Greetings
Friends and Family!
I—If
all goes as planned, I will be going to Chennai, India for a two-week missions
trip. I’ll be
traveling with 15 people from my home church in Minnesota, Brooklyn Park
Evangelical
Free Church (BPEFC). BPEFC has
taken short-term mission teams to Chennai before
to help the Hindustan Bible Institute (HBI).
This organization was started in 1952 by
Paul V. Gupta, who was born into a Hindu family and has a very interesting life
story.
HBI trains and serves the Indian people in an effort to fulfill the Great
Commission.
N—Now,
to be honest I feel a little apprehensive because this is my first time going
overseas.
With all butterflies set aside, I am excited to go
and help HBI. We will be leaving
for India
on December 27th and returning on January 8th.
D—Do
you wonder how I can be of any help to HBI?
That’s a good question, and I’ve
wondered it myself. Other short-term groups have helped with children’s
activities including
street Sunday school, music camps, and in the local orphanages.
Some other things people
have done are evangelism, pastoral training, construction, and ESL (English as a
Second
Language) training. So, those may
be some of the ways I will be spending my time there.
I—I
just wanted to share a bit about what’s going on in my life.
If you are interested in learning
more about this experience, email me, and I will keep you updated.
A—A
little India trivia: It has been
estimated that the complexity of India in size, culture,
economics and religion is like having over 200
different countries in one. Also,
Chennai
is the capital of the southeastern state of Tamilnadu.
Thanks
for reading, Catie Scherling
The Great Commission:
Jesus said, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing
them in the name of the Father and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them
to observe all that I commanded you.” Matthew 28:19, 20a
If
you are interested in learning more about the life of Paul V. Gupta, check out GOD
of the Untouchables by Dave Hunt.
