Meeting Pressing Physical Needs Opens the Door for Deeper Healing as Well

Last updated on: November 5, 2019 at 5:08 pm By GFA Staff Writer

Gospel for Asia (GFA) Report, Wills Point, Texas

You know that awkward moment when you’re stopped at a red light, and you can feel the presence right outside your window. You study the road in front of you, trying, unconvincingly, to look casual and nonchalant. Before, when you slowed down for this stop light, you saw the panhandler standing at the corner. You knew you were going to end up idling right next to him. You quickly think to yourself, What do I do? Do you smile and look away? Do you give him money? What are the chances it won’t go straight to the liquor store till? His sign says he has a family. Does he really? Will they see a cent of any money you give him? What about if you give him a gospel tract? Isn’t that really his greatest need: Jesus?

I have often wrestled through these questions and settled on one of the actions above, but never with complete satisfaction that it was the best way to help or exactly what Jesus would have done.

Usually, when Jesus was approached by the needy, disabled or downcast, He met their immediate physical needs, often through healing. But He also fed people, just because they were hungry. In fact, He told us that when we meet the immediate physical needs of people in front of us, we are ministering to Him directly.

“Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me. Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’” —Matthew 25:34–40

Our field partners in Asia see the same kind of desperate needs that we read about in the gospels. People affected by leprosy. People without access or means for medical treatment. Families too poor to send their kids to school or even feed them. There are so many natural disasters in rural Asian countries that don’t have the infrastructure to respond.

Compassion Services workers - KP Yohannan - Gospel for Asia — Relief packets, distributed by Gospel for Asia-supported Compassion Services workers, being helicoptered into remote locations in Nepal following the catastrophic earthquakes in 2015.

Gospel for Asia-supported Compassion Services teams are there to meet people’s real-time, immediate needs. Things like medical checkups and flood relief. These are vehicles for people to experience the real love and compassion of Jesus. Jesus sees their need. He sees their plight. He is not deaf to their cries, they reach His throne in heaven.

Compassion Services is where heaven touches earth. Washing a leprosy patient’s wounds gives physical representation to the spiritual reality of God’s cleansing forgiveness. Rebuilding the home of a family who lost everything in an earthquake speaks of an eternal home that cannot be destroyed.

When we reach out to the immediate physical needs of those around us in the name of Jesus, He ministers to them through us. We become the very hands and feet of Jesus on earth.

old woman who received a blanket - KP Yohannan - Gospel for Asia — This is Rayna, a 125-year-old woman who received a blanket.

In a tiny farming village in Asia, two Sisters of Compassion met 125-year-old, Rayna, a poor widow who has lived her whole life in this village. The sisters made weekly visits to Rayna to hear her stories culled from 125 years of love and heartache and to pray for her. They noticed the torn and smelly blanket she used for warmth and realized she and her family couldn’t even afford a new blanket, because they used all their income on daily survival. There was no money left for improving their lives. The sisters were able to provide a new, warm blanket for Rayna through a gift distribution.

“During night time, I feel cold because there were no warm clothes in my house, and I struggled a lot,” Rayna said. “I could not afford to buy a blanket to protect me. But thank you very much for giving this blanket.”

Gospel for Asia partners work right in the middle of some of the most difficult plights of human need. Our partners work in 44 leprosy colonies in Asia, where leprosy still has a life-long stigma. As people affected with leprosy are often cast out of society, they gather in groups or “colonies” for safety. Our partners are busy ministering to these outcasts by cleansing their wounds, getting them medical attention, and providing livelihoods, such as goats, through GFA’s Christmas Gift Catalog so they have a sustainable means of living. We even have an onsite cobbler at one of the colonies to provide custom shoes for those with feet too disfigured to wear normal shoes.

Our field partners also work in slums spread across Asia, providing toilets and blankets to those who do not have access to these items of basic human need. We host medical camps in slums, leper colonies and poor rural areas that have no access to any sort of health care. Often in these areas, people’s only resource for medical care are traditional practices that spread more disease than cure.

After the decimating series of earthquakes in Nepal in 2015, coordinated relief efforts came from many Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported partners in Indian states. Supplies of clothing, food and medicine were assembled to meet immediate needs. Building supplies were collected to help with reconstruction. Even school supplies were provided for thousands of children that lost everything. In times of crisis, when warning is impossible, Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported Compassion Services are poised to respond immediately and remain for the long haul.

