Gospel for Asia: A Singular Focus for 40 Years

Last updated on: November 5, 2022 at 4:31 pm By GFA Staff Writer

Reflections on the 40-year Ministry of Gospel for Asia

The world has yet to see what God can do with and for and through and in and by the man who is fully and wholly consecrated to Him. I want to be that man.D.L. Moody

No doubt that statement by the great American evangelist D.L. Moody is still true, although the Lord used him mightily.

We have surely seen “what God can do with and for and through and in” by the likes of Billy Graham, Luis Palau, Tim LaHaye, Jerry Falwell, Chuck Smith, Greg Laurie and many others. But we still don’t know if we have seen the fulfillment of the desire of Moody’s heart that each of these men shared.

The amazing thing about the people God uses most effectively is that they seek no glory for themselves, they spend hours in prayer, and they yield all that they are and all they possess to serve the Lord in whatever way He directs their paths.

Rarely, when these men were young, did they anticipate a day 40 or more years into the future when they would look back in amazement at what the Lord had empowered and enabled them to do.

They did not set out to make a name for themselves or to establish an empire. They simply made themselves available as vessels separated and set aside for the Lord’s use. They, and others like them, can look back and stand in awe of how an Almighty God has blessed their ministries abundantly and beyond imagination.

I know a man exactly like that. His name is Dr. K.P. Yohannan. He is one of the humblest and most dedicated men I have ever known. Forty years ago, he responded to God’s call to minister to the millions of people in Asia. Little did he know that in 2019 he would be able to look back at the remarkable things the Lord did over the past 40 years.

Make no mistake, this is not a story about Dr. K.P. Yohannan. This is a story of what the Lord has done with and for and through and in him. The greatest ability we can give to the Lord is “availability.” All that young man had to offer the Lord in 1979 was a willing and obedient heart.

The Lord used that available vessel to begin Gospel for Asia (GFA) and to lead the ministry with a singular focus: to take the love of Christ to people who have never heard His name before.

In a newly released video, Dr. Yohannan invites us to join Gospel for Asia (GFA) in celebrating “the 40 years of this incredible journey with our Lord.” In the video, he reminisces with effervescence because of the numerous healthy congregations the Lord has established through GFA-supported workers serving in more than 16 countries.

He shares an overview of the numbers of children that have been able rescued from lives of abandonment on the streets and in the slums, many of whom have had to beg on the streets or dig through garbage dumps simply to live another day of desperation.

“The amazing thing about the people God uses most effectively is that they seek no glory for themselves, they spend hours in prayer, and they yield all that they are and all they possess to serve the Lord in whatever way He directs their paths.”

Gospel for Asia helps provide education, meals, school supplies and health care for more than 70,000 of these children through its Bridge of Hope program—all because of a willing heart and the prayers and financial gifts of godly men and women and churches around the world.

Dr. K.P.’s vision is for the Lord to open the doors to be able to minister to half-a-million children who are trapped in the same circumstances in the developing countries of Asia.

He speaks in the video about the multitudes of women who have been rescued from poverty, prostitution and physical abuse. GFA-supported workers share the love of Christ with them and help them to find a way out of their plight, offering them literacy education and vocational training.

Who would have dreamed 40 years ago that the Lord would use the generosity of Gospel for Asia (GFA) supporters to establish a radio broadcasting system that millions of people listen to in 110 different languages and dialects across the entire subcontinent?

As Dr. K.P. says in the video, “God can do anything,” but He almost always uses us to accomplish His purposes. Alone, we are nothing. Even together, we cannot do the Lord’s work without His leading and empowerment.

I want to share this video with you so that you, personally, can hear Dr. K.P. share his thanks for your prayers and support of Gospel for Asia (GFA) over the years. It is your trust in the Lord and in the mission of Gospel for Asia (GFA) that has made the amazing ministry possible.

Check out the video and join us in celebrating 40 years of God’s amazing and abundant blessings.

To learn more about what the Lord has done throughout these 40 years, follow this link to our webpage “Gospel for Asia Celebrates Its 40th Year of God’s Faithfulness!”

Gospel for Asia has been serving the “least of these” in Asia since its beginning in 1979, often in places where no one else is serving. GFA supports national workers who are serving as the hands and feet of Christ by ministering to people’s needs so they can understand the love of God for them for the first time. GFA is engaged in dozens of projects, such as caring for poor children, slum dwellers and widows and orphans; providing clean water by funding wells; supporting medical missions; and meeting the needs of those in leprosy colonies. Through GFA’s Bridge of Hope Program, tens of thousands of children are being rescued from the generational curses of poverty and hopelessness.

