Gospel for Asia Supported Woman Missionary Brings Healing for a Broken Home

Last updated on: April 29, 2022 at 4:50 am By GFA Staff Writer

WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA World and affiliates like Gospel for Asia Canada) founded by Dr. K.P. Yohannan – Discussing the Gospel for Asia supported woman missionary Sabita, who, through her friendship and ministry, God brought healing, strength, and peace to Hema and her once broken home.

Shouts disrupted the worship service. The neighbors were at it again. It seemed the married couple was always fighting. Peace looked like a complete stranger to the household, and joy a forgotten virtue. Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported woman missionary Sabita didn’t see this as an annoyance to the meetings she helped conduct, however. She saw it as an opportunity to share the peace of Jesus, the One who could restore and heal.

Gospel for Asia Supported Woman Missionary Visits Broken Home

Hoping to help, Sabita visited Hema and shared with her the compassion of God. Hema was a little suspicious of Sabita at first, but she didn’t turn her away. She even took some literature that Sabita offered. Sabita could tell Hema needed encouragement and hope because of this, and she felt compelled by God to invest in Hema’s forlorn and sorrowful life.

Gospel for Asia (GFA World) founded by Dr. K.P. Yohannan: Discussing the Gospel for Asia supported woman missionary Sabita, who, through her, God brought healing and peace to Hema and her once broken home. — Hema’s (pictured) life was full of strife. Her husband, who was often intoxicated, beat her, and they quarreled often. During prayer meetings which were held nearby, people could hear their constant fighting.

Sabita continued to visit Hema, believing her time spent in sharing God’s precious promises would lighten Hema’s struggling, heavy heart. As they got to know each other, Hema’s suspicions of the missionary melted, and she opened up. She told Sabita about their constant quarreling, her husband, Talat’s, drunkenness and how he would often beat her if he felt angry. She was worried about their children, as they too were being led by this constant example.

Finding Strength in God’s Word

Through her visits, Sabita faithfully brought words of comfort to Hema’s love-longing heart, and when she was especially discouraged, Sabita prayed for her. Whenever Sabita prayed, Hema felt at ease and happy.

As Hema continued to see the love of God through Sabita, she was filled with faith to trust Jesus as the One who brings peace and hope, the One who could answer prayer, even for her drunken husband. But she was afraid to tell her husband about the hope she found, so she kept silent.

Gospel for Asia (GFA World) founded by Dr. K.P. Yohannan: Women Missionaries sharing the hope of Christ with other women — Over time, a friendship between the two women bloomed. Sabita continued to visit Hema at her home to encourage her through God’s Word, like these women are doing.

Through Her Quiet Spirit

Continuing to be a constant and true friend to Hema as she shared her fears, Sabita had some advice to give her from God’s Word. Taking Sabita’s advice, Hema began to pray for Talat to stop his destructive habit of drinking. She cried out to the Lord and sometimes spent time fasting for her husband. Many times, Hema thought it would be impossible for Talat to ever be released from the grasp of his strong addiction, but Hema continued to pray in her weakness, asking the Lord to give her strength to believe and press on.

Meanwhile, there was a change in Hema’s life. When Talat did things she didn’t like, Hema didn’t flare back as she once had. The fighting ceased and peace started to make its home among the chaos that once held its ground. Instead of acting out in anger or returning evil for evil, Hema responded in love and kindness as God gave her strength to tolerate the harsh things done to her. God was changing her through His Word and working through her prayers. Although Hema wasn’t aware, God was moving in Talat’s heart through her gentle spirit.

Gospel for Asia (GFA World) founded by Dr. K.P. Yohannan: Hema's life had changed, and her husband, (pictured), Talat saw the changing power of Jesus. Because of her example, he too found for himself the hope of God and stopped drinking. — Hema’s life had changed, and her husband, (pictured), Talat saw the changing power of Jesus. Because of her example, he too found for himself the hope of God and stopped drinking.

Drastic Change Not Unseen

One day, Talat asked Hema what had happened. She had become loving and kind towards him, and he wanted to know how and why. Since he was in a good mood, Hema jumped at the opportunity to speak words of truth and love to her husband.

She told him how his drinking had hurt their family and was a bad influence on their children. She shared how happy she would be to have a husband who took good care of her and the children. Her words, spoken with love and kindness, won Talat’s heart over. Little by little, through Hema’s prayers, love, encouragement and the power of God, Talat quit drinking.

During one of Sabita’s visits, Talat heard God’s Word and was moved. As time went on, he began to realize for himself that Jesus is the One who had changed his wife so drastically. He wanted this same transformation in his own life.

Today Hema and Talat no longer fight during worship services but attend them joyfully. Hema loves to tell her story, how nothing is impossible with God . . . not even a drunken husband.

Gospel for Asia (GFA World) founded by Dr. K.P. Yohannan: Women missionaries are dedicated to sharing the hope of Jesus's love with women in need and want of love. — Women missionaries are dedicated to sharing the hope of Jesus’s love with women in need and want of love.

Send a Voice of Hope

A woman missionary can bring hope to hopeless women, like Sabita did. She can speak into a woman’s life and sympathize with her emotions and needs well. You can be part of touching lives of women in Asia, too! Prayerfully consider supporting the work of a Gospel for Asia-supported women missionaries today, and make an impact that lasts into eternity!

Learn more about the GFA-supported national 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.

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

Source: Gospel for Asia Featured Article, Healing for a Broken Home

Learn more about the Women Missionaries and their heroic efforts, dedicating their lives to bringing hope and God’s love to the women of Asia.

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

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Gospel for Asia-Supported Pastor Witnesses Diseased Hands Now Praising the Lord

Last updated on: May 28, 2021 at 3:28 am By GFA Staff Writer

WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA World and affiliates like Gospel for Asia Canada) founded by Dr. K.P. Yohannan – Discussing Biju whose peaceful life was interrupted after being diagnosed with leprosy, and the Gospel for Asia-supported pastor who shared the healing and love of God.

Biju loved his peaceful life in the rural farmland of his family. He grew up devoted to the traditional gods of former generations and passed on this heritage to his three children. His family was not rich, but they were happy.

Gospel for Asia (GFA World) founded by Dr. K.P. Yohannan: Discussing Biju whose life was interrupted after being diagnosed with leprosy, and the Gospel for Asia-supported pastor who share God's love & healing. — Biju’s happy life fell apart after he was diagnosed with leprosy. After searching for healing in every place he knew to look, Biju (pictured) finally found it in Jesus.

