Last updated on: October 15, 2022 at 1:24 pm By GFA Staff Writer
WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA) – Discussing the tragedies in the life of a child named Sam, and the hope that he encounters through national missionaries opening up the path to a brighter future.
Tears rushed down Sam’s cheeks. His mother had succumbed to cancer, leaving the 6-year-old alone in the world. Soon, Sam’s father sent a message from prison—would someone please help his son?
Family Ravaged by Self-indulgence and Illness
Sam (pictured) was only 6 years old when his whole world turned upside down.
Sam’s father, Afiba, left Nigeria to find work in Asia several years ago. He married, found a stable job and soon welcomed Sam into the world. Over time, however, indulgent habits took over Afiba’s life. He beat his wife and even forced his young son to drink with him. It was not long before Afiba landed in prison for smuggling drugs.
Suddenly, lacking a provider for the family, Sam’s mother, Marala, could not pay the rent for their home. A kind lady generously allowed them to stay in her house for several months without charging rent, but when preparations began for her son’s marriage, she had to ask Marala and Sam to find another place to live.
In the midst of their troubles, Marala also battled breast cancer. Struggling to care for her child and fight her disease, she turned to everyone she knew for help. Some Christian neighbors prayed for Marala and introduced her to missionaries serving in their area. The missionaries admitted Marala to a hospital, but her condition worsened, and she passed away.
A New Home for an Orphan Boy
Upon hearing of his wife’s death, Afiba asked the missionaries to help his son because he was unable to care for Sam himself. The missionaries and the Child Welfare Committee brought Sam to a home for boys where Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported workers served. The staff members at the home demonstrated the Heavenly Father’s love by providing food, education, guidance and a loving environment for abandoned children and orphans, helping them to thrive despite their childhood sorrows.
Sam arrived at the boys’ home dejected and grieving the loss of his mother. After enduring so much pain in his short life, Sam seemed lost in his own little world. The staff patiently cared for him and helped him through the difficult adjustment of living among new people, without his mother.
Their love bore fruit, and joy found its way back into the little boy’s heart. Although his parents were not present to love him, he treasured the love of the staff and embraced his new home. The care, hope and education Sam received made his future bright—in fact, he expressed a desire to become a doctor when he grows up.
Sam, like the boys in this picture, gets to experience a loving home and a new hope for a brighter future.
Instead of joining the millions of children living on their own in Asia’s streets and villages, Sam was surrounded by a loving “family” who cared for him in Christ’s name.
Last updated on: October 15, 2022 at 1:30 pm By GFA Staff Writer
WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA) – Discussing the life of a young girl named Naija who was filled with anger and bitterness throughout her youth, but after attending a Sunday School program (Vacation Bible School) she embraced God’s message of love and forgiveness.
Naija’s family lived in a small remote village that was Christian in name only. She did not know Jesus personally, nor did her family attend church. “Christian” was just a word without meaning to Naija. Sunday School, VBS and Bible stories—so familiar to most Christian kids—were completely foreign to Naija.
Naija experienced the forgiveness of Jesus at VBS—a forgiveness she now extends to others.
Naija grumbled as she worked in the field. All her friends were hanging out and having fun during their school holiday, but, as the oldest of eight children, she had to work to help support the family. Her grumbling fueled the growing anger in her heart. Life was so unfair.
Once home for the day, Naija released her anger toward her parents, complaining about the hardness of her life. She knew how her parents would respond—scolding or possibly even a beating—but she couldn’t hold her frustrations in.
Being the eldest in her family was a burden Naija resented. All throughout her childhood, she missed out on fun with friends, while she watched her siblings or worked in the fields. By the time she was 13 years old, Naija hated her life and felt unloved and uncared for.
Standing at the Crossroads of Love and Hate
School was Naija’s escape from family responsibilities. She started lying to her parents, saying she had to stay at school longer to work on projects, while she was really having fun with friends. She never thought of the moral implications of her actions. In fact, being unchurched, she never thought about spiritual things at all.
Then, one day, one of her classmates invited her to a Vacation Bible School organized by a congregation supported by Gospel for Asia (GFA). Naija was hesitant, but her friend pleaded until Naija finally gave in.
For three days, Naija sang songs that praised God and heard Bible stories about Jesus. It was a turning point in her life. Her encounters with the Word of God challenged her. Hearing teaching on the Bible for the first time, she was gripped by the message of love and forgiveness. She was excited by what she heard. Happiness bloomed in her heart.
After VBS ended, Naija continued to think about what she learned. She would hum the songs she learned as she went about her daily tasks. Her sadness about life gradually faded away. She began attending Sunday School at the church, stoking the flames started at VBS.
Forgiveness Replaces Bitterness After VBS / Sunday School
At Sunday School, Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported pastor Karmjit, who had also overseen the VBS Naija attended, saw the need to teach the teenagers more specifically. He started meeting with the teenagers of his congregation, helping them know the saving love of Jesus more clearly. During these meetings, Naija opened up about her struggles to the pastor, sharing how meaningless her life felt and how angry she was toward her parents. She felt they were ruining her life.
Through the insight of the Holy Spirit, Pastor Karmjit encouraged Naija to forgive her parents for the hurts she felt and to trust Jesus with her life. Naija recognized the damage unforgiveness had brought to her heart. Convicted within of her sin, she confessed to the Lord with a broken heart. Naija determined to forgive her parents just as God had forgiven her.
