Village Learns to Value Education

Last updated on: April 17, 2021 at 10:52 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 GFA Sisters of Compassion team who, despite facing resistance, labored for literacy for women and children, transforming their lives, bettering society.

Kuvira, Sabeena, Aamaal and Binita walked along the dirt road flanked by lush landscape that seemed to embrace them, inviting the four ladies to continue down to the village nestled near the river that flowed just beyond. As the women stepped into the village, however, the welcome feeling vanished.

An Unwelcome Entrance

Gospel for Asia founded by Dr. K.P. Yohannan: Discussing the GFA Sisters of Compassion team who, despite resistance, labored for literacy for women and children, transforming lives, bettering society. — Bodhi, like the other women in her village, did not understand the value of education until four GFA Sisters of Compassion came to her village and started a literacy class. Through that class, Bodhi experienced the blessings of literacy in everyday life.

The Gospel for Asia (GFA) Sisters of Compassion team, clad in their long white saris, entered the village and made their way through the streets, but no pairs of eyes looked their way. Stillness filled the air as the residents feigned ignorance of the presence of four strange women walking through their village. Doors swung closed, hiding suspicious residents inside. Others continued their outdoor chores but turned their backs on the sisters as they passed by.

The cold reception didn’t dampen the sisters’ excitement to minister within this village. They knew they could do something great for the people who hid in their homes and turned their backs. Kuvira, Sabeena, Aamaal and Binita prayed for the villagers as they headed home and asked the Lord to give them a ministry in this place. They encouraged each other along the way, reminding themselves of God’s great power to change lives.

Pens, Pencils and Notebooks

The four sisters continued to visit the village. At first, the only residents who acknowledged them were children. From very young to school aged, kids would approach the women in white with curiosity, asking questions and relishing the adult attention. Kuvira, Sabeena, Aamaal and Binita started teaching the village kids, most of whom worked in fields or roamed the streets instead of attending school. The sisters gave the children pens, pencils and notebooks so they could study on their own when the women were not there. After some time, the kids enjoyed learning and wanted to go to school, something they had always avoided before the sisters came. The parents in the village, amazed at the transformation, began to acknowledge the women who had helped their children so much.

Next Step: Literacy for Women

Motivated by the impact they had teaching the children to value education, the four Sisters of Compassion looked for a way to help the women in the village—most of whom were illiterate. The sisters decided to start a literacy class.

At first the villagers laughed at the sisters’ idea.

“What would we do by learning how to read and write?” the village women scoffed. “Our life is spent working in the fields and river, so if we join the class, it is not going to be beneficial for us, and we would be simply wasting our time.”

Undeterred, the Sisters of Compassion urged the women to join their class and explained the many ways literacy could impact their lives. The women in the village decided to talk it over. They had watched the sisters teaching their children and knew the team wanted to help them in society. They were grateful their kids started attending school and began to think that maybe they should learn too. They finally decided they would enroll in the literacy classes with the sisters.

Wife and Mother Perseveres in Learning

The first literacy class included six women from the village. Bodhi, a 45-year-old mother with four children, joined the first class. Bodhi had never gone to school herself and took up the challenge to learn to read and write. It was very difficult for Bodhi at first, and she wanted to quit many times, but the sisters kept encouraging her. Bodhi went to class every Saturday, leaving behind her work, and slowly grew in her abilities. Sometimes her husband would tease her when she studied and practiced at home, asking if she was going to become the village accountant. Bodhi retorted that she simply wanted to learn how to read and write.

As Bodhi progressed with the instruction and encouragement of the sisters, she began helping the other ladies. They would get together to study and spur on those who struggled. A community pride formed among the group of six in the literacy class.

Now when Bodhi goes to the market, she no longer relies on the color of the money to tell her how much change she received back from her purchase. Instead, she reads the price tag, counts out the proper money and checks that her change is correct. When her kids are working on homework, Bodhi helps them when they are stuck and corrects their pronunciation when they read. Even her husband is proud of her.

“I feel so happy and proud of my wife,” Bodhi’s husband says. “If a person decides to accomplish something, [she] can achieve it someday. The sisters are working for the development of the society, and we should take advantage of what is provided by the sisters of the church.”

Kuvira, Sabeena, Aamaal and Binita visit the village frequently and are now welcomed into the homes of grateful families and honored as guests. Having ministered to the practical needs of the villagers, such as Bodhi, the Gospel for Asia (GFA) Sisters of Compassion have become trusted confidants for the village’s mothers and children who seek the sisters out for prayer for life’s concerns. The four young women are now indispensable to this village and are shining lights of God’s love.

While the women in this village had to be convinced of the value of literacy, other women, like Habiba, dream of obtaining literacy. Read how Habiba’s dreams came true.

