Last updated on: November 22, 2021 at 3:42 pm By GFA Staff Writer
WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA World) founded by K.P. Yohannan, has been the model for numerous charities like Gospel for Asia Canada, to help the poor and deprived worldwide – Discussing Parmeet who once struggled to provide for his family because he couldn’t work in the extremely harsh weather – but now, because of his new jacket from donations of Gospel for Asia (GFA World) friends, he can work even when it is very cold!
“Ihave many times cried because of the bitter cold,” shared 70-year-old Parmeet during an interview with a Gospel for Asia (GFA World) field correspondent last year.
“When it is extremely cold, we are not able to do anything; we are not able to go out and work in the field,” he explained. “And if we don’t work, we don’t get food.”
Life Below Zero
Where Parmeet lives, it drops below zero degrees Fahrenheit in the winter. Throughout the winter months, people can’t even take a bath because it is so cold—they only wash their faces, and that only after heating the water.
“If we touch the cold water, it hurts our hands so badly,” Parmeet explained.
People’s hands become dry and cracked. Frostbite is a regular threat for Parmeet and his large family, who layer all the ragged clothes they own in an effort to stay warm. To survive the frigid nights, the entire family crowds together near the kitchen stove and sleeps on sacks filled with husks and sawdust.
Firewood is essential for survival. In fact, Parmeet, a daily-wage laborer, often spends hours gathering firewood for his neighbors in order to earn a meager income. But due to the cold, he couldn’t get an early start or work for very long, meaning he struggled to provide food for his family. But that changed the day he received a jacket through the donations of Gospel for Asia (GFA World) friends—through people like you. “This is a very good jacket,” Parmeet shared. “It is of very good quality. … It has kept my body very warm. … Now I am able to go and do whatever work I am assigned.”
Sustained by the warmth of the jacket, this father, who already knew the love of the Savior, can work longer hours and make more money to feed his family.
“This jacket has not only protected me from cold and sickness, but this has encouraged me,” he said. “I feel my spirit is very high; I am very happy now.”
Thank You!
Although a large percentage of winter clothing packets go to help pastors and other GFA workers, some are also given to help and encourage men like Parmeet.
“I am so happy and so grateful to you for giving me this jacket,” Parmeet said, addressing his unknown benefactors around the world. “I pray the Lord would bless you. … Thank you very much for loving me and caring for me.”
*Names of people and places may have been changed for privacy and security reasons. Images are Gospel for Asia stock photos used for representation purposes and are not the actual person/location, unless otherwise noted.
Last updated on: November 22, 2021 at 3:45 pm By GFA Staff Writer
WILLS POINT, TX — Gospel for Asia (GFA World) founded by K.P. Yohannan, whose heart to love and help the poor has inspired numerous charities like Gospel for Asia Canada, to serve the deprived and downcast worldwide — released a new special report amid new COVID social restrictions in force in many countries, reveals the loneliness and despair of people living with another “disease of isolation” — leprosy.
COVID STAY-AT-HOME ‘DOESN’T COMPARE TO LEPROSY ISOLATION:’ With new COVID social restrictions in force in many countries, a just-released report (http://www.gfa.org/press/leprosy-ministry) from Gospel for Asia (GFA World) reveals the loneliness and despair of people living with another “disease of isolation” — leprosy. The report marked World Leprosy Day late last month.
Sixty percent of disabled leprosy patients surveyed in Bangladesh said life was “totally meaningless,” says the report by missions agency Gospel for Asia (GFA World), who recently marked World Leprosy Day.
Being confined to home for extended periods due to pandemic restrictions might be uncomfortable, but “it doesn’t compare to being isolated for the rest of one’s life in a leprosy colony,” says the report, http://www.gfa.org/press/leprosy-ministry.
“Right now, many of us are having a difficult time in isolation due to the pandemic,” said Gospel for Asia (GFA World) founder K.P. Yohannan. “But what a privilege we have to take our eyes off ourselves and become the hands and feet of Jesus, helping to bring hope and God’s love to someone who’s forgotten and who believes their life is meaningless.”
In the report, GFA World highlights the remarkable work of local teams visiting leprosy colonies in Asia — where the disease is most prevalent — and bringing hope and healing to those forgotten by the outside world.
Leprosy ‘Not To Be Feared’
Teams of local women — known as Sisters of Compassion — visit leprosy colonies in South Asia, bringing food and encouragement to people living with disabilities and disfigurements caused by advanced leprosy. Their willingness to befriend people with leprosy — including many shunned by family and friends — shows others in the wider community that those living with the disease are not to be feared or isolated.
In fact, the disease — dreaded for centuries — is nowhere near as contagious as most people imagine. Around 95 percent of the global population is immune to leprosy, and it’s curable with antibiotics if detected early. There are hopes that a vaccine — currently in clinical trials — will bring an end to leprosy and its devastating impact on tens of thousands of lives every year.
For many, though, like Mungeli Das — who contracted leprosy as a girl more than 50 years ago and didn’t receive treatment in time — there’s little hope of a cure. Disabled and living in a leprosy colony, she clings to the help and hope that GFA World’s Sisters of Compassion bring her. The “sisters” follow the example of Jesus who, according to the gospels, touched and healed those with leprosy.
