Missing, Murdered Indigenous Women Prompt Imaginative Exercise in Empathetic Fear | Gospel for Asia Report #1

Last updated on: September 11, 2022 at 5:30 pm By GFA Staff Writer

WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA World) and affiliates Gospel for Asia Canada, founded by KP Yohannan issued the first part of a Special Report update authored by Karen Mains on the chilling reality of missing and murdered indigenous women in North America.

In my previous special report for Gospel for Asia (GFA) titled “100 Million Missing Women,” I unpacked the plight of missing women on a global scale and what governments and NGOs are doing to address the problem. The sheer magnitude of a global issue can make it difficult to internalize the gravity of the situation, so in this update, I drill down on a specific aspect of this problem that exists in North America — one that needs to be brought to the attention of the public.

Sometimes, when exploring complex world problems or catastrophes, such as a hurricane obliterating a whole community, it helps me if I sit down for a few moments and withdraw into silence. Then, I take some time to imagine myself and my family dealing with the same kind of total ruin.

Cries to end violence against indigenous women get louder. A movement to draw attention to Native American women and girls who have been killed or reported missing is expanding in some areas to include males. Photo by NBC Montana

So in order to understand the dynamic of what is termed MMIW (Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women), I took some time to ask myself what this might look like in the community where my husband, David, and I now live.

Our town is a little place, thought unexceptional by many. Recently, I was sharing with friends about the winter banners hanging on main street that say: “One Good Friend Warms Many Months.” Our little town is a basically overlooked western suburb with an immigrant community that grew and thrived because, long ago, Campbell Soup planted a large factory here on the far western edge of other suburbs growing around Chicago. That plant now stretches empty and abandoned, covering several acres, a quiet witness to economic collapse.

For the sake of discussion, let me impose a hypothetical situation upon my unremarkable little town with its population of 27,086 according to 2019 Census Bureau data. The real drama from which I would like to draw a hypothetical is the one that has recently been drawing attention from national reporting agencies and that I mentioned in the opening paragraphs. In certain areas of the United States and Canada, there is a horrific epidemic, which some term a “genocide,” of murdered and missing indigenous women. Let me impose the statistical dilemma, now much-reported.

Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, giving a speech on missing and murdered Indigenous women in front of Parliament in Ottawa in October 2016. Photo by Delusion23, Wikimedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Data on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women

It was not until 2016 that the government of Canada, under the leadership of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, established a National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. This was a much-belated response to repeated calls from indigenous leaders, social activists and multiple non-government agencies that were outraged that nothing was being done about the growing problem. The term “indigenous people” includes citizenry from First Nations, Inuit, Métis and Native American communities.

In 2011, Statistics Canada reported the following concerning Aboriginal females:

It was estimated that from 1997 to 2000, the rate of homicide for Aboriginal females was almost seven times higher than other females.
Compared to non-indigenous females, they were also “disproportionately affected by all forms of violence.”
They are also significantly over-represented among female Canadian homicide victims.
They are far more likely than other women to go missing.

The statistical incidence of MMIW is so high that the Canadian Inquiry reported that indigenous women and girls represented 16 percent of all female homicides in Canada despite representing only 4 percent of the female population.

16% of all female homicides in Canada were of indigenous women and girls

No wonder activists, journalists, women’s-safety advocates and law-enforcement agencies have now become vocal in their concerns about examining the reasons for such violence committed against mothers, daughters, girls, women, teenagers and children in this population demographic. Not only has there finally been alarm and public outcry about a decades-old dilemma, but several excellent documentaries are also available on the Internet for concerned viewers. What If? and Silent No More and other news specials examine various case studies of missing women.

Using My Little Town as a Hypothetical Example

First, because of the natural tendency not to be concerned by social dilemmas unless they touch our own lives, let’s stop and aside set some time to attempt to build some empathetic concern. Let’s use my little town with its total population of 27,086 citizens as a hypothetical example. Some 51.1 percent of the population of this far-western Chicago suburb is Hispanic. That would be 13,841 people of Latino origin.

A participant in the Greater Than Fear Rally & March in Rochester Minnesota. Photo by Lorie Shaull, Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0)

For the sake of discussion, let’s divide that number in half, which would broadly represent the population of females within the Latino population of my little town at some 6,920 women and girls. Then, let’s just grab a murdered- or missing-women statistic—let’s say that 24 percent (which pops up in statistics on MMIW dealing with per-hundred ratios, such as the homicide rate for indigenous women in Canada is 24 percent per 100,000 population) of the MMW in my little town would be almost one-quarter of the estimated 6,920 women and girls who live here. Now let’s expand our acronym from MMIW to MMWG (Murdered and Missing Women and Girls).That would be some 1,661 victims who had gone missing or been discovered murdered. Bodies have been found face down in the branch of the DuPage River, discovered in a shallow grave, found lifeless along the Prairie Path where many of us like to walk and jog. Of course, these deaths or unaccountable absences wouldn’t have happened over the period of any one year, but would be the aggregate of some 10, 15 or 20 years—who knows exactly how many decades?

Yet I am certain—absolutely, determinedly certain—that if this kind of quiet-but-steady mayhem had occurred in our community, even in the Hispanic percentage with its immigrant roots and now large immigrant population, a large cry would have developed, a shout of horror that would proclaim that my little town was a dangerous place for women to move into, live in or be born into. Stay away! Be warned! Do not look at real estate or contact a realtor.

In addition, some 67.6 percent of my fellow towners are white. So, an estimated half of that would be 34 percent white women and girls. One-quarter of 34 percent would be how many missing and murdered? You do the math.

When there is high incidence of murdered and missing women in any population, doesn’t the normal, the ordinary and the everyday hold the potential of terror?

I’m even more certain that if the same demographic had been applied to the white citizenry of my little town, the resultant reaction of distress, concern and investigation would have been tremendous. Wealthy folk who could move would do so. Due to the resulting wave of public outcry, more tax dollars would be assigned to the MMWG disaster. Eventually, the hazardous female environment would be examined by sociologists, written about by PhDs, covered in national news and exploited by carrion-feeders who inevitably make their reputations out of the sensational.

An Imaginative Exercise in Empathetic Fear

The physical facts and data regarding Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women are one thing, but imagine, again—if you will, make a leap of attempted understanding—what it must be like for a woman of any age to live in an environment so hostile to her sex that she knows someone who has gone missing or who has been murdered. A grandmother, an aunt, someone’s own mother, a daughter-in-law, a teenager, a teacher, a little girl has disappeared. A body has been found discarded by a roadside. And no one can say for sure exactly what happened. Not only that, the local police don’t take the problem of missing women seriously. Crime labs are overloaded with other, more-immediate concerns. Those gals will show up some day. Someone will find them. They’ll eventually call home.

