Last updated on: December 15, 2021 at 10:26 pm By GFA Staff Writer
WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA World) founded by K.P. Yohannan, whose heart to love and help the poor has inspired numerous charities like Gospel for Asia Canada – Discussing Anja, the devastating discord in her family, and the peace and hope that started through a Christmas program invitation at a church led by GFA pastor.
A play on words has become a popular quote: “No God, no peace. Know God, know peace.” For Anja, this is more than a saying; it is a statement of truth. During a Christmas program at a church led by a Gospel for Asia (GFA) pastor, Anja learned about the One who brings the peace her family so desperately needed.
Through a Christmas program led by a Gospel for Asia (GFA) pastor, Anja found the peace she was looking for.
Anja lived with her husband and their two adult sons, Hetu and Dash. Her husband and Dash struggled with an addiction to alcohol. As a result, the family often lived in turmoil. Anja’s husband did not work. Dash fought with his older brother, Hetu, and they did not speak to one another for months.
A Plea for Change
Devastated by the discord in her family, Anja visited local temples and asked her gods to change her husband and younger son. Unfortunately, she saw no difference in their behavior, and peace continued to allude the family.
One day, Anja’s neighbor invited her to a Christmas program at the local place of worship. When the program ended, Gospel for Asia (GFA) pastor Madhu prayed for the people in attendance. Anja, along with several other people visiting for the first time, welcomed Pastor Madhu’s prayer.
An Unexpected Answer
Two days after Pastor Madhu prayed to conclude the Christmas program, Anja began seeing God’s provision in her life. She received a job in a cloth factory, which surprised her because she had been job searching for a long time to no avail.
Following the example Pastor Madhu set the day of the Christmas program, Anja began to pray for her sons. Soon, she was rewarded with seeing Hetu and Dash resolve their conflict, and Hetu began attending church with her.
As they attended the local worship place, Anja and Hetu learned more about God and the hope and peace He provides. Like his mother, Hetu began to pray to God, asking for a wife. It wasn’t long before he met a woman, and they were soon married.
A Hope for the Future
Together, Anja, Hetu and his new wife continued to grow in their faith and knowledge of God. Occasionally, Pastor Madhu visited them at home, encouraging them from God’s Word. Eventually, they each decided to put their trust in His Son, Jesus. Anja even began to see changes in the behavior of her husband and younger son, Dash.
What began with a neighbor’s invitation to a Christmas program became the answer to Anja’s desperate prayers for her family. Peace was no longer a distant hope. It was a reality in her heart.
*Names of people and places may have been changed for privacy and security reasons. Images are GFA stock photos used for representation purposes and are not the actual person/location, unless otherwise noted.
Last updated on: January 7, 2022 at 12:45 am 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 – Discussing leprosy, the struggle and stigma, and World Leprosy Day, and the Gospel for Asia medical center organized to spread healing and hope.
A patient visits a doctor during a medical treatment camp held to commemorate World Leprosy Day.
World Leprosy Day is commemorated each year on the last Sunday of January. The aim of the observance day is to raise awareness about leprosy (also known as Hansen’s disease) and its cure. For many Gospel for Asia workers and pastors, the day is also an opportunity to show God’s love and care to people who are often marginalized by society.
Leprosy Colonies Honored with Medical Care
In one region, a Gospel for Asia (GFA) medical center organized a medical treatment camp in honor of World Leprosy Day. Two doctors provided free check-ups, medicine and other medical attention to men, women and children living with leprosy and battling other illnesses. Throughout the day, the medical center provided treatment to 140 people, all at no cost to the patients.
In addition, several Gospel for Asia (GFA) pastors and their local fellowships of believers observed World Leprosy Day by providing clothing items for six different groups of people living with leprosy. In total, they provided leprosy colony residents with 600 warm blankets, 100 night dresses and 600 lungis (a traditional garment worn primarily by men resembling a tubular-shaped skirt).
This simple act of kindness made a significant impact on people struggling with leprosy. One woman explained how she never imagined God would rescue her from her misery, but He did.
Families living in a leprosy colony rejoice after receiving blankets and clothing items in honor of World Leprosy Day.
“When there was no bed… hospital authorities released me from the hospital. I was not able to take care of my body because I lost all my fingers,” she described.