“Before the sisters came there was no one to help trim our hair, cut our nails or help us clean our houses and encourage us,” she said. “The sisters (clean) our wounds and they make us happy and encourage (us) all the time.”
Battling ‘False Stereotypes’
World Leprosy Day — an annual awareness event held on the last Sunday in January — aims to combat stigma and leprosy myths, including the negative and false stereotypes that further isolate people with leprosy.
Media reports comparing coronavirus lockdown restrictions to “living in a leper colony” fuel stigma and “dehumanize” people with leprosy, according to GFA World. Because of its wide use in a negative sense, the term “leper” feeds prejudice, the agency says.
Leprosy is not confined to Asia and other parts of the developing world. Every year, around 200 new cases are reported in the U.S. — mostly international travelers — and, until fairly recently, there were leprosy colonies in Hawaii and Louisiana, says the report.
Gospel for Asia (GFA World) is a leading faith-based mission agency, helping national workers bring vital assistance and spiritual hope to millions across Asia, especially to those who have yet to hear about the love of God. In GFA’s latest yearly report, this included more than 70,000 sponsored children, free medical camps conducted in more than 1,200 villages and remote communities, over 4,800 clean water wells drilled, over 12,000 water filters installed, income-generating Christmas gifts for more than 260,000 needy families, and spiritual teaching available in 110 languages in 14 nations through radio ministry. For all the latest news, visit our Press Room at https://press.gfa.org/news.
KP Yohannan has issued two statements about the COVID-19 situation found here and here.
Last updated on: November 4, 2022 at 3:39 am By GFA Staff Writer
WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA World) founded by KP Yohannan, has been the model for numerous charities like Gospel for Asia Canada, to help the poor and deprived worldwide, issued this 2nd part of a Special Report update on the state of Modern Day Slavery amid the COVID 19 pandemic.
Chief Superintendent Linda Jones, divisional police commander, welcomes three new officers who will begin policing the streets of Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland very soon. Photo by Dumfries Galloway Police Division, Facebook
A recent Google search for “crime in the time of a virus human trafficking” found multiple results. One report from Asia documents that seasoned traffickers are busy distributing COVID relief materials and essential food items, and using this activity to identify vulnerable families and possible victims. A report by the UN indicates that the COVID crisis is putting human trafficking victims at risk of further exploitation.
In Scotland, police have warned that with many urban businesses closed, traffickers could be turning their sights on more rural areas.
INTERPOL, the international police agency, says the pandemic “has not blunted the determination of organized crime groups to prey on the vulnerable and make a profit from these crimes, which all too often cost the victims their lives.”
Rather, organized crime groups have increased the prices they charge those they are promising to get across borders illegally to find work and heightened the risks involved by trying to find unguarded entry points.
A case in point: In March, 64 male migrants were found dead in a shipping container loaded on the back of a truck trying to cross from Malawi into Mozambique. They are believed to have suffocated. Fourteen others survived.
Such large-scale operations—and tragedies—are not limited to less developed nations. At least nine people died, and more were hospitalized, in San Antonio, Texas, in 2017 after around 100 people were crammed into a tractor-trailer smuggling them into the country from South America.
In England, 39 Vietnamese migrants were found dead in a refrigerated truck linked to a European smuggling network in May.
And sometimes those in positions of influence are found to be perpetrators. Mohammad Shahid Islam, a member of Parliament in Bangladesh, was arrested in Kuwait in June as part of a human trafficking network. He allegedly charged Bangladeshis almost US$10,000 for a job in the Middle Eastern country.
Paul Petersen, a former county official in Arkansas, pleaded guilty in June to human smuggling and fraud charges related to paying women from the Marshall Islands to come to the United States to put their babies up for adoption.
In some parts of the world, it’s not only individual leaders but large government entities that actively participate in human trafficking. In this year’s TIP report, the State Department named 10 countries it said have engaged in “government-sponsored forced labor.” Among the claims was an Afghan government “policy or pattern” of recruiting child soldiers and sexually enslaving boys in government compounds, a practice known as “bacha bazi.”
The U.S. Trafficking in Persons Report affirms that traffickers are denying nearly 25 million people their fundamental right to freedom, by preying on the most vulnerable people, and forcing them to live enslaved lives and toil for their exploiter’s profit. The implications of the COVID-19 pandemic have magnified this problem. Photo by U.S. Department of State
Awareness Training Vitally Needed
While much human trafficking goes on underground, it also often hides in plain sight, such as in domestic workers serving wealthy families, fruit pickers, car wash cleaners and even athletes. For example, in the world of aspiring young athletes, the promise of riches and unscrupulous agents has driven exploitation. According to the U.S. State Department report, “Within Europe’s soccer industry alone, it is estimated there are 15,000 human trafficking victims each year.”
It was how a routine traffic stop in Florida led to the arrest of six men who “orchestrated an extensive human trafficking ring.” Following a vehicle reported stolen in Ohio, deputies arrested the driver and his female passenger, whose behavior made them suspect she was under coercion. Eventually, she trusted the officers enough to reveal what she was caught up in.
“The bottom line is that traffickers have not shut down … traffickers are continuing to exploit people. And as vulnerable people become more vulnerable due to COVID, it’s making it easier and easier for traffickers to operate.”
