WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA World) founded by Dr. K.P. Yohannan – Discussing Shway and the isolation and persecution she experienced, even a house on fire, and God’s divine appointment through Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported pastor, Kyaw.
“Lord, help me!” 60-year-old Shway cried as she ran from her burning house.
The people in her village didn’t like Christians and threatened any who became one. “If you do not forsake Jesus, we will send you out of the village,” they warned her. But Shway was not shaken, so a group of drunken men set fire to her house.
The flames licked the walls and thirstily consumed the roof. Days later, Shway stood in the middle of her roofless home surrounded by charred bamboo walls.
“I never thought this would happen to me,” she said.
Familiar Territory
Shway’s situation wasn’t new for her Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported pastor, Kyaw. Since moving to the village four years earlier, Kyaw’s house had been set on fire three times and vandalized with rocks on multiple occasions.
Despite overwhelming opposition, the Lord is using him and his wife, Cho, to bring many into His Kingdom. There are 82 believers who regularly attend their Sunday services, and Shway is one of them.
A Divine Appointment with a Gospel for Asia-supported Pastor
Shway first met Pastor Kyaw in the midst of a moment of despair. She had been collecting firewood in the forest when the weight of her loneliness became too much to bear. She sat under a tree and cried. She thought about her husband, whose intoxicated body was found drifting in a river, and her two children, who died in a bus accident.
She was alone, left to care for herself, until Pastor Kyaw and his wife found her. They listened to the older woman pour out her sorrow and then offered her the reassuring love of the Savior.
“This is my first time hearing this kind of encouragement and sweet words,” Shway had told the pastor.
Pastor Kyaw began visiting her and comforted her with God’s Word, which helped Shway see she was not alone. She started attending prayer meetings and church services, and the Lord touched her heart. She began to trade her sorrow, anxiety and loneliness for joy as she put her trust in Him.
“Jesus always loves me in the time of my sorrow and difficulties … By praising God, I have joy even though I do not have anything,” Shway said.
Shway’s church family has been a great encouragement to her. They even replaced her roof after the fire and continue to visit her to pray and share Scripture with her.
The opposition has diminished, but even if it hadn’t, Shway now knows the joy of the Lord, and nothing can take it away from her.
*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.
WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA World) founded by Dr. K.P. Yohannan issues an extensive Special Report on the deadly diseases brought by the mosquito and the storied impact of faith-based organizations on world health, fighting for the Kingdom to “come on earth as it is in heaven.”
Bangladesh—Samaritan’s Purse treats Rohingya refugees affected by the diphtheria outbreak. Photo credit Samaritan’s Purse
This is Part 3 of a Three-Part Series on FBO Initiatives to Combat Malaria and Other World Health Concerns.
Go here to read Part 1 and Part 2.
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No Mosquitoes in the Room Now: A Quick Look at the Impact of Faith on Modern Medical Approaches
One of the most succinct summaries of the role of faith-based activity in relationship to ongoing health needs worldwide is a paper by Matthew Bersagel Braley, “The Christian Medical Commission and the World Health Organization.” In it, the author outlines the collaborative work done between the CMC and the WHO in the 1960s and 1970s. They both, concurrently and intentionally aided by the proximity of their headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, sought to address many of the deficiencies that were (and still are) growing apace modern Western medicine with its rapidly increasing dependence upon expensive diagnostic and curative technologies.
Braley’s abstract explains, after referencing the existence of two previous international consultations organized by the World Council of Churches out of which grew the Christian Medical Commission: “What followed was a theologically informed [italics added] shift from hospital-based tertiary care in cities, many in post-colonial settings, to primary care delivery in rural as well as urban communities.”
They saw the mandate of the church as being that of working to restore (as much as is possible) the world to God’s original design.
The early consultations, Tübingen I (in Germany) and Tübingen II, had developed a theology of health that eventually culminated in a mutual understanding. Looking as they were through the lens of health and defining health as the kind of flourishing that God intended for His human creation, they saw the mandate of the church as being that of working to restore (as much as is possible) the world to that original design. Wholeness then is a kind of health—an “at oneness” with God, with fellow humans, with our communities and with our environment. As believers work toward this goal, despite the fact it will never be ultimately achieved until Christ returns, they consequently become healers or health-bringers with an emphasis on flourishing.
Health was also redefined as the ideal that God desired for the people of the earth, one that will probably not be achieved completely, but will have periodic breakouts in time. Health was seen not simply as the “absence of disease” as defined traditionally by the medical establishment, but the presence of ecological health, harmony within the community, at oneness within the individual and in his or her relationships. It was a presence of peace and a lack of warfare; it was an insistence and concern that the neglected, the poor and the oppressed should even be given preferential treatment because of the systemic unfairness, lack of parity and often true evil exercised by the powerful over the powerless.
David and Karen Mains, 1983 at Mount Hermon Conference Center, CA
Personal Reflections
These theological comprehensions and conclusions have personal meaning to me, because I’ve seen firsthand the importance of working together to help others achieve this all-encompassing health. In 1967 we planted a church on the near west side of Chicago, across the expressway from what is now the Illinois Medical District. At that time, we knew it was one of the largest medical centers in the world; now it consists of 560 acres of medical research facilities, labs and a biotechnology business incubator, four major hospitals, two medical universities and more than 450 health care-related facilities. Needless to say, our small but rapidly growing congregation consisted of many medical grad students, nurses and doctors, and social workers.
There must have been something in the international waters, because totally unaware of the groundbreaking conversations going on among the professionals concerned with health impacts on the other side of the world, David Mains, my husband and the founding pastor of our church, discovered Christ’s major preaching theme was the Kingdom of God. Salvation, or being saved, was entry level to an understanding of that preeminent theme. If the predominance of this message was correct, then it totally shifted our thinking from an individualistic interpretation of faith lived out among private lives to a corporate identity framed through the mutual understanding of Scripture’s teaching of this breakthrough concept. Our salvation was worked out in dialogue around Scriptures and in community with other spiritual pilgrims.