Biju’s peaceful life was marred when he started to notice an odd feeling in his fingers. He ignored the strange sensations and continued to work hard on his farm. As time went by, the sensations became more frequent. Eventually—when his fingers became permanently numb—Biju knew he could no longer ignore the problem. At the hospital, Biju was diagnosed with leprosy.

After Biju was diagnosed, the worry he shook off before became a permanent resident. Fear crept in when the medications the doctors prescribed did not help Biju. He became more and more desperate, seeking the help of witch doctors and shrines in the hope of a cure. As a last resort, Biju traveled abroad for an expensive treatment, but the efforts were useless. After spending a small fortune, Biju returned home and lost all hope of recovery. He spent his days contemplating the hardship of spending the rest of his life in a leprosy colony.

One day, a visitor came to Biju’s home to tell him about another possible cure. Biju listened to the visitor share about a pastor in a nearby village who had prayed for people with ailments and many of them got healed. The visitor urged Biju to go see the pastor, declaring Biju would surely be healed through prayer. This went against every conviction Biju held dear and trained his children in, but as he thought over the many places he had visited for healing, he realized he could not reject this final hope for a normal life. Weary and willing to try anything, he decided he would visit the pastor just once for prayer.

A Cure for More Than a Disease

The next Sunday, Biju and his family attended the worship service led by Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported pastor Rubin. After the service, Pastor Rubin greeted the new family, and Biju told the pastor exactly why they were there, sharing the whole history of his disease and search for healing. Pastor Rubin talked to Biju about how much God loves him and how, when Jesus was on earth, He touched and healed people with leprosy. The pastor encouraged Biju to believe Jesus could heal him and to trust in the power of Jesus’ blood.

Biju, hearing the Word of God for the first time, had faith that Jesus would heal him. Pastor Rubin prayed for Biju earnestly and gave him a bottle of oil to apply to the affected areas of his body as an act of faith. Biju returned home and faithfully applied the oil to his broken body. He kept going to prayer meetings and also welcomed Pastor Rubin into his home for prayer.

Biju’s faith in Jesus grew while he diligently sought God in the Bible and in prayer. Gradually, Biju saw changes in his body. His leprosy symptoms slowly disappeared until he was completely cured of the disease.

Although Biju had asked God for healing, his miraculous healing still amazed him. After experiencing this wonderful act of God, Biju and his whole family trusted in Jesus.

Biju’s life is full of peace once again. But this time the peace runs deeper, and he knows it will continue for eternity.

Read what happened when a woman who lived with leprosy for more than 25 years met Jesus.

Source: Gospel for Asia Field Report, Diseased Hands Now Praise the Lord

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

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

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

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Diagnosis: Four Days to Live; Gospel For Asia Prescribes Prayer

Last updated on: April 16, 2020 at 8:05 pm By GFA Staff Writer

WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA World and affiliates like Gospel for Asia Canada) founded by Dr. K.P. Yohannan – Discussing a Gospel For Asia supported church that started out as a house gathering, and the simple church building through which many found hope & life in Jesus.

Vaijayi was supposed to be dead. His doctor had given him only four days to live. That was on Tuesday, and today was Sunday—five days later. As Vaijayi walked through the doors of the church, there was hope that he might live.

Gospel for Asia founded by Dr. K.P. Yohannan: Discussing a Gospel For Asia supported church that started out as a house gathering, and the simple church building through which many found hope & life in Jesus. — This house of worship has blessed the congregation that sings praises inside, much like a similar place blessed Pastor Tapan’s fellowship.

Worshiping in a Small House

When Gospel for Asia-supported pastor Tapan and his family moved into Vaijayi’s village several years earlier, most people were unresponsive to Tapan’s message about Christ’s love. Some mocked the pastor’s small congregation when they saw people gathering in Tapan’s tiny, one-room house for worship.

“These people go to church, but where is their church?” skeptics sneered. “This is not good, to live in the same house and pray in it.”

Many fellowships in Asia worship together in small homes, huts or even the outdoors, simply because they don’t have the ability to construct a church building. Those who are unable to fit inside are exposed to the hot sun or pouring rain. Many are ridiculed by their neighbors, who see it as a disgrace to worship in such a manner.

Gospel for Asia (GFA World and affiliates like Gospel for Asia Canada) founded by Dr. K.P. Yohannan — This congregation is crowded together in a pastor’s home for worship.

Others in Vaijayi’s village directly opposed the believers by trying to put a stop to the worship services, even beating Pastor Tapan and people within the fellowship. But with the Lord’s help, the congregation stood firm in their faith and were able to overcome their struggles.

Still, Pastor Tapan knew his tiny home wasn’t sufficient. He and the believers asked the Lord to provide a place of worship that could accommodate the people—a prayer they would continue in for nearly five years.

Five Years of Prayer

Finding a plot of land proved to be difficult, however. Yet Pastor Tapan’s congregation kept praying, setting aside special times to fast and seek the Lord. The believers were eventually able to buy land and begin construction after nearly five years of consistent prayer.

Gospel for Asia founded by Dr. K.P. Yohannan — While Pastor Tapan’s congregation was able to meet in his home until a place of worship was established in his village, other congregations meet outside for worship, like the one shown here did, because none of the village homes are large enough to house the believers.

Almost a year later, the construction was finally completed. Now, instead of ridiculing the believers, curious villagers came to look at the new structure, which gave Pastor Tapan the opportunity to share the love of Christ with them. Many are intrigued to learn about the God believers worship when services are held in a structure made for worship instead of a tiny home.

The people noticed the love of God in Pastor Tapan’s life, and many of them returned a second time to talk with him and ask for prayer. Tapan happily agreed to pray for the people’s needs, and when the Lord answered his prayers, many started to attend services held at the church. One of these people was Vaijayi.

Four Days to Live

Gospel for Asia founded by Dr. K.P. Yohannan: Like Vaijayi, this sick man was blessed and comforted by a Gospel for Asia-supported pastor. — Like Vaijayi, this sick man was blessed and comforted by a Gospel for Asia-supported pastor.

Vaijayi had throat cancer. He tried offering sacrifices to the goddess he worshiped to find healing, but he received no answer from her. Then Vaijayi tried to buy relief, at great expense to himself, from an old man who practiced black magic. Instead, his condition worsened, and soon he was unable to eat. Finally, he had someone take him to a hospital.

“He will not live for more than four days,” the doctor stated. “You can take him back home.”

Vaijayi fell into deep depression. The doctor’s words tumbled over and over again in his mind; he thought of nothing else. His whole family, too, suffered in agony.