Such alertness isn’t just needed from first responders like police and EMS providers who, according to the U.S. Fire Administration, are “well-suited to help counter human trafficking” because of how they come into contact with people. People working in hotels, bars or sporting events should also be trained to discern the signs of human trafficking because of the high level of interaction with others. The Illinois Hotel and Lodging Association, for example, has arranged for awareness training for all its members.
According to the U.S. Fire Administration, first responders like police, EMS providers, or this Italian Red Cross worker in Macerata, Italy, are “well-suited to help counter human trafficking” because of how they come into contact with people. Likewise, workers in hotels, bars or sporting events should also be trained to discern the signs of human trafficking because of their high level of interaction with others.
The Power of Faith-based Action
Charting the progress that has been made in fighting human trafficking over the past 20 years by governments and other agencies, the latest TIP report notes the important part played by faith-based groups like Gospel for Asia (GFA World). They are “powerful and necessary forces,” it says.
This photo is a small glimpse of the red-light district where Pastor Dhinanath ministers. This row of houses has multiple rooms, which are usually rented by pimps for ongoing prostitution. For safety concerns, we cannot identify anyone working this row of rooms, or share its location in South Asia.
“Unlike governments, faith-based organizations are not limited by jurisdiction, election cycles, or political will.”
“They reach across international borders,” the report says, “spanning continents with a powerful network of followers with tremendous reach—from remote villages to capital cities and the seats of power.”
They also aim to break the cycle by providing vocational training and tools that can provide an income and keep people from getting trapped in perpetual debt.
Another way they help is by caring for children whose parents are forced to work all day.
“While these parents are engaged in their daily work, their children are left unattended,” says Kien, who works at one of Gospel for Asia’s Bridge of Hope community centers that opened its doors to the youngsters. “They have no parental guidance or supervision whatsoever. … They are let loose, and they become very unruly. They do not obey or listen to others. This is a big need here to teach their children.”
The staff at this Bridge of Hope Project Center in Sri Lanka individually help the children out in their after school learning, provide a safe environment to study, supply a hot meal every day, and give them encouragement, love and hope for a brighter future.
At the center, children get a hot meal and schooling and experience genuine love and care from staff.
“I feel very happy and joyful because of the work that we are doing among them,” says Kien. “These children will get a new life; they will become new persons as we teach them. I feel very glad and happy to think where these children will be in the future because of the investment we have made in their lives while here at the center.”
While bright spots like Gospel for Asia (GFA World) exist, a recent report by PBS says that COVID is making it harder for many worthy NGOs to survive, suggesting that only 24 percent of anti-trafficking organizations would be able to remain fully operational without extra funding in the next 12 months.
Gospel for Asia (GFA World) is a leading faith-based mission agency, helping national workers bring vital assistance and spiritual hope to millions across Asia, especially to those who have yet to hear about the love of God. In GFA’s latest yearly report, this included more than 70,000 sponsored children, free medical camps conducted in more than 1,200 villages and remote communities, over 4,800 clean water wells drilled, over 12,000 water filters installed, income-generating Christmas gifts for more than 260,000 needy families, and spiritual teaching available in 110 languages in 14 nations through radio ministry. For all the latest news, visit our Press Room at https://press.gfa.org/news.
Read the rest of Gospel for Asia’s Special Report: Modern Day Slavery Speeds up Under Cover of COVID-19 – Growing during pandemic: People vulnerable to exploitation —Part 1
Last updated on: December 1, 2021 at 8:28 am By GFA Staff Writer
WILLS POINT, TX — Gospel for Asia (GFA World) founded by K.P. Yohannan, has been the model for numerous charities like Gospel for Asia Canada, to help the poor and deprived worldwide –Reporting on GFA World mission agency offering online 40-day lent devotional to help Christians pray, fast for unity, end to pandemic and other crises.
‘GREAT’LENT SEASON ‘MOST IMPORTANT IN A GENERATION’: Calling for Christians to pray and fast for “unity and holiness,” mission agency Gospel for Asia (GFA World) described this year’s holy season of Lent — beginning on Ash Wednesday, Feb. 17 — as “the most important in a generation.” The organization has launched a Lenten daily devotional, available at http://www.gfa.org/press/Lent21.
One of the largest humanitarian agencies in the world, has invited Christians to join a new movement during Great Lent to pray and fast for “unity and holiness” in America, and an end to the pandemic and other global crises.
Texas-based Gospel for Asia (GFA World) described this year’s holy season of Lent — beginning on Ash Wednesday, Feb. 17 — as “the most important in a generation.”
“With the ongoing pandemic, other global crises and so much divisiveness in our world right now, it’s never been more important for Christians to make a concerted effort to pray and fast for unity and holiness,” said Bishop Danny Punnose, Gospel for Asia (GFA World) vice president. “This Lenten season is the most important in a generation.”
Great Lent is the church season prior to Easter, focusing on fasting, repentance, and charity. Many Christians who observe Lent refrain from eating certain foods such as meat for a period of time, using the cash savings to help others in need. Others voluntarily give up an activity they enjoy, and instead use the time to pray and seek the Lord.
“Our world desperately needs God’s intervention, healing and grace,” said Punnose, whose organization works to alleviate extreme poverty and share God’s love in villages and slums around the world.
