Bridge of Hope Education and Transformation

October 16, 2018 By GFA Staff Writer

Wills Point, Texas – GFA (Gospel for Asia) – Discussing how GFA-supported Bridge of Hope centers give education and transformation in the lives of children.

In a meeting at the United Nations on September 25, the leaders of France, Canada and Great Britain made a case for the UN to focus concerted efforts on educating young girls.

Sight Magazine reports, “More than 130 million girls . . . do not attend school, according to the World Bank, costing as much as $US30 trillion in lost earnings and productivity.”

Meanwhile, The Atlantic published an article that boys don’t read enough and that “girls tend to do almost everything more thoroughly than boys.”

GFA has recognized the need for better education in developing countries, and we have been providing teaching through GFA-supported Bridge of Hope centers throughout Asia. The centers address the needs of impoverished children with education, healthy meals and basic health care.

Anyone who is familiar with Bridge of Hope (BOH) already understands those three prongs of our ministry to these children.

While the work of the BOH centers offer these three essentials, they are neither all that they provide nor are they all the children need. While they need literacy, nutrition and health care, much more will be required for them to succeed in life.

1. Emotional Growth

Bridge of Hope staff seeks to help each child achieve emotional maturity and a sense of confidence, which are essential strengths for a balanced life. We encourage them not to base their future on the past, but to move on to their full potential.

2. Character Building

Bridge of Hope emphasizes a disciplined value-based education that builds character. The goal is to prepare children to become good responsible citizens of their nation. The children regularly learn moral values and manners that enable them to respect authority and care for the needs of others.

3. Involvement of Their Families

Bridge of Hope staff invest not only in the children but also in their parents. Our staff members visit parents/guardians and conduct special training programs for them and the community. Topics covered include general awareness on child care, health and hygiene, good parenting and other topics to help them provide a better home environment in which their children can be encouraged and prosper.

Education alone is not the solution to the world’s problems, although it is often touted as if it were. Certainly, it is an essential part.

Likewise, our growth—growth that forges a path to a life lived rightly—must include social skills, respect, moral wisdom and kindness for others as well as accumulating knowledge.

Our hope and our prayers for Bridge of Hope students is that they will grow as well-rounded and wise persons who understand how to navigate through life and how to help others to do so as well. Our goal is that they will find wisdom and a love that will transform them forever.

Pray for our Bridge of Hope centers. Pray for the children. Pray for the staff.

Ask the Lord how you can help to support this great work.

To read more posts on Patheos on Bridge of Hope, go here.

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Sources:

Bridge of Hope, What We Do
Sight Magazine, World leaders warn failure to educate girls will cause “catastrophes”
Believers Church, Bridge of Hope
The Voice of America, World Leaders Stress Need to Educate Girls
The Atlantic, Boys Don’t Read Enough

Bridge of Hope Staff: The Hands and Feet of Christ to Students and Their Families

July 5, 2018 By GFA Staff Writer

Wills Point, Texas – Gospel for Asia discusses our Bridge of Hope Staff

Many communities in Asia have toiled hard for generations simply to survive. Some men and women haven’t had the privilege of pursuing an education themselves, and they are helpless to give one to their children. But God loves these children deeply, and He is working in part through GFA’s Bridge of Hope Staff and Program to give them a chance for a better future.

Bridge of Hope gives more than 70,000 needy children a daily meal and regular medical checkups for their physical health and development. The program helps the children with their education, so they can one day get a good job and afford sufficient food, decent clothing, medical supplies and other necessities of life for themselves and for their families. Beyond this, Bridge of Hope provides the children with opportunities to pursue and even excel in their God-given skills and interests.

Bridge of Hope staff members are the hands and feet of Christ to the students and their families, serving them with genuine love, compassion and respect. They maintain relationships with the parents and children and offer them counsel, encouragement and, ultimately, give them hope. This article is about three such Bridge of Hope staff members.

Nearly every day, hundreds of Bridge of Hope staff members in Asia watch children step across the threshold of their Bridge of Hope center. The work is difficult, but the children are changing—and it makes all their labor worth it.

Nadia, Bridge of Hope staff. For more info on Bridge of Hope, click image.

Nadia, a wife, mother and the coordinator of one center, has served at Bridge of Hope since the center opened in 2006. As part of her role, she visits students’ homes each day. “If we speak two words of encouragement, . . . it can encourage them so much.”

When the workload wears on Nadia, she thinks about her life and the ministry God has given her and the ways students’ parents respond to her. “Madam,” some women have told her, “this is just because of you, because of Bridge of Hope, . . . that we are able to give education to our children.”

When Nadia hears things like this, she remembers why the Lord brought her here. She reminds herself that “This is what Jesus did. He was with the poor, sick and downtrodden. He helped them, and He was with them, and that’s the same passion I have. I feel that, yes, God is calling me for this, and I have to do it. I don’t have any [special] qualities, but I know this is my work.”

