Woodside to Bring Aid and Build Amity in Asia

After months of preparing themselves physically and spiritually, 11 members of Woodside Bible Church will depart later this month for Kashmir, located on the northern borders of India and Pakistan and the southwestern border of China.

The group will traverse the Himalayas to build relationships with Tibetan nomads and provide school children with basic necessities. While members of Woodside journey around the world on mission trips throughout the year, members said this voyage will be particularly challenging.

“We’ll be working at very high altitudes,” said Brad Hulcy, pastor at Woodside. Participating missionaries have been running, biking and building endurance to prepare for the grueling and challenging trek. The group will bring Diamox, a medication used to treat altitude sickness, and emergency oxygen. Members who have a respiratory illness or are more than 20 pounds overweight were discouraged from going on this mission.

“Everyone has to be in really good condition. Our living conditions will be pretty spartan. We’re going to be sleeping in tents and backpacking. We’ll be using yaks to get into some of these areas.”

The missionaries will be in Asia for two weeks and their intention is to bring aid and build friendships with an area of the world where the Bible is scarcely read. According to Hulcy, they are not going as evangelists.

“Our trip is more humanitarian,” he said. Due to safety concerns, they will not preach or share the Word of God during their stay. Several years ago, the headmaster of the school where they will be working was nearly stoned to death for her Christian beliefs, Hulcy said.

For the first week, they will stay in the homes of Buddhists while they install a solar electrical system at the local school. Woodside has sent $10,000 to purchase equipment for the electrical install and $6,000 for a playground to be built. The second week will be spent making contact with Tibetan nomads and providing stoves for them. Hulcy hopes this trip will serve as an introduction to people who have little exposure to the Christian faith.

“It’s an opportunity to form future ministries in there,” he said. “It’s an initial first time meeting. We’re at the very, very beginning. We’re just trying to build a relationship.”

According to Hulcy, Kashmir is a contested area between India, China and Pakistan. Although religious intolerance can pose a physical threat to Christians, the group has taken safety precautions and they are looking forward to the journey.

“I’ve been to so many countries and there’s always an element of risk,” Hulcy said. “I don’t know if I’ve ever been anywhere where I’ve felt fear. We do everything as a group. We have translators with us and have prepared ourselves by learning about the culture.”

The missionaries range in age from 23 to 58 and consist of both men and women. Hulcy is looking forward to not only bringing aid to Kashmir, but to testing his own perseverance.

“I love the challenge of it,” he said. “I’m an outdoorsman and I like the adventure of it.”