This caused a great change in Naija’s life. Joy flooded the deep places in her heart and overflowed to those around her.
Publicly demonstrating her faith in the Lord, Naija is now an active member of the local body of believers. She hopes the Lord will use her life to bring faith to her parents and siblings. Her dream is to one day worship together, side-by-side with those whom she once blamed—those whom she now lives with Christ’s love.
*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: October 15, 2022 at 1:38 pm By GFA Staff Writer
WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA) – Discussing the life of Paden who, like many in the world, experience hardship and hopelessness, desperately needing the love of God in their lives.
When Paden turned 12, his life drastically changed. His father passed away, leaving Paden, his mother and his two younger siblings all alone. The responsibility of caring for the family fell to Paden. His childhood was over.
The Man of the House
Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported pastors minister to all who are in need, like Paden (not pictured).
After the passing of his father, Paden shouldered the burden of providing for his family. Leaving school, Paden got a job selling clothing. After a few years of diligent labor and the help of a friend, Paden had saved enough money to find work internationally. He hoped to better provide for his family—but Paden’s new income wasn’t enough. He returned home after four years abroad, got married and resumed work in his clothing business.
Paden and his family were staunch traditionalists, following rites and rituals customary to their beliefs. Their convictions were put to the test when multiple family members developed health issues. Paden spent so much money on medication and treatments that his business went bankrupt. On top of it all, Paden’s younger brother fell dreadfully ill, and doctors were unable to diagnose him.
Near the End
Paden’s life seemed to be collapsing around him, and he was on the edge of losing hope. When he was wondering how he could turn his life around, Paden met Marut, a fellow businessman—and a believer. Upon listening to Paden’s struggles, Marut offered the young man a booklet about the love of God. He also told Paden the story of how Christ had freed him from both physical and spiritual afflictions.
Marut’s testimony astonished Paden—here was an answer to all his problems. Thanking Marut, the young man returned home, contemplating all he had heard. Curiosity and desperation won, and Paden made his way to the local church.
The Power of the Love of God
At the church, Paden met Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported pastor Paul and shared with him his story, his struggles and his failures. Pastor Paul prayed for Paden, offering the young man encouragement and comfort. He also offered Paden a Bible, inviting him to take it home and read it.
As Paden read, his heart began to soar. God was the answer he needed! He began attending Pastor Paul’s church, and soon, Paden and his entire family came to understand the love of God for them. In addition, God blessed the young man and his family financially, restoring Paden’s business within one month!
Like Marut, Paden now has a testimony of his own—one of the transformative loves of God and blessing.
*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: October 21, 2022 at 7:06 pm By GFA Staff Writer
Gospel for Asia Celebrates 40 Years of Service WILLS POINT, TX – When anyone starts an enterprise of any kind, it is unlikely that they can see 40 years into the future and all that those four decades will bring. When the Lord uses a man or woman to begin a ministry, the future is beyond imagination.
On July 3, Gospel for Asia (GFA) gets to look back on the unimaginable things God has done since GFA’s inception 40 years ago. We now take a look at five of the ministries through which the Lord is blessing the millions of people in South Asia who had never heard of Jesus Christ and His love for us.
Training and Equipping National Missionaries: This has been GFA’s vision from the beginning. To their own people, in their own culture, speaking their own language was the vision upon which the ministry of Gospel for Asia (GFA) was based. Today, thousands are ministering as the hands and feet of Jesus to millions who still need to hear.
Raising Up Women Missionaries:
In cultures where unwritten social rules often separate men from women, GFA-supported women missionaries can minister to Asia’s ladies more effectively than their male counterparts. These women missionaries are filled to overflowing with love for their Lord and eagerly pour out that love to other ladies around them.
Clean Water Initiatives: Gospel for Asia (GFA) is one of the leading faith-based NGOs in terms of providing clean water to communities in need. Jesus Wells and BioSand water filters offer a healthy alternative to the potentially pathogen-riddled surface water that is, in many places, the only available source. Access to clean drinking water has restored health to individuals, families, and entire villages.
Slum Ministries:
Almost no one wants to go to the squalid slums. Most people who live there don’t want to be there, but they have nowhere else to go. The rest of the population avoids the slums and the people who live in them. But GFA-supported workers go courageously to these regions of abject poverty to minister to people’s physical needs and to show them the riches of Jesus’ love and the gift of everlasting life He offers.
Education for Children: Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported Bridge of Hope centers prepare school-age children for fruitful lives beyond the boundaries of poverty. Training, health checkups, and nutritious meals are provided free of charge in a loving, affirming environment that awakens the children to their potential. Many are going on to excel in college or careers neither they nor their parents had realized would be possible.
How are these ministries changing their lives so effectively? Faithful Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported workers have committed themselves to these— and many other—areas of ministry, and the Lord has blessed their commitment to serving Him.
These are but a few of the ministries launched by Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported workers. We will highlight more in the weeks to come during this 40th anniversary year. Please pray for these areas of ministry, and look out for more articles about GFA’s ministries in the days ahead.
Learn more about Gospel for Asia’s 40th anniversary year, we can’t wait to reflect on all God has done in and through GFA. We also excitedly look forward to the future, believing the years ahead will be a time to move forward into a new era of passionately sharing the love of Christ.
Click here, to read more blogs on Patheos from Gospel for Asia.
