Global Pandemic Worsens the Hardships of Leprosy Patients (Part 1)

Last updated on: November 19, 2021 at 5:50 pm By GFA Staff Writer

WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA World) founded by K.P. Yohannan, whose heart to love and help the poor has inspired numerous charities like Gospel for Asia Canada, to serve the deprived and downcast worldwide, issued this Special Report update on the worsening hardships of leprosy patients amid the COVID 19 pandemic.

One of the unanticipated side effects of the seismic COVID-19 pandemic has been how it shed light on a community long consigned to the shadows—the several million people around the world living with leprosy.

Kalaupapa: Hawaii’s Leprosy Colony on Molokai — Kalaupapa:
Hawaii’s Leprosy Colony on Molokai
Photo by SeaSideWithEmily.com

This occurred in the news recently when the last county in the United States to get COVID-19 was shown to be located on a remote Hawaiian outpost and former leprosy colony.

The media exposure brought heightened attention to World Leprosy Day on January 24, an annual awareness initiative supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention under the “Bust the Myths, Learn the Facts” banner aiming to dispel the misinformation that keeps the disease shrouded in fear.

Leprosy: Bust the Myths, Learn the Facts

Despite the fact that around 95 percent of the world’s population has natural immunity to the disease, leprosy patients continue to face unfounded discrimination. For example, in parts of South Asia, more than 100 laws restrict the rights of people with leprosy, including barring them from running for local office.

Despite the fact that 95% of the world’s population has natural immunity to the disease, leprosy patients continue to face unfounded discrimination.

Nor is leprosy as contagious as is widely believed. A study in Bangladesh found that less than two percent of those who shared a home with someone with leprosy would contract the disease themselves, “which is a reminder that there is no need to isolate people affected by leprosy.”

But that hasn’t curbed the shunning and shaming of leprosy patients, who are often forced to leave their communities and reduced to begging.

Leprosy Map 2019 — Geographical distribution of new cases of Hansen’s disease reported to WHO in 2019. Source: World Health Organizaion/National leprosy programmes © World Health Organization (WHO), 2019. All rights reserved.

Throughout History, People Believed to Have Leprosy Were Among the Most Reviled

Carville's Cure - Leprosy, stigma, and the Fight for Justice — Photo by Amazon.com

Surprising to many is that the United States had its own leprosy colonies until not too long ago. The largest, in Hawaii, closed in 1969 after taking in more than 8,000 patients over its lifetime, while the last, in Louisiana, where patients weren’t allowed to vote or marry, was shuttered in 2015. Around 200 new cases are still reported in the United States each year, most among people who have spent time in parts of the world where the disease is more prevalent.

At one stage, a century back, the assistant surgeon general declared there were “1,200 lepers at large” in America, seeking permission to round them up like criminals, recounts journalist Pam Fessler in her book, Carville’s Cure: Leprosy, Stigma, and the Fight for Justice. It tells the story of the Louisiana leprosy colony and her husband’s grandfather, who ran away when he was diagnosed with the disease to avoid being confined.

“Throughout history, those believed to have leprosy… were among the most reviled members of society, outcasts sometimes believed to be sinners who brought the illness upon themselves,” says Fessler. “Even today, the threat of leprosy is used to demonize immigrants and people living in homeless encampments as potential carriers of the disease—although there’s no evidence that’s true.”

These leprosy patients are waiting their turn for treatment at a GFA medical center.

Every day, GFA Pastor Jiva visits the leprosy colony to encourage and pray for the patients and families there. “It is because of God’s grace that I have the strength, courage and motivation to work among these people, to share with them, to hug them, to love them and to care for them,” he says.

Many villages bar those people who are of a lower social status, or are afflicted with Leprosy, from using their wells, but Jesus Wells installed by GFA are open to everyone!

Dr. KP Yohannan, Founder of GFA World, recently visited a leprosy colony where he had the opportunity to help clean the wounds of leprosy patients, pray for them, and give them blankets for the upcoming winter season. Around 500 Sisters of Compassion daily serve leprosy patients all across Asia, faithfully following Christ’s example to serve these who are the most vulnerable and forgotten.

Most of the people affected by leprosy are very dependent on others for moving around or doing any sort of work. The largest share of them make a living by begging in the streets or marketplaces.

Some residents in leprosy colonies can still function at various levels. In other cases, there may be a couple of families that have healthy members who can cook and care for others who are sick.

How can a person work without their hands or feet? Leprosy often will cause people’s feet and hands to become disfigured, making it very difficult for men and women affected by this disease to provide for their families.

By providing treatment and practical help for leprosy patients, GFA workers show that Jesus loves and accepts all—even those rejected by society and crippled by Hansen’s disease.

In her culture, she may be considered an outcast because she suffers from leprosy. But many women and men like her who suffer from this disease are encountering God’s love in their lives through simple acts of kindness like nutritious meals provided by GFA World.

Eliminating Discrimination and False Conceptions Surrounding Leprosy is Key to Eliminating the Disease Itself

Progress in the Fight Against Leprosy — Photo by Gospel for Asia (GFA World)

As a previous Gospel for Asia (GFA) special report underscored, eliminating discrimination and false conceptions of leprosy is key to eliminating the disease itself. For, while effective drug treatments have been available since the 1980s, ongoing stigma means many sufferers wait too long to be diagnosed, causing irreversible damage. Meanwhile, clinical trials on a vaccine are continuing.

The coronavirus-fueled renewed focus on this largely forgotten disease has been two-edged—revealing how much deep-rooted ignorance and prejudice still has to be overcome while also offering hope for greater compassion, and even possibly a reduction in its incidence.

Give to Help Those with Leprosy »

If this special report has touched your heart and you would like to do something to help people with leprosy, please share this article with your friends and consider making a generous gift to Gospel for Asia (GFA World) to help leprosy patients 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.

