Himalayan Mountains.
>His American friend Rick arrived as planned. They sat over a rickety
>table
>enjoying their bowls of rice with steamy vegetables, and gave thanks to
>the Lord for Charles' deliverance once more from jail. Then they
>discussed
>their next mission to bring the light of the gospel to the darkness of
>souls.
> At daybreak, the young men drove to the end of the existing
>road. Then,
>by foot, they walked to the path's end. They walked through rice fields
>and pulled themselves up the steep sides of the hilltops, then dipped
>back
>down into lush green valleys. The following day they walked through
>three ice
>cold rivers, holding their knapsacks above their heads. Before them lay
>the village. Rick and Charles preached, ministered to the needs of the
>people,
>and baptized the new converts. At the end of the few days, they went
>deeper into the country. "This is going to be the hardest village,"
>Charles
>explained. "Its stronghold here is a witch doctor the people revere and
>fear." Before beginning any work, the men prayed and fasted in the
>humble
>home of one of the few Christians who lived in that part of the country.
>On the third day, Rajen the witch doctor called for them. Speaking
>through
>Charles as an interpreter, he told them, "I know you have come to preach
>and to convert my people. Please eat this wonderful food I have prepared
>for
>you." Not wanting to offend him, Charles and Rick ate until their
>bellies
>were full. Rajen sat watching them for a long time before speaking
>again.
> "You may tell my people about your God but you must not
>convert them to Christianity," he warned.
> "What if they want to become Christians?" Rick asked.
> "You may tell them about your God and how He has worked in your
>life,
>but nothing else."
> That night all the village people gathered around the smoky
>fires and listened to the two young men speak. They fascinated with the
>Nepalese man and with how fair the young white American looked. Rick and
>Charles spoke
>for a long time about a Baby that was born in a far-off country, and how
>this Baby grew up and performed miracles. The village people thought
>this
>Jesus must have been a good man.
>The next day the witch doctor called for them again. Once more a meal
>was spread out before them and Rajen pointed to it. The two young
>ministers sat cross-legged on mats and ate until they were full. Rajen
>watched them carefully.
> "You may tell them more about your God tonight. If anyone
>wants to become a Christian it is all right. No harm will come to them
>in this village."
> Rick and Charles rejoiced. Through prayer they had battle
>many strongholds; now they prayed for a harvest of souls in this
>village. That evening they continued telling about Jesus. They explained
>that He was the Son of God and that because of Him no more blood
>sacrifices were necessary, because His blood atoned for all our sins.
>When Rick and Charles had finished sharing the gospel, people came
>forward, forsaking their gods for the one true God. Rick noticed Rajen
>watching from the shadows, beyond the light of the fires. Charles and
>Rick
>prayed through the night for God to soften the witch doctor's heart. On
>the third day they were summoned again to Rajen. They sat and ate,
>and again the witch doctor touched nothing. But he was quieter and
>seemed
>withdrawn. When they finished eating, Rajen in a raspy voice that shook
>said, "You may do whatever you would like to do." Once outside, Rick
>hollered, "Yahoo!" and clicked his heels together as Charles laughed at
>him. They knew that God had answered and removed the enemy's stronghold
>from around the village. That night after Charles and Rick preached,
>nearly every one in the village came forward to accept Jesus into their
>hearts.
> The next day Charles and Rick spent hours baptizing the new
>converts in the river. "This will be known from now on as a Christian
>village and other preachers will follow us to do more work here,"
>Charles explained to Rick.
>Before them in the water stood Rajen. His cockiness was gone and his
>eyes
>were dark and empty.
> "I want your God," he proclaimed.
> Rick and Charles prayed with Rajen and he became a new
>creation in Jesus
>Christ. Then they baptized him in the cold mountain river. "When you
>are
>finished here," he said, "come to see me."
> This time there was no food spread before them. "For the past 3
>days
>you have eaten my food," Rajen began. "With my own eyes I watched you
>put it
>into your mouths." From a large box Rajen pulled a huge dead rat. "I put
>poison in your food. See, it killed this rat. But it does not kill you.
>It did not even make you sick. Your God is much more powerful than my
>magic. And your God loves you and protects you. I want this God and this
>love inside my heart."
>Rick and Charles began to rejoice and thank God for this miracle. "But
>before I decided I wanted to know your Jesus, I sent a man from the
>village to get the Nepalese police. The message said you were converting
>and baptizing. You must flee for your lives. I am truly sorry for this.
>But I did not realize at the time that your God was the one true God."
>Rajen wept.
> In an hour Charles and Rick had packed their belongings and
>were ready for the trip down the mountainside and said their good-byes
>to the people. As
>they walked through the clearing, Rajen stood with a small knapsack,
>ready
>to accompany them. "I want to come," he told them, "I want to learn more
>about Jesus."
> The three Christian brothers walked in single file along the
>dusty path,
>moving quickly, saying little. They crossed two icy rivers and didn't
>stop to change or even to dry off. Charles would be killed this time if
>he
>were caught, and Rick would be jailed and then expelled from the
>country. The road widened, but down the mountain they saw troops walking
>steadily
>toward them. There was no place to run, nowhere to hide. They began to
>pray. Suddenly a fog grew around the side of the mountain and covered
>them and the soldiers. Charles, Rick and Rajen walked with their
>shoulders
>scraping the side of the mountain as the Nepalese soldiers passed within
>inches on the other side of them, never seeing them through the heavy
>fog.
> This was an impossible mission from beginning to end. But
>Jesus is a Master of the impossible. All things are possible with Him.
>Since that time, Charles and his family have had to leave Nepal. But
>their work has not diminished; instead it has grown. A Bible school has
>been established in
>India and from there young ministers go into Nepal to continue the word
>Charles started. Where there was once only a handful of Christian
>ministers there are now dozens walking through the mountains, preaching
>and
>baptizing believers in the cold rivers.
> Rajen is one of these ministers.
>----------------------------------------------
>"When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked,
>'Who then
>can be saved?' Jesus looked at them and said, 'With man this is
>impossible, but with God all things are possible."
> (Matt. 19:25-26)
>
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