journey

The 7th June 1914 was a memorable day for Sundar as he was on the borders of Nepal. The roads in the mountainous territory were awful. It was a day, which bristled with the fatigue of the journey, the extreme hunger and thirst, the heavy showers of rain, the long ascent. A terrible blast of wind threw him into la cave.

Though he fell from such a height, he did not get hurt at all. Then the different stages of the crucifixion of Jesus came before him in a vision.

First, Christ was awake in the garden of Gethsemane all night.

Secondly, Jesus was hungry and thirsty.

Thirdly, due to the lashes and the crow of thorns, He was bleeding.

Fourthly, besides all these troubles, he had to lift up the Cross Himself. For these reasons, He fell down when He was climbing Golgotha…

Sundar said, “O dear Lord, my cross is nothing before Thine…”

When the leeches sucked his blood, Sundar praised God!

Sadhu’s sufferings in Nepal were indescribable. One day he reached Ilam, a garrison town, and found the bazaar full of people. He stood in front of the post office and started to preach with the New Testament in his hand. Quite a large crowd gathered, and when he offered Gospels to any who could read, there were those who came forward to receive them. Now, there was an interruption. An official arrived and angrily demanded to know who had given him permission to enter Nepal and preach a foreign religion.

Sundar replied that he had come at the command of the Officer of all officers, the King of kings – the Creator. “Why”’ snapped the official. “Christ has called all the nations to receive eternal life and Nepal must hear this good news too”, said Sundar.

The official did not want to discuss the matter. He was all for putting Sundar in jail for 6 months, the prescribed penalty for illegal entry. However, another official pointed out that if this preacher were put in jail, he might persuade some of the other prisoners to become Christians. Therefore, it was decided that a different form of punishment should be inflicted.

They seized him and threw him into the prison. They removed his clothes and fastened his hands and feet in a block of wood. Many leeches were brought and left near Sundar. For two or three hours, he felt his sufferings very much indeed, but afterwards, the Lord by His holy presence turned his prison into a paradise.

Sadhu started singing, full of joy when many people came to the door to listen. He began to preach the gospel to them. Then he was finally released, thinking that probably he was mad because nobody could sing in the midst of such a suffering.