Read the rest of this Gospel for Asia – Transforming Communities (GFA World) Special Report: Pandemic Worsens the Hardships of Leprosy Patients – COVID-19 intensifies two crippling challenges — Part 2

Read more blogs on Gospel for Asia, Leprosy, and the COVID 19 Pandemic on Patheos from Gospel for Asia.

KP Yohannan has issued two statements about the COVID-19 situation found here and here.

GFA’s Statement About Coronavirus

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

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

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

Modern Day Slavery Speeds up under Cover of COVID-19 — Growing during pandemic: people vulnerable to exploitation
Fighting Global Poverty with Ideas — Uprooting poverty requires education that transmits values

Read what 24 Christian Leaders are affirming about Gospel for Asia.

This Special Report originally appeared on gfa.org.

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

How to Stop Beating Your Wife: Gospel for Asia Film Reveals the Changing Power of Jesus’ Love

Last updated on: November 19, 2021 at 5:54 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 Dulal, the domestic abuse he inflicts on his family, and the Gospel for Asia film that revealed the transforming power of Jesus’ love.

“Sir, we have been going through numerous problems at our home, and there are always fights between me and my wife,” 30-year-old Dulal told Pastor Kaditula.

“I always beat my wife, and I don’t know what happens to me,” he went on. “Though I want to stop myself, I cannot. If my father comes to make me calm at that time, I don’t listen to him. In my family, we have no peace at all.”

Discussing Dulal, the domestic abuse he inflicts on his family, and the Gospel for Asia film that revealed the transforming power of Jesus' love. — After watching a movie about the life of Jesus, audiences are invited to come forward for prayer. Like Dulal (not pictured), many find peace in Christ and new hope for their families as a result.

Step One: Go to the Gospel for Asia Film

Earlier that evening, a Gospel for Asia worker named Sadar arrived in Dulal’s village to help Gospel for Asia pastor Kaditula, who ministered to the people in the area. With the permission of the village head, Sadar and his team set up a screen and a projector and invited everyone they met—including Dulal—to come watch a movie about the life of Jesus.

Step Two: Stay After the Show

When the movie ended, Dulal didn’t want to go home. As he sat quietly with his wife, their children playing nearby, Pastor Kaditula and Sadar went over to talk to him.

“After watching the miracles of Jesus, I felt something different,” Dulal shared, after telling them of his troubles at home. “I am very interested to know more about Jesus. Can we believe in Jesus?”

“Yes, of course, anybody can believe in Jesus,” Pastor Kaditula told him. “He will give peace, and He is the way for eternal life.”

Step Three: Find Help

Then and there, Pastor Kaditula and Sadar prayed for Dulal and his family. They also visited him the following afternoon, where they found Dulal excitedly awaiting their arrival. The two men prayed again for Dulal, and before long God spoke to Dulal’s heart.

Today, Dulal and his family are praising Jesus with the local congregation.

Through the prayers and support of people like you, people like Dulal and his wife can now pray to Jesus together instead of argue. You are a vital step in the process of eternal reconciliation. Thank you for making a difference in people’s lives.

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

Source: Gospel for Asia Rejoice! Newsletter, How to Stop Beating Your Wife

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

Learn more about Film Ministry in Asia, as films on the life of Jesus have proven to be one of the best ways to let people in Asia know about the sacrificial love and deliverance of God.

Click here to read more blogs and on National Missionaries on Patheos from Gospel for Asia.

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

A Jacket Can Change a Life Through the Gifts of Gospel for Asia Friends

Last updated on: November 22, 2021 at 3:42 pm By GFA Staff Writer

WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA World) founded by K.P. Yohannan, has been the model for numerous charities like Gospel for Asia Canada, to help the poor and deprived worldwide – Discussing Parmeet who once struggled to provide for his family because he couldn’t work in the extremely harsh weather – but now, because of his new jacket from donations of Gospel for Asia (GFA World) friends, he can work even when it is very cold!

“Ihave many times cried because of the bitter cold,” shared 70-year-old Parmeet during an interview with a Gospel for Asia (GFA World) field correspondent last year.

“When it is extremely cold, we are not able to do anything; we are not able to go out and work in the field,” he explained. “And if we don’t work, we don’t get food.”

Life Below Zero

Where Parmeet lives, it drops below zero degrees Fahrenheit in the winter. Throughout the winter months, people can’t even take a bath because it is so cold—they only wash their faces, and that only after heating the water.

“If we touch the cold water, it hurts our hands so badly,” Parmeet explained.

People’s hands become dry and cracked. Frostbite is a regular threat for Parmeet and his large family, who layer all the ragged clothes they own in an effort to stay warm. To survive the frigid nights, the entire family crowds together near the kitchen stove and sleeps on sacks filled with husks and sawdust.

Firewood is essential for survival. In fact, Parmeet, a daily-wage laborer, often spends hours gathering firewood for his neighbors in order to earn a meager income. But due to the cold, he couldn’t get an early start or work for very long, meaning he struggled to provide food for his family. But that changed the day he received a jacket through the donations of Gospel for Asia (GFA World) friends—through people like you. “This is a very good jacket,” Parmeet shared. “It is of very good quality. … It has kept my body very warm. … Now I am able to go and do whatever work I am assigned.”

Sustained by the warmth of the jacket, this father, who already knew the love of the Savior, can work longer hours and make more money to feed his family.

“This jacket has not only protected me from cold and sickness, but this has encouraged me,” he said. “I feel my spirit is very high; I am very happy now.”

Thank You!

Although a large percentage of winter clothing packets go to help pastors and other GFA workers, some are also given to help and encourage men like Parmeet.

“I am so happy and so grateful to you for giving me this jacket,” Parmeet said, addressing his unknown benefactors around the world. “I pray the Lord would bless you. … Thank you very much for loving me and caring for me.”

