Mary Hulst, recently retired pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Denver, (pictured at left wearing shawl presented to her by the Ukhral Baptist Church) led 12 hardy Calvary travelers on a mission trip to India from October 15-November 1, 2006. It was an amazing learning adventure that touched our lives in a dramatic way.
The highlight was our time in the Northeast India State of Nagaland. While in Nagaland, we traveled in a convoy of three 4-wheel drive vehicles. There we enjoyed fellowship and participated in worship with new Naga Christian friends in many Baptist churches, hospitals, and schools.
We flew into Jorhat, where Ahao Vashum (pictured lower right) met us. It was great to reconnect with Ahao again. He is now a respected faculty member at Eastern Theology College (ETC). It was good to see what a dynamic speaker and leader he is with his people. Ahao hosted a dinner for us in his “palace” in faculty housing. His students put on a cultural program in honor of our visit. We met with college faculty and toured the chapel,  classrooms and library. There are 236 students at ETC, but the library has seating space for only 80 students. Due to the lack of adequate space and library’s weak roof, there is an urgent need to build a new library.
Ahao took us to his remote village, Maren Khullen, and we met his parents and sisters. The Tangkhul tribe treated us like royalty and showered us with their love, food and gifts. The tribesmen put on a cultural song and dance program for us. Mary Hulst laid a foundation stone for their new church building and each traveler planted a pine tree at the site.
(Pictures below show local villagers, foundation stone, and tree planting.)
  
We also toured the Jorhat Mission Hospital. The hospital was founded in 1924 and has grown to a be 132-bed hospital. American missionaries have served in this hospital.
(Workers at the Jorhat Mission Hospital are pictured at left.)
In Imphal we connected with Luithak and Kuinao Zimik at the Manipur Baptist Convention offices. They escorted us through military checkpoints to Ukhrul where they were our hosts in their family home. We visited Leishiphung Hospital, (pictured at lower right) which  was founded by the Zimiks in 1999. The hospital can handle up to 125 patients.
India travelers were: Mike Boggess and Kellun Turner, Roger Dickinson, John Edwards and Maggi Susman, Dorothy Fine, Mary Hulst, Fred and Anne Michel, Ken and Karen Pinkham, Gwen Ward, Susan Wirt.
Text and pictures submitted by Ken and Karen Pinkham
|