Jesus made time for the needy around Him. Even when He was busy, on His way somewhere, a desperate woman who reached out to Him was not turned away, but healed (Mark 5:21-34). Men would cry out to Him from the side of the road, and Jesus paused to listen and minister to their physical needs (Matthew 20:29-34). Often this led to spiritual transformation as well.

By touching people’s lives by meeting immediate physical needs, the door is open for deeper healing as well.

Bottled water and a gospel tract - KP Yohannan - Gospel for Asia — Bottled water and a gospel tract for those standing in 100-degree weather.

You remember the panhandler at the intersection? This is my someone-asking-for-help-while-I’m-busy-on-my-way-somewhere moment. How will I respond? Once I had kids and knew that these four little people were watching my life, I determined to come up with a way to reach out to panhandlers. I was done looking the other way and feeling embarrassed, not knowing what to do. So I put together a plastic bin that sits in my van, right between the two front seats filled with bottles of water. Each water bottle has a gospel tract rubber-banded around the outside. Tucked into the gospel tract is $1. My kids and I pray over the gospel tracts and write a warm note of encouragement before we wrap them around the water bottles. Now that we live in Texas, bottled water is perfect. When we lived in Washington State, it was cans of soup.

There are so many ways that Jesus continues to minister to the needs of people around the world. And He does it through the small and big acts we carry out every day. When we, as the Body of Christ, show up in a recently flooded village where all the crudely constructed homes have been washed away, Jesus is there. When we give a bottled water to someone standing on a street corner in 100-degree weather, Jesus is there. We are the literal hands and feet of Jesus reaching out in our local communities and across the globe, meeting people’s immediate physical and spiritual needs. Being the conduit for heaven to touch earth.

=====

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

Go here to know more about Gospel for Asia: GFA.net | Wiki | Flickr

For more information about this, click here.

When Disaster Strikes, They Become Vessels of Peace and Comfort

Last updated on: February 22, 2023 at 8:54 am By GFA Staff Writer

Gospel for Asia (GFA) Report, Wills Point, Texas

On April 29, 2017, deadly tornados struck just a few miles away from Gospel for Asia’s U.S. headquarters in Wills Point, Texas. The GFA campus lost power for three days, but we were deeply grateful to be otherwise untouched by the twisters. However, our neighboring communities were reeling from the devastation. Homes had been torn off their foundations; a car dealership was in shambles—and so were many lives.

Local churches stepped up and organized groups of people to help clear rubble from broken homes and salvage whatever belongings could be found. Gospel for Asia (GFA) staff members quickly partnered with those churches and found ways to help serve the affected communities.

Gospel for Asia staff member helps clean up homes - KP Yohannan — Gospel for Asia staff member helps clean up homes after a tornado devastated a nearby community.

I went with one group of helpers to a neighborhood that would have been sheltered in a beautiful wood just days prior. But now the trees were splintered, and logs and branches sprawled across lawns, cars, pools and bedrooms. The furry of the storm was difficult to fathom.

I talked with tearful home owners who had to start afresh overnight. I walked through pastures and retrieved photographs, clothing, books and even a portion of a social security card.

In a storm, suddenly everything in a person’s life is laid bare and exposed.

It was a sobering experience. Tragedy had struck, but in the midst of it, I heard beautiful stories of God’s protection over the residents of the homes I helped clear away.

One father told me he arrived at a shelter just after his living room door flew through his house, crossing the hallway he had just used. At another site, a family member told me how the house had been lifted off its foundation, and the wife flew out and landed a few hundred feet away—she survived, as did her husband. Both these families were Christ followers, and they testified that God worked miracles in the midst of their storm.

As Daniel Yohannan, vice president of Gospel for Asia, wrote, gratitude works wonders in our hearts, no matter what our circumstances.

There was such love being poured out from stranger to stranger. Prayers were offered, hugs were shared, meals were provided, sweat and labor was spent tearing out soaked drywall and removing glass, stones and trees from roofless homes.

Why were strangers so eager to help? Because of compassion. And for those who belonged to neighboring churches, it was because of Christ’s compassion.

Seeing the teams of believers—people of various backgrounds, skills and ages—all working together to help those who lost everything overnight, I couldn’t help but think about the teams of GFA-supported Compassion Services workers who respond when natural disasters hit.

When the horrific earthquakes in Nepal in 2015 killed more than 8,000 people in four nations, GFA-supported Compassion Services teams mobilized right away to organize relief work, rescue victims and care for the grieving. They stayed to help long after the news of the earthquake left the media.