Think about the nagging uncertainty that comes from running alone for a last-minute errand to a grocery store. Think about driving somewhere alone at night. Think about a walk home from some school event with friends, then think about those last two blocks you must walk alone. Think about a stranger passing you in a car, slowing, getting a good look, then speeding ahead. Think about an argument in a family, about the gun stored and locked in a cabinet but still there. Think about being at home alone. Think about that phone call from a stranger that reports an accident with a family member being harmed and you needing to come to aid.

When there is high incidence of murdered and missing women in any population, doesn’t the normal, the ordinary and the everyday hold the potential of terror? Doesn’t a world surfeited with sunshine, growing things, seasonal changes, rain on the fields and starlight at night get bent out of emotional shape?

The questions raised by the reality of a large demographic of women of any population facing extinction should impale us on the truth that something serious and radical must be done.

And if you or someone you know has survived an attempted incident of rape or kidnapping or brutality, does the world ever seem safe again?

To be caring citizens, we all need to become proficient in these imaginary exercises in order to create empathy for others in distress. In fact, a hallmark of Christian faith has to do with how much we are willing to enter into the suffering of others, into a suffering that at this time in our lives does not touch our present circumstances. In fact, justice mostly begins with a kind of appalled empathy, then it moves to indignation, finally resulting in activism—the attempt to “do something,” to change a wretched environment, to touch one life that has been wrecked by evil.

Read the rest of Gospel for Asia’s Special Report on An Imaginative Exercise in Empathetic Fear — Think about Living in a Community with Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women: Part 2

Learn more about Gospel for Asia’s programs to combat the 100 million missing women reality by helping women through Vocational Training, Sewing Machines and Literacy Training.

This Special Report article originally appeared on GFA.org

Read another Special Report from Gospel for Asia on 100 Million Missing Women.

Learn more about the Women Missionaries who are bringing hope as they share Christ’s love to women in Asia.

Read more on the missing and murdered indigenous women dilemma on gender imbalance and violence against women on Patheos.

Click here, to read more blogs on Patheos from Gospel for Asia.

Notable news about Gospel for Asia: FoxNews, ChristianPost, NYPost, MissionsBox

Widows Face Uphill Battle After Losing Spouses – Part 2

Last updated on: April 27, 2022 at 5:36 pm By GFA Staff Writer

WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA World and affiliates like Gospel for Asia Canada) founded by KP Yohannan, issued this final part of the GFA Special Report update on the desperate plight of widows in both affluent and developing nations.

Photo collage of desperate widows — Widows like these from across South Asia need assistance to alleviate their difficult circumstances.

Persistent Superstitions

Many might think such marginalization only happened in centuries past, but these recent stories illustrate that ancient cultural customs, superstitions and prejudices persist. According to the Global Fund for Widows, not only do many nations prevent widows from inheriting her rightful assets when her husband dies, some allow women to become part of his estate.

A widow with her son and his family — This widow is living with her son, and his family in West Bengal India. Her husband was killed by a tiger while working. Some widows even witness those attacks and experience post-traumatic stress disorder while grieving.

Such realities emphasize the need for International Widows Day, 15 years after the Loomba Foundation established the first observance to draw attention to widows’ experiences and galvanize more public support.

They are “stigmatized, shunned and shamed” the UN says. “And many of these abuses go unnoticed, even normalized. International Widows Day is an opportunity for action towards achieving full rights and recognition for widows.”

Then there are the problems caused by war and other conflicts. To examine this, the UNHCR—the UN Refugee Agency—dispatched a reporter to Mosul, Iraq, near the end of the government’s three-year-long, on-and-off battle to overcome militant extremists.

The agency examined the impact of fighting, which continued long after the battle ended. Among the victims were Asmaa Mahmood, captured along with her husband and their two young daughters. Two weeks after their capture and separation, Asmaa learned her husband had been killed. As would be expected, she suffered from shock, psychological trauma and grief.

Policy reforms that can help address disadvantages to widows, the World Bank says, are regarding property ownership, inheritance rights, registration of customary marriages and widows’ pensions.

More than 900,000 fled after the final military operation began to retake the city in late 2016. At one camp operated by the UNHCR and its partners, female-headed households made up more than a quarter of the total: 1,250 out of 4,463 families.

Widows like 25-year-old Asmaa faced desperate straits. She hadn’t even told her children of their father’s death after arriving at the refugee camp, evading the truth by telling her girls he had been working and would soon return.

“I am so exhausted worrying about the future of my children,” she said. “Now I have no one to rely on. All I want is to provide a good living for my two daughters. I don’t worry about myself. I just don’t want my daughters to feel any different from other girls who have a father.”

GFA Sisters of compassion serve these desperate widows in slum — These widows living in the slums of Mumbai gather together for support, prayer and practical assistance from the local pastors and Sisters of Compassion serving with Gospel for Asia (GFA World).

Given such earth-shaking situations, the 2019 release of a widow-linked television series may seem like a trifling thing. Yet, despite the six-hour series being primarily an adventure tale, the airing of The Widow on Amazon Prime shows a symbolic consciousness of the situation.

Co-produced by Amazon and Britain’s ITV, the eight episodes drew a critical review in the influential The Atlantic magazine. Yet reviewer Sophie Gilbert noted star Kate Beckinsale gave the main character a “confidence in her action scenes that’s intermittently thrilling.” In real life, widows’ courage is indeed something to behold. While a TV mini-series highlights their plight before viewers, widows require real substantive action by governments, NGOs and individuals like you and me to help them survive financially and emotionally, even as they suffer through their grief.

Quiet Help

While International Widows Day places a spotlight on the problems facing widows, much of the work being done to alleviate their suffering and deprivation occurs in quiet ways.

GFA had 32 teams working across South Asia where 22 percent of widows worldwide live

In 2018, Gospel for Asia (GFA) had 32 teams working across South Asia, where 22 percent of the global population of widows lives, to address widows’ specific needs.

In Asian cultures, many widows are seen as a curse and may be shunned by society, including close relatives.

The following facts show a sampling of what desperate widows face in this part of the world:

Widows are often forcibly evicted from their homes and extended families by the husband’s family after his death.

