A few weeks ago, I returned from a fact-finding mission that took me to the far reaches of western India to the town of Kalimpong, south of the Bhutan border. I was there to meet with a group of pioneering missionaries and local pastors who have established a missions beachhead into the nation of Bhutan. These entrepreneurial missionaries are blazing a trail of evangelism into Bhutan and working at equipping the fledging church that exists there. The goal of this trip was to investigate ways Crossroads could network with them in reaching Bhutan for Christ.

Below is a page from my journal record of the trip.

My meeting today with the Bhutan Network proved eye opening in more ways than I could have imagined. There's a reason the nation of Bhutan is known as the "land of the thundering dragon". The conditions of the fledging church in Bhutan are disheartening but revealing. The hold that Buddhism has on the land of Bhutan and over the minds of the people is staggering. The strong spiritual forces at work in this country could make you think twice if it were not for the knowledge that God specializes in dethroning "gods", rescuing people, and reforming nations.

In the West we get a glimmer of the work of this "dark spirit" through the unqualified acceptance the Dalai Lama, the internationally recognized leader of Buddhism, receives. The Dalai Lama is the only religious leader to enjoy such unwarranted access to and unprecedented influence on world governments and its leaders enjoying uncensored authority to speak on any subject, his viewpoints accepted as valid and credible. Unlike the Pope he is virtually uncontested as a spiritual inspiration by world leaders, Hollywood, and the political left, with none criticizing his beliefs or his religious viewpoints regarding life, man's origin, or his solutions, as a Buddhist, to the complexities of our world.

As we in the West embrace this spiritual darkness more and more Crossroads is looking for a way to pierce that darkness at one of its strongholds - Bhutan, the land of Buddhist monasteries and saffron robed monks. But after this initial visit I come away aware more now than ever that this spiritual stronghold will only be broken by a combined thrust of sacrificial living, intense intercessory prayer, together with a fearless witness willing to embrace emotional isolation and the potential of personal persecution.

We got a firsthand introduction to the "spirit" at work in this land when driving up from the town of Bagdogra, India to Kalimpong, a three hours drive, we came to a dead stop on the side of the mountain (Kalimpong is located in the mountains at the foot of the Himalaya's) half way to our destination. The reason - the towns folk (Kalimpong) had revolted (they refer to it as a strike but it is more confrontational and violent) and shut down the entire traffic flow up and down the mountain. The entire region around and incorporating Kalimpong used to be territory belonging to Bhutan; it is also a stronghold of the Dalai Lama who had just been there before our arrival. The area is an unstable area full of insurrectionists and Chinese Maoists who are also carving out a "new territory" for China (China occupies unlawfully about 20 miles of territory belonging to India in this same border area). After three hours sitting on the side of the mountain in winter weather we were able to proceed on to Kalimpong. The next day I met with the Bhutan Network to hear of their work and plans for Bhutan. Four hours into a scheduled two-day meeting a local youth pastor stepped in to announce that the entire region had been called to join in a strike later that day. The strike was to last 25 days. In follow-up skirmishes with the Indian army the day before 5 local towns people had been shot dead; local businesses had been burned, and the "insurrectionist" were planning on confronting the army. It was decided that having an American caught up in this chaos was not something they wanted to deal with so I and the Crossroads country director for India, Olem Jamir, were politely asked to leave - IMMEDATELY. So into town we were speed by this Youth Pastor. Arriving in the middle of town we were surrounded by chaos as people tried to get out of harm's way. No taxis were moving, no businesses open under threat of retaliation for failure to "participate" in the strike. Finally, we were able to find one man willing to take the risk and take us back to Bagdogra. So off we went. A day later, we headed for New Delhi.

I feel that the meeting with the Bhutan Network, though brief, will eventually prove beneficial to Crossroads as well as to the Network itself. We have established a relationship and begun a dialogue regarding the future. Though nothing is definite, it remains very promising.

One thing I walk away with is a better understanding of the need of the Church in Bhutan, the believers' needs, and the challenges facing us as we make plans as to how we will engage this land, its people, and the spirit fighting hard not only to hold to its domain but to extend its reach around the world.

As you pray please consider holding us up before God for wisdom and open doors as we seek ways to influence the church in Bhutan and work within Bhutan to make a difference for the kingdom of God.