“How important it is when members of faith-based consultations … across the world put aside their differences and … design outcomes that have the possibility to alter … whole nations for the good.
There were places in the world, I discovered as I traveled in the role of journalist, where the people used the word “I” but really meant “we.” I began to understand the Epistles often addressed readers with the word “you.” This was not an individual personal pronoun; in most cases, it was a plural pronoun requiring group action, as in “you, the people of God.” David preached a sermon series titled The Christian, the Church and Society including Christ’s two-part summary message, “Unless you are converted and become like little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.” The dialogue of those Christians, listening to David’s sermon in that place and that time in history, when a whole revolutionary resistance movement was rising in our culture—against the war in Vietnam and against injustice, racism, sexism and government corruption—forced upon us a theological conversation that just didn’t happen in other places.
In addition, David, in his 30s, became the head of the Greater Chicago Ministerial Association, and we learned to dialogue across the whole body of faith-based confessions. So, we understand how important it is when members of faith-based consultations here at home or far away across the world put aside their differences and in respect and with deep listening capabilities design outcomes that have the possibility to alter cultures and societies and whole nations for the good.
A part of Samaritan’s Purse relief efforts, these men and women helped fight the Ebola pandemic that swept across West Africa in the spring of 2014. Photo credit Samaritan’s Purse
Conclusion: Our Part in World-Changing, World Health
Matthew Braley’s chapter, taken from the book Religion as a Social Determinant of Public Health, is filled with theological terminology such as epistemology and eschatology, but for the average layperson, what is most important is the Christian Medical Commission’s (CMC) understanding that God’s desire for humankind was that humans flourish in environments most optimal to health as defined not by the absence of disease but by a growing wholeness, and that the thrust of Christ’s ministry and preaching demonstrated the ways to achieve this, aptly summarized in His explanation that we are to love God and love our neighbor as ourselves. The CMC’s struggle to understand redemption as a growing wholeness eventually resulted in the “game-changing” 1978 Declaration of Alma-Ata, the conference out of which the Millennium Development Goals proceeded.
All eight of those goals, delineated earlier in this article, are undergirded by and initiated from a theological understanding of the health emphasis, the redemptive purpose, the salvific meaning demonstrated by Christ and often emulated (though not often enough) by His followers. The MDGs are basically communal in the fact that they bring healing in the large sense of being at peace—or at home—with one’s self; with one’s family, friends and community; and with one’s place in the world. And they cannot be accomplished in a village or a nation or globally without the commensurate communal action of as many entities as possible, giving whatever they can to eradicate whatever suffering can be done away with through these human initiatives.
The participants at Tübingen I and II, the emergent Christian Medical Commission, and thousands of others of us who have, as the Jewish phrase states, worked at “repairing the world” for most of our lives would insist this is God’s work, in God’s way and with God’s help. Fortunately, as Bishop Tutu of South Africa said when he addressed the 2008 61st-annual meeting of the World Health Assembly, the World Health Organization’s governing body, “It is a godly coincidence … together WHO and WCC share a common mission to the world, protecting and restoring body, mind, and spirit.”
As Sharon Bieber responded: “Surely the relief and development organizations that are out there in the world can come to the same conclusion on this one thing—everybody is needed in order to fight diseases such as Ebola, HIV/AIDS or tuberculosis; every agency has strengths that will add to the synergy of the whole.”
So when we see groups like Gospel for Asia (GFA) working to hand out hundreds of thousands of mosquito nets to fight malarial infection, when we know tens of thousands of wells have been dug to provide clean water, and when we understand that the effectiveness of the message of Christ can often be measured by how many latrines have been built in a village or a city, we understand that this is what is necessary to help the participants in our world discover true, full health.
This family received a mosquito net at a Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported Christmas gift distribution. Now they have protection from mosquitoes while they sleep.
Who knows what consultations among desperate folk with common passions are forming even now that will salvage our world at some future critical juncture?
Perhaps you would like to be part of that network of people determined to spread goodness (God-ness) throughout the world. First, begin by educating yourself. Read the book Half the Sky by Nicholas Kristof and his wife, Sheryl WuDunn, which includes a compendium of organizations seeking volunteers. The authors do not hide how impressed they are with conservative faith-based organizations doing work in the world. Another book to read is To Repair the World by Paul Farmer, a medical doctor many consider to be a modern-day hero.
“This is a bold read by a humble visionary. For those who care about humanity, this is a handbook for the heart,” reads a blurb on the back cover written by Byron Pitts, the chief national correspondent for CBS Evening News.
Then circle one of the volunteer efforts that seems to be calling your name. Become an activist. No need to travel overseas (although that is highly recommended). There is plenty of work to do at home, wherever home may be for you. Just don’t only think about doing something: Do it! (I’m going to look up volunteering for disaster-relief training with The Salvation Army—or the American Red Cross—and I’m 76 years of age!)
At the end of the parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus says to the young lawyer, “Go and do likewise.” No, there’s no danger pay for the faith-based health worker. I don’t know of any who have become wealthy. Most of them belong to the league of the nameless. For these, fame is not a motivator either; it generally gets in the way of doing the job.
But mercy? Compassion? Daring to go where others dare not go? Becoming more and more like Jesus? Yep, these are where most of those I know find deep satisfaction. A remarkable man once said, “Go and do likewise.” And they do.
Is that a mosquito I hear buzzing above my ear?
It only takes one mosquito bite to raise a welt.
It only takes one mosquito to kill a child.
It will take a multitude of innovators (believers or nonbelievers) to fight for the Kingdom to “come on earth as it is in heaven.”
It Takes Only One Mosquito — to lead to remarkable truths about faith-based organizations and world health:Part 1 | Part 2
WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA World, www.gfa.org) founded by Dr. K.P. Yohannan – Discussing what Christian leaders are saying about Gospel for Asia and Dr. K.P. Yohannan’s passion for Jesus, love for the “least of these,” and integrity.
