Veil of Tears Movie Features Plight of Women & Widows in Asia Reports Gospel for Asia

Last updated on: November 28, 2019 at 3:27 pm By GFA Staff Writer

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

Imagine. You’re a woman in Asia with no rights.

You’ve just been married to a man who wants to use you to get rich. You really don’t have the money he’s looking for, yet you’re family’s required to provide a “wedding gift” — a dowry. Your father takes out a loan to pay the groom and his family, yet it’s still not enough. The husband’s family demands even more while your family is left impoverished with nothing more to give. Now your fate is to be burned in a blazing fire because what your family had to offer him didn’t make the cut.

Sound unbelievable? Bride burnings and dowry deaths still occur in Asia, even today.

Imagine. You wake up one day to find your husband went to work one morning then suddenly went missing. Days pass and you find out he was mauled by a fierce tiger, or lost his life in a work-related accident. You’re a widow now. But instead of getting support from your family during your grief, everybody who loved you before now abandons you and no longer cares for you, because they believe you have bad Kharma, which makes you responsible for your husband’s death. Is there any hope for you now?

Sound incredible? Millions of widows in India suffer alone and abandoned due to this social stigma.

Is there any hope for the women of Asia who find themselves living out these scenarios?

Veil of Tears Movie Features Plight of Women & Widows - KP Yohannan - Gospel for Asia — After the movie was finished, people wanted to know how they could help the suffering women in Asia.

Movie Night at Local Church Raises Awareness

On Nov. 10, a few Gospel for Asia (GFA) staff and members of a local church came together to watch GFA’s documentary film, “Veil of Tears.” One couple who came to view the film was so shocked at the treatment of women in Asia that they covered their mouths throughout the movie as they considered what could be done to help these precious women that God loves so much.

Mary, a member of the local church, was overwhelmed by the reality that many women in Asia face.

“It’s overwhelming. You wonder how you can help,” Mary explained. “I’m just one person.”

Pastor David Cartwright, senior pastor of the local church, was gripped by compassion seeing the way some women are treated.

“My heart breaks when I see how deep evil and sin go in our world,” Pastor Cartwright said. “It’s hard to believe groups of people are so unloved and despised and treated like they are. It is beyond anything we see in our culture.”

Sisters of Compassion - KP Yohannan - Gospel for Asia — Sisters of Compassion takes care of the lowest of the low and listen to their stories.

Gospel for Asia-supported Workers Bring Hope to Suffering Women

Near the end of “Veil of Tears,” the mood of the movie turns from the abuse and violence against women in Asia to hope as Gospel for Asia-supported women missionaries and Sisters of Compassion—women who are specifically trained to minister to the least of the least—enter the scene.

These national workers are changing the lives of hundreds of thousands of women in Asia simply by ministering to and loving them. They also offer programs that help improve a woman’s quality of life. One of those programs is literacy classes, which will keep a woman from signing bad contracts or being cheated at the marketplace.

“I’m really impressed with the literacy of the children and the women, because I think that changes lives,” Mary explained. “I think that’s one thing that no matter what country you’re in or who you are, literacy changes lives.”

The film also shows the ministry Sisters of Compassion have on an island that is home to millions of widows who have been overlooked and abandoned by their family and friends.

“When I stand before my God,” one Sister of Compassion explained, “He’ll say to me, ‘You’ve done a good job, and because of you, these widow mothers are in heaven also.’”

One Person Can Make a Difference for Women in Asia

After the film ended, a Gospel for Asia staff member stood before those who were in attendance and pointed out that we may not be able to do everything, but all of us can do something.

“If God cares about our personal struggles,” she said, “certainly He cares much more about the bigger things.”

Then everyone gathered in groups to pray for women missionaries and those women who are suffering. Mary was impacted by the call to prayer.

“It’s going to make me think and pray differently, and hope I don’t get callous,” Mary said.

The question I’m going to leave with you is a question I asked before: Is there hope? Through people’s prayers and support of the women missionaries and Sisters of Compassion, many women who have no hope will finally find it.

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Jagat’s Burning Passions Turn From Drugs to Helping His Neighbors Reports Gospel for Asia

Last updated on: December 4, 2019 at 3:15 am By GFA Staff Writer

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

Jagat isn’t a super hero. He isn’t a genius. In fact, he dropped out of school early. Yet he is a mighty man of God. Through him flows the Spirit of the Living God, and within him dwells the One who gives all wisdom and strength. But it wasn’t always this way.

Jagat is a Gospel for Asia-supported national missionary. Because of Jagat’s willingness to be used by God, many people in South Asia have started intimate relationships with Jesus. But each one of their glory-filled stories exists because of Jagat’s own story of finding Jesus.

Pastor Jagat and his family - KP Yohannan - Gospel for Asia — Pastor Jagat and his family. Jagat’s life took a dramatic turn from drugs and irresponsibility to serving God as a Gospel for Asia-supported missionary.

Form of Godliness Fades Away

Jagat grew up in a Christian home, but he had many of the characteristics James 3 warns against. He held a form of godliness—he obediently followed his family to church services, Sunday school and other activities—but he did not know Jesus personally or live in His power.

Soon, the form of godliness faded away. In its place, selfishness, lack of self-control, disobedience to his parents, recklessness and a love for pleasure rather than a love for God filled the young man’s heart. Jagat welcomed wild boys and girls into his life, and with them, drugs. Abandoning his studies, Jagat started working with a carpenter, but he soon lost interest in that as well.

One day, a local pastor named Narain visited Jagat at his home. Jagat’s reputation preceded him, so Pastor Narain dedicated a portion of his day to sit down with the young boy. Jagat still bore the title “Christian,” so Narain asked Jagat several questions about Jesus. Although Jagat had spent years in church, he had never paid much attention, so he was unable to answer Pastor Narain’s questions. Narain opened his Bible and spoke truth into Jagat’s life. He asked Jagat to read a portion from Revelation—and that was the turning point in Jagat’s heart.

Jagat realized that the way he was living was absolutely against the way God desired him to live. Recognizing his wrongdoing, Jagat soon prayed, asking to be brought near to God and cleansed by Jesus’ blood.

A New Man

The next several years of Jagat’s life looked quite different than his previous years. Jagat attended a Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported Bible college for three years, strengthening himself in the Lord and in the foundations of his faith. He abandoned his reckless, irresponsible ways and married a godly young girl, assuming the responsibilities of husband and of father of their soon-to-follow sons. A passion burned within Jagat, no longer for drugs but for helping his neighbors and others in distant places understand the mercy and grace of God.

And God moved through Jagat to help others delight in Christ too.

As years passed, gatherings of new believers sprinkled the map around Jagat. In one community, a family experienced God’s powerful answer to prayer and were delivered from several problems in their lives. They joyfully opened their home to anyone who wanted to praise Jesus with them. Over time, their house filled with men, women and children whose hearts held love for Christ.

Jagat’s own home grew crowded when he tried to organize prayer meetings or worship services. In addition, Jagat’s landlord didn’t like so many people entering the house. With no place to worship in their area, they had to make due with crowded rooms or divide up to meet in smaller groups.

