Love. That four-letter word that evokes varying degrees of feelings and meaning for every person. People talk about it, write about it, search for it and desire it. St. John the Apostle he experienced firsthand the purest form of love this world has ever known: Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
In 1 John 4:7b–10, he wrote, “God is love. In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”
This Apostle saw real love lived out. He saw the compassion that motivated Jesus Christ to bring new life to those around Him. It was love that compelled Him, and it’s His love that compels us.
The strongest motivator for Gospel for Asia-supported workers to do what they do is love. Dr. KP Yohannan Metropolitan recently talked about this in one of his blog posts. He mentioned how a national worker was once told by his enemies that he would be torn in half if he ever visited their village again. But the missionary returned because he loved them and had good news to share with them! For him, perfect love casted out fear and drove him to risk his own life for the sake of others—much like his Lord.
This national worker is one of many who are willing to put everything on line for the sake of Christ because they love.
Gospel for Asia-supported workers are compelled by Christ’s love to serve others well.
The story below is about another national missionary named Myo Zaw who exemplifies the heart of our brothers and sisters in Asia well.
Love on Fire
A fire burned inside Myo Zaw. It was lit the day the Lord redeemed him, and it grew hotter and more intense every single day. He was like the prophet Jeremiah, unable to keep the love of Christ hidden within himself. If he tried, he felt restless, he felt sick.
Weary of holding it in, Myo Zaw shouted from the roadsides and in market places, “Christ [redeemed] me, and He will [redeem] you also!”
People thought he had gone mad. Those in his community already knew him as a hot-blooded drunkard who fought with people and beat his wife and children, and now he proved his insanity.
“But I knew I was not mad,” Myo Zaw says. “The love of God just would not simply keep [quiet] in my heart. I wanted to pour it out and share it.”
Independently Ministering
Consumed by a fire that could not be put out, Myo Zaw traveled throughout his region, walking from place to place, sharing the Word of God. He told people “how a sinner like me was found by God.” In three years, he visited 100 communities. His wife, Shway, sent him letters while he was away to encourage him.
“If your life can change by Christ, there is no one who cannot be changed by Christ,” she’d say. “So wherever you are going and sharing the Word of God, we are here to pray for you. I believe people will be changed by the love of Christ.”
And people were—350 of them. They heard of His great love and saw it lived out in His child, and it changed them.
Following Like Jesus
Not long after, a man visited Myo Zaw’s village and shared about the different places in their country and how Jesus went to a foreign land, though heaven was His home.
The fire inside Myo Zaw intensified. He knew without any doubt that his life needed to be about sharing the Lord’s love with others. It was a powerful love that transformed him, and he knew others needed it, too.
He told himself, “It is better that I go and give my life for the people in foreign lands.” So he and his wife prayed and prepared themselves to live in an area where people were unfamiliar with the Lamb of God.
Nearly 10 years later, God sent them to the southern region of their country as GFA-supported workers.
Gospel for Asia-supported pastor Myo Zaw with his wife and youngest son.
Forced Out of Community
In their new community, people quickly realized Myo Zaw and his family were Christians and decided they would have nothing to do with the new arrivals.
“We were [forced] out of community,” Pastor Myo Zaw says, “and it is very difficult to live without community.”
But Myo Zaw, Shway and their children trusted Christ throughout the hardships, and with the Spirit’s fiery love pulsating within them, they learned how to love the people in their new community.
They cared for the sick and took people to the hospital when needed. When floodwaters destroyed homes and livelihoods, they and other Gospel for Asia-supported workers helped provide relief. The community watched how they cared for them and their children and wondered why this man and his wife loved them so much.
After 14 years of displaying Christ’s love, people feel and understand Myo Zaw’s love for them and many return it.
“What I have found in my life,” Myo Zaw says, “is that love is the most powerful weapon we have from God.”
Love. It’s what changed the hearts of those who had once excommunicated Myo Zaw and his family. It’s what helped Myo Zaw persevere. It’s what will change the world when the source is Christ.
“Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.” —Romans 12:9 (ESV)
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Click here, to read more blogs on Patheos from Gospel for Asia.
With our headlines screaming about one disaster after another—fires in the California hills, hurricanes, flooding, drought and warming seas rising—and with the increasing incidents of gun violence here in the States and of terrorism activating itself in the Middle East, the near East and in Europe, it is easy to forget there is good news happening beyond this barrage of warnings, distress signals and red flags flying.