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

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

Source: Gospel for Asia Field Report, Village Learns to Value Education

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.

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

Learn more by reading the GFA special report: Literacy: One of the Great Miracle Cures — Resolving the Limitations Illiteracy Places on the Human Spirit

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

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

A Pastor’s Intercession

Last updated on: April 20, 2022 at 11:13 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 (GFA) pastor’s prayer and encouragement for those who are sick. Many people like Mihirkiran are completely healed as a result!

Pastor Babala was a family man who had nine children. So when he happened to meet a man whose children were going hungry, compassion stirred his heart.

The man, Mihirkiran, had been working hard labor from morning to night to provide for his family until the excruciating effort took its toll on his body, leaving him sick, weak and unable to work. Mihirkiran’s wife had to care for their three young children and couldn’t help provide for the family. With the breadwinner sick, the family found themselves in desperate need.

Visiting Pastor Provides Rice

Our pastor Babala visited Mihirkiran one day and learned of the family’s struggles. When the pastor and his wife came back the next day, they realized the family had no food to eat and their children were going hungry. Moved with compassion, Pastor Babala and his wife gave the family enough money to buy rice for their children. Mihirkiran was very happy for the help.

Surprised by God’s Answers

Over the next several days, Pastor Babala encouraged Mihirkiran and his family, sharing from the Word of God and praying for Mihirkiran’s healing. Before long, Mihirkiran’s health was completely restored! Surprised by this miracle, Mihirkiran and his wife came to understand Jesus as God, the One who died on a cross and heals the sick.

Today, Mihirkiran and his wife are learning more about the Jeusus they love by attending the church Pastor Babala leads.

Thank You

Every day, pastors like Babala reach out to those in their communities, actively sharing the love of Jesus with people, whether that means praying for them or helping provide a meal. God is making their ministry possible as people like you stand with them through prayer and financial support. Thank you.

Learn more about the GFA 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.

Source: Gospel for Asia Featured Article, A Pastor’s Intercession

Learn more by reading the Gospel for Asia Special Report: The Scandal of Starvation in a World of Plenty — World Hunger’s Ugly Truths Revealed

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

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

People in Slums Need Help & Love

Last updated on: April 20, 2022 at 11:16 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 slum ministries & Compassion Services teams who forsake their own lives to offer spiritual & physical hope to the families and people in slums of Asia.

In 1999, Gospel for Asia (GFA) began supporting slum ministries to specifically help the plethora of neglected people in slums in Asia.

Tens of millions of people occupy slums in and around major cities. They live in abject poverty and indescribable misery, some within a few hundred yards of some of the most technologically advanced cities in the Asian sub-continent. Thousands arrive daily from rural areas in search of jobs and a better life, only to become trapped in desperate living situations with little hope of change.

Most families in slums live in one-room shanties. Toilets are scarce, so the stench of human waste pollutes the air. Garbage is strewn across the alleyways. Everyone is vulnerable to disease.

Every day is a new battle to somehow find a job, even one that is an extremely menial labor job. If that’s not possible, breadwinners—and often children—must resort to begging, scavenging or prostitution to be able to eat. If they get too sick or too old to work, most have no social agency to help them.

A Gospel for Asia (GFA) behind-the-scenes missionary had the opportunity to see a slum in Asia and described the living conditions of those dwelling in the slum, saying:

“They don’t have money, they don’t have clothes, food. Their houses are just…shacks. It made my heart feel sad.”

Breaking the chain of poverty is almost impossible without the compassion of others outside of these poverty-stricken communities. Many people do see the needs of these struggling millions, but for a variety of reasons, many others simply ignore them, passing them by without a second thought.

That’s why our Compassion Services—specifically slum ministry—makes such a difference.

Not only do these Compassion Services teams go into the slums, but they also sacrifice their own personal comfort by living within the slums. They serve in many ways so they may more effectively demonstrate what others are not: the value of each individual life, no matter how poor. Their acts of service and their encouraging messages are helping many families discover the love and compassion of Jesus Christ.

Jesus set aside all the incomparable splendor of His heavenly majesty to live among and minister to the poor, the weary and the brokenhearted. So too, our supported workers forsake the lives they could have to offer spiritual and physical hope that families in slums would possibly never hear about otherwise.

Living and ministering within the slums allows workers to build relationships, meet needs, teach about Jesus, and bring believers into fellowship with others.

Watch this brief (1:11) video to learn more about the impact of Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported ministry in 932 of Asian’s slums. Then, please prayerfully consider what you can do to bring practical help and news of eternal life to those living in slums.

Go here to learn how your donations toward Compassion Services will change lives in the slums.

