Latest Nagaland Mission

Latest Nagaland Mission - November 2010

Introduction:

The mission trip took place between October 31st and November 15th 2010. The were 6 members on the team led by Lynda Hulcoop with Linda Hornsby, Yolande Cooke, Heather Mann, Jess Barnard and Dr Jacky Woolcock from Church of the Good Shepherd Shoreham Beach. In addition Alemla, John and Simon Twiss were out in Nagaland during this period.

This was the first visit for 2 years to Nagaland and the aim this time was to seek to offer greater spiritual input to Akumen village which was at a rather low ebb spiritually in the absence of a full time pastor. Also the aim was to evaluate the different social and income generating projects which had been established in previous years and set up a more effect tive management structure for these. In Dimapur, the aim was to participate in the work of Erali Bill Discipleship Prayer Centre and to make a visit to Mother’s Hope.

Social Activities in Akumen Village: (Non income generating)

a) Medical Project

Dr Jacky Woolcock engaged in medical health checks for the villagers each day. Overall she saw approximately 60 patients during this time covering a wide age range and different medical conditions. She was able to offer medication, prescriptions or referrals to a good number of these to help their conditions (e.g. hook worm, infections, wounds, malaria etc), was able to give donated glasses to those who needed them and work alongside the auxiliary nurse living in the village who had been appointed by the council to keep the records for the government scheme of tetanus immunisation of children and pregnant women. She also gives injections of other medications. Jacky arranged that we would supply the nurse with disposable syringes, preinjection skin cleaning materials, razor blades for cutting the cord at delivery, disinfectants and dressings. She left plenty of dressings and gloves and hopefully has set in motion the treatment of a 16 year old with epilepsy who seems to have no family. Jacky also taught the nurse to use a forehead fever scan and bought supplies of paracetamol for her and taught her to use a urine testing kit.
In many ways it was sad to see that the medical project which we had established in previous years with a doctor going to do health checks in a dedicated health centre was no longer in place since the time that the villagers declined the services of Dr Achila due to tribal/inter-family conflict. The use of the minibus donated by the Besom to get people to a local hospital in a crisis is invaluable. However it was sad to hear that there had been some deaths in the village of both children and adults, some of which may have been preventable. We addressed these issues at a meeting of the village council (a gathering of a wide range of village representatives). They admitted that they would like to see this old system in place again and realised the mistakes they had made. We had to challenge them to a change of attitude if a new doctor was to be appointed. They approved Jacky’s idea of improving the skills of the nurse. We made contact with TemsuWathi who thought he might be able to get some Ao doctors in the neighbouring areas to do some visits to the village. They might bring a mini laboratory and doctors with different specialities as well as a general practitioner. This possible development will be pursued by Dr Jacky with TemsuWathi to see if new monthly health checks can be reinstated. If so, this will have financial implications. Dr Jacky has expressed an interest in seeking to raise some sponsorship for this. She is also keen to resolve the difficulty of getting disposable syringes by those giving injections in remote villages via contact with those working in the field of Aids prevention in rural Nagaland.

b) Children’s Education/Sports Club/Spiritual Development

During our visit we spent a good amount of time at the school and doing children’s activities headed up by Jess and Heather. Jess went into the school to observe, took pictures of all the children in the village and led the afternoon’s activities with Heather. Heather did dance with some of the girls together with crafts etc. We also had a meeting with the teachers and the education committee.

In all these, we were again very concerned at the low level of education in the village, the lack of good teaching from the government teachers but were pleased to see good numbers of children in the school persisting in seeking to learn under very disadvantageous conditions. We were somewhat concerned that full use of the educational resources left in the village was not being made i.e. the books, the games etc. It seems that the teachers are rather conservative and narrow in their mode of teaching and unable to take on new ideas. The teacher we sponsor, Chuba Ao, is seemingly doing a good job both in teaching and in running an after school sports project. He has teams competing against other villages in football, cricket etc and has had the children playing badminton, volleyball etc. We were able to purchase some further footballs, a volleyball and shuttlecocks for use in the school.

