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| Text and Context in Dialogue |
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| Text and Context in Dialogue |
Dear Sir,
Thank you for your article on the Tamang. I pray for them every month and my visit is etched very clearly in my memory. Your article is full of information quite new to me and was very interesting. In 1986 I went with Howard Barclay on a trek. He had received information from Kali Bahadur at Lamagara that there were many Christians in the Tamang area about 4 days walk from Gorkha. We were accompanied by Kali Bahadur and 2 other believers from Lamagara. We had an occasional detour when we visited a believer in an Hindu village. Then we came to a village where there were 70 believers and they kept us up beyond midnight answering questions, mostly on ethics especially marriage etc. A former Gurkha was the leader and he impressed me. Next day we went to another village where there were about 35 believers and they had built a small building for worship. From there 2 more Tamangs accompanied us across the river and then onto Jharlang. There were about 200 who gathered for a meeting and Howard spoke and Kali translated into Tamang. Again questions for hours and I explained what the Lord's Supper was in answer to a question. Next morning a huge number at the service and Howard preached with the help of Kali. At the conclusion of the service there was no movement until a man gave me a chapati and a container with some juice in it. I gave some pastoral directions, such as this service was for baptised people and were faithful in marriage etc. I will never forget it. Tears streamed down grimy faces as they remembered Jesus and his death. After the service we met a remarkable young woman named Plixa. My spelling might not be right. She had the marks of intelligence and grace in her face. She seemed to us to be a key person. She had been converted on a trip out of the Tamang area, was baptised and became literate. She took us to see sick people in their houses and we prayed for them. That is another story. I recall the whole event as one of the great experiences of my links with Nepal.
Best wishes,
John
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. bhakti, nom. devotion, love, loyalty