GFA World Newsletter

October 2014, Vol. 10, No. 7

Mita lashed Pastor Jameson with her words, but he simply smiled. Her reaction wasn’t surprising—most of the people in Pastor Jameson’s community didn’t listen to him, convinced he worshipped a foreign God.

What Gospel for Asia pastor Jameson didn’t know, however, was that soon this same woman would be telling other people the same message he’d shared with her.

Disdain for a ‘Foreign God’

Since her husband had passed away, Mita, 40, lived with her two unmarried children, and the three of them survived off her son’s meagre income.

When Mita met Pastor Jameson, he told her about the Bible. She thought the pastor was speaking nonsense, promoting a religion for low-class people, but she didn’t say much then. After a few conversations with Pastor Jameson, though, Mita could no longer put up with his talk about Jesus.

“I have been listening to you, and I see that you are old enough to know what is right and wrong,” she said. “Why is it that you allowed yourself to be deceived by Christian people with their words and forgot about your origin, about your forefathers’ gods? You are a bad example for others, especially for the youth.”

But Pastor Jameson prayed silently and, with a smile, gently explained why he had put his faith in Christ. After this encounter, Mita began thinking deeply about the things she’d heard from the pastor. The more she pondered his message about Jesus and His Word, the more she believed that Jesus was God. Convicted of her wrongdoings, she decided to follow Christ.

When her children found out, they were puzzled, but after learning more about Jesus from Pastor Jameson, they also believed in Him and embraced His love. The family was filled with joy as they began attending church and praying together.

Spreading the Warmth of God’s Love

Pastor Jameson soon demonstrated that he cared not only about the family’s spiritual needs but also about their physical needs. Knowing the family’s difficult financial situation, Pastor Jameson began thinking about how he could help provide for their needs. He arranged for Mita to receive a gift through GFA’s Christmas gift distribution program. At the next distribution event, Mita received a warm blanket to her great joy.

“I am so happy to know that the Lord not only loves me but also cares for me and does not want me to suffer in the winter,” she said. “How could I repay the love of God? I am so blessed to have a risen Saviour who knows and cares for my needs.”

Filled with gratitude for all God had done, Mita started sharing her faith with others. After experiencing the love of God through a GFA missionary and the gift of a blanket, this woman who had once scoffed at the Good News became a witness for Christ!

Maaran’s new lifestyle was tearing his family apart. He had fallen into a deep depression while struggling to earn enough income to provide for his wife and four children who still lived at home. He began drinking to relieve the pressure he felt, and soon he became an alcoholic. As Maaran’s life spiralled out of control, his three sons grew angry with his irresponsible behaviour, and fights often broke out.

A Hope-Filled Message, a Timely Gift

One day, while he was still stuck in the mire of depression and addiction, Maaran found a reason to hope: he met Gospel for Asia pastor Darpak and heard the Good News of Jesus Christ. After listening to the pastor’s words, Maaran shared about the broken state of his life and his family. He asked Pastor Darpak to pray that he could work hard and earn enough to buy a new source of income—a rickshaw. Maaran knew that with his own rickshaw he could provide for his family more reliably.

Pastor Darpak assured Maaran he would pray faithfully. At the same time, the pastor thought of a way he could help. He told the regional Gospel for Asia office about Maaran’s family. Then, at a Christmas gift distribution program a few months later, Maaran received just what he’d been longing for: a new rickshaw! Overjoyed, Maaran thanked the church for the life-sustaining gift.

A Rickshaw’s Lasting Impact

With the rickshaw, Maaran began earning a stable income for his family. Maaran and his wife knew God had answered Pastor Darpak’s prayers, and after spending time listening to the Good News, they began to believe in Him. Now Maaran and his wife are growing closer to Christ and attending worship services at Pastor Darpak’s church. Through the love of this GFA pastor and the gift of a rickshaw, a man who was once sinking beneath the weight of depression now knows the peace of Christ.

Pastor Payas lived in a region where most people, entrenched in their own religions, didn't want to hear about Jesus. Pastor Payas had been sharing the Good News for about six years before a handful of people embraced Christ’s love and a small fellowship started in his village. Within a year, the GFA pastor would see this fellowship change dramatically.

It started when Pastor Payas’ story intersected with that of a young couple who lived less than two miles away. Sartaj and Sukthi had the blessing of welcoming a baby boy into the world, but after some time, their joy turned to concern. They noticed their child couldn't move his legs or hands—he was paralyzed.

Pastor Prays for Paralyzed Infant

When doctors couldn't help Sartaj and Sukthi’s baby, the couple lost hope for his healing—until they heard about a Christian prayer meeting in a village nearby.

The couple went to the prayer meeting one Friday night and there met Pastor Payas. When they told him about their son’s condition, he replied, “I don’t have extraordinary power to heal, but only through Jesus Christ can your child be healed.”

He encouraged them to believe in the Lord, and with faith taking CURRENT_USER in their hearts, Sartaj and Sukthi asked Pastor Payas to come see their baby.