Two days had come and gone when a believer from Pastor Tapan’s church came to Vaijayi with good news. She told him about the new house of worship, saying, “In my church, I have seen many people receive healing through prayer. If you are willing, you can also come for prayer.”

“I have only two more days left until my death anyway,” Vaijayi told her in desperation. “Take me to your church for prayer.”

Gospel for Asia founded by Dr. K.P. Yohannan: These men are part of a congregation that meets together regularly for prayer and worship. — These men are part of a congregation that meets together regularly for prayer and worship.

Prayers Result in Successful Operation

The next day, Vaijayi and his family set out for the new place of worship. Once there, Pastor Tapan told them about Christ’s healing power and prayed for the sick man. The family went home, and soon Vaijayi noticed the swelling in his throat diminish. They knew it was Jesus who brought him relief.

The day Vaijayi was supposed to die came, but Vaijayi lived instead! The following day, the family returned to the church to attend Sunday morning worship. Once again, Pastor Tapan and the believers prayed for Vaijayi’s healing.

Later, during a second visit to the hospital, a doctor suggested an operation to get rid of the cancer completely. Though Vaijayi had no money to cover such an expense, God provided for a successful operation at no cost to Vaijayi, who gives the glory to God.

“The doctors said that I would not live for more than four days, and I thought my life on this earth would end within a few days,” Vaijayi declares. “But it is the Lord who healed me and provided money for the operation, and He turned my operation into a success.”

Gospel For Asia Supported Church Blesses Village

What started out as a house gathering has turned into a blessing for many. A simple church building did more than make a way for Vaijayi to receive encouragement from Pastor Tapan. Inside, Vaijayi met Jesus—and the promise of future life with Him.

Gospel for Asia founded by Dr. K.P. Yohannan: God blessed these believers with a new place of worship just like He blessed Pastor Tapan’s congregation with one through their prayers. — God blessed these believers with a new place of worship just like He blessed Pastor Tapan’s congregation with one through their prayers.

Church buildings like the one which Vaijayi now worships in bring people together, provide shelter from the weather and serve as a permanent gathering place for growing congregations. Those who are more skeptical of believers often find the joy of Christ when, out of curiosity, they attend an indoor worship service.

You can help a growing congregation like Vaijayi’s.

Learn how to help communities seek Christ, by providing permanent church buildings for worship – an investment in the lives of many, for eternity.

Source: Gospel for Asia Featured Article, Four Days to Live

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

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Gospel for Asia Sees a Slum Child’s Return

Last updated on: May 4, 2022 at 4:57 pm By GFA Staff Writer

WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA World and affiliates like Gospel for Asia Canada) founded by Dr. K.P. Yohannan – Discussing Marty, a Gospel for Asia-supported Pastor serving in slum ministry in the vicious South Asian slums he was born and raised in.

The faintest hints of the sun’s rays begin to streak across the sky and bounce off the plastic-tarp rooftops as one man makes his way along the narrow alleyways of the slum. Some people recognize him and smile; others take little notice. Many have known him since childhood. The man steps around dirty puddles and piles of garbage; he ducks under low-hanging wash lines, strung between houses and laden with wet clothes. Every morning, Pastor Martin walks this route with purpose and prayer.

Eating from the Garbage Bin

Martin, also known as Marty, lives and ministers in the same South Asian slum he was born and raised in. As a young boy in a poor family, he often dug for food in the bottom of dirty garbage bins to fill his empty stomach. He and his mother were left alone when his father died of alcoholism, and in sixth grade, Marty suddenly found himself shouldering the responsibilities as the new head of the family. The daily struggles and addictions each day holds for a child living in the slum had been his own.

“Most of these children’s parents are my friends. We went to school together,” Pastor Marty explains. “But most of them dropped out; they could not continue the studies by seventh or eighth [grade] … They started indulging [in] wrong things, and they started to drink. Some of them are even dead. So I started thinking about their children: Why [don’t] we do something for their children?”

Gospel for Asia founded by Dr. K.P. Yohannan: "He does what Jesus would have done. Helping the poor and needy and also loving people … He is always willing to help people." — “He does what Jesus would have done. Helping the poor and needy and also loving people … He is always willing to help people.”

Living Today with No Hope for Tomorrow

Life in the slums is a vicious, generational cycle. Alcoholic husbands provide families with little money and even less leadership. Wives, many uneducated, take up daily labor jobs to try to stay afloat. Children drop out of school as early as second grade to help earn money. Some kids never step foot inside a school at all—their families are unable to pay for water or electricity, let alone their kids’ education.

Garbage litters the streets. Dirty drinking water and the absence of simple hygienic practices like hand-washing cause disease rates to soar. Prostitution, sex trafficking and other crimes hold countless people in bondage with no escape.

“I went through what these children are going through,” Marty says. “That gave me a burden . . . and pain in my heart.”

Pastor Returns to Where He Started

In 2006, the Lord led Pastor Marty to start what would become the first ministry in the slum where he grew up: a Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported Bridge of Hope center. Now nine years later, there is a second Bridge of Hope center and three Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported churches. God has blessed Marty’s efforts amidst the hopelessness of the slum.

“[He] is a great example for us as he represents Jesus,” one believer says of Pastor Marty. “He does what Jesus would have done. Helping the poor and needy and also loving people … He is always willing to help people.”

After going on his neighborhood prayer walk every morning, Marty comes home and spends time reading and meditating on the Word and prays for each individual in his church by name. He and his wife, Prina, know dependence on the Lord is essential to their ministry.

“That is one of the reasons I am growing in the Lord [and am] able to do ministry,” Marty insists. “That’s what I have also taught my family.”

Prina knew nothing about city life when she married Marty in 1999. The slums frightened her at first, but when her husband graduated from a two-year Bible college and became a pastor, she encouraged him to minister to the people he grew up with. Now they serve in the slum together as husband and wife, telling people about the powerful love of Jesus.

“If we are afraid,” Prina says, “we cannot do ministry. So we need both God’s guidance and strength.”

Pain for a Purpose

Because Pastor Marty has lived in the slums his whole life, locals relate well to him. They feel at ease and are willing to open up and share their lives with him.

“He knows the situation, experienced the situation, and [grew up] in the same situation,” one believer explains about Marty. “He understands [the slum life] better than anyone else.”

Marty is reminded of his difficult past on a continual basis. Yet he knows every hurt, every trial and every tear has an eternal purpose.

“Ever since my childhood, the pain and difficult situations and poverty—all those things,” Pastor Marty says, “when I look back, [they] were tools in the Lord’s hands to make me strong and to trust and [have] faith in Him, so I would, in the future, do ministry.”