Gandhali has been a Bridge of Hope teacher for 15 years. She serves in a local school in the mornings and at a Bridge of Hope center in the afternoons.

Gandhali, Bridge of Hope teacher. For more on BOH, click image.

Her life changed again when she came to the Bridge of Hope center and began serving the children. She said it “changed my life and attitude toward serving others.”

A few years ago, a boy named Daarun joined her center. He was unruly and would pick fights with other children for no reason. Gandhali kept a close watch on the boy and prayed for him for four years. Today he is totally different. “Seeing these changes,” she shares, “I am so happy.”

Barid is a social worker at a GFA-supported Bridge of Hope center. The children Barid spends his days with at the center remind him of his childhood. He can relate to many of their hardships because those same hardships were once his own.

“I . . . come from quite a humble family,” he says. “My mother always struggled to bring us up and give us an education. I can feel and experience that pain when I see these children going through similar situations.

Barid, Bridge of Hope social worker. For more details on BOH, click image.

“My purpose here is to help the children learn and change their lives. If I see a child who is not doing well in studies or someone who is always depressed or lonely, … I go and talk to those children. Apart from helping and encouraging children at the center, I take these children in my heart. When I pray … I remember these children.”

He, along with the coordinator, two teachers and two cooks, spends hours a day pouring his life and love into the students, so they can live better lives than they—and generations before them—could ever have hoped for.

Barid testifies, “Because of … God’s special grace, today I am so confident and so satisfied with what I am doing.”

If you have ever wondered what the staff at Bridge of Hope centers do, it can be summed up in Nadia’s observation, “This is what Jesus did.” That is all that He has asked us to do: to be like Him and to be His hands and feet in this world.

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Christ’s Love Motivates Us to Be a Bridge of Hope for 70,000 Children

June 21, 2018 By GFA Staff Writer

Christ's love brings hope in the eyes of a child - KP Yohannan - Gospel or Asia — Hope in the eyes of a child due to Christ’s love in Bridge of Hope.

More than 67.4 million children worldwide are forced out of school due to poverty, depriving them of the education needed to succeed. Unable to read and write, most eventually find themselves unable to get good jobs and succumb to the cycle of poverty, which continues for another generation.

Rather than going to school and playing like more privileged children their age, an estimated 150 million children are engaged in child labor. These kids wander around begging, doing odd jobs and selling garbage so they can have a small amount of food to live another day or work.

In some parts of Asia, children from the poorest families are three times more likely to die by the age of 5 than those from higher income groups. This gap is due to starvation and disease take a striking toll on the marginalized, who lack access to basic medical care and proper nutrition.

In the early days of the developing ministry of Gospel for Asia, Dr. KP Yohannan had a dream—a clear vision in which the Lord showed him that something had to be done to provide hope for these poor children. Here, in his own words, is what happened.

It was while sleeping in the early hours of the morning that I had a dream. I was standing in front of a vast field, looking out upon multitudes of desperate and suffering people just ready to slip into eternity. They had clearly been waiting for hope, but received none. I stood there overwhelmed at the sheer number of people. They seemed to fill endless acres continuing as far as the eye could see.

Watching the pain and despair in their faces, I got this sudden understanding that I was looking out upon the helpless multitudes that Jesus spoke about in the Gospels, the times when He spoke of the weary and abused, like the Dalits of today. It was as though the Lord was telling me that we had the opportunity before us to touch these people’s lives and reach them with the love of Christ, brining them hope for this life and the life to come.

Overcome with excitement at such an opportunity and imagining these precious suffering people being able to find hope for the present time and for eternity, I ran toward the field. But as I drew nearer, I was stopped. I couldn’t go any farther. There was a wide, gaping river in between the desperate multitudes and myself, a river so deep and raging that I dared not step closer to try to cross. I had not seen it from where I stood before, but now I did.

My heart broke. I was only able to look at these needy and suffering people, unable to help them. I stood there weeping, feeling so helpless and full of despair.

All of a sudden there appeared before me a bridge reaching from one side of the vast river to the other. It was not a narrow bridge but was very broad and so huge.

As I watched, the bridge became completely filled with little children from all over Asia—poor, destitute Dalit children, like those I’d seen on the streets of Bombay, Calcutta, Dakar, Katmandu and other Asian cities.

I woke from my dream and realized that the Lord was speaking to me about something so significant: that if we follow His instruction, our care for these children in need will be a bridge for so many people to find hope and relief they have been looking for.

– from Revolution in World Missions

And so, Gospel for Asia’s Bridge of Hope Program was created. Each child in Bridge of Hope is funded by the compassionate and generous gifts from faithful followers of Jesus Christ’s love.

