Eventually the Nepali government allowed the UN to set up 7 camps where the refugees lived in low cost, temporary shelters made from bamboo with dirt floors and no electricity or running water.
The Nepali government prohibited the Bhutanese refugees from participating in economic activities outside the camp or from obtaining citizenship. They did allow them to have schools, enabling many of the youth to get a High School education. Some were even able to commute to colleges and universities for advanced degrees, though this was very difficult due to the cost.
In 2008, Nepal decided to close the camps, telling over 125,000 Bhutanese they had to leave. After the UN tried unsuccessfully to get Bhutan to allow them to return, they worked with other countries to accept them.
RESETTLEMENT INTO UNITED STATES
Australia, Canada, Norway, Denmark, and other countries agreed to help resettle them over a period of about five years. The US agreed to take 60,000 and place them in cities all across the lower 48 states. Several thousand have been resettled in DFW. The US government works with local resettlement organizations such as Catholic Charities and World Relief to help place the refugees in apartments, obtain healthcare, and assist with cultural training. They help them try to find work within the 180 days which is the US government’s deadline for self-sufficiency. Many have been finding work by the deadline, but this was very difficult, especially those that are older and lack English skills.
The goal of these people fleeing persecution in their homelands is not only to be free, but also to become self sufficient through employment. They did not come looking to be on welfare; they want a job to provide for their families just like they did in Bhutan. A job is where they find their dignity and self-respect.
The Bhutanese began to arrive at DFW Airport with one piece of luggage, the clothes on their back, and a dream of a better life in the United States, hoping to work and prosper.
Through the amazing providence of God, Pastor Timothy Pachkoti, having put himself through Bible college in India, his wife Christina and children Anisha, Anush and Andrew (born in USA), arrived with a heart and a passion for preaching and ministry.
AN AMAZING TRANSFORMATION
On January 23, 2010, Immanuel Bhutanese Church – IBC for short – was launched with a grand opening assembly. Over 300 attended the worship service. Jesus said ” GO( God’s Command) and make disciple and baptize them.Matthew 28:18-20. And I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. Matthew 16:18
By 2017, IBC’s Sunday Worship Assembly was averaging 150. In 2017 and into 2018, many IBC families began moving to other parts of the USA to be near jobs, family, and better benefits for the elderly. With several Bhutanese/Napali churches meeting in South Fort Worth, the IBC leadership, following much prayer and deliberation, decided to move the church to the north Tarrant Country area, to be near a large number of unchurched Bhutanese. In the summer of 2018, IBC began meeting in Keller, Texas. They average 40-50 on Sundays. Since 2009. there have been over 130 baptisms.
IBC continues an active ministry to the Bhutanese community. The many activities include the celebration of the birth of many babies, providing comfort during deaths with condolence services, picnic – a favorite with children and adults alike, Christmas programs that share the story of God’s only Son coming to Earth, a Discipleship Bible School with 10 days of 2 hour per day instruction resulting in 25 students being awarded graduation welcoming new families and help with Doctor, dentist, and hospital appointments and translation.
THE 2015 NEPAL EARTHQUAKE
On April 25, 2015, a powerful magnitude 7.8 earthquacke shook the earth for about 1 minute. Including aftershocks, an estimated 9,000 were killed, and 23,000 injured. Over 600,000 houses were destroyed and damanged. In some areas, this included, 70 percent of the buildings.
In early 2016, IBC and others sponsored Timothy on a mission/relief trip to share Jesus, provide relief essentials (rice, blankets, etc.) to areas that were missed by other relief efforts.
The trip was a great success! Timothy was able to renew old contacts and make new ones, with an eye toward future mission efforts.
THE NEXT CHAPTER
Timothy Pachkoti has never forgotten HIS VISION and desire to minister to those that he left behind in his homeland. He now desires to travel back home to his people, as a missionary, and plant churches in Southeast Asia. This is the beginning of a new chapter – MISSION 4 ASIA.