Compassion Services team provides aid to villagers - KP Yohannan - Gospel for Asia — A Gospel for Asia-supported Compassion Services team provides aid to villagers in Nepal after two earthquakes shook the country.

Like the local churches in Texas who helped their tornado-victim neighbors, these workers in Nepal ministered God’s love and mercy to people in their time of great need.

More recently, episodes of flooding in Assam, India, during 2017 and other severe floods in Sri Lanka prompted Compassion Services teams to rally together to aid their communities. Although many of the relief workers were affected by the flooding as well, they set aside their own needs and worked together to bring food and shelter to many villages.

I love these Compassion Services teams. They are used by God to save lives and bring hope into desperate situations, yet they themselves are simple human beings. They may be local pastors, students in a seminary, Sunday School teachers or Bridge of Hope staff. But when disaster strikes, they become vessels of peace and comfort during a fierce storm.

Disaster relief is one of the four ministries supported through Gospel for Asia’s Compassion Services fund. The other areas of ministry—Leprosy Ministry, Slum Ministry and Medical Ministry—hold a similar purpose: giving those who are in need the chance to experience God’s provision and care.

Learn more about Compassion Services.

Do you have a story you’d like to share of experiencing a natural disaster or helping provide relief and help to those in need? Please share those stories with us in the comments below!

=====

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

Go here to know more about Gospel for Asia: GFA | GFA.org | Facebook

Ministries

Last updated on: October 19, 2017 at 10:56 pm By KP Yohannan

1. Sponsoring National Missionaries

We connect you with a national worker (or multiple workers) in Asia—these simple, humble servants of God minister to people’s deepest needs both physically and spiritually, in communities throughout Asia.

Learn more about national missionaries

2. Sponsoring Children

More than 82,000 children from impoverished families are being given hope and a brighter future through GFA’s Bridge of Hope Program. This sponsorship program provides a way for children in India, Nepal and other parts of Asia to receive an education, medical checkups and more in Jesus’ name.

Learn more about these children and their future

3. Developing Communities

Many families in the communities we serve do not have the basic necessities needed for healthy living. We meet these needs by providing things like clean water, income producing farm animals, sewing machines and vocational training.

Learn more about how communities are transformed

4. Disaster Relief and Compassionate Care

GFA-supported national workers serve victims of natural disasters and those who are often rejected by society, like widows and leprosy patients. Our Compassion Services teams love the Lord and serve the needy from that same heart.

Learn more about our Compassion ministries

K.P. Yohannan (Metropolitan Yohan) Laid to Rest

Last updated on: June 17, 2024 at 4:20 pm By GFA Staff Writer

0 Comments

WILLS POINT, TX — The final services for K.P. Yohannan (Metropolitan Yohan), GFA World founder and Metropolitan of Believers Eastern Church, were a bittersweet time for friends, family, fellow servants of Christ, and what seemed like much of the world.

After his tragic death in the United States, K.P. Yohannan’s mortal remains were transported to the Kochi airport in his home state of Kerala, India. The state of Kerala provided a full escort and state honors to the man that had done so much for his home state and country. Being carried in a vehicle designed for public viewing, people watched from the sides of the road to see him pass by one last time, and as he approached his final resting place, the numbers increased especially as they approached the church in his birth village of Niranam for the second of the final services.

KP Yohannan (Metropolitan Yohan) Final Funeral Services — KP Yohannan (Metropolitan Yohan) speaking at the GFA World “Renewing Your Passion” conference in March 2022

The funeral and burial on May 21st were preceded with a day-long memorial service that was attended by tens of thousands from all walks of society. The surviving Yohannan family members were surrounded by over 10,000 Believers Eastern Church (B.E.C.) leaders, clergy and other church members who silently kept watch in the conference center where the public viewing was held at the church headquarters.

The day was a testimony of a man whose life policy was to love people regardless of caste, creed or religion, of a man who labored tirelessly for over 50 years for the sake of others. Under his guidance, B.E.C. had grown to over 12,000 parishes in Africa and Asia who for decades also labored under his direction to serve the poorest of the poor and share Christ’s love with those often ostracized by others in society.

During the memorial, the line of mourners processed continuously hour after hour and reached close to a quarter mile long at times. They were from all walks of life: Christian ministry leaders, rickshaw drivers, nurses and doctors from the church hospital, radio listeners, members of Believers Eastern Church from across the country and around the world as well as political leaders and prominent leaders from other faiths. The leaders of every episcopal church of Kerala personally paid their respects, comforted bishops and family and prayed.