Gospel for Asia (GFA), the organization Dr. KP Yohannan founded in 1979, has served the Lord faithfully in 18 countries in and around South Asia. Self-sacrifice Sacrificial living has always been a objective of Gospel for Asia (GFA), beginning with the founder’s office and extending to the thousands of partner-supported workers at home and in the field. K.P.’s passion for Jesus, love for the “least of these,” humility, and integrity have set a godly standard for others to follow.
However, no individual or institution is exempt from criticism, just or unjust. The faith-based missions organization headquartered 45 miles east of Dallas, Texas, is no exception.
The owner of a successful electronics manufacturing company once said, “The higher we raise our flag, the more people will shoot at it.” He made the statement when his company was relatively small. He was pondering the potential disparagement that he believed would surely follow on the heels of the company’s future growth.
His words were almost as accurately prophetic as were Jesus’ when He said, “In this world, you will have trouble” (John 16:33). The Bible also explains that trouble is just the first stepping stone on the path of patience, experience, hope, and enduring satisfaction. (Romans 5:4-5)
Yet, when criticism comes our way, we can almost always take comfort in the steadfast encouragement and endorsement of others.
Gospel for Asia (GFA) is particularly encouraged by and thankful for the following comments from outstanding Christian leaders. Hopefully, you will be encouraged as well.
Dr. David Mains, pastor, author, and broadcaster:
“I have known and worked closely with Dr. K.P. Yohannan. . . [for] over four decades. … His preaching still stirs my soul. I believe 100% in his integrity.”
Francis Chan, pastor and author:
“K.P. has been a mentor to me for years. The way that he speaks to God and about Him is different from anyone else I know. His words and actions have led to me loving Jesus more consistently and deeply. He continues to be an example to me. For this, I am eternally grateful.”
Rev. Paul Louis Cole, president of Christian Men’s Network:
“Dr. K.P. Yohannan is a missionary statesman, a pastor to pastors, a mission leader to mission leaders, and a father to the fatherless. … In a unanimous decision, the CMN board presented Dr. Yohannan with the first annual Reggie White Fatherhood Award, to honor his demonstration for over 40 years of what it means to be a father by providing leadership to compassionate workers of faith and hope to the defeated.”
Greg Gordon, founder of Sermonindex.net:
“I have seen firsthand the work in Asia, the training of ministry leaders, churches, and Bridge of Hope centers. Frugality, simplicity, and godly wisdom is obvious in all the work. Everything is done for an eternal purpose with longevity of a church in mind where millions are experiencing Christ’s love who have never heard the name of Jesus. Dr. K.P. Yohannan has emulated this example of sacrifice and commitment to Jesus.”
Jeff Lutes, president and founder of International Harvesters for Christ, Canada:
“Gospel for Asia (GFA) has been uniquely raised up ‘for such a time as this.’ Only God’s sovereign power could explain how ‘earthen vessels’ make such a dramatic difference. … Spending time with K.P. personally reiterated to me that it is all so simple: God loves Asia, and He demonstrates it every day through GFA.”
Only the Lord knows the opportunities He will have for Gospel for Asia (GFA). Consider becoming a prayer partner with a community of believers who have set aside their own lives to reach tens of thousands of others with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Click this link to learn how you can become one of GFA’s prayer partners.
WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA, www.gfa.org) founded by Dr. K.P. Yohannan – Discussing Jai and how God broke through his heart, overcome with God’s presence through the faithfulness of his family and the ministry of national missionaries.
“I was dreadfully stunned when my wife, 62 years old then, told me she became a Christian. I warned her hundreds of times not to go to her sister’s home, not to attend fellowship and not to listen to anything about Jesus Christ. But regardless of my words of warning, she believed in Jesus Christ as her Savior. I found myself like Goliath, who was terribly defeated by David, a young lad. Not only my wife but my daughter, son and all of my relatives became Christians. I started pondering deeply and carefully about my family and my villagers. What happened to them? Why did they believe in Jesus Christ as God? Is Jesus Christ really God, greater than my gods and goddesses?” — Jai
Jai grew up in a family that followed the traditional religion of his village. He hated that his wife, daughter and son had become Christians. He tried to prevent them from attending church services by sending them out on various tasks so they would be late to worship. He even invited religious leaders to reacquaint his family with their old religion. Yet none of this availed to turn their hearts away from Jesus.
“They stood firmly in their faith,” Jai says. “How my dear wife and children could tolerate patiently all my ill treatment and my bitter criticism about their faithful life in God, I don’t know.”
During this time, Jai developed a severe headache. Whenever it would surface, Jai’s daughter would tell him Jesus had the power to cure him, and then she would pray.
“Dear Jesus Christ,” she’d say, “cure my father’s headache, so he will know You as God.”
Her prayers, however, only angered Jai, and he’d tell her to leave him alone.
God Broke Through
One evening, as Jai laid in bed resting, he heard people singing the hymn “I Surrender All.” Moved by the lyrics, he got up and headed for the room. Standing at the door, he looked at the women who had gathered in his home to worship Jesus.
Jai began trembling, and tears rolled down his cheeks. His wife came to him, held his hand and led him inside the room.
“Everybody looked confused,” Jai remembers. “They were fully acquainted with my foolish behavior before. So they waited quietly, as if I was going to harm them.”
Instead, overcome by God’s presence, he suddenly cried out, “Oh Jesus Christ, if You are the true God, then show me; show me Your face!”
He knelt down and wept. The pastor laid his hand on Jai’s head, and he felt peace. The following days, Jai spent seeking forgiveness and experiencing cleansing that is found only in the blood of the Lamb. Today, Jai faithfully serves the Lord with his family. And the headache? “No, there is no headache any longer,” Jai says. “Thank you, Jesus!”
*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) – Founded by Dr. K.P. Yohannan –Discussing the experiences national missionaries in the mission field, the absence of a place of worship, the struggles they face, and the testimony of God’s faithfulness through it all.
Pastor Mahon looked at the beautiful blue and white structure. It stood so strong—and pointed to God’s glory. Within its walls, reverent believers gathered in celebration, praising the Lord. The saints who gathered there had an anchor of hope living inside them. As Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported pastor Mahon gazed at the building, all the struggles and opposition he had faced faded away.
