WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA World) founded by K.P. Yohannan, which inspired numerous charities like Gospel for Asia Canada, to assist the poor and deprived worldwide – Discussing the hardships of poverty and widowhood, and the hope of rescue availed through God’s message revealed from a Gospel for Asia booklet.
After heavy winds collapsed her roof, Marial had no means to purchase the tin sheets needed to repair it. As a result, her home was a poor source of shelter from the winds and rains. When stormy weather returned, Marial was left exposed to the harsh elements.
Even though Marial could not read the booklet she was given, it started a conversation that also led to her being able to receive some much needed tin roofs through a GFA Christmas distribution.
Despair wound its way into Marial’s heart as she surveyed her situation. The meager pay she earned as a daily wage laborer was not enough to cover her costs for survival. As a widow living alone, Marial depended on the mercy of neighbors to supply her with whatever food they could spare. She certainly didn’t have money for a new roof.
Sitting in her dilapidated house, Marial wondered if there was a reason to keep living if she was only to be met with hardship and despair. In the midst of her struggles, it seemed there was no one who could rescue her.
Until one day, GFA pastor Dierick came by and offered Marial a booklet.
Gospel for Asia Booklet & A Curious Offer
Marial didn’t accept the booklet because she couldn’t read or write, but she was curious. Speaking with the young pastor, Marial questioned how words in a booklet could possibly have any benefit to someone with her needs for food and shelter.
“This is the Word of God,” GFA Pastor Dierick responded. “In it you will find God’s blessing in your personal life, and you will find true peace in Jesus.”
Questions formed as she considered the pastor’s words. What could this God do to change her situation? The deities to whom she’d prayed faithfully for relief from her destitute situation left her with no response. Was this God any different?
Pastor Dierick patiently answered all Marial’s questions and, before the conversation ended, invited Marial to attend his church.
A Better Gift
“That day, after I listened to the [Good News], I felt peace in my heart,” Marial shared. “I started to think about the words that I heard from the pastor. I started thinking about the love of Jesus and how He came down to earth and shed His precious blood on the cross of Calvary for the redemption of mankind.”
Marial began attending church and learning more about Jesus.
“The Lord indeed spoke to my heart and helped me to understand His divine love,” she said. “I started to spend time in God’s presence, and I prayed to the Lord to meet all my basic needs.”
As she attended church, Marial also learned about GFA’s Christmas gift distribution program. The program provided gifts that helped meet the financial and material needs of families in the community. Knowing her need for a new roof, Pastor Dierick secured a gift of five tin sheets to cover her roofless home.
“I could not believe my ears when I heard that news from the pastor,” Marial said. “With overwhelming joy, I thanked God for answering my prayers.”
Marial came to understand how deeply loved she is through the gift of a booklet, and through the gift of a roof over her head, she experienced God’s provision and was filled with hope for the future.
*Names of people and places may have been changed for privacy and security reasons. Images are Gospel for Asia World stock photos used for representation purposes and are not the actual person/location, unless otherwise noted.
Learn more about the GFA World workers who carry a burning desire for people to know the love of God. Through their prayers, dedication and sacrificial love, thousands of men and women have found new life in Christ.
Learn how you can change someone’s eternal destiny by giving toward Gospel literature and tracts. It doesn’t cost much: Less than a penny will give someone a chance to hear about Jesus through a Gospel tract.
WILLS POINT, TX – Bishop Danny Punnose, vice-president of 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, shares on Great Lent: The Great invitation.
Have you noticed many restaurants are advertising fish sandwiches and seafood lately? That’s because the Church is in the middle of the season of Great Lent.
During this season, which began around 40 days before Easter, people around the world are spending greater time in prayer and intentionally taking part in fasting and almsgiving (the practice of giving for the sake of others). Traditionally, many people give up meat for Lent and opt for either vegetarian or seafood dishes instead—hence the reason for all the fish sandwich commercials you’ve been seeing. Others give up entertainment of some kind, or social media. Maybe you’ve even noticed some of your friends or co-workers fasting or abstaining from certain things?