Tearful mourners listened for hours as political and religious leaders eulogized the man who had touched their lives personally and bettered so many of the people they led. The continuous condolences included sentiments by Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan, Goa Governor P S Sreedharan Pillai, various Kerala Cabinet Members, Leader of Opposition in Kerala VD Satheesan, All India Congress Council General Secretary KC Venugopal and CPM State Secretary MV Govindan. A Sri Lankan member of Parliament shared and brought written condolences from many country leaders, including the President of Sri Lanka, Ranil Wickremesinghe.

Many leaders throughout India, from other Asian nations, Africa and Europe who were not able to attend sent their written condolences, including the Prime Minister of India who shared on Twitter, “I am pained by the passing away of the Metropolitan of Believers Eastern Church, Moran Mor Athanasius Yohan. He will be remembered for his service to society and emphasis on improving the quality of life of the downtrodden. My thoughts are with his family and all devotees of the Believers Church. May his soul rest in peace.”

Memorial services were held in B.E.C. churches throughout the world as millions mourned the loss of their spiritual father.

The depth and multitude of sentiment expressed at the loss of K.P. Yohannan overwhelmingly testified to the life of service he lived and his single focus to care for others. One international Christian leader who also attended the services had also attended the late Billy Graham’s funeral and commented that he believed Metropolitan Yohan had touched more lives more deeply than even Graham.

Though the viewing had gone on for close to twenty-four hours, the procession had to be stopped for a final time of prayer followed by a government ceremony according to full state honors before a procession to St. Thomas Cathedral where the concluding rites and burial would occur.

An invitation-only group filled the cathedral to capacity as interim Metropolitan Bishop Samuel Mor Theophilus presided over the final funeral service. After which, the mortal remains of K.P. Yohanan, Metropolitan Yohan Mor Athanasius I, were laid to rest in a new tomb on the cathedral grounds during a tearful final ceremony.

On the wall in his personal study, K.P. Yohannan had a painting of a saint collapsing into the arms of Jesus as he entered heaven. The epithet on his grave starts with “Resting in the arms of Christ.” Nothing could be more fitting for a man who labored tirelessly for the sake of others as much as anyone in history. Those who were closest to him know that it was for Jesus that he labored, and the moment he looked forward to with all his heart more than anything else was when he would rest in His arm. No epithet could be more fitting.

About K P Yohannan

K.P. Yohannan (Metropolitan Yohan), founder and director of GFA World (Gospel for Asia) and Metropolitan of Believers Eastern Church (BEC), until he departed in the presence of God on May 8, 2024, had written more than 250 books, including Revolution in World Missions, an international bestseller with more than 4 million copies in print. He and his wife, Gisela, have two grown children, Daniel and Sarah, who both serve the Lord with their families.

About GFA World (formerly Gospel for Asia)

GFA World is a leading faith-based global mission agency, helping national workers bring vital assistance and spiritual hope to millions across the world, especially in Africa and Asia, and sharing the love of God. In a typical year, this includes thousands of community development projects that benefit downtrodden families and their children, free medical camps conducted in more than 880 villages and remote communities, over 4,800 clean water wells drilled, over 12,000 water filters installed, income-generating Christmas gifts for more than 163,000 needy families, and teaching to provide hope and encouragement in 110 languages in 14 nations through broadcast ministry. GFA World has launched programs in Africa, starting with compassion projects in Rwanda. For all the latest news, visit the Press Room at https://gfanews.org/news.

Notable News about KP Yohannan: MissionsBox | NRB | Patheos | Crosswalk

Child Sponsorship — Does it Lift the Young Out of Poverty? | Part 3

Last updated on: October 12, 2023 at 10:28 am By GFA Staff Writer

0 Comments

WILLS POINT, TX – GFA World (Gospel for Asia) founded by K.P. Yohannan, which inspired numerous charities like GFA World Canada, to assist the poor and deprived worldwide, issued this third part of a Special Report on Child Sponsorship — Does it Lift the Young Out of Poverty?