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.

Sources:

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.

Learn more about how to bring practical help in Jesus’ Name to the suffering and needy, relieving the burdened, rescuing the endangered and revealing God’s compassion to the people of Asia through Gospel for Asia Compassion Services.

Learn more by reading the Gospel for Asia Special Report: Poverty: Public Enemy #1 — Eliminating Extreme Poverty Worldwide is Possible, But Not Inevitable

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

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

A True Friend Found at Gospel for Asia Vacation Bible School

Last updated on: April 21, 2022 at 5:38 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 ministry of Gospel for Asia (GFA) Vacation Bible School, teaching children and giving them a sense of joy, and learning to be a better friend, and some to become friends with Jesus, the truest Friend of all.

School was out. Children gathered. More than 200 youngsters filled the hall. Smiling adults in bright orange shirts wove their way through the crowds. Vacation Bible School was about to begin.

For one week, these joyful ones sang songs, made crafts and watched skits, puppet shows and videos, all to help them learn about what it means to be a “true friend.” The theme verse of the year’s VBS program was John 15:13, “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.” Teachers prayed and hoped the children would be blessed by their time–a prayer God answered.

Learning About Friendship

Every day, after spending time together learning songs, stories and history, the children, ages 4-12, broke into small groups to make crafts and learn more important lessons from the Bible. Different days focused on different aspects of friendship, including helpfulness, joyfulness and faithfulness. In all this, the children learned how Jesus is the truest friend of all.

“From this VBS, I learned that God is watching over me,” shared one boy named Anik. “So I don’t have to be afraid.”

Since that day, Anik has started living with the awareness that Jesus is with him always.

Be a True Friend

On the last day, parents gathered. Tables displayed the children’s crafts. Through songs and skits, the children shared what they had learned about friendship.

A local ministry leader addressed the crowd. He encouraged the parents and spoke to them about being good examples for their children to follow.

The children, some from Christian backgrounds and others from non-Christian backgrounds, walked away from the week with a greater sense of joy in their hearts. Many of them decided they wanted to be a better friend, and some became friends with Jesus, the truest Friend of all.

Learn more about how you can give toward our Vacation Bible School scholarships, where the gift of VBS materials for one of these precious children will guarantee that he or she will hear about Jesus’ love again and again through skits, Bible songs and teaching and will have colorful Gospel literature to take home.

Source: Gospel for Asia Featured Article, A True Friend at VBS

Learn more about the Gospel for Asia Bridge of Hope program and how you can make an incredible difference in the lives of children, bringing hope to their lives and their families, transforming communities.

Learn more about the Discarded, Abandoned and Abused Children, and how, through partnership with Gospel for Asia you can help them and be a part of changing their lives forever.

Learn more by reading the Gospel for Asia Special Report on Child Labor: Not Gone, but Forgotten – Millions of Children Trapped between Extreme Poverty and the Profits of Others

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

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

“We Want to Sacrifice”: Gospel for Asia Women’s Fellowship Gives Help and Hope

Last updated on: April 21, 2022 at 5:41 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 (GFA) Women’s Fellowship groups that continue to give help and hope with an immense love to Jesus and others even at the cost of their own comforts.

Mima’s hands grasp the grains of rice, letting it spill from her fingertips as she sets apart a portion of food for the day. The same hands rise in worship and prayer. The same hands make soap; share literature; and help the poor, the widows and orphans. The same hands tenderly care and tend for her family. In Mima’s heart rests this hope: The fruit coming from her hands is something eternal.

Every Friday, Mima and other women from churches all across the country meet for a day of fasting and prayer at their Gospel for Asia (GFA) Women’s Fellowship. They pray for their families and lift up the needs of the local church. They read God’s Word and go out into their communities to encourage their female neighbors in the Lord. Their sole desire is to know and love the Lord more, and they have seen the Lord work powerfully.

“For I bear witness that according to their ability, yes, and beyond their ability, they were freely willing, imploring us with much urgency that we would receive the gift and the fellowship of the ministering to the saints. And not only as we had hoped, but they first gave themselves to the Lord, and then to us by the will of God.”
—2 Corinthians 8:3–5

Not Your Everyday Women

Beyond your average women’s meetings, there is something profoundly unique about this particular group of ladies. Much like the example given in Proverbs 31 in the Bible, these women stretch out their hands and resources to the poor and needy around them.

Like Mima, each woman in the fellowship raises funds for their fellowship and for the kingdom of God. They set aside a handful of rice from the daily portion they cook for their families; they make soap and sell it; and they also sell vegetables in the market. By doing so, Mima and the other Women’s Fellowship ladies sow into the kingdom and their church with the finances they raise. They are not afraid they will go hungry by their sacrifice—to them, it is a sacrifice worth giving unto the Lord.

