GFA World Newsletter

December 2016, Vol. 12, No. 8

Parmeet once struggled to provide for his family because he couldn’t work in the extremely harsh weather. Now, because of his new jacket, he can work even when it is very cold!

“I have many times cried because of the bitter cold,” shared 70-year-old Parmeet during an interview with a GFA-supported 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 labourer, often spends hours gathering firewood for his neighbours in order to earn a meagre 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 GFA 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 Saviour, 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-supported 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.”

While many impoverished people in Asia seek provision for their physical needs, their hunger for spiritual answers is often even greater. Manal (not pictured) searched for years before finding answers in God’s Word.

Who was this living God? Manal heard of Him through reading literature and by word of mouth, but he never grasped or understood who Christ is and what He has done for us. Manal began his search to find out what the Word of God meant. Though his culture and religious background consider Christians as lowly, Manal never could shake off his deep desire to understand their God.

Driver Finds a Church

One day, as Manal was working as an automobile driver, he learned from his passengers about a local church. Hungry to gain more knowledge, he attended the church.

Gospel for Asia-supported pastor Kalap welcomed him, and after hearing Manal share about his longing to know more about God, Pastor Kalap began to teach Manal through God’s Word. Much like Philip and the eunuch, Kalap guided Manal and answered his questions, helping him understand the uniqueness of Jesus in ways he could understand. Pastor Kalap prayed earnestly for him, asking the Lord to reveal His deep love and truth to the man’s heart.

After that, Manal regularly visited the pastor. Pastor Kalap offered him a New Testament, which Manal gratefully accepted and began reading every day.

Soon Manal’s quest came to an end as he found the love of God for himself through the Scriptures. His face shone with joy. Not only had Manal found what he was searching for, but he found the eternal life his soul longed after!

Serving the One He Sought

Manal is now strong in his faith and determined to follow the Lord regardless of the comments of others or of the persecution that may come along the way.

“Now I know for sure that there is only God who can give eternal life, and I want to serve Him with my life,” Manal says.

Praise God for fulfilling the desire of Manal’s heart!

It is because of your great concern [that] today our daughter is in good condition. —Rasika’s parents

Rasika’s health was very poor when she joined Bridge of Hope in 2004, but through the nourishing meals and attentive care of the staff, her health has greatly improved.

Something was wrong. Rasika couldn’t focus at school. She missed some of her classes, and she was too tired to study when she got home. Her parents watched their child deteriorate, not knowing what they could possibly do to help. Rasika’s condition only grew worse, leaving her weak and sickly, and hindering her ability to grow into a healthy member of society.

Child Helped by a Loving Staff

But things didn’t stay that way forever. Rasika enrolled in a local Gospel for Asia-supported Bridge of Hope centre, and the staff were able to help her in her time of need. These men and women prayed for her specifically during their devotion times and gave her extra attention and help while she was at the centre. Through Christ’s love, their encouragement and motivation had a tremendous effect on Rasika, as did the nutritious meals she received as part of the program.

What’s more, as the staff went to her home to speak with her parents, they helped her mom and dad understand some simple and practical changes they could make to help Rasika grow and develop properly.

As time passed, Rasika’s health improved, much to the delight of her parents. One day, they decided to go to the Bridge of Hope centre with the specific purpose of thanking the staff for their involvement in their daughter’s life. This is what they shared:

Rasika in 2007

“It is because of your great concern [that] today our daughter is in good condition. We cannot pay [you] back for all your contribution, but it is our desire that God would bless you and use you to help many more needy individuals in our society in the days to come.”

Encouraged by Stories of Gratitude

When parents come to thank the staff at Rasika’s Bridge of Hope centre, as many do, it encourages the staff to keep pressing on to love, pray for and encourage the children they work with. We hope it is the same for you—that the stories you read in this and other issues of Harvest encourage you to love the Lord more and help you see that your life is truly making a difference!

Even when no one wants to listen to them, pastors like Kundan are eager to help their communities with their daily problems, such as the lack of clean water. This well, like the one in Pastor Kundan’s village, is a testimony of Jesus’ care for the poor and needy.

When Gospel for Asia-supported pastor Kundan and his family first came to Antim’s village, Antim, like everyone else, wasn’t interested in what he had to say.

But Pastor Kundan didn’t just talk about Jesus’ love—he lived it out. Just as Jesus reached out with hands of compassion toward the hurting and destitute, even feeding thousands of people, Pastor Kundan wanted to help the people in Antim’s village. One day, he saw an opportunity.