All Bridge of Hope children have daily access to qualified tutors in math, science, language and other subjects to help them excel in their studies. They are provided with all the school supplies they need to attend school and succeed, including school bags, notebooks, pens, pencils, erasers and uniforms. Rather than being condemned to a life of illiteracy, many Bridge of Hope children go on to attend colleges and universities. They are provided with nutritious food, clean drinking water and sanitation facilities.

In addition, once a year, a qualified medical professional performs a full checkup on each child to prevent and diagnose any malady. When possible, they are also provide necessary treatment, ranging from major heart surgeries to being given eyeglasses for those with poor vision. Each child also receives de-worming tablets, as parasites are a major problem in rural areas, and also vitamin A tablets to prevent blindness. They are also given instructions on proper dental hygiene, so they can happily show their beautiful smiles.

Yet, it’s Christ’s love that motivates this program. That love compels us to help these children, knowing that each once is precious in God’s sight.

Please pray for the ministry of GFA-supported Bridge of Hope.

Pray for the children, their families and the staff in each Bridge of Hope center.

Pray and ask the Lord how you might contribute to sponsor a Bridge of Hope child.

Pray with thanksgiving for what the Lord has done and is continuing to do through Bridge of Hope.

For more on Patheos about Bridge of Hope, click here.

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Gospel for Asia’s Children’s Ministry Is a Bridge of Hope to Kids in Asia

March 22, 2018 By GFA Staff Writer

Bridge of Hope - KP Yohannan - Gospel for Asia — Children attending any GFA Bridge of Hope program learn to read and write, gain positive study habits, are provided with a healthy meal, receive medical care as needed, are shown God’s loving-kindness, and develop the HOPE that their education will one day help them shake off the weight of poverty.

One of our Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported pastors said something both sad and ironic several years ago: “Nobody cares about the children of this village.”

While, in his eyes, his statement seemed to be true, the irony is that it was not entirely so. The mere fact that he said it indicated that he cared. In fact, he admitted, “I have a great burden for this village.” The reason he cared is that he knew that Jesus cares.

The village of which he spoke is home to 2,000 impoverished families whose daily need is survival. Their entire life is consumed with laboring to feed themselves and their families. Their fight for survival means their children are forced to work in laborious and tedious tasks to generate adequate resources.

Many of these families live in one-room huts, often made with only sticks and plastic. They have no nearby sources of clean water. They lack proper sanitation facilities. What food they are able to acquire does not always provide adequate nutrition. And there doesn’t seem to be a way out.

A recent report from the McKinsey Global Institute found that there is a substantial difference in poverty levels beyond what we comprehend. There is a poverty level at which people can “achieve a decent standard of living,” but these villagers and their children live below that level in the realm of “bare subsistence” where hope and a way out appear non-existent.

Food, clothing and medical care are honorable and necessary charitable acts that demonstrate the love of Christ. They are gifts and services that sustain life. However, they do not, in and of themselves, create a bridge to a better life.

Food can make a destitute person less hungry, but they are still impoverished. Clothing can help provide a sense of dignity, but it does not change a person’s circumstances. Medical care can prevent disease, but it cannot break the bondage of abject poverty.

Creating a Bridge of Hope

This village is an example of how Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported Bridge of Hope (BOH) centers make a difference.

Bridge of Hope centers provide an educational experience for school-age children in which they learn the practical skills that can be the bridge to a better life. Each school day, students practice reading, writing and math in an environment of Christian love where staff members guide them to the hope for a better tomorrow by teaching them life skills that will become their bridge out of the generational curse into which they were born.

Education is a process. It doesn’t happen overnight. Each evening when a child goes home from a Bridge of Hope center, they return to the same existential scenario. But each evening they go with a little more hope for the future.

The centers offer each child with daily, nutritious meals to give them the energy they need to learn and grow. Regular medical checkups are also part of the program. BOH centers even provide the students’ school supplies.

Gospel for Asia (GFA) has helped touched the lives of more than 75,000 children through Bridge of Hope centers. What these children have learned and are learning gives them a bridge they can cross to pass over “the hurdles of tragedy and poverty and press on to a future bright with promises.”

The program helps the children with their education so they can one day get a good job and afford sufficient food, decent clothing, medical supplies and other necessities of life for themselves and for their families. Beyond this, Bridge of Hope provides the children with opportunities to pursue and excel in their God-given skills and interests.

Bridge of Hope staff members become the hands and feet of Christ to the students and their families, serving them with genuine love, compassion and respect. Staff members maintain relationships with the parents and children and offer them counsel, encouragement and, ultimately, give them hope.

What does a child receive at the Bridge of Hope centers?

Education. This includes tuition, books and uniforms. But even more significant is that they will get tutoring in reading and writing, which means a future of hope is guaranteed.

Nutrition. During the school day, each child receives a healthy, balanced meal.