Source: Gospel for Asia Rejoice! Newsletter, A Jacket Can Change a Life

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

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

Fighting Global Poverty with Ideas – Uprooting poverty requires education that transmits values
Poverty: Public Enemy #1 – Eliminating Extreme Poverty Worldwide is Possible, But Not Inevitable

Click here to read more blogs and on Christmas Gift Catalog on Patheos from Gospel for Asia.

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

COVID Stay-At-Home ‘Doesn’t Compare to Leprosy Isolation’ Says Gospel for Asia

Last updated on: November 22, 2021 at 3:45 pm By GFA Staff Writer

WILLS POINT, TX — Gospel for Asia (GFA World) founded by K.P. Yohannan, whose heart to love and help the poor has inspired numerous charities like Gospel for Asia Canada, to serve the deprived and downcast worldwide — released a new special report amid new COVID social restrictions in force in many countries, reveals the loneliness and despair of people living with another “disease of isolation” — leprosy.

With new COVID restrictions in force worldwide, Gospel for Asia report reveals the despair & isolation the people living with leprosy endure — **COVID STAY-AT-HOME ‘DOESN’T COMPARE TO LEPROSY ISOLATION:’** With new COVID social restrictions in force in many countries, a just-released report (http://www.gfa.org/press/leprosy-ministry) from Gospel for Asia (GFA World) reveals the loneliness and despair of people living with another “disease of isolation” — leprosy. The report marked World Leprosy Day late last month.

Sixty percent of disabled leprosy patients surveyed in Bangladesh said life was “totally meaningless,” says the report by missions agency Gospel for Asia (GFA World), who recently marked World Leprosy Day.

Being confined to home for extended periods due to pandemic restrictions might be uncomfortable, but “it doesn’t compare to being isolated for the rest of one’s life in a leprosy colony,” says the report, http://www.gfa.org/press/leprosy-ministry.

“Right now, many of us are having a difficult time in isolation due to the pandemic,” said Gospel for Asia (GFA World) founder K.P. Yohannan. “But what a privilege we have to take our eyes off ourselves and become the hands and feet of Jesus, helping to bring hope and God’s love to someone who’s forgotten and who believes their life is meaningless.”

In the report, GFA World highlights the remarkable work of local teams visiting leprosy colonies in Asia — where the disease is most prevalent — and bringing hope and healing to those forgotten by the outside world.

Leprosy ‘Not To Be Feared’

Teams of local women — known as Sisters of Compassion — visit leprosy colonies in South Asia, bringing food and encouragement to people living with disabilities and disfigurements caused by advanced leprosy. Their willingness to befriend people with leprosy — including many shunned by family and friends — shows others in the wider community that those living with the disease are not to be feared or isolated.

In fact, the disease — dreaded for centuries — is nowhere near as contagious as most people imagine. Around 95 percent of the global population is immune to leprosy, and it’s curable with antibiotics if detected early. There are hopes that a vaccine — currently in clinical trials — will bring an end to leprosy and its devastating impact on tens of thousands of lives every year.

For many, though, like Mungeli Das — who contracted leprosy as a girl more than 50 years ago and didn’t receive treatment in time — there’s little hope of a cure. Disabled and living in a leprosy colony, she clings to the help and hope that GFA World’s Sisters of Compassion bring her. The “sisters” follow the example of Jesus who, according to the gospels, touched and healed those with leprosy.

“Before the sisters came there was no one to help trim our hair, cut our nails or help us clean our houses and encourage us,” she said. “The sisters (clean) our wounds and they make us happy and encourage (us) all the time.”

Battling ‘False Stereotypes’

World Leprosy Day — an annual awareness event held on the last Sunday in January — aims to combat stigma and leprosy myths, including the negative and false stereotypes that further isolate people with leprosy.

Media reports comparing coronavirus lockdown restrictions to “living in a leper colony” fuel stigma and “dehumanize” people with leprosy, according to GFA World. Because of its wide use in a negative sense, the term “leper” feeds prejudice, the agency says.

Leprosy is not confined to Asia and other parts of the developing world. Every year, around 200 new cases are reported in the U.S. — mostly international travelers — and, until fairly recently, there were leprosy colonies in Hawaii and Louisiana, says the report.

Read another story on how the Lord is using Gospel for Asia to bring relief to those in need during COVID 19.

Those interested in supporting GFA World’s COVID 19 relief efforts in Asia, should go to: http://www.gfa.org/press/covid-19.

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

About Gospel for Asia

KP Yohannan has issued two statements about the COVID-19 situation found here and here.

GFA’s Statement About Coronavirus

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

Read more on Leprosy and the COVID 19 Crisis on Patheos from Gospel for Asia.

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

Source: GFA World Press Room, COVID Stay-At-Home ‘Doesn’t Compare to Leprosy Isolation’ Says Gospel for Asia

Modern Day Slavery Speeds up Under Cover of COVID-19 — Part 2

Last updated on: November 4, 2022 at 3:39 am By GFA Staff Writer

WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA World) founded by KP Yohannan, has been the model for numerous charities like Gospel for Asia Canada, to help the poor and deprived worldwide, issued this 2nd part of a Special Report update on the state of Modern Day Slavery amid the COVID 19 pandemic.

Trafficking Takes New Forms

Like all the worst viruses, human trafficking continues to mutate. In Asia, traffickers are known to have masqueraded as relief-aid helpers in order to find new victims, for example during the 2015 Nepal earthquake recovery.

Chief Superintendent Linda Jones, divisional police commander, welcomes three new officers who will begin policing the streets of Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland very soon.
Photo by Dumfries Galloway Police Division, Facebook

A recent Google search for “crime in the time of a virus human trafficking” found multiple results. One report from Asia documents that seasoned traffickers are busy distributing COVID relief materials and essential food items, and using this activity to identify vulnerable families and possible victims. A report by the UN indicates that the COVID crisis is putting human trafficking victims at risk of further exploitation.

