Mission volunteers bring smiles to Indian faces_30804

Posted: 3/05/04

Mission volunteers bring smiles to Indian faces

By Toby Druin

Editor Emeritus

WAXAHACHIE–Robert Cox and Walter Jones returned to Texas from India with smiles on their faces–smiles almost as broad as those worn by the hundreds of people whose teeth they worked on and the thousands who found faith in Jesus Christ while they were there.

Cox and Jones are fellow members of First Baptist Church of Waxahachie. For the last several years–five trips in six years for Cox and three for Jones–they have been part of a group sponsored by evangelist Tom Cox (no relation to Robert Cox) and his wife, Kay, doing evangelism and medical missions in remote villages along the southeast coast of India.

A dentist in Waxahachie for 45 years, Cox retired in 2000 but stays current in dental techniques. Jones, who serves as his assistant, holding a flashlight and sterilizing equipment, was a transportation coordinator for Coca Cola for 23 years before retiring in 1998.

This year, for two weeks they joined 71 other people from 18 states, all paying their own way, to share the gospel of Christ, do dental work, fit eyeglasses and tend to other medical needs among people who are desperately poor and have little chance of getting medical attention otherwise.

They ministered in five cities. Cox and Jones, as they have in previous years, were among four groups of 26 volunteers who worked around Bobbili, a city of 300,000 near the coast, about halfway between Madras and Calcutta.

The volunteers were housed each night in a girls school compound operated by an Indian Christian couple, who minister to 175 girls as well as operate an orphanage there and care for another 125 boys in another facility.

Each day a team consisting of a pastor/team leader, two counselors, a nurse and a dentist, physician and optometrist went to the outlying villages to meet the needs of the people. For almost all of them, the yearly visits from the Americans are their only opportunity for medical care. For instance, Cox said, only one government dentist has the responsibility for all of the people of Bobbili.

The trips to India are made in late January and February to take advantage of the dry season, which permits travel over dirt roads to remote villages. This year, however, it rained for several days after their arrival, limiting travel into some areas. Nevertheless, they were able to treat hundreds of people, pulling their teeth or giving them medicine to ease their pain. The optometrist with Cox's and Jones' team fitted people with 1,136 pairs of glasses during the 10 days. Most of the glasses were donated by the Waxahachie Lions Club and members of First Baptist Church.

Before the medical clinics are held, the people who come for treatment are presented a gospel message. This year, more than 2,000 indicated they were making a decision to accept Christ as Savior. They will be counseled by local pastors to make sure they understand their decision, a process that often takes as much as two years. Those who follow through on it will be baptized and become members of local churches in the future. About 150 were baptized in a compound tank during Cox's and Jones' visit this year.

“There are a lot of rewards in making this trip,” said Jones. “It is a time of spiritual awakening and renewal for me. I get as much out of it as the people we visit, and it was especially significant this year to see 150 people baptized at the same time. Many church members may not see 150 people baptized in a lifetime. Another 100 were baptized at another site.”

The area is dominated by the Hindu religion, and Hindu priests try to influence the people not to attend the clinics, said Cox.

“On our last day there this year,” he said, “we were in a village where we had never had a ministry. It was an area with a strong Hindu influence, and often the Hindu priests spread rumors that bad things will happen to people who accept treatment. Because of that, only five people would allow me to extract teeth. Another 15 or 20 came through and said they wanted medicine only, so I was only able to give them Tylenol or Ibuprofen for their pain.”

“Nevertheless,” he added, “they are required to talk to the counselor after seeing me, and while I thought the clinic had been a disaster, she told me that 20 of them had made professions of faith in Christ.”

Cox and Jones also participated in the dedication of two church buildings, both in outlying villages. The buildings, about 17 by 28 feet and constructed of mud bricks, replaced bamboo huts.

Because individual members of First Baptist Church of Waxahachie have provided much of the $3,000 funding for the buildings, the churches have taken on that name–Third First Baptist Church of Waxahachie in Chinnavalsa and Fourth First Baptist Church of Waxahachie in Nakkodavalsa.

The Indian Christians do not erect a building until there are at least 10 families in the congregation. A building is a special witness to the community, said Cox, since many villages have no public buildings.

At the dedication in Nakkodavalsa, Cox said, the church members met them a half mile from the village with drums, a horn and a man who whistled.

“They danced and celebrated while leading us to the village,” he said. “A sign welcomed us, and when we got there, we marched three times counterclockwise around the church, signifying the Father, Son and Holy Ghost and then had prayer at the door and a ribbon-cutting ceremony. Besides those of us on the stage, there were 120 people seated in the building, all four windows were crowded with people looking in, and it was standing room only around the door. The people were ecstatic.”

Though Cox and Jones pay their own expenses, their Sunday school department and First Baptist Church of Waxahachie have contributed to the work. The church contributed $1,000 for medical supplies for the most recent trip.

Cox made his first trip to India in 1997, following his son, David, who lives in Weatherford and who also is a dentist and had been enlisted by Tom and KayCox.

On his first trip a year earlier, David Cox had met a woman who told him she had been praying for a year that God would send someone to help her baby, who had been born with a cleft palate and lip. David Cox and the area director of the Baptist ministry in India found a reconstructive surgeon who volunteered to do the surgery on the young boy, Karthik Desari, for free, and Cox's Sunday school department gave $1,000 to pay for a month's hospitalization.

“The Hindu priests had told the mother that the gods were persecuting her and her family for being Christians,” said Robert Cox. “But nine more people accepted Christ because of what was done for them.”

David Cox held dental clinics there the next year, and the 4-year-old boy served as a doorman for the clinic.

Tragically, however, the next year he was bitten by a cobra and died. The balance of the money that had been contributed for his continuing care was spent for a memorial to him in the shape of a cross.

When the boy's village gave land for a church, Cox's and Jones' Sunday school department raised $3,000 for the building, and they dedicated the Karthik Memorial Baptist Church to his memory.

“Karthik had a tremendous impact, even in death,” said Cox. “Some 75 people have become Christians because of his influence.”

Both Cox and Jones plan to return to India.

“I will go back for sure,” said Jones, “although I don't know about the coming year. I have to go back to check on the seeds we planted this year. We had 451 in our group who raised their hands indicating they had accepted Christ. Many will backslide because of peer pressure, but enough of the 451 will continue that from them more will come to Christ. We are planting the seeds of the Christian religion in India.”