Medical care. The Bridge of Hope leaders who care for children also monitor their health and provide care as needed. Extra attention is given in areas where malaria or tuberculosis is prevalent. In addition to periodic checkups and medical treatment, children also learn basic habits of good hygiene, such as washing hands, trimming fingernails and bathing regularly.

Development of social skills and self-confidence. From the earliest ages in kindergarten, children are given opportunities to play games and practice basic rules of courtesy.

Hope Becomes Real on the Other Side of the Bridge

While the short-term focus is on helping the children now, the long-term perspective is to enable them to become all they possibly can be as a useful servant to their community, and to one day be a blessing to many others throughout Asia.

Bridge of Hope centers are not limited to remote villages. Many are located in the slum areas of major Asian cities, where roaming through and living on top of trash heaps is a way of life and their only hope for tomorrow.

Paul encouraged Timothy to share what he had taught him with others who would then be able to show many more (2 Timothy 2:2). Following that model, the character development and social impact at work in Bridge of Hope centers is being passed on to many others throughout the community.

Bridge of Hope is not just a name for a project. It is a ministry that actually produces a product. That product is the potential for a hopeful future for children who are trapped by circumstances they did not create, in a situation they cannot escape and who would, otherwise, have no hope.

Parents and grandparents recognize the changes in their children and grandchildren, causing them not only rejoice in their hope for the future but also to realize the love of Christ in their own lives.

Even local leaders praise the work of Bridge of Hope centers for their impact on the community at large. One leader said, “I am really happy to see a social network coming up to this level of taking care of the future of children.”

The father of one of the children at the same center said, “This only can be possible through Christians. The love of Christians is great. My children are going to become well-prepared for their future. I am overwhelmed with their concern for us.”

To learn more about Bridge of Hope read “What Bridge of Hope Gives Children.”

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Two-Year-Old Left to Die Now Top of Her Class in Bridge of Hope

January 19, 2018 By GFA Staff Writer

The world can be a broken place. A place where many are left forgotten or simply shoved aside. This was the world Janvi was born into.

Janvi never experienced the love of her birth parents. In fact, it was by their own hands she was left alone to die. But even in the midst of this broken world there is room for redemption. Christ’s compassion never decreases even when the darkness thickens. God’s love does not vanish when earthly love fails.

It is this kind of love God puts inside His children. It’s the love He placed in Dayalu’s heart for neglected Janvi.

Two-year-old Left to Die

This is Janvi

Tears of compassion rolled down Dayalu’s face. He saw her. The skinny, frail body of a little girl, no more than 2 years old, sitting alone near a thorny bush. Ants covered her. She cried out in pain as they bit her innocent, little face. Swooping her up in his fatherly arms, Dayalu took her home with him. She was safe now. Janvi would become part his family.

Parents Abandon Daughter

Little Janvi had a mom and dad, but they never loved her. Addicted to alcohol, Janvi’s parents let strong drink and loose living control their lives. When little Janvi was born, her mom did not feed her well, and she became sickly due to her parents’ neglect. After two years, they were tired of caring for her and felt burdened by her life. She was completely worthless in their eyes, and so were the two other daughters they had let die. They decided to leave Janvi and never return.

But God had a very different opinion of little Janvi and had a special plan for her precious life.

Bridge of Hope Eases Financial Strain

Janvi grew up in Dayalu’s home after the day he found her crying and being bitten by ants. Dayalu and his wife loved and cared for her as they did their own daughter and son.

Although Dayalu had a sympathetic heart, he was very poor. Providing three meals a day for his family was a constant struggle for him. It was difficult putting eager-to-learn Janvi through school. When Dayalu found out Janvi could join the nearby GFA-supported Bridge of Hope center, he happily enrolled her.

Today, Janvi is able to go to school without it being a financial strain on the family. Bridge of Hope has been a huge blessing to Janvi and her family. She loves school and is at the top of her class, excelling in her studies.

Compassion Through Adoption and Education

Janvi, though once abandoned and thought worthless by her parents, was never abandoned by God. Today she knows she is precious in the eyes of the Lord, through Dayalu and the loving care of the Bridge of Hope center.

How Grateful we are at Gospel for Asia (GFA) to be part of Janvi’s story. It is our heart’s desire to help father’s like Dayalu care for their children. Bridge of Hope is a tool many have been blessed by through the years. It is our prayer that we may be the hands and feet of Jesus to those who need compassion in this broken world that is loved by a redeeming God.

“‘For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, now I will arise,’ says the LORD; ‘I will set him in the safety for which he yearns.’” —Psalm 12:5

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“Bridge of Hope Made Impossible Things Possible for Me”

December 16, 2017 By GFA Staff Writer

Schooling. Food. Clothing. An encouraging smile. These are simple ways of showing love to a child, but those simple gestures shape lives.