Child and his sponsor — Sponsors play a huge role in the lives of the kids they partner with, they are not only providing financial help to receive an education, but they can be their child’s encourager, champion, intercessor, and light. Many different organizations like Compassion even provide the opportunity for sponsors to travel and meet their child in person. Photo by Compassion, What We Do: Child Sponsorship

Long-Term Success

Success stories can be recent, like Neale’s in South Asia, or long-term, like Peace Ruharuza’s in Uganda, although the latter tends to illustrate the lasting impact of child sponsorship. Another example of ongoing success comes from Uganda where Phanuel Mwami is a father, social worker and leader of a community development organization in his hometown. But before a ChildFund (formerly Christian Children’s Fund) sponsor helped change the direction of his life, it was full of hopelessness.⁴¹

Phanuel Mwami, 48, sits in the classroom at the school he attended as a child — The 48-year-old Phanuel Mwami is seated in a classroom at the school that ChildFund (formerly Christian Children’s Fund) established and funded when he was a child. He claims, “ChildFund made me who I am.” Photo by ChildFund, Child sponsorship changes the story for Phanuel

The sixth of nine children, Phanuel was the son of subsistence farmers who grew cotton and other crops on a small plot of land. Education in rural Uganda was not free or compulsory then (the country launched a free primary school program in 1997). With his parents unable to afford any kinds of supplies, by the age of eight, Phanuel had lost all hope of attending school.⁴²

The family had other priorities, such as food, clothing and basic shelter.

“When it would rain, one of our older sisters would tell us to hold the walls of the house so they would not fall on us,” he said. “I feared the abject poverty we were living in. I could have died because of a lack of essential services.”⁴³

That all changed in 1982 when a stranger named Bernard James decided to sponsor a child, which enabled Phanuel to enroll in a school that ChildFund had built using sponsorship funds. It was there Phanuel learned to read and write. The school also provided him with uniforms, books, supplies and nourishment. It also helped him survive when his father’s alcohol abuse drove his mother to move out in 1985 and take his other siblings with her.

He chose to stay, afraid following his mother would mean losing his place in the sponsorship program and a chance to get an education. It proved to be a wise decision: Phanuel excelled at school, found odd jobs, and saved enough money to pay his way through secondary school. A member of the school board who noticed his academic prowess took him into her home. Continuing gifts from his sponsor enabled him to buy a goat.

“I don’t want any child under my care to experience what I experienced. Sponsorship opened up my opportunities. It enabled me to live the life I always dreamed of, and now, I am dedicating my life to helping others.”

The now 48-year-old man went on to earn scholarships to attend university, where he studied sociology and social administration before he went on to pursue a career in social work. In 2010, Phanuel launched a nonprofit in the same community where he grew up. It supports more than 100 children in accessing an education.⁴⁴

“I don’t want any child under my care to experience what I experienced,” he said. “Sponsorship opened up my opportunities. It enabled me to live the life I always dreamed of, and now, I am dedicating my life to helping others.”⁴⁵

GFA World Child Sponsorship program staff visit a child's home — West Bengal: Home visits are a huge part of what GFA World’s child sponsorship staff do. Every day they visit different homes in their community encouraging the families of the children enrolled in sponsorship, but also assesing the situations of other families so they can help even more children in the future.

Recent Triumphs

With its sponsorship program launching in 2004, GFA World’s successes are more recent. Still, to date, the organization has helped a total of 142,000 children. During the pandemic-plagued year of 2021, more than 2,200 students in GFA World’s Child Sponsorship Program graduated from high school and began pursuing a path to a better future.

Kasni

Among stories of those receiving help is Kasni, who lives in a village in South Asia. The oldest of four children, she was left in charge when her mother, Dayita, went to work each day in the jungle. (Dayita was forced to do so because her husband’s alcohol addiction made him so sick he couldn’t work or even get out of bed.) Gathering firewood from the forest to sell in the market, Dayita made very little money, meaning her children often went to bed hungry.

When Gospel for Asia (GFA World) sponsorship workers visited the village and heard about Kasni’s plight, they were able to help her get enrolled in the program. She began attending tutoring classes in the afternoons after spending mornings caring for her siblings. The program reduced Dayita’s financial burden and provided her daughter with nutritious food and school supplies.⁴⁶

Divena

Another stirring story involves Divena, already facing an uncertain future at the age of five after her mother deserted the family. Her father would leave Divena and her brother alone for weeks at a time while he worked as a truck driver. One day, a Gospel for Asia (GFA World) social worker visited children in Divena’s area. When this worker passed by the little girl playing in the mud outside her tarp-covered home, the worker felt pity for her.

The woman helped get Divena and her brother into GFA’s sponsorship program.

That meant a daily meal along with adult supervision and guidance, school supplies, and free school tuition. Today, Divena dreams of a brighter future.