Last updated on: October 21, 2022 at 7:12 pm By GFA Staff Writer
WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA) – Discussing the millions of people who don’t have the ability to obtain health services, the need for medical camps around the world, and much more the need for the Great Healer.
Ahmed clutched his abdomen as the constant discomfort intensified. He wished for a doctor, but he knew the impossibility of such a costly appointment. He pushed through the pain again—as he had done many times during the past five months—and tried to keep going with life.
Not far away, Raizel leaned against the doorway to regain her balance and focus her eyes. It was hard work being a domestic servant all day, but she knew something internal must be causing her dizziness and eyesight problems. She couldn’t afford to quit working; her husband was gone, and there was no one else to provide for her three daughters. But she couldn’t afford to see a doctor either. All she could do was go back to work and hope the symptoms would go away on their own.
Treatment Unattainable for Millions
Ahmed (pictured) endured stomach pain for five months because he had no money to pay for a doctor’s examination. His plight is common among the global billions who live in poverty.
Ahmed and Raizel are just two among millions—even billions—who cannot access medical care when they need help. The World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Bank reports that “at least half of the world’s population cannot obtain essential health services.”
The cost of medication and professional care is far beyond the incomes of many farmers, daily laborers and tradesmen. Remote villages rarely have a medical facility in the area, which means families must also bear the expenses of traveling to the nearest hospital. Treatment is even further out of reach for the millions of people who live hand-to-mouth and survive by begging.
But sometimes a medical emergency arises. An accident on the road, a severe cut or a life-threatening illness may force families to go to a hospital. Once there, families rack up a large bill and must find a way to pay it or take out a loan from a moneylender.
WHO and the World Bank also state that,
“for almost 100 million people, these expenses are high enough to push them into extreme poverty, forcing them to survive on just $1.90 or less a day.”
Children must drop out of school and start working to help pay back that loan, or parents have to sell what little they have—even their homes or source of livelihood—leaving them in an even more desperate financial situation.
Staff at four Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported Bridge of Hope centers and local pastors in Ahmed and Raizel’s region saw families battling cases of typhoid, dengue and other viral fevers. This community desperately needed help—and through donations from GFA friends around the world, GFA-supported workers were empowered to help their community.
These Bridge of Hope children and others in their community suffered from many treatable illnesses. Those sicknesses hindered their education, which is their greatest opportunity of escape from poverty.
Free Medical Care Provided for Sickly Children, Parents
The Bridge of Hope staff and national missionaries involved in medical ministry began coordinating free medical camps for the children in their areas. Medical personnel from local hospitals were invited to give their expertise at the camps, and soon all the preparations were in order.
One day, 400 Bridge of Hope children in this area went home from their centers with precious news: All the students could come and get free checkups—and their parents could too!
Ahmed came to the camp with hundreds of others from his community and walked away carrying free medication for his stomach troubles.
“I am deeply thankful,” he said. “I was suffering with constant stomachache for the past five months. I did not have money to go to the hospital for checkups.”
Raizel—and hundreds of others in her area who attended free medical camps—received a checkup and medication she could not have afforded on her own.
Raizel, too, attended the medical camp and found help with her problems. Even though she was a widow—a population of society that is often rejected and believed to carry a curse that caused their husbands’ death—she found love and free care through Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported medical ministry.
“Due to my tight work [schedule] and insufficient money, I could not go for medical checkups in a hospital,” she shared. “But my daughters told me about the free medical camp and asked me to come for a checkup. Thus, I could get [an eye exam] and got an eyedrop for my eyes and vitamin tablets for my weakness in the body. Thank you very much for helping me to get this aid.”
GFA-supported Medical Camps Change Lives
Medical camps like the one organized for Ahmed and Raizel’s community treat many illnesses, such as diarrhea, eye diseases, anemia, yellow fever and stomach problems. To help combat malnutrition among children and pregnant women, vitamin tablets are often distributed as well. Educational classes or pamphlets are also provided to instruct families on basic—but often unknown—hygiene practices that will protect the families’ health for years to come.
Abbi, a 37-year-old mother of three daughters, attended a medical camp and received treatment for an illness she had fought for a long time. She also received helpful instructions for rehabilitating one of her daughter’s weak hands.
Through attending the camp, Abbi formed a friendship with a woman named Kanaka. Kanaka, who attended a local church, visited Abbi the following day to pray with her and encourage her from God’s Word. She knew in her heart that Jesus had heard and answered their prayers, and her faith in Christ budded.
Abbi began attending a prayer meeting at Kanaka’s home and found peace from her troubles.
“I could not have a peaceful sleep at night for the last 17 years,” she testified. “But after meeting Jesus, I am getting sound sleep because there is peace in my heart. I praise Jesus for this.”
After attending a medical camp, Abbi (pictured) experienced healing in her family and discovered the joy only found in knowing Christ personally.
Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported medical camps help individuals gain the health they need to positively affect their communities. Each camp may provide 200 to 1,000 people with free checkups and medicines—something many of them would never have been able to afford. And along with those free medical services comes another powerful gift: prayer.
Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported workers happily pray for any who requests prayer at a medical camp, and they speak words of kindness and truth into the lives of struggling families. Long after a bottle of medicine is gone, families can continue finding strength and hope from the Great Healer they heard about at the camp.
Through Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported medical camps, thousands of people have found solutions for their problems, both of body and spirit.