Prayer: Turns Mourning To Joy
“The Lenten season is a purposeful opportunity in which we seek God and ask him to give us his heart for the suffering people of the world,” Punnose said. “As many of us face challenges that seem overwhelming, let’s remember God is able to bring dry bones to life and turn mourning into joy. Let’s turn to him and earnestly pray and fast.”
Lent is also an opportunity for people to help make the world a better place, Punnose said.
“Lent is a time when we can choose to make a simple sacrifice to embrace a cause that is close to the heart of God,” he said. “Tangible actions and conscious choices we make during the season of Lent should bring us closer to God and our neighbor, help us to become more like Jesus, and provide us with real opportunity to be Christ’s hands to those who need to know he loves them.”
One Billion Adherents
According to estimates, more than a billion Christians around the world will likely observe Lent, which is growing in popularity in evangelical circles.
“Many Christians are rediscovering the richness of the Lenten tradition, and are growing closer to Jesus through self-denial, sacrificial giving, fasting, and times of fervent prayer,” Punnose said. “Knowing that we have the hope that the world is dying for, shouldn’t we offer it?”
Gospel for Asia (GFA World) is a leading faith-based mission agency, helping national workers bring vital assistance and spiritual hope to millions across Asia, especially to those who have yet to hear about the love of God. In GFA’s latest yearly report, this included more than 70,000 sponsored children, free medical camps conducted in more than 1,200 villages and remote communities, over 4,800 clean water wells drilled, over 12,000 water filters installed, income-generating Christmas gifts for more than 260,000 needy families, and spiritual teaching available in 110 languages in 14 nations through radio ministry. For all the latest news, visit our Press Room at https://press.gfa.org/news.
KP Yohannan has issued two statements about the COVID-19 situation found here and here.
Last updated on: November 4, 2022 at 3:56 am By GFA Staff Writer
WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA World) founded by KP Yohannan, has been the model for numerous charities like Gospel for Asia Canada, to help the poor and deprived worldwide, issued this 1st part of a Special Report update on the state of Modern Day Slavery amid the COVID 19 pandemic.
The global COVID-19 pandemic has only heightened the desperation of those at risk, and deepened the cunning of human traffickers.
If there is any sliver of a silver lining to be seen in the coronavirus cloud that has darkened the world in 2020, a reduction in human trafficking might be suspected. After all, with half the globe locked down, the modern-day slave trade must have at least slowed, if not stalled, right?
Sadly, no. If anything, the global pandemic has only heightened the desperation of those at risk and deepened the cunning of traffickers. For example, the World Bank expects poverty to rise for the first time in 20 years, as circumstances push an additional 88-115 million people into extreme poverty, depending on the severity of economic contraction worldwide.
“The pandemic has decimated jobs and placed millions of livelihoods at risk. As breadwinners lose jobs, fall ill and die, the food security and nutrition of millions of women and men are under threat, with those in low-income countries, particularly the most marginalized populations, which include small-scale farmers and indigenous peoples, being hardest hit.
“With low and irregular incomes and a lack of social support, many of them are spurred to continue working, often in unsafe conditions, thus exposing themselves and their families to additional risks. Further, when experiencing income losses, they may resort to negative coping strategies, such as distress sale of assets, predatory loans or child labor.”
With poverty worsened and government resources stretched to capacity, COVID-19 has widened the crack through which the vulnerable fall—or are pulled through. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) details how COVID-19 has impacted “the capacity of state authorities and non-governmental organizations to provide essential services to the victims of this crime.”
Income, food, housing and health care inequalities have increased in impoverished parts of the world, and these “drivers … increase the risk of sexual and labor exploitation, and are being used by criminal groups to scale-up modern day slavery activities,” warns the distinguished British medical journal The Lancet.
Rather than diminishing it, the ongoing coronavirus crisis has cemented human trafficking as the third biggest illicit trade on the planet, behind only illegal arms and drugs.
As detailed in a previous Gospel for Asia special report on the issue, human trafficking generates an estimated $150 billion a year from the oppressed lives and broken hearts of men, women and children. What sets human trafficking apart from other major issues Gospel for Asia (GFA) has addressed in its series of articles on key global challenges is that it is entirely man-made, both exacerbating and taking advantage of natural factors like disease, economic impoverishment, climate change and the coronavirus.
Those people already working in forced labor conditions may face further hardships because production costs are being squeezed, while more people unable to make ends meet may turn to loan sharks for money and so risk getting caught in a debt pit they can’t climb out of, effectively enslaving them for life.
Exploitation on the Rise
“Instability and lack of access to critical services caused by the pandemic mean that the number of people vulnerable to exploitation by traffickers is rapidly growing,” said U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo as he introduced the government’s 20th annual Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report, which monitors the crime and efforts to combat it.
“The bottom line is that traffickers have not shut down,” Pompeo said elsewhere. “Traffickers are continuing to exploit people. And as vulnerable people become more vulnerable due to COVID, it’s making it easier and easier for traffickers to operate.”
Victims of trafficking are also “disproportionately at risk” of getting COVID-19 for a variety of reasons, according to The Lancet. Among the causes: pre-existing health needs, unregulated and unsafe working environments, over-crowded living conditions, poverty, malnutrition and substance misuse.