“We want to participate, we want to give, we want to sacrifice what we have, even if it is small things,” Mima says. “It gives us strength to give for the Lord…”

Through Mima and the other women’s efforts, they are able to support three local Bible college students. Last year they were able to provide a few flood victims in their area with rice, clothes and drinks.

“In my thinking, fundraising is very important,” Mima says. “If we don’t have funds, we cannot do any mission work or sponsor any items or activities. So fundraising is very important.”

The women also help each other out with hospital bills when one of the women in their fellowship gives birth. Through their fundraising and fellowship, they have seen a strong bond of unity form among them.

“Whenever we make an arrangement for fundraising,” Mima says, “we can have more fellowship at that time, and also we have good relationships with each other . . . also, it gives more happiness to our heart when we participate in activities.”

Along with their fundraising, they remain proactive in sharing their personal testimonies of God’s faithfulness in their lives. For Mima, it hasn’t always been easy to share her faith. There have been times when she simply had no courage. But she would pray, and the Lord would give her strength and boldness to comfort those in need and share His love with her neighbors. Along with these house visits, Mima and some of the other women make it a point to invite women in their community to come to their prayer and worship gatherings.

Blooming and Growing in Christ

Over the course of the years, Mima has seen her Women’s Fellowship come to life. It has grown and bloomed as the women themselves grow in their fellowship and in their love for one another, for God and for others who need to know Him.

Cheerfully and willingly, Mima and the Women’s Fellowship give and make sacrifices. Their efforts a have great reward, for their eyes are fixed on eternal things as they aim to serve God in every area of their lives.

Their hands will always toil with hard work. They will sacrifice a daily meal so others may experience the Bread of Life for the first time. They have joy knowing their efforts, small or large, are making a difference. They walk together in unity and fellowship, all with one purpose in mind—to love the people around them with all they have found in the Lord.

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.

Here are some ways you can join in prayer for Gospel for Asia Women’s Fellowship.

Source: Gospel for Asia Featured Article, We Want to Sacrifice

Learn more about how you can help alleviate the many struggles widows face through the Gospel for Asia supported Widows Ministry, providing them with basic essentials, sources of income and opportunities to find peace in Christ.

Learn more by reading the GFA special report titled “An Imaginative Exercise in Empathetic Fear: Think About Living in a Community with Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women”

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

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

Walking 10,220 Miles for Water: Providing Jesus Wells for Communities In Need

Last updated on: April 22, 2022 at 5:57 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 Gafur and his wife, Dishita, the isolation they experienced due to their faith in Jesus, the struggle of walking 4 miles daily to fetch clean water, and Gospel for Asia (GFA) providing Jesus Wells to these communities in need.

Gospel for Asia founded by Dr. K.P. Yohannan: Discussing Gafur & Dishita, the struggle of walking 4 miles daily to fetch clean water, & Gospel for Asia providing Jesus Wells to communities in need — Discussing Gafur & Dishita, the struggle of walking 4 miles daily to fetch clean water, & Gospel for Asia (GFA) providing Jesus Wells to communities in need

What would you do if the people in your community forbid you from using the local water to drink, take showers or wash your clothes? You would have to immediately find another water source for your family and livestock to survive.

This happened to Gafur and his wife, Dishita, a couple living in Asia. One of their sons was seriously ill when they requested a visiting pastor to pray for him. God answered in a wonderful way and healed the boy completely. This miracle led the boy’s grateful parents to put their trust in Jesus! However, as the family started to take part in church activities, the villagers opposed them and the other believers.

The villagers stopped talking to them, didn’t invite them to any social functions and no longer allowed them to draw water from any source in their community.

The believers then had no choice but to walk two miles—one way—to a hand pump installed on government premises and carry water back to their homes in large pots every single day.

Walking 4 miles every day
for 7 years adds up to 10,220 miles.

Imagine how many trips Dishita and her family had to make over the next seven years to fetch enough water for drinking, taking baths, cooking and washing dishes and clothes for their seven-member household!

Yet in spite of all these hardships, Gafur, Dishita and the believers in this village remained faithful to the Lord and trusted Him to meet their needs.

Gospel for Asia founded by Dr. K.P. Yohannan: A Jesus Well like this one now provides clean water for Gafur, Dishita and their whole village. — A Jesus Well like this one now provides clean water for Gafur, Dishita and their whole village.

And He did! In January of 2016, thanks to the generosity of our Gospel for Asia (GFA) family, a Jesus Well was drilled in this village for the Christians and all the other people in their community to use. When the believers freely shared their clean water with the villagers, the people’s attitude changed. Now the villagers talk with the believers and are interested in hearing about the love of God. Some even ask for prayer and visit house prayer meetings.

