Adya lost her father when she was a small child. Her mother, a Christian in name only, remarried and had two more children, only to be abandoned by her new husband shortly thereafter. Though Adya’s mother labored from early morning to late night every day, she never earned quite enough to provide for the family. Adya and her siblings often went hungry.
Adya’s mother managed to send her to school from time to time, but Adya’s younger sister, Lalana, and brother, Gayan, spent most of their lives roaming the slums, collecting trash to recycle. That is, until they began attending a Bridge of Hope center near their home.
Guiding Their Now-Clean Hands
Tarli, a social worker at Adya’s Bridge of Hope center, remembers when young Adya first joined seven years before. The girl, then 8 years old, was scrawny and unclean. She and her siblings didn’t know how to bathe or comb their hair; they didn’t have enough clothing to cover their bodies; they hardly knew how to carry on a conversation.
The tutors and social workers patiently worked with Adya, Lalana and Gayan. The children didn’t know how to read or write, so the Bridge of Hope tutors helped each one individually, guiding their hands to help the children form the letters. The center provided a daily meal, hygiene lessons, clothing and abundant doses of love. Under this care, it didn’t take long for the children to blossom.
“The life of Adya entirely transformed after she joined the Bridge of Hope center,” Tarli reflects. “She looks beautiful now and has become an energetic student in our center.”
No Longer Searching
Rather than scavenging for trash, Lalana and Gayan enjoy studying, and 15-year-old Adya has become one of the best students in her school. Her teachers and tutors are proud of her accomplishments, and her mother, after witnessing the transformation in her children’s lives, has come to understand that the Christ she once knew in name only is a Living Savior who still changes lives today.
Thank you so much for standing with us to make stories like this possible. May the Lord bless you.
*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.
WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA World and affiliates like Gospel for Asia Canada) founded by Dr. K.P. Yohannan – Discussing the Gospel for Asia slum ministries & Compassion Services teams who forsake their own lives to offer spiritual & physical hope to the families and people in slums of Asia.
In 1999, Gospel for Asia (GFA) began supporting slum ministries to specifically help the plethora of neglected people in slums in Asia.
Tens of millions of people occupy slums in and around major cities. They live in abject poverty and indescribable misery, some within a few hundred yards of some of the most technologically advanced cities in the Asian sub-continent. Thousands arrive daily from rural areas in search of jobs and a better life, only to become trapped in desperate living situations with little hope of change.
Most families in slums live in one-room shanties. Toilets are scarce, so the stench of human waste pollutes the air. Garbage is strewn across the alleyways. Everyone is vulnerable to disease.
Every day is a new battle to somehow find a job, even one that is an extremely menial labor job. If that’s not possible, breadwinners—and often children—must resort to begging, scavenging or prostitution to be able to eat. If they get too sick or too old to work, most have no social agency to help them.
A Gospel for Asia (GFA) behind-the-scenes missionary had the opportunity to see a slum in Asia and described the living conditions of those dwelling in the slum, saying:
“They don’t have money, they don’t have clothes, food. Their houses are just…shacks. It made my heart feel sad.”
Breaking the chain of poverty is almost impossible without the compassion of others outside of these poverty-stricken communities. Many people do see the needs of these struggling millions, but for a variety of reasons, many others simply ignore them, passing them by without a second thought.
That’s why our Compassion Services—specifically slum ministry—makes such a difference.
Not only do these Compassion Services teams go into the slums, but they also sacrifice their own personal comfort by living within the slums. They serve in many ways so they may more effectively demonstrate what others are not: the value of each individual life, no matter how poor. Their acts of service and their encouraging messages are helping many families discover the love and compassion of Jesus Christ.
Jesus set aside all the incomparable splendor of His heavenly majesty to live among and minister to the poor, the weary and the brokenhearted. So too, our supported workers forsake the lives they could have to offer spiritual and physical hope that families in slums would possibly never hear about otherwise.
Living and ministering within the slums allows workers to build relationships, meet needs, teach about Jesus, and bring believers into fellowship with others.
Watch this brief (1:11) video to learn more about the impact of Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported ministry in 932 of Asian’s slums. Then, please prayerfully consider what you can do to bring practical help and news of eternal life to those living in slums.