“I was totally discouraged when my mother left us alone,” the girl said. “It was very difficult for me and my brother to live without her. We starved many days, and our father also could not look after us. Whenever I saw the children going to school, I felt very sad. However, today [GFA’s sponsorship program] has become a blessing to me and my brother.”⁴⁷

GFA World child sponsorship program — Sponsorship help break the relentless cycle of poverty for countless children around the world. It effects not only the child, but their family and their community.

Bir

GFA World’s founder, K.P. Yohannan (Metropolitan Yohan), said sponsorship helps children overcome the stigma of poverty and the low self-esteem that often accompanies those from deprived circumstances. In his 2020 memoir, Never Give Up, he wrote about children like Bir, who scavenged plastic bags for his parents while believing he was as worthless as the trash he sorted⁴⁸.

Dr. K.P. Yohannan, GFA World Founder — Dr. K.P. Yohannan,
GFA World Founder

“When a Gospel for Asia (GFA World) Sponsorship Program center opened in his village, Bir and his friends discovered they were created for a higher purpose and that God loves them,” Yohannan said. “This knowledge sets kids free and completely transforms their lives. It’s critical that this generation does not give up and that it’s empowered to break free from the stranglehold of poverty.”⁴⁹

Sponsor a Child »

You can be part of the solution that is setting children free from a life of poverty. Simply visit the GFA World website: https://www.gfa.org/sponsorachild/. You can sponsor a child living in South Asia or Africa. You can also find a child who shares your birthday or pick a child to sponsor who has a specific age or gender. Your decision to sponsor can make a substantial difference in the life of an impoverished or underprivileged child.

About GFA World

Gospel for Asia (GFA World) is a leading faith-based global mission agency, helping national workers bring vital assistance and spiritual hope to millions across the world, especially in Asia and Africa, and sharing the love of God. In a typical year, this includes thousands of community development projects that benefit downtrodden families and their children, free medical camps conducted in more than 880 villages and remote communities, over 4,800 clean water wells drilled, over 12,000 water filters installed, income-generating Christmas gifts for more than 163,000 needy families, and teaching to provide hope and encouragement in 110 languages in 14 nations through broadcast ministry. GFA World has launched programs in Africa, starting with compassion projects in Rwanda. For all the latest news, visit the Press Room at https://gfanews.org/news.

Read the rest of this GFA World Special Report: Child Sponsorship — Does it Lift the Young Out of Poverty? — Part 1, Part 2

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

Read what 30 Christian Leaders are affirming about Gospel for Asia.

This Special Report originally appeared on gfa.org.

Footnotes:

“Child Sponsorship Changes the Story for Phanuel.” ChildFund.org. https://www.childfund.org/Content/StoryDetail/17179871321/. January 20, 2022.
Ibid.
Ibid.
Ibid.
Ibid.
“An Education They Never Dreamed Of.” GFA World News. https://www.gfa.org/news/articles/an-education-they-never-dreamed-of/. May 2016.
“Neglected Girl Replaces Mud Canvas with Paper, Pencils.” GFA World News. https://www.gfa.org/news/articles/neglected-girl-replaces-mud-canvas-with-paper-pencils/. May 2020.
Yohannan, K.P., “Never Give Up” GFA Books. https://nevergiveupbook.org/. April 1, 2020.
Ibid.

GFA World Partner St. Cyprian Believers Eastern Church Welcomed Stoney Creek Community to Fall Festival

Last updated on: December 2, 2022 at 7:42 pm By GFA Staff Writer

STONEY CREEK, ONTARIO — October 22, 2022 St. Cyprian BEC (https://www.bechurch.ca), mission partner of Gospel for Asia (GFA World, founded by Dr. K.P. Yohannan, has been the model for numerous charities like Gospel for Asia Canada), hosted a free Fall Festival for the community. We gratefully took advantage of one of the last warm weekends of the year for this event. Families and individuals were welcomed to the property we share with Gospel for Asia (GFA World) from one to five in the afternoon. Donations were accepted to support the local Stoney Creek Food Bank.

St. Cyprian Believers Eastern Church, a GFA partner, welcomed the local community for an afternoon of fun to help strengthen relationships — St. Cyprian BEC took advantage of one of the last nice weekends in October to welcome the Stoney Creek community for a free Fall Festival (https://www.bechurch.ca/).

This event featured fall treats made by parishoners, games, face painting, a bouncy castle, and the opportunity to interact with other community members. Dave Coruzzi, a local musician and guitar teacher, also provided live music during the event. Almost 150 people attended the festival.

