Joshua was their commander-in chief throughout the entire time of conquest when Israel was taking the land of caanan. While still in the plains of Moab, Joshua mobilized his forces and prepared them for battle. After this, they crossed the Jordan River and the battle began. There were three campaigns fought: one in the north, one in the central region, and one on the south. After the initial victories, the land was divided among the various tribes of Israel.

     Joshua shows that God is true to his promise. He had promised people a land and they were now entering in to possess it. However, it was not automatic; God required of them that they actively engage in warfare in order to gain what He had given them.

      Inspired by the above biblical story, I realized that we need to send this prayer letter off to rise up people, friends, and churches who will pray for us like Caleb. We are looking for people who will have an optimistic and pioneering spirit like Caleb for the mission work that we are doing, who will follow the Lord wholeheartedly as far as the Lord is wanting to take them, and who are not afraid of the new challenges that the Lord may require them to do.

      At present we are targeting Bhote, Tibetans and Thakali undetached people who are located in the Mustang district. I remember that when we launched our first campaign in June 1993, to the Mustang district like Joshua did on the north, we went up to upper Mustang and Musktinath where the enemy’s stronghold is situated.

      Everything and everyone was up against us. The district of Mustang extends along the Kali Gandaki [black holy River] from the Tibetan border in the north to Ghasa further south. Jomsom is the capital of the Mustang district. North of Kagbeni is a region of Tibetan influence called Upper Mustang which consists of two distinct regions. The inhabit the southern region, with the five villages, is inhabited by people related to the Manages in the Valley. The northern region is the location of the ancient kingdom of Lo, where the language, culture and traditions are almost purely Tibetan. The capital of Lo is Manthang, which, in Tibetan, means plain of aspiration. This valley of the forgotten kingdom is also known as Shangrila.

      The peak of Muktinath, situated at a height of 6723m. [24,856feet,], is an important pilgrimage center for both Hindus and Buddhists. The most prominent shrine is a Vishnu temple where 108 spouts, fashioned in the shape of cow’s heads, our forth water that is considered holy. The temple is built in Tibetan style and contains huge brass idols of Vishnu, Shiva, Brahma and Kali.

      Nearby is another temple where water gushes out of a rock and this water is considered even more holy. There are also Buddhist gompa [monastery], and a pagoda-type temple dedicated to Jwala Mayi [goddeses of fire]. In this temple, shielded by curtains, are the outlets for the natural gas that oozes from the rock and feeds the temple flame.

      There is also a spring close by. These three elements together are considered an auspicious convergence of earth, fire and water. There are two ruined temples with the idols of Lord Shiva and his consort Parvati, and a Narsingh temple where rituals are performed according to both Hindu and Buddhist customs. Here two religions coexist together. The Khampa rebels had used the area as a base in their attempts to free Tibet from Chinese occupation.

      Mustang is a home of Thakali and Bhote people groups and city of refuge or hiding place for Tibetan refugeed that escaped from the oppression of Maoist communism in Tibet and China. When we first launched our mission in 1993, we faced very strong oppression and were threatened with death in Muktinath. However, the Lord allowed us to sell 500 NT and show the Jesus film at night in Muktinath and in Jomsom. Today the entire Mustang District has a population of about 20, 000 people. The life and culture of the people are deeply rooted in the superstitious belief of animistic Hindu and Buddhist religion. Nearby all of the people in the Mustang valley are very poor even by Nepalese standards. There are various kinds of sin, sickness and diseases that are evading the people’s lives.

      Our second campaign was in 1997,when we organized medical mission and treated over 1000 people and had quite a successful outreach, though there was a little opposition. We succeeded in distributing over 2500 NT. In our third campaign [1998] we again organized medical missions and an outreach where we treated over 700 people and distributed over 1000 NT and tracts. We also covered several villages in the Lower Mustang including Tukuche, Marpha, Jomsom, Kagbani and a Tibetan refuge camp.

      Today, after much prayer and continuous hard work, the situation is just the opposite. All the village chiefs, chairmen, government officials and the general public that were once up against us are now in our favor. The chairperson of Mustang district has opened his house for us to store our Bibles and tracts free of charge. They are excited about any programs we wish to do. After seven years of marching, intercession and prayers are bringing the wall of the Mustang down. The harvest is ripe in Mustang but the laborers are few. We had kept one pastor there as a researcher and a low key personal evangelist since 1993, but he was forced to leave after two years. It is our desire to keep pastors in the different villages of this land to plant churches in the coming time. To support one pastor will cost about $100 a month. We also desire to buy them a horse so that they can travel to the neighboring villages and fulfill our vision "the gospel for every person and church for every people groups."