Forwarding agent - Cal and Martha

Calvin and Martha Emmerson share responsibility as Forwarding Agents for the North India Christian Mission (NICM) which is located in the Punjab of India near the capital city of Chandigarh.

Calvin has a Bachelor's and a Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN where he graduated with honors in 1962. Now retired from the Aerospace Industry, he held a number of responsible positions relating to gas turbine engine design during his professional career. He retired from Allison Engine Company, now Rolls-Royce Corporation, in June 1999.

Martha has a Bachelor degree in Business Administration from Indiana Wesleyan. She is retired from A T & T where she worked as an Engineer in both California and Indiana.

Calvin and Martha are the parents of two children and proud grandparents of two beautiful granddaughters. The Emmersons recently relocated to San Diego, California to be near family.

The Lord has been the center of their home and Cal and Martha have been very active in the church their entire 47 years of marriage. Martha has been a leader in various children's activities and Calvin has taught adult Sunday School classes. He has also acted as Elder in 5 different congregations. They have both participated in music ministries and have served on various mission boards.

Cal and Martha met Deepak and Simmi Dhingra, Directors of NICM, in 1995 while they were members of the Eastview Christian Church, Martinsville, IN. North India Christian Mission was officially formed in 1997 and Cal and Martha became members of the Board of Directors. In 2004, they agreed to serve as Forwarding Agents, and continue to serve in this capacity.

Evangelism
In order to effectively share the Gospel message with the people , a good connection needs to be established with the people. No amount of Pastor's training can help our local evangelists and pastors to do this overnight. In order to break the ice, our field workers have to understand the people and their needs and their world view, customs, family traditions, view of God, religious practices and so on. To do this, our missionaries have to spend time with the people. House visits are one of the key things that our men have to do and most of the times can be quite a mountanious task. But keeping the ultimate goal in mind about our lives are simply to be a witness and we are called to be His ambassadors,need to keep on working with people through our little bitty contacts that mostly comes from our medical camps,schools for kids,feeding the lepers, poor and orphans and taking care of the needs of widows and working in the community by providing water in one of our tankers , our missionaries press on untiringly looking for an opportunity to share the good news. After a period of time, a bridge of trust is built and the people begin to realise that the missionaries are there to help them and not to hurt them. Once this happens, the Gospel can effectively be preached.

Church planting
It is the primary objective of the North India Christian Missions. To establish a church where no church exists is the foundation of NICM's ministry. NICM's message through our pastors and evangelists is essentially about Christ’s love for the world, the sinful nature of man and the salvation by faith that is available to those who surrender to God. In the course of time, the interested seekers are invited to a prayer meetings at home church,cell groups and in little schools, where the Word of God is preached. When the people respond to the Gospel, the church is formed. But the task does not end there. Potential leaders are identified and trained to lead their own people. When the emerging church begins to stand on her feet, the pastoral and the loal church leaders are asked to take over and NICM just oversees the ongoing work and also encurahes the same church to plant seeds in their community. `So neither he who plants, nor he who waters is anything, but only God makes things grow’ (I Cor 3:7).

Healthcare
It seems strange but one cannot deny the truth. In an urban area, where transportation and medical facilities are available mostly, the need for these is not as acutely felt as in a rural area where these are almost absent. In many mission fields, Malaria,leprosy,mouth related diseases and Tuberculosis have yet to be eradicated. For those who are ignorant or cannot afford treatment, the way out is a painful and hopeless end. It was into this situation that NICM felt the need to contribute in some way to help alleviate the suffering of the people among whom we work. The Health care wing of the Field Ministries department consists of one two doctor-run clinic in Barwala mission centre and from here all NICM's missionaries are trained to deal with emergencies. They are even involved in rushing seriously ill patients to the nearest medical facility.Medical camps are held regularly under the leadershiop of Dr.Soni and Dr.Panwar.Hundereds have come to know theLord thru the medical camps.


Hostels
Most of our missionaries work in remote places where good educational facilities are nearly absent. NICM leaders realized the need for good education for their kids,while they are serving God and NICM and decided to start hostels for their children.These childrens have a daily schedule which includes prayer, Bible teaching, counselling as well as academic coaching. The children are educated at our christian school situated in our mission centre in Barwala. As a result of this ministry, many children have not only excelled academically but also understood the love of Christ. After all, these precious lives are the future pillars of the church.



Literacy
And how can they read unless they learn the language? Go back to the time when as a little child, your babbling turned into comprehensible sounds. Then you graduated to small words and sentences and finally were able to read and write well. It’s would have been a long and arduous journey turning literate. But you went through the normal process. In other words, as you grew physically, you also grew mentally, emotionally, socially and so on.
But most of the people living in villages,shanty homes and tribals are illiterate. In other words, they did not have the opportunity to be educated. Therefore even when they turned adults, they were unable to read and write .So our missionaries not only translate the Bible but they also teach the people how to read and write. We have Adult Literacy Programmes in some mission fields. This is yet to catch on in all fields. Once the people understand, read and write in their own language, they can grow in their knowledge of God. GNPI studios-Chandigarh comes in to help us record Bible sermon and Bible itself in Punjabi and other local dialects and spread the Good news amongst the illiterte people of North India.

Disaster Management
Our world is filled with disasters. Most of them catch us unprepared and they leave us wondering how to cope with such situations. In the course of our ministry, our missionaries have discovered many disasters on the mission fields- some caused accidentally (human error), others caused by people opposed to the Gospel and thirdly because of natural causes like floods, water scarcity,hunger,illness and so on. In any case, the need to help the people is primary.With the help of IDES and friends,we have been able to quench the thrist of thousands of people with digging bore wells and able to help the orphans,widows and lepers with temporary homes,food packets,blankets and sheets and thus hundereds of people have accepted Christ through these small acts.



Ministry to the children
Jesus said, "Let the children come to me and forbid them not…" Children are the pillars of tomorrow. How we teach them today will be seen in how they live tomorrow. Our missionaries have recognized this and therefore are involved in a special ministry to children. One of the primary ways of reaching out to children is through the Vacation Bible School. This is proven to be a powerful way of generating an interest in God’s Word besides delving into the lives of these little ones. And little ones learn very fast…much faster than their parents. Little ones also see the light of the Gospel much faster and respond to Christ’s love. Another way is through free schooling and tuitions. These little schoools and tuition classes begin with prayer and a time of singing before taking up History, Geography, English and Mathematics.
NICM is giving free education to hundereds of orphans,rag pickers,abused kids and lepers childrens.Mark 9:36,37.


New fields
If any endeavour has to be successful, it needs to be `surveyed’. Survey can be likened to buying a plot of land. The aspect of the land needs to be observed and measured. Documents need to be scrutinized and experts consulted before the land is finally bought. Survey is vital to the selection of new mission fields. Before a missionary is called or is assigned to a new area, a team of NICM's leaders visit the area, gather information like the geographical location, religious background, and whether any other Mission is already working there. Next, the survey team identifies a suitable village where a missionary can be placed. Apart from church planting, and If the area is disease prone, the need for medical missionaries to hold medical camps regularly.

Partnership
NICM was firt was born as a result of partnerships. Our first partners were our prayer partners and Eastview Christian Church and then followed by several others including individuals and mission agencies.Having forged such partnerships, we have found that the people are more responsive to the Gospel. For example, when we dig bore wells in drought affected areas, feeding the Lepers and helping the widows and orphans,the response is one of gratefulness to us and thankfulness to God. In this way they realize that we are interested in their personal well being as well as their spiritual well being. When it comes to disasters, timely help can not only alleviate human suffering but also lead them closer to the Lord. James 1:27