Widows are often erroneously accused of having caused the deaths of their husbands.

Since widows’ education level is typically much lower, 19 million of them live in extreme poverty, earning less than $2 a day.

Remarriage by widows in this part of the world is low, so street begging or prostitution often becomes a way of life for younger widows.

Many widows are left to care for their children with little help from relatives.

And sometimes children are forcibly removed from their moms.

When not removed, children from low-income families often have to enter the labor force to support their widowed mothers and other siblings.

Consider these practical examples of the impact of widowhood on real people in countries like Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nepal, India, Sri Lanka and other parts of South Asia—home to 57.8 million widows. There’s Riya, who at 57 became shrouded by the shame of widowhood when her husband died from an unknown illness. Overwhelmed by sorrow and guilt, for three years she struggled to leave her bed.

Then there is Prema, the mother of two young children who suddenly found herself widowed and without a source of income.

And Amey, who struggled to overcome nearly insurmountable odds when riots touched her small village and those responsible tried to extort a fortune from her husband, a dry-fish vendor. When he refused, they killed him in his home. That left Amey with four children to raise by herself, forcing her to sell their belongings in a desperate struggle for survival. When she ran out of money and revived her husband’s business, her success sparked jealousy from other merchants, who harassed her and even tried to kill her.

Amey and family — I had to go through lots of problems after my husband passed away,” Amey (above) recalled. “To protect my children, I had to sell my belongings … Our economic situation went from bad to worse … I was mentally drained …”

In each case, help from Gospel for Asia (GFA) workers brought light and hope and shared how much God loved and cared for them. Thanks to a Gospel for Asia (GFA) initiative teaching women to develop skills and become self-supporting, Prema learned how to sew and received a sewing machine to help her generate income. After a neighbor invited Amey to attend church, she and her daughters found the inspiration and support to start a new spice business.

“I have no words to thank my Lord Jesus for the miracles that He has done in my life,” Amey says. “I am so thankful He has saved me and also protected me in order to be the strength for my daughters. Now we are living with God’s grace, and our lives have been blessed immensely.”

Besides income-generating gifts, Gospel for Asia (GFA) supplies widows with clothing and other essentials, comfort, encouragement and the vital link of prayer support. Gospel for Asia (GFA) also maintains a website, www.mygfa.org, that equips those who want to conduct grassroots fundraising campaigns. Those funds help the poor, including widows, and equip missionaries in the most difficult areas of Asia—where millions have yet to experience His love.

“The Bible says that true religion is to care for orphans and widows in their distress,” Dr. Yohannan says. “The challenge facing the Church around the world today is to not just read the Bible, but follow its teachings.”

These teachings apply the same today as they did thousands of years ago.

If you would like to do something now to help widows around the world, please consider one, or more, of the following ideas:

Raise awareness of the plight of widows by sharing this article with your friends and family via social media, email or a link on your blog.

Interview a GFA World representative on this topic for your podcast or radio show. To facilitate that idea, email [email protected].

Make a donation to help widows in Asia through a gift to GFA World.

Identify a widow that you know personally and invite her to lunch or dinner, with the goal to understand her and her needs better. Act on what you learn to make a difference for that one person.

Give to Help Widows

If this special report has touched your heart and you would like to do something today about the plight of widows around the world, please share this article with your friends and consider making a generous gift to GFA World to help widows in South Asia and other locations.

About Gospel for Asia

Gospel for Asia (GFA World) is a leading faith-based mission agency, helping national workers bring vital assistance and spiritual hope to millions across Asia, especially to those who have yet to hear about the love of God. In GFA’s latest yearly report, this included more than 70,000 sponsored children, free medical camps conducted in more than 1,200 villages and remote communities, over 4,800 clean water wells drilled, over 12,000 water filters installed, income-generating Christmas gifts for more than 260,000 needy families, and spiritual teaching available in 110 languages in 14 nations through radio ministry. For all the latest news, visit our Press Room at https://press.gfa.org/news.

Learn more about the Sisters of Compassion – those who are specially trained woman missionary with a deep burden for showing Christ’s love by physically serving the needy, underprivileged and poor.

Learn more about GFA programs to address the desperate desperate plight of widows by helping women through Vocational Training, Sewing Machines and Literacy Training.

Learn more by reading these Special Reports from Gospel for Asia:

Ending Violence Against Women — Using Programs and Education to Prevent Discrimination
An Imaginative Exercise in Empathetic Fear — Think About Living in a Community with Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women

This Special Report originally appeared on gfa.org.

Click here, to read more blogs on Patheos from Gospel for Asia.

Notable News about Gospel for Asia: FoxNews, ChristianPost, NYPost, MissionsBox

Widows Face Uphill Battle After Losing Spouses – Part 1

Last updated on: April 27, 2022 at 5:25 pm By GFA Staff Writer

WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA World and affiliates like Gospel for Asia Canada) founded by KP Yohannan, issued this Special Report update on the desperate plight of widows in both affluent and developing nations.

After two decades of fighting to eliminate the U.S. military’s “widow’s tax,” Cathy Milford finally succeeded, but she won’t benefit from that change for another three years. That’s how long it will take until she receives full survivor benefits instead of only partial. Though the U.S. Congress passed the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act, the bill only phases out the tax by 2023.

“This is just an awful thing to do,” Milford said at a Capitol Hill rally in May 2019, recalling her 25 years of pushing for repeal; her late husband, Harry, suffered a fatal aneurysm soon after retiring from the U.S. Coast Guard. “Every time I talk about this, I have to dig my husband up and bury him all over again.”

The dispute revolved around awards given to survivors of veterans who die of service-related causes (the Dependency and Indemnity Compensation program, or DIC) and a separate, life insurance-type program known as the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP). While individuals who qualified for either have received full payouts, those getting income from both saw SBP funds reduced by one dollar for every DIC dollar since 1972. The difference of up to $1,000 a month affects 67,000 surviving spouses.

“This problem goes back decades, but this year we finally solved it once and for all,” said Maine senator Susan Collins after the bill’s passage in December 2019.

That securing additional benefits for military survivors took such a protracted fight symbolizes the plight of widows worldwide. Whether husband-less females in Nigeria who have been branded “witches,” women in Asia blamed for their husbands’ deaths and other calamities, or those in South Africa who can lose inheritance rights when in-laws object, the world’s 258 million widows often face an uphill battle.

Widow at cemetery — Women who lose a spouse can face difficult and complicated problems even in affluent societies, as the U.S. military widows’ battle illustrates.