Then in 2013, Jagat and the believers around him experienced the generosity of GFA friends from around the world: A building was constructed to house the struggling congregation!

Pastor Jagat and his congregation - KP Yohannan - Gospel for Asia — Pastor Jagat and his congregation received a permanent place of worship through the help of GFA friends.

The 65 believers could now freely gather to pray, sing, fellowship and disciple one another. Jagat—who as a child tried to escape his house whenever a prayer meeting was scheduled—eagerly lead the thriving congregation in their new building.

This fellowship stands as a testimony of the power and love of God. Each one in the congregation carries a unique story of how God touched their heart and adopted them into His family. Jagat’s own story also intersects with Dr. KP Yohannan Metropolitan, who envisioned the movement of national missions in Asia and founded Gospel for Asia (GFA) so many years ago.

Our God is in the transforming business. Gospel for Asia’s website and reports website are filled with stories of how God is using missionaries like Jagat to impact the lives of farmers, daily laborers, parents, widows and children. Those stories evoke praise for what God is doing, and they also testify of God’s mercy already poured out in the lives of so many. Praise the Lord today for what He has already done!

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I Was Proud to Do Whatever to Protect the Interests of the United States

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

For Veteran’s Day, Lynn C., Gospel for Asia staff and 20-year U.S. military veteran, shares her thoughts about serving in the Navy and now her Lord with GFA.

Let’s face it — I cry whenever I hear the song “Proud to be an American” by Lee Greenwood, and I get choked up when I sing the National Anthem.

As a retired Chief Petty Officer of the United States Navy (September 1977–September 1997), I’ve served with some of the finest men and women our country had at the time.

Having served then, I understand the tremendous sacrifice that our military men and women and their families currently make to protect the interests of the United States, both foreign and domestic. Families make do with only one parent taking care of all the responsibilities, while the other is off on deployment in the middle of the desert or the mountains, serving as an Embassy guard or sitting watch at 3 in the morning.

Loyal, dedicated men and women who spend months at a time off on deployment, missing their families and important milestone events, working hard to ensure the interest of the United States and the safety of her people.

I’ve been in this boat having served in the Navy alongside my husband. While he was serving on board ship while Desert Shield and Desert Storm was taking place, I was serving in a shore capacity in the San Diego area.

It wasn’t always glamorous; in fact, sometimes it was downright dirty. I remember back, as a young seaman during my first tour of duty, when I was assigned to do some document destruction for a deployed unit. Little did I know that these documents consisted of literally reams upon reams of stacked perforated paper, the kind that ran through the old dot-matrix printers. I had many black trash bags filled with these documents to destroy. And I couldn’t use our host force’s document shredder and pulper unit. Oh no—I had to make do with the furnace.

I had to burn all that material…to ash. I don’t even think I got a lunch break. I had to stay with the material for the entire length of my shift and make sure it was completely destroyed. For those of you in the know, it’s like a chain of custody type thing. I couldn’t leave the material unsupervised. If I remember correctly, someone brought me several sodas to drink while I chucked chunk after chunk of page print into that behemoth furnace, while constantly stirring the burning paper with a long metal pole.

Consider this: What does someone look like after eight hours in front of a fire with ash floating all around? (I laugh just thinking about this.) When I finished my shift, I chanced to look in the mirror and gasped. My face was totally ash covered except the little point where my garrison cap covered my forehead and where my glasses protected my eyes. There was a black ring around my mouth from drinking the soda that I was given. I smelled like I’d been sitting around the campfire for days, and my uniform was covered in ash! I’m afraid I don’t have a picture of that day, since it was almost 39 years ago and cameras were not allowed in my work area, but I remember this event very well.

It was probably one of the most unglamorous jobs that I’ve had while serving. Don’t get me wrong, I was proud to do it because I knew that whatever I did contributed to protecting the interests of the United States.

Nowadays, I serve my LORD and Savior Jesus Christ as an IT Professional (more like IT Jack of All Trades) at Gospel for Asia. I do a little bit of this, a little bit of that and a whole lot of everything else.

My husband and I have been on staff since 1999. We brought with us that military can-do attitude, understanding the Scripture: “No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier” (2 Tim. 2:4).

Just as our concentration and effort as members of the United States Navy was to support and defend the U.S. Constitution against all enemies, both foreign and domestic, our focus now is helping people in Asia know and understand the message of Jesus Christ and His sacrificial love.

We haven’t got much time. Just look at the news: wars and rumors of wars, violence, hatred…

The window we have to share the Good News is closing, and I believe we don’t have much time left.

“And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.” —Matthew 24:6–7

But it’s not doom and gloom at the ministry. We are trying to make every last minute we have count.

I totally enjoy what I do. Sometimes it’s not glamorous, flashy stuff (actually, most of the time it’s not flashy, glamorous stuff). Let’s face it, I work behind the scenes, so you won’t physically see what I do online or in print. I’m kind of like the conveyor belt at the assembly factory, enabling goods and services to flow through the factory, touching but not changing the end product, if you get my drift.

But I’m still “proud” to do what I do and serve my brothers and sisters here at the ministry to the best of my abilities. Sometimes I’m not the brightest bulb in the bunch, or I’m having an Oscar-the-Grouch kind of day where I’m off center, but with the love, encouragement and prayers of fellow Gospel for Asia staff, I’m brought back to a sense of peace and the knowledge that what I’m doing here is full of Kingdom purpose.

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“When My Husband Was Falsely Imprisoned for 20 Years, My World Crumbled,” Reports Gospel for Asia

Last updated on: November 28, 2019 at 2:27 pm By GFA Staff Writer

Do you remember what happened in your life on May 2, 2000? It was a Tuesday. It might not have been a significant day to you, but for Manja, a father of two in Nepal, that day changed his life and his family forever.

That was the day Manja landed in jail under false accusations of murder.

It started when Manja, a Gospel for Asia-supported missionary , joined a group of friends for an afternoon of fishing. Along the river, they discovered a body. They informed the police and filed a report. Everything seemed to be finished—until one month later when Manja was accused of committing the crime.

This is Manja. His Bible was his most treasured possession while in prison.

A Prisoner Missionary

Months of accusations, falsified evidence, betrayal, abuse and drawn out legal proceedings followed. Then the bars closed behind Manja with a sentence of 20 years imprisonment.

“When my husband was arrested and imprisoned for 20 years,” Rati, Manja’s wife shares, “it was as if my whole world had crumbled down.”

Manja and Rati were devastated by the verdict. But in the months and years to follow, they had a choice to make: Would they cling to God’s promises and believe in His goodness, or would they allow anger, bitterness and self-pity to control their hearts?

Both chose to put their faith in God.

Rati strengthened herself in the Lord and stepped up to shoulder the responsibilities of her imprisoned husband, raising their two children and continuing Manja’s ministry—even though she had never been to school in her life and was illiterate.

“I always underestimated myself,” Rati said, “but God encouraged me through many of the leaders, and they said that God could use me to accomplish His purposes.”