Lent is a wonderful opportunity for us to deepen our faith through prayer and repentance. By giving up something as a sacrifice, we can purposefully make more space for prayer and repentance in our lives, and grasp more opportunities to bless and help those in need. This idea may seem a little strange to us, but it has always been a timeless practice of the Holy Church to take this season of repentance seriously so that we may experience God purifying our hearts. The purpose is for us to find joy in God’s grace.
Not Too Late to Join the Lent Journey
Even though we’re already in the middle of Lent, I invite you to join the one billion-plus people around the world already on this journey. It’s never too late to start! This solemn, focused time of prayer, fasting and almsgiving leads us onward to the joy of the Easter season, when we celebrate the resurrection of Christ and look forward to His second coming.
Like an athlete has seasons of intense conditioning and training, this is the Church’s season of conditioning, when we purposefully put ourselves in a place of exercising those areas of our life—especially confession and repentance—that we so often neglect and push to the back-burner.
Do Just One Thing
Why not practice one small thing during this Lent season? Don’t miss the point by getting caught up in trying to do everything all at once and then become discouraged because you can’t do it all. For millions of Christians, Lent is actually a time of unspeakable joy and blessing in the midst of oftentimes-small sacrifices.
My first suggestion is this: Pray what is known as the “Jesus Prayer” every day: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” This timeless prayer is meant to focus our hearts, our minds, our bodies, our attitudes and our attention on Christ and the mercy of God. It’s a powerful prayer—simple, yet profound. As you pray this prayer multiple times throughout the day, you’ll find your heart yearning for more of God and yourself leaning on His mercy.
As you practice times of prayer and fasting, look for opportunities (or create opportunities) to bless others. It might be your own family member; it might be a co-worker or a classmate; it might be someone on the side of the road who’s asking for help. When we show kindness and love toward others, we demonstrate our faith in action, as James the Apostle taught us to do.
Finally—don’t be discouraged if you feel you’re not practicing Lent “correctly.” Lent is not a pass-fail examination. Remember it’s an invitation to journey with Christ “in the desert”—to purposely engage in prayer, fasting and to look intentionally for opportunities to bless others. It begins with our willingness. Then we put our willingness into action and trust God to do His work in His perfect timing.
Wholehearted Engagement in Timeless Worship
So, as you see all the advertisements for fish sandwiches and seafood, remember that Lent is an invitation to engage your heart, mind, and body in the same ways Christ did in the desert. Through these simple practices, we join in the timeless worship of God with all the saints who are part of the Holy Church, past and present—and those who will come after us.
Remember: Just do one thing for Lent. Do it with all your heart — and you’ll experience a deep blessing from God.
Bishop Danny Punnose is vice-president of Gospel for Asia (GFA World), a Texas-based Christian mission agency that serves the extreme poor and marginalized around the world. GFA World has launched a devotional website for Lent 2021, www.gfa.org/lent.
Last updated on: November 12, 2021 at 7:49 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, issued this Special Report update on the worsening hardships of leprosy patients amid the COVID 19 pandemic.
COVID-19 Causes Setbacks for Existing Leprosy Patients
As authorities struggled to know how best to respond to the COVID-19 crisis in the first part of 2020, it was all too common to find those who contracted the virus likened to “lepers”—a fear-mongering and dehumanizing reference to those with leprosy (Hansen’s Disease).
For example, when Italy began looking to reopen after a significant lockdown prompted by a high coronavirus death toll, the country’s foreign minister, Luigi Di Maio, commented, “If anyone thinks they can treat us like a leper colony, then they should know that we will not stand for it.”
In Australia, former television presenter Sam Newman commented that people in Melbourne, which introduced some of the toughest COVID-19 restrictions in the country, were “living in a leper colony.”
Meanwhile, in England, when television doctor Hilary Jones was asked whether it was safe to visit Birmingham, a city where cases had spiked, he answered “‘it’s not like a leper colony or anything.”