Assessing all this, we feel it is important to continue the sponsorship of all the children of school age in going to the village school so that they at least get some basic education. This is currently around 58 children. In addition there are a further 20+ older children which we sponsored to continue their schooling in a neighbouring village. However of 22 children we sponsored last year (1000Rs per child - £14.50), 10 dropped out for a variety of reasons. This is sad. In addition we have noted that a considerable number from the village are going to Dimapur to continue education – many in Erali Bill – where the educational costs are much higher (10,000 Rs per year). We have decided we will continue to offer the 1000Rs to children for continuing education in local villages on the understanding that if they discontinue through the year, the parents will have to pay the money back. We hope this will work as something of an incentive. This will be administered under the new management scheme to be described later.

Furthermore one further thing we were able to do this year thanks to money donated by Mansel and Lorna Chuter was to buy a children’s Bible for each child of school age in the village in their own native language. Each Bible cost 200Rs (Lynda has a sample) and one was given to each child to write their name in and take home. This was a wonderful ministry – giving a Bible as the one possession most of these children have – and to see them taking them home to read. We decided that from this point on, we would offer a children’s Bible to each new child starting school. We have left enough for next year’s intake and after can raise funds for this (£2.80 per Bible). We feel this will help with the spiritual development of the children and will be of great help to the Sunday School teachers. The children of the village are such a delight and we feel privileged to play a small part in helping them towards a more hopeful future.

c) English Club

Over the last 2 years. Akumla (Arenla’s sister) has been running a very successful English club for both children and adults. This club is very important as it helps in the overall education of all as English is the main language and mastery of English is a key to future prospects in India. She has been doing this with minimal resources. With Mansel’s money we were able to purchase some further resources that she wanted and she will continue these classes in the coming year.

d) Water Project.

Over the last 2 years, some progress has been made in the water project sponsored by Operation Agri and Hove Rotary Club. However, the main part of the project – the piping of water from a nearby waterfall – has not been realised due to poor weather conditions hampering 3 attempts to lay the piping and a hold up in the technical work being done for the filtration tank at the waterfall source. During our stay, we met up with an Operation Agri worker, Tony Sykes, who was going to the village to see the viability of the project and we talked to TemsuWathi responsible for the filtration work who assured us that he would see the project through. He too travelled with Tony Sykes to the village. We wait to hear the report of their visit but we are hopeful that the water project will be fully realised in the coming year for the benefit of the village.

Assessment of income generating projects in Akumen village

Over previous years training has been given and equipment and materials left to start up income generation projects in crafts and in animal rearing and fruit growing.

a) Craft Project: The Craft Centre/Craft Production

Sadly the craft centre which we had built in previous years as a place for the carpenters, weavers and sewers and card makers to work had been damaged in bad weather. Some of the roof had disappeared and part of the flooring was unsafe. As a result of this, the centre was not fully operational and thus craft production has been limited. Some of the equipment has been moved to local homes but output is not satisfactory to generate enough income. Thus we used some of Mansel’s money to arrange for the repair of the building. Ideally the centre needs a tin roof to withstand the weather conditions but this is too costly at present so we went for a more basic repair which should last a couple of years. This means the centre can operate fully again under the new management structure to be outlined later. The bamboo worker is still producing excellent crafts, the youth group are hiring the centre to do sewing and weaving and making some products. The carpenter is undertaking some work but has been hampered by the disuse of the building. The sewers are still at work although one of the sewing machines has broken. We saw no evidence of card making. During the stay Linda Hornsby did excellent work introducing knitting and crocheting which proved very popular with all age groups doing these activities literally morning, noon and night! Again with some of Mansel’s money we were able to buy some stocks of yarn plus leave all the knitting and crochet needles to enable them to start up knitting and crochet production for sale at market. Currently money for sales of any goods is divided into thirds: a third to the producer for wages, a third for new materials and a third for th4e community. It was decided that this would continue but under a new management and accounting structure (see later) plus all money placed into a newly opened SCCC mission bank account.

