Voice 1
Hello. I’m Ruby Jones.
Voice 2
And I’m Marina Santee. Welcome to Spotlight. This programme uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 1
The sound of Nepali singing travels over the beautiful hills in Kathmandu Valley. The songs you can hear are happy worship songs. But follow the sound to the singers, and you will be surprised. The sound leads you to a small wooden building. Inside seems very dark as your eyes get used to the room. But you feel the heat! You see that the room is full!! People sit on soft material on the dusty ground. They turn to say hello to you in their traditional way. They place their hands together and say ‘Jaimasee’. This is the Napali Christian version of ‘Namaste’ – the more common greeting. Jamiasee means ‘Christ is risen.’ You notice the people’s hands. Many of them have parts of their fingers missing. These people have suffered with the disease leprosy at some point in their lives. At the side of the room people sit in wheelchairs because they are unable to walk. Yet, everyone seems so happy – raising their hands in the air, singing to the music. What is this place? It is a church, out in the hills of Kathmandu, Nepal. It is called Sundar Dhoka – Nepali for ‘Beautiful Gate’. In today’s Spotlight we tell the story of the Beautiful Gate.
Voice 2
The story begins with one man and one woman – Babukaji and Goma. The two married at a young age. They lived together in a small village in central Nepal. Babukaji worked as a farmer. But one day a tragic event changed their lives forever. Babukaji fell out of a tree. He injured his backbone permanently. He was unable to walk. He and Goma had been married for only a year. And Goma was also pregnant. They had no idea that their married life was going to begin in this way.
Voice 1
The two travelled to a Christian hospital for help. Here, Goma learned how to care for Babukaji. She became very good at it. At the hospital they also heard teachings from the Christian Bible. This helped and encouraged them. They became interested in the life and teaching of Jesus Christ. And they decided to become followers of Jesus Christ themselves. Meanwhile, Goma began to use her skills to help other patients at the hospital. When they left, they could not return to their home village. Life would be too difficult with Babukaji in a wheelchair. So they decided to live in Kathmandu.
Voice 2
They went to a Christian church in Kathmandu. But they struggled. The church group did not always meet on the ground floor. And Babukaji could not climb steps in a wheelchair.
Voice 1
So, the two decided to start their own church – on a ground floor! They called it Sundar Dhoka. This is Nepali for ‘the Beautiful Gate’. It was not long before the numbers increased at the church. And many of the people who attended had different kinds of physical problems. And so the church moved to a bigger area – a compound. The compound had several different buildings on the same land. There was a small building where the church could meet. And there were about ten other, smaller rooms there. Babukaji and Goma rented the small rooms to some church members who had no homes. The small community of the Beautiful Gate worked well together. The people cared for each other’s needs – physical, emotional and spiritual. They met together in the week to study the Bible. They did not know then, that this was the beginning of a much bigger project.
Voice 2
One day, one of Babukaji ’s friends, Mark Gill, was travelling back from West Nepal. At the airport he noticed a woman with severe burns. On the airplane, he happened to sit next to her and her husband. He learned that their names were Mahendra and Ratna Devi. Mahendra told Mark that his wife’s injuries were from a kerosene cooker. It had burned her very badly. And she was in severe pain. When the airplane landed in Kathmandu, Mahendra asked Mark where they could go for help. Mark remembers;
Voice 3
‘I saw that they had nowhere to stay and nowhere to go. I could see that people could easily take advantage of them. I immediately wondered if Babukaji’s church could help.’
Voice 1
So the next day, Mark took them to the burns area of the hospital. Then, he spoke to Goma. He asked her if she would like to visit them. Family members or friends have an important job with hospital care in Nepal. The hospital provides only the medical care. Family and friends are responsible for everything else. And so Goma went to help them.
Voice 2
The hospital began Ratna Devi’s long treatment process. It was not easy for either of them. But in between the treatments, they stayed at the Beautiful Gate compound. The community there provided a great deal of support and help. This support helped Mahendra and Ratna Devi get through each day. And slowly, Ratna Devi began to heal. They stayed at the Beautiful Gate for six months. Then, they went back to their own village. Mahendra planned to set up a medical centre there. He had studied medicine before. And now he had experience of care – with his wife.
Voice 1
Mahendra and Ratmma’s case was the beginning of the Beautiful Gate’s project – Saa–Tee Sey–waa. In Nepali, Saa–Tee means friends. And Sey–waa means service. And this is what Saa–Tee Sey–waa provides to village people – a friend’s service. Saa–Tee Sey–waa works with medical camps and hospitals in far country areas of Nepal. The camps and hospitals send their village patients to Saa–Tee Sey–waa. This means that village people are not lost when they enter the city of Kathmandu. They have someone to meet them when they arrive. They have somewhere to stay. And they have people to help them find the hospital – and to give them support there.
Voice 2
People gather inside the church at the Beautiful Gate. Babukaji sits at the front and teaches from the Christian Bible. The people listen closely. Look at the people. It is true; many of their bodies tell a story of pain and suffering. But look at their eyes. These show something else – they show hope. The Beautiful Gate community has become like a gate. It leads people to a place of safety, and peace. But it is not just the physical place. It leads people to a spiritual place too – to God. And so when people leave the compound, they carry God’s love with them – far over the beautiful hills of Nepal.
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