In Scotland, police have warned that with many urban businesses closed, traffickers could be turning their sights on more rural areas.

“We often associate human trafficking and modern slavery with cities and urban areas where it’s easier to hide victims of trafficking in plain sight,” says Chief Superintendent Linda Jones, divisional police commander for Dumfries and Galloway. “However, trafficking happens across all communities, both urban and rural.”

INTERPOL, the international police agency, says the pandemic “has not blunted the determination of organized crime groups to prey on the vulnerable and make a profit from these crimes, which all too often cost the victims their lives.”

Rather, organized crime groups have increased the prices they charge those they are promising to get across borders illegally to find work and heightened the risks involved by trying to find unguarded entry points.

A case in point: In March, 64 male migrants were found dead in a shipping container loaded on the back of a truck trying to cross from Malawi into Mozambique. They are believed to have suffocated. Fourteen others survived.

Such large-scale operations—and tragedies—are not limited to less developed nations. At least nine people died, and more were hospitalized, in San Antonio, Texas, in 2017 after around 100 people were crammed into a tractor-trailer smuggling them into the country from South America.

In England, 39 Vietnamese migrants were found dead in a refrigerated truck linked to a European smuggling network in May.

And sometimes those in positions of influence are found to be perpetrators. Mohammad Shahid Islam, a member of Parliament in Bangladesh, was arrested in Kuwait in June as part of a human trafficking network. He allegedly charged Bangladeshis almost US$10,000 for a job in the Middle Eastern country.

Paul Petersen, a former county official in Arkansas, pleaded guilty in June to human smuggling and fraud charges related to paying women from the Marshall Islands to come to the United States to put their babies up for adoption.

In some parts of the world, it’s not only individual leaders but large government entities that actively participate in human trafficking. In this year’s TIP report, the State Department named 10 countries it said have engaged in “government-sponsored forced labor.” Among the claims was an Afghan government “policy or pattern” of recruiting child soldiers and sexually enslaving boys in government compounds, a practice known as “bacha bazi.”

Trafficking in Persons Report, 2020 — The U.S. Trafficking in Persons Report affirms that traffickers are denying nearly 25 million people their fundamental right to freedom, by preying on the most vulnerable people, and forcing them to live enslaved lives and toil for their exploiter’s profit. The implications of the COVID-19 pandemic have magnified this problem. Photo by U.S. Department of State

Awareness Training Vitally Needed

While much human trafficking goes on underground, it also often hides in plain sight, such as in domestic workers serving wealthy families, fruit pickers, car wash cleaners and even athletes. For example, in the world of aspiring young athletes, the promise of riches and unscrupulous agents has driven exploitation. According to the U.S. State Department report, “Within Europe’s soccer industry alone, it is estimated there are 15,000 human trafficking victims each year.”

Learning to spot the tell-tale signs of someone who might be enslaved is critical in helping end human trafficking.

It was how a routine traffic stop in Florida led to the arrest of six men who “orchestrated an extensive human trafficking ring.” Following a vehicle reported stolen in Ohio, deputies arrested the driver and his female passenger, whose behavior made them suspect she was under coercion. Eventually, she trusted the officers enough to reveal what she was caught up in.

“The bottom line is that traffickers have not shut down … traffickers are continuing to exploit people. And as vulnerable people become more vulnerable due to COVID, it’s making it easier and easier for traffickers to operate.”

Such alertness isn’t just needed from first responders like police and EMS providers who, according to the U.S. Fire Administration, are “well-suited to help counter human trafficking” because of how they come into contact with people. People working in hotels, bars or sporting events should also be trained to discern the signs of human trafficking because of the high level of interaction with others. The Illinois Hotel and Lodging Association, for example, has arranged for awareness training for all its members.

Photo of first responders — According to the U.S. Fire Administration, first responders like police, EMS providers, or this Italian Red Cross worker in Macerata, Italy, are “well-suited to help counter human trafficking” because of how they come into contact with people. Likewise, workers in hotels, bars or sporting events should also be trained to discern the signs of human trafficking because of their high level of interaction with others.

The Power of Faith-based Action

Charting the progress that has been made in fighting human trafficking over the past 20 years by governments and other agencies, the latest TIP report notes the important part played by faith-based groups like Gospel for Asia (GFA World). They are “powerful and necessary forces,” it says.

Glimpse of the red-light district where Pastor Dhinanath ministers — This photo is a small glimpse of the red-light district where Pastor Dhinanath ministers. This row of houses has multiple rooms, which are usually rented by pimps for ongoing prostitution. For safety concerns, we cannot identify anyone working this row of rooms, or share its location in South Asia.

“Unlike governments, faith-based organizations are not limited by jurisdiction, election cycles, or political will.”

“They reach across international borders,” the report says, “spanning continents with a powerful network of followers with tremendous reach—from remote villages to capital cities and the seats of power.”

Gospel for Asia (GFA World) workers seek to help those caught in the human trafficking chain by reaching out to sex workers in red light districts—like the testimony of Pastor Dhinanath and his wife Lydia who helped Athalia escape sexual slavery.

They also aim to break the cycle by providing vocational training and tools that can provide an income and keep people from getting trapped in perpetual debt.

Another way they help is by caring for children whose parents are forced to work all day.

“While these parents are engaged in their daily work, their children are left unattended,” says Kien, who works at one of Gospel for Asia’s Bridge of Hope community centers that opened its doors to the youngsters. “They have no parental guidance or supervision whatsoever. … They are let loose, and they become very unruly. They do not obey or listen to others. This is a big need here to teach their children.”