One of the great news notices a majority of people have missed is that the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) announced in March 2016 that in the last 30 years, extreme poverty around the world has been reduced by half. This information was based on a United Nations assessment following its goal-setting at the dawn of the new millennium: to eradicate poverty by 2030.
This initiative was included in what was titled The Millennium Development Goals, which included eight international goals for the year 2015 that had been established following the Millennium Summit of the United Nations 2000. Among the goals were:
To eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
To achieve universal primary education
To promote gender equality and empower women
To reduce child mortality, etc.
Some critics have complained of a lack of thorough scientific analysis behind the millennial sustainable goals and its recently announced outcomes. Questions have risen about the justification for some of the analysis behind chosen objectives. Even deciding what comprises a poverty level baseline is difficult (right now it is those who earn less than the equivalent of $1.90 U.S. per day).
All experts on the topic know that whatever true success has been achieved (the World Bank, according to its studies, feels that the statistical results are even better than those announced by the United Nations), the situation of the marginally poor, those rising out of extreme poverty, is still fragile. War lords can tip one country, such as South Sudan, into starvation. Climate change, for instance, is thought to be able to plunge those with marginal economic achievements back into dire need.
The point of this good news, however, despite these considerations, is that the war on world poverty has succeeded beyond any one of the expert’s dreams. The big question for those of faith is: How do faith-based organizations (FBOs) fit into helping decrease the levels of poverty around the world? The presence of mission organizations and Christian relief and development NGOs literally span the world and can be found on every continent and in the majority of developing countries. Or perhaps, the question should be: Do they even count in this grand scheme of eradicating world poverty?
While attending the Global Missions Health Conference that convenes yearly in Nashville, Tennessee, I bumped into a gentleman, a medical doctor, who has vast experience in world health efforts. We talked about the Millennial Goals and I asked him my question: How do faith-based organizations contribute to the amazing statistics that are developing out of these worldwide initiatives? Do they? And if they do, what measurements show their contributions?
He smiled, took out a business card and wrote some notes on the back, directing me to a section of the World Health Organization’s website. “When you get time, look at this,” he told me. “Several years back, WHO did a study of faith-based organizations during the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Africa. Their conclusions were amazing.”
On arriving home, I went web-searching and found a 33-page report based on extensive research observation, followed by another three pages of resources (some 113 in all), which gave strong evidence that faith-based organizations in relationship to health endeavors were invaluable and should be included in the overall joint partnership efforts that were outlined in the Millennial Goals. Included are just a few quotable assessments out of the broad study:
FBOs are significant health care providers in the developing world.
FBO health projects are often independently funded and do not, in general, receive an adequate proportion of public funds distribution.
Compassion is the primary value underlying major religious systems.
Many religious traditions are characterized by a focus on healing: “A primary focus of religious expectations in the 21st century is the multidimensional longing for healing of body and mind, of soul and spirit, of personal and social relations, of political and ecological dimensions in this broken world.”
The extensive evaluation offers suggestions for improvement—mostly in outcomes reporting, data collection, and the opening of dialogues between the public sector and faith-supported initiatives. One concluding section, however, begins with the statement, “Evidence suggests that FBOs already offer tangible value by:
Delivering services that supplement government offerings
Bringing external resources from a range of donors
Arising within religious and cultural loyalties of the local communities they serve
Being numerous and, on the whole, more integrated with the communities they serve
Connecting into associated services that are considered valuable within primary health care strategies.”
The end result of this extensive study was the recommendation by the World Health Organization that religious entities already on the ground and substantively rooted in their communities are ideally placed, perhaps even more so than many in the international aid systems, to bring a holistic (or some would call it an integral) approach to humans who suffer from the effects of dire and marginal poverty. After all, how many aid organizations are truly equipped to serve the whole person—body and mind, soul and spirit? Which of them show a multi-dimensional longing for the healing of personal and social relations, of political and ecological dimensions in this broken world?
This blog is dedicated to the exceptional work being done by one of those faith-based organizations, Gospel for Asia, which specializes in bringing the awareness of God’s love through an emphasis that is community grounded, understands the religious and cultural loyalties of the places and people they serve, and literally employs tens of thousands of financially underwritten or volunteer workers to help eradicate poverty, but in a way that ministers to the whole person, body and mind and soul and spirit.