Last updated on: October 21, 2022 at 7:19 pm By KP Yohannan
Pastor Shorya knew the Holy Spirit had been speaking to him about going to visit a certain village—a village where he’d been told not to come back. The Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported pastor lived nearby and had gone there several times, offering a message of hope to any who wanted to hear. Some men in the village didn’t want to hear it, though, and they told him he might not survive if he came again. Heeding this threat, Pastor Shorya didn’t return for nine months. But when Pastor Shorya sensed God was telling him he needed to visit that village again, he listened. Soon he found himself confronted by one of the most notorious men in the village: Hitansh, a gangster.
Pastor Shorya hadn’t met Hitansh before, but he had heard enough to fear him.
An Unlikely Ally
Pastor Shorya
“Why did you stop coming to our village?” Hitansh asked Pastor Shorya.
When Pastor Shorya explained that some men had threatened him, Hitansh told him not to worry. He encouraged the pastor to continue visiting the village and said he would make sure no one else bothered him.
Such a guarantee meant a lot coming from a person like Hitansh, whose feared reputation came from his status as a leader of a gang known for robbery, kidnapping and murder. Hitansh’s wife, however, believed in Jesus. She told her husband that the Christians in the village needed Pastor Shorya’s encouragement, so for the sake of his wife, the gangster supported the pastor.
As Pastor Shorya started visiting Hitansh’s village again, a relationship developed between the two men, and he told Hitansh about Jesus and invited him to come to worship services. Hitansh wasn’t interested, though.
Grace in Prison
Hitansh
Hitansh’s life of crime eventually caught up with him. After getting arrested for robbing the police superintendent’s home, he landed in prison for several months. One night he had a dream that reminded him of things Pastor Shorya had shared.
In Hitansh’s dream, he stole a gold chain. As he was running away, a lion approached and swallowed the chain. Then a man from Hitansh’s village appeared.
“Brother, look up,” the man said.
As Hitansh looked up, a cross stood before his eyes.
Hitansh woke up, troubled. He knelt down and prayed, and the next day, a desire burned within him to know about Jesus. He asked his brother to bring him a Bible.
Having failed the fifth-grade multiple times, Hitansh had struggled to read his own language, but now he found himself able to read Scripture clearly. Day by day, God continued to burden his heart as he pored over Bible passages and remembered Pastor Shorya’s words about Christ.
When Hitansh was released from prison, he immediately wanted to talk to Pastor Shorya.
“I have done many sins,” Hitansh said. “Will Jesus Christ forgive me from all my sins? How can I get peace in my heart? In jail, I was remembering your words every day. Show me the way … ”
Pastor Shorya comforted him with words from Scripture, sharing that Jesus would forgive sins. He told Hitansh that Christ was the way to peace.
No Longer a Gangster
That day, Hitansh found peace as he believed in Jesus Christ. Soon, he started attending worship services and prayer meetings at Pastor Shorya’s church. His family members began noticing a change in Hitansh, and they also came to know Christ.
Now, instead of engaging in criminal activity, Hitansh provides for his family by doing masonry and labor work. He also works for Jesus full time, telling others about the God who gave him a second chance.
Hitansh’s transformed life impacted the entire community, sparking an interest in Jesus among more people, encouraging the believers and even touching the hearts of the gang members Hitansh used to work with. Although the other leaders of Hitansh’s gang didn’t feel they could openly make a commitment to Jesus, they began to believe in Him.
As Hitansh continues to grow in his walk with Christ, Pastor Shorya continues to encourage him, sharing insights from God’s Word and teaching him how to live an exemplary life. Hitansh is grateful for how Pastor Shorya has mentored him and other members of his family. Just as he guaranteed, the former gangster continues to support the pastor—but now he does this by inviting people to attend worship services and prayer meetings. Hitansh even serves as the church secretary and treasurer.
Because God reached down to pull a criminal off a treacherous path, an entire community is finding new hope. And He did this through one man who loved a village enough to go back, despite risk to his own life, and through an unlikely ally. Now, Hitansh is no longer a criminal, and he and Pastor Shorya are not just friends—they are brothers.
Last updated on: October 29, 2022 at 5:18 am By GFA Staff Writer
WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA) – Discussing about the behind-the-scenes missionaries who, although they are far from the mission field, are vital to make ministry possible in Asia.
The morning sun shines over the Mumbai slums. It is the beginning of a new day, and Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported pastor Marty reaches into his bag and pulls out some literature. He scans the dirty faces of slum dwellers and realizes today might be the day they could understand how completely they are loved by God. Across the globe, as the sun shines on the small town of Wills Point, Texas, Jonathan stares at his computer in front of him.
He glances over at the pictures on his office wall and remembers the masses around the world who are waiting to know they are loved. Both men have completely different tasks and roles, but they understand something profound—they couldn’t do their job without each other.
Living a Fairly ‘Normal’ Christian Life
When the eldest of their four daughters was 4 years old, they welcomed Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported Bridge of Hope children and missionaries into their lives through prayer and sponsorship. Jonathan and Erica wanted their children to grow up understanding the needs of others.
Ever since their four beautiful daughters were young, Jonathan and Erica have led their family in pursuit of serving the Lord together.
“They were familiar with the idea,” Jonathan says, “that there are people outside of [their] own little world who have a totally different set of challenges, and people who don’t know about Christ.”