Immediately, the pastor and his wife left with the couple. When they saw the frail 8-month-old and heard him groaning in pain, they were deeply moved. Pastor Payas’ wife took the child on her lap and wept, and Pastor Payas prayed for God to do a miracle.

For seven days, Pastor Payas and his wife fasted and prayed with Sartaj and Sukthi for the baby’s health. Then God answered. The baby was healed, and Sartaj and Sukthi decided to follow Jesus.

As they grew in Christ, He filled them with joy and peace—a peace that kept them strong even when they faced persecution. Only two months after Sartaj and Sukthi found new life in Jesus, religious extremists barred them and other new believers from using the local well, and not long afterward, they kicked Sartaj and Sukthi out of the village altogether.

An Explosion of Growth

Despite this painful chapter in their lives, Sartaj and Sukthi were able to move to Pastor Payas’ village, and God has used their story to orchestrate amazing growth in the small fellowship there. As people heard of their baby’s healing, many people began joining the believers for prayer and worship. Pastor Payas continued praying and fasting for transformation in the community, and God continued performing miracles. In less than one year, Pastor Payas’ flock grew from 6 people to approximately 50!

Through the faithfulness and compassion of national missionaries like Pastor Payas, God’s light is spreading to thousands more villages throughout South Asia, and your support is making this possible. Thank you for helping our brothers and sisters in Asia to reach many people like Sartaj and Sukthi.

Salena didn't envision anything great for her future. Life after high school had meant hard work in a hazardous factory for her two older brothers, and Salena had no reason to believe her life would be any more promising.

Although both of Salena’s parents worked hard to provide for her and her five siblings, they could never make ends meet. There wasn't always enough money to feed their children every day, and there certainly wasn't money for school supplies and fees.

When a Bridge of Hope centre opened in Salena’s community, her whole life changed. She was enrolled in the centre and began receiving everything she needed to pursue her education.

Salena enthusiastically applied herself to her studies and actively participated in Bridge of Hope activities. She began to truly enjoy her studies, and it showed in her grades, both at school and on the state exams.

By experiencing the care of the Bridge of Hope staff, Salena realized Jesus loved her, and when she was 15, she decided to follow Him. From that moment on, she became determined to love and serve Him all her life.

In Grade 12, Salena felt the Lord calling her into full-time ministry. Today, she is receiving the training she needs to fulfill her call and reach many with the Good News of Jesus Christ.

Bridge of Hope Provides for Needs, Uncovers Talents

Salena knows her life would be very different without Bridge of Hope.

“If I had not joined Bridge of Hope, I would have been looking after cows of a landlord, or I would have gotten married and gone to my in-laws’ home, because my parents had no money to send me to school,” Salena said. “I clearly remember many nights we went to bed without food. Sometimes I didn't have soap to take a bath, and [I had] no detergent to wash my clothes. … But then the Bridge of Hope project became . . . an agent of change and a stream of blessing in my life. Joy and peace came into my life as well as in my home. I was given all my needs from BOH like other children in the [program]. I discovered my hidden talents, abilities and life’s purpose. ... Very practically and personally I experienced that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.”

Thanks to God’s grace and to caring sponsors, Bridge of Hope continues to encourage and equip children to become the men and women God has created them to be.

Providing for a family can be hard enough on a normal salary, but on a daily wage labourer’s, it is nearly impossible. Add in the expenses of multiple families living together, and survival becomes a daily struggle.

Sudhira and her husband, Eshan, along with their two young daughters, live in a three-room mud house with Eshan’s brother, Orian, and his wife and two children, and Eshan’s parents. Although each family has their own living area, they share one kitchen.

Eshan and his father are daily wage labourers. They own farmland, but because of the climate and hilly terrain where they live, they don’t usually produce a large crop of grain and corn. Also, they have to rent an ox to plow the land because they do not own one.

Their combined incomes almost meet the needs of the household, but they can’t afford to buy milk. This was one cause of malnutrition in their family, especially for the children. They desired to have their own goat or cow as a source of milk, but their finances simply didn’t allow it.

Family’s Health Improved Through Gift

Eshan and Sudhira knew of no way to change their family’s situation; they had no options. Thankfully, other people had some ideas.

Eshan and Sudhira worship the Lord at Gospel for Asia pastor Hirla’s church. When it came time to distribute gifts given through Gospel for Asia’s Christmas Gift Catalogue, the church thought of Eshan and Sudhira. They graciously gave one male and one female goat to the family.

Sudhira and the family were so excited to have their first livestock. From the day they received the goats, the female was producing milk.

Now all four children are able to drink milk every morning, and there is even enough for everyone to have milk with their tea. Thanks to the added nutrients from the milk, the children’s health has greatly improved.

In addition to her housekeeping, Sudhira faithfully tends the goats, and the Lord has blessed her hard work: Two goats have become four.

As thanks to the Lord for blessing her household, Sudhira gave the first litre of milk and one of the baby goats to the church. The entire family is grateful for these goats that have brought them much joy and good health.