In God’s Church, generosity flows freely toward the hurting and sorrowful. We at Gospel for Asia (GFA) can testify to that. Tens of thousands of men and women and children of all ages in many countries freely give of their resources to help uplift the lives of people they love but have never met. Why? Because that’s the heart of the King we love.

Bridge of Hope, an afterschool tutoring program supported by Gospel for Asia (GFA), is currently giving more than 82,000 children those simple gestures of love. But it wouldn’t be possible without the prayers and support of the loving Body of Christ. Without them, stories like Kaling’s would be quite different.

82,000 children in Asia receiving help today through Bridge of Hope - KP Yohannan - Gospel for Asia — These are two of Asia’s children who live in a slum. We may not be able to change every difficult circumstance in their lives, but we can do something! We rejoice in 82,000 children in Asia receiving help today through Bridge of Hope.

Bitterness Becomes Gratitude

Dirty, tattered clothes hung loosely over Kaling’s malnourished frame—poverty marred his appearance in many ways. Yet Kaling felt even more forlorn on the inside than he looked outwardly: Bitterness and insecurity churned in his young heart.

Death took his father when Kaling was only 5 years old. With no father, the burden of providing for the family fell heavily on his mother’s shoulders. His mother, Nadia, decided the best thing for the family was to send Kaling to live with his grandmother while she and her other son worked as daily laborers in another state.

Kaling’s grandmother also lived in poverty, and she couldn’t provide for the young boy or fill the void after his family left him. Kaling felt lonely and longed to see his mother and brother, but they knew no other way. Although Nadia meant well, a tangled mass of bitterness festered within Kaling.

A Place of New Beginnings

Situations like Kaling’s are not unusual in many South Asian nations. Gospel for Asia (GFA) field correspondents have encountered many such desperate plights. When parents die young or leave to find work, the elderly and fragile are often charged with the responsibility of caring for young grandchildren.

Kaling, enrolled in GFA-supported Bridge of Hope - KP Yohannan - Gospel for Asia — When Kaling (pictured) enrolled in GFA-supported Bridge of Hope, his future changed completely.

That is one of the many reasons Gospel for Asia’s Bridge of Hope Program exists: to help care for children like Kaling who have next to nothing; to ease the burden of their loving but helpless caregivers.

One day, a team of staff members from a Gospel for Asia-supported Bridge of Hope center met Kaling. Touched by his sorrowful plight, they invited the unhappy 8-year-old boy to enroll in the center. His first day in Bridge of Hope, December 14, 2012, marked the start of a new life.

Outward changes appeared first. A new school uniform replaced his tattered clothes, and he was given a backpack full of school supplies. The nutritious meal he received each day at the center helped his underfed body grow stronger and enabled him to fight off illnesses.

With the tutoring Kaling received from the Bridge of Hope staff, he grew academically as well. He eagerly applied himself to his studies and to the extra activities at the center.

“The Bridge of Hope staff takes care of us as their own children,” Kaling shared. “I was unable to get a good education and live a regular life, but Bridge of Hope made impossible things possible for me.”

Kaling’s grandmother watched her grandson mature under the care of the Bridge of Hope staff. Thankfulness swelled in her heart toward all those who helped her grandson, and she learned it was because of Jesus’ love that Kaling received such blessings.

Growth Within

Through Bridge of Hope, Kaling gained skills that would help him break out of the cycle of poverty, and he also learned truths about the forgiving nature of God and saw it lived out in the staff. As he understood how forgiveness could transform his life, Kaling exchanged his insecurity and bitterness for confidence and thankfulness.

Although he was a young child, Kaling recognized the blessings of Bridge of Hope, and he found joy and comfort.

These children walk home after attending their Bridge of Hope center - KP Yohannan - Gospel for Asia — These children walk home after attending their Bridge of Hope center. On their backs are backpacks they received from Bridge of Hope, and in their hearts they carry hope for the days to come and joy for today.

As Danny Yohannan writes on Dr. KP Yohannan Metropolitan’s blog, “Thankfulness keeps our hearts from losing hope, and hope fuels our faith to believe God for the things He will do and the promises He has made.”

Daily Love from Caring Strangers

Even though his mother was still absent from his life and his father had died, Kaling received the love of other men and women whom he’s never met. Supporters of GFA’s Bridge of Hope Program and contributors toward GFA’s Unsponsored Children Fund make Kaling’s and 82,000 other children’s life-changing stories possible.

While the program is structured to be supported by monthly pledges, GFA’s Unsponsored Children’s Fund supplements the daily needs of the program. When Bridge of Hope staff members discover children in desperate need of help, this fund helps enable them to immediately assist that child, without waiting for another sponsor to pledge recurring support.

It’s remarkable. We may live thousands of miles away from a child in Nepal, Sri Lanka or some other Asian nation, yet through our prayers and financial support, we can help give them a hope for the future.