Bridge of Hope Sri Lanka — The staff at this Bridge of Hope Project Center in Sri Lanka individually help the children out in their after school learning, provide a safe environment to study, supply a hot meal every day, and give them encouragement, love and hope for a brighter future.

At the center, children get a hot meal and schooling and experience genuine love and care from staff.

“I feel very happy and joyful because of the work that we are doing among them,” says Kien. “These children will get a new life; they will become new persons as we teach them. I feel very glad and happy to think where these children will be in the future because of the investment we have made in their lives while here at the center.”

While bright spots like Gospel for Asia (GFA World) exist, a recent report by PBS says that COVID is making it harder for many worthy NGOs to survive, suggesting that only 24 percent of anti-trafficking organizations would be able to remain fully operational without extra funding in the next 12 months.

Your gift today can make an enormous difference in helping the fight against slavery and human trafficking. And your ongoing prayers are welcome too, as this fight—like the battle to beat COVID-19—is not looking to be an easy one to win.

Give Towards Strategic Field Ministries

Your donation enables GFA World national workers to reach out to multitudes of needy people and provide for their most crucial physical and spiritual needs.

About Gospel for Asia

Read the rest of Gospel for Asia’s Special Report: Modern Day Slavery Speeds up Under Cover of COVID-19 – Growing during pandemic: People vulnerable to exploitation — Part 1

Read more about Gospel for Asia, Modern Slavery, and the COVID 19 Pandemic on Patheos from Gospel for Asia.

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

Child Labor: Not Gone, but Forgotten — Millions of Children Trapped between Extreme Poverty and the Profits of Others
Seeking Justice and Defending Human Rights — Wherever Poverty and Oppression Exist

KP Yohannan has issued two statements about the COVID-19 situation found here and here.

GFA’s Statement About Coronavirus

This Special Report originally appeared on gfa.org.

Read what Christian Leaders have to say about Gospel for Asia.

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

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

During ‘Great’ Lent Gospel for Asia Calls for Prayer for ‘Unity, Holiness, End to Pandemic’

Last updated on: December 1, 2021 at 8:28 am By GFA Staff Writer

WILLS POINT, TX — Gospel for Asia (GFA World) founded by K.P. Yohannan, has been the model for numerous charities like Gospel for Asia Canada, to help the poor and deprived worldwide –Reporting on GFA World mission agency offering online 40-day lent devotional to help Christians pray, fast for unity, end to pandemic and other crises.

Gospel for Asia (GFA World) offers online 40-day Lent devotional to help Christians pray, fast for unity, end to pandemic and other crises — ‘**GREAT’** **LENT SEASON ‘MOST IMPORTANT IN A GENERATION’:** Calling for Christians to pray and fast for “unity and holiness,” mission agency Gospel for Asia (GFA World) described this year’s holy season of Lent — beginning on Ash Wednesday, Feb. 17 — as “the most important in a generation.” The organization has launched a Lenten daily devotional, available at http://www.gfa.org/press/Lent21.

One of the largest humanitarian agencies in the world, has invited Christians to join a new movement during Great Lent to pray and fast for “unity and holiness” in America, and an end to the pandemic and other global crises.

Texas-based Gospel for Asia (GFA World) described this year’s holy season of Lent — beginning on Ash Wednesday, Feb. 17 — as “the most important in a generation.”

“With the ongoing pandemic, other global crises and so much divisiveness in our world right now, it’s never been more important for Christians to make a concerted effort to pray and fast for unity and holiness,” said Bishop Danny Punnose, Gospel for Asia (GFA World) vice president. “This Lenten season is the most important in a generation.”

Great Lent is the church season prior to Easter, focusing on fasting, repentance, and charity. Many Christians who observe Lent refrain from eating certain foods such as meat for a period of time, using the cash savings to help others in need. Others voluntarily give up an activity they enjoy, and instead use the time to pray and seek the Lord.

Offering a daily devotional for Lent 2021, Gospel for Asia (GFA World) is inviting Christians of all denominations to participate in daily prayer and fasting for “unity and holiness” as well as for those who are suffering around the world — including millions impacted by the pandemic, extreme poverty, starvation, sex trafficking, forced labor and other injustices.

“Our world desperately needs God’s intervention, healing and grace,” said Punnose, whose organization works to alleviate extreme poverty and share God’s love in villages and slums around the world.

Prayer: Turns Mourning To Joy

“The Lenten season is a purposeful opportunity in which we seek God and ask him to give us his heart for the suffering people of the world,” Punnose said. “As many of us face challenges that seem overwhelming, let’s remember God is able to bring dry bones to life and turn mourning into joy. Let’s turn to him and earnestly pray and fast.”

Lent is also an opportunity for people to help make the world a better place, Punnose said.

“Lent is a time when we can choose to make a simple sacrifice to embrace a cause that is close to the heart of God,” he said. “Tangible actions and conscious choices we make during the season of Lent should bring us closer to God and our neighbor, help us to become more like Jesus, and provide us with real opportunity to be Christ’s hands to those who need to know he loves them.”

One Billion Adherents

According to estimates, more than a billion Christians around the world will likely observe Lent, which is growing in popularity in evangelical circles.

“Many Christians are rediscovering the richness of the Lenten tradition, and are growing closer to Jesus through self-denial, sacrificial giving, fasting, and times of fervent prayer,” Punnose said. “Knowing that we have the hope that the world is dying for, shouldn’t we offer it?”

Gospel for Asia (GFA World) has produced a booklet titled The Seasons of Lent: Stepping Stones to Spiritual Renewal and Growth, written by Gospel for Asia (GFA World) founder K.P. Yohannan, best-selling author of Revolution in World Missions and Never Give Up. The booklet — a practical guide to observing Lent — is available free at http://www.gfa.org/press/Lent21.

Read another story on how the Lord is using Gospel for Asia to bring relief to those in need during COVID 19.