This worldview found its way into their family’s everyday life and holidays, shaping rich family traditions. When the Christmas season came around each year, their daughters would pour over the pages of GFA’s Christmas Gift Catalog, flipping through the pages filled with pictures of chickens, goats, Bibles and blankets. Their house stirred with excitement as each bright-eyed girl got to choose an item to bless a person or family in Asia.
A Change in the Norm
As the Lord continued to press missions on Jonathan’s heart, a revelation struck him: Why not serve in the place where they had already been investing for the past nine years?
After raising monthly support for their livelihood, Jonathan and his family packed up their home and moved to Texas to join GFA’s staff as behind-the-scenes missionaries. They were ready to serve the Lord together once again and in an even greater capacity.
A Beautiful Link Between Two Worlds
With passion and excitement, Jonathan started serving in the IT department at the Gospel for Asia (GFA) office in Wills Point, Texas. Through his work, he was able to equip his fellow behind-the-scenes missionaries with the computer systems they needed to accomplish their jobs in helping missionaries in Asia, like Pastor Marty.
As Jonathan helped equip the Texas office with the systems needed to communicate with donors and sponsors, Pastor Marty and many other Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported workers talked with broken families about the love of Jesus. With Jonathan and the other behind-the-scenes missionaries doing their part in their work, Pastor Marty and fellow ministry workers could more effectively do their part.
Much the Same, yet So Different
Although Jonathan worked with people and computers as he had in his secular job, the differences of working in a ministry impacted his walk with the Lord. Whereas before he never thought to pray for a broken computer server or start a meeting in prayer, he now found himself doing these very things.
Once, when Jonathan had broken the entire office’s email system, it disabled the behind-the-scenes missionaries for several hours. To his amazement, Jonathan didn’t receive the same kind of treatment he would have experienced in the business world, with his bosses telling him how much money and time he was wasting. Instead, people stopped by his office to encourage and reassure him that they were praying for him. When Jonathan finally got the system working again, a slew of emails filled his inbox. They were from folks around the office thanking him for all his hard work on getting the problem fixed.
It was this kind of grace that Jonathan had never experienced before, and it occurred to him that the Gospel for Asia (GFA) office had a completely different atmosphere. Instead of pressures to do everything correctly the first time, there was love and grace shown by his coworkers. Instead of stress, there was peace as problems were brought to the Lord in prayer.
“I realized I am in a different world here,” Jonathan says.
“Everything matters so much more, but mistakes are handled with so much more grace. And both are tied to the heart and the attitude behind it.”
Serving Together in Joy and Hardship
But serving the Lord is not always simple or pleasant, and ministry is no easy journey. Just as Jesus warned His disciples about the trials and troubles that would come their way if they followed Him, Jonathan and his family have experienced this reality as they have labored with Gospel for Asia (GFA). National workers like Marty have experienced trials and troubles, too. Although persecution may look different in Asia, brothers and sisters around the world face opposition together, knowing that serving the Lord does not come without a heavy price at times.
“It had never occurred to me,” Jonathan reflects,
“That when you give your life at a ministry, you are not just doing the glorious and admirable thing of becoming a missionary, and everyone is going to applaud you. You are joining yourself to a ministry that will, at some point, be the target of criticism, and when it is, you also will be the target of criticism. … That was both the hardest thing for me to swallow and the source of most growth for me. … I had to learn, it’s more about obeying God and trusting Him to bring fruit out of it than it is the applause of people.”
The Eternal Purpose
With an understanding of their calling and a commitment to the Lord, Jonathan, Erica and their family stand together as one with Pastor Marty and other missionaries around the world, serving others for the sake of Christ.
“It’s more of a lifestyle and less of a job,” Jonathan says.
Even when they feel tired, weak and unworthy or when criticism comes their way, Jonathan and Erica remain faithful to where God has led them.
“We are here because we are about the business of allowing people who have never heard the hope of Christ to hear of Christ,” Jonathan states.
“We are also here specifically because this is the place that God connected us to 13 years ago and kept us connected to and specifically led us to. So, it’s both the eternal purpose and the specific circumstances working together. But it’s not a matter of preference, or we wouldn’t last.”
When you link your life with behind-the-scenes missionaries, you get the opportunity to stay more connected with the Lord’s work in Asia. Someday in heaven, we all will worship the Lamb of God together, and we will see fully how Christ has connected our lives with our brothers and sisters around the world!
Last updated on: August 12, 2022 at 10:26 pm By GFA Staff Writer
WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA) Part#3 Special Report on the aftermath of acute gender imbalance: Discussing the horrendous reality of 100 million missing women worldwide.
A Little Girl’s Future Transformed
A beautiful story from Gospel for Asia’s archives tells about the day a cook at a Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported Bridge of Hope center noticed an elderly woman begging on the street. The cook was distressed because the older woman had a little girl, filthy and dressed in rags, in tow.
Knowing that adult beggars will often use children as bait to receive monies, then pocket the funds and do nothing for the child, the cook challenged the older woman, “Why are you exploiting this child?”
To the cook’s surprise, the older woman broke into tears and wept.
Daya, pictured at age 8 and age 15. Once among beggars in the street, she is now a thriving teen finding her place in this world and walking in her faith.
