2022-08-25T10:57:34+00:00

WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA)Discussing the great need for solutions like Jesus Wells to combat the water crisis that millions suffer under.

Vimal grew up in an agrarian village where most of the locals were farmers, relying on small ponds to irrigate their fields and sustain their livestock. Women relied on the single water well in the village, almost a mile away, for their daily cooking, bathing and cleaning needs. To get enough water for these tasks, they and their children made four or five trips to the well every day, carrying heavy buckets of water on their heads.

Drought, Death Are Frequent Visitors

“Please pray for several other villages that are going through water crisis,” Vimal shares, “that we will be able to install Jesus Wells like this, in such places … Pray that through this Jesus Well many will see how God loves them and they will experience … God’s faithfulness and God’s loving kindness.”
Vimal

Every March through May, drought settled in Vimal’s area, exasperating their water crisis by drying up the small ponds and turning the fields to dust. No longer able to water their cattle in the little streams and ponds in the fields, Vimal and the other farmers of the village brought their livestock to join the women and children at the well, swelling the line waiting for water.

Bickering often broke out in these long lines because villagers were convinced their own needs were greatest. During the dry season, there was not enough water to go around, and villagers had to forgo bathing and limit cooking. The lack of access to clean water filled the village with tension and illness.

Several years ago, Vimal’s relative became sick because of the unsafe water coming from the well.

“[My relative] complained of stomach pain,” Vimal shares.

“He suffered for more than two months, and the problem started to grow even worse. After two months, he passed away because of stomach pain and, I believe … consuming unsafe water.”

“Please pray for several other villages that are going through water crisis,” Vimal shares, “that we will be able to install Jesus Wells like this, in such places … Pray that through this Jesus Well many will see how God loves them and they will experience … God’s faithfulness and God’s loving kindness.”

Other families suffered loss too. A young boy around 5 years old developed severe diarrhea because of the contaminated water. Not having a hospital close by, the family had to wait until the next morning to see a doctor. The boy was too sick, and the doctors were not able to help him. He passed away.

These difficulties soaked into the fabric of the community, infusing it with a great sense of need.

The First Drops of Hope

“Please pray for several other villages that are going through water crisis,” Vimal shares, “that we will be able to install Jesus Wells like this, in such places … Pray that through this Jesus Well many will see how God loves them and they will experience … God’s faithfulness and God’s loving kindness.”
Pastor Bharit

Pastor Bharit began ministering in Vimal’s village, praying for people and sharing God’s love. He knew the troubles of this community intimately because he grew up there. He brought comfort to deathbeds and encouragement to the weary.

Vimal became the first in his village to join Pastor Bharit in worship and prayer. As Vimal’s heart for the Lord grew, so did his burden for his community. He began asking God to provide good, clean drinking water for the village. As Pastor Bharit’s congregation grew, they joined Vimal in praying for abundant, safe water, trusting God to take care of them in their crisis.

Jesus Wells Pour New Life into Village

After years of praying to the Living Water to provide the daily water they needed, Vimal’s village was scheduled to have a Jesus Well drilled. Vimal was thrilled.

As the congregation, which had grown to more than 100 people, began planning for the Jesus Well, they looked for the best place to put it. They wanted a good location that would be convenient to all the villagers, eliminating the several miles traveled each morning and evening to fetch water.

“Please pray for several other villages that are going through water crisis,” Vimal shares, “that we will be able to install Jesus Wells like this, in such places … Pray that through this Jesus Well many will see how God loves them and they will experience … God’s faithfulness and God’s loving kindness.”

Vimal’s neighbor heard about the planned Jesus Well. Though not a member of Pastor Bharit’s congregation, he donated a portion of his land for the well. Being alongside the road in a central location, it was the perfect spot.

“Because of this Jesus Well we are helped so much,” Vimal says. “My family doesn’t have to walk a far distance … Now the time [spent] fetching water can be invested in any other work.”

The health of the community has improved tremendously. When the Jesus Well was first installed, the community had it tested, at the direction of the local authority, for safety. After testing the water in a lab, the report came back that the water was very pure and safe to drink.

Because of the depth that the Jesus Well was drilled, it did not run dry—even deep into the drought season. The fresh clean water was available to the villagers year-round, right on the roadside in the middle of town.

“Please pray for several other villages that are going through water crisis,” Vimal shares, “that we will be able to install Jesus Wells like this, in such places … Pray that through this Jesus Well many will see how God loves them and they will experience … God’s faithfulness and God’s loving kindness.”

Blessings Flow to Nearby Villages

Word spread to other villages about the pure water available from the Jesus Well, and people now travel several miles to get water from Vimal’s village. As Vimal sees the needs beyond his village, he has begun praying for more Jesus Wells for surrounding communities, so everyone can share in God’s blessings.

Please pray for several other villages that are going through water crisis,” Vimal shares, “that we will be able to install Jesus Wells like this, in such placesPray that through this Jesus Well many will see how God loves them and they will experience … God’s faithfulness and God’s loving kindness.”

Give to help relieve the water crisis


Source: Gospel for Asia Features, Jesus Well Relieves Water Crisis

Read the “Dying of Thirst”: The Global Water Crisis Special Report — The Crucial Quest for Access to Clean Water.

Learn more about how to provide clean water to families and villages through Jesus Wells.

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

Go here to know more about Gospel for Asia: Facebook | Sourcewatch | IntegrityGFA | Lawsuit | YouTube | Instagram

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2022-10-21T19:19:20+00:00

Pastor Shorya knew the Holy Spirit had been speaking to him about going to visit a certain village—a village where he’d been told not to come back. The Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported pastor lived nearby and had gone there several times, offering a message of hope to any who wanted to hear. Some men in the village didn’t want to hear it, though, and they told him he might not survive if he came again. Heeding this threat, Pastor Shorya didn’t return for nine months. But when Pastor Shorya sensed God was telling him he needed to visit that village again, he listened. Soon he found himself confronted by one of the most notorious men in the village: Hitansh, a gangster.

Pastor Shorya hadn’t met Hitansh before, but he had heard enough to fear him.

An Unlikely Ally

Pastor Shorya

“Why did you stop coming to our village?” Hitansh asked Pastor Shorya.

When Pastor Shorya explained that some men had threatened him, Hitansh told him not to worry. He encouraged the pastor to continue visiting the village and said he would make sure no one else bothered him.

Such a guarantee meant a lot coming from a person like Hitansh, whose feared reputation came from his status as a leader of a gang known for robbery, kidnapping and murder. Hitansh’s wife, however, believed in Jesus. She told her husband that the Christians in the village needed Pastor Shorya’s encouragement, so for the sake of his wife, the gangster supported the pastor.

As Pastor Shorya started visiting Hitansh’s village again, a relationship developed between the two men, and he told Hitansh about Jesus and invited him to come to worship services. Hitansh wasn’t interested, though.