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Bridge of Hope Offers New Dreams for Struggling Kids Like Dhanishta, Reports Gospel for Asia

November 8, 2017 By GFA Staff Writer

My daughter wants to be a police officer when she grows up. She wants to rescue people in difficult situations. I encourage her ambitions and applaud her compassion. You see, my daughter was rescued from a difficult place. She was removed from her biological home by a police officer and placed in our home as a foster child. We have since adopted her and seen her hopes and dreams expand into what would have been an impossible future before.

My daughter can see her dream become a reality. She is attending an excellent school; she gets help with her homework and has all the supplies she needs. My daughter does not need to worry about whether she gets dinner tonight. We live on a tight budget, but my children don’t need to work to put food in our bellies.

I recently read about a young girl named Dhanishta in a similar situation. She was from a very poor family. Her parents worked in a textile factory in South Asia, earning barely enough to put food on the table once a day. The little income that was earned was often spent on alcohol by her father. I can imagine his shame and desperation to forget. To forget the long hours. To forget longing in his child’s eyes for a better life. To forget the impossibility of dreaming.

Dhanishta went to public school but always struggled. She had to work on the weekends at a factory just to buy school supplies. She had no one to help her with her school lessons. Everyone’s time was consumed with the struggle to survive. She was often distracted by the hunger in her belly.

Bridge of Hope Offers New Dreams for Struggling Kids - KP Yohannan - Gospel for Asia — Gospel for Asia-supported Bridge of Hope centers offer up a world of possibility for children who have only ever known poverty.

When Dhanishta was enrolled in a Gospel for Asia-supported Bridge of Hope center her life changed dramatically. Bridge of Hope provided her with the school supplies she needed so she could stop working on the weekends. There was loving, patient Bridge of Hope staff to help her after school with her studies. She was even provided a healthy meal each day to relieve the worry of whether she would eat.

Most importantly, Dhanishta was given the gift of dreaming. Dreaming of the future. Dreaming of a better life. She has excelled in school, scoring 100’s in math and science and placing fourth in her state for those subjects. The door to a new life is open before her. She dreams of going into the medical field, something that is no longer impossible.

What’s more, as Dhanishta has excelled, her father has been inspired to give up drinking to help her attain her dreams. Even the community has been inspired by her; the owner of the building Bridge of Hope operates out of has committed to pay her admission expenses into medical college. Bridge of Hope has truly been a bridge to new hopes and dreams for Dhanishta.

God works stories of redemption and hope in lives all around us. Just as the Lord has given Dhanishta a new hope and future, He has done the same for my daughter. They have both been redeemed by His love and are writing a new story for their lives.

“ ‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.’ ” —Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)

I’m thankful the Lord invites us to be His partners in sharing hope and love. When we support Bridge of Hope, we offer hope in the name of Jesus to a child in South Asia trapped in the cycle of poverty. When we open our home as a sanctuary to an abandoned foster child, we extend the Lord’s love. When we adopt a child into a forever home, we re-enact His powerful story of redemption. May we always reflect His image as we reach out in love to those around us.

To learn more about sponsoring a child in Asia through Bridge of Hope, go here:

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Gospel for Asia: Bridge of Hope Turns Bijay’s Dreams into Reality

October 6, 2017 By GFA Staff Writer

Gospel for Asia, Wills Point, TX, USA

Do you remember your elementary school days? Maybe they were some of the best years of your life. Maybe you played four square during recess and watched the Mickey Mouse Club in the afternoons. You probably never had to worry about money or paying the family bills. You probably didn’t wonder if you were going to eat that day. Three daily meals were most likely guaranteed, provided by your caring mother and father.

But for Bijay … His elementary school days were quite different.

Dreaming of Food and Schoolbooks

Angry shouts filled the room. The smell of alcohol clung to Kuwar as he yelled at his family. Kuwar’s youngest son, Bijay, hunkered down amidst the familiar scene. His schoolbooks lay abandoned—how could he study while his father was enraged?

Food was scarce in Bijay’s house, but the supply of his father’s strong drink never ran short. Although Kuwar had a job as a laborer in paddy fields, he relinquished very little of his income to provide for his family. His wife picked up the slack yet struggled to make ends meet, and her difficulty to provide food only worsened over time.

Living in the Wake of Destruction

Bijay’s family lived in a village riddled with poverty. Civil war had ravaged the region, and many lives remained shattered. Bijay watched his parents struggle—one trapped in an addiction and the other caught in its wake—and worried about his family. Many other children in his village were poor, but Bijay saw some of his friends eating good food, wearing new clothes to school and studying with new school materials. The sharp contrast between his family and these other families made Bijay wonder when he would be the boy happily going to school with a full stomach and nice clothes.