Nearly one in 10 lives in extreme poverty, says the United Nations (UN). While widows have specific needs, their voices are often missing from policies affecting them.

“In some Asian cultures, when a woman’s husband dies, she is often stripped of her dignity, her worth and her human rights,” says K.P. Yohannan, founder of Gospel for Asia (GFA). “Many of these widows are deprived of their home, their property and their possessions—leaving them destitute. Lacking the ability to earn a living, and with no access to savings or credit, millions of widows all across Asia fight every day for their survival, all the while shunned and shamed.”

As the military widows’ battle illustrates, women can face problems even in affluent societies. Another example of the slighting of American widows surfaced in a 2018 report. The Social Security’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) reviewed cases of dual eligibility, where a widow can receive her benefit or a deceased spouse’s. The OIG found that 82 percent of the time the Social Security Administration failed to follow its own procedures for spelling out maximum benefit options.

According to statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Loomba Foundation’s most recent World Widows Report:

The United States ranks third in the world for the most widowed women with more than 14 million.

Forty-nine percent earn less than $25,000 a year, meaning “widowhood is often a ticket to poverty.”

In practical numbers:

More than 740,000 widows are unable to provide food, shelter and basic necessities for themselves.

Secondary losses often crush widows, who subsequently may lose homes, jobs, insurance or credit.

In giving 100 stress points for losing a spouse, the Holmes and Rahe Social Readjustment Scale ranks loss of a spouse at No. 1. Other losses can push a widow’s stress level near 300 points, meaning an 80 percent chance of serious illness.

Sisters of Compassion pray for a desperate widow — Three Sisters of Compassion from Gospel for Asia (GFA World) were photographed for this disheartened widow who had recently lost her husband to a tiger attack — a common occurrence in the Sundarbans of West Bengal, India.

Worldwide Problem

Problems for widows exist worldwide. According to the World Bank, it is especially bad in much of Africa, where marriage is the sole basis for women’s access to social and economic rights, which often vanish after widowhood or divorce. Policy reforms that can help address disadvantages to widows, the World Bank says, are regarding property ownership, inheritance rights, registration of customary marriages and widows’ pensions.

“In the face of divorce or widowhood, women often struggle with serious economic hardship,” said Asli Demirguc-Kunt, director of research at the World Bank.

For example, women frequently inherit nothing when a marriage ends. They can be shut out of labor markets, own fewer productive assets and bear more responsibility for caring for children or the elderly.

“Just as widows are often hidden from view in their own communities, the absence of data limits broader public awareness of the issue,” said the story “Invisible and Excluded.” “Quantifying the prevalence of widowhood and divorce requires information on both current widows and divorcees as well as the marital history of currently married women, and this is only available in 20 countries.”

Nearly one in 10 lives in extreme poverty, says the United Nations. While widows have specific needs, their voices are often missing from policies affecting them.

Such disregard can cut deeply, which one 49-year-old Nigerian discovered after her husband committed suicide in 2014. Four months after his death, Christiana came across his bones after searching through forests for three days. Afterward, his relatives summoned her and questioned her intensely, seeking evidence her husband did not die because of her witchcraft.

“They said that I killed my husband,” she told freelance reporter Orji Sunday, “and declared me a witch.” Sunday went on to chronicle how numerous Nigerian widows face similar challenges rooted in cultural practices. Many traditions force women to take an oath to prove her innocence when her husband dies.

“Others confine the widow in place for [a] specific mourning period and others shave her hair, yet others insist that the widow drink the water with which her late husband was washed. Some are given to the brother of the deceased,” Sunday wrote. “Legislation protecting widows is lacking in many states in the country, and in regions where the laws exist implementation is far from convincing.”

Widows with child — The earthquakes in Nepal left this woman as a widow with young kids. Like many others in her nation, she doesn’t know how to start her life again.

Similar stories appear well beyond Africa. In Nepal, a middle-aged woman was blamed for her husband’s death in 2014. Five years later, people in her village accused her of causing the death of a buffalo and beat and tortured her.

“This is a representative example of how a widow is mistreated and traumatized in the country, how widows are looked down upon and treated as inauspicious,” wrote Prakriti Sapkota in a 2019 report. “Widows are among the most vulnerable categories of people in the country. The social stigma attached to them deprive them of their basic human rights and freedom of speech. They are [the] prey of physical and sexual assaults and harassments, accused of various sexual misdeeds and are socially marginalized.”

Give to Help Widows

About Gospel for Asia

Learn more about Gospel for Asia’s programs to address the desperate desperate plight of widows by helping women through Vocational Training, Sewing Machines and Literacy Training.

Learn more by reading these Special Reports from Gospel for Asia:

Ending Violence Against Women — Using Programs and Education to Prevent Discrimination
An Imaginative Exercise in Empathetic Fear — Think About Living in a Community with Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women

This Special Report originally appeared on gfa.org.

Click here, to read more blogs on Patheos from Gospel for Asia.

Notable News about Gospel for Asia: FoxNews, ChristianPost, NYPost, MissionsBox

Mother Receives Skills and Tools to Feed Her Family from GFA World Sewing Course

Last updated on: December 30, 2021 at 11:00 pm 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 Salestia, a mother who struggled with her family against poverty, the blessing and confidence brought by GFA World Sewing Course and the gift of a sewing machine.

Discussing Salestia, her family in poverty, the blessing and confidence brought by GFA World Sewing Course and the gift of a sewing machine. — Tailoring classes like this one helped empower Salestia (not pictured) to provide for her family.

A skill cannot be properly utilized if the tools to use it are absent. So why did Salestia continue taking the tailoring course? She didn’t own a sewing machine; she and her husband could not afford one. What was the point of finishing the classes?

A Mother’s Fight for Her Family

Both Salestia and her husband, Shandon, worked as daily laborers in their rural village. Their earnings barely covered their living expenses and their four children’s school fees. On top of financial constraints, Shandon spent a good portion of their money on drinking excessively. Salestia appeared to be the only one who cared for her family’s future—not even Salestia’s close relatives offered any help.

One day, Salestia heard about a course where anyone could learn how to sew and provide for themselves. Organized by Gospel for Asia (GFA) workers, the free course was designed to help impoverished families better their circumstances by offering them teachable skills—like sewing. Salestia resolved to not let her family fall deeper into poverty, so she put her name down for the program.