God had done what once would have seemed unthinkable.
Pastor Mahon and his family. Even through hardships in ministry, he has faithfully served the Lord, and because of his devotion to Jesus, there is much fruit to show from his life.
Pastor Mahon’s Ministry Begins
Pastor Garvan grew in his walk with Jesus under the shepherding of Pastor Mahon. After a time, he decided to serve the Lord with his whole life. His testimony was the first fruits of Pastor Mahon’s church and ministry.
Pastor Mahon began his ministry in this same village in Asia in 1996. When he first started serving the Lord in this place, it was far from easy. Many opposed him because of the message of peace he carried with him. But Pastor Mahon did not give up, and the Lord began to soften hearts to accept His forgiveness and love.
After two years of persevering, Pastor Mahon saw many come to the knowledge of Jesus, and their lives were restored to fellowship with God. A church naturally sprung up. One of the first fruits of Pastor Mahon’s ministry was a man named Garvan and his family, who willingly invited the love of Jesus into their lives.
As Garvan grew in the Lord, he decided he wanted to serve in ministry and eventually became a pastor.
Pastor Mahon and Garvan paved the way for other brothers in Christ to carry hope with them in this village and region. One of these men was Pastor Palu.
Passing the Baton
The years passed, and Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported pastor Palu was called to shepherd the church Pastor Mahon started, when Pastor Mahon was called by his leaders to serve in another region. As Pastor Palu poured out his life for the congregation, the Holy Spirit moved him to share the hope he had found in his Lord with people in the surrounding areas. God blessed Pastor Palu’s ministry, and many vibrant believers joined the church.
Growing Church with a Great Need: A Place of Worship
The church was alive and thriving and many lives were being redeemed, but there was one problem: The congregation had no place of worship, no building to worship in. For many in Asia, when they see Christians who have no building to gather in, it is confusing. Because they have practiced religion in a set-apart structure all their lives, this makes it difficult for them to see Christ as a sacred God.
Although one believer graciously offered his home for services, he wasn’t always in town. Then when the monsoon rains or summer heat came, many believers, especially those from surrounding villages, couldn’t attend church. It was impossible to travel in extreme weather conditions.
These obstacles discouraged Pastor Palu and his congregation. Many of the brothers and sisters couldn’t follow together as they longed to. But this didn’t keep the faithful Body of Christ from praying continually for a permanent place of worship of their own.
Pastor Mahon passed the baton of his church on to Pastor Palu (serving with Gospel for Asia (GFA) founded by Dr. K.P. Yohannan). Pastor Palu faithfully is leading the church that Pastor Mahon pioneered.
Pastor Palu’s congregation faced a struggle shared by many believers throughout Asia. Although the church was thriving, there remained an ever-present need for a building, a place of worship, so believers could worship the Lord together under one roof, protected from the weather.
Taking Action, Seeing Prayers Answered
While brothers and sisters in Pastor Palu’s congregation lifted their voices to God, believers around the world acted in line with the heart of Christ by giving their resources to provide for permanent places of worship. Months passed, and Pastor Palu’s congregation received the land and materials they prayed for to start their brand-new building. Construction commenced, and soon these joyful believers gathered to celebrate God’s goodness and answered prayer as their church building was completed.
A special guest was present on the church’s dedication day: Pastor Mahon, the man who had, by the Lord’s grace, started the ministry in this area.
Joyous believers worship the Lord in the building they prayed for. God has blessed them tremendously!
“When I see the church building,” Pastor Mahon said, “I overlook all the difficulties that I faced in the initial days. I praise God for His faithfulness.”
In an atmosphere of joy, the believers sang songs of worship to God for meeting their need.
“It was a long-felt need,” Pastor Palu said. “I have no words to express my inner feelings and joy. Praise be to God.”
Now this place of worship can facilitate Women’s Fellowship meetings, Sunday school, youth ministry and various events and activities.
A Standing Testimony of God’s Faithfulness
Today, this building has become not only a place of permanent worship, but it has become a place where many Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported workers are able to meet each month to fast and pray together. God used His faithful son Pastor Mahon to share the hope of Christ to those who may never have heard His name before. The church stands not just as a building, but as a testimony of what God has done.
You can partner with our brothers and sisters across the globe who are in prayer for God’s provision for a place of worship of their own. Give a donation to fund a permanent place of worship in Asia today. Together we can stand as one, the Bride of Christ, wherever we may be located on this earth.
WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA) founded by Dr. KP Yohannan – Discussing a woman’s family torn apart and persecuted for her faith, the healing ministry of national missionaries, and the restoration through the gift of a Jesus Well by God’s grace.
The house was in chaos. Fists pounded flesh, blood poured from a head wound and nothing could be said to stop the gang from destroying Laghuvi’s family. Led by Laghuvi’s husband, the group had come for revenge, for punishment, and they would take their due. Beaten herself, Laghuvi tried to protect her newborn son, but she was no match for the men. Her husband forcibly took the child and left. She hasn’t seen either one since.
Mother Suffers Seven Months after Hysterectomy
Laghuvi’s parents, Chandrabhan and Tanima, couldn’t have known the violent turn their son-in-law would eventually take. On the day of their arranged wedding, Nadir was a nice young man who followed a traditional religion—a good match for Laghuvi and for her family. Over the next year, however, medical hardship changed the family.
Doctors diagnosed Laghuvi’s mother, Tanima, with uterine problems and ordered a hysterectomy, which led to severe abdominal pain and swelling all over her body. She suffered seven months without a cure until someone suggested she go to the local church.
During the service, Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported pastor Haatim and his congregation prayed fervently for Tanima, and a month later, she was healed. In response, the entire household decided to follow Christ. Nadir took the news of his in-laws’ decision as a blow. Still, he maintained a tolerable relationship with them.
God is still in the business of answering prayer, just like He healed Tanima through the prayers of local believers.
When Laghuvi became pregnant with the couple’s first child, Nadir followed cultural tradition and sent her to stay with her parents for the final trimester and birth. It was a decision he would soon come to regret.