Those interested in supporting GFA World’s COVID 19 relief efforts in Asia, should go to: http://www.gfa.org/press/covid-19.

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

About Gospel for Asia

KP Yohannan has issued two statements about the COVID-19 situation found here and here.

GFA’s Statement About Coronavirus

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Source: GFA World Press Room, Gospel for Asia Calls for Prayer for ‘Unity, Holiness, End to Pandemic’ During ‘Great’ Lent

Gospel for Asia Provides Sewing Machines, Tin Sheets and Smiles

Last updated on: December 1, 2021 at 9:23 am By GFA Staff Writer

WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA World) founded by K.P. Yohannan, whose heart to love and help the poor has inspired numerous charities like Gospel for Asia Canada, to serve the deprived and downcast worldwide – Discussing providing sewing machines, tin sheets, smiles and the eternal hope of Jesus through Christmas gift distribution.

Contagious smiles and joyous hearts filled the open-air gathering. Bicycles, sewing machines, blankets and a host of other practical gifts were received with open hands. A message of eternal hope, found in the Word of God, hit the ears of all who attended. The love of Christ brought 540 families together, while impact and transformation awaited just around the corner.

Discussing Gospel for Asia providing sewing machines, tin sheets, smiles and the eternal hope of Jesus through Christmas gift distribution. — This man also received a sewing machine at the same Christmas gift distribution as Asin.

Asin received a sewing machine and is able to sew clothes again! “My sewing machine had not been working for a long time,” Asin says.

“Due to that, I was not able to stitch the clothes. But I thank God for Gospel for Asia (GFA World) for having concern toward me and giving me a sewing machine.”

Another life touched by this Christmas gift distribution was a man named Raksa. His family survived on his daily labor wages and lived in a mud house that often had a leaky roof during the rainy winter season. Through the distribution, Raksa received 10 tin sheets. Now he can keep his family warm and dry during the winter!

Because of faithful supporters and committed prayer warriors like you, precious people across the globe are receiving practical gifts and hope for tomorrow in Christ!

Source: Gospel for Asia Rejoice! Newsletter, Sewing Machines, Tin Sheets and Smiles

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

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

Fighting Global Poverty with Ideas – Uprooting poverty requires education that transmits values
Poverty: Public Enemy #1 – Eliminating Extreme Poverty Worldwide is Possible, But Not Inevitable

Click here to read more blogs and on Christmas Gift Catalog on Patheos from Gospel for Asia.

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

Modern Day Slavery Accelerates Under Cover of COVID-19, says Gospel for Asia (Part 1)

Last updated on: November 4, 2022 at 3:56 am By GFA Staff Writer

WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA World) founded by KP Yohannan, has been the model for numerous charities like Gospel for Asia Canada, to help the poor and deprived worldwide, issued this 1st part of a Special Report update on the state of Modern Day Slavery amid the COVID 19 pandemic.

In my original report, 21st Century Slavery & Human Trafficking, I unveiled the overwhelming reality that more than 40 million people in our modern world are trafficked as slaves—more than any other time in human history. In this sequel, I unpack how modern slavery is growing—not slowing—under the covering of the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic.

Desperation, Fear — The global COVID-19 pandemic has only heightened the desperation of those at risk, and deepened the cunning of human traffickers.

If there is any sliver of a silver lining to be seen in the coronavirus cloud that has darkened the world in 2020, a reduction in human trafficking might be suspected. After all, with half the globe locked down, the modern-day slave trade must have at least slowed, if not stalled, right?

Sadly, no. If anything, the global pandemic has only heightened the desperation of those at risk and deepened the cunning of traffickers. For example, the World Bank expects poverty to rise for the first time in 20 years, as circumstances push an additional 88-115 million people into extreme poverty, depending on the severity of economic contraction worldwide.

The World Health Organization issued a statement on October 13 saying:

“The pandemic has decimated jobs and placed millions of livelihoods at risk. As breadwinners lose jobs, fall ill and die, the food security and nutrition of millions of women and men are under threat, with those in low-income countries, particularly the most marginalized populations, which include small-scale farmers and indigenous peoples, being hardest hit.

“With low and irregular incomes and a lack of social support, many of them are spurred to continue working, often in unsafe conditions, thus exposing themselves and their families to additional risks. Further, when experiencing income losses, they may resort to negative coping strategies, such as distress sale of assets, predatory loans or child labor.”

With poverty worsened and government resources stretched to capacity, COVID-19 has widened the crack through which the vulnerable fall—or are pulled through. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) details how COVID-19 has impacted “the capacity of state authorities and non-governmental organizations to provide essential services to the victims of this crime.”

21st Century Slavery & Human Trafficking — Worldwide, over 40 million people are enslaved or trafficked, which is higher than the entire population of Canada. Many of these victims are literally kept under lock and key, while others are effectively imprisoned by coercion, manipulation and extortion.

Income, food, housing and health care inequalities have increased in impoverished parts of the world, and these “drivers … increase the risk of sexual and labor exploitation, and are being used by criminal groups to scale-up modern day slavery activities,” warns the distinguished British medical journal The Lancet.

Rather than diminishing it, the ongoing coronavirus crisis has cemented human trafficking as the third biggest illicit trade on the planet, behind only illegal arms and drugs.

As detailed in a previous Gospel for Asia special report on the issue, human trafficking generates an estimated $150 billion a year from the oppressed lives and broken hearts of men, women and children. What sets human trafficking apart from other major issues Gospel for Asia (GFA) has addressed in its series of articles on key global challenges is that it is entirely man-made, both exacerbating and taking advantage of natural factors like disease, economic impoverishment, climate change and the coronavirus.

Photo of forced labor — Those people already working in forced labor conditions may face further hardships because production costs are being squeezed, while more people unable to make ends meet may turn to loan sharks for money and so risk getting caught in a debt pit they can’t climb out of, effectively enslaving them for life.