“One day, when I was counting my days on the earth, God opened the way [for me to stay alive] through a Gospel for Asia (GFA) leprosy worker who used to come and clean my wounds and gave me the love of God and care. Now, I am completely cured by the grace of God and the unique help of [the church].”
Families living in a leprosy colony rejoice after receiving blankets and clothing items in honor of World Leprosy Day.
Shared Meal Touches Hearts
In a different region, Gospel for Asia (GFA) pastor Ladan and a group of believers prepared for World Leprosy Day a year in advance. During a prayer meeting, Pastor Ladan developed a great passion for sharing the love of God with the poor in his community. He shared this desire with the group.
They began to save money throughout the year in order to bless the poor with clothes and shoes. Once they collected a sizable sum, they shared their idea with local store owners, who then sold clothes and shoes to the believers at a discounted price. The team was ready to bless the poor in their community just in time for their World Leprosy Day program.
The program included a special delivery of the recently purchased goods to a nearby leprosy colony where 120 families lived. Pastor Ladan and the believers distributed two clothing items and a pair of shoes to each person. They also sang songs and shared that Jesus not only loves the sick, but He also can heal them. The believers took time to talk and pray with those battling leprosy.
Afterward, the team cooked a meal and ate with the families living in the colony. The patients were especially touched when the group of believers shared a meal with them.
A supervisor in the leprosy colony explained that groups would come and offer gifts to the patients, but when this group of believers came, it was “the first time people came and ate with us.”
One of the patients in the colony described the impact of the visit.
“When I was infected by leprosy, I was even rejected by my own family, and they began to hate me,” he said. “You are a stranger to me; however, you came and showed your kindness to us.”
Although leprosy often carries a stigma that keeps those carrying the disease isolated from family and community, World Leprosy Day gives an opportunity to spread healing and hope. Leprosy—and loneliness—can be cured. Gospel for Asia (GFA) medical camps, pastors and other national workers offer an answer for both.
*Names of people and places may have been changed for privacy and security reasons. Images are Gospel for Asia stock photos used for representation purposes and are not the actual person/location, unless otherwise noted.
WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA World and affiliates like Gospel for Asia Canada) founded by Dr. K.P. Yohannan – Discussing the struggles of women like Preshti who grew up illiterate, and the literacy classes by Gospel for Asia missionaries that opened business opportunities for women.
Was this the bus Preshti needed? Or was it that one? Visiting her mother in another city always proved to be a challenge for the 45-year-old mother of four. She couldn’t read the signs.
Preshti (pictured) proudly holds the workbook she used during the literacy program.
Growing Up Illiterate
Preshti was among the two-thirds of women in her area who are illiterate. Growing up, Preshti was not able to attend school because of her parents’ poverty. As the eldest, Preshti took care of her siblings and the home while her parents worked. The money they made put Presthi’s younger siblings through school. For Preshti, school seemed out of reach, and she carried this belief into her adult years.
Grasping the Skills to Change through Gospel for Asia Literacy Classes
Then Preshti enrolled in a literacy class organized by Gospel for Asia (GFA)woman missionaries. Some challenges arose, however. If she took the classes during the day, she couldn’t work. The missionaries moved the classes to evening, but even then, Preshti could barely focus after a hard day’s work. Then, after class, she would come home and cook dinner, and her alcoholic husband would be angry if she was too late getting dinner on the table.
But Preshti pushed on. She needed these classes.
After some months, Preshti “graduated.” Her confidence soared; she finally could read and write!
Armed with her newfound abilities, Preshti joined other women in a local small business plan. Taking a loan, the women started small businesses and used the earnings to pay the loan and provide for their families.
*Names of people and places may have been changed for privacy and security reasons. Images are GFA stock photos used for representation purposes and are not the actual person/location, unless otherwise noted.
Last updated on: February 3, 2022 at 10:23 pm By GFA Staff Writer
WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA World and affiliates like Gospel for Asia Canada) founded by Dr. K.P. Yohannan – Discussing Rasa, her depression, shame and rejection from her own family, and the deliverance that walked into her life, a Gospel for Asia (GFA) missionary who shared Christ’s love.
Rasa stood in shame in front of her parents listening to the angry, disappointed words falling from their lips. How could she, their eldest daughter, engage in a secret romance with a village boy and bring disgrace to their family?
Rasa’s parents forbade her to ever leave the house alone again. She had lost their trust—and, it seemed, their love.
