… "He will strengthen you with power"…Eph 3: 16

It happened two weeks in a row.First, the middle-aged village woman raised her hand and said, "Miss," meaning me, Carole. They know I am married. But, they call me 'Miss' because in my current role as their teacher it is a title of respect. "I'd like to try," she continued. It was the third meeting of the class and the second time the students were given this opportunity. I happily consented. She proudly stood up and quoted 1 John 1:9, the verse she had memorized that week.The other 13 students clapped for her!

Then, the following week a young man said, "I'd like to try!"And he proudly stood up and quoted the verse he had memorized that week.All the other students clapped for him.

Why did the students clap for them? She couldn't read or write. He could barely read, and to that point hadn't participated in any aloud reading of the Bible Study verses in class. What great strides they had made!

For ten weeks now, I have had the privilege of teaching a class on basic discipleship at the Nepal Baptist Bible Institute. The class includes how to grow in one's faith by using such basic tools as having a daily devotional time, memorizing Scripture, praying specifically, and reaching out to others within the church community and to those in need.

Over the following weeks, these two students took their turn with the others, of their own initiative, to boldly stand and say their newly memorized verse of the week.They were each eager to share what they had learned, even if they could not recite the verse perfectly.

At the beginning of each class, in an effort to establish the students in having a devotional time, those who wanted to were given time to share a meaningful verse or verses they had read in their daily Bible reading the week before.In the ninth week, this same young man stood and said, "This is what I read and this is how it was meaningful to me."Then, for the very first time in the class, he read aloud, slowly and haltingly, the verse he wanted to share. He went on to tell how it was meaningful to him.

I was overwhelmed! Every week, he had heard others stand up and share a verse from their daily reading and how it was meaningful to them. Now, in spite of his very limited literacy skills, he had the courage to do the same!

Tears had come to my eyes every time he or the middle aged woman stood and quoted their verses. The middle-aged woman has been a Christian for 16 years.She can not read or write.The young man has been a Christian for 1 year with very poor literacy skills. God was strengthening them with His power to do something new!

My class is part of a 10-week training course for lay leaders from churches, especially from rural areas, of the Nepal Baptist Church Council.This session has 14 students, five women and nine men. Two of the students are illiterate, while the young man mentioned above is barely literate.Seven of the students have been Christians for 1-2 years; three have been Christians for 4-6 years; two for 11 years; and a husband and wife (the woman mentioned above) have been Christians for 16 years.

God prepared me to teach this class almost from my youth. Having been raised in a Christian home, I became a Christian at a very early age. I learned how to read my Bible daily. As I grew in my walk with God, I was involved with an organization that gave me practical tools that enhanced what I already knew to help another Christians grow in their own spiritual life.Years later that led me to teach a basic discipleship Sunday School class in my home church for several years. God was developing that spiritual gift in me through time and maturity.

Now God has given me the privilege of teaching this to Christians here in Nepal. But it has entailed a lot of work. A Nepali Christian translated parts of the basic discipleship class I taught at my church. I would then read and study the translations in Nepali to see if something was added, or lost, in the translation into Nepali. Then, I worked with my Nepali language teacher to turn the lessons into very simple Nepali. Finally, I developed the lessons into a simple Bible Study handout given in class. In addition, to prepare to lead the class, I had to do the Bible Study in Nepali to make sure I understood what the Bible said in Nepali in answer to the Bible Study questions.

Teaching in Nepali was not easy for me. I made mistakes. The students very graciously corrected me or helped me pronounce the word I was trying to say. I have had to trust God to change the lives of the 14 students through their contact with His word, since my Nepali language skills was less than adequate for my role as a teacher. That has been my prayer these last 10 weeks; that the students and I would be strengthened with His power.

Now that the 14 students have finished their training, please join me in praying that, as they return to their villages, what God has taught them during these Bible studies, they would continue to use in their lives.

• Please pray that their daily Bible reading and Scripture memorization, their praying specifically for others and for themselves, and that their learning how to be a light to their world through words and actions would continue.
• Also pray that they would be able to pass on what they have learned to others… and to others… and to others….

As these two students were strengthened with God's power to memorize scripture in spite of their limitations, and I to teach in Nepali in spite of mine, may you also experience God's power to strengthen you in the calling God is giving you now.

My Christmas prayer is that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen you and them, with power through His Spirit, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts and theirs through faith. Eph 3:16, 17

Thank you for your support of our ministry here in Nepal.

Carole and Bucky Sydnor