Watch a video about Pastor Marty’s slum ministry

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

Source: Gospel for Asia Featured Article, A Slum Child’s Return

Learn more about Dr. KP Yohannan’s book, No Longer a Slumdog, where real children living in slum conditions in Asia share their real stories of need and how our loving God intervened to redeem them with His love. You will be astonished as you read how God is powerfully moving in hearts right now.

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

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Enjoying the Gospel for Asia Gift They Didn’t Want

Last updated on: May 6, 2022 at 8:27 am By GFA Staff Writer

WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA World and affiliates like Gospel for Asia Canada) founded by Dr. K.P. Yohannan – Discussing Gospel for Asia-supported pastor Nandin, the opposition he faced, and the hearts softened by God through the completion of the gift of a Jesus Well.

Gospel for Asia founded by Dr. K.P. Yohannan: Drilling the gift of a Jesus Well — As Pastor Nandin tried to make sure the drilling of a Jesus Well went smoothly, angry villagers surrounded him.

In the area where Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported pastor Nandin ministers, people depended on water from rivers, canals and ponds. During the rainy season, the filthy water from these water sources often infected people with serious illnesses such as typhoid, dysentery and malaria. In other parts of this region, people have even died from these diseases because there are no nearby hospitals for treatment.

Wanting to improve people’s lives, Pastor Nandin requested a Jesus Well in a village where he was serving. The request was quickly approved, and within a few weeks, Pastor Nandin’s regional leader, Pastor Hammad, came to the village to inaugurate the drilling of the Jesus Well.

But instead of being welcomed with open arms, Pastor Nandin’s attempt to help the villagers turned suddenly awry. Soon, he found himself confronted by a crowd of angry villagers.

Community Lacks Interest in Good News

Even though the villagers direly needed this gift—something necessary to their health and wellbeing—they rejected Pastor Nandin’s attempt to help give them clean water.

They had rejected every gift he had tried to offer them—especially the most precious gift found in Jesus’ hope, peace and eternal life. When Pastor Nandin or other believers would offer literature sharing the Good News of Jesus, most people wouldn’t take it.

Gospel for Asia founded by Dr. K.P. Yohannan: Women filling buckets with water from ponds. — People in the area where Pastor Nandin serves suffered from serious illnesses, such as typhoid and malaria, because they got their water from ponds. At the same time, they weren’t interested in the message of hope Pastor Nandin could share.

Opposition Nearly Halts Drilling of Well

Despite the people’s lack of interest in hearing about Christ’s love, Nandin’s heart still ached with genuine concern for them and their health.

Soon after workers began drilling the Jesus Well that Pastor Nandin had requested, trouble boiled over. It began with one person tossing away the workers’ buckets. Then another person damaged the casing pipes. When Pastor Nandin asked them to stop, he and the believers suddenly found themselves confronted by a mob of 20 people.

In the span of about three hours, angry villagers hit Pastor Nandin and two believers, and when other people, including Pastor Hammad and a community leader, tried to calm the situation, members of the mob struck them too.

The next day, Pastor Nandin, Pastor Hammad and the local believers joined together to ask the Lord for His protection. They continued praying daily, and after 15 days, they saw God answer by showing them favor, from the village chief.

Gospel for Asia founded by Dr. K.P. Yohannan: Group of people praying — After workers began drilling the Jesus Well, a group of hostile villagers tried to stop the well and assaulted Pastor Nandin and a few other people trying to keep the peace. The believers prayed for 15 days, and the Lord showed them favor, allowing them to finish drilling the Jesus Well.

“I will help you to complete the remaining work of this Jesus Well,” he told the believers, “and if someone will oppose you in this work, I will put him in jail without delay.”

Within a few days, the workers were able to finish drilling the Jesus Well with no more hindrances.

Once-Hostile Villagers Enjoy Clean Water, Learn About Christ

Now, as the villagers draw pure water from the well for their families’ needs, many are recovering from waterborne illnesses! Even those who opposed the Jesus Well and harassed Pastor Nandin and the believers in order to stop it from being drilled are now using the well.

As people see the good that’s come from the Jesus Well they had tried to oppose, they are now more curious about what Pastor Nandin has to say. Fourteen people from a neighboring village have also decided to start attending Pastor Nandin’s church for Sunday worship services, prayer meetings and other activities.

Christ’s love and hope have even transformed the life of Shami, the brother of one of the men who tried to stop the Jesus Well.

For three years, Shami had struggled to get a good night’s sleep. He and his wife asked Pastor Hammad to pray for him, and the pastor began visiting Shami and his wife regularly to pray and encourage them with words from Scripture.

In His mercy, God healed Shami, enabling him to sleep well at night. Shami and his wife entrusted their lives to Christ. Now they and their teenage daughter are attending Sunday services.

Gospel for Asia founded by Dr. K.P. Yohannan: People drawing water from a Jesus Well. — Now the people in Pastor Nandin’s village—even those who once opposed the Jesus Well—are daily drawing clean water from the Jesus Well. Many are recovering from waterborne illnesses, and they are becoming more interested in the Lord.

Through the compassion of a pastor and the provision of a Jesus Well, God is showing people in this community how much He loves them. Now they are grateful for the gift and the message they once scorned.

You can share the hope of Christ with more lives by helping to provide clean water in communities that desperately need it.

Source: Gospel for Asia Featured Article, Enjoying the Gift They Didn’t Want

Learn more about how to provide pure, clean water to families and entire villages through a Jesus Well or a BioSand Water Filter.

Read the Gospel for Asia Special Report: Solving the World Water Crisis … for Good — Lasting Solutions Can Defeat an Age-old Problem

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

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Gospel for Asia Provides Someone Who Cares

Last updated on: May 6, 2022 at 8:30 am By GFA Staff Writer

WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA World) founded by Dr. K.P. Yohannan – Discussing Ranjini, a widow afflicted with leprosy, impoverished and alone, and the Gospel for Asia-supported workers who show God’s love and care even for the shunned and rejected.

“What shall I do?” Ranjini wondered aloud. Ranjini powerlessly watched her hands and feet deteriorating before her eyes. As a widow and a person afflicted with leprosy, Ranjini needed help. But so many people in her society turned a blind eye to widows and leprosy patients, and she was both; who would trouble themselves about her?

Happy Life Gives Way to Grief

Gospel for Asia (GFA World) founded by Dr. K.P. Yohannan: Discussing Ranjini, a widow afflicted with leprosy, impoverished and alone, and the Gospel for Asia supported workers who show God's love and care even for the shunned and rejected. — Ranjini (pictured) had no one to call on for help. She was lost in the masses, just another widow and leprosy patient in need of help, which few people in her society offered.