Go here to learn how your donations toward Compassion Services will change lives in the slums.
*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.
Learn more about Dr. KP Yohannan’s book, No Longer a Slumdog, where real children living in slum conditions in Asia share their real stories of need and how our loving God intervened to redeem them with His love. You will be astonished as you read how God is powerfully moving in hearts right now.
WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA World and affiliates like Gospel for Asia Canada) founded by Dr. K.P. Yohannan – Discussing Mudit and his family’s poverty, the struggle to provide food and clothing as well as for his children’s education, and the Gospel for Asia Supported Bridge of Hope center that opened doors to a new way of life.
B
eady eyes surveyed the landscape without fear. A long, snakelike trunk searched the ground, looking for consumables. Two ivory tusks protruded from the mouth of this king of beasts. Four legs, like tree trunks, supported the mammoth body as it moved through the familiar domain.
Mudit’s heart sank at the sight. There was nothing he could do to stop the elephant from eating its way through his small plot of farmland.
As Mudit realized his time, effort and investment had been wasted yet again, despair etched itself deeper into the elderly father’s heart. How could he ever provide food for his children?
A Community Bereft
Mudit lived near a tea estate with thousands of other families. For years, their primary occupation had consisted of harvesting and processing tea leaves. The wages were never spectacular; sometimes they were barely enough for each family to survive. Then the estates started to close.
The communities quickly deteriorated as families struggled to make ends meet. Teenagers turned to thievery, cutting down public trees for lumber and stripping the area of metal to sell for scrap. Some families moved away, seeking to find a fresh start elsewhere. Many who remained took the daily risk of traveling in search of work, potentially wasting a day and travel expenses if work wasn’t available.
Mudit, despite being 65 and unable to do much physical labor, soon found himself among that group. If he found work, he could earn a small amount every day, but that only happened three or four days a week.
“I struggled to provide for my children’s education, for their clothing and food,” Mudit explains. “If anybody is sick at home, I have to borrow money from people.”
He endeavored to grow potatoes and other vegetables to feed his young children, but wild elephants would occasionally help themselves to the produce from his small plot of land.
“I am not able to buy enough food for the children,” Mudit says. “What we have, we try to manage with that.”
Helping as Much as They Can
The local government school fed several children a daily meal, but not every child could afford to enroll; the price of notebooks and other supplies might be a week’s worth of the family’s wages. Many children labored alongside their mothers and fathers instead. Mudit’s eldest son, Patag, only 13, was among them, while his two younger sons, Titir and Binod, found themselves on a happier path.
Seeing the desperate situations of many parents and children, a group of Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported workers started a Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported Bridge of Hope center in the area, hoping to alleviate the strain of several families. At the center, 120 children would receive a daily meal, school supplies, clothing and toiletries, along with compassionate care from the social workers and teachers.
“Now my two children Titir and Binod go to our Bridge of Hope project center, and that has been a great help for my family,” Mudit shares, “because they are given every basic thing that my children need, including food. … I would never be able to buy any of those things for my children and for their education. This has been a great help for me.”
Only the Beginning
The transformation in Mudit’s children is more than just full bellies and new clothes. Children in Bridge of Hope centers across Asia have found freedom to pursue dreams of becoming doctors, engineers, teachers and officials. Through the tutelage and attention they receive, children have the opportunity to excel and bless their communities in many ways.
“Bridge of Hope has taught them so many good things,” Mudit shares. “I can see the change and the development in their thinking. If Bridge of Hope had not been there, I think my children would have discontinued going to school [by] now. They would be roaming here and there . . . but now they are changed and happy. They always want to go to school.”
Although the Bridge of Hope center has already made a difference in the lives of Mudit’s family, many others still struggle. There are thousands of children living in or near the tea estates. Thousands of children who know the struggle for survival.
“There is no way possible to help each family or each individual,” shared a local Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported worker. “I would say 25–30 Bridge of Hope centers in [these] tea gardens is not going to be enough.”
Through all the challenges, the work is just beginning, and for now, at least 120 children in the tea gardens have a chance for a better future through Bridge of Hope.
