If you’re new to the Exploring with Jake series, be sure to read the introduction.
Are you ready to hear more about Sundar Singh’s journeys? Our Sunday School teacher told us the rest of his story this morning. Sundar spent the rest of his life traveling wherever God sent him. He felt a special burden in his heart for the people of Tibet, and he tried to go there whenever he could. He knew how dangerous the trip was, but he was not afraid to die. He told people that one day they may hear that he had died in Tibet, but to not look at it as though he had died. He wanted people to remember that when his body had died, his soul would be alive with Jesus forever.
God had many places for Sundar to preach. As people in the West heard about this preacher who traveled the countryside on foot, wearing a traditional robe, and walking barefoot, they were curious. They wanted to know more. They wanted Sundar to come and preach in their churches. So, Sundar did. He preached all over India. He traveled to Nepal, Burma, Singapore, Japan, China, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Scotland, Ireland, the United States, Australia, Egypt, Israel, Switzerland, Germany, Sweden, Norway, and Denmark. He wrote books and received countless letters from people who wanted to ask him questions and learn more about God.
Sundar knew what it was like to be poisoned, imprisoned, and tortured, and he knew what it was like to preach in huge churches to thousands of people who couldn’t wait to see him. When he suffered, he prayed and asked God for the strength to do whatever he had to do. When he was praised and honored, he didn’t forget God. He knew that God was the One who had sent him to the big churches, just like He had sent him to the tiny villages. Someone asked Sundar one time how he felt about all the honor and respect people showed him. He told the story from the Bible when Jesus rode the donkey into Jerusalem and the people praised Him. The donkey got to walk on the cloaks the people threw down because he carried Jesus. The donkey was treated special because of who he carried. Sundar said it was the same with him. People treated him special, not because of who Sundar was, but because of how special Jesus was, and that is the message Sundar carried.
In April, 1929, Sundar left once again for Tibet. He was thirty-nine years old, and he could hardly wait to reach Tibet and preach. He stopped on his way and asked the superintendent of a leper hospital to mail a letter for him. The letter was to a friend and missionary in New Zealand. In the letter, Sundar told him that he was traveling to Tibet and did not know if he would return. He asked his friend to come take care of his house if he did not.
In November, the papers reported that Sundar had disappeared. His friends went into the mountains to look for him, but they never found him. We don’t know if Sundar slipped and fell in the icy mountains or if perhaps a village leader got angry about his preaching and killed him. Today, only God knows what really happened to Sundar on his last journey into Tibet, but we can know one thing. We can know that Sundar’s body is dead but that he is alive with Jesus now and forever. That is the message he crossed the Himalayas and traveled around the world to tell people—that there is only one way to know for sure what will happen after you die, and that is to believe in Jesus, the only One who died and came back to life and can offer each of us eternal life with Him. All we have to do is ask.
“Dear God, thank You for the life and courage of Sundar Singh. Thank you for sending him to people all over the world to tell them about Your love for them. Please help me to go wherever You send me, whether it is to my neighbor’s or the library or even the grocery store. Help me show people how much You love them and tell them that all they have to do to be forgiven and for You to make them new people is to ask You. Thank You. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.”
You can print today’s missionary story about Sundar Singh here.
Have some fun with a Travels of Sundar Singh free geography printable.
If you missed the beginning of our story, read Sundar Singh: A Seed Is Sown.
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