We spent the day at Bethel Church in the village of Dalsingpara Tea Garden. It is a small rural church, but all the people were eager to hear and learn. Attendees came from near and far. This conference was only one day, but the people were very grateful for us to help “open [their] eyes to understand God’s Word,” as one young man told me. “Because it is very hard for us to understand sometimes, and you help us,” he said.
The village road outside Bethel Church.A rooster on the wall greeted us as we arrived.Our breakfast. They asked us the night before if we had any requests for breakfast. We told them to surprise us. Surprise! Some sort of tiny fish with unknown other ingredients, and some naan bread. They then brought along a plate of bread and cheese singles, in case we wanted “a more familiar breakfast,” they told us. Later, unprompted, they brought us fried eggs, too. It was very sweet and generous how they were trying to look out for us and provide.A volunteer sitting a warming pot over a fire, working on lunch.More volunteers preparing for lunch, slicing vegetables.The actual church building, with a few Christmas decorations still hung.Bethel was founded by Pastor Joseph Chhetri and his wife who were the only Christians in the area. Through dedicated ministry efforts, Joseph was able to plant one church after another. He ended up planting seven churches in the area, which caught the attention of local Hindu leaders. In 2017, Joseph was hit by a truck and killed; the driver fled the scene and was never found. In the pastor’s desk, his family found a number of death threat letters he had kept from them. They believe his death was no accident, and that he was martyred. He is buried near the entrance to Bethel Church.Inside the sanctuary. Looks like we beat the crowd!Opening time for singing and prayer as attendees arrive.A selfie with my translator.After the previous selfie, he said I was going to make some of the others jealous. So I turned and snapped one of those remaining in the room, getting a bunch of giggles.Those in attendance.This dog ran all over the church property. It reminded me of one of my dogs at home, especially as it begged at the lunch table. I had to snap a photo.