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

Sources:

Christianity Today, The World Has Yet to See . . .
Gospel for Asia, KP Yohannan Shares a Special 40th Anniversary Message
Gospel for Asia, Gospel for Asia Celebrates Its 40th Year of God’s Faithfulness!”

Image Source:

Gospel for Asia, Photo of the Day

Video Source:

YouTube, Gospel for Asia – Celebrating God’s Faithfulness for 40 Years

Gospel for Asia: Widows Worldwide Face Tragedy, Discrimination (Part 3)

Last updated on: December 16, 2019 at 11:13 pm By GFA Staff Writer

Wills Point, Texas – Gospel for Asia (GFA) Special Report – Discussing widow’s plight worldwide as they face tragedy, discrimination, as well as the efforts and opportunities extended to them to give them hope.

Hope to Overcome the Challenges of Widowhood

International Women's Day (March 8) falls on the same day as GFA founder Dr. KP Yohannan's birthday - Gospel for Asia — International Women’s Day (March 8) falls on the same day as GFA founder Dr. KP Yohannan’s birthday, so it’s no wonder that he’s passionate about uplifting the lives of women around the world.

“For millions of widows in Asia, life is incredibly difficult,” says Dr. KP Yohannan, founder and director of GFA. “Many are forced into begging or prostitution to survive. There are 46 million widows on the streets and in slums. There are stories of thousands of widows committing suicide because they have no hope.”

Another widow whose story was featured in “Veil of Tears” faced rejection from her husband’s family after he died. Her nephews refused to give her food, forcing her to beg from passing strangers. Once, when she got sick and suffered from diarrhea for two days, no one would even approach her. Members of a GFA-supported Women’s Fellowship took her to the hospital for treatment, provided her food and found her a home. Most of all, they became a family.

Grassroots Aid

Such caring action demonstrates one way to address widows’ situation: at the grassroots level. This is what GFA does through initiatives such as sewing classes, providing sewing machines and training in skills like candle-making and basket-weaving. Much of this outreach is conducted by Sisters of Compassion (women who are specially trained to care for marginalized groups), leaders of Women’s Fellowship groups and pastors’ wives. As women, they are more readily received into women’s homes in the segregated society.

GFA-supported pastors and workers often help organize events to assist and encourage widows, too. For example, on or soon after last year’s International Widows Day, GFA-supported workers in many different regions distributed numerous sewing machines, goats, piglets, hygiene supplies, mosquito nets and other goods to help improve widows’ lives. They also offered encouragement and reminded them, “In the sight of God our Father, pure and blameless religion is helping the orphans and widows in their need” (see James 1:27).

That stirred reactions like one from Madhuri, a 35-year-old who is the only bread-earner for her children:

“I go house to house in search of work. The piglet I received from you, I will rear nicely and hope it will [provide] a great income for my family. I am very thankful to you.”

Damini, a widow with five children, said:

“I am very happy to get a piglet from the church. I never expected this type of help from the church, but I am lucky to receive the piglet.”

“In the sight of God our Father, pure and blameless religion is helping the orphans and widows in their need.” —James 1:27

In another area, a GFA-supported Women’s Fellowship gave sewing machines to 30 women.

“After my husband died, I was alone doing work in the tea garden and supporting my children,” said Upada, one of the recipients. “I am finding it so difficult to manage our family, but today I am so happy that the church has given me this gift. I believe that this sewing machine will greatly help our family.”

Another widow, Kanan, said, “After my husband’s death, there was no one to help me. I have three children and they are very small. The eldest child is going to school. I was finding life so difficult, but God took care of us and met our needs. … Through this sewing machine, I will try my best to earn money and support my children’s schooling and our family.”

When a church in another district gave 50 widows each a goat, it brought waves of gratitude. Lajita, a widow who received a goat, told of her husband dying four years earlier because of asthma:

“I have three children who are going to school. I worked as a daily laborer in others’ fields. Now, I will rear this goat at home, and she will produce milk. I hope my family’s condition will become better through this goat.”

Income-producing gifts like those found in GFA's Christmas Gift Catalog - KP Yohannan - Gospel for Asia — Income-producing gifts like those found in GFA’s Christmas Gift Catalog are game changers for widows in need.

Baijanti added, “My husband passed away some eight years ago. I stay with my children. We have no income-generating source, and this goat is going to be a great help for my living.”

An event in Nepal for International Women’s Day in 2017 prompted similar reactions. Thirteen churches organized a women’s conference, during which they provided pressure cookers to 60 widows.

A guest speaker, who had been a widow since age 15, distributed the gifts and encouraged participants:

“Being a widow, it is hard to be alone and at home in the society. Today, many widows are abused by the family and the society. Therefore, I came forward to raise my voice and help them.”