We trust that in the coming year with the repair of the building, new stimulus to enter production and a new management structure, these craft projects can raise income to help the villagers with a wage, keep production going and start bringing in some income for the welfare of the village.

b) Animal rearing and fruit production

In previous years, some families had been given pigs and chickens to rear on the third/third/third basis. Sadly many chickens had died through a strain on bird flu as had some pigs. Seemingly there are now only 8 pigs left in the project that are still producing and raising an income. We did not feel we should offer any more money for such projects other than on a loan basis. With fruit production, there should be some income in the coming year or 2 as the fruit trees mature (Bananas, papayas and pineapple) but again no further investment will be considered here other than through possible loans

c) New income generating projects via loans schemes

After long deliberations over the last year and in consultation with Yolande Cooke, we have decided that we will not sponsor future income generating projects other than by means of small loans schemes. We have put in place to make a loan to one group wanting to extend their small fish farm. Other loans to villagers are under negotiation including a shop and a carpentry scheme and in this Yolande will work closely with Akumla to see how they might be set up.

New Project manager/ Management Structure in Akumen Village.

In previous years, all these projects in the village were overseen by Pastor Yanger and the church. Although in some ways, this was effective at some level, there were serious flaws and when Pastor Yanger left the village in March, the system collapsed. Lynda had already sought to address the problems in the lat year and seek for the establishment of a new management structure but this was stalled until our visit this year. The need for a new structure of management and accounting was made all the more necessary with SCCCs new situation as a charity in its own right and with it the need to do more thorough accounting. Thus, with the full agreement with the village council, we have decided to appoint Akumla (Arenla’s sister) as our project manager in the village initially for 1 year (6000Rs per month plus 1000Rs expenses). She will be supported by a management team chosen by the villagers to oversee all the projects which we have sponsored. She has been given a full job description issued by Yolande Cooke (available on request). She has also started the process of opening a dedicated bank account with HSBC into which all our monies will go. We believe this is our best hope of making all the projects efficient and sustainable for the future. Akumla is well educated, comes from Dimapur town but will relocate to the village. She has the respect of the villagers, is trained in business management and accounting and has good English and can communicate back with us every month. We have left her a report template to fill in each month and she will produce monthly accounts. (These will be available on request). However she needs much prayer as she seeks to break through some of the divisions, lack of understanding and lack of vision prevalent in the village.

Lynda spent time with Pastor Yanger who was keen to clear his name in the misuse of any funds over the past years. He finally produced full accounts which showed that some monies have been loaned by the church (a fact previously unmentioned) and not given to him as reported. Lynda believes Yanger has acted with integrity but left himself open to suspicion due to insisting on handling the monies, a situation which we explained could not continue. The church has repaid some of the money loaned/ handled which will be placed in our dedicated account but some loans are still outstanding. The church will be made aware that these must be repaid at some future stage when income permits. Thus all this gave force to the need to establish this entirely new management structure where the church/pastor concentrates on spiritual matters not project management and is not in a position to divert funds without our authorisation.

Spiritual situation in the village

Pastor Yanger left Akumen village in March 2010. After his departure, one of the deacons was appointed to be an interim pastor. Although he is doing a valuable job in many ways, the village clearly needs a gifted, energetic evangelistic pastor to develop the spiritual life of the village again which has come to a low ebb. Church attendance is quite poor especially among older men. The village has a system of mid week house meetings which we all attended and it was encouraging to see some more at these but there is still much room for growth. As already stated, the children are keen and the provision of Bibles for each will, we hope, help them spiritually. We had a meeting with the youth group and the thing they really wanted was musical instruments to help lead worship, perform songs etc. We saw this to be very worthwhile so we used some of Mansel’s money to buy musical equipment for the youth – guitars, mics, drums, speakers, an amplifier etc. We heard some of their singing and there is considerable talent here among the young people which needs to be harnessed. In the church meetings, we observed that very few people were singing as so few had hymn books. In the village, people had to buy their own hymn book so we decided to use some of Mansel’s money to buy a supply to be given out to attendees at the door to enhance the worship of the village. We also found that many villagers did not have Bibles so we bought a supply of 50 to be used by adults to help them grow in their spiritual lives.

