Even after coming home in 2002, Naylor stayed involved with the hospital, making frequent visits to Bangalore Baptist Hospital and the people she loves.
“Bangalore is, even now, a second home, and I’ve been able to return frequently,” she told Baylor’s alumni magazine in 2022 when the university honored her service to the church. “It’s the people, the relationships. Bangalore is very significant in my life.”
Naylor was recognized during an IMB event at the recent Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting, where IMB President Paul Chitwood noted her medical service and her strategic work in helping Indian pastors start hundreds of churches.
“Her work and her life speak for themselves,” Chitwood told RNS in an email. “She has been a proponent of the gospel of grace and physical and spiritual healing for the people of South Asia for more than 50 years.”
Naylor said she is hopeful for the future of medical missions. There’s still a need for hospitals, she said, but also for clinics and other health care options. Health care professionals have a host of opportunities to teach doctors, nurses and other health care workers around the world. And missionaries can also help with providing mental health services.
“This is a huge crisis worldwide,” she said, adding that missionaries have long provided care for those who have no other options.
In retirement, Naylor said she hopes to find more time to play the piano, especially the music of Bach, one of her favorite composers. She also hopes to read; to travel for pleasure, rather than for work; and to spend time with her friends. She’ll also help out at her church, teaching a Bible study and helping oversee the church’s health clinic.
“I’m not worried about having something to do.”
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This article originally appeared on ReligionNews.com.