The struggle for access to clean water this group of Christians faced is shared by millions of poor people. Often because of extreme poverty, discrimination or drought, their only water sources are polluted, stagnant ponds. They have no other option but to use that filthy, disease-ridden water for drinking and every other human need, as well as for watering and cleaning their livestock. Consequently, people suffer much sickness, and tragically, many children die as a result.

We can change the suffering of such a community in need by providing them with a Jesus Well. Or you can help a family by giving a BioSand water filter, which turns polluted water into clean, safe drinking water.

Gospel for Asia founded by Dr. K.P. Yohannan: This plaque by a Jesus Well displays John 4:13-14. — This plaque by a Jesus Well displays John 4:13-14.

Both are truly life-saving gifts that remind people of the love and care of their heavenly Father. Jesus Wells even have an inscription that says, “Jesus said, ‘Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst’ ” (John 4:13–14).

We hope to provide thousands of communities with Jesus Wells and BioSand water filters this year! Will you join us?

Learn more about how to provide pure, clean water to families and villages through Gospel for Asia Jesus Wells and BioSand Water Filters.

Source: Gospel for Asia Featured Article, Walking Four Miles Every Day for Water

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.

Read the Solving the World Water Crisis for Good special report — Lasting Solutions Can Defeat an Age-old Problem.

Learn more by reading The Global Clean Water Crisis special report — Finding Solutions to Humanity’s Need for Pure, Safe Water.

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

The Stranger at the Bazaar: How an Abused Woman Finds Hope

Last updated on: April 22, 2022 at 6:00 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 Maliha, alone and abandoned, the unfolding of her history, and the Gospel for Asia (GFA) pastor who helps this abused woman find hope.

he clamor of bargaining could be heard above the bustling crowds. Stalls displayed beautiful fabrics of bright colors and patterns, while the aroma of food wafted in the air. In the midst of all this excitement, a mysterious woman strolled aimlessly down the street of the bazaar.

The woman was a stranger to the village. Her pitiful condition quickly became the dialogue of the bazaar. “Who is she, and where did she come from?” the villagers and venders alike whispered among themselves. No one knew. Some said she was mentally insane and did their best to avoid her. Others had compassion and tossed a few coins her way. She tried to tell them her story, but only a few listened, and no one tried to help her.

GFA founded by Dr. K. P. Yohannan: Discussing Maliha, alone and abandoned, the unfolding of her history, and the Gospel for Asia pastor's help this abused woman find hope. — Maliha (not pictured) wandered around the bazaar. She didn’t know where she was, and some people whispered about her. She was a stranger, lost, disheartened and alone.

She Needed a Hand to Hold

The woman established a spot near the roadside and under a tree. There, she silently wept and slept. She had with her all her belongings: a small bundle of clothes. During the day she begged, and when the night sky descended, she was alone. But the Lord knew her story and sent His servants to help rescue this precious woman He created.

Our pastor Chhiring and his wife, Gunita, had caught word about the stranger at the bazaar, and they wanted to see how they could help her. They found the woman with dirty clothing and a troubled face begging in front of a tea shop.

Pastor Chhiring gently talked to her and asked if she needed anything. She looked at him but said nothing. Then Gunita placed her hand in the woman’s, a small expression of love, and the woman allowed them to lead the way to their home.

Stranger Reveals Her Story

Pastor Chhiring told the woman she could stay with them as one of their own family members. He encouraged his wife and other believers not to pressure the woman to talk, but only help her feel comfortable. She would talk when she was ready. In the safety of Pastor Chhiring and Gunita’s home, trust grew in the woman’s heart. The next day she confided in Gunita and told her story.

Gospel for Asia founded by Dr. K.P. Yohannan: Maliha eloped with a man she thought loved her and would give her a happy life. But one day all this changed, and he would beat her for no apparent reason. — Maliha (pictured) eloped with a man she thought loved her and would give her a happy life. But one day all this changed, and he would beat her for no apparent reason.

Her name was Maliha, and she came from a distant village. As she matured, many people in her village noticed her beauty and tried to tempt her to run away with them. For a year, she resisted, but a young man eventually lured Maliha after he declared his love for her and promised he would give her a happy life and never leave her. Maliha eloped with this man and moved away from her widowed mother.

After Maliha had two young children, she noticed her husband started to change. He became violent, physically and verbally abusing Maliha. Maliha’s mother, siblings and even her neighbors asked her to make a stand against her husband’s violence, but they never dared face him themselves.

Exposing Her Husband’s Secret

These sudden changes left Maliha with many questions. She didn’t know why her husband seemed to suddenly hate her when he had promised to love her before.