While such comments reveal some of the deep-seated alarm still aroused by the disfiguring condition, it’s also been suggested that lessons learned from the coronavirus could lead to leprosy rates being drastically reduced in South Asia—one of the areas where it remains most prevalent. During the pandemic, wealthy people in cities wouldn’t allow domestic help to come to their homes from where they lived in the slums for fear of COVID-19 infection. It is hoped that this dynamic will further expose the health disparity between rich and poor, maybe prompting a renewed effort to end the inadequate living conditions that incubate the disease.
People with leprosy have to deal with two crippling challenges— the lack of pain caused by deadened nerves that results in deforming injuries and the unseen internal pain they experience because of prejudice.
First, however, there will be a need to overcome the setback for existing leprosy patients caused by the pandemic. The lockdown across Asia meant many patients were not able to access the regular treatment required to treat them successfully, according to one group of researchers. Another study found people with leprosy were at higher risk of contracting COVID-19, in part because of the difficulty they had in maintaining personal hygiene due to deformities and lack of money for soap and sanitizers.
Dr. Mary Verghese, Executive Director of The Leprosy Mission Trust India (TLMT) Photo by The Leprosy Mission
The pandemic impacted leprosy patients more than any other vulnerable group, said Dr. Mary Verghese, executive director of The Leprosy Mission Trust India (TLMT). According to Dr. Verghese, “People affected by leprosy are one of the most marginalised sections of society.”
Elsewhere, with the pandemic bringing leprosy renewed media exposure, it could also awaken greater appreciation for the plight of those ostracized because of their condition. After all, being confined to one’s own home for an extended period because of coronavirus concerns may be uncomfortable, but it doesn’t compare to being forcibly isolated for the rest of one’s life in a leprosy colony.
It’s easy to recognize that people with leprosy have to deal with two crippling challenges—the lack of pain caused by deadened nerves that results in deforming injuries and the unseen internal pain they experience because of prejudice. There has not been a lot of research into the disease’s emotional damage. However, a recent study in Bangladesh set out to quantify how it impacts sufferers personally and found 60 percent of those disabled by leprosy who were surveyed felt that life was “totally meaningless.”
Because the pandemic has only worsened many leprosy patients’ isolation and economic hardship, one report in Nepal warned that it “may lead to increased loneliness among them, which may further affect their anxiety and depression level.”
A Sister of Compassion is talking with this Leprosy survivor. She helps her with chores that she’s unable to do because her leg was amputated due to Leprosy.
Every week, Sisters of Compassion and paramedical staff meet with the leprosy patients in this Leprosy colony and clean, bandage and dress their wounds, as well as properly medicate them.
One simple thing that Sisters of Compassion do at the leprosy colony is to meet people, talk to them, ask about how they are feeling, and pray for anyone who is sick or needs other prayers. Their words of encouragement have touched many lives in the leprosy colony and everyone appreciates their visits.
Leprosy patients don’t often experience love or care from others because of the disfiguring disease that afflicts them, and the social stigma that often accompanies it, but the love of Jesus shown to them by Sisters of Compassion brings hope and smiles to their faces!
Leprosy patients with obvious deformities are typically relegated to isolated colonies where they are often abandoned as social outcasts by family and friends. Sisters of Compassion regularly visit leprosy colonies, offering patients food, supplies, medical care and loving concern in the name of Jesus.
GFA World Doing What it Can to Alleviate the Difficulties of People with Leprosy
Aware that people with leprosy were being pushed even further to the fringes by the pandemic, Gospel for Asia and other organizations already working among these outcasts did what they could to alleviate their difficulties.
Providing Basic Necessities
GFA workers distributed laundry detergent, soap and food aid to widows and leprosy patients. These provisions were especially helpful because many leprosy patients sustain their daily existence through begging, which became impossible when the lockdown meant they couldn’t leave their homes.
Giving Goats as Income-Generating Tools
Physical limitations preclude leprosy patients from some income-generating tools, but Gospel for Asia (GFA) has found a creative way to help them—giving them goats to raise. Goats offer a good solution for several reasons: They are fairly low-maintenance and easy to manage, they multiply quickly, and their kids and milk yield can provide a regular monthly income, eliminating the need to beg.