We had some powerful prayer meetings in the church each morning. Lynda met with the women; we did some door to door and had some evening meetings and a revival weekend on Saturday/Sunday with Pastor Bendang from the Prayer Centre in Dimapur. Lynda used prophetic visions received on our previous visit as the basis for challenge to the villagers. These were powerful occasions. When appeals were made among children and adults, the majority responded. However it is difficult to assess whether these were first time responses or not in the short time of our stay. The highlight however was one Hindu man who we met after one church service on the way back to our lodge. In the darkness under the star lit sky he said he wanted to become a Christian. Dr Jacky and Lynda led him to Christ; he repented and accepted Jesus as his Saviour and Lord. We then took him back to meet with some others who had gathered and gave him a small party with the angels in heaven. Lynda left him her Bible and has arranged for some follow up via TemsuWathi. Please pray for Mohinder that he will grow in his new found faith and be well accepted in the village among the Nagas. We have been asked to baptise him on our next visit but trust there will be a pastor in place to conduct this before such time.

Stimulus to Government Interventions in Akumen Village

Our work in the village has also had some spin off effects in that we have been able to inspire the Nagaland government to play its part in development alongside us. Thus in many ways it was good to see new bits of road, a small water scheme from a river, some steps and our repaired bridges being further strengthened by government schemes. There is one more bridge into the village needing strengthening for which TemsuWathi has gained Government funding but since this is in a disputed area on the Assam border, it will need to be done carefully. During our stay, we were privileged to have a recently retired government minister visit and encourage us and the villagers to work hard towards development. He was a previous Deputy Commissioner and Sports Minister. He made some promises about getting the government to sponsor a sports field in the village and improve educational provision. Simon and Alemla are going to pursue this with him so that would be a great future development.

Summary of Situation in Akumen village in 2010

There is much to thank God for in the events of the last years but clearly a long way to go on all fronts to help the village to develop in the way that they would like. The kind of frustrations we have experienced are reportedly common to all who seek to bring development to the life of rural, uneducated folk and on route we were given a lot of prophetic encouragement not to lose heart but to press on in the Lord. The key to the success of all projects in the village is a development in its spiritual life. We were able to make some input into this but the need is vital for a dynamic, evangelist pastor who can inspire the village, bring about attitude change etc. The villagers are seeking someone with high academic qualifications which is a barrier. 2 people would be willing to consider pastoring in the village. Both would seemingly be suitable but neither has the academic training the villagers think is necessary. A highly academic pastor would struggle in a village with such low levels of education and may not have the spiritual dynamic which is necessary. So much much prayer is needed here. Akumla too needs our prayers as she seeks to be a manager, ambassador, encourager, trouble-shooter and much more together with her team.

Discipleship Prayer Centre Erali Bill, Dimapur

This discipleship/prayer centre was established some 3 years ago in the grounds of Alemla’s house in Erali Bill. At that time, there was a small group of 6 people meeting together for prayer and fasting without a building. We met with them in Alemla’s garden and shared and took communion together. At that time, we felt the ground we were standing on was indeed holy ground. Alemla offered it as a site for a prayer centre and it was established. Since then, together with others, we have built a simple bamboo structure for the prayer room, a room for the sick to stay, a kitchen and a toilet. Daily prayer takes place for the sick with regular times of fasting; people come and stay to fast and pray and there are now regular worship times for children and adults. The prayer ministry team is very multicultural and consists of the following:

  1. Pastor Bendang Sangtum (Leader Sangtum Naga)
  2. Yanger Jamir (Ao Naga Volunteer, pastors the prayer warriors, teacher)
  3. Revd Shiwoto (Sema Naga Volunteer, Retired pastor, worked with YWAM)
  4. Bendangla (Rengma Naga, prayer warrior)
  5. Asangla (Burmese Naga, prayer warrior) + Yemli (husband, secretary)
  6. Anbolin (Garo, Prayer Warrior)
  7. Alemla (Ao Naga, Bendang’s wife ,prayer warrior)
  8. Ajungla (Ao Naga, prayer warrior, Treasurer)
  9. Akumba (Ao Naga centre caretaker )
  10. Amenla (Ao Naga, Children’s worker)