Salestia joined several others in their shared journey of learning valuable tailoring skills. She absorbed each lesson and followed her teachers’ every action, stitching every thread just as they illustrated. As the months progressed and Salestia approached the course’s end, an anxious thought interrupted her joy of finally having the skills to better provide for her family: She had the knowledge, but she didn’t have a sewing machine.

A Surprise Gift

The funds for a sewing machine had continued to remain out of Salestia’s reach. She didn’t know how she would continue sewing without a machine. Were the classes all for nothing?

To her surprise, the Gospel for Asia (GFA) workers had anticipated this need. Upon her completion of the course, Salestia received her very own sewing machine! The workers made sure Salestia not only had the knowledge, but she also had tools to use that knowledge.

“I learned tailoring for free of cost,” Salestia said. “And now I got a new machine. … Now I have confidence to run my family.”

Because of the workers, Salestia could continue to send her children to school and feed and clothe them. With her new sewing machine, Salestia was fully equipped to earn money for her family.

Learn how you can provide sewing machines to help prevent families like Salestia’s from getting into deeper poverty.

*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, Mother Receives Skills, Tools to Feed Her Family

Learn more about GFA World (Gospel for Asia) programs to combat the 100 million missing women reality by helping women through Vocational Training, Sewing Machines and Literacy Training.

Notable News about Gospel for Asia: FoxNews, ChristianPost, NYPost, MissionsBox

Sewing Machine Gifted by GFA World Helps a Family’s Life

Last updated on: January 7, 2025 at 10:52 pm By GFA Staff Writer

WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA World) founded by K.P. Yohannan, which inspired numerous charities like Gospel for Asia Canada, to assist the poor and deprived worldwide – Discussing Palila and her family’s struggle with poverty, and the sewing machine gifted by GFA World that helped bring new hope to their life.

Sewing Machine gifted by GFA World Christmas Gift Distribution — Through the sewing machine gifted by GFA World, Palila was able to provide for her family and experience the love of Jesus.

Palila glanced at her three children, and her mind welled with worries that they would not be able to receive a proper education. Though her husband worked hard as a daily laborer in the agricultural fields near their home, his meager income, equating to less than $9 per day, was not enough to fully support the family. Palila knew something had to be done to bring in more money, but what?

An Unexpected Gift

The village where Palila lived with her family was also home to Gospel for Asia (GFA) pastor Taggart, who served a small church there. One December, after hearing about Palila and her family’s financial needs, Pastor Taggart submitted Palila’s name to receive a gift from a Christmas gift distribution conducted by his church. Palila was given a sewing machine that, for her, was a beautiful symbol of hope and possibility. Overcome with gratitude, she knew that by using this gift she would be able to better provide for her family.

Stitching a Future Together

Palila used her sewing machine to repair items for her fellow villagers as needed and earn an income. After only one year, Palila’s new job provided additional income to fully support her family when combined with her husband’s! Through her sewing, Palila could pay her children’s tuition for a good school and relieve the family’s financial stress.

Seeing their most pressing needs provided for through the gift of a sewing machine, Palila and her family obtained new hope as the pieces of their life were stitched together through the grace and mercy of God.

See how you can help families like Palila’s by giving the gift of a sewing machine.

Source: Gospel for Asia Field Reports & Updates, Sewing for Her Family’s Survival

Learn more about GFA World programs to bring value, hope and love to women and their families, and break the cycle of poverty by helping through Vocational Training, Sewing Machines and Literacy Training.

Learn more about how generosity can change lives. Through Gospel for Asia (GFA World) and its Christmas Gift Catalog, gifts like pigs, bicycles and sewing machines break the cycle of poverty and show Christ’s love to impoverished families in Asia. One gift can have a far-reaching impact, touching families and rippling out to transform entire communities.

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Sewing Machine Gifted by GFA Pastor Aids Family’s Survival

Last updated on: January 7, 2025 at 11:38 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, to assist the poor and deprived worldwide – Discussing Adalina, the worry and despair to provide for her family’s survival, and the sewing machine gifted through GFA pastor that brought relief to their lives.

Relief through sewing machine: Discussing Adalina, the worry & despair to provide for her family's survival, & the sewing machine gifted by GFA pastor that brought relief to their lives — Through her sewing machine, Adalina (pictured) was able to properly provide for her family, battling the clutches of poverty.

Everyone depended on Adalina. Adalina’s bedridden husband depended on her for care and relief from an unidentified illness. Their two daughters depended on Adalina’s earnings to provide food and tuition. Adalina’s aging mother-in-law depended on her for housing, provision and care. Adalina could not fail them; their lives rested on her shoulders. She could not fail.

Alone to Bear Their Burdens

At 34-years-old, Adalina had become the sole breadwinner for her family when her husband fell ill. Providing for her family of five took an enormous toll on the young mother, the stress thrusting heavy weight on her shoulders—and she bore it alone. No one offered to help the struggling family in their time of need.

When their roof leaked during the region’s rainy season, Adalina asked people for help, but none came.

Adalina spiraled into despair: The money she earned barely met the family’s basic needs; how could she repair her roof? Was there anything she could do to keep her family alive?

Relief Through a Sewing Machine

Sometime earlier, Adalina had received a free sewing machine from GFA pastor, Zaccheus, who organized a gift distribution to bless the lives of people in the community where he served. Adalina had only ever used the sewing machine to mend her family’s clothes, but then she had a sudden realization: She already knew the basics of stitching; maybe she could earn a better income by tailoring her neighbors’ clothes?

A month passed, and the demand for Adalina’s tailoring had grown to surpass her previous job’s earnings. She now made more than enough money to repair her leaky roof and provide for her family’s needs. Adalina thanked Pastor Zaccheus and the church; their willingness to care for impoverished families like hers touched her heart. Because of them, the worry and despair that had plagued her was gone, and the burden she carried to provide for her family, which depended on her, was not so heavy anymore.

Read another story of how a sewing machine helped ward off poverty from a family in need.

Source: Gospel for Asia Field Reports & Updates, Sewing for Her Family’s Survival

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Gospel For Asia’s Sisters of Compassion Launch Slum Ministry for Those in Need

Last updated on: June 9, 2021 at 8:31 pm 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 the GFA Church and Gospel For Asia Sisters of Compassion that launched slum ministry to bring help and compassion to those in need.

Discussing the GFA Church and Gospel For Asia Sisters of Compassion that launched slum ministry to bring help and compassion to those in need. — Slum life is very difficult. But because of the Sisters of Compassion, individuals who would normally go without, like the children pictured, have access to health and hygiene supplies, vitamin supplements, and proper nutrition.