Widow’s Challenges in America

Even in the United States, widows don’t get a pass on life’s challenges. After Artis Henderson’s husband, Miles, died in November 2006 when his Apache helicopter crashed in Iraq, she spent the first year overwhelmed by grief. Without experiencing this kind of sudden tragedy, it’s hard for someone to know how difficult it is to cope when “everything in the world shifts,” she told CNN.

Artis Henderson and her late husband, Miles - KP Yohannan - Gospel for Asia — Artis Henderson and her late husband, Miles
(Photo credit Artis Henderson via CNN.com)

“I always remember so clearly, this woman—another widow who was a little further, maybe six months ahead of me in the process—saying to me, ‘You will be disappointed to find out what happens after the first year,'” Henderson said. “And I remember saying, ‘Well, what happens?’ And she said, ‘There’s another year.'”

Other widows report similar grief. At age 59, Ginny McKinney was out shopping with her husband, Dan, for a travel trailer for early retirement when he suddenly dropped dead from a heart attack at age 62.

“I took off for three months, driving a circle around Colorado,” McKinney told the New York Times. “I went to places in the wilderness and on the top of mountains, where I could stand outside and scream at the sky, and scream at God for taking my man. And scream at him for leaving me.”

If the grief isn’t enough, what elderly widows may discover later can also inflict pain. In early 2018, an audit report from the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) inspector general’s office found the agency had underpaid nearly $132 million to more than 9,200 widows and widowers age 70 or older.

The issue stemmed from a budget bill in 2015, when Congress curtailed a strategy where one spouse could suspend a monthly benefit to allow the other spouse’s benefits to increase as long as the second delayed drawing theirs. However, it still allows a widow to claim survivor benefits and delay applying for her own. The SSA failed to inform widows and widowers to consider this option. The inspector general identified 13,555 people who were entitled to claim such benefits; a random sample showed that 82 percent could have drawn a higher monthly benefit if they claimed survivor benefits and held off drawing their own retirement.

“I went to places in the wilderness and on the top of mountains, where I could stand outside and scream at the sky, and scream at God for taking my man. And scream at him for leaving me.”

However, the situation for widows in other parts of the world remains even more dire. For example, in a 2015 story, the India Times reported the majority of Indian widows are deprived of their inheritance rights, especially if they are childless or have only daughters. This happens despite a 1969 law that made women eligible to inherit equally with men.

Among other problems, widows in Asia may face:

Prohibition of remarriage
Being forced to follow certain mourning rites
Becoming victims of violence, much of it stemming from common accusations that they caused their husband’s death
Economic hardships

Sharing Hope

Given this situation, Yohannan also believes the ultimate answer will be found from more women, regardless of where they live, learning who they are in Christ and what God thinks about them as individuals. Widows like Gulika have found hope when they learned that God treasures them.

However, Yohannan emphasizes the importance for Christ followers to provide practical assistance for widows and their children.

“God judged Israel because they did not care for the poor and suffering,” Yohannan says. “The Body of Christ is responsible to care for them. We must do everything we can to alleviate suffering and do whatever it takes to help people who are forsaken in their own communities.”

Obeying God’s command to take care of widows, GFA supports workers dedicated to ministering to widows all across Asia.

In 2017, GFA helped provided free health care training to 289,033 women, taught 50,624 illiterate women how to read and write, provided vocational training to 10,965 women desperately in need of a job, and gave out 8,763 sewing machines to vocational graduates, many of whom are widows struggling to survive. So, while widows worldwide face tragedy and discrimination, some are finding hope and a future through help from organizations like Gospel for Asia.

To conclude on a positive note, here is a letter written by Dr. KP Yohannan to friends and donors of GFA about one widow’s journey from despair to joy:

When Kaavya’s husband died as a result of his alcohol addiction, she had to work hard as a daily wage laborer to feed her six children and look after her household. No one helped her because she lived in a society where people believed it is the wife’s fault if her husband dies before she does—regardless of the circumstances. In essence, she and her children were abandoned.

Kaavya and her children lived in a small, old hut, and life was a constant struggle for survival…

Read the rest of the letter from KP Yohannan

Widows Worldwide Face Tragedy, Discrimination: Part 1 | Part 2

This article originally appeared on gfa.org

To read more on Patheos on widow’s plight worldwide, go here.

Loneliness is a Companion of Poverty for So Many Children in Asia

Last updated on: January 31, 2023 at 9:04 am By GFA Staff Writer

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

Loneliness is a companion of poverty. The despair in which many poor find themselves in is not the lack of resources as much as it is the loneliness of feeling unwanted and unloved. The only cure for loneliness is knowing that someone genuinely cares about you, regardless of your circumstances.