Locked Away
Rasa (pictured) lost her family’s approval when her secret relationship with a young man brought shame to them all. They began to hate and mistreat her, driving Rasa to seclusion and desperation.
Rasa’s home life had seemed good. Her family successfully farmed their land and lived a well-to-do lifestyle. She had completed 12 years of studies—something only one in three children accomplish in low- and middle-income countries —and enjoyed modern conveniences in her home, which many in her nation don’t have. But life became grim after her family discovered her undercover relationship. They continually scolded her, and her father even hit her.
Rasa’s parents took their daughter to a temple and performed a ceremony over her to try to break off her attraction to the young man. But Rasa’s young heart still longed for the boy. Hatred toward her built up within her family members, and Rasa withdrew into angry silence. Eventually, they locked her away in her room.
“I was left alone and did not get any love from anyone,” Rasa says.
Shame and rejection whirled within Rasa. One day, she attempted to end her life. Someone managed to save her, but Rasa did not want saving. She wanted relief. So later, she tried again—and was rescued again.
Rasa’s agony continued. Finally, she tried to commit suicide a third time, and again someone saved her. Her life was in shambles, and it seemed there would be no escape.
Hidden Daughter Meets a Friend
Then deliverance walked into Rasa’s house one day when Gospel for Asia (GFA) missionary Imani visited Rasa’s family. Sister Imani greeted Rasa’s mother, Kalani, and because Imani was a woman, Kalani welcomed her into the home despite her husband being absent.
Women missionaries like Imani and this woman are able to relate to the personal struggles of the ladies in their communities and develop close friendships. Through the ministry of these women, many ladies and girls like Rasa are discovering how much God loves and values them.
When Imani inquired if everyone in the house was present to hear some important news about Jesus, Kalani replied that one daughter suffered a sickness and was alone in her room. Hearing this, Imani offered to pray for the girl’s healing. Kalani then revealed the sobering situation the family faced and explained why Rasa was confined to her room.
Imani spoke with Rasa’s mother and siblings for a long time and heard about all their problems. She realized the young daughter carried deep hurts and had many problems—she was desperate enough to attempt suicide three times—but Imani believed Jesus could work beautiful healing in Rasa’s life. Confident in Christ’s power, Imani extended a generous offer: If Rasa and her parents consented, Rasa could stay in Imani’s home for a time to receive counseling and guidance.
“Will you go with Sister Imani?” Kalani questioned her daughter, unknowingly speaking words that would forever change the course of Rasa’s life.
Rasa immediately agreed. She did not know what it might be like to live under the care of this new woman, but she wanted anything that would get her out of her current situation. Three days later, Imani returned, and after being granted full permission to counsel Rasa according to God’s wisdom, she brought her new charge home.
Relationship with GFA Missionary Produce Change of Heart
Ministering to the needs of girls and widows was nothing new to Imani. She had been serving in this village for 15 years as a Gospel for Asia (GFA) missionary, speaking words of life and teaching women vocational skills such as sewing clothes and making kitchen utensils out of coconut shells. Imani and the troubled girl developed an especially close bond, however. Although Imani had never married or had children, she showed Rasa the love and kindness of a mother.
This woman, like Rasa, considered suicide as the only way out of her grief and pain. But hearing about God’s unconditional love, these women both found new life and unspeakable joy.
Rasa’s relationship with Imani brought hope to the girl’s life, and she gradually walked away from her past problems and decided to pursue a better life. She accompanied Imani in her ministry, meeting many people and even learning to sew clothes. Rasa also participated in daily times of prayer and scripture reading, and through them, she learned about the God whose love is unconditional. Slowly, she started a relationship with Jesus, and she found inner peace and comfort in Him.
At the end of one month, Rasa asked Christ to live in her heart. Thoughts of suicide no longer gripped her—she was free and spotless in Jesus, and shame had lost its hold on her. She was a new creation. Instead of hiding her past, she began sharing her story to testify to others of Christ’s life-changing power.
“Now, I have a loving mother and also a church family to take care of me,” Rasa says of her new friend Imani. “I thank the Lord Jesus for saving me.”
Family Reunion
Two months after Rasa went to live with Imani, she returned home to visit her family. Her parents greeted her with amazement. Their daughter was smiling. They could see love and joy in her countenance. How could this be?
