IM volunteer, Connie Gates, returns after two months in India

Blog by Connie Gates, IM long-term volunteer to India

 

I just returned from Jamkhed, India, yesterday morning, after 2 months of my BIM volunteer service as course coordinator for the 2-month diploma course.  My church, Binkley Baptist in Chapel Hill NC, provides scholarship money for Indian participants - and this year 2 received partial scholarships, and one happened to be a Baptist from Manipur (Khansing) working with the Adi Baptist Union in Arunachal Pradesh (photo attached).  Also some Brazilian Baptists from Salvador do Bahia, with whom Binkley has a relationship, also came for 2 weeks (Raimundo Barreto, who will be joining BWA in Feb.) to 1 month - and I'll go there in Dec. for follow up.  I'll return to Jamkhed in Jan.

 

And the project with Andhra Pradesh (covering all rural areas in the state through a government-sponsored program called Society for the Elimination of Rural Poverty) has been renewed for another 3 years, and hundreds of people, who have previously had training at Jamkhed, are returning for a 6-week course.  They started the first session while I was there, and there were people from the districts of Nellore and where Hanamakonda is, and there were several Baptists, but I didn't get information about what districts they were from.  This is the project that I left a video CD (or DVD, I don't know which), last time I visited Valley Forge (Ben wasn't in the office, but I left the disc for him).  So hopefully some day the Baptist organizations will connect with this government project and work together to improve the lives of folks in their areas.

 

Oct. 24 was the 50th anniversary of the Gates family leaving the US for Hong Kong - which I consider the date that I became a global nomad, or at least a member of the international community.  Folks at Jamkhed decided to make a celebration of it, as the beginning of 50 years of missionary service! - with garland and all!

 

Thanks for letting me be part of the BIM ministry.

Connie Gates