Somedev was lonely because his father was never at home. In fact, his father had deserted Somedev and his mother. Somedev was lonely and his mother, Jerusha, was heartbroken as she had lost her husband to another woman and now faced the prospect of having to raise her son on her own.

Jerusha and Somedev found help from their local Bridge of Hope center - KP Yohannan - Gospel for Asia — Jerusha and Somedev found help from their local Bridge of Hope center.

One day, Jerusha heard some women talking about a Bridge of Hope center in a nearby village where children could receive free education, food and medical care. Knowing this could be the answer to her needs and her son’s loneliness, she asked the ladies to come to her home.

When the women, who were Bridge of Hope staff, went and shared the love of God with her, Jerusha broke down in tears. She had never heard of such hope before. When Jerusha shared about her own life, the other women were brought to tears. The staff immediately enrolled Somdev and began praying for him and his mother consistently.

The staff not only fed and trained Somdev, they also visited and prayed with his mother on a regular basis. They encouraged her with the Word of God and prayed that the Lord would bring her husband back home.

Once again, the Lord answered prayer. Somdev and his mother are no longer lonely because they know that Jesus cares. His father not only returned but also came to trust Jesus as well.

Dinar and his mother Lalita suffered from loneliness and heartbreak after the premature death of his father. This put them in a dangerous position as Asian widows are typically scorned and virtually helpless.

A close relative graciously opened his home to Lalita, Dinar and his sister. The relative had already become a Christian, so he used the otherwise sad situation to introduce them to “the Man of Sorrows,” who is acquainted with our grief and is touched with the feelings of our infirmities. He explained to her that “Our God is living, and in Him everything is possible.”

Many people trapped in the tragedy of loneliness want help but don’t want to hear about Jesus. Lalita was one of those people who was caught in the downward spiral of loneliness.

Lalita, a widow in Asia with two small children - KP Yohannan - Gospel for Asia — Lalita, a widow in Asia with two small children, felt alone and hopeless, until Bridge of Hope was able to enroll her son, and provide God’s loving care for them both.

But God was speaking to her. She later shared that she had clearly heard a voice repeating to her, “My daughter, I am with you always. Cast your burdens on Me, as I care for you.” Through all of her challenges, she kept hearing that voice.

Things began to change as she saw God’s grace demonstrated through GFA-supported workers. The continual outflow of grace and mercy, the love of others in the name of Christ, and that still, small voice eventually broke through the loneliness until she could resist no longer. She became a child of God who would never be lonely again.

These lives were touched by God because of the Christ-like care that can conquer loneliness forever. These families now rejoice in their relationship with Jesus who promised that He is always with us and that He will never leave us or forsake us.

As you pray for the GFA-supported workers, please pray that families burdened with grief, despair and loneliness will experience the love and grace of God as these three have.

For more blogs on loneliness among the poor in Asia, go here.

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Widowhood is a State of Social Death Asserts Gospel for Asia

Last updated on: August 9, 2019 at 11:01 pm By GFA Staff Writer

Widowhood.

No one can imagine the pain that follows the death of a spouse until they have experienced it. Suffice it to say that the only way to describe that pain is that it is, indeed, unimaginable. It doesn’t matter who you are or where you live, the indescribable pain of the loss lingers long after you expect it to.

Two Scripture verses have been a comfort to me as I have experienced the pain of which we speak. One is from the Old Testament; the other from the New.

“A father of the fatherless, a defender of widows, Is God in His holy habitation.”
(Psalm 68:5)

“Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.”
(James 1:27)

A Biblical perspective on widowhood is essential for Christians everywhere. As followers of Jesus, we have a sacred responsibility to care for and comfort widows. This is especially true in some Asian nations where widows are treated as outcasts.

In some of the poorest regions of these countries, widows are a burden. In times past, they would be burnt alive while their husbands’ bodies were cremated. Today, many widows are made to leave their families and forced to beg in the streets. Some are sent away by their husbands’ families who want to prevent them from inheriting money or property. Despite legislation aimed at protecting widows, regressive customs are difficult to overcome.

The treatment of women in general and widows, in particular, is nothing new. Even during his earthly ministry, Jesus condemned the Jewish scribes and Pharisees for devouring widow’s houses (see Mark 12:38-40). Mistreatment of widows is common, especially in developing countries and in places where Christian compassion is nonexistent.

One source observed that widows in India have a “pronoun problem.” The estimated 40 million women widows in the country go from being called “she” to “it” when they lose their husbands.

Mohini Giri, a former Nobel Peace Prize nominee, says that “Widowhood is a state of social death,” and women are forced to live with “many restrictions which affect them both physically and psychologically.” In many cases, they are forbidden from working or associating with mainstream society.