Grace in Prison

Hitansh

Hitansh’s life of crime eventually caught up with him. After getting arrested for robbing the police superintendent’s home, he landed in prison for several months. One night he had a dream that reminded him of things Pastor Shorya had shared.

In Hitansh’s dream, he stole a gold chain. As he was running away, a lion approached and swallowed the chain. Then a man from Hitansh’s village appeared.

“Brother, look up,” the man said.

As Hitansh looked up, a cross stood before his eyes.

Hitansh woke up, troubled. He knelt down and prayed, and the next day, a desire burned within him to know about Jesus. He asked his brother to bring him a Bible.

Having failed the fifth-grade multiple times, Hitansh had struggled to read his own language, but now he found himself able to read Scripture clearly. Day by day, God continued to burden his heart as he pored over Bible passages and remembered Pastor Shorya’s words about Christ.

When Hitansh was released from prison, he immediately wanted to talk to Pastor Shorya.

“I have done many sins,” Hitansh said. “Will Jesus Christ forgive me from all my sins? How can I get peace in my heart? In jail, I was remembering your words every day. Show me the way … ”

Pastor Shorya comforted him with words from Scripture, sharing that Jesus would forgive sins. He told Hitansh that Christ was the way to peace.

No Longer a Gangster

That day, Hitansh found peace as he believed in Jesus Christ. Soon, he started attending worship services and prayer meetings at Pastor Shorya’s church. His family members began noticing a change in Hitansh, and they also came to know Christ.

Now, instead of engaging in criminal activity, Hitansh provides for his family by doing masonry and labor work. He also works for Jesus full time, telling others about the God who gave him a second chance.

Hitansh’s transformed life impacted the entire community, sparking an interest in Jesus among more people, encouraging the believers and even touching the hearts of the gang members Hitansh used to work with. Although the other leaders of Hitansh’s gang didn’t feel they could openly make a commitment to Jesus, they began to believe in Him.

As Hitansh continues to grow in his walk with Christ, Pastor Shorya continues to encourage him, sharing insights from God’s Word and teaching him how to live an exemplary life. Hitansh is grateful for how Pastor Shorya has mentored him and other members of his family. Just as he guaranteed, the former gangster continues to support the pastor—but now he does this by inviting people to attend worship services and prayer meetings. Hitansh even serves as the church secretary and treasurer.

Because God reached down to pull a criminal off a treacherous path, an entire community is finding new hope. And He did this through one man who loved a village enough to go back, despite risk to his own life, and through an unlikely ally. Now, Hitansh is no longer a criminal, and he and Pastor Shorya are not just friends—they are brothers.

Sponsor a national missionary like Pastor Shorya


Source: Gospel for Asia Features, The Pastor and the Gangster

Learn more about National Missionaries – the men and women the Lord God is raising up living in Asia to be His ambassadors.

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

Go here to know more about Gospel for Asia: Facebook | Sourcewatch | Integrity | Lawsuit Update | YouTube | 6 Remarkable Facts | 5 Distinctives | Instagram

2022-10-21T19:22:53+00:00

WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA)Discussing the plight of missionaries come wintertime, who live barely protected from the elements, and the immeasurable blessing the gift of winter clothing brings.

Pastor Babar shivered under his thin jacket. He walked up to a group of villagers huddled around a blazing fire in the early morning hours. Warming his hands, the Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported pastor shared a story about Jesus to the chilled figures gathered around the heat of the flames. This joyful story constantly burned in his heart, no matter how cold the weather was outside.

Pastor Babar and the Bible college students felt deep inside their hearts a calling to carry their Lord's love to others, While they shared the love they knew, they encountered many families suffering during the wintertime with insufficient winter clothing and blankets.
Villagers in cold regions in Asia often can be found warming themselves by fires outdoors, as many do not have indoor heating.

Battling Winter Struggles

As the sun rose, villagers in the area where Pastor Babar served would gaze out their windows waiting for the sun’s rays to warm the outdoors. For those with meager winter clothing, it often wouldn’t heat up enough to travel until nearly 10 a.m.

Every morning, Pastor Babar opened his sleepy eyes in the early hours to pray over the day before him. In the wintertime, he read Scripture and prayed while tucked underneath layers of blankets to keep himself from becoming too cold.

“It is very difficult to get up in my house early in the morning because of the cold weather,” Pastor Babar shared. “And unless I have warm water, I cannot brush my teeth, nor can I take a bath or wash myself with cold water. So, I have to heat water…”

Even though there were days when the temperature would drop below freezing, Pastor Babar never stopped his ministry. During those days, he would pull on nearly every piece of warm clothing he owned to face the outdoors. He endured splitting headaches; dry, cracking skin; and the common cold to visit the men and women he pastored.

Pastor Babar and the Bible college students felt deep inside their hearts a calling to carry their Lord's love to others, While they shared the love they knew, they encountered many families suffering during the wintertime with insufficient winter clothing and blankets.
Pastor Babar reads his Bible and prays each morning before he starts his day ministering. In the wintertime he wraps up in a blanket, like this Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported national worker pictured.

Bible College Students Struggle in Winter

In nearly the same climate and region of Asia, Bible college students looked at the teacher in the front of the classroom. Giant puffs of air sporadically appeared throughout the room as the men exhaled. The temperature was freezing, and it was difficult to take notes, as fingers grew numb from the chill. Focusing on the lessons of the day was extremely difficult because of the brain fogginess and lack of solid sleep they experienced caused by the cold weather.

It was a long morning on campus for the students. For some, the sleepless night spent shivering meant they began their days already tired. Others who managed to sleep well enough, moved about in their rooms getting ready for the day. But when it was time to wash their faces and brush their teeth the water was frozen.

The students knew they must get up and serve, but there was a strong temptation to perform outdoor morning chores wrapped up in bedding. Later that day, maybe some of them would go into nearby villages to share the hope they held in their hearts—but not until the sun was fully up.

It has been reported that it is 20 times more likely for someone to die in the cold weather than from the heat. Insufficient winter clothing causes many of these deaths.
It has been reported that it is 20 times more likely for someone to die in the cold weather than from the heat. Insufficient winter clothing causes many of these deaths.

Willing Hearts to Serve No Matter the Temperature

Pastor Babar and the Bible college students felt deep inside their hearts a calling to carry their Lord’s love to others, even though they had to face the inconveniences of the cold. It was a love too good to withhold. While they shared the love they knew, they encountered many families suffering during the wintertime with insufficient winter clothing and blankets. For many laborers, winter made working for daily survival incredibly difficult, and oftentimes, they had no extra cash for buying winter garb.

But God saw the needs and difficulties of the villagers, Pastor Babar and the students in the Bible college. People across the world displayed compassion by giving resources for warm coats, hats, scarves and blankets. These warm items were given with joy to the Bible college students, Pastor Babar and other Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported pastors and workers, and some villagers during a Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported Christmas gift distribution.