Sister Imani explained to them how Jesus’ unfailing love had transformed Rasa and how her life now serves as a testimony to everyone.
Rasa’s parents wept. Their daughter who needed someone to rescue her from death three times now wore a hopeful, joyous expression; their girl who earlier had brought shame to their family was now a good example to others. Jesus had done amazing things in their daughter’s life.
Rasa’s parents wept. Their daughter who needed someone to rescue her from death three times now wore a hopeful, joyous expression.
Then they remembered how they had mistreated Rasa, and they felt deep remorse over their actions. That day, love within their family was restored.
Although Rasa reconciled with her family, she decided to continue living with Imani instead of moving back home. She wanted to keep learning about the God who received her when her family had rejected her—and help Imani bring others the hope that rescued her.
Send News of Acceptance, Unfailing Love
Imani showed Rasa a path to life in Jesus, and she helped Rasa understand God loved her when it seemed no one else did. Now, Rasa is in true fellowship with God and with her family, and she is helping Imani carry God’s message to others.
The message of God’s forgiveness and unfailing love is desperately needed around the world. According to the World Health Organization, there are as many as 16 million suicide attempts each year. Millions more don’t attempt suicide but are burdened by discontentment and grief. Each person on the brink of choosing death over life has unique situations and sorrows, but in Jesus, they can find acceptance and abundant life.
A Gospel for Asia (GFA) missionary brings life-saving news to people in desperate need of God’s endless love. Your partnership today will enable many more people to encounter that message!
You can help send a GFA missionary like Imani to people in Asia who are on the brink of hopelessness. Your gift of any amount will help bring news of God’s unconditional love and healing to those who need it most. Donate today and help point people to a path that leads to life!
*Names of people and places may have been changed for privacy and security reasons. Images are GFA stock photos used for representation purposes and are not the actual person/location, unless otherwise noted.
Madchen wasn’t earning enough as a laborer. As hard as she tried, the mother of two couldn’t meet the needs of her family. Madchen struggled to provide for her sons and fix their home—all of which she did alone.
Like this family, Madchen was blessed with a sewing machine so she can earn more income.
Providing for Her Family
Madchen’s husband had passed away years ago, leaving her to provide for their two sons alone. Whatever work she could find, Madchen took, but her earnings were only enough for the bare essentials. Providing her family with any nutritious food or making sure they could get medical treatments when needed were out of the question.
By the grace of God, a Christian family hired Madchen after noticing her plight and offered to help the struggling widow. Now, Madchen was able to raise her sons and provide for their basic needs.
“Do not worry, just believe in God,” the family said, encouraging Madchen. “He will provide all your needs.”
Madchen saw the love of God through the family’s loving words and their provision. Their example of God’s love for the poor and weary touched the widow’s heart—God knows her troubles and sees her burdens. Madchen embraced that love, fully accepting it into her heart.
Given a Sewing Machine, a Future
As the years passed and Madchen’s sons grew older, their needs grew too. Madchen found her finances stretched thin as she raised her sons to adulthood, even with the extra help she received. The widow looked for additional ways to earn money, but no other avenue appeared.
By divine providence, Gospel for Asia (GFA)Sisters of Compassion happened to meet Madchen. After talking to her, the sisters discovered Madchen could sew clothes. They took this knowledge back to their leaders and continued to minister to Madchen.
Sometime later, Madchen received a sewing machine. Finally, after 26 years of struggling to earn a livable wage, this gift will allow Madchen to earn enough money as neighbors, friends or others in the community take their sewing needs to the widowed mother. Additionally, Madchen can teach her daughter-in-law to sew, which will offer additional income to the family.
*Names of people and places may have been changed for privacy and security reasons. Images are Gospel for Asia stock photos used for representation purposes and are not the actual person/location, unless otherwise noted.
Last updated on: February 7, 2022 at 11:10 pm By GFA Staff Writer
WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA World and affiliates like Gospel for Asia Canada) founded by Dr. K.P. Yohannan – Discussing the life of a Gospel for Asia pastor Nateshwar, the opposition, shame and fury he, and others like him, constantly face for the sake of his love for Christ and those that Christ loves.
Gospel for Asia (GFA) pastor Nateshwar knew what it meant to endure opposition for the sake of Christ. He remembered the hostility he faced when he first told his parents he wanted to be a Christian. He knew how his people despised those who “forsook their ancestral gods” to worship what they considered “the God of the lower class.” He had faced that hatred before, time and time again; it was years of slander, rejection and abuse from his people.