Gospel for Asia’s field partners came alongside Rati, helping her and encouraging her in any way they could as she braced herself for 20 years without her husband. She learned to read and even attended Bible college, while her husband, Manja, lived an exemplary life in his prison cell, honoring his Savior through his heart of forgiveness toward those who imprisoned him.

What Happened Inside the Walls

Manja gained strength whenever he knelt and prayed by the toilet, the only place he could be alone. He found opportunities to share God’s love with many inmates. As the new resident of the toughest “neighborhood” in his country, Manja brought something to the prison that no one expected: love.

Even while he faced emotional and physical hardships, Manja relied on his faith, something the other prisoners did not have.

“The inmates questioned me, ‘How could your God let this happen to you while you served Him?’ ” Manja remembers. “I told them that though injustice was served to me here, God knows me and my situation. He definitely has a better tomorrow.”

Prisoners started gravitating toward his unswerving faith.

“Even though we are imprisoned as criminals,” Manja told them, “God hears our prayers.” And God did hear. One of Manja’s fellow inmates asked for prayer for his wife, who was ill. From within their cell, they prayed, and they soon heard that she had been healed.

Slowly, Manja’s time with the Lord became small gatherings of five, then 10, then 15 believers. And as his trustworthy reputation grew, officials gave him responsibilities—and with them, the chance to minister to more of the inmates. His good behavior also shortened his sentence by one month every year.

“I was assigned to count the prisoners in their cells every evening,” he says. “I was in charge of 150 prisoners. With different temperaments and attitudes, there were many prisoners who fought. But I mediated with love, and they never raised a finger against me.”

Manja remained faithful and ministered to the inmates - KP Yohannan - Gospel for Asia — Manja remained faithful and ministered to the inmates within his prison. He is pictured here at his release with a young man who found Christ through his prison ministry.

He even had opportunities to work in the prison school and hospital. There, he met hundreds of men who were paying the price for their crimes. The news of Jesus’ love and forgiveness meant that in prison, these men found a pardon that set them freer than if they had been released.

“Even though I was in jail, God worked in me and through me!” Manja rejoices.

He was also well-known as someone who would listen and help with many problems, and this even helped protect his life.

“In 2006, there was a revolt within the prison,” Manja remembers.

While the world read of Nepal’s dethroned king and the new democracy, prisoners decided that their jail terms should be forgiven.

“Revolting prisoners fought each other; they would come at night and smash the heads of other prisoners sleeping next to me,” he recalls.

But God protected His servant, and Manja was never injured.

Prayers from Around the World

Throughout Brother Manja’s journey of arrest and imprisonment, Gospel for Asia staff around the world, supporters and prayer partners faithfully prayed for him and his family.

One staff member from Gospel for Asia U.S. office recalls, “One thing I’ll never forget about those years is the incredible number of faithful believers, from all corners of the nation, that would ask me how [Manja] was doing. Even during periods where his situation wasn’t prominent in our news, so many individuals continued to consistently pray and even fast for him and his family.”

Manja and Rati later testified of the effect of those global prayers.

“While I was in prison,” Manja shared, “guests used to visit me once in a while. Our Metropolitan, Dr. KP Yohannan, Auntie Gisela [K.P.’s wife] . . . they came to visit me and hug me and tell me that I am not alone, there are believers in several places, several countries that are praying for me. … Because of their prayers, my family and me, we were safe in God’s hands. … Because of their prayer, I was able to live a life of sincerity and faithfulness in the prison.”

Rati said, “It was only because of prayers of Christians around the world that I was able to do ministry and helped my children grow in a godly manner.”

Overwhelming joy and thankfulness to God - KP Yohannan - Gospel for Asia — Overwhelming joy and thankfulness to God was exhibited by Manja’s family upon his release. His son was only 5 years old and his daughter was 2 years old when he was arrested.

Freedom

At last, hopeful news came. A number of prisoners’ sentences were being reduced by half, and Manja would soon be free. After nine years behind bars, Manja walked out of the prison a free man.

Almost in disbelief, Rati laid traditional flower garlands around her husband’s neck to honor him and welcome him home. Manja embraced his son, who had grown taller than him. At home, everyone celebrated, catching up on more than nine years apart. His daughter, 2 years old when he was jailed, made tea for her daddy.

After all that happened, Manja looked forward to continuing his ministry on both sides of the prison door. He wanted to make sure the believers still in confinement weren’t left alone.

“Had I lost hope, my life would have been ruined,” he explained. “I did not allow anything to quench the fire of hope.”

Nearly a decade has passed since Manja was released, and he continues to share the hope he has in Christ that sustained him through years of injustice. During Nepal’s devastating earthquakes in 2015 , he and other Gospel for Asia-supported workers actively provided relief supplies and prayed for survivors. His story is not finished yet.

Keep Praying

I chose to share Brother Manja’s story with you today because it is a major testimony of answered prayer in Gospel for Asia history. His story shows the determination of those who are following Christ and serving in Asia. It shows the power of love and united prayer.

On the day Manja was arrested, I would have been at a Gospel for Asia Tuesday night prayer meeting with other Gospel for Asia staff and their families. It was probably a good day for me—it was even my birthday—but that day was a day of grief for his family. Yet God was with both of us. He can rejoice with those who rejoice while also comforting those who mourn.

I remember praying for Manja later and other imprisoned missionaries. I remember the shock of hearing, after already praying so much for his release, that Manja’s trial had finally taken place and he had a 20-year sentence. We kept praying. It seemed he would be released, and then our hopes were dashed. Again and again. For years. Then suddenly we heard he was free! All those years of prayer were answered. It honestly felt strange to no longer need to pray for his release, it had been part of my life for so long.

November 5 and 12 are considered the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church (IDOP). Let’s keep praying for those who are persecuted, those who are imprisoned—your prayers do make a difference.

Whatever you are praying for right now, the answer may be years in arriving, but know that God hears you today, and He will answer.

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How Might We Incorporate More Prayer Into Our Lives? Recalls Gospel for Asia

Last updated on: November 28, 2019 at 1:22 pm By GFA Staff Writer

It’s time to talk about one of Gospel for Asia longest-standing traditions: Tuesday night prayer meeting!

The very first Tuesday night prayer meeting began in a time of Dr. KP Yohannan’s life when his passion was suddenly rekindled for the people in his homeland to know Christ’s love. Eager to do anything he could, Dr. Yohannan and his wife, Gisela, called a few friends together one Tuesday night and began to pray in their living room. They spread maps around the room and used them to pray for the nations God loves so dearly.

The decision—made more than 30 years ago—to start a simple prayer meeting has since shaped the direction and mindset of the ministry birthed not long after: Gospel for Asia.

“As days went by,” Yohannan recalls, “things became more and more clear about what we must do [to move forward in ministry]. Not that God unfolded the entire plan, no; He would just say one thing and we did that, and then the next thing. Life was suspense. But one thing was consistent: prayer. Now, as the work began to grow, that became the trademark of our movement.”

One of Gospel for Asia first staff members recalls, “In those early days, back in the ‘80s, we met in Brother K.P.’s living room. We didn’t know what God was going to do, but we sure wanted Him to do something.”