A United Nations report reveals just how COVID-19 has made trafficking easier. Travel and border restrictions intended to slow the spread of the virus may have only driven traffickers further underground, it says, while also making victims harder to identify. Additionally, those already working in forced labor conditions may face further hardships because production costs are being squeezed, while more people unable to make ends meet may turn to loan sharks for money and so risk getting caught in a debt pit they can’t climb out of, effectively enslaving them.
Rather than diminishing it, the ongoing coronavirus crisis has cemented human trafficking as the third biggest illicit trade on the planet, behind only illegal arms and drugs.
Meanwhile, children are at heightened risk of exploitation because schools are closed. For many of them, school was both a safe place and one of their only sources for a regular meal. Now they may be left to fend for themselves with parents unable to care for or supervise them at home.
Nearly all the children in villages like this one in Sri Lanka do not have any parental guidance whatsoever as many come from broken or illiterate families, which makes these kids vulnerable to predation and trafficking. For many of them, school was both a safe place and one of their only sources for a regular meal. Local lockdowns due to COVID have left many to fend for themselves, as parents are unable to care for or supervise them at home, increasing their risk of exploitation.
Online Predators on the Rise
Chatter in dark web forums indicate that online offenders see the COVID-19 pandemic as an opportunity to commit more offenses against children.
It’s not only children and young people in poorer nations that are at risk, either. In North America, the pandemic has seen everyone spending even more time online than usual—exposing them to predators who scour the web looking for innocent children.
“It’s easier for traffickers to sit behind a computer screen and actually reach out to multiple people, hoping that one or two bite,” says Karley Church, a human trafficking crisis intervention counselor with Victim Services of Durham Region, near Toronto, Canada.
A spokesman for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said that “chatter in dark web forums indicate that offenders see the pandemic as an opportunity to commit more offenses against children.”
Gospel for Asia (GFA World) is a leading faith-based mission agency, helping national workers bring vital assistance and spiritual hope to millions across Asia, especially to those who have yet to hear about the love of God. In GFA’s latest yearly report, this included more than 70,000 sponsored children, free medical camps conducted in more than 1,200 villages and remote communities, over 4,800 clean water wells drilled, over 12,000 water filters installed, income-generating Christmas gifts for more than 260,000 needy families, and spiritual teaching available in 110 languages in 14 nations through radio ministry. For all the latest news, visit our Press Room at https://press.gfa.org/news.
Read the rest of Gospel for Asia’s Special Report: Modern Day Slavery Speeds up Under Cover of COVID-19 – Growing during pandemic: People vulnerable to exploitation —Part 2
WILLS POINT, TX — Gospel for Asia (GFA World) founded by K.P. Yohannan, which inspired numerous charities like Gospel for Asia Canada – Discussing new report stating how COVID 19 pandemic has “cemented human trafficking as the 3rd biggest illicit trade on the planet.”
COVID-19 is feeding the “growing evil” of human trafficking, pulling more of the world’s children into slavery and sexual exploitation, a new report reveals. The pandemic has “cemented human trafficking as the third biggest illicit trade on the planet, behind illegal arms sales and drugs,” says the report by Texas-based humanitarian agency Gospel for Asia (GFA World).
“The global pandemic has only heightened the desperation of those at risk and deepened the cunning of the traffickers,” says the report, (https://www.gfa.org/press/human-trafficking/), citing worsening poverty and hunger as key drivers of the $150 billion a year global slave trade.
“The horrific exploitation of children and young adults for sex and forced labor is the most vile crime,” said GFA World founder K.P. Yohannan. “We must act now to cut off this growing evil.”
Travel and border restrictions — intended to slow the spread of the virus — have driven traffickers underground and made victims more difficult to identify, the report says. Of the estimated 20-30 million slaves in the world today, four out of every five are women or girls.
COVID-19 ‘FEEDS GROWING EVIL’ OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING: COVID-19 is feeding the “growing evil” of human trafficking, pulling more of the world’s children into slavery and sexual exploitation, a new report by humanitarian agency Gospel for Asia (GFA World) reveals.
A Wider Net
The surge in online activity due to lockdowns is giving traffickers a wider net to entrap potential victims, including children. Police in Canada warn that “chatter in dark web forums” shows predators view the pandemic as an opportunity to lure children into the sex industry.
In some parts of Asia, traffickers enlist or coerce parents and other relatives to sell their children to “placement agencies” — fronts for domestic slavery.
Predators are even “masquerading as helpers” to find new victims. “Forced prostitution and chosen sex work are going to acquire a new momentum in the post-COVID-19 world,” the report says.
Interpol, the international police agency, says the pandemic “has not blunted the determination of organized crime groups to prey on the vulnerable.”
Traffickers are taking even greater risks, too often resulting in the tragic deaths of their victims. In March, 64 African migrants suffocated in a shipping container; in May, 39 Vietnamese migrants were found dead in a refrigerated truck in England; and in June, a former official in Arkansas pleaded guilty to smuggling women into the U.S. to put their babies up for adoption.
In Europe’s lucrative soccer industry, it’s estimated there are 15,000 trafficking victims every year.
Emergency Interceptors
Faith-based humanitarian groups like GFA World and International Justice Mission are on the frontlines in the fight against slavery — with GFA World’s indigenous workers acting as “emergency interceptors” in city slums and remote villages where millions are easy prey for predators.