Here are a couple ways GFA-supported workers are helping eradicate poverty:
Romila’s Story
This is Romila with her husband and child.
A plumber by trade, Romila’s husband, Taraswin, worked faithfully to provide for his wife and little baby girl. However, no matter how hard he tried, he struggled to find work. Day by day they were sinking financially. A friend directed Taraswin to a job opportunity in another village. Believing this would help change things, they moved to start afresh.
But work was inconsistent, and this new job soon proved to be of no help to their financial state. As monthly rent drained their income, things did not look bright.
Then, one day, they were chatting with their neighbor, and he introduced Taraswin and Romila to his friend, a Gospel for Asia-supported pastor named Rochan. As Pastor Rochan struck up a conversation with the couple, they began to open up about their struggles. When Pastor Rochan walked away, he felt compelled to do everything he could to help this family.
Three weeks later, he invited Taraswin and Romila to a Christmas gift distribution program. Romila could hardly believe her eyes when she received her sewing machine.
“I was really longing for a machine,” Romila recalls. “I have no words to express my feelings and thanks to the church.”
Now Romila can help provide for her family by sewing clothes from her home. The hopelessness which hung over Romila and Taraswin lifted, as they now can easily pay for their rent with plenty left over for additional expenses.
Dhansukh’s Story
Daily life was a struggle for Dhansukh and his family. Because Dhansukh had difficulty walking, he couldn’t work as a daily wage laborer, which is a common job for many people in Asia. Instead, Dhansukh provided for his family by selling vegetables.
But after some time, Dhansukh’s business began running into the ground. Fewer people made purchases, and the vegetables that remained started to rot. Dhansukh tried all he could to save money and make up for the lack. He took his children out of the private school they were attending and sent them to a public school instead. He asked his brothers and his sister for hand-me-downs for his children.
But even as he cut down on expenses left and right, eventually the vegetable-seller could no longer afford to buy fresh vegetables to feed his family. The meals they would eat in one day became fewer and fewer.
In the middle of the family’s crisis, Gospel for Asia-supported pastor Vismay came to buy vegetables one day. Dhansukh told Pastor Vismay about his business troubles and asked him to pray for him.
Pastor Vismay kept Dhansukh’s prayer request in mind, and God eventually provided an opportunity for him to help Dhansukh’s family practically by giving him two female goats at a Christmas gift distribution.
These gifts impacted Dhansukh in a special way: As he witnessed firsthand the Lord’s power to answer prayers, he realized God loved him and Jesus’ followers cared about him. And now, with the income these goats will provide, Dhansukh will be able to take care of his family.
This is Dhansukh with his goat that was given to him by a Gospel for Asia-supported pastor. The goat ended up multiplying!
The help this faith-based organization provided went beyond just material provision, as you can see from Romila’s and Dhansukh’s testimonies. It ministered to their soul and spirit as they understood how much they were loved by God and His people.
Often secular skeptics involved in international development look askance at those who work in faith-based missions around the world. The evidence being gathered, however, by objective outside observers seems to be producing a body of proof that some of the front-line participants in the change that is occurring in the eradication of poverty is being carried out by the unsung, unrecognized, diligent, altruistic people who love God and whose lives are driven by that love manifested as it is in concern and care for the downtrodden and the forgotten, for the abused and the neglected of the earth. Of this, those of us in faith-based communities have nothing to be ashamed.
I personally stand in awe of many of my brothers and sisters worldwide, some close friends, many of whom put their lives on the line every day, who have little thought of personal success or notoriety, who have shunned financial security and through a dogged kind of compassion serve God. One day in time, we will know what all they have done toward this remarkable goal of eradicating extreme poverty worldwide.
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Click here, to read more blogs on Patheos from Gospel for Asia.
God is using Gospel for Asia-supported national workers and the prayers of people all over the world to transform communities through His love.
Pastor Tamang has been serving the Lord since 2003. Throughout those years he’s experienced heartache in losing his wife, the devastation of a natural disaster and opposition from the ones he longs to serve. Yet through all this, he remains steadfast, depending on the power of prayer to help him overcome.