Prayer Meeting - KP Yohannan - Gospel for Asia — This photo, taken in the mid 1990s, shows the growth God brought to Gospel for Asia. What started as a small prayer meeting with four or five people grew to a group that filled Dr. KP Yohannan’s small home.

‘Not By Might, Nor By Power’

“Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit says the Lord of Hosts.” —Zechariah 4:6

Throughout Gospel for Asia’s history, we’ve held fast to this significant verse. We are frequently reminded to acknowledge that although God has given us gifts, abilities and resources to do ministry, it is only His Spirit that can bring the increase or transform lives. It’s about dependence upon the Lord and humility, which Dr. KP Yohannan Metropolitan writes about in some of his booklets.

“Prayer is a foundation of everything that we do,” another Gospel for Asia (GFA) leader shares. “You can’t build a building without a foundation—well, you could, but it wouldn’t last very long. This ministry was founded on prayer and is sustained by prayer.”

As years passed, the room where Gospel for Asia (GFA) staff met to pray began bursting at the seams as more and more prayer warriors joined them in lifting up peoples whose languages had no Bible translation or praying for more national workers in Asian countries.

Gisela Yohannan remembers how the entire house would be used for the prayer meeting. People sat on the floor because every chair was already filled, and bedrooms became temporary nurseries for young children to sleep in. Hosting dozens of people in your home every week is not an easy thing for a lot people, but it was worth it to Gisela.

“Everything we wanted to do, we had to pray for,” she says. “Even the stamps for our first mailing. We didn’t have any reserve. We prayed, and God answered.”

Tuesday night prayer meeting - KP Yohannan - Gospel for Asia — “Auntie Gisela time” at a Tuesday night prayer meeting in her home in the late ‘90s, Gisela Yohannan gives special prayer requests to staff children.

Prayer Meeting from the Perspective of GFA Staff Kid Now Staff

As I write this, memories of prayer meetings roll through my mind. GFA’s Tuesday night prayer meetings have always been a part of my life. I remember being 5 or 6 years old and hurrying to help my mom microwave our bean and cheese burritos before rushing off to go pray for Asia. I’m sure the E.L. Fudge cookies “Auntie Gisela” set out after most prayer meetings helped excite me about Tuesday prayer—but even without cookies, it was the highlight of the week.

By participating in prayer meetings throughout my childhood, I learned you can talk to the Lord about anything—nothing was too small or insignificant, and nothing was too big either.

During “Auntie Gisela time,” when Gisela Yohannan gave us children some prayer requests to pray for, she often said something along the lines of, “A missionary came to a village and saw someone who was so sick they could not leave their bed. And so he prayed for the person, and can you guess what happened?” We all shouted the answer we knew it must be: “They got healed!”

At prayer meeting, we learned about people who were sick and were healed miraculously by God. We heard about missionaries who were rejected by their families because they decided to love Jesus, and we prayed for their comfort. We learned there were many people who didn’t grow up going to Sunday school and who didn’t have parents who knew Jesus, so we learned to pray they would have a chance to hear about God’s Son.

That was years ago now, but “Auntie Gisela time” still happens every week during Tuesday night prayer. I love seeing a new generation of children experiencing those things that had a part in shaping my own life. Things have changed since I sat in Brother K.P.’s and Gisela’s living room with 20–30 adults and kids listening to prayer requests.

Our prayer meetings are now in a chapel on Gospel for Asia’s administrative campus, and we use microphones and PowerPoints instead of plastic lyric sheets on an overhead projector—but the power of God has not changed. He is answering prayers in powerful ways today just as He was 30 years ago when it was just a handful of people praying with Brother K.P. during that very first Tuesday night prayer meeting.

prayer meetings in a chapel - KP Yohannan - Gospel for Asia — Today, GFA’s Texas home office staff gather for prayer meetings in a chapel on GFA’s administrative campus in Wills Point, Texas.

Prayer Changes Things

Each one of us at GFA and around the world can testify to the power of prayer—the power of God. If you have an answered prayer you want to share, we’d love to hear it!

Writing this post reminds me again of the significance of prayer. It makes me ask, How might I incorporate more prayer into my life? I encourage you to ask yourself that question too! You may find Dr. KP Yohannan’s prayer resources helpful, such as “Guidelines for Effective Prayer Meetings,” “Learning to Pray” or GFA’s monthly prayer page, which provides prayer requests for areas of ministry in Asia. Operation World is also a valuable prayer resource.

And if you are ever near a GFA office on a Tuesday evening, we’d love to pray with you!

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Gospel for Asia: Do FBOs Help Decrease the Levels of Poverty in Our World?

Last updated on: November 26, 2019 at 1:59 pm By Karen Mains

With our headlines screaming about one disaster after another—fires in the California hills, hurricanes, flooding, drought and warming seas rising—and with the increasing incidents of gun violence here in the States and of terrorism activating itself in the Middle East, the near East and in Europe, it is easy to forget there is good news happening beyond this barrage of warnings, distress signals and red flags flying.

One of the great news notices a majority of people have missed is that the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) announced in March 2016 that in the last 30 years, extreme poverty around the world has been reduced by half. This information was based on a United Nations assessment following its goal-setting at the dawn of the new millennium: to eradicate poverty by 2030.

This initiative was included in what was titled The Millennium Development Goals, which included eight international goals for the year 2015 that had been established following the Millennium Summit of the United Nations 2000. Among the goals were:

To eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
To achieve universal primary education
To promote gender equality and empower women
To reduce child mortality, etc.

Some critics have complained of a lack of thorough scientific analysis behind the millennial sustainable goals and its recently announced outcomes. Questions have risen about the justification for some of the analysis behind chosen objectives. Even deciding what comprises a poverty level baseline is difficult (right now it is those who earn less than the equivalent of $1.90 U.S. per day).

All experts on the topic know that whatever true success has been achieved (the World Bank, according to its studies, feels that the statistical results are even better than those announced by the United Nations), the situation of the marginally poor, those rising out of extreme poverty, is still fragile. War lords can tip one country, such as South Sudan, into starvation. Climate change, for instance, is thought to be able to plunge those with marginal economic achievements back into dire need.

The point of this good news, however, despite these considerations, is that the war on world poverty has succeeded beyond any one of the expert’s dreams. The big question for those of faith is: How do faith-based organizations (FBOs) fit into helping decrease the levels of poverty around the world? The presence of mission organizations and Christian relief and development NGOs literally span the world and can be found on every continent and in the majority of developing countries. Or perhaps, the question should be: Do they even count in this grand scheme of eradicating world poverty?

While attending the Global Missions Health Conference that convenes yearly in Nashville, Tennessee, I bumped into a gentleman, a medical doctor, who has vast experience in world health efforts. We talked about the Millennial Goals and I asked him my question: How do faith-based organizations contribute to the amazing statistics that are developing out of these worldwide initiatives? Do they? And if they do, what measurements show their contributions?

He smiled, took out a business card and wrote some notes on the back, directing me to a section of the World Health Organization’s website. “When you get time, look at this,” he told me. “Several years back, WHO did a study of faith-based organizations during the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Africa. Their conclusions were amazing.”

