)
After the most recent issue of GO Magazine was released, which focuses on disability and neurodiversity in mission, we received a correspondence from a supporter who worked with Interserve in the 1950’s when it was known as the Bible and Medical Missionary Fellowship (BMMF).
Her words were encouraging to us, confirming the continued mission and heart for this organisation to serve people and share the Good News of Jesus Christ, and the particular mission to serve disabled and neurodiverse populations highlighted in our most recent edition of GO Magazine.
Here is her message to our National Director, Phil:
“Dear Phil,
Just having received and read GO Magazine from cover to cover and, being a lifelong friend and worker among people with disabilities, I thought you’d like to know of how BMMF was a pioneer in this field in the 1950’s!
In 1957 I was a teacher in a Grammar School for Blind Girls in Chorleywood, and I wanted to take four of the students to a Christian Summer Camp. I tried a number of organisations who dismissed my enquiries. Finally I asked BMMF if they could join an Ambassadors’ Camp – Ambassadors being the Youth Work of BMMF, from which numerous missionaries evolved over the years.
The students were welcomed with open arms, and at the first camp three of the four came to a living faith in Jesus. One student later was accepted to work as a Physio in Nepal with the BMMF. A second student, after getting a degree at Oxford and starting to think about becoming a teacher, was, after a lot of the usual type of refusals, taken on as a teacher by a school in Thailand. Later, under VSO and with a lot of fellowship there with OMF missionaries, she did her year of service. Again, after teaching in a prestigious girls’ school, she trained to be a Vicar- which she is still qualified to be to this day, though she is in poor health now and, like the others, is 80 years old!
The third girl who became a Christian at the camp later got married, and with her husband worked in Madras. They set up a still flourishing organisation called Christian Foundation for the Blind.
I am still in regular touch with the three students still alive, including the one who never expressed her thoughts about the camp, but who knows?
When I myself returned from South Asia in the 1980’s, I went back to work in Chorleywood College and took another teacher with me to a BMMF/Interserve House Party where she too was called to work among the blind in Central Asia, but that’s another story!
I hope this might give you, and maybe others, some encouragement as people respond in various ways to the current edition of GO Magazine.
God bless you and all the ongoing work,
-Jeanette”
Thank you, Jeanette for sharing this encouragement and a little bit about your story, reminding us of the rich history of Interserve that we are carrying on today with the help of our partners in service and the generous donations of our supporters. These combined efforts enable Interserve to continue seeking whole-life transformation amongst the peoples of Asia & the Arab World.
Have you considered making a donation to support Interserve’s vision of seeing the lives and communities of the peoples of Asia & the Arab World transformed through encounter with Jesus Christ?
To learn more about donating, please click here.
If you’re interested in a more intentional way of connecting with our vision and mission, we would invite you to learn about The Weavers, The Weavers is a community of committed supporters across GBI who pray, give, and champion the work of Interserve.
Join the Interserve Weavers
Could you commit to give regularly to support God’s work through Interserve?
View More