People living in slums often struggle to find food and maintain good health. Most of the men are daily laborers, making just enough money to survive, and many wrestle with alcohol and drug addictions. Children often endure illiteracy and malnourishment.

The millions of people residing in slums are at greater risk for starvation and disease.^[1] Many of these individuals do not receive proper care, nutrition or attention. But through ministries like Gospel for Asia (GFA), such people are treated as what they are: beloved children of God.

Nourishment for the Needy

One day, a local Gospel for Asia (GFA) church and Sisters of Compassion organized a special program to distribute food packets and vitamin supplements to 500 slum residents in the area. This event was the start of GFA’s slum ministry in this area, enabling both current and future residents to have access to essential health and hygiene supplies and loving, supportive friends. Special guests such as Pabla, a local official, and Dr. Abelard, an orthopedic surgeon and medical school professor, provided advice, prayer and encouragement before the distribution.

Seeing the compassion and care emanating from those leading the event, Pabla said, “The heartbeat of the church is similar to our government for the welfare of the state.”

Dr. Abelard provided health and hygiene tips, which brought much joy and excitement to the attendees.

In addition to receiving food packets and vitamin-A supplements, attendees also received the invaluable gifts of compassion and kindness. Quanah, a lame man who attended the event, expressed his heartfelt gratitude for the Sisters of Compassion and the care they showed him and the other people living in the slum.

“This is the first time I have experienced the love of people in my life,” Quanah said. “Now I understand that there are people who love the poor and needy.”

Many others voiced their thankfulness and asked for prayer.

Through events like these, as well as everyday love and care, the Sisters of Compassion are helping some of the most downtrodden people. And for individuals living in the slums, a caring word and compassionate friend are just as nourishing and needed as food packets and vitamin supplements.

Read how the Sisters of Compassion helped Ganitha emerge out of her trials and into triumph.

^[1] BMC International Health and Human Rights, Slum health: Diseases of neglected populations

Source: Gospel for Asia Field Reports & Updates, Sisters of Compassion Launch Slum Ministry for Those in Need

Learn more about the need for slum ministry, uplifting the lives of slum dwellers. Gospel for Asia began supporting ministry in the slums in 1999. Through this work, many people have found hope and strength in God.

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Gospel for Asia Helps Leprosy Patients ‘Stay Alive’

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.

Discussing leprosy 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.

Read about a woman with leprosy who learned to read through the care of another Gospel for Asia program.

*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.

Source: Gospel for Asia Field Report, Helping Leprosy Patients ‘Stay Alive’

Learn more about the GFA leprosy ministry, or the Reaching Friends Ministry, helping remind people affected by leprosy that, despite the stigma of leprosy, they have dignity and are valued by God.

Read the GFA special report update on the leprosy problem where global leprosy-elimination leaders are making exciting advances both medically and socially that are worth noting: Progress in the Fight Against Leprosy: Leprosy Prevention is Key to Elimination

Click here, to read more blogs on Patheos from Gospel for Asia.

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Millions of Widows in ‘Crisis of Survival’ Says Gospel for Asia

Last updated on: April 8, 2021 at 3:34 am By KP Yohannan

WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA World and affiliates like Gospel for Asia Canada, founded by KP Yohannan), one of the world’s biggest poverty-alleviating organizations spotlights the huge “uphill battle” facing many of the world’s 258 million widows in a just-released report.

Treatment of widows is often startlingly unfair and cruel, catapulting them into a crisis of survival, says the new global report by Texas-based Gospel for Asia (GFA World).

Gospel for Asia (GFA World) spotlights the huge “uphill battle” facing many of the world’s 258 million widows in a just-released report. — **‘SHUNNED AND SHAMED’:** Treatment of widows is often startlingly unfair and cruel, catapulting them into a crisis of survival, says a new global report by Texas-based mission agency Gospel for Asia (GFA World). Titled *Widows Often Face Uphill Battle*, the report examines the different struggles faced by widows in the U.S., Africa, and Asia.

Titled Widows Often Face Uphill Battle, it examines the different struggles faced by widows in the U.S., Africa, and Asia.

Those struggles include battles over widows’ benefits in America, being stripped of homes and possessions in Africa, and the practice of shunning and shaming in Asia.

“In some Asian cultures, when a woman’s husband dies, she’s often stripped of her dignity, her worth, and her human rights,” said Dr. K.P. Yohannan, founder of Gospel for Asia (GFA World). “Many widows are deprived of their home, their property, and their possessions, leaving them destitute.”

In parts of Asia, many young widows face sexual harassment and abuse, often turning to begging or prostitution to survive.

Widows in some cultures are viewed with suspicion and disgust — sometimes even branded as witches or blamed for their husband’s death and shut out of community life.

‘Excluded and Invisible’

“Cultural shame and prejudice often render widows excluded and invisible,” said KP Yohannan, whose faith-based organization supports 40 local Sisters of Compassion teams helping widows across Asia. GFA World’s support includes vocational training for widows and giving them opportunity to take part in income-generating activities, such as sewing.

These GFA World teams of visiting women provide emotional and spiritual support, praying with widows in their homes and showing them they’re not alone.

Asia, the world’s biggest continent, has an estimated 57 million widows — roughly equivalent to the populations of California and Florida combined. “On the surface, this seems like an overwhelming uphill battle,” said KP Yohannan, “but every time a widow receives help and encouragement, we rejoice.”

Supporting the grassroots efforts of local churches in cities and rural villages, GFA World aims to “show the love of God” to outcast widows who’ve known only rejection.

“The Apostle James told us in his epistle that true religion is to care for orphans and widows in their distress,” KP Yohannan said. “The challenge facing the church around the world today is to not just read the Bible, but to do what is written in it.”

Give to Help Widows

About Gospel for Asia

Learn more about Gospel for Asia’s programs to address the desperate desperate plight of widows by helping women through Vocational Training, Sewing Machines and Literacy Training.

Learn more by reading these Special Reports from Gospel for Asia:

Ending Violence Against Women — Using Programs and Education to Prevent Discrimination
An Imaginative Exercise in Empathetic Fear — Think About Living in a Community with Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women

This Special Report originally appeared on gfa.org.

Click here, to read more blogs on Patheos from Gospel for Asia.