Winter Clothing: No Longer Hindered By the Cold

With his thick, warm winter coat, Pastor Babar can now venture outdoors at any hour of the morning to meet with believers who need prayer. He can stay outdoors longer and doesn’t need to worry about his health or focus on rushing home each night before the temperature drops and becomes even colder.

The men at the Bible college can bundle up in their winter clothing in the classroom and study more comfortably. As they share the Christmas story with those around them, they don’t have to worry about catching sickness—their bodies are protected by the warmth of their coats.

“I am grateful to those brothers and sisters who saw me in need, who understood how it is difficult to serve the Lord in … cold weather and high altitude,” Pastor Babar said after receiving his new winter coat.

“I am thankful to them from the bottom of my heart. I would like to thank them for thinking about me and giving me this jacket. Now my prayer is that the Lord would bless them and the Lord would use them to encourage the people like us on the mission field.”

Support the faithful men and women who risk their lives in cold climates and also help bring winter clothing and blankets to needy families across Asia today.


Source: Gospel for Asia Features, Waiting for the Sun to Rise

Learn more about National Missionaries – the men and women the Lord God is raising up living in Asia to be His ambassadors.

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

Go here to know more about Gospel for Asia: Facebook | Sourcewatch | Integrity | GFA | Lawsuit | YouTube | Instagram

2022-10-21T19:25:21+00:00

Prina was a living a double-portion of a nightmare… After contracting leprosy, her husband was murdered in a land dispute, leaving Prina a quarantined widow. As the physical symptoms of Prina’s leprosy spread, so did the news of her disease among her relatives and other villagers. People, including her family, kept their distance and stopped interacting with her out of fear of contracting the disease. Although leprosy is one of the least infectious diseases, the lack of education about it in communities like Prina’s leads to fear and shunning—adding emotional distress to those already suffering.

Prina was banished to one room of her son’s house, where no one dared to enter. The only interaction she had with her family was when someone came to her door to deliver her daily meal.

Prina was a living a double-portion of a nightmare... After contracting leprosy, her husband was murdered in a land dispute, leaving Prina a quarantined widow. As the physical symptoms of Prina's leprosy spread, so did the news of her disease among her relatives and other villagers.

Hope Visits

One day, while Prina lay outside, she met Soma, the wife of a local Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported pastor who had a church in the village.

When Soma and some women from the local Women’s Fellowship saw Prina, they stopped to offer prayer and comfort. Soma’s heart went out to this mother who had been abandoned to the shame of leprosy. Soma tried to talk to Prina, but fear and disgust mingled in Prina’s eyes, and she refused to engage with Soma and the other ladies.

Being a devoted follower of her religion, Prina despised Christians, just as the villagers despised her. Compounding her aversion was fear of even more ostracization by the villagers if she talked with Christians.

As the ladies silently prayed for Prina and made a move to leave, something in Prina shifted.

“No one likes me because I am a leprosy patient,” mourned Prina.

“Even my own relatives and children hate me—they don’t come near to me. For whom should I live now? I do not want to live and want to end my life.”

Soma felt Prina’s desperate anguish as the hurting woman shared her experience of rejection. The pastor’s wife encouraged Prina from the Word of God.

“If no one loves you, there is one God, who loves you more than anyone, and He wants to heal you from your disease. Do you want to know who that person is? That is our Lord Jesus.”

Hope dawned in Prina’s heart. She wanted to know more about this Lord Jesus who loved her. The desire for love and acceptance opened doors to Prina’s heart that were previously fastened shut. Soma shared more with Prina and invited her to join them for worship services.

Pursuing the God of Healing

Prina shyly stepped through the threshold of the house of worship. Although she rarely went in public for fear of insults and abuse, the hope that had sprouted from Soma’s encouraging words gave Prina the boldness she needed to enter the building.

The women at the church showered love on Prina. After service, the congregation gathered around her to pray for healing. Later that week, at a Women’s Fellowship gathering, Prina once again experienced acceptance and fervent prayers for healing.

Prina felt so much joy, and her faith in the Lord began to increase. Slowly, Prina noticed changes, not only in her heart and mind but in her body as well. The pain in her extremities began to subside. Gradually, the marks of her disease faded. After a few months of steadfast prayer, the Lord touched Prina’s body and brought complete healing. She was filled with joy, and praises flowed from her heart to her lips.

Prina felt so much joy, and her faith in the Lord began to increase. Slowly, Prina noticed changes, not only in her heart and mind but in her body as well. The pain in her extremities began to subside. Gradually, the marks of her disease faded. After a few months of steadfast prayer, the Lord touched Prina's body and brought complete healing. She was filled with joy, and praises flowed from her heart to her lips.

Prina’s family was shocked at the miracle in her life. They did not know that Jesus had such power and soon joined her at church to praise the God who does the impossible. Mother, son and the entire household are now actively engaged in the local church.

“I am so thankful to Sister Soma who came and visited me when I was alone and prayed for me,” Prina says.

“I am extremely thankful to God, who has healed me from this dangerous disease. I had no hope for my life, but God made the impossible possible. I will follow Him the remaining days of my life. Thank you, God.”

Prina’s house was completely transformed. No longer a place of seclusion and pain, her home is filled with love and joy, rooted in God’s goodness. Her healing has astonished the entire village, which witnessed her transformation.

Loving Those Affected with Leprosy Disease All Across Asia

All across Asia, many who have been shunned because of leprosy—like Prina—have experienced the love of Jesus through Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported workers. These servants of God accept the despised and rejected with open arms.

“What an opportunity we have to serve these people,” expresses Dr. Daniel Johnson, the coordinator for Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported medical ministry on the field.

“The ones who are unwelcome, out of sight and thought to be cursed—we have a chance to welcome them, bring them to the light and bless them, all because of the love of Christ.”

Join GFA in ministering with loving hands to those rejected because of the marks of leprosy. Together, we can bring hope and belonging to the outcast and forgotten.


Source: Gospel for Asia Features, The Curse of Leprosy Cured

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

Read more in Gospel for Asia’s Special Report: Leprosy—Misunderstandings and Stigma Keep it Alive – Although It’s a Curable Worldwide Problem.

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

Go here to know more about Gospel for Asia: Facebook | Sourcewatch | Integrity | Flickr | GFA | Lawsuit | Instagram | YouTube

2022-10-29T05:18:03+00:00

WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA) – Discussing about the behind-the-scenes missionaries who, although they are far from the mission field, are vital to make ministry possible in Asia.

The morning sun shines over the Mumbai slums. It is the beginning of a new day, and Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported pastor Marty reaches into his bag and pulls out some literature. He scans the dirty faces of slum dwellers and realizes today might be the day they could understand how completely they are loved by God. Across the globe, as the sun shines on the small town of Wills Point, Texas, Jonathan stares at his computer in front of him.

He glances over at the pictures on his office wall and remembers the masses around the world who are waiting to know they are loved. Both men have completely different tasks and roles, but they understand something profound—they couldn’t do their job without each other.