Then she discovered the secret he was hiding: Maliha’s husband had been unfaithful to her.

When Maliha gathered the courage to ask him about it, he beat her and yelled at her and the children. He announced his intention of bringing another woman into the house. Shocked and hurt, Maliha and the children cried loudly. The neighbors heard the awful commotion and ran to their house. They saw poor Maliha’s swollen face and blood streaming down her head from her husband’s beating. When her husband saw a crowd forming, he declared with a booming voice that his wife had gone mad.

A week later, Maliha’s husband said he would take her to the doctor, but instead he dumped her in a village she didn’t know, in a place where she could never find her way back. Deserted, lost and wounded in body and heart, Maliha found herself alone in the bazaar—until she met Gunita and Pastor Chhiring.

Gospel for Asia founded by Dr. K.P. Yohannan: Maliha found love and rescue when Pastor Chhiring and his wife, Gunita, welcomed her into their home as one of the family. Now, Maliha has hope in Jesus, and He is healing her past. — Maliha found love and rescue when Pastor Chhiring and his wife, Gunita (pictured), welcomed her into their home as one of the family. Now, Maliha has hope in Jesus, and He is healing her past.

Church Welcomes Abused Woman

Gunita’s heart welled with deep love and compassion for Maliha as she listened to the broken woman share her story. She relayed the story to her husband, and he prayed and shared with his congregation. The entire church listened when he asked them to welcome Maliha into their hearts as one of their own sisters. Together as a church, they all prayed fervently for her and received her with love. Maliha grew under the care of her church family as they displayed Christ’s kindness toward her.

Although she was unable to return to her family, Maliha now has learned to pour out her heart to Jesus. She knows He loves her and desires her to call upon Him. She has a new life in Christ and a heavenly Husband who cares deeply for her and heals her wounded past.

Whenever her heart aches for her children and husband, she is reminded by Pastor Chhiring that her life is secure in Jesus’ hands. The woman who was once beaten, abused and abandoned now has a family and has been found and held by Jesus!

Gospel for Asia founded by Dr. K.P. Yohannan: Women in Asia are often abused and forgotten. You can tell her she is loved and precious in the sight of Jesus! — Women in Asia are often abused and forgotten. You can tell her she is loved and precious in the sight of Jesus!

Be a Voice of Hope

Many women in Asia suffer from being abused, overlooked and forgotten by the men in their lives. Maliha opened up to Gunita and was able to share her heart. We at Gospel for Asia (GFA) desire to show these precious women that they are valued and loved by God. You can be part of this, too, by donating to a Gospel for Asia Women’s Ministry today.

Source: Gospel for Asia Featured Article, The Stranger at the Bazaar

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.

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

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

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

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 Young Child Laborer Find New Life

Last updated on: August 27, 2022 at 6:32 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 Ashmita, a child laborer living in a constant nightmare, and the house of refuge and hope through the help of authorities and Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported home for abandoned and at-risk children.

It burned. Ashmita hurled her exhausted young body into the kitchen. Her eyes stung as she cried out in agony. Chili powder washed off her small cheeks in a red stream as she anxiously tried to recover from the new form of abuse. But the pain in her eyes couldn’t compare to the pain and confusion found in her young, tender heart.

Gospel for Asia founded by Dr. K.P. Yohannan: After the death of her father, Ashmita (pictured) was sent to live with a family as a servant. This became a living nightmare for her. — After the death of her father, Ashmita (pictured) was sent to live with a family as a servant. This became a living nightmare for her.

A Living Nightmare

Ashmita doesn’t remember very much about her life before her father died. In fact, she hardly remembers her father at all. The only thing she remembers is he was ill and couldn’t eat spicy foods, and one day he was gone forever.

After his death, Ashmita and her mother moved into someone else’s house to do domestic housework. After a time, Ashmita’s mom sent her to live with another family as a servant. This became a living nightmare for Ashmita.

From morning to night, she washed dishes, mopped floors and sometimes washed clothes. When she couldn’t do her work, they beat her legs with canes and slapped her.

“The house where I was staying . . . I was very much ill-treated,” Ashmita shared. “When everybody [went] to bed after food at night, the house owner used to watch television. While watching the television, she used to ask me to massage her legs. If I am tired, if my hands are hurting, she used to beat me and ask me to massage her properly. One night, when I was massaging her leg, I was very tired and sleepy, and while massaging, I slept off. She went to the kitchen and brought some pepper powder [chili] and put that pepper powder in my eyes.