“Through vocational training for women, protecting girls by providing safe water access, and our Bridge of Hope children’s program, we’re saving tens of thousands from falling victim to traffickers,” said Yohannan, author of Never Give Up. “This is how we confront the evil of human trafficking head-on, and show people the love of God.”
Gospel for Asia (GFA World) is a leading faith-based mission agency, helping national workers bring vital assistance and spiritual hope to millions across Asia, especially to those who have yet to hear about the love of God. In GFA’s latest yearly report, this included more than 70,000 sponsored children, free medical camps conducted in more than 1,200 villages and remote communities, over 4,800 clean water wells drilled, over 12,000 water filters installed, income-generating Christmas gifts for more than 260,000 needy families, and spiritual teaching available in 110 languages in 14 nations through radio ministry. For all the latest news, visit our Press Room at https://press.gfa.org/news.
Last updated on: November 3, 2022 at 9:21 pm By GFA Staff Writer
WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA World) founded by K.P. Yohannan, which inspired numerous charities like Gospel for Asia Canada – Discussing the desperate poverty that still afflicts millions upon millions worldwide and the hope that lies beyond through gifts of hope.
Tavish’s father died when he was just a small boy. His death not only created a hole in their family unit, but it plunged them into a state of financial crisis.
Tavish worked alongside his widowed mother. Like this woman in Sri Lanka, Tavish’s mother labored in fields to keep her family alive.
Much of Tavish’s childhood consisted of trying to make ends meet, but he came up dry. Sometimes crops didn’t produce enough, and this caused one financial tragedy after another.
When Tavish grew older, he married, and he and his wife were blessed with two children. Tavish continued to labor in fields around his village with barely anything to show for his backbreaking work. It was as if all his efforts were one single drop in the midst of a vast ocean of needs and wants.
Tavish and his family, like many in his region, traveled to a neighboring country to live and work for six months out of the year, in sugarcane fields.[2]The conditions were primitive—no toilet facilities, no home, no privacy and no school. The future for his children looked as bleak as his own childhood. The toil of poverty slowly stole away Tavish and his family’s peace and joy.
Tavish (not pictured) worked from the time he was a young boy. Because of his family’s poverty, he missed out on school. He worked hard to provide for his family, but all his efforts seemed like a drop in the ocean.
Hope in the Midst of Crisis
It was during the off months of the sugarcane fields that Tavish encountered a glimmer of hope through a message of peace. Gospel for Asia (GFA) pastor Naimish visited Tavish and his family one day to ask if they needed prayer and to offer encouraging words. Tavish shared his life story, marked by desperate poverty and hardship, with the man of God.
Pastor Naimish could see the family was burdened by the weight of survival. He shared with them about the One who gives hope and new life to weary souls. Tavish and his family felt truth penetrate their hearts.
Faith in Jesus began to anchor the family, while a hopeful future stretched before them. A peace that poverty had stolen swooshed in as new life began to change Tavish and his family. The God who clothes lilies and keeps His eyes on the sparrow was taking care of this family, and they started trusting Him to provide in their lack.
As the cow grew, the family’s joy grew along with it. It was providing more than four liters of milk a day, and they were able to make and sell ghee, a type of butter, each month. The profit they made from this liberated them from needing to face the harsh conditions of desperate poverty.
Because of this, Tavish’s children were able to get a consistent education. Their future not only blossomed full of new life, but their new source of income also paved the way to escape poverty through education.
After Tavish received a cow through GFA’s Christmas Gift Catalog, his family’s financial status improved greatly! They become doubly blessed when their cow gave birth to a new calf, providing more hope for their future stability.
The family’s joy doubled as their cow gave birth to a calf, and the income from these two cows relieved burdens the family carried for many years.
“We came to know the true love of Jesus in our lives,” Tavish said. “He has removed all our burdens and sorrows.”
Last updated on: December 6, 2021 at 11:55 pm By GFA Staff Writer
WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA World) founded by K.P. Yohannan, which inspired numerous charities like Gospel for Asia Canada – Discussing Lahar, his struggles to fight alcoholism and provide for his family, and finding a faithful friend in Gospel for Asia Pastor who shared the redemption of Jesus for their lives.
When Pastor Chanchal and Lahar met, Lahar was uninterested and even hostile toward what Pastor Chanchal had to say. Lahar had his own religious beliefs, a family to take care of and an inner battle to wage—a battle between leading a responsible life and giving in to the addiction that threatened to destroy that life.
Even though Lahar often grumbled at Pastor Chanchal’s words and sometimes even scolded him, the two men continued to talk with one another. For years, Pastor Chanchal spent time with Lahar and his family once or twice a week. As their relationship deepened, Lahar gradually became interested in what the pastor had to say, and Pastor Chanchal had opportunities to tell the family about Jesus’ love.
Man Struggles to Fight Alcoholism, Provide for Family
Lahar’s life had always involved struggle: When Lahar was young, his father neglected his family, blinded to their needs by his alcoholism, so Lahar bore the burden of providing for his parents and siblings.
Unfortunately, Lahar began walking in his father’s shoes: He became addicted to alcohol at the age of 18. After Lahar married, his alcoholism brought much grief to his wife, Lajja, and drove her away to her parents’ home for three years.