Living a Fairly ‘Normal’ Christian Life

When the eldest of their four daughters was 4 years old, they welcomed Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported Bridge of Hope children and missionaries into their lives through prayer and sponsorship. Jonathan and Erica wanted their children to grow up understanding the needs of others.

When you link your life with behind-the-scenes missionaries, you get the opportunity to stay more connected with the Lord's work in Asia. Someday in heaven, we all will worship the Lamb of God together, and we will see fully how Christ has connected our lives with our brothers and sisters around the world!
Ever since their four beautiful daughters were young, Jonathan and Erica have led their family in pursuit of serving the Lord together.

“They were familiar with the idea,” Jonathan says, “that there are people outside of [their] own little world who have a totally different set of challenges, and people who don’t know about Christ.”

This worldview found its way into their family’s everyday life and holidays, shaping rich family traditions. When the Christmas season came around each year, their daughters would pour over the pages of GFA’s Christmas Gift Catalog, flipping through the pages filled with pictures of chickens, goats, Bibles and blankets. Their house stirred with excitement as each bright-eyed girl got to choose an item to bless a person or family in Asia.

A Change in the Norm

As the Lord continued to press missions on Jonathan’s heart, a revelation struck him: Why not serve in the place where they had already been investing for the past nine years?

After raising monthly support for their livelihood, Jonathan and his family packed up their home and moved to Texas to join GFA’s staff as behind-the-scenes missionaries. They were ready to serve the Lord together once again and in an even greater capacity.

A Beautiful Link Between Two Worlds

With passion and excitement, Jonathan started serving in the IT department at the Gospel for Asia (GFA) office in Wills Point, Texas. Through his work, he was able to equip his fellow behind-the-scenes missionaries with the computer systems they needed to accomplish their jobs in helping missionaries in Asia, like Pastor Marty.

As Jonathan helped equip the Texas office with the systems needed to communicate with donors and sponsors, Pastor Marty and many other Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported workers talked with broken families about the love of Jesus. With Jonathan and the other behind-the-scenes missionaries doing their part in their work, Pastor Marty and fellow ministry workers could more effectively do their part.

Much the Same, yet So Different

Although Jonathan worked with people and computers as he had in his secular job, the differences of working in a ministry impacted his walk with the Lord. Whereas before he never thought to pray for a broken computer server or start a meeting in prayer, he now found himself doing these very things.

Once, when Jonathan had broken the entire office’s email system, it disabled the behind-the-scenes missionaries for several hours. To his amazement, Jonathan didn’t receive the same kind of treatment he would have experienced in the business world, with his bosses telling him how much money and time he was wasting. Instead, people stopped by his office to encourage and reassure him that they were praying for him. When Jonathan finally got the system working again, a slew of emails filled his inbox. They were from folks around the office thanking him for all his hard work on getting the problem fixed.

It was this kind of grace that Jonathan had never experienced before, and it occurred to him that the Gospel for Asia (GFA) office had a completely different atmosphere. Instead of pressures to do everything correctly the first time, there was love and grace shown by his coworkers. Instead of stress, there was peace as problems were brought to the Lord in prayer.

“I realized I am in a different world here,” Jonathan says.

“Everything matters so much more, but mistakes are handled with so much more grace. And both are tied to the heart and the attitude behind it.”

Serving Together in Joy and Hardship

But serving the Lord is not always simple or pleasant, and ministry is no easy journey. Just as Jesus warned His disciples about the trials and troubles that would come their way if they followed Him, Jonathan and his family have experienced this reality as they have labored with Gospel for Asia (GFA). National workers like Marty have experienced trials and troubles, too. Although persecution may look different in Asia, brothers and sisters around the world face opposition together, knowing that serving the Lord does not come without a heavy price at times.

“It had never occurred to me,” Jonathan reflects,

“That when you give your life at a ministry, you are not just doing the glorious and admirable thing of becoming a missionary, and everyone is going to applaud you. You are joining yourself to a ministry that will, at some point, be the target of criticism, and when it is, you also will be the target of criticism. … That was both the hardest thing for me to swallow and the source of most growth for me. … I had to learn, it’s more about obeying God and trusting Him to bring fruit out of it than it is the applause of people.”

The Eternal Purpose

With an understanding of their calling and a commitment to the Lord, Jonathan, Erica and their family stand together as one with Pastor Marty and other missionaries around the world, serving others for the sake of Christ.

“It’s more of a lifestyle and less of a job,” Jonathan says.

Even when they feel tired, weak and unworthy or when criticism comes their way, Jonathan and Erica remain faithful to where God has led them.

“We are here because we are about the business of allowing people who have never heard the hope of Christ to hear of Christ,” Jonathan states.

“We are also here specifically because this is the place that God connected us to 13 years ago and kept us connected to and specifically led us to. So, it’s both the eternal purpose and the specific circumstances working together. But it’s not a matter of preference, or we wouldn’t last.”

When you link your life with behind-the-scenes missionaries, you get the opportunity to stay more connected with the Lord’s work in Asia. Someday in heaven, we all will worship the Lamb of God together, and we will see fully how Christ has connected our lives with our brothers and sisters around the world!

Be a part of changing the world today by aiding the needs of our brothers and sisters here in the United States.


Source: Gospel for Asia Features, ‘More of a Lifestyle, Less of a Job’

Learn more about the Mission Support Team – the behind-the-scenes missionaries who serve in Gospel for Asia’s administrative offices. Although they serve in offices far from the physical mission field of Asia, their role is vital to the ministry.

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

Go here to know more about Gospel for Asia: Facebook | Sourcewatch | Integrity | Flickr | GFA | Lawsuit |Instagram | YouTube

2022-10-29T05:20:01+00:00

WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA) – Discussing the grave need for national missionaries, like the Good Samaritan in Jesus’ parable, who fills in the gap of health care to the poor and needy with the love of God.

Marut’s heart raced as his feet tore down the dark road in front of him. It had been a weary day of labor, and now his lean body strained as he flew from the wild dogs closing the gap between them. These were not domesticated animals. These were scavenger dogs, grown cruel by struggle for survival.

As the pack drew closer, Marut had to make a quick decision. He scanned the horizon before him looking for a way of escape. He saw an electric pole some distance ahead. He altered course, bolting directly toward the pole. As Marut reached it, he scampered up the metal pole just out of reach of the vicious pack of dogs.

Just like the Good Samaritan in Jesus' parable, who could not pass by a man bruised and beaten in the streets, local pastors and field workers make it part of their ministries to care for the physical needs of those in their communities.
Marut with his wife and two children.

From One Threat to Another

Marut climbed further up the pole, creating a more comfortable distance between him and the growling hounds below. As he inched toward the inky night sky, an invisible danger dangled just above, more destructive than the danger below. While Marut heaved his exhausted body up, a broken power line flicked his chest. A bolt of electricity engulfed his body, flinging Marut off the pole and onto the ground.

