WE ARE CREATED FOR A PURPOSE

Ps Lazarus / Bhutan Ministry

Bhutan’s remote and beautiful landscape possess a stunning and tranquil beauty that is rare elsewhere. Its remote corners showcase the most charming and dazzling scenery and its villages and towns are serene places untouched by the modern world yet. These unspoiled landscapes with is vast untouched forests shrouded in mist, through its untamed rivers meandering across the mountains and the valleys, pristine and unperturbed, embodies Bhutan to be a picture of serenity.

I was blessed to be born in this beautiful land in a small village bordering India. We were poor but happy in our lives as the whole village was poor so there was nothing to compare to being rich. We lived simple carefree lives never yearning for the things we did not have because we did not know about them. My name is Lazarus Delpaly and I am a Bhutanese from a Hindu background. I accepted Jesus as my personal Lord and Savior in 1985 and I took water baptism in 1988.

When I was 9 years old, I fell ill and began having epileptic fits about 5 - 6 times a day and my hands got numb and could not function properly. I could not lift my hands or use them in any way. My parents spent all they could afford to find a doctor who could help me but there was no change and the epileptic fits kept occurring. I would fall on the ground my body shaking violently bruising myself quite badly at times if I happen to fall on the hard floor. My parents tried all kinds of medication and sacrificed many animals for ritual acts hoping for a miracle. Nothing happened and they lost hope and were resigned to the fact that I was going to die. My friends, neighbors and relatives also began to believe that there was no hope for me and I would surely die. In Bhutanese culture, life and death were just something one accepted as part of life, but my parents were distraught. I heard my father and mother crying out with tears and asking if there is any God who could hear their cry to heal and save their child.

One morning a stranger came to our home and he saw my parents distraught and in tears and he asked them why they were crying. My mother broke down and told the man about my condition imploring him to find someone to heal their son. The man said to my parents: “I don’t have any medicine, and I am not a magician but surely there is one way, that is, if you believe in Jesus Christ your child will be saved.”

My parents willingly believed that man and told him to take me to Jesus but if I died it would be his responsibility. So I was taken to a little church situated at the border of Bhutan and India and I was kept in the church and the pastor and his sister prayed for me. I saw how they wept for me and cried out to their God to heal me. I was amazed how these people whom I did not know would possibly care if I lived or died. Ps Jogendra Basumatari and Thresh Rai continued praying for me over the next few days almost continuously and I received healing completely. I was consumed by the power of God and even after I was healed I did not want to return to my village but begged Ps Jogendra to let me stay on and learn about Jesus and how I could serve Him. My parents were still Hindus and I couldn’t go back to my parents because they would not accept that I had become a Christian and that I would forsake the Hindu Gods for Jesus Christ.

I stayed on with Ps Jogendra and his sister and I would follow Ps Jogendra for evangelistic meetings from village to village and share my testimony. When I was old enough I would lead these evangelistic meetings on my own and would share the Gospel and my testimony and many souls were saved.

I gave my life into the service of God and am committed to reaching out to the remotest villages in Bhutan. Being a missionary in the remote Bhutan villages is a difficult and arduous call as it means miles of walking up difficult mountain paths or along dangerous ridges, so many mission workers would prefer to do ministry in the towns and cities. But my vision is to preach the Gospel to the poor people in the remote villages of Bhutan where many have yet to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is discouraging sometimes after that long tiring walk up to reach a village and then spend another hour sharing the Gospel only to be met with hostility and indifference. Occasionally when I start speaking and the minute they know it’s about Christianity some will get up and leave hurriedly or hurl verbal abuse at me as they walk out. Then I have to watch out for the authorities who have spies everywhere and will not hesitate to throw me in prison if I am caught preaching outside my home (It is a crime to evangelize in public). All that, is not in vain, however, even if just one person listens and is saved by the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Bhutan is shrouded in spiritual darkness and we need to let the light of Christ in. Join me to pray for the people of Bhutan, for me, my family and ministry. I thank Asian Outreach for their partnership to help us reach, touch and transform lives through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Together we will win Bhutan for Christ.

 Prayer Points

1.      Pray for the needs of the seven evangelist working with me that the Lord will provide for the needs of their family and ministry.

2.      Pray for the safety and protection of all Christians in Bhutan especially the Pastors and evangelist.

3.      As a pastor with the monthly support, I find it very difficult to support my children in their education. I have two sons, the younger one in school and the elder one in college, 1st year. Pray for provision for my son’s college fees.