Ranjini had known happy days years earlier when family surrounded her, when she had money to buy sweets and flowers to give to her deities in worship, when her life felt normal. She had smiled at her daughter’s wedding, an event she had anticipated since her girl’s birth. Ranjini felt pleased with the new life her daughter held as a wife, even though it meant the new bride now lived with her in-laws in a distant place.

But despite the once happy life, tragedy crept in when she contracted leprosy and, later, when her husband died. With her daughter married and gone, Ranjini lived alone and impoverished.

For centuries, leprosy patients have suffered extreme ostracism in addition to the devastating physical effects of their disease. Annually, around 200,000 people, young and old, discover they’ve contracted leprosy (also known as Hansen’s disease) , and many are subsequently abandoned by their families and by society.

For many, the diagnosis steals their identity. Instead of being seen as valuable human beings in need of help and support, they are seen as a threat to public health, as cursed. Even today, abandonment of people with leprosy is socially acceptable in many cultures, and in some nations, it is even allowable through legislation.

Annually, around 200,000 people, young and old, discover they’ve contracted leprosy

Ranjini spent her days humbly asking for alms from passersby, hoping to receive enough to get by each day. At the same time, leprosy slowly crept throughout her body and caused irreparable damage to her hands and feet. How much longer could she survive on her own? Ranjini couldn’t ask her daughter to leave her in-laws and husband to care for her, but she knew no one else to turn to—until she talked with a neighbor friend and voiced her desperate question once more.

Learning Someone Cares

Ranjini bemoaned her situation to her neighbor, Joti, one day.

“I have no one to look after me. I cannot call my daughter to live here with me,” Ranjini said. “My wound is also growing every day. What shall I do?”

The answer she received changed the course of Ranjini’s life.

Joti loved Jesus and worshiped Him at a church led by Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported pastor Daha. She knew Pastor Daha had a special place in his heart for people suffering with leprosy—a rare attitude in a society where leprosy patients are commonly shunned. Joti told Ranjini that if she would go see Pastor Daha, he would gladly attend to her wounds, and what’s more, he would do it free of charge.

Ranjini’s world changed that day. Someone cared about her needs as a leprosy sufferer and had dedicated his life to helping her and other patients! Ranjini had to meet him.

Gospel for Asia (GFA World) founded by Dr. K.P. Yohannan: Pastor Daha cleaned Ranjini’s wounds and demonstrated kindness and respect toward her. The words of hope he shared gave her a new outlook on the future, and Ranjini came frequently to worship and learn more about Christ. — Pastor Daha cleaned Ranjini’s wounds and demonstrated kindness and respect toward her. The words of hope he shared gave her a new outlook on the future, and Ranjini came frequently to worship and learn more about Christ.

Kindness Points to Loving Savior

Soon, Ranjini accompanied Joti to the church and met Pastor Daha. He welcomed her with genuine love. He applied medicine to her wounds and wrapped protective bandages around them, all while treating her as someone he—and God—valued. Pastor Daha shared things that amazed Ranjini. He told her God had sent him there to care for her, and that God loved her and wanted to be part of her life.

After living as an outcast for so long, this amazing news and demonstration of kindness came as a welcome surprise. Touched by her reception at the church, Ranjini began attending worship services the following Sunday and learning more about Jesus.

Over the following weeks, Ranjini “tasted and saw” that the Lord is good and that He blesses those who trust in Him. As she learned more about Christ, Ranjini understood the true depth of her need for Him, not just as a provider of aid in her time of need but also as her Savior and Redeemer. Three months after her first visit to Pastor Daha’s church, Ranjini opened her heart to Jesus.

Ranjini doesn’t live alone anymore—Jesus is at home in her heart—and she doesn’t need to worry about her future. She knows her Maker sees her and knows her needs, and she knows His children do too.

Make the Neglected a Personal Priority

Thankfully, men and women across the globe—like Pastor Daha—are championing the cause of people with leprosy. Many Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported workers focus on serving neglected leprosy patients by helping them in simple yet significant ways. They cook meals, clean homes, help with personal hygiene, comfort lonely hearts and treat wounds, all in the name of Christ. By showing patients the respect and care they deserve, these workers are bringing Christ’s love to thousands.

Gospel for Asia (GFA World) founded by Dr. K.P. Yohannan: Even amidst a very difficult life, leprosy patients like this woman are able to smile when they glimpse the love of their Maker. Today, you can help Gospel for Asia-supported workers demonstrate God’s deep love and care for more people afflicted with leprosy. — Even amidst a very difficult life, leprosy patients like this woman are able to smile when they glimpse the love of their Maker. Today, you can help Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported workers demonstrate God’s deep love and care for more people afflicted with leprosy.

Today, you can help give vital care to leprosy patients by supporting the work of Gospel for Asia-supported leprosy ministry. Your donation will send hope and practical help to men and women like Ranjini, many of whom don’t yet know anyone cares for them.

Source: Gospel for Asia Featured Article, Gospel for Asia Provides Someone Who Cares

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

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

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

Gospel for Asia Helps Man Find Jesus at Just the Right Time

Last updated on: May 18, 2022 at 10:46 am By GFA Staff Writer

WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA World) founded by Dr. K.P. Yohannan – Discussing the stigma of having leprosy, the suffering, humiliation, and the love of Christ shown through those like a Gospel for Asia (GFA) supported pastor, and Sisters of Compassion (specialized women missionaries).

Balwant looked at the well near his house. He wondered if he could do it, if he could jump in and end his life. Would it be quick? Would it be painless? He had already experienced more pain than he wanted to endure. Death would be a welcome end to this marred life of illness and rejection he was now living. He didn’t know what else he could do.

The Stigma of Having Leprosy

Balwant was an educated man who worked as a tutor, helping the children in his village with their studies. He had a wife, three daughters and son. When he was in his 30s, he noticed white patches on his leg. They itched and then became numb. It turned out to be leprosy, a chronic skin disease that can cause serious nerve damage and leave a person disfigured if left untreated.

Even though the disease is curable with a multidrug treatment, the stigma that comes along with it is not.

When the people in Balwant’s village found out he had leprosy, they started avoiding him. Balwant was one of tens of thousands of people in South Asia suffering from leprosy and the humiliation and ostracism that comes along with it. For centuries, leprosy patients have been barred from accessing common wells or participating in festivals, because people believe their presence increases the risk of contagion. They’re often rejected, even by family members who fear they, too, will “catch” the disease or have to endure social rejection because of them.