Marut lay immobile with huge sections of his body burnt and one leg broken. The dogs barked wildly around him, alerting nearby residents. Some sympathetic bystanders rushed him to a hospital.

A Desperate Phone Call

As Pastor Daha stood at the bus stop, his phone buzzed in his pocket, calling his attention from the masses around him to the single unknown number scrolling across his phone’s screen. When he answered, a pleading voice urged Pastor Daha to come to a nearby village to see a man who was critically wounded and close to death. Pastor Daha gathered his things and hurried to the nearby village where the injured man lived.

Following the instructions given by the person over the phone, Pastor Daha approached a small building. Peering through the doorway of the simple one-room home, the stench of injured flesh enveloped Pastor Daha like a cloud. He knew the smell of these wounds intimately—decaying skin common among those with leprosy.

A Good Samaritan Arrives

Marut lay in anguish on his bed as his wife and children looked on hopelessly. He had spent 10 days in the hospital and had been released two days prior. His family despaired for his life.

God brought Pastor Daha to Marut at the critical juncture between deterioration and recovery. Though Marut’s wounds were not life threatening with proper treatment, his family did not know how to care for him, so he was quickly approaching death.

  • In the United States, for every 10,000 people, there are 117.8 skilled health care workers
  • In Southeast Asia there is a regional average of 25.7 skilled health care workers per 10,000 people.
  • In Bangladesh there are only six skilled health care workers for every 10,000 people in the country. That’s one doctor or nurse for every 1,600 people.

How can one doctor see that many people? The answer? He can’t.

GFA-supported national worker provides medical care to a leprosy patient.
Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported national worker provides medical care to a leprosy patient.

Meeting a Desperate Need for Medical Care

Pastor Daha cleans and applies medicine to Marut's burns. Before Pastor Daha's medical care, Marut's family feared for his life.
Pastor Daha cleans and applies medicine to Marut’s burns. Before Pastor Daha’s medical care, Marut’s family feared for his life.

Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported pastors and workers are uniquely present in these communities filled with great need. Just like the Good Samaritan in Jesus’ parable, who could not pass by a man bruised and beaten in the streets, local pastors and field workers make it part of their ministries to care for the physical needs of those in their communities.

While not skilled health care workers, these pastors and field workers have two essential qualities to help meet health needs in poor and rural areas: They are present and willing.

What Good Does a Good Samaritan Do?

While countries work hard to address the health care needs of their rural communities on a national level, Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported field workers address the issue at a grassroots level, working with leprosy patients, conducting medical camps and providing health care training to women.

Mostly, these Good Samaritans find plenty of opportunities to meet health needs in the local communities where they minister. Because Pastor Daha was serving in Marut’s area, he was available to provide the medical attention Marut desperately needed after being discharged from the hospital—probably saving his life!

Pastor Daha continued to visit Marut regularly and Marut grew grateful for the sincerity and faithfulness of Pastor Daha. He remembered many times in the past hearing about the God that Pastor Daha worshiped but without any interest. Now, as the pastor lovingly attended his wounds, wounds that even his family members were repulsed by, Marut’s heart became knit together with this man of God.

Filling the Gap Left by Inadequate Health Care

The World Health Organization reports,

“These [national health coverage] failings result in very large numbers of preventable deaths and disabilities in each country; in unnecessary suffering; in injustice, inequality and denial of basic rights of individuals. The impact is most severe on the poor. … The poor also emerge as receiving the worst levels of responsiveness—they are treated with less respect for their dignity, given less choice of service providers and offered lower-quality amenities.”

Although health coverage is becoming available to more people who would otherwise not be able to afford treatment, GFA’s national missionaries are present to offer the dignity, responsiveness and love that have not yet reached many poor rural families. The Great Physician calls us to action.

Be a Good Samaritan today. Sponsor a national missionary who often is the one to fill the gap of health care to the poor and needy, motivated by the love of the Great Physician Himself.


Source: Gospel for Asia Features, From Death to Life at the Hands of a Good Samaritan

Learn more about National Missionaries – the men and women the Lord God is raising up living in Asia to be His ambassadors.

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2022-08-12T22:26:53+00:00

WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA) Part#3 Special Report on the aftermath of acute gender imbalance: Discussing the horrendous reality of 100 million missing women worldwide.

A Little Girl’s Future Transformed

A beautiful story from Gospel for Asia’s archives tells about the day a cook at a Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported Bridge of Hope center noticed an elderly woman begging on the street. The cook was distressed because the older woman had a little girl, filthy and dressed in rags, in tow.

Knowing that adult beggars will often use children as bait to receive monies, then pocket the funds and do nothing for the child, the cook challenged the older woman, “Why are you exploiting this child?”

To the cook’s surprise, the older woman broke into tears and wept.

Daya, pictured at age 8 and age 15. Once among beggars in the street, she is now a thriving teen finding her place in this world and walking in her faith.
Daya, pictured at age 8 and age 15. Once among beggars in the street, she is now a thriving teen finding her place in this world and walking in her faith.

She wasn’t a professional beggar at all, but the grandmother of the little girl, Daya, who had been abandoned by both her mother and father. Without income and desperate, the grandmother had begun begging at bus stops, train stations and on the streets. With a change of heart, the cook invited the grandmother to enroll Daya in the Bridge of Hope center, which was in a building wedged between a railway station and a slum, conveniently available to children without a future.

The little girl was enrolled in the center but was so filthy that other parents complained. The Bridge of Hope staff conducted an intensive scrub session to relieve the child of dirt and germs and to replace the same filthy clothes she wore each day with clean clothes. They introduced her to soap and taught her to use it when she washed.

As the report states, “Daya’s future hung in the balance. If rejected from the Bridge of Hope center, she would return to the streets as one of the hundreds of thousands of child beggars in Asia. At some point, she would likely join the 20 to 30 million other boys and girls who are exploited as child laborers.”

The staff was determined to see that Daya thrived in Bridge of Hope, and she grew up to be an educated young woman. However, millions of other children never get that chance.

These are the hands of a child, covered in filth from doing construction work. Thousands of children, just like this one, can’t go to school because they are caught in bonded labor. Some 31 million girls of primary-school age are not in school. Seventeen million of these are expected to never enter school.
These are the hands of a child, covered in filth from doing construction work. Thousands of children, just like this one, can’t go to school because they are caught in bonded labor. Some 31 million girls of primary-school age are not in school. Seventeen million of these are expected to never enter school.

Child Exploitation

In a fact sheet on girls’ education, UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) explains:

  • Some 31 million girls of primary-school age are not in school. Seventeen million of these are expected to never enter school.
  • Some 34 million female adolescents are missing from secondary schools, which often offer vocational skills that are essential for procuring future jobs.
  • Two-thirds of the 774 million illiterate people in the world are female.
    Thousands of these children can’t go to school because they are caught in bonded labor.