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The Birth of a Gospel for Asia Missionary

Last updated on: January 29, 2022 at 10:50 am 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 Sundar, blind at birth, obscure and impoverished, the sufferings his family experienced, and the calling and life of a Gospel for Asia Missionary in the grace and love of God.

ne chilly Tuesday, a blind baby boy was born into an impoverished, illiterate family in a remote village tucked into the foothills of the Himalayas. The parents loved their little boy and named him Sundar.

The small family had love, but little else. Debalal, Sundar’s father, had partial paralysis but was still able to work as a day laborer collecting wood to sell. To help make ends meet, Sundar’s mother also worked. Much of their income went to medical treatments for Sundar, but the little boy’s world remained shrouded in darkness.

Discussing Sundar, blind at birth, the poverty & suffering, & the calling & life of a Gospel for Asia Supported Missionary in the grace & love of God. — Sundar grew up in this small mud-wall hut with no expectations but to live and die in obscurity.

Neighbors looked on Sundar’s family with dismay, counting the family’s poverty, the father’s lameness and the son’s blindness as hardships too difficult to endure.

“Sundar will never receive sight. He is a burden for you,” they said. “Take him and throw him into the river instead of facing so many problems in life.”

“Take him and throw him into the river instead of facing so many problems in life.”

Debalal and his wife ignored the ill advice and continued to care for their son. But young Sundar began to believe what he had heard his neighbors say about him, especially when he saw his parents’ sorrow.

A little brother soon joined Sundar. The family of four eked out what life they could, faithfully worshiping their traditional deities.

Struggling through life, the family could not foresee the joy waiting just ahead.

7-year-old Sundar Experiences a Miracle, Family Transforms

One day, after Debalal spoke to Gospel for Asia (GFA) pastor Tuhinsurra, 7-year-old Sundar listened intently as his father told him about a Man who could make his eyes better. Excitement, fear and incredulity wrestled in the boy’s heart.

Desperate to provide his son with healing, Debalal brought his family to church. After each service, warm, gentle hands crowned Sundar’s head as Pastor Tuhinsurra asked a Man named Jesus to bring light to Sundar’s eyes.

Soon, God answered their prayers, and Sundar saw the face of his loving parents for the first time.

When the pastor of this church shared Jesus with Debalal, Sundar’s father, it brought an unknown happiness and healing to the entire family.

After this miracle, the entire family began worshiping Jesus at the local church. Sundar’s father shared the testimony of his son to their neighbors, who began asking him to pray for their needs. Four years later, God also healed Debalal from his lameness. He became a church deacon, and the poor, illiterate man once considered cursed became a pillar of godliness in the community.

Sundar’s family reveled in unfettered happiness. God had done so much for them. A newfound hope kindled in Debalal’s heart—a hope that his sons would surpass him in every way.

Father Martyred When Praying for Sick Man

Since Pastor Tuhinsurra lived in another village and oversaw multiple congregations in surrounding towns, Debalal did a lot of the day-to-day work of answering calls for prayer and visiting believers for encouragement. Everyone knew they could call Debalal to help them and he would, often with his wife and sons accompanying him.

A local man, who was in immense pain due to disfiguring burns on his face, frequently called Sundar’s father to pray for him; it was the only time the man experienced relief.

One night, this man begged Debalal to come to his house to pray for him, even though he had already prayed for him twice that day. Reluctantly, Debalal climbed out of bed.

In the man’s little hut, shrouded by deep night, Sundar’s father knelt to pray. As Debalal closed his eyes, the disfigured man took out a knife and brought it down on the back of Debalal’s exposed neck.

News of Debalal’s death spread throughout the village, and old, familiar taunts swirled around Sundar’s mother and her sons: This family was cursed. Fear began to consume Sundar.

Gospel for Asia founded by Dr. K.P. Yohannan: Gospel for Asia Missionary — After Sundar’s father was killed while praying for a neighbor, their pastor sat with the family in their grief, offering comfort, counsel and practical help.

Pastor Tuhinsurra, who had worked closely with his father, sat with the family in their grief. The comfort he offered from God’s Word was the comfort he needed too.

As the community reeled in the wake of such violence, neighbors talked of sending Sundar away to work to support his family. How else would the family survive now?

But Pastor Tuhinsurra helped the family pick up the pieces of their lives, and he sensed the Lord had a different plan for Sundar.

“After I knew my father had gone to be with the Lord, there was uncertainty in front of me and I feared,” Sundar recalls. “Now who will take care of us? Who will I call father?”

Crossroads Leads to Spiritual Transformation

Gospel for Asia (GFA World) founded by Dr. K.P. Yohannan: His father’s death was a turning point in Sundar’s life. Under the patient loving guidance of Gospel for Asia Supported Missionary Pastor Kanish, Sundar found peace in Christ. — His father’s death was a turning point in Sundar’s life. Under the patient loving guidance of Gospel for Asia missionary Pastor Kanish, Sundar found peace in Christ.

Sundar’s pastor encouraged the young man to stay with his ministry leader, Gospel for Asia (GFA) missionary pastor Kanish, while Sundar wrestled with his future.

Pastor Kanish and his wife welcomed Sundar into their home and showed him to his room, their eyes shimmering with compassion and concern. Their home was a refuge to help Sundar figure out what to do next and process the death of his father, free from community pressure and taunts.

Sundar’s days took on the structure of the household: mornings filled with family prayers, followed by breakfast and study; afternoons and evenings busy with ministry activities. Kanish guided Sundar, teaching him to trust the Lord.

Despite the miraculous healings in his family and years of listening to his father share God’s Word, Sundar had not yet decided for himself what he would do about the message of God’s love.

His father’s death jarred Sundar out of his indecision, setting a crossroads before him. He knew he must either walk away or put his faith in Jesus. It was time to decide.

“During that time, I did not understand anything, and I was so discouraged,” Sundar remembers.

In hindsight, he recognizes this as a turning point in his life: “Through this incident, my life was changed. There and then I believed in Jesus Christ as my personal Savior and Lord.”

Pastor Kanish, who teaches at the nearby Bible college, welcomed Sundar into his home as a son, caring for the fatherless young man. Kanish taught Sundar how to read and write and how to pray and seek the Lord. It was under Kanish’s roof that Sundar committed his life to the Lord.

The three months Sundar stayed with Kanish’s family were vital to his personal and spiritual foundation. Seeing Sundar’s lack of education, Pastor Kanish taught him how to read and write using the Bible. Sundar wrote out the first five books of the Bible and read aloud the book of Proverbs each day. As Sundar grew in his literacy skills, he also absorbed spiritual lessons. He was grateful to have a mentor to help him through the dark valley of his father’s death.

