An Encounter With a Tiger-August 20, 2010- Intercede International

An Encounter With a Tiger

NEPAL (INS)—Missionaries in Nepal face many dangers, including meeting tigers and other deadly animals while traveling to a mission field. While he was in Canada in May, Evangelical Christian Fellowship leader Rev. Sundar Thapa shared about several life-threatening situations he and other ECF missionaries have encountered. ECF is an indigenous ministry based in Nepal that is assisted by Intercede International.

“This is a normal thing for us. But it’s also exciting,” explains Thapa. “Many times on our missionary journeys, we encounter tigers, snakes, monkeys and sometimes rhinos. Sometimes, if you go to the eastern part of Nepal, elephants—and wild animals. Sometimes big rocks fall down.

“On one of my missionary journeys, we were going to Bading district, close to the Mustang area. We were jumping from terrace to terrace because we missed the trail. In that area, a tiger was bringing a goat, stolen from somebody’s house, and hiding at the bottom of a stair ledge. I was almost about to jump, but I saw two tigers. There was only one tiger, but the tiger was bringing a goat and sucking the blood from the neck.

“Then I held myself firmly there, but I was very much scared. The friends who were behind me were also shocked. I was about to jump but suddenly I stopped. That means something dangerous is there—that’s what they sensed. Then they were also shivering.

“Then I was between the people and the tiger. Fifteen minutes we were watching each other. It was a silent battle. Then with one eye I looked at the tiger, and with another eye I tried to find if there was anything above. [There was a ] tree branch over me, and half was dry and half was green.

“You know the story of the wall of Jericho?” That story reminded Thapa of how the people of Israel marched around that city and then shouted loudly—after which the walls fell down. “Then strength came. I shouted with a loud voice, which I’d never done in the past, then I jumped with my strength. So I pulled that branch. It totally broke down and came right down on top of the tiger, and pinched the tiger. The tiger thought maybe the sky had fallen down, was scared very badly and made a big noise. Three or four terraces down, he stopped, and looked up to me, raising his tail high. It seems that he was again coming to attack me. But then I held that branch again, and I shouted again, then the tiger again moved a bit further.

“Then people heard my shouting, and came from the other side. I picked up the dead goat, I put it on my shoulder. The tiger was going down, watching me. These guys were behind me, and they were shocked! They followed me. After I dropped the dead goat, I was shivering. I couldn’t really stand anymore. I was frightened so badly.”

Other Wild Encounters

“Like this, many times it happened. One time in my village, 11 children were killed by a tiger. Just last year, in Kathmandu city itself, a tiger came and attacked three or four people—even a policeman was attacked. In the jungle, they don’t get enough food to eat, so they enter into the city to get dogs or domestic animals.

“One day, I had a farm, and we were planting rice and wheat and green vegetables every day. A bull was coming and eating our vegetables. We were very bothered, but we were Christians and we could not chase it. If we chased it, Hindus would say we are trying to kill, and they would blame us. The bull was really causing a problem. One day a tiger came from a national park and killed this bull, and our problem was solved. Sometimes it helps, some time it damages.

“If you go on a missionary journey, you don’t know what kinds of encounters you face,” asserted Thapa. “It’s really exciting to go. You have a new experience. If you don’t go, you don’t have excitement. But at the same time, sometimes there’s risk.

“One day I remember Sareeta [his wife] was traveling for a 14-day journey, and on her way on a narrow trail, both sides were bush. When she was going, she stepped on the tail of a big poisonous snake. The snake was just turning to bite her, when the man behind her hit and injured it. Then the village people came and said, ‘Why are you killing our god? We have to pray to this god so that we’ll have rain.’ They took this snake and looked after it. That’s normal life for us!”

The Thapas and their fellow missionaries appreciate prayer for God’s protection as they face many dangers in their travels.

Photo: ECF leader Sundar Thapa treks to a mission field. (Intercede International Photo)

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August 20, 2010