Stoney Creek is a multi-cultural community, and we were delighted to have families from different backgrounds in attendance. We love being able to share small pieces of our cultural heritage with those from other backgrounds! Sometimes we do so through teaching adults how to play checkers, or playing giant-sized jenga. Or just sharing some of our favourite fall-time snacks and treats like caramel popcorn and chocolate chip cookies.

Around the world, Believer’s Eastern Church parishes seek to meet the needs in their communities. Partnering with Gospel for Asia (GFA World), we have helped organize free medical camps in remote areas. Also, we have been able to provide mosquito nets to many impoverished people in various communities.

About Gospel for Asia – GFA World

Gospel for Asia (GFA World) is a leading faith-based global mission agency, helping national missionaries bring vital assistance and spiritual hope to millions across the world, especially in Asia and Africa, and sharing the love of God. In GFA World’s latest yearly report, this included thousands of community development projects that benefit downtrodden families and their 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 teaching providing hope and encouragement available in 110 languages in 14 nations through radio ministry. GFA World has launched programs in Africa, starting with compassion projects in Rwanda. For all the latest news, visit our Press Room at https://gfanews.org/news/.

Media interested in interviews with Gospel for Asia should contact Gregg Wooding at InChrist Communications @ 972-567-7660 or [email protected]

Source: GFA World Digital Media News Room, Enjoying the Fall Season at the Stoney Creek Pumpkin Fest

Learn more about the GFA World national 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.

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

Gospel for Asia Helping Protect Lives Through Clean Hands

Last updated on: November 28, 2022 at 7:57 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 the impoverished communities that Gospel for Asia (GFA World) national missionaries reach, helping protect lives through hand-washing and sanitation.

“Clean hands save lives.” It’s a slogan that sounds like a simple solution to an enormous problem, but according to the Center for Disease Control, clean hands do indeed save lives by helping prevent the spread of disease and infection.[1] For impoverished communities, prevention may be better than seeking treatment when infections or diseases do come, especially because treatment may not be affordable or available.

In Defense of Health

Annually, on October 15, organizations around the world celebrate Global Hand-washing Day to highlight the importance of hand-washing in preventing the spread of disease. Gospel for Asia (GFA World) missionaries, pastors and workers also organize programs that aim to inform and teach the communities they serve how to protect themselves from sicknesses that are spread through unclean hands, knowledge that is especially important during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The area where Gospel for Asia (GFA) pastor Reinhard serves is particularly rife with diseases, including typhoid. Because the village is devoid of proper medical facilities, the villagers must either make a long and expensive trip or let infections take their toll. Many villagers, a field correspondent reported, were losing their lives to these sicknesses at a young age.

Seeing the great need in his area to help people stay healthy, Pastor Reinhard and other volunteers organized a Global Handwashing Day program to teach people how they can protect themselves from disease by washing their hands. At the program, the workers demonstrated handwashing techniques and shared about the increased risk of becoming sick when people do not properly wash their hands.

Bringing Help Where It’s Needed

Like Pastor Reinhard, hundreds of other Gospel for Asia (GFA) workers serving in impoverished areas brought the same message to those who need it most. In one region, more than 400 men, women and children across dozens of villages were taught how to protect themselves from disease through proper handwashing.

Addressing the gathered families in his village, Pastor Reinhard summed up the message he and thousands of workers like him brought to many:

“Wash your hands properly … and it will help you to keep yourself physically sound and healthy, by washing away germs that can cause preventable diseases such as pneumonia, diarrhea and [typhoid]. On the occasion of Global Hand-washing Day, we should help others by teaching them about [how] ‘clean hands save lives.’”

*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.

[1] “Show Me the Science – Why Wash your Hands?” CDC. September 10, 2020. https://www.cdc.gov/handwashing/why-handwashing.html

Source: Gospel for Asia Field Reports & Updates, Protecting Lives Through Clean Hands

Learn more about the need for medical ministry — Prevention is better than cure. But what if you can’t access either? GFA World medical ministry is helping thousands who are in need of medical attention, all while displaying the love of Christ.

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

Enjoying the Fall Season: Stoney Creek Pumpkin Fest

Last updated on: November 5, 2022 at 4:17 pm By GFA Staff Writer

STONEY CREEK, ONTARIO — On Saturday, October 15, 2022, the Stoney Creek community came together to celebrate the Pumpkin Fest. Families were out together, and many children had the opportunity to show off their amazing costumes. Gospel for Asia (GFA World, founded by Dr. K.P. Yohannan, has been the model for numerous charities like Gospel for Asia Canada) staff built a fall themed arch for attendees to take photos under. We also had free games and balloons and invited people to our Fall Festival, which is being hosted by our mission partner St. Cyprian BEC (https://www.bechurch.ca/cyprian/).