She wasn’t a professional beggar at all, but the grandmother of the little girl, Daya, who had been abandoned by both her mother and father. Without income and desperate, the grandmother had begun begging at bus stops, train stations and on the streets. With a change of heart, the cook invited the grandmother to enroll Daya in the Bridge of Hope center, which was in a building wedged between a railway station and a slum, conveniently available to children without a future.
The little girl was enrolled in the center but was so filthy that other parents complained. The Bridge of Hope staff conducted an intensive scrub session to relieve the child of dirt and germs and to replace the same filthy clothes she wore each day with clean clothes. They introduced her to soap and taught her to use it when she washed.
As the report states, “Daya’s future hung in the balance. If rejected from the Bridge of Hope center, she would return to the streets as one of the hundreds of thousands of child beggars in Asia. At some point, she would likely join the 20 to 30 million other boys and girls who are exploited as child laborers.”
The staff was determined to see that Daya thrived in Bridge of Hope, and she grew up to be an educated young woman. However, millions of other children never get that chance.
In a fact sheet on girls’ education, UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) explains:
Some 31 million girls of primary-school age are not in school. Seventeen million of these are expected to never enter school.
Some 34 million female adolescents are missing from secondary schools, which often offer vocational skills that are essential for procuring future jobs.
Two-thirds of the 774 million illiterate people in the world are female.
Thousands of these children can’t go to school because they are caught in bonded labor.
“It is doubtful they’ve ever held a toothbrush or a bar of soap; they’ve probably never eaten an ice-cream cone or cradled a doll,” Gospel for Asia (GFA) states. “The child laborers of Asia toil in fireworks, carpet and match factories; quarries and coal mines; rice fields, tea plantations and pastures; and even brothels. Because they are exposed to dust, toxic fumes, pesticides and disease, their health is compromised, and their bodies can be crippled from carrying heavy weights.”
Worse still, these children could be entrapped in prostitution.
These young women are prostitutes in the red-light district; some most likely entrapped since childhood.
Prostitution is not illegal in India so the chances of victimization are mind-blowing. In addition, many impoverished families sell their daughters to opportunists who promise a better life for their children.
ABC News reports, “Aid organizations estimate that 20 to 65 million Indians have already passed through the hands of human traffickers at one point in their lives. Ninety percent of them remain within India’s national borders, and the majority are female and under the age of 18.”
One social worker, Palavi, explained, “Human trafficking works because the victims are afraid and cannot communicate. … Many of them have children who live in constant danger of also being sold or sexually abused. They grow up under the beds where their mothers were robbed of their dignity.”
When census data is gathered, these women, mothers and little girls are not in their villages, local communities or urban settlements. They are hidden by sex slave traders (but made available to the men who seek them out).
Let me ask again the question Jesus asked Simon the Pharisee, “Do you see this woman (or child, or little girl or teenager)?”
I have a granddaughter named Eliana who is 10 years old. Four mornings a week, I pick up Eliana and her brother, Nehemiah (8), to drive them to school. Their younger sister, Anelise (5), is picked up by the preschool bus. My driving effort is to help out their mother, who was married to our son Jeremy Mains. Our son, her husband and the children’s father, died five years ago at age 42 of blastic mantle cell lymphoma.
Angela, my daughter-in-law, is raising the children by herself while holding a full-time job as the director of a local community-outreach organization. She has just completed her dissertation and received a doctorate in adult education. Nevertheless, even with remarkable mothers, studies show that children raised without fathers are vulnerable. So my husband and I live close, are on call when babysitters fall through and try to do a lot of one-on-ones with our grandchildren.
Though I watch these grandchildren grow with an attentive heart, I am certain my granddaughter Eliana will never worry about entering bonded labor or be forced to go begging on the streets. It is impossible for me, even for the sake of achieving a frightening empathy, to impose through my imagination the horror of the lives of some 20 to 65 million trafficked females on these precious little girls I love.
These Bridge of Hope students look happy during class time at GFA’s Bridge of Hope program. Education can protect a girl from exploitation—and redirect her future. This is a primary solution to begin changing the statistics of 100 million missing women.
Education as a Deterrent
Education can protect a girl from exploitation—and redirect her future. An educated girl can read. She can find work. She can get training to become a teacher, a doctor or a policewoman, for instance. She can tutor other children. A social system begins to change slowly, very slowly, one educated girl by one educated girl.
The latest statistics regarding GFA’s supported work with women in 2018 include:
290,753
women received free health care training
8,812
sewing machines distributed as a means to obtain work as a seamstress
61,880
illiterate women learned to read and write
11,000+
women desperate for jobs received vocational training
The World Bank stresses that girls’ education goes beyond getting into school. It is also about ensuring they learn and feel safe in school. One research study in Haiti indicated, “One in three Haitian women (ages 15 to 49) has experienced physical and/or sexual violence, and that of women who received money for sex before turning 18 years old, 27 percent reported schools to be the most common location for solicitation.”
What Can We Do? How Can We Conquer the Horrific 100 Million Missing Women Statistic?
What can we—those of us who have hearts that beat with concern about the unbelievable evils of this world—do about the 100 million missing women worldwide who face discrimination and violence? How can anyone make a dent in a problem with such magnified proportionality? How can that horrific statistic—100 million missing women—be conquered, overcome, defeated, reduced or even eliminated?