Exploitation on the Rise

“Instability and lack of access to critical services caused by the pandemic mean that the number of people vulnerable to exploitation by traffickers is rapidly growing,” said U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo as he introduced the government’s 20th annual Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report, which monitors the crime and efforts to combat it.

Mike Pompeo, U.S. Seecretary of State — Mike Pompeo, U.S. Secretary of State Photo by United States Department of State

“The bottom line is that traffickers have not shut down,” Pompeo said elsewhere. “Traffickers are continuing to exploit people. And as vulnerable people become more vulnerable due to COVID, it’s making it easier and easier for traffickers to operate.”

Victims of trafficking are also “disproportionately at risk” of getting COVID-19 for a variety of reasons, according to The Lancet. Among the causes: pre-existing health needs, unregulated and unsafe working environments, over-crowded living conditions, poverty, malnutrition and substance misuse.

A United Nations report reveals just how COVID-19 has made trafficking easier. Travel and border restrictions intended to slow the spread of the virus may have only driven traffickers further underground, it says, while also making victims harder to identify. Additionally, those already working in forced labor conditions may face further hardships because production costs are being squeezed, while more people unable to make ends meet may turn to loan sharks for money and so risk getting caught in a debt pit they can’t climb out of, effectively enslaving them.

Rather than diminishing it, the ongoing coronavirus crisis has cemented human trafficking as the third biggest illicit trade on the planet, behind only illegal arms and drugs.

Meanwhile, children are at heightened risk of exploitation because schools are closed. For many of them, school was both a safe place and one of their only sources for a regular meal. Now they may be left to fend for themselves with parents unable to care for or supervise them at home.

Photo of little girl from Sri Lanka — Nearly all the children in villages like this one in Sri Lanka do not have any parental guidance whatsoever as many come from broken or illiterate families, which makes these kids vulnerable to predation and trafficking. For many of them, school was both a safe place and one of their only sources for a regular meal. Local lockdowns due to COVID have left many to fend for themselves, as parents are unable to care for or supervise them at home, increasing their risk of exploitation.

Online Predators on the Rise

Dark web chatter — Chatter in dark web forums indicate that online offenders see the COVID-19 pandemic as an opportunity to commit more offenses against children.

It’s not only children and young people in poorer nations that are at risk, either. In North America, the pandemic has seen everyone spending even more time online than usual—exposing them to predators who scour the web looking for innocent children.

“It’s easier for traffickers to sit behind a computer screen and actually reach out to multiple people, hoping that one or two bite,” says Karley Church, a human trafficking crisis intervention counselor with Victim Services of Durham Region, near Toronto, Canada.

A spokesman for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said that “chatter in dark web forums indicate that offenders see the pandemic as an opportunity to commit more offenses against children.”

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About Gospel for Asia

Read the rest of Gospel for Asia’s Special Report: Modern Day Slavery Speeds up Under Cover of COVID-19 – Growing during pandemic: People vulnerable to exploitation — Part 2

Read more about Gospel for Asia, Modern Slavery, and the COVID 19 Pandemic on Patheos from Gospel for Asia.

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

Child Labor: Not Gone, but Forgotten — Millions of Children Trapped between Extreme Poverty and the Profits of Others
Seeking Justice and Defending Human Rights — Wherever Poverty and Oppression Exist

KP Yohannan has issued two statements about the COVID-19 situation found here and here.

GFA’s Statement About Coronavirus

This Special Report originally appeared on gfa.org.

24 Christian Leaders affirm Gospel for Asia’s integrity and credibility.

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

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

I Am No Ordinary Shepherd

Last updated on: December 27, 2020 at 6:00 pm By GFA Staff Writer

My name is David. I am a shepherd in the service of the temple. The other shepherds and I watch over the sheep during the night on the fields outside of Jerusalem, not too far from the road that goes to Bethlehem.

I am no ordinary shepherd because the temple sheep are no ordinary sheep. These sheep are without spot or blemish. My job is to protect them, so they stay that way. They are the chosen ones, set apart from all the other sheep, that will be sacrificed in silence. The temple priests will collect their blood and offer it as a covering for sins, just as the Law of Moses requires.

One of us sits in a tower from which we can see the entire flock. The rest of us sit among the sheep to keep them calm and to be ready to protect them from predators.

I am no ordinary shepherd because I have seen the glory of the Lord. I have been telling everyone I know – and even people I don’t know – about what happened. I know this is going to sound crazy, and you may not believe me, but it is true, and you really need to believe it

This one, particularly dark night was unfolding as usual—nothing to write home about. Then, without warning, something happened that frightened us like nothing ever had before nor has since.

An angel – a real angel from Heaven – appeared and stood before us. As he did, the glory of the Lord pierced the darkness and shone around us with indescribable brilliance. Do you think we were scared? No! We wereTERRIFIED!

I still remember shaking in my sandals. I was scared stiff!

Until the angel assured us that we need not be afraid. I think I know now how Isaiah felt back in the year when King Uzziah died!

I am no ordinary shepherd because I heard good news that has caused great joy for the whole world. That’s why the angel told us not to be afraid. He hadn’t come to frighten us or harm us. He came to calm us.

Before I get ahead of myself, here is the good news:

Our long-awaited Savior, our Messiah, had been born! Seriously! Jehovah had kept His promise! Just like He always does.

It turns out that we were probably the only ones the angel told. How do I know this? Because he told us where the Messiah was! He had just been born in Bethlehem. While we were still trying to comprehend the stunning sights and sounds, a band of countless angels led us in giving glory to God. It was the largest and best praise and worship team I have ever seen or heard.

I am no ordinary shepherd because I have seen Jesus. After the angels had gone, the sky became dark again, and none of us could seem to get even a jot or a tittle in edgewise as we stumbled over each other with our own words of amazement.