Gospel for Asia founded by Dr. K.P. Yohannan: Balwant was one of tens of thousands of people in South Asia suffering from leprosy and the humiliation and ostracism that comes along with it. — Balwant was one of tens of thousands of people in South Asia suffering from leprosy and the humiliation and ostracism that comes along with it.

There are some people who even think leprosy is a punishment from the gods for past sins, so they avoid those affected because they do not want to incur the wrath of the gods.

Balwant and his family ended up moving from the village.

Hospital Visit Leaves Man with Amputated Leg

By the time Balwant went to a mission hospital for treatment, the disease had progressed so severely that he was transferred to another hospital for better medical care. Because the leprosy had been eating away at the nerves in his right leg, doctors amputated Balwant’s leg at the knee.

Balwant was now weak, unable to work and unable to afford the medical treatments necessary to help cure him of the high blood pressure and diabetes he had developed as well.

Gospel for Asia founded by Dr. K.P. Yohannan: Twenty-eight years of suffering from leprosy left Balwant weary of life. He didn’t want to be a burden to his family. He didn’t want to live, so he plotted to end his own life. — Twenty-eight years of suffering from leprosy left Balwant weary of life. He didn’t want to be a burden to his family. He didn’t want to live, so he plotted to end his own life.

Man Longs for Death to End His Suffering

Twenty-eight years of suffering from leprosy, and now high blood pressure and diabetes, had taken more than just a physical toll on Balwant; they left him weary of life. He didn’t want to suffer anymore.

Balwant thought death would take away his shame, that death would relieve his family members of the burden of caring for him, that death would resolve all his problems. He wanted to hang himself, but the disease had riddled away his muscles, leaving him without strength in his hands or leg to carry out his self-imposed death sentence.

There was a well nearby his house, though. He’d see it and wonder if he could end his suffering simply by jumping in. Days passed, and he mentally prepared himself to end his own life.

Man Realizes Value of Human Life

In the midst of this misery, Balwant met Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported pastor Daha and three Sisters of Compassion, specialized women missionaries.

Every Saturday, Pastor Daha would visit with the people in Balwant’s community to offer encouragement and to pray for their needs. He had heard of Balwant’s condition, so he and the three Sisters of Compassion, Ujvala, Leena and Puji, decided to visit him.

After listening to Pastor Daha share about Jesus Christ and His compassion, Balwant felt a stirring in his heart. He opened up to the pastor and missionaries and told them of his agony and his plans to end his life.

Gospel for Asia founded by Dr. K.P. Yohannan: As Balwant spent time learning more about Jesus through the love and care of Pastor Daha and the three Sisters of Compassion, he stopped plotting his own death and began to live again. — As Balwant spent time learning more about Jesus through the love and care of Pastor Daha and the three Sisters of Compassion, he stopped plotting his own death and began to live again.

Pastor Daha and the sisters prayed for the suffering man and encouraged him from God’s Word. For many days, they prayed for him, and Balwant’s health began to improve. He also felt a peace that surpasses understanding grow in his heart and mind, and he began to realize how valuable his life was.

Christ’s Love Shown Through Servants Touches Man

Pastor Daha, Ujvala, Leena and Puji visited Balwant and his wife regularly. They helped them fetch water and chop vegetables. They even trimmed Balwant’s nails for him—a small task that many leprosy patients can’t do for themselves—showing him the tender love of Christ.

As Balwant spent time learning more about Jesus through the love and care of Pastor Daha and the Sisters of Compassion, he stopped plotting his own death and began to live again.

Gospel for Asia founded by Dr. K.P. Yohannan: Pastor Daha and the women missionaries visited Balwant and his wife regularly. They helped them with daily tasks and even trimmed Balwant’s nails for him, showing him the tender love of Christ. — Pastor Daha and the women missionaries visited Balwant and his wife regularly. They helped them with daily tasks and even trimmed Balwant’s nails for him, showing him the tender love of Christ.

“I was emotionally weak and thought to end my life,” Balwant said, “but I found Jesus in the right time. I thank God that He loves me.”

A few months after Balwant discovered the love of His Savior, he became ill with jaundice. He passed away Dec. 29, 2015, and now gets to spend eternity with the One who loves him—redeemed and fully restored. Truly, he did find Jesus at just the right time.

Every year, there are nearly 230,000 new cases of people diagnosed with leprosy. About 60 percent of those cases concern people living in India alone. While leprosy is a curable disease, many men, women and even children find themselves abandoned and scorned because of it. Like Balwant, they live with shame and hopelessness as their constant companions. But God is using His servants to give these precious people hope and new life in Him—and you can help.

Give to Leprosy Ministry

Source: Gospel for Asia Featured Article, He Found Jesus at Just the Right Time

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

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Gospel for Asia: Fight for Zero Leprosy a Critical Human Rights Issue (Part 2)

Last updated on: June 14, 2022 at 10:02 am By GFA Staff Writer

WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA World, founded by Dr. K.P. Yohannan) issues the second part of a Special Report update on the current progress in the fight for zero leprosy, and how we can eliminate this disease and it’s stigma on a personal level.

Zero Leprosy: A Human Rights Issue

Advocates for zero leprosy are active on the social battle-front as well. The shunning and discrimination experienced by people with leprosy are gradually being recognized as an issue of human rights, not only the result of a medical problem, which means appropriate actions can be taken to combat the issue.

Leprosy is not a hereditary disease, which is why many children born to leprosy parents are healthy. But the risk of contacting leprosy from their family member is very high due to living in a close proximity.

Alice Cruz, UN Special Rapporteur, speaks out boldly against the abused rights of people affected by Hansen’s disease.

“Persons affected by leprosy and their families have been subjected to serious human rights violations,” she says. “They have been denied their dignity and their basic human rights; subjected to stigmatizing language, segregation, separation from their families, and separation within the household, even from their children.”

Alice and many others are calling upon nations to take action on behalf of leprosy-afflicted individuals and their families, making it known that social rejection of leprosy patients is needless and unacceptable.

Groups such as the Global Partnership for Zero Leprosy and International Federation of Anti-Leprosy Associations (ILEP) are working at an international level to eliminate leprosy, in part by changing the way people with Hansen’s disease are perceived by society.

ILEP maintains careful watch on the 136 policies globally that promote or enable discrimination against people afflicted with leprosy and seeks to help those policies change. These legislations range from permitting divorce and expelling students from universities to requiring that individuals with leprosy be deported. It’s hard to believe that people infected with a completely curable disease can be legally deported in parts of the world, but that is the reality of the extreme fear and stigma linked to leprosy.