We don’t yet know how Titir’s and Binod’s stories will end—their journeys with Bridge of Hope are just beginning. But they will have enough food, love, care and guidance to carry them through another day, no matter how many other dangers are prowling around.
At Gospel for Asia-supported Bridge of Hope centers, 70,000 children across Asia are receiving free education, food and medical care—and ultimately discovering a new way of life!
*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.
Learn more by reading the Gospel for Asia Special Report on how millions of children are trapped between extreme poverty and the profits of others: Child Labor: Not Gone, but Forgotten
Click here, to read more blogs on Patheos from Gospel for Asia.
WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA World and affiliates like Gospel for Asia Canada) founded by Dr. K.P. Yohannan – Discussing Gospel for Asia-supported missionaries like Ekagrah and his wife Geetika, brought by God from death to life and enabled to share this hope of new life with others.
Ekagrah’s keen eyes surveyed the landscape as he entered the small mountain village. The new Gospel for Asia (GFA) pastor looked to the hills, places he had never seen, filled with people he had never met. He came with his wife and young daughter, ready to step into the new life God had for them, ready to share this new life with others.
But for most of his 32 years, Ekagrah had known nothing of the hope he now came to share.
Teenager Loses Mother and Seven Siblings
Death and sickness followed Ekagrah like a plague. When he was a teenager, his mother and seven of his siblings died within a short period of time. His older brothers, rather than encouraging him to continue his studies, told him to quit school, get a job and help them.
So he did. When Ekagrah grew older, he traveled to the capital city to earn some money for his family. For five years he labored, carrying belongings for foreigners who wanted to walk the mountain paths, before he returned home to see his family.
While in his childhood village, Ekagrah married a woman named Geetika. They soon moved back to the capital city, and Geetika gave birth to a beautiful little girl. Then “the plague” struck again.
As a young man, Ekagrah traveled far from his home in hopes of helping his family after the tragic deaths of his mother and seven siblings. Eventually, he married a woman named Geetika, but difficulties continued to follow him: Geetika and their young daughter both contracted a mysterious illness that nothing seemed able to cure.
Young Husband Watches Wife and Daughter Fall Sick
After the baby was born, Geetika felt a strange burning sensation creep over her body, a sensation that would not go away. At the same time, their daughter succumbed to frequent bouts of vomiting, fever and diarrhea.
With no family around to help, Ekagrah faced these challenges alone. Following his late mother’s example, Ekagrah earnestly sought his gods for his wife’s and his daughter’s healing.
He offered sacrifices and took his family to see witch doctors and medical doctors, but nothing helped. Eventually he grew angry with his gods for not answering him in his need and decided to stop worshiping them.
Disappointed Husband Finds Peace at Church
One day, after five years of suffering and disappointment, Ekagrah met up with his nephew and nieces, who told him about Jesus. Curious to know more, he asked one niece about her church and about her God. She invited him to attend their church, so that weekend Ekagrah slipped away to church without telling his wife.
As he walked through the doors, a flood of peace washed over him. As the service started and the Christians sang and clapped their hands, Ekagrah stared at everyone in awe and surprise. During the service, the pastor’s words touched his heart, and he decided he wanted to go back the next week.
Ekagrah had decided not to tell his wife about Jesus or the church until he learned more about Him, but Geetika had other plans. While her husband attended church, Geetika had noticed her pain subsiding, leaving her feeling refreshed. She wanted to know why, so the next week, when Ekagrah started leaving without her, she stopped him.
After watching his family suffer for five years, Ekagrah lost hope in his gods. He talked with one of his nieces, a Christian, who invited him to church. While Ekagrah attended church, his wife noticed her pain subsiding, and this gave her faith to trust Jesus for complete healing. The whole family soon embraced the love Jesus freely offers.
Family Transformed From Tears to Joy
“Where are you going?” she asked.
When Ekagrah told her about Jesus and the church, faith filled Geetika’s heart.
“I am ready to follow Jesus right now,” she declared. “I believe He will heal me and my daughter completely, and there is no doubt about His power.”
“Before long,” Ekagrah shares, “we began to experience the peace of God prevailing in our lives. An affection to God developed in our hearts.”