“It is doubtful they’ve ever held a toothbrush or a bar of soap; they’ve probably never eaten an ice-cream cone or cradled a doll,” Gospel for Asia (GFA) states. “The child laborers of Asia toil in fireworks, carpet and match factories; quarries and coal mines; rice fields, tea plantations and pastures; and even brothels. Because they are exposed to dust, toxic fumes, pesticides and disease, their health is compromised, and their bodies can be crippled from carrying heavy weights.”

Worse still, these children could be entrapped in prostitution.

These young women are prostitutes in the red-light district; some most likely entrapped since childhood.
These young women are prostitutes in the red-light district; some most likely entrapped since childhood.

According to Reuters, “Of an estimated 20 million commercial prostitutes in India, 16 million women and girls are victims of sex trafficking, according to [data gatherers].”

Prostitution is not illegal in India so the chances of victimization are mind-blowing. In addition, many impoverished families sell their daughters to opportunists who promise a better life for their children.

ABC News reports, “Aid organizations estimate that 20 to 65 million Indians have already passed through the hands of human traffickers at one point in their lives. Ninety percent of them remain within India’s national borders, and the majority are female and under the age of 18.”

One social worker, Palavi, explained, “Human trafficking works because the victims are afraid and cannot communicate. … Many of them have children who live in constant danger of also being sold or sexually abused. They grow up under the beds where their mothers were robbed of their dignity.”

When census data is gathered, these women, mothers and little girls are not in their villages, local communities or urban settlements. They are hidden by sex slave traders (but made available to the men who seek them out).

Let me ask again the question Jesus asked Simon the Pharisee, “Do you see this woman (or child, or little girl or teenager)?”


I have a granddaughter named Eliana who is 10 years old. Four mornings a week, I pick up Eliana and her brother, Nehemiah (8), to drive them to school. Their younger sister, Anelise (5), is picked up by the preschool bus. My driving effort is to help out their mother, who was married to our son Jeremy Mains. Our son, her husband and the children’s father, died five years ago at age 42 of blastic mantle cell lymphoma.

Angela, my daughter-in-law, is raising the children by herself while holding a full-time job as the director of a local community-outreach organization. She has just completed her dissertation and received a doctorate in adult education. Nevertheless, even with remarkable mothers, studies show that children raised without fathers are vulnerable. So my husband and I live close, are on call when babysitters fall through and try to do a lot of one-on-ones with our grandchildren.

Though I watch these grandchildren grow with an attentive heart, I am certain my granddaughter Eliana will never worry about entering bonded labor or be forced to go begging on the streets. It is impossible for me, even for the sake of achieving a frightening empathy, to impose through my imagination the horror of the lives of some 20 to 65 million trafficked females on these precious little girls I love.

These Bridge of Hope students look happy during class time at GFA’s Bridge of Hope program. Education can protect a girl from exploitation—and redirect her future. This is a primary solution to begin changing the statistics of 100 million missing women.
These Bridge of Hope students look happy during class time at GFA’s Bridge of Hope program. Education can protect a girl from exploitation—and redirect her future. This is a primary solution to begin changing the statistics of 100 million missing women.

Education as a Deterrent

Education can protect a girl from exploitation—and redirect her future. An educated girl can read. She can find work. She can get training to become a teacher, a doctor or a policewoman, for instance. She can tutor other children. A social system begins to change slowly, very slowly, one educated girl by one educated girl.

The latest statistics regarding GFA’s supported work with women in 2018 include:

290,753

women received free health care training

8,812

sewing machines distributed as a means to obtain work as a seamstress

61,880

illiterate women learned to read and write

11,000+

women desperate for jobs received vocational training

Educating girls is a primary solution to begin changing the statistics of 100 million missing women. The Global Partnership for Education maintains, “The power of girls’ education on national economic growth is undeniable: a one percentage point increase in female education raises the average gross domestic product (GDP) by 0.3 percentage points and raises annual GDP growth rates by 0.2 percentage points.”

The World Bank stresses that girls’ education goes beyond getting into school. It is also about ensuring they learn and feel safe in school. One research study in Haiti indicated, “One in three Haitian women (ages 15 to 49) has experienced physical and/or sexual violence, and that of women who received money for sex before turning 18 years old, 27 percent reported schools to be the most common location for solicitation.”

Through Bridge of Hope, Gospel for Asia (GFA) offers child sponsorships for the neediest impoverished children whose families are caught in the cycle of poverty and are unable to provide education for their offspring. The sponsorship amount is $35 per month per child. This educational ministry sees that some 70,000 children (both boys and girls) are given a daily meal, regular medical checkups and training in basic hygiene.

What can we—those of us who have hearts that beat with concern about the unbelievable evils of this world—do about the women worldwide who face discrimination and violence? How can anyone make a dent in a problem with such magnified proportionality? How can that horrific statistic—100 million missing women—be conquered, overcome, defeated, reduced or even eliminated?

What Can We Do? How Can We Conquer the Horrific 100 Million Missing Women Statistic?

What can we—those of us who have hearts that beat with concern about the unbelievable evils of this world—do about the 100 million missing women worldwide who face discrimination and violence? How can anyone make a dent in a problem with such magnified proportionality? How can that horrific statistic—100 million missing women—be conquered, overcome, defeated, reduced or even eliminated?

Well, there are some things we can do, small as they seem, but mighty nevertheless in their possibility:

We can sponsor girls (and boys) so they get educated through programs like GFA’s Bridge of Hope Program. And if $35 a month is too much for you (and it is for some compassionate people), invite your small group, Sunday School class, men’s softball league, neighborhood coffee-klatch or members of your extended family to pool funds.

Think about this question: Why do more people not see this inequality and neglect, not grieve for the 100 million missing women and girls who have experienced such hardships and take action to be part of the solution? Then read the book of Luke and think about the societal shift that begins with women’s encounters with Jesus.

Remind yourself of Christ’s question: “Do you see this woman?” Write it out on a card, and then use it as a bookmark in the books you read or paste it on your bathroom mirror. Write out a prayer, like the one I included in the beginning of this article, but adapt it to this horrific dilemma: Lord, what do You want me to do about the masses of women? And if you are not a praying person, send some discontented energy into the atmosphere any way you feel fit. Just don’t forget.

Let us conclude by going back to Jesus, except now He is not eating at the table of the VIPs. He is bloody, tortured, hanging from a cross and nearing death. The Gospel of John describes the inhumanity of the Roman soldiers and the crowds standing beneath the cross.

“Now there stood by the cross of Jesus His mother, and His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother, ‘Woman, behold your son!’ Then He said to the disciple, ‘Behold your mother!’ And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.”

Concern for the widow. Concern for the women.

“Look at this woman. Do you now see your mother?”

So, let us also be about this work in the world.

Oh, Lord, help us to care for every human with hearts that beat like Your heart beats for them. And help us, please help us, no matter our gender, to see the women.