Widows are trapped in an emotional prison because of the bad luck they are thought to bring. According to Hopegivers, a faith-based non-profit organization, widows are “easily set aside, much like you would toss out an old chair. But that is not God’s way. All lives have value, regardless of age, gender, or circumstances. He has a plan and purpose for every person – and that plan and purpose exist until death.”

These are some of the reasons why one of the major ministries of GFA-supported Sisters of Compassion is caring for widows throughout widowhood.

With hearts that ache for hurting widows, Sisters of Compassion honor them by sharing the love of Jesus, providing clothing and other basic essentials, teaching them income-generating skills, and providing them with the tools necessary to use those skills.

Sisters of Compassion are specially trained women missionaries with a deep burden of showing Christ’s love by physically serving the needy, underprivileged and poor. After completing Bible college—and sometimes several years of ministry—they go through an advanced six-month course of study, learning about leprosy care, family counseling, hygiene education and other practical ministries.

Before these women missionaries re-enter the field, they don a uniform of humility. Made of handspun fabric, the traditional saris they wear mirror the clothing once worn by the lowliest servants in Asia, immediately showing everyone that the women missionaries have come without any agenda but to love others. Although it looks foreign to Western eyes, their uniform has a special and easily recognized meaning in Asia. Over the years, women from many Christian denominations have taken on this uniform to demonstrate a desire to serve the needy without thought of personal gain.

In places where traditional women missionaries face persecution, Sisters of Compassion are welcomed as trustworthy counselors and friends of the community. With this acceptance, they freely share Christ’s love where they otherwise couldn’t even set foot.

Sisters of Compassion are eagerly welcomed as caregivers, counselors, teachers and friends. Without the uniform, they would be greeted with speculation.

The Sisters of Compassion are a select group of women missionaries who have chosen to participate in extra training and to spend three years working among the widows, orphans, lepers and others living in abject poverty and in need of the love and care that others are withholding from them simply by ignoring them.

Demonstrating compassion is, in and of itself, the calling of every believer. However, it is the miracles the Lord does through our compassion that best demonstrate His care.

Perhaps the best way to understand the plight of widows in Asia and the impact of Sisters of Compassion is to watch this short excerpt from the acclaimed movie, “Veil of Tears.” Our prayer is that it will touch and break your heart and stir you to pray for this special ministry supported by GFA. Please take just five minutes to let the Lord open your eyes to the need and to the sacrificial and caring work of the Sisters of Compassion among the widows.

For more on the plight of widows and widowhood, go here.

For more on Sisters of Compassion go here.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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When Disaster Strikes, They Become Vessels of Peace and Comfort

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Learn more about Compassion Services.

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

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Can Cleanliness Lead to Godliness?

Last updated on: November 5, 2019 at 9:38 am By GFA Staff Writer

Is Cleanliness Next to Godliness?

That’s a good question. It may not be in Scripture, as many people believe, but it does have an element of truth. John Wesley is generally cited as the originator of the phrase in his sermon, “Cleanliness Is, Indeed, Next to Godliness.” It is certain that he was not the creator of the concept. Similar statements have been recorded in ancient literature.

While the Bible may not specifically say that cleanliness is next to godliness, it does, however, associate the two. Those stricken with leprosy in Biblical times were required by ritual law to announce that they were unclean should they appear in public.

Jesus described the hypocrisy of the scribes and Pharisees, saying that they were more concerned about outwardly cleanliness than internal cleanliness where they were “full of extortion and self-indulgence” (Matthew 23:25, 26).

Job described himself as “pure, without transgression” (Job 33:9).

The Psalmist similarly used cleanliness to describe his need for a return to righteousness: “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me” (Psalm 51:10).

Both Paul and John used cleanliness to describe holiness and righteousness. Paul urged the Corinthian church to cleanse themselves “from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God” (2 Corinthians 7:1). John reminds believers that when we confess our sins, the Lord “is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

There seems to be a direct connection between cleanliness and godliness, at least in comparative terms.

If we must be cleansed from unrighteousness, then unrighteousness must be dirty.

If a leper who has been healed is declared clean, he is free of his disease.

Can Cleanliness Lead to Godliness?

That’s another good question – one which the western world does not always handle well.

We like to eat from clean plates and sleep on clean sheets. We avoid hanging out with people who haven’t bathed or washed their clothes.

The western world has come to take cleanliness for granted, and we withdraw from that which is dirty.

But what if we were to live as millions around the world do—in abject poverty, especially in Asian and African countries?

What if our lives consisted of living in unclean conditions from which there was no relief?

And what if a miracle should happen and someone appeared who could change our circumstances?

What would we do? How would we respond to being able to drink clean water and use private, sanitary toilet facilities—things which we didn’t have the privilege of before?