On arriving home, I went web-searching and found a 33-page report based on extensive research observation, followed by another three pages of resources (some 113 in all), which gave strong evidence that faith-based organizations in relationship to health endeavors were invaluable and should be included in the overall joint partnership efforts that were outlined in the Millennial Goals. Included are just a few quotable assessments out of the broad study:

FBOs are significant health care providers in the developing world.
FBO health projects are often independently funded and do not, in general, receive an adequate proportion of public funds distribution.
Compassion is the primary value underlying major religious systems.
Many religious traditions are characterized by a focus on healing: “A primary focus of religious expectations in the 21st century is the multidimensional longing for healing of body and mind, of soul and spirit, of personal and social relations, of political and ecological dimensions in this broken world.”

The extensive evaluation offers suggestions for improvement—mostly in outcomes reporting, data collection, and the opening of dialogues between the public sector and faith-supported initiatives. One concluding section, however, begins with the statement, “Evidence suggests that FBOs already offer tangible value by:

Delivering services that supplement government offerings
Bringing external resources from a range of donors
Arising within religious and cultural loyalties of the local communities they serve
Being numerous and, on the whole, more integrated with the communities they serve
Connecting into associated services that are considered valuable within primary health care strategies.”

The end result of this extensive study was the recommendation by the World Health Organization that religious entities already on the ground and substantively rooted in their communities are ideally placed, perhaps even more so than many in the international aid systems, to bring a holistic (or some would call it an integral) approach to humans who suffer from the effects of dire and marginal poverty. After all, how many aid organizations are truly equipped to serve the whole person—body and mind, soul and spirit? Which of them show a multi-dimensional longing for the healing of personal and social relations, of political and ecological dimensions in this broken world?

This blog is dedicated to the exceptional work being done by one of those faith-based organizations, Gospel for Asia, which specializes in bringing the awareness of God’s love through an emphasis that is community grounded, understands the religious and cultural loyalties of the places and people they serve, and literally employs tens of thousands of financially underwritten or volunteer workers to help eradicate poverty, but in a way that ministers to the whole person, body and mind and soul and spirit.

Here are a couple ways GFA-supported workers are helping eradicate poverty:

Romila’s Story

A plumber by trade, Romila’s husband, Taraswin, worked faithfully to provide for his wife and little baby girl. However, no matter how hard he tried, he struggled to find work. Day by day they were sinking financially. A friend directed Taraswin to a job opportunity in another village. Believing this would help change things, they moved to start afresh.

But work was inconsistent, and this new job soon proved to be of no help to their financial state. As monthly rent drained their income, things did not look bright.

Then, one day, they were chatting with their neighbor, and he introduced Taraswin and Romila to his friend, a Gospel for Asia-supported pastor named Rochan. As Pastor Rochan struck up a conversation with the couple, they began to open up about their struggles. When Pastor Rochan walked away, he felt compelled to do everything he could to help this family.

Three weeks later, he invited Taraswin and Romila to a Christmas gift distribution program. Romila could hardly believe her eyes when she received her sewing machine.

“I was really longing for a machine,” Romila recalls. “I have no words to express my feelings and thanks to the church.”

Now Romila can help provide for her family by sewing clothes from her home. The hopelessness which hung over Romila and Taraswin lifted, as they now can easily pay for their rent with plenty left over for additional expenses.

Dhansukh’s Story

Daily life was a struggle for Dhansukh and his family. Because Dhansukh had difficulty walking, he couldn’t work as a daily wage laborer, which is a common job for many people in Asia. Instead, Dhansukh provided for his family by selling vegetables.

But after some time, Dhansukh’s business began running into the ground. Fewer people made purchases, and the vegetables that remained started to rot. Dhansukh tried all he could to save money and make up for the lack. He took his children out of the private school they were attending and sent them to a public school instead. He asked his brothers and his sister for hand-me-downs for his children.

But even as he cut down on expenses left and right, eventually the vegetable-seller could no longer afford to buy fresh vegetables to feed his family. The meals they would eat in one day became fewer and fewer.

In the middle of the family’s crisis, Gospel for Asia-supported pastor Vismay came to buy vegetables one day. Dhansukh told Pastor Vismay about his business troubles and asked him to pray for him.

Pastor Vismay kept Dhansukh’s prayer request in mind, and God eventually provided an opportunity for him to help Dhansukh’s family practically by giving him two female goats at a Christmas gift distribution.

These gifts impacted Dhansukh in a special way: As he witnessed firsthand the Lord’s power to answer prayers, he realized God loved him and Jesus’ followers cared about him. And now, with the income these goats will provide, Dhansukh will be able to take care of his family.

Dhansukh’s Story - KP Yohannan - Gospel for Asia — This is Dhansukh with his goat that was given to him by a Gospel for Asia-supported pastor. The goat ended up multiplying!

The help this faith-based organization provided went beyond just material provision, as you can see from Romila’s and Dhansukh’s testimonies. It ministered to their soul and spirit as they understood how much they were loved by God and His people.

Often secular skeptics involved in international development look askance at those who work in faith-based missions around the world. The evidence being gathered, however, by objective outside observers seems to be producing a body of proof that some of the front-line participants in the change that is occurring in the eradication of poverty is being carried out by the unsung, unrecognized, diligent, altruistic people who love God and whose lives are driven by that love manifested as it is in concern and care for the downtrodden and the forgotten, for the abused and the neglected of the earth. Of this, those of us in faith-based communities have nothing to be ashamed.

I personally stand in awe of many of my brothers and sisters worldwide, some close friends, many of whom put their lives on the line every day, who have little thought of personal success or notoriety, who have shunned financial security and through a dogged kind of compassion serve God. One day in time, we will know what all they have done toward this remarkable goal of eradicating extreme poverty worldwide.

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Gospel for Asia: Compelled by God’s Love to Help Eradicate Poverty

Last updated on: December 3, 2019 at 3:21 am By GFA Staff Writer

After a long day’s work, you are probably ready for a hearty dinner, a refreshing drink and maybe even a hot shower. Perhaps you have a book propped open on your table to enjoy before you curl up on your comfortable bed for a good night’s sleep.

But for more than 10 percent of mankind, these luxuries are far beyond reach. That is why, 25 years ago, the UN declared Oct. 17 as the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty.

Since its formation 25 years ago, the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty calls for global awareness of the unacceptably high number of people living in poverty—and for action to remedy the situation.

Although they laborer from sun up to sun down, millions of families in Asia still live in extreme poverty.

What is Poverty?

The World Bank sets the extreme poverty line at living on $1.90 per day or less. Poverty is a lack of money, but it is so much more than that. Poverty means children grow up malnourished; it means parents can’t give their children new clothes when they outgrow their old ones; poverty means illiteracy will likely pass from one generation to the next, as children work in fields instead of studying in classrooms.

In an interview originally published in The Christian Century, Ana Revenga, the Deputy Chief Economist for The World Bank Group, explains how the needs of those living in extreme poverty go beyond what can be described in simple monetary terms like $1.90 per day.