Daughter Visits Parents, Learns of Christ
When Laghuvi arrived at her parents’ house, she quickly saw the difference Christ had made in their lives. Every night, her parents, siblings and grandfather gathered to read the Bible and pray, and they regularly attended church.
In response to his wife’s new faith, Nadir (not pictured) brought a gang to beat up her family and take his newborn son.
Laghuvi asked her mother about the changes, and Tanima eagerly shared about Jesus Christ. As Laghuvi began joining her family for church and evening prayers, she realized she wanted to follow Christ, too.
When Nadir found out about his wife’s decision, he grew nervous and wanted to take Laghuvi home, but their tradition held that a woman stays in her parents’ home for 15 days after a baby is born. By then, Laghuvi was fully committed in her relationship with Christ—even asking the church to pray for their new son.
Furious, Nadir decided he didn’t want his wife to return home after all. Instead, he hatched a plan to take back his son. The gang of religious fanatics he recruited was all too happy to help.
The group stormed into the house, with Nadir by their side, and began beating the family, demanding that they renounce Jesus Christ. While Chandrabhan suffered a dangerous blow to the head, Nadir forcibly removed his son from the house.
Later, Laghuvi watched her father be taken away by ambulance while the question of her son’s welfare still filled the air. The persecution was only beginning.
Neighbors Blame Family for Persecution
Chandrabhan came home with 12 stitches, but as word spread about the incident, it was he and Tanima who were seen as villains. Nadir had filed for a formal divorce, and in the villagers’ eyes, the couple had chosen a new religion over their daughter’s wellbeing. It was foolish and even cruel.
“What is there in Jesus more than a son-in-law?” the neighbors asked. “Don’t they care about their daughter’s life?”
Carrying heavy pots of water is a common sight in many Asian communities—a task made even harder the farther the distance one has to walk.
Despite their neighbors’ protests, the family continued to trust God, and their frustrated friends eventually cut ties.
“If they don’t want to compromise with their daughter’s life, we will not have fellowship with them,” they said.
Just in case social isolation wasn’t painful enough, the community took its punishment one step further by physically blocking the family from the public well. Whenever a member of the family even approached the well, the villagers harshly scolded them.
The next closest water source was at a school over half a mile away, and they often couldn’t draw enough for the family and their livestock. Their community made it clear: Receive the Living Water and we will reject you.
A Jesus Well Restores Family’s Wellbeing, Reputation
In the midst of the family’s turmoil, Chandrabhan turned to Pastor Haatim and asked him about getting a well that would be open to everyone. Pastor Haatim talked to his leaders, and later that year, a well was drilled behind Chandrabhan’s house.
Because of that one simple move, the village completely changed its attitude toward Chandrabhan, Tanima, Laghuvi and their family. Instead of condemnation, the community showed them appreciation and respect, and the family has returned the good will.
Through the gift of a Jesus Well (pictured), Tanima’s family and their neighbors now have free access to clean water in the name of Jesus.
When the summer’s heat dried up the village’s two older wells, Chandrabhan and his family welcomed their neighbors at the Jesus Well, which was still going strong. Now, more than 30 families use the well regularly, and some people even came to know Christ’s love by talking to Chandrabhan over buckets of water.
As for Laghuvi, she still hasn’t seen her son or the husband who divorced her, but the Lord gave her a new husband from the church. And when they start their family, Laghuvi knows their future will be one marked not by violence but by the joy of Jesus Christ.
By giving a Jesus Well, you can help provide for fellow believers, quell persecution and provide clean water in more villages—all in the name of Jesus. Give toward a Jesus Well today and see how God will transform lives.
*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) – Discussing national missionaries like Balaark who brave through the difficulties of poverty and winter to share God’s love, and the tangible demonstration of His love through a winter coat.
Shutting the front door behind him, Balaark hugged himself tightly and pressed his thin, worn jacket to his torso. The icy wind stung his ears, painting them bright red. He felt the muscles in his entire body contract in a fruitless effort to ward off the invisible assailant. Balaark walked into the wind and began his course through the cold.
Balaark (pictured) serves the Lord near the village where he grew up as a poor outcast.
A cold wave had descended on the village where Balaark, a Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported national worker, served. Each day, the bite of the wind and the falling temperature goaded the missionary to stay indoors, to postpone sharing God’s love for a warmer day.
Many picture Asia as hot and humid, with residents sweating rather than shivering. While that is true of some areas, particularly during summer, many other regions experience extreme winters with snow and ice. In the shadow of the Himalayas, where Balaark ministers, winter temperatures often drop below freezing. Kirpal, another Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported missionary serving in a cold place, explains the impact of winter temperatures.
“The winter is severe in my ministry place since it is surrounded by mountains,” shared Kirpal. “The cold wave affects our health. Visiting believers and doing [ministry is] difficult during winter without the proper warm clothes.”
In these bracing winter conditions, it is common to see national workers like Kirpal and Balaark sharing God’s love with people huddled around outdoor communal fires.
No Stranger to Difficulty
Balaark is not a stranger to the harsh winters experienced in the area where he serves the Lord; he grew up in a village nearby. Nor is he a stranger to difficulty; Balaark grew up poor and marginalized.
Neighbors looked down on young Balaark’s family because of their heritage. But when Balaark suffered from a mysterious illness, the neighbors were convinced evil spirits tormented the boy. Rumors spread and malicious talk drove the family further into isolation.
Poverty stalked the harassed family. It was not long before school was a forgotten childhood memory for Balaark. He worked day-labor jobs to help his family survive.
Trapped in a hopeless situation, Balaark’s parents reached out to a pastor with their troubles. The pastor shared from God’s Word, and the family found peace in the hope of Christ. Jesus became the anchor that secured them through the storms of life.
Balaark gradually felt the Lord calling him to serve in ministry full time. After equipping himself at seminary, Balaark began his ministry in a village near his home. The wounds of rejection Balaark received as a child were healed by the love of the Lord, who accepted him unconditionally. But one childhood difficulty continued to hound Balaark: poverty.
