Obedience to the call of God
In
1988 God called a young couple to the country of Nepal to work with the
Tibetan people. Joe and Tanna Collins never knew the impact their
decision to follow the Lord would have. In July of 1990 Joe and Tanna
and three children April, Caleb, and Samuel left Greenville, South
Carolina for the country of Nepal. Over the next 2 short
years Joe and Tanna would experience a great touch from God.
Joe enrolled in language school and immediately begin to learn
the language of the people God had called him to. But University
study was not enough as Joe also hired a tutor so that he could
progress rapidly in his language studies. But with all the study
and tutoring only God could empower Joe with the ability to learn both
the nepali and the tibetan languages in less than 2 years. In
the fall of 1991 just over a year after arriving in the country of
Nepal Joe started a fellowship meeting in Bouhda a subburb of Katmandu.
In November of that same year Tanna gave birth to twin son's Daniel and
Joseph, their 4th and 5th children. During her pregnancy Tanna became
ill and was restricted to the bed for 30 days until the babies were
born. About 2 weeks after returning home from the hospital, after
the boys' birth, Joe and Tanna were approached about taking in an
abandoned infant girl. This was the beginning of the childrens home
which eventually grew to 8 children by the summer of 1992. Joe
had been praying for some time before about providing a home for the
beggar children that he had met and befriended. The infant girl
was confirmation for Joe of God's leading in his life to start a home.
The money needed to start and run the home was provided by the
Lord almost instantly. Tanna began in January of 1992, less than
6 weeks after being ill while giving birth to the twins, teaching
the boys in the home. The fellowship meeting in the town of
Bouhda had two baptized believers. In July of 1992 Tanna's health
had gotten worse and Joe took her out of the country to Thailand to
rest. After a 3 week break, while flying back into Katmandu,
Nepal the airlines carrying Joe and Tanna Collins and their 5 children
April, Caleb, Samuel, Daniel, and Joseph crashed killing everyone
onboard. There were no bodies recovered. Today, on top of a
mountain stands a long rock wall with the names of 114 people carved
into marble stones. All of them died but were never found. What now of the work that God had directed Joe and Tanna to start? What for the children whom God had put into the care of Joe and Tanna? Had God raised this work up to simply end it so abruptly?
What Must We Do?
It
was a hot summer day in July when Bro. Jerry and Sis. Martha Sellers
learned of the plane crash that had taken the lives of their daughter,
her husband, and their 5 grandchildren. It was early on a Friday
morning when the phone call came. That Friday night and Saturday
God dealt with Bro. Jerry's heart about the continuation of the work in
Nepal. On Sunday Morning he stood before the Church that he
pastored at the time and preached as he always had before. Over the
next several months God worked in many ways to confirm the calling to
continue the work in Nepal. Over the next several months the
Bouhda Baptist Fellowship was organized into a local, New Testament
Church. Over the last 15 years Bouhda Baptist has grown in
attendance to over 300. They have seen 7 other Churches started
in the villages to the North, South, East, and West. Their are
presently 4 fellowships in existance that need pastors and need to be
organized into Churches. To God Be the Glory.