Skinner's Garden

This land that was laid waste has become like the garden of Eden (Garden of delight) Ezek 36:35
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 Pure Religion and undefiled before God and the father is this, To visit the 
                                         fatherless and widows in their afflictions; Jas 1:27
 
• CHILDREN’S HOME: We are operating a Children Home for orphans and semi-orphans for boys and girls ages 4 years to 15 years. We have good accommodation and facilities even though the space is somewhat cramped. We also have a Elementary school in our compound and a High school is just cross the road. The local church meets at Skinner’s Garden and all the children attend Sunday school and worship services. In the holidays and weekends we take them in turns to the villages for distribution of tracts and meetings. And also we have morning devotion time and evening devotion, where children sing, read scripture and have prayers for those in need.
We also teach a certificate course in Typing. We hope someday to have computer courses, providing we FIND SOMEONE TO COME FORWARD TO HELP US TO BUY THE COMPUTER EQUIPMENT.
• WIDOW’S HOME: In India, the widow life is very miserable. They need some kind of shelter, food, clothing, as well as care and concern. We provide that to them at Skinner’s Garden. We have  some staying in the compound and help with the children and some come for one meal a day. When missionaries come with the contributions from you brethren, they distribute clothing and blankets to many widows, including the ones that live with us at the compound.
. PREACHER’S TRAINING SCHOOL (Men):  We call it SGBS, Skinner’s Garden Bible School (SGBS). It is a two year course for 15 students with good accommodations, a great Library facility with a Television, DVD player and many books in native language and English language. We have trained and experienced teachers as faculty.
  
Visakha Valley Bible College (VVBC) It was established in the year
 

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          Ps 133: how blessed all brother hood together, Blessings & Eternal Life

 

 

.PREACHERS' FELLOWSHIP MEETINGS: Every Friday of each week in a month we conduct Preacher’s fellowship meetings to strengthening the Preachers and edify the local congregations. Fifteen (15) make up a team and we go to the specified places. We take complete Bibles, New Testaments, and tracts along with a sound system and megaphone. We plan these meetings a year in advance and print the schedules in a booklet that we send to the preachers. We specify the topics to be discussed, depending upon the need at that location. We have both morning and afternoon sessions in these meetings. At end of the afternoon session we baptize those that respond during that day. We also make special efforts to convert denominational “pastors” that are present. Sometimes, when they obey, they request us to come to their places and conduct meetings to preach the truth to their members. In the evenings we go into the village streets handing out tracts and New Testaments while singing songs and quoting scriptures and invite them to the night services.

In the night meetings we preach the Gospel of Christ in an open area. When someone responds to the invitation we will baptize them the same hour of the night. We present the Bibles to each new Christian that has obeyed the Gospel of Christ. If anyone wants to discuss further with us, we stay until their questions are answered or their doubts are cleared up. It is well after midnight before we make our journey back to Skinner’s Garden. In this manner we conduct Preacher’s fellowship meetings in East Godavari, West Godavari, Krishna, Khammam, Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram, Nalgonda, Warangal, Hyderabad and Rangareddy Districts. Recently we started going to the neighboring state of Orissa. The benefits of these Preacher’s Fellowship Meetings are many, including: Converting Denominational Preachers and entire Churches, Planting new Churches, Church Edification, Gospel Outreach Programs, Bible and tract distribution.
For us to reach some far away districts, we must start on Thursday and spend the night some where near the middle of our journey. When we wake-up in the morning, we must find some place to bathe and eat a breakfast before we continue our journey to the specified place. 

                                                                                          
• TAILORING INSTITUTE: We have a tailor that makes the clothing for the children. This includes the school uniforms, every day clothing, and special clothing for birthdays and holidays. The tailor also teaches sewing to the girls in the Orphans Home and to the Bible School girls. This is for the purpose of preparing them to be a self-employment asset after they go out from Skinner’s Garden.

• DRIVING INSTITUTE: We have a full time handyman that also serves as our primary driver and driver trainer. This is very important because of the safety required for driving in our country. This handyman drives us to the various gospel meetings and campaigns with area churches. He also will drive the sick of the villages to the hospital when needed. His duties include teaching driving skills to the older boys at the orphanage and to the young men in the preacher training school. I also serve as one of the drivers and assist with driver training and have done so since 1982.

• TYPEWRITING INSTITUTE: We have a Instructor to teach typing courses to the boys and girls at the orphanage and to the young men students of the preachers school. It is in our future plans to have computer courses, provided the funds become available. This is an important need.

• WATER & MEDICAL SUPPLY: Skinners Garden is in the village of Singampalli. This a village experiences daily power losses for up to eight (8) hours in the rainy season and for twelve (12) hours in the summer months. This is something that happens all over India. This is also the time when the problem of water comes up in the villages. At Skinners Garden we have a generator and use it for our needs as well as that of the village to supply drinking water. We have two deep-water wells but one of them, the one in the compound at Skinners Garden, is not working properly and will have to be dug again. Our second well is located about a half-mile away at the Daniel Whitworth Memorial Garden where we grow vegetables and keep the milk cows.

At the Whitworth Garden we raise much of the food for the children at Skinner’s Garden and take care of our milk cows. We also raise fish for food in a tank (pond) that the children have helped us dig.

This is rural area where no hospitals are available. Patients have to go eight (8) miles just to get medication or treatment. For this reason we conduct medical camps and invite the Doctors from the near by towns to treat our children as well as those in the village. We also use our Van (Omnibus) to take the children, students, widows and patients in the village for emergency visits to the hospital.

            We are praying for the day when we can have a Clinic at Skinner’s Garden to take care of the children, students, and the residents of the village of Singampalli.