Despite Balaark’s adequate support, life continued to throw unexpected financial burdens across his path. Balaark’s mother suffered from several health complications and couldn’t work, and his father could not afford her treatments. Balaark paid for his mother’s medical expenses out of his own pocket, often neglecting his own needs. The stress of family concerns and their lack of resources frequently inhabited Balaark’s prayer.
“During the winter season, I was going through tension because my mother was also very sick,” Balaark shares. “Day by day, the cold wave was increasing. I had no sufficient amount to buy a new jacket.”
Unable to purchase warm clothes for the looming winter months, Balaark made do with what he had.
Winter becomes a threat to the poor who cannot afford heating or appropriate clothes. This homeless man faced sickness or death during cold snap in December 2014—which is why a Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported worker gave him protection from the cold.
Poverty, a Marker for Winter-related Suffering
Many people in the cold regions of Asia find themselves in a similar situation. To cope with the cold, people often stay in bed later and go to bed earlier, only venturing out when the weak rays of the winter sun are high in the sky. Groups gather around fire pits and layer all the clothes they own. Grappling with the cold becomes a daily occupation, often to the neglect of work—a huge sacrifice for those whose dinner is paid for by what they earned that day.
The Kathmandu Post reports that the lack of proper shelter, warm clothes and nutritious food are among the factors that cause poor and disadvantaged groups to suffer from cold-related conditions. In the article, Rameshwor Dangal, chief at the Disaster Management Division in Nepal, states the sobering truth, “The mortality is increasing every year.”
This pastor is overjoyed at the gift of a winter sweater. It will help him continue ministering on the coldest days to those who are eager to hear about the God who loves them.
Heaven-sent Winter Clothing Packets
Despite the obstacles, Gospel for Asia-supported workers regularly brave the inclement weather to share the hope found in Jesus.
“Ministry doesn’t stop—even if it is snowing like crazy,” shares Mark, a Gospel for Asia (GFA) photojournalist who frequently travels to chilly locations in Asia.
Gifts of winter coats, blankets, sweaters, hats and gloves have armored national workers all throughout Asia. They have also blessed countless homeless people who spend winter on the streets and victims of natural disasters who have lost everything. These practical gifts enable the love of God to be verbalized, demonstrated and felt.
One Bible college student who received a winter clothing packet said,
“From the depths of my heart, I am grateful to God, who blessed me and allowed me to enjoy the winter with a shawl, sweater, socks and woolen cap. For me, it was not possible to buy it. I even had nothing in my bag when I came to study here. But God is so good.”
Wrapped in a New Winter Coat
As winter deepened, Balaark faithfully ministered to the people around him. Each morning, he spent time with the Lord before heading out. He asked for God’s help in the ministry work ahead of him and laid his needs and his burdens at the Lord’s feet. Trusting the Lord to go before him in all things, Balaark wrapped himself in his old coat and forged ahead, full of faith. He had no idea the Lord had already prepared a winter coat for him.
Balaark poses gratefully in the new winter coat he could not afford himself.
Ministry leaders on the field, prompted by the Lord, arranged a winter clothing distribution in Balaark’s area. The day Balaark received his new coat, joy filled his heart. God answered his prayers in an unexpected way.
“I was thinking that I will adjust with my old jacket this winter season too,” Balaark shared. “But, [ministry leaders] provided a new jacket. I am so grateful to our leaders … for their kind help.”
Invigorated by experiencing God’s provision and care, Balaark eagerly engages in his ministry. He talks with people on frigid streets and holds prayer meeting in unheated homes. Each morning, before heading out, Balaark thanks God for His provision and protection. Warmed by God’s love during his prayer times and his new winter coat, Balaark braves the cold to spread the warmth with others.
*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) – Discussing the life of a widow named, Amey and her family who, through a life exposed to lack, danger and desperation, found refuge in God’s grace who provides all that they needed, business, protection, peace and joy.
Riots swept through the small village, causing upheaval in every way. Those behind the riots began to extort every local business, attempting to further their cause. Gair, as a dry-fish vendor, was one of them. The activists gave him an ultimatum: Pay a sum upwards of $60,000 or face the consequences. Gair refused; he did not have the money. He was murdered in his own house. He left behind a wife and four daughters. Amey, Gair’s widow, wondered what to do.
Left Adrift, Unsafe
“I had to go through lots of problems after my husband passed away,” Amey recalled. “I had to protect my children.”
To ensure her daughters’ safety and future, Amey began to sell her belongings.
“Our economic situation went from bad to worse and most of our house belongings had to be sold,” Amey shared. “I was mentally drained …”
Another Attempt
When money ran out and there was no more to sell, Amey decided to revive her husband’s business. Things started to look up as the business began to thrive. But others businessmen looked upon her success with jealously. They harassed the widow, even attempting to kill Amey.
“One day, two men came on a motorcycle and followed my scooter while I was on my way to the market, and they shot at me,” Amey remembered. “The first bullet passed somewhere, and the second hit my scooter … and I fell on the road. This was a great escape, but I immediately decided to stop this business for the safety of myself and my daughters.”
Amey found herself back at square one. This time, she didn’t know what to do.
Truly Desperate
Anxiety, worry and uncertainty gnawed at Amey’s heart. What would happen to her and her daughters? Was there any hope at all? Who could help them?
A neighbor of theirs, who often helped the beleaguered family, suggested Amey and her daughters attend church services led by Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported pastor Maran. When they visited, the believers instantly welcomed the widow and her daughters. Amey immediately felt peace.
“When we went back home that day, I asked my daughters what they felt,” Amey said. “All of them felt so great as they could experience peace and joy.”
A New Business and Blessing
Soon after, the Lord inspired her to open a spice business. The new venture, blessed and prayed for by the pastor, brought in the much-needed income to support Amey and her daughters.
“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.”
Think About It
Like Amey and her daughters, there are many women and their families left to pick up the pieces after their husbands pass away. If you would like to help them, visitgfa.org/gw/widows
WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA) – Discussing the Sisters of Compassion, women missionaries who choose to identify with the marginalized, and reflect God’s love to bring the hope of Jesus to their lives.