“We can monetize a lot of the aspects of poverty,” she states, “but there is a legitimate debate about the multidimensional aspects of poverty. When you talk to the poor, they will talk about a sense of dignity and about having a job, not just receiving money. How do you monetize that?”

Poverty can sometimes cause “poverty of spirit,” as discouragement, shame and crushed hopes wear down the hearts of parents who are trying everything they can to earn enough for their families.

Gifts that Change Everything

We at Gospel for Asia see firsthand the poverty and struggle experienced by families in the nations we serve, and we’re committed to empowering these families to improve their circumstances.

Every year, we launch a ministry-wide campaign through our Christmas Gift Catalog to help provide income-generating gifts for families in need. Since beginning this Christmas gift campaign, we’ve seen thousands of times how simple, inexpensive gifts like rickshaws, sewing machines and goats radically transform the life of a family.

In 2016 alone, 600,989 families in Asia received life-changing gifts like the ones found in our gift catalog. Many of those gifts are income-generating and will continue to perpetuate hope and new opportunities for families, as one gift did for Prabhal’s family.

Rickshaws are a common mode of transportation in many Asian nations. Some carry cargo while others are designed for transporting passengers.

Hardworking Father Struggles to Provide

Prabhal strove to care for the family God entrusted to him, yet even with the hours of hard work he put in every day, he barely earned enough money to feed his wife and two children. He owned no land, so he toiled in others’ fields, earning just enough to buy rice and vegetables. The meager meal, split between four people, hardly satisfied the hearty appetite Prabhal developed after laboring in the sun all day, but there was nothing else he could do. As hard as he tried, his family’s situation didn’t improve. The high cost of living swallowed up everything Prabhal earned and locked his family into a pattern of living from hand to mouth.

The lack of income affected more than their mealtimes—clothing was hard to come by, too. Purchasing inexpensive clothes just once a year for his wife, son and daughter was problematic. Even worse, Prabhal’s son had to drop out of school, caught in the same cycle of poverty that grips millions of people in Asia. Without receiving an education, obtaining a well-paying job is unlikely, so financial struggles continue from generation to generation.

Extending a Helping Hand

Prabhal and his family are part of a congregation led by Gospel for Asia-supported pastor Nand. Pastor Nand observed the poverty Prabhal’s family endured, and his heart went out to them. His opportunity to help the needy family came through the generosity of believers who had never even met Prabhal.

Some gifts like those in GFA’s Christmas Gift Catalog were directed toward Pastor Nand’s area. While helping organize the distribution, Pastor Nand suggested Prabhal be selected as one of the recipients.

His Rickshaw: An Unassuming Treasure

Overjoyed and filled with gratitude, Prabhal received a new rickshaw at the gift distribution. Rickshaws are a common mode of transportation in many Asian nations, and they provide a steady profit for those who own them. After years of financial difficulty, this simple gift brought new hope for Prabhal’s family!

He quickly redirected his diligence from his field labor jobs to driving his rickshaw. Soon, the income he earned was more than enough to provide for his family’s needs.

Although Prabhal’s son had dropped out of school because of poverty, this new source of income meant Prabhal’s daughter could receive an education. Even after meeting his family’s needs and sending his daughter to school, Prabhal was able to start setting aside savings—yet another thing that had been impossible for him to do before receiving the rickshaw.

“After getting the rickshaw, it is easier for me to earn money,” Prabhal shared. “Now I do not have to go in search of labor work. Moreover, I can easily maintain my family, and we do not worry about what to eat in the morning and in the evening.”

Prabhal’s bicycle rickshaw will probably never be called “sporty.” There’s nothing exotic about it—no shiny chrome, no eye-catching leather interior. But this functional vehicle means the world to Prabhal because he no longer worries about how to feed his family.

“I am so blessed by this rickshaw,” Prabhal continued, “and thankful to the Lord for His blessings and to all the church leaders for thinking about my family.”

Through Gospel for Asia’s Christmas Gift Catalog, thousands of families have received income-generating gifts that will help halt the cycle of poverty in their lives.

‘The Love of God Compels Us’

Now, Prabhal’s family lives above the poverty line, in stark contrast to their situation just a few years ago. Recognizing God’s provision in his life, Prabhal rejoices in the care his faithful Provider demonstrated toward his family.

That’s why we do what we do. We love God, and God loves the farmers, fishermen, daily wage laborers, housewives, child laborers and grandparents who are hungry, cold and wondering if anyone sees them. Through these gifts, we can meet their pressing needs and give them dignity, and in so doing, show them that people see their needs, and Someone cares.

That’s what this day is about.

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Rural Women Still Suffer from Multi-Dimensional Poverty Reports Gospel for Asia (GFA)

Last updated on: December 3, 2019 at 3:01 am By Karen Mains

For those of us who love words—and for whom numbers are a kind of ugly stepbrother—the data, nevertheless, often speaks for itself. In some parts of India, for instance, the ratio of 1,000 men per 800 women is due to routine female murders through infanticide, gender-based abortion, the dowry system where some 10,000 women are murdered annually when they cannot provide the required capitol for marriage, or/and the lack of proper medical care. In 2013, mortality rates of Indian women in childbirth were 167 per 100,000 births, contrasted with only 25.5 deaths in the United States.

The statistics, those “pesky” numbers, go on and on. Without a doubt, they prove that in much of the developing world, women are still considered a sub-species. Yet, numbers can summate the other way; they can become numerical digits of hope, the mathematical consequences of surveys and thousands of interviews, and the scientific measurements of outcomes—indices that prove that dire poverty is being overcome in much of the world, and the status of women and girls worldwide is improving.

Indeed, one of the surprising statistics, welcomed by those who believe in the potential of girls and women, is that the countries that educate their female population see a consequent rise in their national economic well-being, the GDP. Educated women raise healthier children, find ways of increasing family incomes, then spend some 90 percent of that income on their family’s well-being.

According to the World Bank, the return on one year of secondary education for one girl correlates with as high as a 25 percent increase in wages later in life. A class of educated girls achieving a grade-school education will naturally reduce poverty, not only in their own families but in their whole communities. Send the girls to school! The numbers testify to the outcomes.

According to the United Nations, this day, October 15, has been set aside as the International Day of Rural Women. Women account for a substantial proportion of the agricultural labor force, comprising some 43 percent of it; yet, they still bear responsibility for most of the household and family burdens and are increasingly carrying extra burdens, as men travel to areas where job possibilities are more promising.

Yet in much of the world, even in those countries which have been upgraded from developing to developed status, rural women still suffer from multi-dimensional poverty. Due to discriminatory policies, women farmers have less access than men to land rights that secure ownership, to agricultural education and training, to loans and financing, to water and other sources of energy, to new and helpful technologies, to exposure that introduces agriculture that is climate resilient, and to creating communities that are prepared to respond to disasters such as drought or flooding.

The good news is that conditions of extreme poverty are decreasing in much of the world, the bad news is that some 1 billion people who continue to live in unacceptable levels of poverty are heavily concentrated in rural areas. The estimates by the folk who study these kinds of indicators are that if women in dire-poverty areas found the gender gap closed regarding land tenure and access to other assets now available to men, the agricultural outputs in any given geography could increase by as much as 20 percent.

