Nepal Evangelist released after 9 yrs in prison

Christians in Nepal are jubilant after a native missionary jailed for 9 years of a 20-year sentence was released earlier this month.

Manja Tamang, a Gospel for Asia (GFA) missionary, was imprisoned in 2000 after being falsely accused of murder.

He was freed along with 13 others in his prison and 120 others from jails around the country. GFA said his release was the cause of celebration among Christians in Nepal and was praised by its Founder and President K.P. Yohannan.

"We rejoice that our faithful brother has been released from prison," said Dr. Yohannan from his office in Carrollton, Texas. "He was unjustly accused and has spent nearly a decade in jail. But his testimony is a parallel with the testimony of the Apostle Paul. Even in prison, our dear brother was preaching the Gospel and bringing people to Christ. Whatever has happened has been used by the Lord to bring even more people to Him."

According to the missionary organisation, Manja's saga began one day as he was out sharing the Gospel. As he walked along a river path, he saw a dead body and immediately contacted the police.

An anti-Christian extremist group who had opposed Manja's ministry seized the opportunity to stop his work. They arranged for several false witnesses to testify against him, "framing" him for the murder. Manja was arrested, charged with the crime that he did not commit and beaten to near death.

Even though the widow of the deceased man testified to Manja's innocence, the missionary was sentenced to 20 years in prison. His case was appealed all the way to the Nepali Supreme Court, where, citing the "evidence," it was upheld.

GFA said all through his imprisonment, Manja continued to be a joyful witness, sharing the Gospel with the other prisoners. He organized and led Bible studies and worship services, with at least 30 inmates attending many of those services. And several men in his little "prison congregation" chose to follow Christ.

"Manja's patience in bearing all these difficulties and injustices is a lesson for all of us to learn," said N. Sharma, GFA's leader in Nepal. "Whenever I saw Manja in prison, he was always smiling. He reminded me often of the Apostle Paul's own statement from prison 'rejoice in the Lord always.' This is a quality that can only be developed through bearing pain from within, such as our brother Manja has done."

Manja began serving as a GFA-supported missionary in Nepal in 1997. When Manja began his ministry, very few people in this small, mountainous country professed Christ.

The first person Manja shared the Gospel with was a village chief, who chose to receive Christ. Later, 14 villagers chose to receive Christ, and that small band of believers became the core around which his ministry grew.