Prisha stepped out of the rickshaw only to be greeted by a crowd of dirty, half-naked children running around. One woman stood nearby barely clothed—much to Prisha’s embarrassment. Animal carcasses and burning waste littered the village, creating a stench so bad passersby would speed recklessly through the village to escape it.
Prisha had heard about this village before. Punya Basti’s residents lived in squalor with no electricity, running water or toilets. Most of the villagers left for months at a time to find low-paying work and beg in other areas, but they still couldn’t afford to feed their children three meals a day—much less provide for them to go to school. Alcohol and drug abuse ran rampant, even among children, and fights commonly broke out. On top of all this, outsiders despised the villagers for their low caste and lack of hygiene and education.
Going Where Others Wouldn’t
Prisha had come to Punya Basti to serve as a Sister of Compassion, a woman missionary committed to sharing Christ’s love in practical ways, specifically among poor and marginalized people groups.
Pastor Hoob’s (pictured) ministry was strengthened even more when the Sisters of Compassion came to Punya Basti and start to serve the women in the community.
Gospel for Asia (GFA) pastor Hoob Kumar, who served in the village, was having difficulty ministering to the women.
“The ladies didn’t know how to wear clothes properly,” Pastor Hoob recalls, “and the mothers weren’t bothered that the vessels they cooked with and ate food from were not clean.”
Moreover, the women couldn’t open up to Pastor Hoob because he was a man. He knew they needed someone to come alongside them, educate them and listen to their struggles, so he asked his leaders to send Sisters of Compassion to Punya Basti.
Knowing she was called to go where others wouldn’t, Prisha agreed to go. Out of consideration for her safety, her leader said she could commute there each day from a nearby village that would have safer, more comfortable accommodations, but Prisha wanted to live with the villagers.
“I don’t want to stay in a different place,” she told him. “I want to stay in the midst of them, in the village, so I can understand their feelings . . . and they can understand the love that we want to show them.”
Immediate Challenges Require Unswerving Faith
But living among the villagers wasn’t easy. They rarely bathed or washed their clothes. Drunken fights broke out frequently, with men and women shouting vulgar words.
When the landlord of the house Prisha stayed in offered her and her fellow Sister of Compassion water, Prisha looked at the glass in shock.
“The glass that she gave [us] really smelled very bad. We were not able to drink from that,” Prisha remembers. “Seeing this glass, we were really broken, and we didn’t have anything in our hand to give them. All we could do for them was just pray to God Almighty.”
Prisha and her co-worker knew adjusting to this culture would require more than one prayer, though. They dedicated their first week to fasting and praying; then they began finding ways to help the villagers. They started by sweeping out the village’s filthy drains.
An Uncomfortable Yet Fruitful Lifestyle
At first, Punya Basti’s dirtiness made Prisha wonder if she would ever feel comfortable eating in the villagers’ homes. But she, and the seven Sisters of Compassion who eventually joined her, made a decision to embrace the villagers and share in their lives.
“Slowly we understood that if we don’t get to know them closely, we won’t be able to have relationships with them,” Prisha explains.
The Sisters of Compassion helped the local women with their chores, took care of their babies and ate the food they cooked—food most outsiders would have refused because it consisted of game like tortoise and mongoose.
The Sister of Compassion taught the villagers proper hygiene practices.
By identifying with the villagers, the Sisters of Compassion eventually earned their trust, and the villagers began listening to their advice. People stopped drinking and fighting. Women started dressing modestly and cooking in a healthier, cleaner way. Children started going to school, and the Sisters of Compassion taught them how to bathe, brush their teeth, comb their hair and dress neatly. The villagers even began seeing the missionaries as their own family.
“These eight sisters are like our daughters,” explains one villager. “We love them because they love us. They brought lots of changes in our family, in our home, in our society and in our children.”
Once Scorned, Village Shines
As the Sisters of Compassion reflected God’s love, many people decided to follow Him. Now Christ is transforming Punya Basti from the inside out.
Even when half of the village is away traveling for work, many people gather to worship Jesus each week, ready to learn more about the God who cared enough to send His daughters to live among them.
You can help another community in Asia experience Christ’s love by sponsoring women missionaries like Prisha!
Watch the video to learn more about Sisters of Compassion’s training, dress code and ministry.
Sisters of Compassion choose to wear a uniform that has a special and easily recognized meaning in South Asia: servanthood. It’s a humble sari worn by the poorest women and the street sweepers 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.
WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA) issues an extensive Special Report on illiteracy, the dominant disabler to flourishing for millions around the world, and the miraculous potential of literacy that is able to change the lives of men, women and children for generations.
Resolving the Limitations Illiteracy Places on the Human Spirit
We readers have long lost the joy of discovering that the squiggly marks on a page of paper can be interpreted or that the same kinds of marks can be learned and replicated with chalk, ink, pen or pencil. We don’t understand because we read and write and often take for granted the treacherous limitations illiteracy places on the human spirit as well as on human potential.
Perhaps one story from Gospel for Asia (GFA) will help us again remember the wonder of our own unrecognized reading and writing capacities. This is about Mandeepa.
This is Mandeepa. Her widowed mother was too poor to send her to school when she was younger, so she grew up illiterate. After she learned of God’s love as a teenager, she deeply desired to read God’s Word, but she couldn’t read or write.
Due to the early death of her father, Mandeepa and her five other siblings were raised by a struggling mother. None of these six children were able to attend school, and at the age of 13, Mandeepa started to work as a household maid to support her single parent. Eventually, as is frequently the case, a marriage was arranged for Mandeepa, which quickly produced a son and a daughter.
At the age of 16, Mandeepa started attending a local church where the young woman received a Bible of her own—but having never learned to read and write, she, of course, only saw strange markings on the page. Her heart was filled with a longing to read the words and to learn more about the Heavenly Father the book taught about, but this was impossible, and the young woman was disconsolate.
Mandeepa’s husband was also illiterate. Their daughter was fortunate to attend school, but her growing ability to read only pointed out the lack in her mother’s education. How Mandeepa wished she could help her daughter with her schoolwork. This parental lack only increased the woman’s desire to read and write like her children.
