|
Christians in Nepal are jubilant after a native
missionary jailed for 9 years of a 20-year sentence was
released earlier this month.
Manja Tamang, a Gospel for Asia (GFA) missionary, was
imprisoned in 2000 after being falsely accused of
murder.
He was freed along with 13 others in his prison and 120
others from jails around the country. GFA said his
release was the cause of celebration among Christians in
Nepal and was praised by its Founder and President K.P.
Yohannan.
"We rejoice that our faithful brother has been released
from prison," said Dr. Yohannan from his office in
Carrollton, Texas. "He was unjustly accused and has
spent nearly a decade in jail. But his testimony is a
parallel with the testimony of the Apostle Paul. Even in
prison, our dear brother was preaching the Gospel and
bringing people to Christ. Whatever has happened has
been used by the Lord to bring even more people to Him.”
According to the missionary organisation, Manja's saga
began one day as he was out sharing the Gospel. As he
walked along a river path, he saw a dead body and
immediately contacted the police.
An anti-Christian extremist group who had opposed
Manja's ministry seized the opportunity to stop his
work. They arranged for several false witnesses to
testify against him, "framing" him for the murder. Manja
was arrested, charged with the crime that he did not
commit and beaten to near death.
Even though the widow of the deceased man testified to
Manja's innocence, the missionary was sentenced to 20
years in prison. His case was appealed all the way to
the Nepali Supreme Court, where, citing the "evidence,"
it was upheld.
GFA said all through his imprisonment, Manja continued
to be a joyful witness, sharing the Gospel with the
other prisoners. He organized and led Bible studies and
worship services, with at least 30 inmates attending
many of those services. And several men in his little
"prison congregation" chose to follow Christ.
"Manja's patience in bearing all these difficulties and
injustices is a lesson for all of us to learn," said N.
Sharma, GFA's leader in Nepal. "Whenever I saw Manja in
prison, he was always smiling. He reminded me often of
the Apostle Paul's own statement from prison ‘rejoice in
the Lord always.' This is a quality that can only be
developed through bearing pain from within, such as our
brother Manja has done.”
Manja began serving as a GFA-supported missionary in
Nepal in 1997. When Manja began his ministry, very few
people in this small, mountainous country professed
Christ.
The first person Manja shared the Gospel with was a
village chief, who chose to receive Christ. Later, 14
villagers chose to receive Christ, and that small band
of believers became the core around which his ministry
grew.
|