The really good news, however, is the Good News—a message that teaches that all are created equal in the sight of God, made in His image, and cherished by Him.

Gospel for Asia has established a remarkable emphasis on training and reaching women suffering from discrimination and gender stigmatization. This is being accomplished through its Women Reaching Women program.

Women missionaries—who already live in Asia, have mastered the language, understand the cultural barriers and taboos that keep women from progressing, and who themselves have been prepared by going through Bible college—are taking the love of Jesus to other women who are beginning to understand that in His eyes there is no such thing as second-class, under-class or any kind of human sub-species.

They’re also helping start initiatives that will bring rural women out of poverty.

More than 80,000 women in Asia are enrolled in a microfinance system administered by GFA field partners. Women learn to support themselves and their families through start-up gifts, such as micro-loans, brooding hens, farm animals or sewing machines.

I’ve shared a lot of numbers with you throughout this post even though I’m one of those persons who loves words. So now I’d like to switch gears and tell you a story.

Last year, Gospel for Asia (GFA) shared a story in their GFA World magazine about a woman named Aaheli who took on what some called a “risky venture.” With the help of a microfinance program supported by GFA field partners, Aaheli and group of women bought a plot a land and cultivated it to grow tapioca. Through this, they were given a chance to break free from the cycle of poverty. Here is a little more of their story:

Lives of Pathetic Conditions

Aaheli, just like her four companions, desperately wanted a new beginning for her family. She joined her husband in bringing income to the household in hopes that by doing so, her children would get a quality education. She dreamed of giving her children a good future.

Every day she visited nearby families, asking if there was any work that needed to be done. She’d clean their houses and wash their dishes if it meant getting a few more rupees in her hands at the end of the day.

It was the same for Suchi, except she just wanted to make sure she could feed her child. She’d see other parents able to afford good food for their children; then she’d look at her own life. There were times when the electricity was shut off to her home because the bills weren’t paid.

Then Aaheli and Suchi heard about a microfinance program in their area. The program, which operates under Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported Women’s Fellowship, has helped more than 80,000 women overcome poverty by providing loans that will help them start their own businesses.

Maybe this was the way to their dreams.

Aaheli (second from right) and three other ladies who joined her in her “risky venture.”

Becoming Part of the Program

Aaheli and Suchi applied. The microfinance program had strict qualifications: Each woman had to have a clean reputation, an entrepreneurial mind and a good history of borrowing money.

Women would form local “units” and attend weekly meetings that would help them learn more about owning their own businesses, time management and being good financial stewards. It would also be a time when they could discuss ideas and fellowship with one another.

Aaheli and Suchi ended up in the same unit.

Fighting Discouragement

As Aaheli, Suchi and the other unit members grew together, Aaheli suggested they buy a field. They could plant tapioca, yams, bananas, and then sell their produce. Suchi and three others joined Aaheli.

When they presented the idea to their husbands, however, they received scoffing.

“It will collapse,” their husbands would say. “Don’t get involved in such kind of activities.”

The constant discouragement dampened the women’s hopes. “We have other options. Shall we start a tailoring unit? It will be better,” some of the women suggested.

But Aaheli refused to be brought down.

“We can do this one,” she said.

Their unit leaders also encouraged them, but more importantly, their leaders prayed for them—and they felt God’s power in those prayers. Whenever the women gathered for their weekly meetings, they gained confidence and learned to trust Jesus in all things.

More Than Economical Help

With the women’s hearts encouraged, they moved forward. They bought their field, and an excitement at the new venture filled the women. Then they began working the land. That was difficult.

Handling the spades and other tools took effort. They came home with aching bodies and blistered hands, and they cried. But they didn’t give up. Every day, they’d walk to the field and ignore the remarks of men who thought them too feeble to work a field.

Fruition of Their Dreams

Aaheli looked at the field they had bought. It had taken some months, but trees had sprouted. She pressed her bare feet into the dirt and dug her wooden-handled spade into the ground.

Every stroke revealed months of labor and hope. She cleared more dirt away then lifted a cluster of tapioca plant from the earth.

Their labor was not in vain. What they had planted had brought forth life and with it the ability to take care of their families.

Aaheli’s story is representative of 80,000 women who are finding new ways to overcome poverty—now that’s a nice number to see. Even though numbers to my brain are often a puzzlement, I know that sometimes numbers are important. Numbers show what difference is being made worldwide. Numbers can identify the plight of women in impoverished communities. They can also be harbingers of good things that are happening—like for the 79,999 other Aahelis throughout Asia.

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Gospel for Asia: Their Newborn Daughter Was a Disgrace to Them. “If It’s Possible, You Kill Her,” the Father Fumed.

Last updated on: December 3, 2019 at 3:39 am By GFA Staff Writer

Oct. 11 marks the International Day of the Girl Child. According to the United Nations, it’s a day meant to bring awareness to the “challenges girls face and to promote girls’ empowerment and the fulfillment of their human rights.”

Worldwide, girls are more likely than boys to be illiterate, to experience higher levels of physical and sexual violence, and to be targeted for infanticide.

Ruth, a Gospel for Asia-supported missionary, knew the struggles of being a girl since the day of her birth.

Once a Beggar for Love

“I don’t want this girl. If it’s possible, you kill her,” the man fumed.

Before him stood his wife and, in her arms, their newborn daughter. This child was a disgrace to them—especially because she was their fourth girl. In their culture, daughters are deemed worthless, only bringing financial burden to their families.

Father Devastated by Daughter’s Birth

When the father realized this child was not the son they desired and had sacrificed to their gods for, he erupted. Their newborn daughter, Ruth, survived that day but would live her entire childhood paying them back for the son she was not.

Ruth began working in her parents’ fields when she was 5 years old. She watched her older sisters wear nice clothes while she dressed in rags. Her father wouldn’t let her eat, so her mother had to smuggle her food.

Hope Rises in Abused Girl

When Ruth was 14 years old, she met a Gospel for Asia-supported pastor and some women missionaries in her village. They visited Ruth’s family often, discussing spirituality with her parents. Afterward, they would spend time with Ruth, showing her something she had never known before: love.

‘You Should Have Been a Boy’

One night, Ruth was allowed to eat dinner in her father’s presence, and she mustered up courage to ask the question she had been wondering about for years.

“Why are you not loving me?” she asked.

Her father exploded, “You should have been a boy!”

He threw his dinner at Ruth and got up, shouting abusive words at her. Afraid for her life, Ruth hid behind the house the entire night.

Ruth Finds the Father

When she told the women missionaries what happened, they comforted her and invited her to a worship service. While there, Ruth listened to the pastor share John 1:12 and John 3:16.

“These two verses touched me so much,” Ruth shares. “I cried out . . . ‘This many days I was like a beggar for love, [hoping] somebody may love me, somebody will care for me, somebody can ask me, “How are you?” . . . but [they] never did.’ After knowing these [missionaries], I came to know Somebody loves me.”