He saw the same disgust in the eyes of the four drunken men who now stood before him. He faced the hot press of their rage as one of the men raised his arm and rained blows on his body with a stick. It broke under the force of their fury.
The crowd around them struggled to stop the beating. The pastor’s voice rose above the fray, echoing the heart of Christians and martyrs through the generations: “Though you beat me, still then I love you,” he cried out.
He meant every word.
The Gift of the King
Pastor Nateshwar was born among a proud people—proud of who they are and of the gods they worship. Their sense of honor and identity is heavily tied to their religion and their social structure. But all the religious rituals his family practiced never brought Nateshwar any peace.
Young Nateshwar left home in his early 20s, searching for work so he could help his parents—an honorable and respectable role for a young man in that community. But when Nateshwar found work, he also found that some of his coworkers were Christians. Nateshwar often saw them praying, and eventually he mustered up the courage to ask them about it. In return, the men gladly told him about the gift of Christ on Calvary.
For the first time in his life, Nateshwar became familiar with the greatest King ever to walk the face of the earth.
Riches to Rags
Nateshwar returned home after a few years and soon sought out a Bible and a pastor.
His parents were not pleased to discover he had become a Christian. To them, he had abandoned and despised everything they could have given him: the honor and traditions of his people. They made him suffer for his decision. So did his neighbors. They gossiped, slandered his name and looked on him with disgust.
This sort of treatment is common for people in Nateshwar’s situation. Many people from his people group are ostracized by their families, kicked out of their homes or chased out of their villages. In their eyes, people like Nateshwar have rejected the position they once held to embrace the life of an unclean thing.
But in the eternal realms, Nateshwar had left behind his rags and been adopted by the King of the Ages.
After reading a book on the lives of Christian missionaries and martyrs of the past, Nateshwar knew his call was to follow the footsteps of the men and women before him—to share the Good News of Jesus’ love and glory—no matter what may come.
Living Love
Nateshwar, a Gospel for Asia (GFA) pastor, has ministered to those around him for more than 15 years. The people in his immediate community know him as a man who is humble and loving.
There are others who don’t understand why he loves Jesus, but Nateshwar and his wife count it as a privilege to suffer for Jesus.
“I have opposition, which is true,” he says. “But even then, for the glory of God, even if we have to face problems—including my family—we are not bothered. We will face the problems, and we will face them for the glory of God.”
Through Nateshwar’s display of God’s love, dozens of people have come to understand Christ’s grace. Like Pastor Nateshwar, they have seen how the honor of Christ far surpasses any shame they may experience in this life.
An Eternal Perspective
The beating Pastor Nateshwar faced at the hands of the drunken men in a neighboring village left him bedridden for a week, but it did not dampen his spirit. If anything, Pastor Nateshwar has a greater desire to see these men understand the King’s love that can withstand all the hate the world can throw at it.
“I know Jesus loves them, so I love them,” Pastor Nateshwar says.
Names of people and places may have been changed for privacy and security reasons. Images are Gospel for Asia stock photos used for representation purposes and are not the actual person/location, unless otherwise noted.
WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA World and affiliates like Gospel for Asia Canada) founded by Dr. K.P. Yohannan – Discussing the Gospel for Asia Women’s Fellowship group who used pieces of literature help answer questions that people like Niriksh often have about Jesus.
Niriksh was impressed by what he saw. The elderly man sat at a distance, watching a group of 50 women who had gathered in an open space below. At the front of the crowd stood the women from a local Women’s Fellowship group who had organized the meeting. It was September 8, World Literacy Day.
They shared about the significance and importance of education, and several women from the village came forward at the end, eager to participate in a Gospel for Asia – supported literacy class. The Women’s Fellowship sisters had seen Niriksh, and after the event, they went over to speak with him.
What the Old Man Said
“You are doing a very good work,” Niriksh said to the women shortly after they approached.
As the conversation continued, one of the women offered Niriksh a piece of literature.
“I am illiterate,” Niriksh said in reply. “Please tell me what is written in it.”
The women explained the piece of literature, and the conversation turned to the church and Jesus. Seeking more information, Niriksh learned about Jesus’ miraculous birth, death and resurrection.