A Widower in the Wake
The earth rumbled. The ground shook. The walls rattled. Pastor Tamang and his houseguests rushed out of his home as the earthquake grew in strength. But before everyone could make it out, the walls crumbled under the intensity, crushing Tamang’s wife, Nirmala, beneath the wreckage of their home.
After the earthquake’s final tremor, Pastor Tamang found his wife lying lifeless in the rubble.
Many others perished in the 6.8-magnitude quake that shook parts of South Asia on September 18, 2011. Houses and churches also fell that night, leaving survivors without shelter to guard from monsoon rains or the coming winter.
Pastor Tamang lost his wife, home and church all in one night.
“I can never forget such a great incident, which changed my life completely,” Pastor Tamang says.
Tamang was left to carry on the ministry alone. The days were difficult—especially when he’d return home, half-expecting to see his wife’s encouraging smile. Nirmala actively worked alongside him, ministering to the women and children in their community.
Deep down, Tamang had a feeling the Lord had a purpose in taking Nirmala, and he knew he couldn’t give in to his loneliness. He knew he had to persevere, for there were still people living their days without knowing the One who sustains. He had been called here, and he would remain.
“It was the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the prayer support of my believers that helped me to stand firm after the death of my wife,” he says. “God comforted me so I can continue my ministry.”
In the years that followed, Tamang pressed onward. His congregation, made up of 66 believers, helped him whenever he’d go out for ministry. They’d talk to people and build relationships, hoping to introduce them to the love of the Savior. It wasn’t easy. Most people in the remote, mountainous region where Pastor Tamang serves aren’t open to hearing about Jesus.
“Because of the resistance we face from the people here, ministry here does not grow fast,” he says. “Because of this problem, we feel that by flesh and blood, we cannot conquer this. … I urge you to pray for our ministry here.”
Why Pastors and Missionaries Need Prayer
Pastor Tamang’s plea for people to pray for his ministry is a plea many pastors and missionaries in Asia can echo. They’re serving in territories long held captive by the spiritual powers of darkness.
They face resistance. As Pastor Tamang experienced, hearts harden at the mention of Jesus’ name. They believe that to embrace Christ would be to lower their social standing. It would also mean turning their backs on their ancestral faith.
They face persecution. Angry neighbors accuse them of disrupting the peace. Some missionaries end up beaten or thrown in prison for years.
They also face personal struggles. Many Gospel for Asia-supported workers have been disowned by their families that are staunchly against their decision to love and follow Jesus. There are others who have lost loved ones, like Pastor Tamang. Then there are others going through significant health problems.
Yet these brothers and sisters in the Lord willingly enter into the sufferings of Christ. And through the power of prayer and fasting, GFA-supported national missionaries and pastors are seeing tremendous breakthroughs in their ministries!
We Stand Beside National Missionaries
Gospel for Asia links believers from all over the world through prayer and its support program. For nearly 40 years, people have stood beside GFA-supported workers as they seek to share the love of God through word and deed with their fellow countrymen.
These national workers overflow with deep compassion for the people around them. They bring comfort, hope and peace to those who are searching for these very things. They provide income-producing gifts to poor and destitute families. They pray for healings, breakthroughs, deliverance—and they see God answer those prayers!
Like Pastor Tamang, GFA-supported workers know that their ministries are not founded in “flesh and blood.” They are founded in the power of Christ and prayer in His name. As men, women and children across the globe join them in prayer, they see breakthroughs in their ministries.
The Apostle Paul knew the truth of this mystery. He asked the body of believers in Colossae to pray for him: “Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving; meanwhile praying also for us, that God would open to us a door for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in chains…” (Colossian 4:24).
He also asked the believers in Thessalonica to pray for him: “Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may run swiftly and be glorified, just as it is with you…” (2 Thessalonians 3:1)
Will You Join Us in Fervent Prayer?
We at GFA pray constantly and fervently for our brothers and sisters in Asia, never faltering to drop to our knees so that the word of God may run swiftly and be glorified. Will you join us in praying fervently for our brothers and sisters in Asia?
We would love to know how you are praying for God’s work in Asia and around the world. Share your prayers in the comments below so others can join with you as we partner together to see the Lord’s name glorified.
* “A Widower in the Wake” first published in GFA’s magazine GFA World, March 2016.
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