Helpful Care from Sisters of Compassion
GFA’s work in scores of leprosy colonies across Asia extends beyond meeting just practical needs, as important as that is. GFA’s Sisters of Compassion and members of local churches who visit the colonies on a regular basis also aim to touch bruised hearts.
Physical Compassion and Genuine Concern
In addition to providing income-generating help, food and clothing, Gospel for Asia (GFA) teams offer physical care that embodies the love of Jesus. It comes in the manner in which Jesus responded when a man suffering from a skin disease came asking to be healed. Jesus didn’t do so just with a word of command, as He could have. Mark 1:41 notes, “Jesus, moved with compassion, stretched out his hand and touched him.”
In the same way, Gospel for Asia (GFA) teams close the emotional gap that has separated so many people with leprosy from the rest of the world by literal hands-on care, such as tending for wounds. Patients at one colony were deeply touched when a visiting group shared a meal with them. It was “the first time people came and ate with us,” one said.
Among the residents of one of the leprosy colonies visited by Sisters of Compassion is Macia, who has lived there for more than 50 years, since contracting leprosy as a child. “Before the sisters came there was no one to help trim our hair or cut our nails, or help us clean our houses and encourage us,” she says. “The sisters help us by cleaning our wounds and they make us happy and encouraged all the time.”
Dr. K.P. Yohannan, GFA World Founder
For GFA founder K.P. Yohannan, this incarnational ministry is “an example of how God works. He wants us, in our physical bodies, with hands, legs, eyes and ears, to live as Christ lived.”
If this special report has touched your heart and you would like to do something to help people with leprosy, please share this article with your friends and consider making a generous gift to GFA World to help leprosy patients in South Asia and other locations.
About Gospel for Asia
Gospel for Asia – Transforming Communities (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 this Gospel for Asia (GFA World) Special Report: Pandemic Worsens the Hardships of Leprosy Patients – COVID-19 intensifies two crippling challenges —Part 1
Learn more about the GFA leprosy ministry, or the Reaching Friends Ministry, helping remind people affected by leprosy that, despite the stigma of leprosy, they have dignity and are valued by God.
Learn more about the GFA World workers who carry a burning desire for people to know the love of God. Through their prayers, dedication and sacrificial love, thousands of men and women have found new life in Christ.
Learn more by reading these Special Reports from Gospel for Asia:
Last updated on: November 19, 2021 at 5:50 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, issued this Special Report update on the worsening hardships of leprosy patients amid the COVID 19 pandemic.
One of the unanticipated side effects of the seismic COVID-19 pandemic has been how it shed light on a community long consigned to the shadows—the several million people around the world living with leprosy.
This occurred in the news recently when the last county in the United States to get COVID-19 was shown to be located on a remote Hawaiian outpost and former leprosy colony.
The media exposure brought heightened attention to World Leprosy Day on January 24, an annual awareness initiative supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention under the “Bust the Myths, Learn the Facts” banner aiming to dispel the misinformation that keeps the disease shrouded in fear.
Leprosy: Bust the Myths, Learn the Facts
Despite the fact that around 95 percent of the world’s population has natural immunity to the disease, leprosy patients continue to face unfounded discrimination. For example, in parts of South Asia, more than 100 laws restrict the rights of people with leprosy, including barring them from running for local office.
Despite the fact that 95% of the world’s population has natural immunity to the disease, leprosy patients continue to face unfounded discrimination.
Nor is leprosy as contagious as is widely believed. A study in Bangladesh found that less than two percent of those who shared a home with someone with leprosy would contract the disease themselves, “which is a reminder that there is no need to isolate people affected by leprosy.”
But that hasn’t curbed the shunning and shaming of leprosy patients, who are often forced to leave their communities and reduced to begging.
Surprising to many is that the United States had its own leprosy colonies until not too long ago. The largest, in Hawaii, closed in 1969 after taking in more than 8,000 patients over its lifetime, while the last, in Louisiana, where patients weren’t allowed to vote or marry, was shuttered in 2015. Around 200 new cases are still reported in the United States each year, most among people who have spent time in parts of the world where the disease is more prevalent.