Read the rest of Gospel for Asia’s Special Report on 100 Million Missing Women & the Aftermath of Acute Gender Imbalance here: Part 1Part 2

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.

This Special Report article originally appeared on GFA.org


Read more on the 100 million missing women dilemma on gender imbalance and violence against women on Patheos.

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

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2022-10-29T05:22:21+00:00

Madin finally had to leave. Being from the lowest class, he had suffered exploitation and mistreatment at the hands of his upper-class neighbors all his life. He couldn’t handle the abuse anymore. Seeking peace for his family, he knew they could no longer live in their village. In the face of such hardships, Madin moved his family to a big city, hoping for more opportunities in a place where class was not the sole identity of an individual. Having no connections, the harassed family moved to a large slum within an overcrowded city. All over the world, millions of disenfranchised people have ended up in similar slum dwellings. In 2017, about 900 million people lived in slums across the globe.

Having no connections, the harassed family moved to a large slum within an overcrowded city. All over the world, millions of disenfranchised people have ended up in similar slum dwellings. In 2017, about 900 million people lived in slums across the globe.

Hope Dawns in the Slum with Message of Acceptance

Madin worried about his children. He had escaped ridicule, but poverty had followed him. He seemed doomed to live as an outcast with his children inheriting his fate.

Then, one day, Madin heard about a God who loved him. Amaan, a first-year Bible college student, went to Madin’s slum to share about God’s great love and forgiveness of sins. As Amaan walked through the muddy, narrow lanes of the slums, his heart broke for the people living in these conditions. He wanted to help them any way he could to improve their lives. But what could he, a poor, Bible college student, do?

When Amaan met Madin, he shared God’s Word with this discouraged father. Madin listened attentively to the Bible college student share about the God who accepted them, even though they had always felt so worthless and disposable.

In Need of a Miracle

Amaan faithfully taught weekly literacy classes in the slum. One week, as he made his way to the slum, he passed by a mountain of garbage and found a small boy rolling in the refuse, covered in dirt.

Shocked, Amaan approached the boy and recognized Madin’s son, Savith. Amaan quickly found the boy’s parents to ask what happened. Madin shared how, a week before, Savith began acting strangely and kept wanting to go to the garbage pile. They realized he was being afflicted by an evil spirit, so Madin and Ramana took him to a religious leader to perform a sacrifice on behalf of their son. But Savith continued to get worse throughout the week.

His distraught parents didn’t know what to do. They couldn’t afford to take him to get medical attention. They hoped he would somehow heal on his own. Feeling helpless, Madin and Ramana left their son to roll in the garbage heaps.

Miracle Leads to Worshiping Community

Amaan moved closer to the flailing boy. He reached out his hands and offered a simple prayer to Jesus. Savith immediately sat up and looked at Amaan. Encouraged, Amaan talked to the boy, but Savith did not respond. Amaan prayed again, and the tormenting spirit left. Savith stood up, perfectly healthy.

“We prayed and went to the temple … but nothing happened to him,” the parents explained. “However, you have prayed, and this boy is healed now.” Seeing their beloved son restored filled Madin and Ramana with joy. They encouraged Amaan to visit them frequently.
Astonishment washed over Madin and Ramana. They did not know the power of God before that moment.

“We prayed and went to the temple … but nothing happened to him,” the parents explained. “However, you have prayed, and this boy is healed now.”

Seeing their beloved son restored filled Madin and Ramana with joy. They encouraged Amaan to visit them frequently.

“Our door is open for you all the time,” they told Amaan.

News of the little boy’s healing astounded many neighbors in the slum. Intrigued, many came to Madin’s house to hear Amaan share from God’s Word, and they learned more about this God who had shown Himself so powerful.

No longer rejected, Madin now knows acceptance from his Heavenly Father and the love of fellow worshipers—his new eternal family.

In 2018, residents in more than 900 slums heard about the love of Christ through Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported workers. Slum ministry is unique and requires creativity on the part of national workers. They meet people in desperate and sometimes life-threatening situations. These compassionate men and women seek to minister to people’s physical needs while also ministering to their spiritual needs.

As governments grapple with how to provide housing and services for the exploding populations in their cities, Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported workers are bringing hope today into the litter-strewn paths of hundreds of shantytowns across Asia. Thousands of people have found hope in Jesus for today and security for eternity.


2022-10-29T05:25:52+00:00

If you had a stomachache or a headache, what would you do? Probably take some pain relievers or go see your doctor. But what if you didn’t have those available? What if you didn’t have medicine and couldn’t afford to go to the doctor, and the nearest health care center was located miles away? This is a struggle thousands of people in Asia face every day. Gospel for Asia’s medical ministry is trying to do something about this! That’s why Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported workers organize free medical camps throughout Asia. These medical camps bring skilled doctors, medical staff, medicine and health education to places where people rarely have the opportunity to visit a doctor.

In October, a Gospel for Asia (GFA) behind-the-scenes missionary named Tony had the opportunity to visit one of these medical camps. Below, Tony shares firsthand what he experienced.

Tony (pictured third from the left) had the opportunity to visit a medical camp in October 2018.
Tony (pictured third from the left) had the opportunity to visit a medical camp in October 2018.

“It was a warm Wednesday morning, and we were on our way to visit a free medical camp organized by a Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported worker. I have never been to a free medical camp before and didn’t give it too much thought, other than I was looking forward to the experience. But I was in for a surprise.

“After an hour drive, we arrived in a very remote area. Everything for the clinic was set up right next to the local church building. Right away, I noticed there were more than 200 people lined up waiting for the clinic to start, and everyone from infants to the elderly waited patiently. As the word about this medical camp spread, more people gathered. I was surprised that people were waiting and still coming before it even started.

“Many of the villagers did not have the resources to see a doctor. Even if they did, the nearest medical center was more than 60 miles away, and they would have had to travel on foot to get there. This makes it very difficult for parents who want to help their children or for aging parents to get treatment when they get sick.

Everyone from infants to the elderly gathered for the medical camp.
Everyone from infants to the elderly gathered for the medical camp.

“Before the camp started, the team thanked everyone for coming and opened the day with prayer. Four doctors had graciously volunteered their time.

“While there, a realization hit me: Anytime I need something simple, like Tylenol or even an antibiotic, I can just go to the store or see a doctor and get whatever I need to feel better. I wondered if this was the first time many of these people had the opportunity to get their blood pressure checked, get their medical questions answered or get the appropriate medicines they needed.

“I wondered if this was the first time many of these people had the opportunity to get their blood pressure checked, get their medical questions answered or get the appropriate medicines they needed.” —Tony

“Several lines were formed—each person would see the doctor and then go to another line to get a prescription, if needed. Rather than sending these patients to a pharmacy, the camp had organized the ability to give them the prescribed medicines they needed, and this helped patients to avoid additional travel.