A Jesus Well Meets Their Need

Many people in Antim’s village struggled to get adequate, clean water for drinking and cooking. When Pastor Kundan saw this need, he contacted his leaders about installing a Jesus Well. Before long, thanks to the donations of friends of Gospel for Asia, they were able to drill one.

This Jesus Well piqued Antim’s interest, and he realized there was more to this visiting pastor than just words.

One day, Antim struck up a conversation with Pastor Kundan and began asking him questions—questions Pastor Kundan could answer. As their friendship grew, Pastor Kundan shared with him from the Word of God and encouraged him to pray. Although Antim had heard the name of Jesus before, he didn’t know the Saviour’s love and had never met someone so passionately in love with Jesus before.

A Growing Love

Over time, not only did Antim open up his heart to the love of the Saviour, he also opened up his home to hear Pastor Kundan share from the Word of God. More people joined Antim and Pastor Kundan to spend time with Jesus, eventually growing in number to a point where they began praying about building a permanent church building in which to worship God. Praise the Lord!

“In the beginning of my ministry,” Pastor Kundan reflects, “I thought I would not be able to work in this place. … But today I am very much thankful to God, who used my life to start His ministry here. … It is not because of me or anyone, but it is all because of [the] infinite love of Jesus Christ.”

Thank you for your prayers and support to see more people understand the infinite love of Christ.

Congregations like Pastor Lomash’s, and like this one pictured, engage in corporate prayer and intercession for the needs of people in their community.

“Come to me, all you who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest,” Pastor Lomash quoted, telling the attentive family of Jesus’ words from Matthew 11:28.

Pastor Lomash went on to tell Bhakti and her family how God had transformed his own life, and as he shared, Bhakti longed for the peace and rest Jesus offered.

From Security to Attempted Suicide

Bhakti had grown up in a happy home and faithfully followed the religion of her ancestors. When she was married at the age of 24, peace, prosperity and happiness continued to mark her life . . . until her husband began drinking alcohol. It started slowly, but before long he came home drunk every single day. He scolded Bhakti and argued with her continually, leading her into hopelessness.

In desperation, she contacted a witchdoctor who told her to sacrifice a goat, but even this did not bring the restoration she longed for. Unable to cope with the difficulties, Bhakti tried to commit suicide—not just once but three times. Thankfully, her parents were able to intervene and save her life.

A Chance Meeting Brings True Life

Then God sent one of His servants, Pastor Lomash, to speak to Bhakti’s family. When he met them, during the course of the conversation, he shared his testimony and some Scripture with them. They asked him if they could start going to church with him, and he said yes. Pastor Lomash told the church of Bhakti’s family troubles, and the congregation prayed earnestly for restoration. Miraculously, after two weeks, peace returned to Bhakti’s home life: Her husband stopped drinking and started treating her with love again. This transformation provided the catalyst for Bhakti’s whole family to find true and lasting peace.

Every day, Gospel for Asia-supported pastors like Lomash have the opportunity to speak to men and women in need, ministering the Word of God to those who are eager to hear of His peace and grace. Thank you for standing with us to see more people understand the great love of Jesus, the Prince of Peace.

“If only that didn’t happen!” “Surely the Lord can’t use me anymore after what I did.” “I’ve ruined my life. Things can never be the same. I’ll never be what God wanted.”

Have you ever felt this way? When we realize we’ve taken a wrong turn or fallen into sin, the enemy quickly pounces on us. He whispers in our ears, saying, “See, you’re not good enough. You can’t do this. God cannot love you when you do things like that. You had better just give up.”

The weight of our failures becomes heavier and heavier with each lie the devil utters as he waits for us to collapse underneath it all.

It’s true that sin has its price to pay. But that doesn’t prohibit the Lord from doing what He wants through our lives. In fact, failure is one of God’s best tools to transform our hearts like His.

Sometimes we get caught up in our own self-righteousness—and as a result, we become critical of others’ shortcomings. But when we mess up, the Lord gives us the chance to learn humility, mercy and His love for us. So often, all we see are our failures, but God’s forgiveness is there, and He uses those failures to teach us how to give others the same grace Christ gives us.

We need to remember, it’s not the size of our sin that determines whether or not we recover from a fall; rather, it’s our response. How we deal with our failure determines our future. Our story isn’t finished yet! The Lord knows the end, and He knows how He intends to get us there, using even our mistakes to accomplish His perfect plan for our lives.

Remember the disciple Peter? He loved Jesus dearly, and even though he denied the Lord, God restored him and used him mightily in the expansion of the Church, all because Peter returned his focus to Christ. If the Father used Peter in light of his failure, He can use you and me in the midst of ours. Keep running this race, my friend. Run to Jesus—He will not turn you away.