As Niriksh heard the story, excitement stirred within him. He joyfully took hold of Jesus’ offer of eternal life and begged the Gospel for Asia Women’s Fellowship team to visit his wife and tell her the same thing they had told him.
At his request, the sisters visited Niriksh’s wife later that day and told her the message of great joy as well. She, too, chose to take hold of the Savior’s hand.
Within a couple years after that day, Niriksh and his wife both passed away. Today, they’re enjoying fellowship with Christ, face to face.
Just like Niriksh’s, our lives on earth will come to a close someday. Thank you for investing yourself into seeing more people like Niriksh understand the grace of our Savior.
*Names of people and places may have been changed for privacy and security reasons. Images are Gospel for Asia stock photos used for representation purposes and are not the actual person/location, unless otherwise noted.
Most of 12-year-old Mareechi’s neighbors were poor and uneducated, like him. Many adults worked as laborers, street cleaners or garbage pickers, and some of the children did too. Although some kids could go to school, the majority spent their time roaming the narrow, refuse-filled alleyways, often picking pockets, swiping food and even sneaking into other people’s homes to take from their meager possessions.
Life in the slum was never easy, never safe and never clean.
Entering the Slum
Many people find themselves in slums when they move to cities in hopes of better wages. Others, like Mareechi, are born into them.
But Sabita, Kala and Kuntal, three Gospel for Asia Sisters of Compassion, traveled to Mareechi’s slum for another reason: They wanted to display the love of their Creator.
They gave people practical advice about health and hygiene. They visited the sick and downtrodden. They held literacy classes to help women who never had a chance to be educated. And they started “Sunday school” classes on Wednesdays and Saturdays to help children like Mareechi discover a better way to spend their idle time. Above all, they prayed for God to touch hearts.
Gospel for Asia Sisters of Compassion: Love and Prayers Heal Mother, Son
Mareechi and his mother (right)
During Sunday school, Mareechi didn’t interact with the other students. When Sabita, Kala and Kuntal asked him why, he told them about his health problems. An inexplicable dizziness and nausea often caused him to lose his balance and collapse. The same condition affected his mother, Pehr. Though the family often prayed to their gods and goddesses, and Mareechi’s hard-working father spent far more than the family could afford on doctors’ visits and treatments, neither mother nor son found healing, and their lives remained miserable.
When the Sisters of Compassion found out about Mareechi’s condition, they responded with love and prayer.
After a few months, Mareechi’s mother suddenly realized her son was better. She asked him about it, and he responded, “The sisters prayed to Jesus, and He healed me.”
Overjoyed, Pehr found the three women at church that Sunday and told them what God had done. She came back week after week and started learning more about Jesus. It didn’t take long for Pehr to experience His grace, joy, peace and healing in her life, and she received the gift of becoming a child of the Living God. Her husband, witnessing God’s power in his family’s life, made the same choice.
All this is made possible because God hears the prayers of His children—whether those prayers come from three Sisters of Compassion serving in an Asian slum or from your very own home. Thank you for your prayers for the people of Asia.
*Names of people and places may have been changed for privacy and security reasons. Images are Gospel for Asia stock photos used for representation purposes and are not the actual person/location, unless otherwise noted.
Murali and Tulika faced poverty every day. When they started attending a fellowship led by a Gospel for Asia (GFA) pastor, Tulika was able to sign up for a tailoring class at the church. Unfortunately, the only sewing machine she could find didn’t work properly. She prayed God would provide a better one, one she could actually use – a prayer God answered through friends of Gospel for Asia.
In the meantime, Murali’s father, Kaditula, became paralyzed. Kaditula couldn’t leave his bed so Murali, the family’s only breadwinner, became his full-time caretaker. At the time, Tulika had just begun sewing clothes for her family and neighbors. With her new sewing machine, she was able to make a moderate income to help sustain her family.
Over time, things improved for the family. Although Kaditula is still physically weak, he can now move his hands and sit by himself. Murali found work as a security guard in an office building.
“At present, [my wife] is not fully involved in tailoring work,” Murali said. “But by the grace of the Lord, she is helpful to the family. Now she can meet her needs.”
*Names of people and places may have been changed for privacy and security reasons. Images are Gospel for Asia stock photos used for representation purposes and are not the actual person/location, unless otherwise noted.
WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA World and affiliates like Gospel for Asia Canada) founded by Dr. K.P. Yohannan – Discussing Matali, the many visits of miscarriages hindering motherhood, and the hope and answered prayers through Gospel for Asia Sisters of Compassion.
Matali’s hand unconsciously lingered over her flat belly, and tears that were eager to be her morning companion sprang up. Two white saris flitted by outside, catching Matali’s eye. She pushed back her dark thoughts and opened her door to follow the women she watched every day.
Miscarriage’s Many Visits to Matali
Matali met two of these Sisters of Compassion while they bought milk from her next-door neighbor, and their friendship grew during Matali’s darkest days.
Matali had arrived in this village two years previously as a new bride. She was determined to make a comfortable home for her husband, Ayush, who worked hard every day at a factory manufacturing medication.
What should have been two blissful years of newlywed joy for Matali and Ayush was marked instead by sorrow and grief. Matali became pregnant very quickly, but before she completed the first trimester, Matali lost her baby. Two more pregnancies and two more miscarriages dismayed the young bride who longed to be a mother. Matali wanted to bring joy into her husband’s life, but it seemed all they had was grief.
Ayush worried for his wife and sought medical treatment for her, trusting doctors to diagnose and treat the cause of Matali’s miscarriages. Both Ayush’s and Matali’s parents offered sacrifices and prayed to their gods for the blessing of a child, but neither medical help nor religious activities enabled Matali to carry a baby to full term.
During this time, two women bought milk every day from Matali’s neighbor. At first Matali didn’t think anything about the women passing her home, but their simple white dresses stood out, contrasting with the typical fashion of bold, colorful prints. Matali became intrigued by the two women who appeared young, serene and set apart somehow.
One day, Matali went out and talked with the women and learned they were Gospel for Asia (GFA) Sisters of Compassion who served Jesus.
The sisters began to visit with Matali when they came to buy milk, and the women became friends. Soon they learned about Matali’s heartache and encouraged her to trust in Jesus, the living God who rose from the dead. Surely, He could cause life to spring up in Matali’s womb.
Gospel for Asia Sisters of Compassion help Hope to Blossom in Matali’s Heart
Accepting the sisters’ invitation, Matali and Ayush visited the nearby church led by one of our pastors Sachitan. The couple shared with the pastor their intent in visiting his church: They wanted a baby and hoped Jesus would do something. Pastor Sachitan and the other believers gathered around Matali and Ayush and prayed for them, asking God to bless the young couple with a baby.
The next month, Matali knew she was pregnant again.
Fear and joy wrestled in her heart. As the first trimester progressed, Matali noticed a difference between this pregnancy and her others. Hope would rise in Matali’s heart, but then memories of what had happened in the past would send that hope scattering into the wind.
By the beginning of the second trimester, Matali and Ayush’s faith in Jesus grew with the baby in her belly. She did not have any of the complications of the previous pregnancies, and the couple knew Jesus had answered their prayers.
Ayush’s mother came to stay with Matali to take care of her, and she started going to the church with her son and daughter-in-law. Matali’s pregnancy continued normally, causing all three to praise Jesus for His miraculous gift of life.
Matali, Ayush and Ayush’s mother pray and fellowship with the Sisters of Compassion every Wednesday. There is hope and excitement in the group as Matali’s fourth pregnancy continues free of her previous troubles.
New Life for the Entire Family
Matali, Ayush and Ayush’s mother pray and fellowship with the Sisters of Compassion every Wednesday. There is hope and excitement in the group as Matali’s fourth pregnancy continues free of her previous troubles.
Matali’s life was so different than it used to be. She no longer worried about her baby—she knew Jesus was watching over the life developing within her. The Sisters of Compassion came to Matali’s home every Wednesday for prayer and fellowship. The sisters presented Matali and Ayush with a gift to celebrate their growing family: a Bible. Ayush read it every morning before going to work and each night before bed.
Now, Matali, Ayush and his mother faithfully worship Jesus every Sunday, and all three plan to testify to their new faith.
Matali praises God for her struggles, which led her family to know Jesus. When her baby is born, the child will grow up knowing Jesus his or her whole life. Matali’s pain and sorrow have given way to contentment and anticipation of good things in the future.
*Names of people and places may have been changed for privacy and security reasons. Images are Gospel for Asia stock photos used for representation purposes and are not the actual person/location, unless otherwise noted.
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