Social rejection of leprosy patients is needless and unacceptable.

In addition to seeking changes in laws regarding people with Hansen’s disease, ILEP is also influencing people’s everyday approach to leprosy. When writing about leprosy and the people whom it affects, they adhere to strict guidelines as to the terminology, imagery and photography used. They reach out to media sources to encourage them to alter their pieces to ensure that people with leprosy are treated with respect and dignity. ILEP challenges everyone to do the same, even providing samples of how to respectfully request someone to change their terminology.

Eliminating Stigma on a Personal Level

Legislation regarding how society should interact with people with leprosy is extremely important, but even so, changing deeply ingrained attitudes is ultimately up to the individual; a law cannot create love in a person’s heart toward others. Each person must overcome obstacles on a personal, intimate level—and Jesus can help them do that.

Gospel for Asia-supported workers have been showing love and respect toward leprosy patients for decades. Their love for Jesus helps them overcome their cultures’ normal attitudes toward those with leprosy, and now they serve as powerful examples to many communities across Asia.

Workers at a Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported hospital for leprosy patients witness on a daily basis the emotional needs of people afflicted with Hansen’s disease. When asked how patients respond to the kindness demonstrated by hospital workers, GFA’s field correspondent explained that deep bonds frequently develop. The patients receive their caregivers as sons and daughters, welcoming them into their lives in place of the biological family that spurned them. Being seen for who they are and not what disease they have gives these patients courage to press on and live a life with hope.

All the hospital staff at the Gospel for Asia-supported Medical Clinic exist and function with a purpose to help the poor and needy, including leprosy patients, through our medical facilities. — All the hospital staff at the Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported Medical Clinic exist and function with a purpose to help the poor and needy, including leprosy patients, through our medical facilities.

At a medical camp organized to bless a leprosy colony in another part of Asia in honor of World Leprosy Day, children from a Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported Bridge of Hope center performed a skit for the colony residents. These children are learning from a young age to respond to leprosy patients with compassion rather than with fear, with kindness instead of rejection. Most of the people living in this colony had already been cured of leprosy, but their damaged limbs caused their society to spurn them anyway. Although their families and society reject these leprosy patients, these children and national workers showed them the dignity they deserve as human beings bearing God’s image.

Each person who gains an honoring viewpoint toward those afflicted with leprosy is another voice for change, one more compassionate heart to aid those in need and one more step bringing us closer to eliminating leprosy.

Through the diligent efforts of scientists, medical workers, policy makers and compassionate citizens around the globe, we see exciting new advances in the fight against leprosy. The battle is not yet won, but we are better equipped to press in and overcome this devastating disease.

A speaker at the International Leprosy Congress summarized the global leprosy situation well: “The last mile in the work of leprosy, it can be accomplished. We absolutely can do this, but we can only do it together.”

What can you do to help eliminate leprosy?

Pray

Pray for successful preventative medical treatments.
Lift up the Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported workers and all the other men and women who are helping change society’s perception of those afflicted with leprosy.

Give

Financially support the efforts of organizations working to eliminate leprosy, such as Gospel for Asia (GFA) and ALM.

Advocate

Be a positive voice toward those with Hansen’s disease.
Encourage others to partner with organizations serving people afflicted with leprosy.

We live in an amazing era where eradicating devastating diseases is possible. Let’s celebrate the triumphs already won in the fight against leprosy and press on toward global leprosy elimination!

Progress in the Fight Against Leprosy — Leprosy Prevention is Key to Elimination: Part 1

This Special Report originally appeared on gfa.org.

Read another Special Report from Gospel for Asia on Leprosy: Misunderstandings.

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

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

Gospel for Asia: Detection and Vaccines Key in the Fight Against Leprosy (Part 1)

Last updated on: April 28, 2021 at 3:50 am By GFA Staff Writer

WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA World) founded by Dr. K.P. Yohannan issues the first part of a Special Report update on the current progress in the fight against leprosy where global leprosy-elimination leaders are making exciting advances both medically and socially.

In 2018, another 208,619 new cases of leprosy were detected globally. Is any progress being made in the fight to eliminate leprosy?

In short, yes. Even detecting those new cases is one step closer to conquering leprosy. However, the fact that more than 200,000 people were diagnosed with leprosy reveals we still have work to do.

As discussed in Gospel for Asia’s previous Special Report, Leprosy: Misunderstandings and Stigma Keep it Alive, the fight against leprosy, also known as Hansen’s disease, has two main battlefronts. The first and most obvious is in the medical field: detecting and treating leprosy patients before they suffer permanent damage or transmit the disease to anyone else. The second battle line is equally important—and equally challenging: eliminating discrimination and stigma toward those affected by leprosy.

Global leprosy-elimination leaders are making exciting advances both medically and socially that are worth noting.

Gospel for Asia (GFA World) founded by Dr. K.P. Yohannan: Sabita is a cured leprosy patient. — Sabita is a cured leprosy patient who does not presently suffer from her sickness. She is able to walk to couple of kilometers a day, and do basic tasks like making tea. Although leprosy caused deformation in Sabita’s hands and body, it is completely cured now and she is experiencing life as a happy and content individual.

Medical Advances: Leprosy Prevention Is Key to Elimination

One of the great hindrances in eliminating leprosy is detecting and treating new cases before the infection spreads to others. Leprosy can take as long as 20 years to manifest physical signs of the infection and can spread to many vulnerable people during that incubation period. Additionally, because people with leprosy are frequently ostracized by society, many who suspect they have contracted leprosy will hide their condition, enabling transmission and going without the treatment that would save them from disfigurement.

Leprosy can take as long as 20 years
to manifest physical signs of the infection.

Multi-drug therapy (MDT) treatment has successfully cured leprosy patients since the 1980s, but it is not preventative in nature. The treatment does eliminate any chance of transmission in cured patients, but that alone cannot eliminate global leprosy due to the number of people who hide their condition. MDT also does not reverse any damage caused by the disease, so impacted nerves or wounds experienced from nerve damage remain as evidence of the patient’s traumatic health issue. Treatment must be provided prior to disfigurement in order to avoid these physical effects of leprosy.

For these reasons, preventing and quickly detecting new cases are vital partners to the established MDT treatment.

Photomicrograph of a skin tissue sample from a patient with leprosy reveals a cutaneous nerve invaded by numerous Mycobacterium leprae bacteria. Photo by Arthur E. Kaye, CDC

A Vaccine for Leprosy

A new player for leprosy elimination is on the horizon: a leprosy vaccine. American Leprosy Missions (ALM), a Christian organization focusing on aiding those impacted by neglected tropical diseases, is 17 years into its partnership with the Infectious Disease Research Institute to develop the world’s first leprosy-specific vaccine. The vaccine, LepVax, has proven hopeful during the development process and is currently being tested among volunteers in a leprosy-endemic area.