Well, there are some things we can do, small as they seem, but mighty nevertheless in their possibility:
We can sponsor girls (and boys) so they get educated through programs like GFA’s Bridge of Hope Program. And if $35 a month is too much for you (and it is for some compassionate people), invite your small group, Sunday School class, men’s softball league, neighborhood coffee-klatch or members of your extended family to pool funds.
Think about this question: Why do more people not see this inequality and neglect, not grieve for the 100 million missing women and girls who have experienced such hardships and take action to be part of the solution? Then read the book of Luke and think about the societal shift that begins with women’s encounters with Jesus.
Remind yourself of Christ’s question: “Do you see this woman?” Write it out on a card, and then use it as a bookmark in the books you read or paste it on your bathroom mirror. Write out a prayer, like the one I included in the beginning of this article, but adapt it to this horrific dilemma: Lord, what do You want me to do about the masses of women? And if you are not a praying person, send some discontented energy into the atmosphere any way you feel fit. Just don’t forget.
Let us conclude by going back to Jesus, except now He is not eating at the table of the VIPs. He is bloody, tortured, hanging from a cross and nearing death. The Gospel of John describes the inhumanity of the Roman soldiers and the crowds standing beneath the cross.
“Now there stood by the cross of Jesus His mother, and His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother, ‘Woman, behold your son!’ Then He said to the disciple, ‘Behold your mother!’ And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.”
Concern for the widow. Concern for the women.
“Look at this woman. Do you now see your mother?”
So, let us also be about this work in the world.
Oh, Lord, help us to care for every human with hearts that beat like Your heart beats for them. And help us, please help us, no matter our gender, to see the women.
Last updated on: October 29, 2022 at 5:22 am By GFA Staff Writer
Madin finally had to leave. Being from the lowest class, he had suffered exploitation and mistreatment at the hands of his upper-class neighbors all his life. He couldn’t handle the abuse anymore. Seeking peace for his family, he knew they could no longer live in their village. In the face of such hardships, Madin moved his family to a big city, hoping for more opportunities in a place where class was not the sole identity of an individual. Having no connections, the harassed family moved to a large slum within an overcrowded city. All over the world, millions of disenfranchised people have ended up in similar slum dwellings. In 2017, about 900 million people lived in slums across the globe.
Hope Dawns in the Slum with Message of Acceptance
Madin worried about his children. He had escaped ridicule, but poverty had followed him. He seemed doomed to live as an outcast with his children inheriting his fate.
Then, one day, Madin heard about a God who loved him. Amaan, a first-year Bible college student, went to Madin’s slum to share about God’s great love and forgiveness of sins. As Amaan walked through the muddy, narrow lanes of the slums, his heart broke for the people living in these conditions. He wanted to help them any way he could to improve their lives. But what could he, a poor, Bible college student, do?
When Amaan met Madin, he shared God’s Word with this discouraged father. Madin listened attentively to the Bible college student share about the God who accepted them, even though they had always felt so worthless and disposable.
In Need of a Miracle
Amaan faithfully taught weekly literacy classes in the slum. One week, as he made his way to the slum, he passed by a mountain of garbage and found a small boy rolling in the refuse, covered in dirt.
Shocked, Amaan approached the boy and recognized Madin’s son, Savith. Amaan quickly found the boy’s parents to ask what happened. Madin shared how, a week before, Savith began acting strangely and kept wanting to go to the garbage pile. They realized he was being afflicted by an evil spirit, so Madin and Ramana took him to a religious leader to perform a sacrifice on behalf of their son. But Savith continued to get worse throughout the week.
His distraught parents didn’t know what to do. They couldn’t afford to take him to get medical attention. They hoped he would somehow heal on his own. Feeling helpless, Madin and Ramana left their son to roll in the garbage heaps.
Miracle Leads to Worshiping Community
Amaan moved closer to the flailing boy. He reached out his hands and offered a simple prayer to Jesus. Savith immediately sat up and looked at Amaan. Encouraged, Amaan talked to the boy, but Savith did not respond. Amaan prayed again, and the tormenting spirit left. Savith stood up, perfectly healthy.
“We prayed and went to the temple … but nothing happened to him,” the parents explained. “However, you have prayed, and this boy is healed now.” Seeing their beloved son restored filled Madin and Ramana with joy. They encouraged Amaan to visit them frequently.
Astonishment washed over Madin and Ramana. They did not know the power of God before that moment.
“We prayed and went to the temple … but nothing happened to him,” the parents explained. “However, you have prayed, and this boy is healed now.”
Seeing their beloved son restored filled Madin and Ramana with joy. They encouraged Amaan to visit them frequently.
“Our door is open for you all the time,” they told Amaan.
News of the little boy’s healing astounded many neighbors in the slum. Intrigued, many came to Madin’s house to hear Amaan share from God’s Word, and they learned more about this God who had shown Himself so powerful.
No longer rejected, Madin now knows acceptance from his Heavenly Father and the love of fellow worshipers—his new eternal family.
In 2018, residents in more than 900 slums heard about the love of Christ through Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported workers. Slum ministry is unique and requires creativity on the part of national workers. They meet people in desperate and sometimes life-threatening situations. These compassionate men and women seek to minister to people’s physical needs while also ministering to their spiritual needs.
As governments grapple with how to provide housing and services for the exploding populations in their cities, Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported workers are bringing hope today into the litter-strewn paths of hundreds of shantytowns across Asia. Thousands of people have found hope in Jesus for today and security for eternity.