“Several hours later, as we were wrapping up our time at the camp, there were still many people to be seen, and the doctors continued their work. My gratitude for this area of ministry grew—I knew it was very important for the villagers because it was the first medical camp ever done in their village.

GFA’s medical ministry is helping thousands of people in Asia who need medical care—and it’s all motivated by demonstrating the love of Christ. While thousands have received help, thousands more are still in need of medical care and support.
Patients were able to get the medication they needed right there at the medical camp

“There was excitement and anticipation in the camp for everyone involved, and it was a joy for me to experience. This was a humbling time for me, and it showed me conveniences in my life that I take for granted. I learned that simple medicines and treatment I can easily obtain are not the same for everyone in the world.

“It is true that showing kindness in this way is a practical way to show God’s love. Having this free medical camp was such a blessing to everyone who was able to be a part of it.”

Gospel for Asia’s medical ministry is helping thousands of people in Asia who need medical care—and it’s all motivated by demonstrating the love of Christ. While thousands have received help, thousands more are still in need of medical care and support.


Source: Gospel for Asia Features, Simple Medicines, Practical Kindness

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

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

Go here to know more about Gospel for Asia: Facebook | Sourcewatch | Integrity | Flickr | GFA | Lawsuit

2022-10-29T05:28:41+00:00

The first time Tanul tried alcohol, it must have burned his throat and boiled in his belly. Unpleasant as it was, it would not be the last time he put his lips around the bottle. In fact—like the poverty he was born into—it became his constant companion. By the time Tanul was a teenager, he drank regularly. Like most young men in his rural village, Tanul filled his body with alcohol to erase the shame of poverty from his heart and mind. This destructive habit would follow Tanul as he began to build a life for himself.

When Tanul married, he did not lay aside his drinking. As the burden of caring for a family increased, so did his time with the bottle. Children came, and Tanul was unable to provide adequate food for his family or cover school fees—making a hopeful future for them impossible. Tanul was stuck in a vicious cycle, and the more he drank, the less hire-able he became.

The first time Tanul tried alcohol, it must have burned his throat and boiled in his belly. Unpleasant as it was, it would not be the last time he put his lips around the bottle. In fact—like the poverty he was born into—it became his constant companion.
In many rural villages plagued by poverty, men gather to gamble and drink in the absence of work.

Tanul’s journey is not an isolated incident. It’s a problem all over the world; alcoholism and poverty go hand-in-hand. Though it is not proven that one always leads to the other, there is an ugly, symbiotic relationship. As alcohol consumption increases, employability decreases. While employment dries up, many use drinking to ease the shame, which exacerbates the cycle. Often, the only work left for alcoholics in Asia is manual labor for which they are hired on a day-by-day basis. Because of the difficulty—and sometimes the impossibility—for the poor to rise above these employment options, many turns to alcohol to ease poverty’s sting. The stress of not knowing if you will find work each day inflates the problem.

Abuse Multiplied: Poverty, Alcohol, and…

As Tanul’s family fell apart, another near relation to the twin problems of alcoholism and poverty arrived: domestic violence. Coming home intoxicated and angry, Tanul began abusing his wife and children daily. The little money he earned went to supporting his addiction. This family, plagued by poverty, alcoholism and domestic violence, was living out the well-worn path blazed by many of the world’s extreme poor.

In the village pictured, 80 percent of the rice crop is used to brew homemade alcohol— resulting in a high consumption of alcohol. This leads to frequent occurrences of domestic violence.
In the village pictured, 80 percent of the rice crop is used to brew homemade alcohol— resulting in a high consumption of alcohol. This leads to frequent occurrences of domestic violence.

Step One on the Road Out of Poverty

Pastor Teja, who has a church in a nearby village, met Tanul’s family one day when he was offering prayer for families in need. The Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported pastor saw the pitiful condition of this family, and his heart was heavy. The family invited him back to pray for them, and a friendship began. Tanul’s family began to attend Pastor Teja’s church. Then members of the church continually prayed for Tanul’s deliverance from alcohol—the thing that bound them to the poverty they lived in. Through their faithful prayers and Pastor Teja’s counseling, Tanul overcame his addiction to alcohol. The Lord completely transformed Tanul’s heart!

For the first time, Tanul’s family experienced freedom—freedom as a gift from God above that trickled down into their hearts and flowed toward each other in love. This freedom from bondage gave them hope for the future. But in the present, they are still stuck in the poverty trap.

This predicament of the extreme poor—not being able to find work that will support a family’s daily needs—is one of the basic issues addressed by world leaders and organizations dedicated to alleviating poverty around the globe. One expert working with the Borgen Project, a non-profit dedicated to fighting global poverty, is convinced the first step[1] in reducing extreme cyclic poverty is helping the poor create their own businesses. This is the very thing many Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported pastors and missionaries can do with income-producing gifts provided by donors all over the world.

Pastor Teja knew that Tanul needed a way to earn enough income to support his family. He arranged to hold a gift distribution and presented Tanul with a rickshaw—something he never could have afforded on his own. Tanul was overcome with gratitude at God’s provision.

Tanul's whole family has been transformed since the Lord entered their lives.
Tanul’s whole family has been transformed since the Lord entered their lives.

A New Reputation

With his new gift, Tanul loaded vegetables onto his rickshaw and began selling throughout the village—even delivering produce to customers’ homes. God blessed Tanul’s diligence and hard work, enabling him to earn a good income selling vegetables. Setting his own prices and being able to keep all his earnings, Tanul had enough money to send Maahir to school to learn a skilled trade. Maahir completed his education and started working as a carpenter. The two men now adequately support their growing family, including Maahir’s wife and two children.

Self-employment frees those trapped in the cycle of poverty from discrimination, unfair business practices and job insecurity — circumstances to which the poor and uneducated are vulnerable. Gifts like rickshaws, sewing machines and water buffalo are the means to break free from the bondage of poverty and to set thousands of families on a new course of self-sufficiency and hope for future generations.

Income producing gifts, like these goats, help lift impoverished families in Asia out of the trap of poverty.
Income producing gifts, like these goats, help lift impoverished families in Asia out of the trap of poverty.

Join the Global Effort to End Extreme Poverty

The fight against extreme poverty is not finished—736 million people in 2015 were still living on less than $1.90 a day.[2] Almost half of these people reside[3] in the countries where Gospel for Asia (GFA) supports national workers. Gospel for Asia (GFA) believes that together, we can make a lasting difference in the lives of those caught in the extreme poverty trap.

Join GFA in providing pastors, missionaries and other national workers with tools to lift those in their communities out of the harsh poverty trap.


[1] The Borgen Project, Top 10 Facts about Poverty in India

[2] The World Bank, Decline of Global Extreme Poverty Continues but Has Slowed: World Bank

[3] Our World in Data, Tree Map of Extreme Poverty Distribution

Source: Gospel for Asia Features, Rickshaw Unlocks a New Path


Learn more on Gospel for Asia’s Special Reports on:

Learn more about how generosity can change lives. 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.

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