During our stay we participated in evening meetings, a 5 hour prayer and fasting gathering on Saturday morning, activities with children and Sunday services. Lynda also had meetings with the centre staff and Pastor Bendang. Most activities were attended by approx 30 children and 40 to 50 adults. There are numerous testimonies of conversions and healings coming out from the centre. Many of these are not instant but rather take place over a period of time accompanied by prayer and much fasting. We met 2 young men whose lives have been radically transformed by the prayer centre ministry – one in complete rebellion and one on the verge of suicide who is now the caretaker. Revd Shiwoto was also healed there when nothing more could be done for him medically. So in its simplicity among such very poor people God is working miracles. We have encouraged Yanger Jamir to begin documenting the testimonies for encouragement and he will e mail these through to us. For several of us personally God had words of prophecy, encouragement and direction which need to be tested out. The folk at the prayer centre pray regularly for us at SCCC and are very grateful for the level of support we have offered.

In a meeting with the staff, Lynda explored the needs of the centre at present. The need for a ceiling fan was met from funds; there may be a need to put in 2 feet of brick walls to stop the termites eating the bamboo and destroying the building although this is not immediate. Money was left for Pastor Bendang who is very poor and has 5 children and small amounts for the prayer centre staff as love gifts. We believe in the future it might be good to help these prayer warriors not by paying them a salary which we would not really be able to do but to seek to raise further educational sponsorship for their children. Each has several children studying locally in Dimapur. Costs of education, books, exam fees and uniforms amounts to approx 10,000 Rs per year per child (approx £140) and there are approximately 15 children among the prayer warriors. Any contribution we might make would be very gratefully received and would be an investment in the future of some of the brightest children studying in the town setting. Lynda will look at how we might raise money for this in the year ahead. We have again taken picture of all the children and got their names and ages.

Linda Hornsby spent some time doing knitting and crochet with some locals and again we have encouraged them to start producing for income. We left needles and wool for them. We also left some second hand items as some of the workers believe there is a good market for second hand stuff. They may put in a proposal for a loan for a shop or a market stall and all this could begin to produce an income. Simon also has a vision for a restaurant in the locality. Jess and Heather did dance and a children’s programme and again here we gave Bibles to each child in the Sunday School to help with their spiritual development. This will help Amenla who is doing an excellent job with them. As further children join, we hope to be able to provide them with Bibles.

Mother’s Hope

We made a brief visit to Mother’s Hope where children are cared for waiting adoption. The leader, Moamenla also came to visit us in Erali Bill. She is doing a wonderful work and the home is beautifully kept. On our next visit, she would like us to hold a seminar for parents of adopted children especially using John Butler’s experience.

Biblical Business Training (TBN)

In Dimapur, Yolande spent time teaching Akumla her course on Biblical foundations for Business which Akumla found most hopeful. There is a lot more scope for such training in the Nagaland context in the future. Akumla can use the training with others and we could stimulate more interest in this course for a future visit.

Summary of situation in Dimapur

Dimapur is a bustling multi cultural town with enormous scope for ministry. The prayer centre is doing a wonderful job in such poor circumstances to bring healing and wholeness and salvation to some of the poorest people in the world and is reaching people of all faiths. Pastor Bendang is uncertain about his future but is prepared to stay unless God calls him elsewhere. The other prayer warriors are committed to a life of prayer and fasting showing enormous commitment and dedication. In the future we hope Yanger Jamir and Revd Shiwoto will lead courses in discipleship which will help keep them growing in their faith and we trust we will hear many more stories of life changing miracles and healings coming from the prayer centre in the future.

Final Comments:

All of the team wish to express their thanks to everyone for their loyal financial and prayer support for this mission trip. For each one of us it was a remarkable and life changing experience where we received far more than we gave. We were very aware of people’s prayers and James BC’s exhortation just prior to departure was very relevant when we faced difficulties. Especially when Linda damaged her ankle, we were so aware of God’s advance provision for all she needed to continue the trip and gain from it. She was greatly upheld in prayer and a real witness to all in the way she handled such a difficult situation.

In the last 6 years working in Nagaland, we have taken 29 different people on mission – 19 from SCCC, 3 from other churches and 7 from the local community which means that this isolated, forgotten corner of the world is well known in our locality. We trust that we will be encouraged by further developments in 2011 and will see the work particularly in the village work towards greater sustainability and greater income generation as the villagers rise up economically but above all spiritually.

Lynda Hulcoop November 2010