At one stage, a century back, the assistant surgeon general declared there were “1,200 lepers at large” in America, seeking permission to round them up like criminals, recounts journalist Pam Fessler in her book, Carville’s Cure: Leprosy, Stigma, and the Fight for Justice. It tells the story of the Louisiana leprosy colony and her husband’s grandfather, who ran away when he was diagnosed with the disease to avoid being confined.
“Throughout history, those believed to have leprosy… were among the most reviled members of society, outcasts sometimes believed to be sinners who brought the illness upon themselves,” says Fessler. “Even today, the threat of leprosy is used to demonize immigrants and people living in homeless encampments as potential carriers of the disease—although there’s no evidence that’s true.”
These leprosy patients are waiting their turn for treatment at a GFA medical center.
Every day, GFA Pastor Jiva visits the leprosy colony to encourage and pray for the patients and families there. “It is because of God’s grace that I have the strength, courage and motivation to work among these people, to share with them, to hug them, to love them and to care for them,” he says.
Many villages bar those people who are of a lower social status, or are afflicted with Leprosy, from using their wells, but Jesus Wells installed by GFA are open to everyone!
Dr. KP Yohannan, Founder of GFA World, recently visited a leprosy colony where he had the opportunity to help clean the wounds of leprosy patients, pray for them, and give them blankets for the upcoming winter season. Around 500 Sisters of Compassion daily serve leprosy patients all across Asia, faithfully following Christ’s example to serve these who are the most vulnerable and forgotten.
Most of the people affected by leprosy are very dependent on others for moving around or doing any sort of work. The largest share of them make a living by begging in the streets or marketplaces.
Some residents in leprosy colonies can still function at various levels. In other cases, there may be a couple of families that have healthy members who can cook and care for others who are sick.
How can a person work without their hands or feet? Leprosy often will cause people’s feet and hands to become disfigured, making it very difficult for men and women affected by this disease to provide for their families.
By providing treatment and practical help for leprosy patients, GFA workers show that Jesus loves and accepts all—even those rejected by society and crippled by Hansen’s disease.
In her culture, she may be considered an outcast because she suffers from leprosy. But many women and men like her who suffer from this disease are encountering God’s love in their lives through simple acts of kindness like nutritious meals provided by GFA World.
Eliminating Discrimination and False Conceptions Surrounding Leprosy is Key to Eliminating the Disease Itself
As a previous Gospel for Asia (GFA) special report underscored, eliminating discrimination and false conceptions of leprosy is key to eliminating the disease itself. For, while effective drug treatments have been available since the 1980s, ongoing stigma means many sufferers wait too long to be diagnosed, causing irreversible damage. Meanwhile, clinical trials on a vaccineare continuing.
The coronavirus-fueled renewed focus on this largely forgotten disease has been two-edged—revealing how much deep-rooted ignorance and prejudice still has to be overcome while also offering hope for greater compassion, and even possibly a reduction in its incidence.
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 this Gospel for Asia – Transforming Communities (GFA World) Special Report: Pandemic Worsens the Hardships of Leprosy Patients – COVID-19 intensifies two crippling challenges —Part 2
Learn more about the GFA leprosy ministry, or the Reaching Friends Ministry, helping remind people affected by leprosy that, despite the stigma of leprosy, they have dignity and are valued by God.
Learn more about the GFA World workers who carry a burning desire for people to know the love of God. Through their prayers, dedication and sacrificial love, thousands of men and women have found new life in Christ.
Learn more by reading these Special Reports from Gospel for Asia:
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: 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.
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: 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.
Elsewhere, with the pandemic bringing leprosy renewed media exposure, it could also awaken greater appreciation for the plight of those ostracized because of their condition. After all, being confined to one’s own home for an extended period because of coronavirus concerns may be uncomfortable, but it doesn’t compare to being forcibly isolated for the rest of one’s life in a leprosy colony.
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