We would be eternally grateful.

That is why the global ministry of Gospel for Asia is so effective.

The many projects GFA undertakes as ministry efforts are to provide clean water, sanitation, and similar relief. One reason is because of the great need. Another reason is because we serve the Great Provider.

Our mission in life is to be devout followers of Christ and to live lives fully pleasing to Him. God has given us a special love for the people of Asia, and it is our desire to minister to them and help them through ministries like education, providing health information or practical gifts, or through the spiritual transformation of peaceful hearts, restored relationships and mended lives. We do all this in community and in partnership with the global Body of Christ.

The impoverished to whom we minister in Asia are so grateful for the kindness and cleanliness that Gospel for Asia (GFA) offers for their physical needs, they often welcome our ministry to their spiritual needs. They respond to kindness and love expressed by the offer of cleanliness.

Cleanliness may or may not be next to godliness, but at Gospel for Asia (GFA) we know that cleanliness can lead those who think they have no hope to the sure and certain hope we have in Jesus Christ.

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Gospel for Asia-supported Film Teams Pray, Then Show “The Man of Mercy” Before Crowds All Over Asia

Last updated on: November 29, 2019 at 2:23 am By GFA Staff Writer

The man, Jesus, sat on a hillside surrounded by people who followed Him. He was talking to them, teaching them how to live. Then the scene shifts, and you can see a man, swathed in rags, hiding out of sight. He glances. He pauses. He gathers his courage and steps out toward Jesus—and people start running away at the sight of him.

You realize, if you didn’t recognize before, that the man in rags has leprosy. No one wants to be near him. No one, that is, except Jesus.

Jesus, the soft-spoken man with the kind face, does the unthinkable—He reaches out and touches the sick man.

And he is healed.

This scene plays out again and again before crowds all over Asia. Night after night, “Dayasagar,” “The Man of Mercy,” plays on the sides of buildings, on sheets stretched between poles, under trees and inside houses. Cool weather, warm weather, crowds of hundreds, groups of 10—Gospel for Asia-supported film teams show movies about the love of Christ. And as they do, Jesus reaches out to touch, heal, transform and restore lives.

He did that for Jayan and her husband.

Dayasagar,” an Indian-made film about the life of Jesus - KP Yohannan - Gospel for Asia — Jayan and many others watching “Dayasagar,” an Indian-made film about the life of Jesus.

Widows, Lepers . . . Me?

Jayan and her husband saw people gathering together one evening and decided to come along as well. They found themselves in front of a screen where miracles were shown. Jayan couldn’t take her eyes away as she watched Jesus—whose name and power she did not know—heal people again and again.

A widow’s son raised to life. A leper cleansed. The miracles didn’t end.

Jesus’ love and compassion touched Jayan’s heart. Maybe He could heal her, too?

Jayan’s brain didn’t function properly, and the money they spent on medicine and sacrifices didn’t bring any healing. She and her husband had spent their lives pursuing their traditional religions, but despite their devotion, they could never find any peace.

After the movie ended, the film team members gave people an opportunity to ask for prayer, and they prayed for the men and women who stepped forward.

Many hearts were touched as they witnessed miracles for the first time - KP Yohannan - Gospel for Asia — This Gospel for Asia-supported film team, pictured alongside local GFA-supported pastor Harshal, visited Jayan’s village and displayed the love of Jesus. Many hearts were touched as they witnessed miracles for the first time.

The next day, Jayan and her husband connected with the local Gospel for Asia-supported pastor . They shared how they had seen the movie and wanted to know more about Jesus Christ. They asked questions and shared their troubles with Pastor Harshal. As he prayed for her, she wept.

Jayan and her husband became new in Christ, and now they regularly gather together to pray with other believers.

“We are so thankful to Jesus that our lives have been changed,” Jayan said. “Our lives were miserable because I was barren and mentally imbalanced. … Pastor prayed earnestly and comforted us through His Word and always encouraged [us] that the Lord would intervene and redeem us from this desperate situation. We are really happy that we are children of the living God.”

This is just one story out of hundreds maybe even thousands that happen every single day.

Nothing Magical

Thing is, it’s not like these are magical movies. I remember watching “Dayasagar” at a friend’s house several years ago. It was in a language we couldn’t understand, but we recognized the stories. I remember watching the leper step out in faith, seeking Jesus for healing. I remember seeing the lame come to him on carts and the blind stumble along the road. I remember watching Jesus ride into Jerusalem on a young donkey, surrounded by triumphant shouts of praise and joy.

Watching the movie and reflecting on it helped me step into these stories as though I were seeing them for the first time. In the same way, countless others witness these stories every day through the efforts of Gospel for Asia-supported film teams.

