It was mid-day when Batsa* made it to the village. He’d never been to this particular village before, but it was similar to his own: remote, deep in the Himalayan mountains, and near the Tibetan border.
There was quite a commotion going on. A large group of people were gathered around a lone water buffalo. Among them was a shaman who was chanting over the animal. Batsa asked one of the villagers what was happening. “This is the town’s water buffalo. It’s really sick and struggling.” These villagers eked out a living through farming the steep mountainsides and had next to nothing. They were doing everything they could think of to help this valuable animal, drawing on the best resources hinduism and buddhism had to offer.
“I’m a follower of Jesus,” Batsa told them. “Would you allow me to pray in Jesus’s name for the buffalo to get better?” They agreed and Batsa prayed. Within 15 minutes it was obvious to everyone that the water buffalo was doing much better. Several of the villagers gave their lives to Jesus that day.
Batsa wasn’t a highly trained evangelist. In fact, he was a brand new believer who’d been Hindu his entire life.
Batsa had come to faith in Jesus because of the work of another young Hindu guy, Taral.*
Taral grew up in a remote village as well. To get there required a harrowing trip on a road considered the 2nd most dangerous in the world, a road that frequently experienced landslides down steep rainforested mountain slopes.
Taral’s father was a Hindu priest, and Taral himself studied to become a priest. But then he heard about Jesus from one of his uncles. He became convinced that Jesus was the truth, and that he couldn’t follow Hindu practices anymore. He went to medical college in order to have a way to help people. Before his exams, he became very sick, so sick that he couldn’t study. Taral prayed, “Jesus, if you’re real, help me pass my exams even though I haven’t been able to study. And if you do, I’ll follow you.” Well, he passed. And that was the start of Taral’s adventure of following Jesus.
Taral was the first person in his village to become a believer. He decided to go to Bible school to learn more about Jesus. His family and friends were furious about it and he experienced a lot of persecution from them. But that didn’t stop him. When he returned home, he looked for opportunities to share the good news. Whenever he had a little extra money, he would buy medical supplies and fuel for his motorbike, and drive out into the mountains to help people in other villages—people with no medical help of any kind—and tell them about Jesus.
Taral’s faith began to multiply in other people and places. Eventually his father accepted Christ. Then his sister. Then several others in his village as well. Gatherings of believers were springing up along the northern edges of Nepal.
Around that time Taral met a Novo staff member who was traveling through his region—the only white person he’d ever met. Recognizing that Taral was doing influential Kingdom work in his own humble way, he invited Taral into a coaching relationship with Novo. Taral had never heard about Discovery Bible Study or the other tools Novo uses to foster gospel movements around the world. He was enthusiastic about it: “Yes! We haven’t heard about anything like this!” In response to his hunger, Novo decided to host a gathering to invest in Taral’s team of disciple-makers.
There were 13 disciple-makers who joined the gathering, including Taral’s wife, father, sister, and cousins. They were ordinary people, farmers, who didn’t have much but were passionate about the transformation they’d experienced in Jesus.
They spent two days with Novo in a small mountain lodge. The majority of the time was just listening to what Jesus might want to say to them. He spoke to them about their identities and their ability to be leaders in the work of the gospel, despite their humble origins.
Yes, they were just simple villagers.
But they were people God could use to reach Nepal.
Now it wasn’t just Taral who was equipped to share the gospel. They all were! Because of Discovery Bible Study they wouldn’t have to preach or teach (learn more about Discovery Bible Study at novo.org/dbs). They just had to open God’s word and let Jesus speak to people.
One of the villagers empowered at that gathering went on to share the good news of Jesus with Batsa—who then prayed for the water buffalo and led several others to faith in Jesus.
Taral continues to buy medical supplies and fuel for his motorbike and make the dangerous journey through the mountains to spread the good news. He’ll wake up in the morning and travel seven hours one way to meet with a new believer, Discovery Bible Study group, or church plant.
But Taral isn’t alone in this venture anymore. There are now 15 church plants in this budding movement of the gospel. Church plants led by Taral’s disciple-making team—simple village farmers who love Jesus.
The good news is spreading, changing lives, carried by men and women who believe God wants to use them. And he is using them. He is using them to reach Nepal.
WHAT ABOUT YOU?
Are you ever tempted to write yourself out of God’s story in the world because of who you are—your background, training, or location? What if you were to pause and ask Jesus how he sees you? What’s your identity? How might he want to use you?
ABOUT THIS STORY
Norris Williams joined Novo in 1997. Norris discovered his identity as a teenager in 1973. Fearless freedom and confidence mark his journey, as well as liberating a passion for identity discovery in others. Navigating with a clear understanding of strategy and tactics, he serves and coaches by facilitating discovery of false identities while inspiring courage to prune away suckers, releasing delicious fruits of true identity. Norris’s path of serving men and women includes successful business owners to displaced refugees; CEO’s to juvenile delinquents; farmers to professional athletes, and more. He serves people across the US, Middle East, Africa, Asia, and Europe. Norris has been married to his girlfriend Laurie since 1980 and together they operate a small organic cherry orchard in central Washington State. They have 4 married children and 10 grandchildren.
Chris Marshall joined Novo’s Partner Development Team in 2019 with a primary focus on Middle East Initiatives. Today, he leads Novo’s Mission Advancement Team. Previous to Novo, he served for 14 years as VP of Global Advancement with Kids Around the World, a ministry focused on disciple making among children. During that time, Chris became passionate for the unreached and unengaged people groups around the world. Chris, his wife, Katie, and their four children live in San Clemente, CA.
*Names have been changed