GFA World Canada connected with the local community by participating in this year's Stoney Creek Pumpkin Fest Pumpkin Fest. — Gospel for Asia (GFA World) offered games and free balloons for children and families at the Stoney Creek Pumpkin Fest (https://www.gfa.ca).

Held in downtown Stoney Creek, the Pumpkin Fest attracted many people from the community. We were blessed with good weather as well. Though the forecast was for rain, the sky was sunny all afternoon. However, a stiff wind made certain that we didn’t forget summer is over.

Hundreds of families came by, and we gave away over 190 balloons. Several children also learned how to play checkers with their family. We love connecting with our community, and encourage people to sign up to get news about future community events directly in their inbox. Everyone who signed up to receive these emails was entered into a draw for a free, homemade pie. Also, donations were received for the Stoney Creek food bank.

Community Transformation

In an ever-increasingly digital world, it can be difficult to connect with our neighbors. That is why events like the Pumpkin Fest and the recently concluded Fall Festival are so important to us! By providing a safe and fun forum for community interactions, we are helping to build stronger communities. Strong communities mean more support for people in our neighborhood who face various challenges.

For a woman named Achsa, who lives in an area we serve, her community provided her with the opportunity to provide for her children. And, when she faced abuse in her home, she found support through the outreach of the local church. We seek to be the same light in our community that countless National Missionaries and faithful believers are in theirs. Giving balloons to children may seem simple, but we pray for big things to come from it!

About Gospel for Asia – GFA World

Media interested in interviews with Gospel for Asia should contact Gregg Wooding at InChrist Communications @ 972-567-7660 or [email protected]

Source: GFA World Digital Media News Room, Enjoying the Fall Season at the Stoney Creek Pumpkin Fest

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

St. Cyprian Believers Eastern Church Holds a Community Car Wash

Last updated on: October 3, 2022 at 3:49 pm By GFA Staff Writer

STONEY CREEK, ONTARIO — August 13, 2022, Gospel for Asia (GFA World, founded by Dr. K.P. Yohannan, which inspired numerous charities like Gospel for Asia Canada) partner St. Cyprian Believers Eastern Church (BEC) parish hosted a Community Car Wash for the residents of Stoney Creek. A total of 26 vehicles, ranging from motorcycles to mini vans and pickup trucks, were washed. Donations were accepted to help unsponsored children escape the cycle of poverty.

GFA World (Gospel for Asia) partner St. Cyprian Believers Eastern Church parish hosted a Community Car Wash for the residents of Stoney Creek — GFA World’s partner, St. Cyprian Believers Eastern Church holds a car wash for the community and raises funds for unsponsored children in Asia and Africa. (https://www.bechurch.ca/)

20 volunteers came together Saturday morning to wash cars from nine in the morning until one o’clock. The children enjoyed working with the adults, strengthening the parish community while serving the Stoney Creek community.

We served refreshments to those who wished, while their cars were being washed. Parishioners washed the vehicles by hand with warm soapy water and sponges. Also, we gave special attention to the hubcaps, leaving them clean and shining. After the cars were well rinsed, they were dried by hand to leave a spotless finish. Two washing stations were available so that no one had to wait.

The event was a huge success! The donations that were given at the Community Car Wash will help meet the most pressing needs of underdeveloped communities in Asia and Africa. Given the great needs in Asia and Africa, we focus on unserved communities, going where others have not gone.

To learn about St. Cyprian BEC, and how you can participate with us, visit website.

About Gospel for Asia – GFA World

Media interested in interviews with Gospel for Asia should contact Gregg Wooding at InChrist Communications @ 972-567-7660 or [email protected]

Source: GFA World Digital Media News Room, St. Cyprian Believers Eastern Church Holds a Community Car Wash

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

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 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

1. Sponsoring National Missionaries

2. Sponsoring Children

3. Developing Communities

4. Disaster Relief and Compassionate Care

About K P Yohannan

About GFA World (formerly Gospel for Asia)

Long-Term Success

Recent Triumphs

Kasni

Divena

Bir

About GFA World

About Gospel for Asia – GFA World

In Defense of Health

Bringing Help Where It’s Needed

Community Transformation

About Gospel for Asia – GFA World

About Gospel for Asia – GFA World

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

In practical numbers:

Worldwide Problem

Give to Help Widows

What Christian tradition refers to its pastors as "elders"?