Last updated on: October 29, 2022 at 5:28 am By GFA Staff Writer
The first time Tanul tried alcohol, it must have burned his throat and boiled in his belly. Unpleasant as it was, it would not be the last time he put his lips around the bottle. In fact—like the poverty he was born into—it became his constant companion. By the time Tanul was a teenager, he drank regularly. Like most young men in his rural village, Tanul filled his body with alcohol to erase the shame of poverty from his heart and mind. This destructive habit would follow Tanul as he began to build a life for himself.
When Tanul married, he did not lay aside his drinking. As the burden of caring for a family increased, so did his time with the bottle. Children came, and Tanul was unable to provide adequate food for his family or cover school fees—making a hopeful future for them impossible. Tanul was stuck in a vicious cycle, and the more he drank, the less hire-able he became.
In many rural villages plagued by poverty, men gather to gamble and drink in the absence of work.
Tanul’s journey is not an isolated incident. It’s a problem all over the world; alcoholism and poverty go hand-in-hand. Though it is not proven that one always leads to the other, there is an ugly, symbiotic relationship. As alcohol consumption increases, employability decreases. While employment dries up, many use drinking to ease the shame, which exacerbates the cycle. Often, the only work left for alcoholics in Asia is manual labor for which they are hired on a day-by-day basis. Because of the difficulty—and sometimes the impossibility—for the poor to rise above these employment options, many turns to alcohol to ease poverty’s sting. The stress of not knowing if you will find work each day inflates the problem.
Abuse Multiplied: Poverty, Alcohol, and…
As Tanul’s family fell apart, another near relation to the twin problems of alcoholism and poverty arrived: domestic violence. Coming home intoxicated and angry, Tanul began abusing his wife and children daily. The little money he earned went to supporting his addiction. This family, plagued by poverty, alcoholism and domestic violence, was living out the well-worn path blazed by many of the world’s extreme poor.
In the village pictured, 80 percent of the rice crop is used to brew homemade alcohol— resulting in a high consumption of alcohol. This leads to frequent occurrences of domestic violence.
Step One on the Road Out of Poverty
Pastor Teja, who has a church in a nearby village, met Tanul’s family one day when he was offering prayer for families in need. The Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported pastor saw the pitiful condition of this family, and his heart was heavy. The family invited him back to pray for them, and a friendship began. Tanul’s family began to attend Pastor Teja’s church. Then members of the church continually prayed for Tanul’s deliverance from alcohol—the thing that bound them to the poverty they lived in. Through their faithful prayers and Pastor Teja’s counseling, Tanul overcame his addiction to alcohol. The Lord completely transformed Tanul’s heart!
For the first time, Tanul’s family experienced freedom—freedom as a gift from God above that trickled down into their hearts and flowed toward each other in love. This freedom from bondage gave them hope for the future. But in the present, they are still stuck in the poverty trap.
This predicament of the extreme poor—not being able to find work that will support a family’s daily needs—is one of the basic issues addressed by world leaders and organizations dedicated to alleviating poverty around the globe. One expert working with the Borgen Project, a non-profit dedicated to fighting global poverty, is convinced the first step[1] in reducing extreme cyclic poverty is helping the poor create their own businesses. This is the very thing many Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported pastors and missionaries can do with income-producing gifts provided by donors all over the world.
Pastor Teja knew that Tanul needed a way to earn enough income to support his family. He arranged to hold a gift distribution and presented Tanul with a rickshaw—something he never could have afforded on his own. Tanul was overcome with gratitude at God’s provision.
Tanul’s whole family has been transformed since the Lord entered their lives.
A New Reputation
With his new gift, Tanul loaded vegetables onto his rickshaw and began selling throughout the village—even delivering produce to customers’ homes. God blessed Tanul’s diligence and hard work, enabling him to earn a good income selling vegetables. Setting his own prices and being able to keep all his earnings, Tanul had enough money to send Maahir to school to learn a skilled trade. Maahir completed his education and started working as a carpenter. The two men now adequately support their growing family, including Maahir’s wife and two children.
Income producing gifts, like these goats, help lift impoverished families in Asia out of the trap of poverty.
Join the Global Effort to End Extreme Poverty
The fight against extreme poverty is not finished—736 million people in 2015 were still living on less than $1.90 a day.[2] Almost half of these people reside[3] in the countries where Gospel for Asia (GFA) supports national workers. Gospel for Asia (GFA) believes that together, we can make a lasting difference in the lives of those caught in the extreme poverty trap.
We can sponsor girls (and boys) so they get educated through programs like GFA’s Bridge of Hope Program. And if $35 a month is too much for you (and it is for some compassionate people), invite your small group, Sunday School class, men’s softball league, neighborhood coffee-klatch or members of your extended family to pool funds.
Think about this question: Why do more people not see this inequality and neglect, not grieve for the 100 million missing women and girls who have experienced such hardships and take action to be part of the solution? Then read the book of Luke and think about the societal shift that begins with women’s encounters with Jesus.
Remind yourself of Christ’s question: “Do you see this woman?” Write it out on a card, and then use it as a bookmark in the books you read or paste it on your bathroom mirror. Write out a prayer, like the one I included in the beginning of this article, but adapt it to this horrific dilemma: Lord, what do You want me to do about the masses of women? And if you are not a praying person, send some discontented energy into the atmosphere any way you feel fit. Just don’t forget.
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