Collection 508 Oral History Interviews with Barbara L. Collins

Collection

Identifier: CN 508

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

Oral history interview with Barbara Lynn (Miner) Collins in which she describes her childhood; family's religious background; conversion to Christianity; spiritual development in college and young professional life; acceptance as a missionary by Africa Inland Mission (AIM); arrival on the mission field in Kenya; work among the Rendile and Kikuyu peoples; raising children on the mission field; development of women's program at Africa Inland Church Missionary College; work among women refugees in Nairobi; and the relationship between Africa Inland Mission and Africa Inland Church. Other topics discussed include: training at the Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL); the Collins family background as missionaries in Africa with AIM; first impressions of Kenya; translating the Bible into the Rendile language; reflections on Rendile culture; raising children on the mission field and reintegrating them to American culture; challenges of ministering to women in Nairobi; and reflections on the changing nature of western missions, advancements in missiology, and the need for better training in cross-cultural communications and urbans studies training for AIM missionaries. The time period covered by the interview is 1946 to 1995.

Barbara Collins was interviewed by Robert Shuster on January 13 and 30 and February 13, 1995 at the Billy Graham Center Archives at Wheaton College.

Dates

Created: 1995

Conditions Governing Access

There are no restrictions on the use of this collection.

Biographical Information

Full Name: Barbara Lynn (Miner) Collins

Birth: October 11, 1946, in Portland, Oregon

Family:

Parents: Gordon & Evelyn Miner

Siblings: Two younger siblings, Diane and David

Marital Status: Married Malcolm Collins on February 28, 1976

Children: Shawn, Greg, Michelle, David, Daniel, Deion Thamani & Nicole Imani

Conversion: circa summer of 1958 at Baptist youth camp near Los Angeles, California

Education:

1964 - Graduated Hoover High School, Glendale, California

1964-1965 - Pacific Lutheran University, Tacoma, Washington

1965-1968 - Graduated University of California, Santa Barbara, BA in Sociology

1970 - California State University, Northridge, California, secondary teaching credentials

1975-1976 - University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, linguistic studies with Summer Institute of Linguistics

1975-1976 - Logos Bible Institute, Panorama City, California

1976-1977 - Fuller Theological Institute, School of World Missions, Pasadena, California, masters studies

1994-1995 - Graduated Wheaton College, Illinois, MA

Career:

1968-1971 - Served as probation officer in Los Angeles Probation Department, California

1971-1976 - Taught junior high math in Glendale, California

1976-1977 - Worked as free-lance editor for Gospel Light Publications, Glendale, California

1978-1984 - Served as missionary teaching religious studies and ministering to women with Africa Inland Mission (AIM) in northern Kenya among the Rendile

1984-1985 - Served as AIM missionary ministering to women in Ngong, Kenya

1985-1993 - Served as Wives Program Director at AIC Missionary College in Eldoret, Kenya for AIM

1994 - Served as AIM missionary with refugee program in Nairobi, Kenya

Extent

6.00 Audio Tapes

283 Minutes

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Accruals and Additions

The materials in this collection were given to the Billy Graham Center Archives by Barbara Collins in January and February 1995.

Accession: 95-4, 95-12, 95-15

January 17, 2004

Christian F. Sawyer