After a few weeks of attending church, they decided to embrace the freedom and grace Jesus offers. At the same time, God completely freed Geetika and their daughter from their mysterious illnesses.
“Our joy knew no bounds,” Ekagrah says. “We began to follow the Lord with a wholehearted devotion. Our home [became] a home of prayer.”
Husband and Wife Become Gospel for Asia-supported Missionaries
Although many friends and neighbors told them to renounce their faith in Jesus, their love for Him only grew through the years.
“We were burdened to share the love of Christ with the lost humanity,” Ekagrah shares. “Before long, my wife and I decided to serve the Lord as missionaries.”
The two enrolled in a Bible training program, where they learned more about Jesus, the Word of God and how to share their faith with others.
After following God for several years as missionaries, they learned about Gospel for Asia (GFA). After joining Gospel for Asia (GFA), they moved to a remote village in Central Nepal.
When Ekagrah and Geetika first came to the village, people didn’t want to hear what they had to say. Some people even threatened them and told them to leave. But the couple faithfully prayed and fasted, and within a few months, God touched the hearts of three men and women. They, like Ekagrah and Geetika, embraced the peace and healing found only in Christ.
After coming to know Jesus’ love, God gave Ekagrah and Geetika a heart to share this divine love with others. They went through a Bible training program and started serving the Lord as missionaries. After a few years, they joined with Gospel for Asia.
Husband and Wife Help Many Understand Christ’s Love
Throughout the last 10 years, Ekagrah and Geetika have gotten to know the men and women of their small mountain town. Through their example and their words, several others have come to know the God they love. Here, under the tender gaze of Ekagrah, the Lord’s shepherd, a church has grown. Every week, dozens of men and women gather to learn more about the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ.
In the distance, four villages sit, places Ekagrah has visited many times. In each of these four villages, men and women regularly gather to pray with him and hear him share more from the Word of God.
God sent Ekagrah and Geetika to a remote village in Central Nepal. Though they faced several threats and people seemed uninterested, Ekagrah prayed and fasted for God to touch hearts. Today, 10 years since he and Geetika first arrived, dozens of people gather in their village and the surrounding towns to worship the God who freed Ekagrah and Geetika from a life of death.
Today, as Ekagrah steps outside the doors of his small mountain home, he can lift his eyes to the mountains around him and thank the Lord who not only brought him from death to life but also enables him to share this hope of new life with others.
*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.
WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA World) founded by Dr. K.P. Yohannan – Discussing Kalapi, the sickness and poverty, and the healing and provision through the ministry of national missionaries and the distribution of a Gospel for Asia (GFA) gift of compassion.
A mysterious illness caused Kalapi’s body to shake uncontrollably. For two years, she had difficulties walking, eating and drinking. Eventually, she struggled even to speak. Her family sought aid but found none—until they heard about a local Christian congregation. Kalapi went to the church, which is led by Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported pastor Boro Rai, and received prayer. It was there that she finally found deliverance, thanks to Jesus.
When Pastor Boro visited Kalapi and Mudit, he noticed the bareness of their home and the thin, weak appearance of their children.
Pastor Boro began visiting Kalapi and her husband, Mudit, to tell them more about the God who healed her and to encourage them with promises from Scripture. During his visits, Pastor Boro noticed the bareness of their home, which contained only a few household items. But even more haunting was the thin, weak appearance of Kalapi’s children. Kalapi and Mudit could afford to feed them flatbread made of cornmeal, but that was about it. The lack of nutrition left the children vulnerable to frequent illnesses, and Kalapi and Mudit didn’t have the money to buy medicine for them.
Pastor Boro couldn’t ignore the images he had seen of the near-empty home and the frail bodies of the children. Wanting to help, he spoke with his leaders and told them about the family’s need.
Family Receives Life-Changing Gift
Pastor Boro and his leaders decided to help meet the family’s basic needs by giving Kalapi and Mudit a gift. Pastor Boro told Kalapi the good news that the church was going to help her family, and he invited her to a Christmas gift distribution.
Kalapi arrived on the appointed day. At the event, 20 pairs of goats, 24 cows, 25 water buffalo and several other useful items waited for Kalapi and other struggling families. Each gift, from a pair of tin sheets to a water buffalo, represented a helping hand from the Lord, who wanted these families to thrive.