The power of this movie, and other movies that film teams show, is in the prayer that goes before them. Film teams pray together before they ever go into a village, and people around the world join in prayer to stand with them. And as people pray, God can use these simple movies to reveal the stories of His Son.

It is through prayer that so many lives are touched - KP Yohannan - Gospel for Asia — Gospel for Asia-supported film teams pray together often. This team of ladies is praying with a GFA-supported pastor. It is through prayer that so many lives are touched.

To watch Jesus ride into Jerusalem on a donkey, surrounded by shouts of joy and praise—who in the audience knows He’s going to be crucified just a few days later? It’s no wonder we hear stories of people weeping when they see the death of Jesus for the first time. Some even get up and try to stop the soldiers from beating Him and from putting the nails in His hands, but they can’t stop His triumphal march up the hill of Calvary, where He battles with sin, death and shame.

And it seems all is lost . . . until He rises from the grave, triumphant.

Unrivaled Joy

Consider the joy people experience when they witness the resurrection! It echoes the shock the disciples must have felt when they heard Jesus was alive and raced to the tomb to see if it was true.

We want people to know these stories! We want people to know the joy of resurrected life!

No matter how difficult our day may be, no matter how misunderstood or slandered or stressed or rejected—we have joy in Christ that cannot be shaken.

We want people around the world to know that joy that sustains in the midst of trials. We want people to know the name of Jesus.

Jesus. The One who touches the leper. The One who has time for the hurting, the outcast, the helpless. The One who loves. And time and time again, people have the opportunity to witness movies where Jesus heals the lame, speaks tenderly to the hurting and helps those in need.

As our brothers and sisters step out in faith to share movies about the life of Jesus, we know that many people, like Jayan, are experiencing the joy of new life.

And that makes everything we do worth it.

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It’s Crazy What a Blanket Can Do for Those Who Face the Freezing Cold in Asia

Last updated on: November 26, 2019 at 11:40 am By GFA Staff Writer

Do you ever stop to consider how many blankets you have in your home? What kind of stockpile do you have stored up in case the heating goes out for two weeks during a severe winter storm?

It’s no stretch to guess you have at least one blanket for each person in your family. If you’re like most of us, you probably have light summer blankets in addition to heavier, winter quilts. There might even be some cozy throws on your sofa and the recliner, and the afghan your grandmother made for you. Don’t forget to count the extra blankets in the guestroom, the ones in the cars, and the picnic blanket in the garage. And what about the sleeping bags you keep with your camping gear?

With all the warm clothes and blankets you can find in your home, you and your family could probably survive a long winter emergency in an unheated home.

But how would you fare if your home was only a makeshift hut, your family had hardly any winter clothing or blankets, and you could barely feed them with your meager earnings as a day laborer, beggar or scavenger?

This is the cruel reality for tens of thousands of the poorest people who live in the cold regions of Asia. Hetaksh, his wife and three little daughters, were among them.

Gospel for Asia-supported workers to distribute blankets to needy families in Asia - KP Yohannan - Gospel for Asia — Gospel for Asia-supported workers to distribute blankets to needy families in Asia.

Despite Hetaksh’s efforts, he and his wife couldn’t afford anything besides a meager meal and basic education for their children. Even simple tasks like buying a new outfit for a growing child was a serious financial challenge.

Winter would only bring even more suffering for this dear family, as it still does for thousands of others who have little to nothing to protect them from the freezing temperatures and icy winds.

But for Hetaksh, the story doesn’t end there—something wonderful happened.

Life Changes at a Prayer Meeting

It all began when someone Hetaksh knew invited him to a prayer meeting. Hetaksh learned things about Jesus he had never understood before. At the end of the meeting, Hetaksh talked to the Gospel for Asia-supported pastor who led the meeting. He told Pastor Mrithun about the economic struggles he was facing and asked him to pray for his family.

And this is how miracles happen. Most of the reports you read in our reports from the field website, in Gospel for Asia World magazine or anywhere else that have testimonies of lives changed share a common thread: prayer.

Jesus said this in Matthew 7:7–8: “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.”

It is through prayer that God gently stoops down to change the course of human affairs, something we have seen Him do again and again over the years. If people don’t pray, lives won’t change. (By the way, if you want to learn more about prayer, check out this booklet by Dr. KP Yohannan.)

The gifts our field partners give are answers to prayer and are given with prayer. Just as families in the West and around the world pray about what items to give through GFA’s Christmas Gift Catalog every year, our partners in Asia pray about whom to give them to.

And that is why the gift of a blanket can be so much more than a few yards of warm fabric—it can play a part in changing eternities, as it did for Hetaksh’s family.