Bridge of Hope Turns Bijay’s Dream into Reality

Then one day, some GFA-supported Bridge of Hope staff members visited Bijay’s home, conducting a survey to invite additional children to join the Bridge of Hope center in the area. With so many children in need of assistance, Bridge of Hope staff members pray for wisdom and carefully interview families to determine which children need help first.

After the staff members talked with Bijay’s family and learned of his plight, they decided to enroll him in Bridge of Hope. The day Bijay had always dreamed of finally came!

Gospel for Asia Bridge of Hope Children - KP Yohannan — Gospel for Asia-supported Bridge of Hope equips many children in Asia with hope for a brighter future.

Knowing the young boy’s need, the Bridge of Hope staff gave Bijay new shoes, school uniforms, school supplies and even a new backpack for carrying his precious books. Bijay also received a nutritious meal each school day and regular medical checkups, which enabled him to grow stronger physically.

What’s more, the blessings from Bridge of Hope extended beyond just Bijay and his educational needs. This young boy’s testimony goes on to explain how Bridge of Hope impacted his entire family. Through the counseling and love Bijay’s father received from the Bridge of Hope staff, Kuwar was freed from his alcohol addiction!

Children Suffer Under their Parents’ Addictions

Can you imagine living all your childhood life in an environment that fostered anxiety? Bijay’s family situation is one that many children in Asia endure every single day. And that is not an exaggeration.

Addiction consumes.

We receive reports from the field about families ravaged by alcohol addictions. Fathers give their hard-earned income to the bottle instead of using it to care for their wives and children. Their drunken states often lead to physical and emotional abuse.

We understand men—and women—are given over to addiction for various reasons; they each have a story—whether it’s because of the pressures of living in poverty, the disillusionment of life, idle time, negative friendships, etc.

But that doesn’t change the fact that young boys and girls are looking into their father’s drunken eyes and worrying about what will happen to their families, to their tomorrow.

Providing a Safe Haven for Children

Thankfully, thousands of children enrolled in Gospel for Asia-supported Bridge of Hope centers no longer have to worry. Bridge of Hope is a safe haven, a refuge for 82,000 children.

It’s true that not every child enrolled in Bridge of Hope lives with a parent given over to addiction—we thank God for that! But each child has their own story of struggle.

The majority of the students in these centers come from families entrenched in poverty. At such young ages, they’re already accustomed to “survival mode.”

You work to eat. You eat to work. No work means no food. This is what they see all around them. This is what they come to believe life holds for them. They don’t know there is much more to life than simply living to die.

But at the centers, students experience the love of Christ through the love of the staff. For a few hours every school day, they’re free to dream and are encouraged to chase after those dreams. They’re told that a life of addiction and poverty doesn’t have to be theirs. They’re empowered to thrive!

Rescuing Children for More than 10 Years

More than 10 years ago, the Lord God put a vision and a burden for the children of Asia on Dr. KP Yohannan‘s heart. By his faithfulness and obedience, and through the many people across the globe whom have shared that burden, 82,000 children are discovering what life is like without having to worry about their families, about their tomorrows (and that’s not counting the ones who have already graduated from Bridge of Hope). These precious children know they have people who care for them and will help them overcome any struggle.

Here’s the rest of Bijay’s story:

As Bijay’s worries faded away, he diligently applied himself to his studies, thankful for the help he received at the Bridge of Hope center.

“I thank Jesus for blessing my family,” Bijay shared.

God worked through Bridge of Hope to shine joy into the life of young Bijay and to also bring peace to his entire family.

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Build a Bridge From Despair to Hope

October 4, 2018 By GFA Staff Writer

Gospel for Asia (GFA World), Wills Point, Texas – Discussing the life-changing impact of Bridge of Hope centers on the lives of thousands of children.

When you are a child of the slums, every day may be a repeat of the last. Life is about staying alive. If you do not scavenge or beg or become entrapped in bonded labor and a pantheon of dismal circumstances, you will not survive to see tomorrow. Even worse, tomorrow holds no promise of anything better than yesterday or today.

Think for a minute what it is like to lay your head down at night in a dirt-floor hut built from scrap materials, perhaps alongside a railroad track, in a garbage dump or near a red-light district. There are no visions of sugar plums dancing in your head with joyful anticipation of what will happen when you awake in the morning.

Millions of children in abject poverty in Asia close their eyes at night, knowing for certain that tomorrow holds no more hope for them than the day that has passed.

Perhaps it is too much to ask that we imagine a situation so desperate. Most of us have not, as the old saying goes, “Been there; done that.” It is far beyond the scope of our own reality. But for these children, it is reality.

When the Lord gave GFA’s founder, Dr. KP Yohannan, the vision to start Bridge of Hope centers, little did he realize that these centers would eventually be leading tens of thousands of children to see that their tomorrows can be filled with hope exactly as our loving God has planned.

For those of us with a Western mindset, we may be inclined to see supporting a child to attend a Bridge of Hope center as “a good cause.” We can become accustomed to having a small sum drawn from our bank account as a token gesture of an “obligation” or commitment.