“Pastor Kanish really encouraged me from the Word of God and helped me pray,” Sundar says. “Because of his motivation and encouragement, I have been strong in the Lord and I am growing in the Lord.”

Now empowered by the Holy Spirit, Sundar was like a sponge, soaking up the everything he was taught. Pastor Kanish gave him more and more responsibilities as he saw Sundar rising to every challenge.

“This boy was very keen and very mature in understanding,” Pastor Kanish remembers. “We have our cottage meetings four days a week, so I used to take him … and encouraged him to lead the worship service. … He was very faithful.”

Sundar devoured the Bible during this time, letting the comforting words of God wash over his hurting heart. He found solace, love and purpose in the rich, living words.

Sundar began to focus his prayers on the future.

Called by God to Forgive His Father’s Murderer

God’s forgiveness continued to work in Sundar’s heart. As he thought about the call to extend to others the same forgiveness he had experienced, there was one face that rose from the mist of memory, a face that was scarred and contorted in pain, the face of the man who had delivered his father’s death blow. Sundar knew he had to forgive his father’s murderer.

Relinquishing his desire for vengeance, Sundar prayed for this man and felt a supernatural love dislodge his hate. In this one act of trading self-focused retaliation for others-focused transformation, Sundar took a huge leap in his spiritual journey.

“Please pray for the person, Kumar, who murdered my father,” Sundar urges while sharing his prayer requests with other believers. “Even though he is in jail, I pray that his heart will be changed. Please join with me in prayer that he may receive the Lord.”

As Sundar’s love for Kumar grew, it opened the door of his heart to love anyone. Kumar needed Jesus, just as Sundar had. So did thousands of others in villages scattered across his beloved country. God was calling Sundar to be a missionary, answering the cherished wish of his father’s heart.

Sundar enrolled in Bible college, putting his new literacy skills to work. He also developed a heart to share the Good News with people who did not yet know about Jesus.

Sundar spent the next three years in Bible college. He thought about his father often during this time, about his father’s sacrifice. His father had given everything to Jesus, including his very life.

“During [that time] I read Matthew 5:10: ‘Blessed is the man who is persecuted,’” Sundar recalls. “That greatly encouraged me.”

A passion to see lives transformed by Jesus grew in Sundar as he realized how many men, women, boys and girls had yet to hear about the Savior’s love. Visions of villages tucked into the ripples and folds of the Himalayan foothills, each a replica of his own hometown, deepened Sundar’s determination to serve the Lord as a missionary.

The idea that he, who was born blind, impoverished and obscure, could make a difference in people’s lives seemed incredible. But he would dedicate his life to that very end.

“There are so many people in the world, people are perishing … without Jesus,” Sundar says. “So, my vision is … to preach the [Good News] to those people who have never heard.”

Gospel for Asia Missionary Ministry Grows in Answer to Prayer

Gospel for Asia (GFA World) founded by Dr. K.P. Yohannan: Missionary with his bike — Sundar is able to travel to many different villages in the area he serves thanks to the bicycle he has been equipped with.

The area God called Sundar to work in has many villages dotting the hilly terrain, where rivers of melted snow cut gouges into the landscape before winding their way to the plains, where rural inhabitants cultivate the land. Millions of people live in these villages scattered across hundreds of miles.

After graduation, Sundar moved to one of these little villages, more than 100 miles west of his hometown, but in landscape, climate and culture, it could have been the town next door. He met people who looked and talked just like him. They ate the same food as him, and he understood the struggles of their lives.

There was no church in the village; his ministry started from scratch. The years at his father’s side, under Pastor Kanish’s mentorship and in Bible college had all prepared Sundar for this time. The Lord had called him; now it was time to get to work.

This area was ready to receive God’s Word, like a fertile field, tilled and waiting for seed to be planted.

In his first year, Sundar saw the Lord work in amazing ways. Fifteen people came to know the love of Christ because of Sundar’s faithful testimony and prayers, and a prayer fellowship started. Seeing this fruit, Sundar was confident the Lord would grow them into a thriving church.

Many other villages nearby also needed to hear the message of God’s love. Sundar prayed God would provide him a bicycle so he could visit more communities and expand his ministry. Within a year, God answered his prayers and the radius of Sundar’s influence stretched many more miles.

“I was really lacking a bicycle for my ministry and other works,” Sundar shares. “I was praying to God for a new bicycle, and God answered my prayers.”

Through the efforts of Sundar and the many other Gospel for Asia missionaries serving in the region, 42 new villages heard the Good News, thousands of tracts were distributed, and hundreds of people experienced Christ’s forgiveness in 2019.

Sundar continues to serve the Lord in the remote foothills of the Himalayas. He pedals to surrounding villages, making sure everyone knows about the Savior who died for them, and he is no longer alone in his work. Sundar is married and has a daughter; the family serves the Lord together. The memories of his father and his mentor inspire and encourage Sundar, spurring him on in ministry.

As Sundar is only a recent graduate, most of his ministry is still before him. But God promises that those who lose their lives for Him shall find life. The boy born blind, obscure and impoverished has found his calling and life in the grace and love of God.

God Calls Workers and Supporters

God is raising up men and women in nations where the greatest concentration of people who have not yet heard the Good News live, and He is calling them to display His love to their own people. These Gospel for Asia national missionary are able to minster in ways that many other cannot. They’ve struggled and lived through common hardships of people in their communities, such as poverty, discrimination and lack of opportunities. Yet they’ve seen God intervene in these struggles, often in miraculous ways, and have discovered alternative paths of joy and freedom. Like Sundar, they’re eager to share the hope they found in Christ with their neighbors.

We can empower their ministries through our prayers, through our giving and through our faith, becoming true partners in the work. No one can serve God alone. Every Gospel for Asia national missionary need brothers and sisters who will pray with them, rejoice with them and provide for them.

Sundar’s supporters will share in the fruit of his ministry.

There are many national missionaries in need of support. Become a partner in their ministries today, and see the fruit in eternity.

*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.

Source: Gospel for Asia Feature Article, The Birth of a Missionary

Learn more about the Gospel for Asia supported missionary workers who carry a burning desire for people to know the love of God. Through their prayers, dedication and sacrificial love, thousands of men and women have found new life in Christ.

Learn more how to demonstrate God’s love through the gift of Bicycles — to Missionaries, school children, farmers and daily laborers. Through these gifts, people experience Christ’s love.

Click here, to read more blogs on Patheos from Gospel for Asia.

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