THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, December 1, 1994 TAG: 9411290130
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 07 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Religion
SOURCE: BY JOAN C. STANUS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 91 lines
KENNY BRYANT'S RECENT pilgrimage to the poorest reaches of rural India was almost like traveling ``back into Biblical times.''
For almost three weeks, this Norfolk native lived with poverty-ridden Indian families in their small mud huts in the western part of India. Running water, electricity and sanitation facilities were nonexistent.
Like the families he stayed with, Bryant bathed in polluted rivers and streams. He used open fields and ditches like outhouses. He shooed away rats and roaches from his food, and slept alongside cows.
He ate variations of rice ``for breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert.''
But he also witnessed firsthand the power of faith. He saw at least 800 Indian people gather in a field one night to watch a movie about Jesus Christ. Some had walked hours to get there.
He saw people come forward and publicly convert to Christianity in spite of the likelihood that they would be outcast by friends and family, face community discrimination and lose their jobs.
And he experienced the kindness and generosity of Indian villagers anxious to make a warm welcome and comfortable stay for a Christian minister.
``Spiritually, my visit was a 10, with 10 being the very best possible,'' said Bryant, a 32-year-old pastor at Tabernacle Church of Norfolk. ``When these Indian people heard, `God so gave the world that he gave his only begotten son,' they were just so drawn.
``They wanted to know more, because Christianity could offer them some hope and give them something to believe in. Over there, there is no hope. Their society is poor and, because of the caste system, once you're poor, you're always poor. There's no financial hope, and they don't look at that as possible.
``But they do want a spiritual life. . . . They want eternal security. So they're willing to endure hardships and sacrifice in order to have Jesus Christ in their lives.''
Bryant traveled to India in October to meet with N.J. Varughese, a Christian pastor and the director of a nondemoninational ministry in the rural areas of the country's Birhar state. Traveling with Bryant and Varughese were four other Westerners, including Bob Walker, a member of Tabernacle's missionary board.
The men visited the Indian ministry to find ways their church could help spread the Christian gospel to the Indian people.
``We're debating now what we can do to help,'' Bryant said after his return home. ``We want to do something substantial . . . but we just don't know what that should be right now.''
The Granby Street-based evangelical church of about 1,000 members already supports 100 missionaries and projects in dozens of countries around the world, including the Ukraine, Pakistan, Brazil, Azerbaijan, Spain and the Philippines.
``We're a very missions-minded congregation,'' Bryant explained. ``Fifty percent of our annual budget goes to world missions . . . which translates into about a half-million dollars a year.''
In recent years, Christian churches like Tabernacle that support mission work have discovered that it costs far more to send Americans into other countries than it does to support work done by nationals, Bryant said. Many countries like India also have stopped granting visas to American missionaries.
``If Christian churches are looking for the most bang from their bucks, training natives to do evangelical work is the way to go,'' he said. ``Nationals already know the culture and the language. They have more access to places and in people's lives than westerners do. The new trend for world missions is to support nationals.''
For Bryant, however, the trip was also a personal odyssey. Before the trip, this father of two never had traveled outside the United States, much less to a Third World country.
``I experienced a great deal of culture shock,'' he said. ``At one point, I got sick and couldn't eat. Luckily, my secretary packed me some sea rations.
``But, yes, I would go back. These people don't have anything, but they would do anything for you. And they're so spiritually minded. In this country, so many people take Christianity for granted. But, despite all the discriminations, the Indian people yearn for Jesus in their lives . . . because he is the only answer to help them endure the rats, the plague and the other hardships they must face. It's very moving to witness.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Kenny Bryant, right, was greeted by Indian villagers with a
ceremonial washing of the hands.
Photo by GARY C. KNAPP
Bob Walker, left, and Kenny Bryant of Tabernacle Church of Norfolk
recently returned from a mission to the rural reaches of India.
by CNB