In its recent report on the Phase 1a clinical trial, ALM writes, “We believe this leprosy vaccine will be an exciting new way to stop the transmission of leprosy and the only way to protect people long term. What’s more, the vaccine may protect against nerve damage among those already diagnosed with leprosy, the most serious complication of leprosy.”

If people living in areas with high rates of leprosy received a leprosy vaccine, new cases could be avoided—an incredible landmark in global leprosy elimination. This promising vaccine is projected to be in Phase 1b clinical trials for another two years before moving on in the development process.

Preventative Medication

Another exciting new shift in the world of leprosy is the use of preventative medication for those at risk of developing leprosy. This relatively new practice takes one of the drugs used in the MDT treatment, rifampicin, and administers it to people in frequent proximity to those with leprosy, such as family members of leprosy patients or those living in endemic areas.

ALM provided 7,091 pounds of critical medicines and supplies to Ghana partners. Photo by ALM

This single-dose rifampicin (SDR) treatment reduces people’s risk of developing leprosy by 60 percent, whether or not they have previously been exposed to the disease. It is not a magic cure—success rates vary among the different kinds of leprosy, and protection only lasts a few years—but it has an additional benefit. Providing this treatment for those at risk of contracting leprosy also enables medical workers to discover early cases of leprosy in people who might otherwise not be examined. The stigma around leprosy, however, has barred the way for medical treatment in many areas. Many people still hesitate to do anything in connection to leprosy treatment, even if it is preventative.

Resources to overcome challenges like this were presented during the 20th International Leprosy Congress. In September 2019, more than 1,000 people from 55 countries gathered in Manila, Philippines, for the Congress. There, scientists, practitioners and leprosy advocates shared research, ideas and resources to further their goal of zero leprosy.

During the Congress, the Global Partnership for Zero Leprosy launched the Best Practices Zero Leprosy Toolkit, designed to “support countries in their work towards ending leprosy and its associated disabilities and stigma.”

Just one of the valuable resources this kit contains is advice on how to prepare communities to be favorable toward receiving preventative SDR.

Medical personnel found that performing pre-treatment counselling in communities promoted willingness toward participation in the SDR preventative treatment. Education about leprosy made 90 percent of those in close connection to leprosy patients willing to participate in the treatment.

Progress in the Fight Against Leprosy — Leprosy Prevention is Key to Elimination: Part 2

This Special Report originally appeared on gfa.org.

Read another Special Report from Gospel for Asia on Leprosy: Misunderstandings.

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

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

Gospel for Asia Shares Awareness and Education Emphasized for World AIDS Day

Last updated on: June 29, 2022 at 11:31 am By GFA Staff Writer

WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA World) founded by Dr. K.P. Yohannan – Discussing the advocacy of Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported pastors and Bridge of Hope centers on the fight to raise awareness about HIV / AIDS on World AIDS Day and prevent its spread.

Gospel for Asia - founded by Dr. K.P. Yohannan: Discussing World AIDS Day and the advocacy of GFA-supported pastors and Bridge of Hope centers on the fight to raise awareness about HIV / AIDS and prevent its spread. — Students shout slogans like “Know AIDS, No AIDS!” as they march through the streets to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS.

Each year, in observance of World AIDS Day on December 1, Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported pastors and Bridge of Hope centers take the opportunity to help inform their communities of the deadly virus and offer ways to prevent its spread. Students, parents, Bridge of Hope staff, pastors and teachers work together to organize educational programs and awareness rallies for their local villages.

Educational Meeting about AIDS / HIV Warns Young Adults

In order to educate young people about the HIV virus and the effects it can have on a person’s health, Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported youth fellowship workers organized an AIDS awareness program in a local, government-run school.

During three sessions, 80 students, joined by school staff, listened as a medical doctor spoke about the causes of AIDS and its potential to lead to death. An educational video provided the program attendees with practical information on how to prevent contracting the HIV virus, and a Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported pastor shared about the importance of life. Both students and school staff were grateful for the program the youth group provided.

Bridge of Hope Students Help Inform Their Communities

Another way Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported workers educate people about HIV/AIDS is through World AIDS Day Awareness Rallies organized by Bridge of Hope centers.

Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported Bridge of Hope centers provide children with after-school tutoring for their academic classes along with lessons in nutrition, hygiene and overall health care, including AIDS prevention. What the kids learn, they often share with their families and communities.

For World AIDS Day, some Bridge of Hope children take to the streets to offer important information about HIV/AIDS and its prevention. One year, 16 Bridge of Hope centers held rallies where the youth paraded through their villages. They brought awareness of the dangers of the disease by chanting slogans like “Know AIDS, No AIDS!” and “Eradicate AIDS!” Another year, one Bridge of Hope center coordinated a rally with 100 kids and some of their parents. They marched through the streets to draw the attention of onlookers, and they performed a skit that detailed the dangers of the HIV virus.

One of the students in the rally remarked,

“I really like being a participant of the World AIDS Day Awareness Rally because, as I am a child of God and my life belongs to Him, I have to keep myself safe.”

It is her response and others like it that encourage workers and pastors to take opportunities like World AIDS Day to continue sharing information about HIV/AIDS.

Since its discovery in 1984, HIV/AIDS has claimed the lives of more than 35 million people, according to worldaidsday.org. Beginning in 1988, World AIDS Day has been observed on December 1 each year. The day was instituted to fight the spread of the disease, to support those living with HIV and to remember those who’ve lost their lives due to the virus. Though the disease has grave consequences, educational events, increased awareness and preventive practices help equip individuals and their communities to fight against its spread.

Hanin personally understands the painful effects of living with AIDS. Read the miraculous story of her mourning turned to joy here.

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

Source: Gospel for Asia Reports, Awareness and Education Emphasized for World AIDS Day

Learn more about the need for Medical Ministry. GFA-supported medical ministry is helping thousands who are in need of medical care and attention, all while displaying the love of Christ.

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

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Man Longs for Death to End His Suffering

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Zero Leprosy: A Human Rights Issue

Eliminating Stigma on a Personal Level

Pray

Give

Advocate

Medical Advances: Leprosy Prevention Is Key to Elimination

A Vaccine for Leprosy

Preventative Medication

Educational Meeting about AIDS / HIV Warns Young Adults

Bridge of Hope Students Help Inform Their Communities

How did Jesus die?