Travel Opens Doors in Nepal

A group of young people from a predominantly Buddhist country were selected to represent their country in an international sports competition in nearby Nepal—a Hindu majority country. Several athletes had never traveled far from their villages, and certainly had never been on an airplane before. Mostly, though, athletes’ families were concerned because their children had never been outside their structured Buddhist culture. To calm the families’ fears, two key leaders agreed to go with the group. Amazingly, one of these leaders was a follower of Jesus.

Upon arriving in Nepal, the group was escorted to a local hotel.  As they entered the lobby, one of the athletes said, “Who is that?” Everyone followed the gaze of the girl to the wall where a picture of Jesus was neatly framed. The competition’s organizing committee had unknowingly assigned this Buddhist group to a hotel owned by Christians. Seizing the opportunity, the Christian leader explained, “It’s Jesus!” and told the group who Jesus is. One question led to another, opening the door for more questions all week long. On the trip home, one of the athletes leaned over to his leader and said, “I believe Jesus is the real truth."