The blankets they receive through GFA is a tremendous blessing - KP Yohannan - Gospel for Asia — Many people from poor, mountain villages in Asia, like this man, cannot afford blankets on their own. The blankets they receive through GFA are a tremendous blessing for them!

A Blanket Surprise

To Hetaksh’s surprise, God answered his prayer for financial breakthrough in a very practical way—and just before winter started, too: He and his family received a thick, warm blanket!

This blanket came as a gift through Pastor Mrithun’s church during a blanket distribution to the poor—a distribution sponsored by our dear Gospel for Asia friends around the world. The blanket was big enough to keep the whole family warm at night, night after night, throughout the entire cold season.

This visible sign of God’s love and care greatly encouraged Hetaksh. No doubt the Lord will continue to care for this precious family and make them a powerful witness to others.

Urged to Give

Every winter, our partners in Asia feel the urgency of those around them, and we do, too. They pray for means and opportunity to distribute thousands of blankets and articles of winter clothing among those who lack adequate shelter and clothing to survive the freezing cold temperatures. They know that one blanket, like the one Hetaksh received, can make the difference between life and death for a family, especially for small children and the elderly.

It’s crazy to realize what a blanket can do. They are so small, but they work. For those who don’t have extra blankets for every family member, like we may, one blanket can mean a whole lot.

Blanket distributions occur in squalid slums - KP Yohannan - Gospel for Asia — Blanket distributions occur in squalid slums, remote villages and, like above, in leprosy colonies, where they give help to those who can no longer care for themselves.

As we join with Gospel for Asia friends around the world to extend warmth to those in need, we know we are making a difference—often an eternal one. And that knowledge helps us keep pressing on when we face difficulties of our own.

We know the poor and needy have no means to pay any of us back for our kindness. They probably don’t even know we exist. We just pray that they, like Hetaksh, will desire to know Jesus cares for them through our lives, efforts and prayers. That way, someday, we will all be able to worship our Jesus together with them around the throne.

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Workers Feed 2,500 on World Food Day Reports Gospel for Asia

Last updated on: November 19, 2019 at 2:38 pm By GFA Staff Writer

It’s 4:30 in the morning.

The sun has not yet crested the horizon.

A young seminary student rises from bed and heads to the kitchen.

Today’s agenda? Cook and distribute thousands of meals to people in need of food.

Monday, October 16, was World Food Day, and across the globe, individuals and organizations reached out in compassion to their communities. Gospel for Asia-supported workers and Bible college students cooked and distributed meals to more than 2,500 people throughout Asia.

Workers Feed 2,500 on World Food Day - KP Yohannan - Gospel for Asia — Gospel for Asia-supported workers serve food at a leprosy colony on World Food Day, Oct. 16.

They traveled to slums, leper colonies, orphanages, homes for the elderly and hospitals with hands full of delicious food packages for the poor and needy. Street children, beggars and people living at a railway station received special meals delivered in the name of Jesus. For the first time, some of them may have experienced unconditional love as they looked into the compassionate eyes of those serving them.

Gospel for Asia-supported Bridge of Hope students took part in the event also, handing out packages of food to children living on the streets who may have been just their age.

In an act of sacrificial love and service, some Bible college students fasted and gave up their own meals leading up to World Food Day so more food could be provided to others.

On the other side of the globe, Gospel for Asia’s (GFA) U.S. office in Wills Point, Texas, observed World Food Day by collecting food donations for a local food bank. GFA staff piled canned food in a box throughout the day. Many of the local food bank’s most-needed items were contributed. Staff were eager for the opportunity to help locally, with one stating, “I pray that this will be a great blessing to the community here.”

World Food Day - KP Yohannan - Gospel for Asia — Gospel for Asia staff serving in the U.S. office celebrated World Food Day by donating nonperishable goods to the local food bank.

All over the world, whether in Asia or the U.S., many cannot afford the basic necessities of life, like a daily meal. There are children like Meena, a 5-year-old girl who lived in a Bombay slum and survived by begging. When she wasn’t able to find food, she resorted to eating sewage-infested dirt off the street. Soon, as the sewage poisoned her system, her body shutdown, and she passed away. Dr. KP Yohannan shares more about this precious girl in his blog, Living in the Light of Eternity.

When we remember Meena and the thousands just like her, we at Gospel for Asia praise God for opportunities like World Food Day to help ease the suffering of many—and to maybe even rescue some from a premature death.

Just as Jesus served the needy around Him, including feeding thousands, the GFA world seeks to follow in the Lord’s footsteps. Jesus had compassion on those around Him and continually reached out in love to minister. We desire to continue His ministry and see lives impacted by the love of Christ through word and deed.

World Food Day was a great opportunity to do just that, both locally for the U.S. staff in Wills Point, Texas, and our partners in Asia.

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