That day, Kalapi went home with a cow and a calf. With joy in her eyes, she thanked those who had made it possible for her to receive the gift.
Pastor Boro told his leaders about his concerns for Kalapi’s family. Then, during a Christmas gift distribution, Kalapi received a cow and a calf!
Cow Strengthens Children’s Bodies, Fills Woman’s Heart with Faith
Now, because God put it on the church’s heart to give Kalapi a cow and calf, her family is enjoying a stability they desperately needed. The cow provides Kalapi’s children with milk, a source of protein that has helped their bodies grow stronger. In addition, Kalapi and Mudit have been able to use the cow’s dung to fertilize their crops, and when the calf grows up, they plan to use it to plow their fields.
These Christmas gifts not only helped the family’s financial condition, but they also showed Kalapi how much God and His children care for her family. Seeing God’s compassion on her family, Kalapi’s faith grew. She prays to Jesus to meet her family’s needs, trusting in Him to provide.
God has used the gift of a cow to sustain Kalapi’s family. Kalapi’s children have grown stronger and healthier by drinking the cow’s milk.
“I thank God who has not only set me free from my sickness, but also blessed us with a cow that provides milk,” Kalapi said. “Now my children are able to eat chapatti [flatbread] with milk. I praise God . . . for helping such families as mine.”
You Can Bless More Families
By providing gifts from Gospel for Asia’s Christmas Gift Catalog, you can help bring stability and hope to families like Kalapi’s as you give them a source of income and sustenance. More importantly, you will be part of a tangible illustration of God’s great love for them.
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.
WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA) founded by KP Yohannan – Discussing the impact after-school program, Bridge of Hope, bring to the lives of children and entire families, opening opportunities for learning, growth, and even alleviation from poverty.
Ever since Zakif was a boy of just 6 years old, Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported Bridge of Hope center was like his second home. Now, at the age of 13, he is a testimony to the center’s important work in benefiting the children, families and communities it serves.
Zakif (pictured) thrives under his tutoring and overall care through the after-school program Bridge of Hope.
When he first began attending Bridge of Hope, Zakif suffered from poor health. His family largely depended on his mother’s meager income, while the money his father earned was often used to support the man’s addiction to strong drinks. As a result, Zakif’s poor diet mainly consisted of lentils, wheat bread and some vegetables. He also lacked proper clothing and shoes.
A New Opportunity Through a Special After-school Program
When the Bridge of Hope staff in his village learned of Zakif’s condition, they offered the boy the opportunity to attend the center. Soon, he was frequently found at the center after his day at the local school. Though he was shy at first, it was clear Bridge of Hope was becoming a haven to the young boy.
During his time at the center, Zakif received tutoring in all his school subjects, as well as in nutrition, hygiene and how to make friends. Most importantly, he experienced God’s love for him through the Bridge of Hope staff.
In addition to the lessons he was taught, the Bridge of Hope center regularly provided Zakif with nutritious food, supplies for school, clothing and household items the entire family could use. For instance, one winter, Zakif received an extra blanket that helped his family stay warm in the freezing temperatures.
As a result of the center’s provisions, Zakif grew physically, mentally and spiritually. His schoolteachers spoke highly of his academic progress during monthly consultations with Bridge of Hope staff, and even the community noticed a change in the boy. Zakif also found he enjoyed playing sports, drawing and participating in cultural programs.
No longer the shy boy who began attending Bridge of Hope, Zakif befriended all of the nearly 100 children who joined him in the center’s programs.
Not only were the staff pleased with Zakif’s progress, but his parents were also. Whatever Zakif learned at Bridge of Hope he relayed to his parents when he returned home. When Zakif’s little brother also started attending Bridge of Hope, both boys’ needs for food, clothing and school supplies were often met at the center. As a result, the family’s financial situation improved.
While Zakif has just one year left before he graduates, the lessons he has learned at Bridge of Hope and in school will continue to shape his bright future. Please pray for Zakif and his brother as they continue to grow into adulthood.
*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.
WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA) – Discussing Saju and Aasia’s story, one far too common to those in the grips of extreme poverty, and the tangible examples of God’s love: tin sheets, protection from rain.
Drip-drop. A rain shower patters the roof.
Drip-drop. Raindrops leak through holes in the tattered roof, falling on the inhabitants: a middle-aged couple, their children and grandchildren.
Drip-drop. Raindrops soak the family’s clothes, bedding and dry rations.
Drip-drop. The family flees to sleep under a leak-free roof.
Drip. Shame. Drop. Discouragement.
Rain keeps falling through the roof—the roof the family can never afford to adequately repair. And the waters rise.
Rain and a tin roof: Discussing Saju and Aasia’s story, one far too common to those in the grips of extreme poverty, and the tangible examples of God’s love: tin sheets, protection from rain.
Drowning in Hopeless Poverty
This is Saju and Aasia’s story—at least part of it. Like many others in their community, they struggled to feed their family by working on the land. In a rural area with no industry, people work in agriculture, but roughly half don’t own land. They labor eight hours a day in other people’s fields to earn approximately $1.50 USD.
Exhausted and hopeless, many men numb themselves with alcohol and gambling, wasting their meager earnings and leaving their wives and children malnourished. Illiterate themselves, they never imagine sending their children for higher education.
The cycle of poverty continues.
Saju and Aasia were among those blessed to own land, but financial hardship pushed them to mortgage their land to moneylenders. They began working as daily wage laborers in others’ fields, sometimes camping out in a nearby state to find better wages.
Meanwhile, their tattered roof loomed over their heads. Made of thatch and plastic tarps, it quickly got holes, and for five years they endured the disrepair. During the rainy season, when rain leaked into their home, Saju and the children often got sick with coughs or fevers.
Because they had already mortgaged their land, they couldn’t take out more loans to fix the roof. Saju grew discouraged.
“I used to feel sorry for myself, and I used to feel bad that I was not able to at least give good protection to my family and to my children,” Saju says. “Because of lack of resources and money, I was not able to have my house repaired.”
Forecasting Showers of Blessing
Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported pastor Ganesh met Saju and Aasia one day in 2014 as he was visiting homes in their village. Pastor Ganesh knew about the struggles Saju and the other villagers faced. He himself had grown up in the same region, and he wanted people to experience God’s compassion.
As the pastor shared about Jesus’ love, Saju and Aasia couldn’t grasp what that meant, but they were interested to hear more. They continued welcoming the pastor into their home, and he eventually began coming weekly.
During Pastor Ganesh’s visits, he noticed the tattered, ineffective roof, and he learned that the family earned tiny wages in the sugarcane fields and depended on loans several months of the year.
One day months later, the pastor had good news for the family. He told them they would be receiving a gift through the Christmas gift distribution program he was organizing to bless families in the region!
“I was very encouraged that at least there are some in the church … who think about us, who are worried about our condition,” Aasia says.
New Roof, New Lives
When Saju and Aasia received five tin sheets at the Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported Christmas gift distribution event, joy filled their hearts. As they placed the shiny tin sheets on their home, they knew their children and grandchildren would finally have good shelter. No longer would heavy rain force them out of their home, spoil their food or make them sick.
Saju and Aasia saw God’s love in the tin sheets. Although they had already started believing in Jesus, the life-protecting gift tangibly showed them how much He cared for them. They wanted a deeper relationship with Him.
“When I received this tin sheet as a Christmas gift, it helped me see God’s love in my life, because God loved me so much that He provided this gift for us,” Saju says. “I know that He not only loves us and … gives eternal life, but also meets all our personal needs.”
This love and generosity also impacted their neighbors, awakening in them a curiosity about Jesus. The weekly visits Saju and Aasia received from Pastor Ganesh soon became a prayer meeting in their home. Eventually, about 10 people in total gathered under the tin-sheet roof each Wednesday to seek the Lord.
Pastor Ganesh continues to help people like Saju and Aasia receive life-changing gifts so others can know the compassion of the God who sent His Son for them and knows all their needs. Now Saju and Aasia are pressing on to know the Lord, of whom Hosea said, “He will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth” (Hosea 6:3, ESV).