Lahar had been a heavy drinker since he was 18 years old, and his addiction even drove his wife to move in with her parents for three years.
With effort, Lahar eventually stopped drinking and reunited with his wife. Together, the couple worked to provide for their growing family. Eventually, they started a business; it seemed their lives were getting better.
An Unlikely Friendship Develops
Meanwhile, Gospel for Asia (GFA World) pastor Chanchal had started ministering in Lahar’s village. Like most of the other villagers, Lahar didn’t want to hear the message of hope Pastor Chanchal had to share. But Lahar did allow Pastor Chanchal to continue visiting his family, and over the course of several years, a friendship grew.
Pastor Chanchal’s words touched the heart of Lahar’s mother, and she started attending the local worship place. But because Lahar’s father was the elder of their village, people criticized the family for her interest in Christ. Under society’s pressure, Lahar and his father told her she couldn’t attend services for more than a year. But Lahar’s mother continued walking with Jesus, and soon the source of family turmoil shifted from her to Lahar.
Man Hits Rock Bottom
Lahar slipped back into the grip of alcoholism, throwing away the hard work he had invested to quit drinking, reunite with his wife and start a business. Not only did Lahar waste his days drinking with friends, but he also started stealing things at night. He, like his father, stopped providing for his family.
During this time, Lajja and her children experienced Christ’s love through Lahar’s mother, who helped take care of them. Seeing this love led Lajja and her children to the feet of Jesus too. Soon Lajja began joining her mother-in-law in praying for Lahar’s life to change.
As they prayed, Pastor Chanchal continued reaching out to Lahar. The pastor told him of Jesus’ grace and invited him to the place of worship. As God responded to prayer and spoke through the Pastor’s encouraging words, Lahar’s life began to change. He stopped stealing and drinking alcohol, and he joined the service one Sunday.
After Lahar (not pictured) returned to his drinking habit—and started stealing things—Gospel for Asia (GFA World) Pastor Chanchal continued being a friend to the young man. Eventually, Lahar’s heart opened to the love of Christ.
There, as Lahar stood among the believers worshiping, he felt as if a burden had been lifted from him. With a new peace and joy in his life, he decided to entrust his life to Jesus, and he has continued to change from the inside out! Now Lahar takes care of his family, and they rejoice in the redemption Jesus has worked in their lives. Lahar even supports his friend, Pastor Chanchal, as he continues ministering the grace of Jesus in the village.
Many Find Friendship with Jesus
in Gospel for Asia (GFA World) Pastor Chanchal’s commitment to befriend and share hope with Lahar and his family, Lahar found the best friend of all, Jesus Christ.
*Names of people and places may have been changed for privacy and security reasons. Images are Gospel for Asia stock photos used for representation purposes and are not the actual person/location, unless otherwise noted.
Last updated on: December 8, 2021 at 2:02 am By GFA Staff Writer
WILLS POINT, TX — Chick-fil-A and Brookshire’s are joining a leading aid agency to deliver Christmas relief to Texas families hit hard by the pandemic. As America experiences another spike in coronavirus cases, one in four children aren’t getting enough food and face a bleak Christmas, says Wills Point-based humanitarian agency Gospel for Asia (GFA World – founded by K.P. Yohannan, has been the model for numerous charities like Gospel for Asia Canada) according to Feeding Texas statistics.
Feeding Texas — the state’s network of food banks — says hunger in Texas has doubled during the pandemic.
Now Gospel for Asia (GFA World) — an organization that has been helping feed tens of thousands of starving people in Asia — is stepping up efforts to help make sure families on its own doorstep don’t go hungry this Christmas.
The agency — headquartered in Wills Point, 50 miles east of Dallas — will distribute hundreds of holiday food boxes Saturday, Dec. 19, to families struggling with job losses and reduced income.
And Chick-fil-A of Sulphur Springs will help spread the festive cheer, handing out hundreds of free sandwiches, along with Brookshire’s of Wills Point who will distribute water bottles.
Families ‘Loved By God’
“We know many families are struggling this Christmas, and we’re thrilled to join with Chick-fil-A and Brookshire’s to help them,” said Danny Yohannan, GFA World’s vice-president. “We want them to know they’re loved by us and by God.”
Over the past months, regular grocery giveaways hosted by Gospel for Asia (GFA World) and Body of Life have fed thousands of families from Van Zandt and neighboring counties in Texas.
Anyone interested can follow Gospel for Asia / GFA World online to stay in the loop about upcoming local food giveaways and the organization’s humanitarian work overseas.
Headquartered in Wills Point, Texas, Gospel for Asia (GFA World) is a leading faith-based mission agency, helping national workers bring vital assistance and spiritual hope to millions across Asia, especially to those who have yet to hear about the love of God. In GFA’s latest yearly report, this included more than 70,000 sponsored children, free medical camps conducted in more than 1,200 villages and remote communities, over 4,800 clean water wells drilled, over 12,000 water filters installed, income-generating Christmas gifts for more than 260,000 needy families, and spiritual teaching available in 110 languages in 14 nations through radio ministry. For all the latest news, visit our Press Room at https://press.gfa.org/news.