But for these children, the result of our support is life-changing.

Through our support, these children begin to see that there is hope for tomorrow and the tomorrows that follow—even tomorrow’s tomorrow.

They discover they have potential.

The tutors at Bridge of Hope centers help children to grasp the world of opportunities that exist outside of their previously dismal days and teach them skills essential to stake their claim on a hope for that future.

More than providing an education for the children, Bridge of Hope tutors promote each child’s potential and encourage them to reach the opportunities that will become available to those who apply themselves.

Tutoring, nutritious meals, health care and learning to serve others become regular components of a child’s day. But it is none of those that build the bridge from despair to hope. It is the love and care demonstrated by their tutors and the other Bridge of Hope staff members that make the difference.

One GFA-supported Bridge of Hope tutor explained,

“Besides Bridge of Hope, there is no one at home or school or even in the community where they live who would encourage them to excel in their studies or talents . . . No one is ready to help them. No one is willing to teach them. But these children are [dear] to us.”

When you think of Bridge of Hope, think of a ministry based upon caring for the least of these just, as Jesus does. Whether you’re a center’s director, tutor, cook or a donor, let us each do our part of the ministry with the same objective. Let us be the providers of hope in whatever way the Lord has provided for us to participate.

Let us pray together for the tens of thousands of children who, because of Bridge of Hope, lay their heads down at night with a hope and a dream of a better tomorrow.

Pray for the staff members who are the hands and feet of the work.

Give thanks for the lives we have been able to help thus far and that the Lord would continue in them the good work He has begun.

Learn more about how you can help support the Bridge of Hope program.

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Gospel for Asia Shares a Young Girl’s Journey from Poverty to Hope

November 17, 2022 By GFA Staff Writer

WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA World) founded by K.P. Yohannan, has been the model for numerous charities like Gospel for Asia Canada, to help the poor and deprived worldwide, discussing Shanie who grew up in extreme poverty, and the opportunity that came knocking towards hope through Gospel for Asia (GFA World) Child Sponsorship Program.

Finally, Shanie was done for the day. Exhaustion and hunger clawed at the young girl’s mind and body; unfortunately, this was normal. Shanie should have been in school, learning with her peers. Yet here she was, going to bed hungry and tired from a day of working an adult’s job.

A Childhood of Hardship

GFA World discussing Shanie who grew up in extreme poverty, and her journey towards hope through GFA World Child Sponsorship Program. — Shanie, pictured here, is happy that, thanks to GFA World’s Child Sponsorship Program, she could find a better future than what may have been afforded to her otherwise.

Shanie grew up in extreme poverty. Her parents were both daily laborers who wove bamboo baskets on the side to ensure the family’s survival. Money was difficult to come by, Shanie’s older sister had to drop out of school since their parents were unable to continue paying for enrollment, and they considered taking Shanie out of school as well. It went against what her parents wanted for them: Shanie’s parents wanted their children to have a better life, but the fees were draining them of much-needed income.

Sometimes, Shanie would help her parents weave baskets, skipping school to help earn a little extra money. Would this be her future, working constantly, like her parents, and still going to bed hungry? Shanie wanted to complete her education, but no one from her village had ever gone on to higher education. In fact, virtually no other children in Shanie’s village were even enrolled in school—and it seemed it would stay that way.

Opportunity Comes Knocking

Things would not, however, remain the same. When Gospel for Asia (GFA) workers began enrolling local children in GFA World’s Child Sponsorship Program, Shanie joined many of her peers in their shared journey toward a better tomorrow.

At first, the young girl did not know what to expect, and the new environment and teachers scared her. But it only took a few days for Shanie to get over her fear. The following days in the program were filled with joy for Shanie. Program staff ensured whatever she needed was provided—nutritious food, tutoring for lessons, school supplies and even health care. Every child enrolled in the program received the same love and care that Shanie did, and the workers ensured that children who most needed the help were enrolled.

Despite the odds against her, and thanks to the program’s support, Shanie finished her education. She was the first individual from her village to fully complete her primary education—but she didn’t stop there. This young woman went on to university and completed her training to become a full-fledged nurse.

“What I am today is only because of [the sponsorship program],” Shanie declared. “I am proud and thankful to all the teachers in the [program].”

Read how GFA World’s Child Sponsorship Program instills hope in the lives of children like Shanie.

*Names of people and places may have been changed for privacy and security reasons. Images are Gospel for Asia World stock photos used for representation purposes and are not the actual person/location, unless otherwise noted.

Source: Gospel for Asia Field Reports & Updates, A Young Girl’s Journey from Poverty to Hope

Learn more about the GFA World Child Sponsorship program and how you can make an incredible difference in the lives of children, bringing hope to their lives and their families, transforming communities.

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