As Saju and Aasia experience His blessing, they want more people to know the hope they found shining through the rain showers.
“When we see people living in abject poverty and struggling in their daily life … such people find a great hope and relief financially when they receive such Christmas gifts,” Aasia says. “It also helps them see how the Christian God actually loves them and cares for them.”
*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: September 28, 2023 at 9:10 pm By GFA Staff Writer
WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA) – Discussing the world’s worst tsunami that wreaked havoc along the Indian Ocean coast, and the first Bridge of Hope centers, providing help and care in the midst of tragedy.
Maachah, 13, lives in a small coastal village in Asia, where she also attends a Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported Bridge of Hope center. This particular center was one of the very first and was built in response to a tragedy.
On December 26, 2004, a 9.1 magnitude earthquake shook the island of Sumatra. The aftershocks wracked the Indian Ocean, producing the world’s worst tsunami. By the end of it, more than 200,000 had died.
At 13 years old, Maachah (pictured) has a future in store for her.
Communities all along the coast of the Indian Ocean were left to pick up the pieces. Hit especially hard was Maachah’s village. People’s homes and their livelihoods were gone, and they didn’t know what to do next. Men, women and children filled relief camps.
Parents worried for their children; schools had been shut down. They didn’t know how they would provide for their little ones.
Hope in the Midst of Tragedy
It was here that Gospel for Asia’s Bridge of Hope Program opened one of its first centers. It offered supplementary education, health care and warm food, while instilling within children hope, peace and a vision for the future—something the children of Maachah’s village desperately needed.
“When this disaster happened, these people had nothing,” said Jakki, the head of the center. “They were rendered homeless.”
Born after the tsunami, Maachah doesn’t know the struggles many people, like her parents, faced.
“I don’t know what happened to my parents during that time,” she said. “They didn’t share much about those things to me.”
However, Dania, one of the tutors at the center, recalls the children’s plight: some were orphaned; others were homeless.
“Many children were [left] without anything,” she remembers. “They lost their fathers, they lost their mothers. They were left alone… These children did not know from where their next meal would come.”
Seeing this, Bridge of Hope staff immediately began admitting children into the center who were most in need. They supplied children with food and hygiene care, and they offered comfort and hope in the tsunami’s wake.
The help and care brought by the center and its staff radically transformed the village and its inhabitants. Hopelessness gave way to optimism and anticipation for the future.
Jakki has served at the Bridge of Hope center since it opened. As its coordinator, Jakki has seen hundreds of children helped through the program and the blessing it brings to the community.
That’s how Maachah’s entire family feels about Bridge of Hope as well. Maachah isn’t the only one in her family experiencing the blessing Bridge of Hope brings. As her father is ill, he has trouble working. Most of the time, they have very little money and struggle economically.
“My family is benefited through [the center] because my family condition is poor,” the young girl says.
The center provides “bags, clothes and other utensils to us,” Maachah explains. “It helps to save a lot of money.”
In his book No Longer a Slumdog, Dr. Yohannan details a dream given to him by the Lord. He stood across from a field filled with countless people who desperately needed the love of God. A wide river separated him from the masses.
“Was I only going to look at these needy and suffering people but not be able to help them?” he writes.
Then a bridge appeared, spanning the river. Thousands of children, from all across Asia, filled the bridge.
“I woke from my dream and realized the Lord spoke to me about something incredibly significant,” Dr. Yohannan explains. “If we follow His instructions, our care for these children in need will be a bridge for so many people to find the hope and relief they have been looking for.”
This heaven-sent dream inspired what is now known as Bridge of Hope.
For the 123 students currently enrolled in the center, their future is already beginning to take shape.
“My ultimate goal and purpose in my life is to become a leader for society,” says Maachah, “I want to help many people, like how Bridge of Hope does. … To become an able leader is my ultimate goal.”
Maachah isn’t alone in wanting to change the world around her.
Many children have already graduated through this Bridge of Hope center and many others across Asia. They’ve gone on to become doctors, engineers and teachers and are transforming the world around them.
“My dream is to add many more children to the center,” says Jakki. “My wish is to sharpen and shape the lives of these poor children.”
*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.
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In