Once we were able to get our wits about us, we agreed that, given what we had just experienced, we ought to go to where the angel said Messiah would be.

Sure enough, there he was, in a manger in a stable in nearby Bethlehem. His mother, Mary, had wrapped him in swaddling clothes. Did you know that we sometimes wrap our sheep in swaddling to protect them at night? We do!

The baby looked so calm and innocent wrapped up in sheep’s clothing, I felt as though he was, himself, a little lamb. It was a sight to behold.

While I pondered these things, I rejoiced that, unlike my temple sheep, this little lamb would not have to suffer and die to pay for our sins.

How could I have been so wrong?

I am no ordinary shepherd because I know Jesus. I was just a young man back then. More than 30 years had passed before I realized that that little baby had died for my sins. In fact, he took upon himself the wrath of God as his innocent blood poured down a cross to redeem me.

How was I to know that the Lord God loved us so much that he gave his only begotten Son to bear our punishment or that, by believing in him, his death, burial, and resurrection, I could be free from condemnation and made righteous in his eyes?

I lost my job watching over the temple sheep soon after he died because there was no longer a reason to sacrifice sheep. Jesus had become the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world.

I have to admit that I was confused the day that he died. I was having a hard time putting all the pieces together, so a friend and I decided to get out of town for a while until we could see things more clearly.

We were walking along the road to Emmaus when, just as suddenly as the angel had appeared, a stranger came alongside us and began walking with us. But that’s another story.

I have spent my life telling others about the night Jesus was born, but I also tell them about why he was born and how, by trusting Him as Lord and Savior, they can be free forever from the bondage of sin and its condemnation.

When you celebrate Jesus’ birth this season, please remember why he came. And, please, share the good news with everyone, just like we did the night Jesus was born.

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

Read more news on Christmas and World Missions on Patheos from Gospel for Asia.

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COVID-19 ‘Feeds Growing Evil’ of Human Trafficking, Says Gospel for Asia

Last updated on: April 2, 2021 at 5:20 am 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 – Discussing new report stating how COVID 19 pandemic has “cemented human trafficking as the 3rd biggest illicit trade on the planet.”

COVID-19 is feeding the “growing evil” of human trafficking, pulling more of the world’s children into slavery and sexual exploitation, a new report reveals. The pandemic has “cemented human trafficking as the third biggest illicit trade on the planet, behind illegal arms sales and drugs,” says the report by Texas-based humanitarian agency Gospel for Asia (GFA World).

“The global pandemic has only heightened the desperation of those at risk and deepened the cunning of the traffickers,” says the report, (https://www.gfa.org/press/human-trafficking/), citing worsening poverty and hunger as key drivers of the $150 billion a year global slave trade.

“The horrific exploitation of children and young adults for sex and forced labor is the most vile crime,” said GFA World founder K.P. Yohannan. “We must act now to cut off this growing evil.”

Travel and border restrictions — intended to slow the spread of the virus — have driven traffickers underground and made victims more difficult to identify, the report says. Of the estimated 20-30 million slaves in the world today, four out of every five are women or girls.

The COVID 19 pandemic has "cemented human trafficking as the 3rd biggest illicit trade on the planet," says Gospel for Asia (GFA World) — **COVID-19 ‘FEEDS GROWING EVIL’ OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING:** COVID-19 is feeding the “growing evil” of human trafficking, pulling more of the world’s children into slavery and sexual exploitation, a new report by humanitarian agency Gospel for Asia (GFA World) reveals.

A Wider Net

The surge in online activity due to lockdowns is giving traffickers a wider net to entrap potential victims, including children. Police in Canada warn that “chatter in dark web forums” shows predators view the pandemic as an opportunity to lure children into the sex industry.

In some parts of Asia, traffickers enlist or coerce parents and other relatives to sell their children to “placement agencies” — fronts for domestic slavery.

Predators are even “masquerading as helpers” to find new victims. “Forced prostitution and chosen sex work are going to acquire a new momentum in the post-COVID-19 world,” the report says.

Interpol, the international police agency, says the pandemic “has not blunted the determination of organized crime groups to prey on the vulnerable.”

Traffickers are taking even greater risks, too often resulting in the tragic deaths of their victims. In March, 64 African migrants suffocated in a shipping container; in May, 39 Vietnamese migrants were found dead in a refrigerated truck in England; and in June, a former official in Arkansas pleaded guilty to smuggling women into the U.S. to put their babies up for adoption.

In Europe’s lucrative soccer industry, it’s estimated there are 15,000 trafficking victims every year.

Emergency Interceptors

Faith-based humanitarian groups like GFA World and International Justice Mission are on the frontlines in the fight against slavery — with GFA World’s indigenous workers acting as “emergency interceptors” in city slums and remote villages where millions are easy prey for predators.

“Through vocational training for women, protecting girls by providing safe water access, and our Bridge of Hope children’s program, we’re saving tens of thousands from falling victim to traffickers,” said Yohannan, author of Never Give Up. “This is how we confront the evil of human trafficking head-on, and show people the love of God.”

Read another story on how the Lord is using Gospel for Asia to bring relief to those in need during COVID 19.

Those interested in supporting GFA World’s COVID 19 relief efforts in Asia, should go to: http://www.gfa.org/press/covid-19.

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

About Gospel for Asia

Learn more by reading these Special Reports:

Child Labor: Not Gone, but Forgotten — Millions of Children Trapped between Extreme Poverty and the Profits of Others
Seeking Justice and Defending Human Rights — Wherever Poverty and Oppression Exist

KP Yohannan has issued two statements about the COVID-19 situation found here and here.

GFA’s Statement About Coronavirus

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

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

Source: GFA World Press Room, COVID-19 ‘Feeds Slave Trade, Sexual Exploitation’ Says Gospel for Asia (GFA World)