Last updated on: December 10, 2021 at 7:58 pm By GFA Staff Writer
WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA World) founded by K.P. Yohannan, whose heart to love and help the poor has inspired numerous charities like Gospel for Asia Canada – Discussing Rajasi, the sorrow and loss that invaded her life, the hope of Jesus that sustained her through widowhood, and God’s love and compassion shared as Gospel for Asia ministered to her family.
Rajasi’s relatives blamed her for the death of her husband. “All these [problems] happened in your life only because of your faith in Jesus,” they said. These wounding words stung Rajasi’s lonely, grieving heart. How different they were from the soothing words spoken by her neighbor about her Savior months earlier. But now who could she turn to? With her husband dead and her own relatives and community speaking against her—who would help her?
No Stranger to Sorrow
Even though Rajasi was only a young woman of 25, sorrow and difficulties were no strangers to her. Before she met Jesus, she and her husband, Mahasvin, were in anguish. Mahasvin worked faithfully as a laborer to provide for his two children and wife, until both his kidneys failed to function properly. At this devastating news, peace left the household, making room for fear to enter the young couple’s hearts.
Rajasi cried out in despair to all her gods, pleading with them to heal her husband. Mahasvin went to many hospitals and underwent treatments. But soon all their money was spent, and they had lost hope of him ever recovering. They heard no answers from their gods, and they were deeply discouraged. They had no one else to turn to.
They heard no answers from their gods, and they were deeply discouraged. They had no one else to turn too.
With Jesus, Everything Changes
The Lord used Pastor Victor (not pictured) and other believers to help Rajasi and encourage her husband during their times of struggle and heartache.
It was at this moment God sent a faithful believer to their home one day. She saw their grave condition and encouraged them with the Word of the Lord. Her gentle words of truth were like a healing balm to their wounded hearts, and they asked her to pray for them. After she prayed, she assured them of her continued prayers. Concerned for the couple, she brought their need to the attention of her Gospel for Asia (GFA) pastor, Victor.
With compassion, Pastor Victor visited Mahasvin and Rajasi often, bringing words of encouragement to the couple. As time went by, Rajasi and her husband realized Jesus was the answer to all their problems. Together, they decided they wanted the everlasting love of Jesus to fill their lives.
But life did not grow easier when they made their decision to follow Christ. In anger, Mahasvin’s father turned against them and began to oppose them. But this never swayed their resolve to live in the hope and peace of Christ.
The Agony of Loss
After a few months, Mahasvin and Rajasi grew strong in their faith. But Mahasvin’s health continued to deteriorate due to his failing kidneys. Rajasi listened closely as her dying husband shared his last requests with her: Never forsake Jesus, but go to the worship place at any cost.
After Mahasvin’s death, Rajasi was heartbroken. She suffered through severe mental agony and pain, and to make matters worse, everyone placed the blame of her husband’s death on her shoulders.
Even though so many had forsaken her, Rajasi was not alone. Her church family stood with her during her bleak hours. They visited their sister in Christ and encouraged her to follow Jesus. Rajasi was strengthened by their words and upheld the plea of her husband to continue steadfast in the faith, even in the midst of opposition.
Gospel for Asia Ministered in Midst of Worry for Children’s Future
After Mahasvin’s passing, Rajasi was completely dependent on the income of her father-in-law, Farhat, to meet her and her young children’s needs—but so was the rest of the family. He worked in a small grocery shop, and many of her relatives became dependent on the income Farhat brought in.
Rajasi grew concerned about her children. She wanted them to have a good education, but her father-in-law would not give her extra money to send them to a good school. This troubled her deeply. Rajasi brought her worries before the Lord and the believers. Together, they all prayed for her need.
By God’s grace, Rajasi’s prayer was answered through a Gospel for Asia (GFA) gift distribution. On the happy distribution day Rajasi received a shiny, new sewing machine! The gift was such an incredible blessing in Rajasi’s life. She quickly began work by setting up a personal tailoring shop.
Gospel for Asia (GFA) ministered to Rajasi and she was so blessed to receive a sewing machine through a Christmas gift distribution. Through the help of believers around the world, women like Rajasi have the chance to earn a better income and experience the love of Jesus in a tangible way.
Within a few months, Rajasi was doing so well and received such a good income that she was able to buy a second machine to expand her business. Rajasi found a good school for her beloved children and is able to provide for their future.
Rajasi and her children weren’t the only ones blessed by the machine; her mother-in-law was also touched by the kindness of the believers. Although she was bedridden and unable to go to services, she longed to hear more about the God of love and compassion who provided for her daughter-in-law. God also worked in Farhat’s heart. While he still wants nothing to do with Jesus, he no longer opposes Rajasi for her faith.
Help ‘Sew’ into the Kingdom this Christmas!
God used a simple sewing machine and the love of His children to uplift Rajasi in her hour of need. Not only has it helped provide a way for her children to have a brighter future, but it also planted a seed of hope in her mother-in-law.
You can be part of answering a brother’s or sister’s prayer for God’s provision by choosing an income-generating gift in Gospel for Asia’s Christmas Gift Catalog! This year, make Christmas about ‘sewing’ into God’s kingdom, and spread the joy and hope of Christ!
*Names of people and places may have been changed for privacy and security reasons. Images are Gospel for Asia stock photos used for representation purposes and are not the actual person/location, unless otherwise noted.
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