Mandeepa was now 32 years old, and after a year of study, she could finally read the Bible she had received 16 long years before. One of the first things she did when this “great miracle cure” began to have effect on her, banishing the shame and frustration of ignorance caused by lack of education, was to memorize John 14:15: “If you love Me, keep my commandments.”
Gospel for Asia points out that there are more than 250 million women in Asia today who are illiterate. It’s impossible for them to help their children with schoolwork. In addition, the instructions on medicine bottles, road signs, notices from the government and legal papers are all indecipherable— and this in a society that is increasingly dependent upon the written word. Those who desire to read God’s Word can’t do so. Technology can’t be accessed unless a user is highly literate. One must be able to spell, to read commands, to type letters that form words if the digital world is to be accessed.
Illiteracy is more dominant than poverty,
more dominant than a chronic physical disability,
and more dominant than even an oppressive social system.
Illiteracy is a kind of intellectual limbo, and no matter how naturally intelligent a person might be, the very descriptor “illiterate” indicates inferior mental capability.
Worldwide, entire villages with increasing levels of literacy are making social and economic gains when even just a small percentage of the villagers learn to read and write. Much data (a preponderance of which is examined under the general category of education) gives good cause to make the assumption that learning to read and write is one of the “great miracle cures.”
Asia: Manju is teaching several women how to read and write in a literacy class hosted in the women’s house in 2011. Illiteracy is often cured by an army of tutors like this. Opportunities to volunteer and serve to erase illiteracy, and spread the miracle of reading and writing, are numerous.
Why Is Literacy a Great Miracle Cure?
Hopefully, this article will inspire the reader about participating in some way in the joy of giving the gifts of reading and writing to other humans. The outcomes of such literacy initiatives are far beyond the investment of a few hours on the part of a tutor or of a volunteer week or some summer months overseas dedicated to literacy training and teaching. It is well worth considering teaching others how to read and write, or attending discussion groups at the local library where ESL (English as Second Language) learners are expanding their conversational skills, or volunteering with any of a multitude of organizations that welcome short-term teachers who are able to travel overseas. The opportunities for working literacy miracles are many and far-reaching.
Volunteering with NGOs (non-governmental organizations) overseas is, indeed, not only beneficial to individual learners who with literacy skills can obtain higher-paying jobs above menial labor and have the means to educate their own children, but also to whole villages and countries where the literacy aggregate continues to grow, or what has been referred to above as “the multiplier effect.”
250 million
women in Asia today are illiterate
All statistical evidence shows that one individual who is given reading and writing skills greatly improves his/her chances of success.Increasing literacy of individuals also greatly enhances the society in which those people live. A study conducted in Charleston, North Carolina, determined that “illiteracy is a multifaceted social equity and justice problem that results in less job opportunities and low income, often poverty.”
The reporting continues to explain that employers are often careful not to allow low-skilled workers to work more than 30 hours at minimum wage, because hours accrued above this level must provide workers with benefits and paid time off. This limit means poverty or near-poverty for a certain demographic of workers, which then sets in motion the need for community government to provide welfare assistance. The Trident Literary Association of Charleston, South Carolina, notes that food and medical assistance are often necessary when someone lives below the poverty line, especially if children are present:
“Letting our people live in poverty can cost the Charleston community over $15,000 for ONE adult for only ONE year. This does not count the cost of any children each adult may have. When over 86,000 adults in the tri-county area don’t have a high school diploma or a GED, the community could incur costs of up to $1.3 BILLION in public assistance to help those people survive.”
If this is true in a mostly literate community, how does illiteracy impact countries with large demographics of people who can neither read or write? The consensus across the data is that illiteracy interferes with the flourishing of citizens within a community.
The Literacy Foundation, located in Quebec, lists:
Specific negative incomes of illiteracy on both individuals and society. For individuals, the impacts include:
“A limited ability to obtain and understand essential information;
“An unemployment rate two to four times higher among those with little schooling compared to those with bachelor’s degrees;
“Lower income;
“Lower-quality jobs;
“Precarious financial position;
“Little value given to education and reading within the family, often leading to intergenerational transmission of illiteracy;
“Low self-esteem, which can lead to isolation;
“More workplace accidents, longer recovery times and more misuse of medications due to not understanding health care resources and procedures.”
And for a community whose citizens have a high illiteracy rate, societal impacts include:
“Since literacy is essential for individuals and states to be competitive in the new global knowledge economy, many positions remain vacant for lack of adequately trained personnel;
“The higher the proportion of adults with low literacy proficiency, the slower the overall long-term GDP growth rate is;
“Difficulty understanding societal issues lowers the level of community involvement and civic participation.”
Defining Literacy
Like many topics, the meaning of literacy has nuances: Someone might say they are illiterate about opera, meaning they are uninformed, uninterested or unexposed to this art form. The same implications could be attributed to a person who is “illiterate” about immigration. At its most elemental level, however, to be illiterate means that a person cannot read or write or can only decipher words in a minimal way. Literacy Advance says the definition is even more complex:
Within ethnically homogenous regions, literacy rates can vary widely from country or region to region. This often coincides with the region’s wealth or urbanization, though many factors play a role.
Odisha, India: Thirty-five ladies gather for a Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported women’s literacy class three days a week. The class takes place Monday through Wednesday. Once they achieve their goal in teaching these ladies how to read and write, the Sisters of Compassion will begin another Adult Literacy Class elsewhere in the neighborhood.
Literacy — One of the Great Miracle Cures:Part 2 | Part 3
The people in her village didn’t like Christians and threatened any who became one. “If you do not forsake Jesus, we will send you out of the village,” they warned her. But Shway was not shaken, so a group of drunken men set fire to her house.
Jai grew up in a family that followed the traditional religion of his village. He hated that his wife, daughter and son had become Christians. He tried to prevent them from attending church services by sending them out on various tasks so they would be late to worship. He even invited religious leaders to reacquaint his family with their old religion. Yet none of this availed to turn their hearts away from Jesus.
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