Witnessing history

As many of you know by now, I (Gina) was privileged to be able to travel to Bangladesh two weeks ago with the Eurasia Communications team to report on an event that has historical significance for our denomination. It was an AMAZING experience and one that it has been difficult to articulate because it was so overwhelming and there are so many things to describe.

I wanted to share a little with you about this trip in hopes that it will bring you closer to what God is doing in Bangladesh.

During my visit, I learned that Bangladesh is a very special place in our church. It is one of the only places in the world where our church was first opened not by foreign missionaries but by talented, passionate and committed people from inside that country.

A Bible study group that was meeting in the capital city in the early 1990s had written a letter to the office here in Switzerland. The letter asked if our church would be willing to come to their country. To make a long story short, leaders from this office met them and decided they were the perfect people to start the church in this new land, and that they didn't need any missionaries to help them.

It was a risk for our denomination, as it had never been done before to have brand new Nazarenes open the church in a country. What if they didn't really understand the DNA of our church or how and why we do things? What if they weren't loyal to our theological beliefs?

Fast forward 17 years. Bangladesh is now a district that is self-supporting. They have organized more than 1,000 churches (the average district size for our denomination is 57 churches). Last year, 36 students from the country graduated from a seminary program through South Asia Nazarene Bible College. Two weeks ago, 194 were set to graduate. These same people were going to be ordained the next day -- the largest number of people to be ordained as elders in our denomination in our 100-year history.

On top of that, 30 of these graduates and new elders were women. This is also the largest number of women to be ordained at one time in our 100-year history.

My job during these events was to photograph the services and ceremonies, to interview people and to come back with a series of articles and interviews about this moment in our church.

I have never been east of Austria. I have never seen what we call a "third world country" or a developing nation with my own eyes. I've seen lots of pictures and heard stories from many others who have visited places like this. But to get off the plane and to experience with all five senses what really is a whole different world from my own was an amazing experience.

I was bombarded by 95-degree heat and 150% humidity. There was so much moisture in the air that it looked foggy. The trees were heavy with big green papaya fruits, coconuts and bananas. The city streets were a chaotic mass of bicycles, rickshaws (exotically colorful bicycle-driven carts that people rent like taxis), small green autorickshaws (the SmartCar of South Asia), dump trucks, buses, sedans and vans -- all driving in any open spot they could find on the road and honking incessantly. It was so overwhelming it took me a while to realize that people drive on the left side of the road.

Not in Kansas anymore.

I was able to spend some time touring the Nazarene District Center in a growing urban area on the edge of Dhaka, and to meet some amazing young men and women who are leading compassionate ministries throughout the district. They travel to visit child development centers and collect reports on the children who are receiving free meals and education at these centers. In many of these centers, parents are also given vocational training or microlending projects such as fish or shrimp farms. Sometimes they are taught better agricultural techniques. All of this gradually improves the economics of a village or area, and the people see the love of Christ exhibited as the church reaches out without condition or strings attached.

Among the young people coordinating this work is a young woman named Tina, who said she grew up in the capital. People told her that, as a city girl, she wouldn't be able to do the hard work of visiting rural villages where there's no electricity or running water. But she told me that she loves working with the people, and this love continually drives her to travel and meet with the villages to learn their needs and bring important services to them.

After a few days rest and getting ready in Dhaka, our group began the long drive north to where the big event was going to take place.

I'll tell you about the next couple days in a subsequent post so it doesn't get too long.