“Once my mother called me,” Ashmita remembers. “She asked that [woman] whether [I was] around. Then she told lie to my mother, and she replied that ‘Ashmita is sleeping,’ while I was sitting with them. While she was talking to my mother, she motioned me not to speak and be quiet and continue the work I was doing.”

Ashmita’s mother was of no comfort to her daughter. When Ashmita was allowed to talk with her mom over the phone, the young girl cried and pleaded with her, asking her to take her out of the home she lived in. But her mom told her to do whatever they said. Even though her mom was not involved in her life very much, Ashmita missed her terribly and longed to escape the life she was living.

Gospel for Asia founded by Dr. K.P. Yohannan: When the local authorities found out about Ashmita’s situation, they rescued her from life as a child laborer and brought her to a Gospel for Asia-supported home for abandoned and at-risk children. — When the local authorities found out about Ashmita’s situation, they rescued her from life as a child laborer and brought her to a Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported home for abandoned and at-risk children.

House of Refuge, House of Hope

When the local authorities found out about Ashmita’s situation, they rescued her from a life as a child laborer and brought her to a Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported home for abandoned and at-risk children. Now precious Ashmita is safe from abuse, pain and hopelessness. No longer forced to labor, she lives like a child should.

Gospel for Asia founded by Dr. K.P. Yohannan: Ashmita plays with other children her age, bathes, receives daily meals, learns songs and dances with the other girls at the home. She attends school and likes it! — Ashmita plays with other children her age, bathes, receives daily meals, learns songs and dances with the other girls at the home. She attends school and likes it!

Ashmita plays with other children her age, bathes, receives daily meals, learns songs and dances with the other girls at the home. She attends school and likes it! She especially loves the staff who care for her, and the other girls who help her with her studies.

“I like this place so much; I like all these didis (older sisters). They work hard for me and for all of us,” Ashmita shared. “I like this place and I don’t [want] to leave this place and go to any other place or orphanage because of the love and care that we get here.”

Ashmita is thriving under the love she is receiving—love every child longs for.

“The Lord watches over the strangers; He relieves the fatherless and widow.” —Psalm 146:9

Best of all, Ashmita has learned she is safe in the arms of Jesus. He saw her tears and knew the pain she felt in her heart. By His kindness and love, He brought her to this home. His love is found in the staff who daily look after and nurture the children who have been abused, abandoned, misplaced and forgotten, girls just like Ashmita.

Many children, just like Ashmita, experience neglect, abandonment and abuse. Learn how you can help abandoned children by partnering with Gospel for Asia.

Source: Gospel for Asia Featured Article, Young Child Laborer Find New Life

Learn more by reading the Gospel for Asia Special Report on Child Labor: Not Gone, but Forgotten – Millions of Children Trapped between Extreme Poverty and the Profits of Others

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

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

From Attempted Suicide to Healing for Depression

Last updated on: April 23, 2022 at 11:36 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 Utsang, the unexplainable depression unto attempts of self-harm and suicide, and the help from Gospel for Asia (GFA) pastor, bringing deliverance and healing.

tsang sat atop the bus and ordered the driver to stop. The other passengers stared at Utsang while he shook uncontrollably. Then they jumped to his aid when he tried to kill himself. Something was terribly wrong.

Gospel for Asia founded by Dr. K.P. Yohannan: Discussing Utsang, his depression unto attempts of self-harm & suicide, & the help from Gospel for Asia supported pastor, bringing deliverance and healing. — Utsang (pictured) was drowning in depression until Christ brought him into new life.

Unexplainable Depression

One year earlier, Utsang had said goodbye to his wife, Sreva, in their remote village and moved to a large city in search of better work. He found a position in the construction industry that paid much better than the hit-or-miss daily labor jobs his tiny village offered, and everything seemed to be going well.

Then a cloud of unexplainable anxiety moved over his mind. Utsang withdrew from others and lived in turmoil. He took medications for severe depression, but his internal darkness only grew. Work became impossible. Self-harm and suicide attempts came next, until finally, Sreva came to bring him home.

While riding the bus together back to their small village, Utsang started quivering and acting strange. He forced the bus to stop, then tried to commit suicide yet again. The only thing Sreva, and the other passengers knew to do was hold Utsang down to prevent him from harming himself.

A Step Toward Healing

Two women riding the bus realized what was happening to Utsang. They approached Sreva and said, “If you allow us, we want to pray for him. We are Christians, and we pray to God when someone is not feeling well.”

These women attended a nearby church led by one of our pastors Batsal, and their faith set off a chain of miracles in Utsang’s life.

Sreva gave her consent, and the women prayed over Utsang in Jesus’ name, seeking healing and deliverance from his affliction. After 30 minutes of prayer, Utsang calmed down and regained his composure.

