From Mel Gentry
This team (Tom Cox World Ministries) that I am attaching myself with for just a few days consists of 9 members. Included in the team are 2 evangelists/preachers, a dentist, a doctor, a nurse, a lay preacher, and 3 ladies who are doing children’s work and assisting the dentist and doctor. My early mornings are spent at the Iris Compound (named after the saintly wife of Mr. Sharma, the founder of this compound.) where I visit with Mr. Sharma, a personal friend of ours for many years. He is now 82 years of age and his health is rapidly declining. He gave me quite a history lesson in Christian work in India. After India received its independence from the British in 1948, most of the foreign missionaries knew that their time was limited in this country. In 1974 they were given 5 years to vacate their work. Much of their property and work was turned over to faithful nationals with the hope that they would continue the work that was started. Sadly and happily this was done in some cases and not in others. Where we are working is one of the happy results.
Elder Mr. Sharma and his wife, Iris, were living on a compound where the original Canadian Baptist missionaries had lived for more than 100 years. It was a walled compound with several buildings that were now old and in need of maintenance. Both Mr. Sharma and Iris had been educators and were well respected in the community and were able to keep the Baptist work going through a children’s boarding home program and evangelist outreach into neighboring towns and villages. They have two sons, the eldest Sukumar, and Vijay, the younger. The father helped the elder son establish a children’s boarding home program and evangelistic outreach program in another area about an hour away where their grandmother had lived. That program has continued and grown through the years. These have turned out to be the happy stories.
Sadly through the years, much of the property, including compounds, hospitals, schools and other properties have gone by the wayside, some being sold by the trusted friends of the missionaries and some by the new leaders and their followers after them. With foresight that the original Baptist compound where they had lived and served most of their life might be swept out from under them by some scrupulous move, Mr. Sharma used funds from he and his wife to begin purchasing property about 10 miles away. Little by little he added property to their original investment so that today they have about 15 acres in a well-planned and successful compound with a church, an old folks home, two separate areas for boys and girls dormitories, a private Christian school, a couple of homes for themselves and workers. Through the years Mr. Sharma has entrusted the continuation of their work and dream to their younger son and his wife, Vijay and Vasantha, who are doing a commendable job moving forward the dream of spreading the Gospel in this area. Through the years, the Tom Cox World Ministries and their volunteers, with whom Mary Lou and I worked for several years, have made significant investments into this effort through the years— in funds, time, and work.
Although my time on this trip has been planned to be limited at this location, I still had an opportunity to go our one morning with the team here to conduct street preaching and a medical clinics. I preached in 3 different locations in the village at intersections where people would be passing and stop to hear the Gospel. Each time there would be groups of 15-30 stop to listen and there were always some in each group who would respond to received Christ. The local pastor would get their names for a follow-up. Then in the afternoon, a medical clinic and a dental clinic were both held in the location where the Baptist worship takes place to bring the village’s attention to the work of the church. Soon my homecoming visit to this area on the northern east coast of India with end and I will be heading further south. That is another story for another day. From India with Love from Bobbili, India., Mel #2
