Voice of the Martyrs, May 26, 2022 (excerpts)
After putting her trust in Jesus, Sumi received a New Testament. Her younger brother noticed it and told their Hindu father, who shouted at Sumi and threatened her with a knife. He told her to leave her Christian faith or leave his house.
When Sumi left, her father burned her clothes, Bible and other Christian literature. Her pastor let her stay at the church for 15 days before she returned home. Eventually, her father and other villagers emotionally abused her for leaving Hinduism.
The persecution kept Sumi from completing high school. Today, 21-year-old Sumi works odd jobs in Kathmandu and attends church in a nearby city. Pray for her to form strong relationships with other believers and make peace with her father and other family members.
The government of Nepal is taking an increasingly strong stand against religious conversion. Despite the 2015 constitution that guaranteed religious freedom, Parliament passed a bill in 2017 criminalizing conversion to Christianity.
There is a small, visible Christian community in Nepal, but believers experience opposition from extremists among the Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist and Marxist groups. Christians face harassment and beatings from local Hindu nationalists who envision Nepal becoming a “pure” Hindu nation.