That day was the beginning of a new life for Ruth. She grew in knowledge and spiritual understanding of her Heavenly Father, the one who faithfully loved her and desired her when her earthly father did not.

Father Devastated by Daughter’s Birth - KP Yohannan - Gospel for Asia — Woman missionary Ruth (pictured) knew the struggles of being a girl since the day of her birth.

Hated Before They Are Born

There are many others who come from similar situations as Ruth’s. Thrown away, cast out, unloved just because they were born a girl. The United Nations once estimated that more than 200 million girls worldwide go “missing” due to gendercide, the systematic killing of members of a specific sex.

Before they take their first breath, the girl child is hated and unwanted.

If they survive the nine months in their mother’s womb, they enter a world where their very existence is deemed worthless. Daughters are unable to carry on the family name. They require a dowry for their marriage. They’re another mouth to feed when there’s just not enough to go around. It’s the sons who provide and take care of the families, the sons who carry on the family name, the sons who bring pride and joy.

In an article for Mission Frontiers, Elizabeth Reno, founder and president of Give Her Life, wrote, “Every year millions of daughters are strangled, suffocated, drowned, lethally neglected, or aborted simply because her family wanted a boy and not a girl.”

Made in the Image of God

We at Gospel for Asia (GFA) know that every child—son and daughter—is precious in the eyes of God. He created them in His image and gave them worth from the day of their conception, as it reads in His Word:

“For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them.” —Psalm 139:13–16

Motivated by the truth of these holy words, Gospel for Asia-supported workers share God’s life-giving love with people who believe killing their baby girls is OK. And we’re seeing destinies changed.

Thankfully, Ruth escaped murder at the hand of her parents. When she grew older, she was able to leave home—and her father’s hatred—to attend a Bible college. And when the day came to visit her family again, she encountered a miracle.

Ruth Visits Her Family

As the bus pulled up to the stop in her hometown, Ruth felt the old fear. She walked toward her father and knelt down to touch his feet, a cultural tradition of respect and to receive blessings. The last time she had done that, her father kicked her. But this time, instead of kicking her, Ruth’s father caught her by the arms and, for the first time in her life, hugged her.

“That was a very precious day for me!” Ruth shares. “I felt like heaven had come down!”

While Ruth was in Bible college, the pastor and women missionaries had kept visiting her parents. Eventually, they had also come to know God’s love for them.

The love of Christ had changed her father’s heart. Instead of hatred and resentment, Ruth’s father embraced her as his own. She was no longer the girl child that “should have been born a boy.”

At GFA, we know that life in Christ brings change. We see it over and over in the reports we get from the field. We’re thankful for days like International Day of the Girl Child, which brings awareness to the dark reality that millions of people live with. And we hope many others will see their baby girls as valuable and made in the image of God.

Watch this video of Ruth as she shares her story.

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Gospel for Asia Urges Affirmation of Pastors During Clergy Appreciation Month

Last updated on: November 15, 2017 at 3:43 pm By Dr. David R. Mains

What do you think the average pastor gets more of—compliments or complaints?

Are you thinking about your answer?

Again, does the normal man or woman in the clergy get more affirmation or criticism?

Let’s make it more personal. Do you think your pastor receives more compliments or complaints?

Can the scope of questioning be narrowed even more? Are your words about your minister more positive or negative?

Do you recall talking recently with someone about your home church and its pastoral staff? Were your words affirming? Could it be they were not as constructive as they were destructive?

America is badly in need of another sweeping revival. When the Church, nationally speaking, is in decline, it is easy for people to get discouraged and to fall into negative speech patterns. This is certainly true in settings where a congregation is shrinking for one reason or another. Negative words are especially disadvantageous in such situations. They can even bring about a congregation’s early demise.

Were you aware that in the United States, October is National Clergy Appreciation Month?

“Since when did that come about?” you ask.

Since 1992. The stated reason was to uplift and encourage pastors, missionaries and religious workers.

“That’s nice. Who thought that up?” you inquire further.

It was the Hallmark Greeting Card Company.

Don’t laugh! Gospel for Asia(GFA) is not going to question their motivation.

Instead, we are in favor of any efforts to encourage ministers. We believe that most ministers have a strong sense of being called by the Holy Spirit to be a spokesperson on the Lord’s behalf. This is not something these ministers take lightly. To them, they did not choose this vocation. They truly believe God chose them to work on His behalf. We find this to be the case whether the given person ministers in North America or Asia—or in any of the world’s continents, for that matter.

But too many American pastors, both men and women, are leaving the profession. Lots of them report being “burned out.” Many believe people are no longer interested in spiritual matters, and as church leaders, they feel incapable of turning things around. They have tried repeatedly and failed repeatedly, and they feel like losers.

This is unlike what Gospel for Asia GFA is observing in Asia. There we find pastors delighting in the opportunities open to them. This is in spite of hardships they face. We see new congregations springing up. We discover a great level of commitment and sacrifice and optimism on the part of the Gospel for Asia-supported ministers. However, that doesn’t mean there is no need for parishioners to still consistently encourage their leaders with words of affirmation. Positive comments are always in order!

But what about church leaders in America? Would a well-spoken word of support be something you could be sure to give during this Clergy Appreciation Month? Has it been a while since you have gone out of your way to do that?
The truth is, most of us function best when we are appreciated and affirmed.

Has anyone gone out of their way to pay you a compliment lately?

• I haven’t had a meal that good in I don’t know how long.
• We wouldn’t have made our goal without your contribution to the team!
• That outfit looks good on you.
• The words to that song you sang touched me deeply.
• You deserved that award, and it made me so proud of you!
• Your card came at just the right time. Thank you so much.
• You are the best mom in the whole world.
• Were you aware that you are one of my most valued employees?
• Bless you for being so incredibly generous.
• That sermon spoke right into my life and current circumstances, and it helped me a great deal!

What might the Holy Spirit be prompting you to say during this special month of October to your pastor? Can you stop reading for a moment and just think about that question?

When you sense what might be an appropriate comment from you to your minister, the next question starts with “when.” When would be a good time to deliver that message? And do you do it by email? Say it over the phone? Write it by hand? Use Twitter? Speak it as you are leaving a church service? Maybe even buy a card and add a personal note?

“Are there not some pastors who are deserving of constructive criticism?” you ask. Of course, there are! But please underline in your mind that word “constructive.”

How many positive comments about you would it take to make up for one that was quite negative?

Actually, it’s amazing how much damage a negative remark can inflict. And that’s true in general for pastors as well. Some clergy are able to deflect criticism like they had rhino skin, but they are the rare exceptions. That is why in the New Testament we are regularly called on to “encourage one another, and build each other up” (1 Thessalonians 5:11, NIV).

Gospel for Asia has been around long enough to experience the pain of negative criticism. Hopefully, we have also learned the reverse lesson of choosing our own words much more carefully. We know only too well the incredible damage that tongues can inflict. So we are highly motivated to speak that which is affirming and heals and builds up and is Christ-like.

That certainly includes letting those serving our Lord in high positions of responsibility know they are appreciated and affirmed. We strongly believe that is when such individuals function at their very best, and we are confident this will be true regarding your minister as well.

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