Baptist Global Response

In this new BGR iWitness video, Jeff Palmer takes you to Delhi, India, where pastors and church planters are learning hands-on skills for community development projects in their home countries.

This just received from BGR international prayer coordinator Lori Funderburk: BGR has formed a partnership with a Singapore-based development organization that is establishing a farming operation in India. This farm will help support Indian workers in several states. BGR is providing community development training to 30 of their national workers from 9 states in India as well as Nepal, Bangladesh, Singapore and Bhutan. The training will be Oct. 27-29. Additionally, BGR has arranged for an expert in goat farming to come during this same time and provide some training to the farm workers in the best, most productive methods for raising a healthy herd of goats. Pray that BGR personnel will be able be effective communicators of community development principles. Pray for the success of this farm. Pray that those trained this week will take what they learn back to their places of service and that they will see Kingdom Development take place.

A vast multitude of poor villagers in southern India are trekking back to washed-out homes and ruined farmlands after the worst rains in 100 years set off devastating floods in early October.

Southern Baptist field partners are assessing needs and preparing an emergency response for some of the estimated 1.5 million people who are leaving relief camps to see what, if anything is left of their homes, said Francis Horton, who with his wife, Angie, directs work in Central and South Asia for Baptist Global Response.

“Local partners tell me conditions are very bad and it appears the principal needs right now are emergency food and water,” Horton said. “Please pray for the affected people in this area to get the relief they need. The state of Karnataka has been a focal point for persecution of Christians this past year.”

About 300 people are confirmed dead and thousands more are missing in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka states, according to news reports. The floods came just as many farmers had planted winter crops – much of which now has been washed away or damaged. To compound the problem, family food stores were destroyed with their homes, leaving many people with nothing to eat.

The area had been suffering from months of drought before the week of torrential downpours that caused the flooding.

“We’re able to respond quickly in emergencies like this because Southern Baptists have given so generously to their World Hunger Fund and disaster response. They are truly people who care about people in need,” said Jim Brown, BGR’s U.S. director. “With so many disasters in recent weeks, we hope they will make an extra effort to reach out to the millions of people in India, Indonesia, and the Philippines who need to experience the compassion of Jesus Christ in their time of need.”

Updates on the relief effort will be available at gobgr.org, along with information on how to give to Southern Baptist disaster response and the World Hunger Fund.

News has just been posted about a project in India that is preventing starvation in villages where floods wiped out crops and food supplies. Through their World Hunger Fund, Southern Baptists are providing a month’s food for 104 families and assisting 24 farmers with crop planting.

For more information on this and other new projects in Central and South Asia, click here.