My fourth journey to Nepal 14-Nov.-2023 to 6-Dec.-2023, Tony B. Suckla

I originally attempted to enter Nepal the fourth time of my life on 23-Oct.-2023. I have to leave India every six months, so Nepal is a close country to visit. When I attempted to enter on Oct. 23 I had taken a ninth grade boy from our school named Yahudah, he could speak English and Nepali, many years earlier I had immersed his father, named Ben Yah, in the name of Yahshua Messiah.

Yahudah Oct. 2023

When I attempted to enter on Oct. 23. I was attempting a border crossing at a place called Sonali, but I was denied exit from India as the officials told me that I needed to get an exit permit to leave India. So Yahudah and I went back to Andhra Pradesh and I obtained an exit permit from the central government and I bought a flight from Hyderabad to Kathmandu. When I went through 
immigration at the Hyd. airport on 14-Nov.-2023 they did not even ask me for the exit permit and stamped my departure from India. I did not take Yahudah with me this time as he had exams to write. 


For the first Sabbath in Nepal, I traveled by bus on Friday about 2pm Nov. 17, 2023 from Kathmandu to a place called Banepa where there is a SDA Mission Hospital. On my way there I put a small bag that contained my Passport, some money, a cellphone, and credit cards in the overhead compartment. One man came to me and told me that I was sitting in a woman’s seat and that I should not sit there, so I got up and shifted my location in the bus, but I forgot about the overhead bag. When I got down I went and checked in at the hospital guest house and then remembered that I left my small bag on the bus. So I started calling the number of the cellphone that was in the bag. Eventually about 7:30 pm the bus ticket collector answered and I went to where he was about seven kilometers away and received my bag. Not one thing was missing. I gave some reward to the ticket collector and bus driver. On Sabbath there were about 100 people in attendance at the SDA church. 


Banepa SDA church, Nov. 18, 2023.

When I visited Nepal in Apr./May of 2023 I passed through a village, called Ulleri, in the
Annapurna Circuit that had a small church in it called “Victory Church”. So now, in Nov. of
2023, I took a bus from Kathmandu to a place called Birethanti and started my trek to find the Victory Church. After hiking two days I reached Ulleri(elevation 2000 meters/ 6560
feet), but the prayer hall had been broken down as they were building a bigger one. 


I met the pastor there, named Karma, and as he could not speak English I called br. Ben Yah in India over a messaging app and he translated as I talked to pastor Karma. Pastor Karma was a Hindu convert that became a Christian many years ago when another pastor prayed for him and he recovered from an “incurable disease” that he had.

Brother Khim and I

Pastor Karma Pun

I asked pastor Karma if there was anyone available to translate for me on the Sabbath and he found one young man named Khim that was running a hostel for village children that knew English and Nepali.

Before Sabbath, I went to a place called Ghorepani and to a scenic location called Pun Hill (3200 meters) and got many good photos of the Annapurna mountain range. There were probably about 250 other tourists there with many porters viewing the mountains. This route was very busy this time of the year as it is not too cold and there is clear skies and no rain. 

On Sabbath, Nov. 25, 2023, I met in Ulleri with a Br. Khim and I congregation of about 35 believers, I brought a message and br. Khim translated. Brother Khim told me that there was another congregation in a place called Sudame and that he would be available to translate for me the next Sabbath.

Nepali Calendar, notice Saturday is highlighted in red

In Nepal, Saturday is the weekly day of rest for the whole country, and they give leave from jobs and schools starting at 1pm on Friday. This is done as there is a Hindu tradition that Saturday is an unlucky day and if you do any work on that day it will not succeed.

On Sunday, Nov. 26, I walked back to Birethanti (ele. 1000mts.) and exchanged some dollars for Nepali rupees. On the way to Birethanti I met a 20 year old Russian boy who spoke good English, I gave him one of the tracts I had in English and he told me that his grandfather was a Rabbi that was imprisoned in Russia for teaching Torah many years ago. But this man’s father had converted to Hinduism and thus this man was a Hindu also. This Russian boy was actually staying in Kolkata, India and came to Nepal for a short break, I invited him to come teach at our school when he goes back to India and gave him my email. On Monday, I hiked to a beautiful place called Ghandruk (ele 1950 mts.). Then on Tuesday I went to Tadapani, on Wed. I was back in Ghorepani, on Thursday I went Ulleri and on Friday I washed my clothes at a lodge in Ulleri.

Ulleri Congregation, Nov. 25, 2023

On Saturday, Dec. 2, 2023, br. Khim took me on his motorbike to Sudame where I meet with another local pastor named Itasingh, this pastor had recently constructed a prayer hall on his land, there were about 30 people in attendance on Sabbath morning. After the service the pastor invited me to eat lunch in his small house. I spoke about Gen. 1 & 2 and the people were very happy to hear. I told both congregations about the annual Sabbaths and I plan on going back to this area in June of 2024 and keeping Shavuot with them. They all sounded very happy to keep this festival. After I finished lunch I walked back to my lodge as br. Khim had to go to another location.

Nepali college students trekking, Dec. 2023

I was surprised to find that the Oct-Nov. months in Nepal are more busy with tourists than the Apr-May season. Several schools in Nepal outside of the Himalayan regions had sent large groups of their students trekking in the mountains, anywhere from 13 to 20 years of age. The students were very eager to talk to an American and open to taking the literature I distributed.

On Sunday, Dec. 3, 2023 I took a bus from Ulleri to Pokhara and then on Monday went to see the Mountaineering museum, played Table Tennis with some Nepalis and canoed on the lake in Pokhara. Monday night I took a bus to Kathmandu, on Wed. afternoon Dec. 6 I flew from Kathmandu to New Delhi and had no issues going into India. From New Delhi I caught a train to Andhra Pradesh.

I look forward to visiting in June 2024 and keeping Shavuot with the congregations I meet in the mountains.


Pun Hill, Nov. 2023