The other travelers observed all this and sat shocked by what had transpired. The women shared about the power of Christ and invited Utsang to come to church for more prayer.

Determination Produces Deliverance

Oddly enough, Utsang did not seek more help from Christ right away. First, Utsang visited local witch doctors, but the treatments he tried failed to lift his depression. His fellow villagers grew saddened at his condition and bleak future. Finally, some villagers convinced Utsang to try going to church for more prayer, even though they themselves did not follow Christ. Jesus had helped him on the bus; maybe He would do it again.

Gospel for Asia founded by Dr. K.P. Yohannan: Pastor Batsal and his wife (pictured) generously allowed Utsang and Sreva to live in their home for an entire year while Utsang received God’s healing. — Pastor Batsal and his wife (pictured) generously allowed Utsang and Sreva to live in their home for an entire year while Utsang received God’s healing.

Utsang took their advice and started receiving prayer at Pastor Batsal’s church in a neighboring village. But when other villagers saw him attending church, they tried to stop him. They even forbade Utsang and Sreva from entering any home in the community.

Determined to find healing, Utsang and Sreva would not give in to the pressure from their neighbors. Instead, they left their home and moved to Pastor Batsal’s village. The pastor opened his own home to the rejected couple, and they stayed with him for an entire year.

Gradually, God did a great miracle in Utsang’s life. The peace of God vanquished Utsang’s depression and carried Utsang into a life of joy and hope. Utsang and Sreva both started personal relationships with Christ—and after seeing the change in their father, Utsang’s two grown daughters did as well.

Utsang and Sreva now live in their own home. They consistently worship their merciful Deliverer, who used two faithful women on a bus to point Utsang toward healing.

Read the testimony of a man who found God while riding a motorcycle.

Source: Gospel for Asia Field Report, Rescuers on a Bus

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.

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

Gospel for Asia Provides Defense Against Malaria

Last updated on: April 22, 2021 at 7:29 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 71-year-old widow Bhranti, her struggle against the danger of malaria, and Christmas gift distribution of Gospel for Asia provides defense against malaria through mosquito nets.

n old, tattered net is all that separated 71-year-old Bhranti from the mosquitoes buzzing outside her home. Any one of those pesky insects potentially carried a historically feared disease: malaria.

Danger All Around

Gospel for Asia founded by Dr. K.P. Yohannan: Discussing 71-year-old widow Bhranti, the danger of malaria, and mosquito nets gift distribution of Gospel for Asia providing defense against malaria. — Bhranti, pictured here, no longer has to worry about mosquitoes biting her in the night thanks to the new net she received.

Malaria killed more than 400,000 people worldwide in 2018. The World Health Organization considers mosquito nets among the most important measures taken to combat malaria. Insecticide-treated mosquito nets have helped lower the number of deaths in recent years, and they are the only protection millions of people in Asia have against the harmful disease.

But Bhranti did not have a good net.

Bhranti’s husband passed away more than 10 years ago. All four of her daughters married, leaving the widow by herself. Every night, the ragged net Bhranti used as protection against mosquitoes went over her bed. The older widow desperately needed a new net, but she simply did not possess the money to purchase one.

Blessed with a New Net

Our Pastor Sutak happened to be out ministering one day when he met Bhranti. After conversing with the pastor for a few minutes, Bhranti shared her situation with him. Hearing the widow’s story and seeing her tattered net, Pastor Sutak knew something needed to be done. Before he left Pastor Sutak encouraged Bhranti from God’s Word, saying her needs would be provided for.

By the grace of God, the local church held a Christmas gift distribution in Bhranti’s village later that year. There, the widow was presented with a brand-new mosquito net.

“I am so grateful to the [Gospel for Asia workers] for their love and care and for providing a mosquito net,” Bhranti says. “Now I do not need to worry about buying a mosquito net as I have received a new one.”

Bhranti’s previous fear of contracting malaria is gone, thanks to her new net.

Hear other amazing stories of struggling families in Asia that were aided in their defense against mosquitoes.

One simple way to fight mosquito-borne diseases like malaria, is to consider giving a needy family a simple Mosquito Net. Most households need several nets to protect everyone in the family. Help save them from sickening agony or death from malaria.

Source: Gospel for Asia Field Report, A Defense Against Malaria

Learn more about how generosity can change lives. Through Gospel for Asia (GFA World and it’s affiliates like Gospel for Asia Canada) 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.

Read another Special Report from Gospel for Asia on Fighting Malaria – A Chilling Disease: Mosquito Netting and Malaria Prevention Combat a Parasitic Genius.

Learn more by reading this special report from Gospel for Asia: It Takes Only One Mosquito – to lead to remarkable truths about faith-based organizations and world health.

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