GFA World Newsletter

October 2017, Vol. 13, No. 6

The sun may have been shining, but that hardly mattered to Bina—her life was always dark.

Her wrinkled, brown hands acted as her eyes. As evening drew near and the daily activities came to a close, Bina’s fingers quickly found a small box with a plastic knob. As she turned the radio’s dial, hoping to find a station she liked, her attentive ears caught an unfamiliar word—Jesus. Intrigued, she paused to listen to the program...a decision that would change her life forever.

Born Blind and Bereft

Bina was born blind, so she learned to use her hands and ears instead. Because of her handicap, she felt worthless, good for nothing, disposable.

Bina’s older sister had married a man named Sameep, but sadly, after a few years, she became paralyzed. Bina prayed to her gods and goddesses for her sister’s wellbeing, but her sister eventually died. This troubled Bina, as did the other sicknesses her family experienced.

After Bina’s sister’s death, the family arranged for her and Sameep to get married. The two of them had three children and lived together in relative happiness for many years, but Bina couldn’t shake her feelings of confusion about the health of her family.

Radio Program Offers Comfort, Healing

For her evening entertainment, Bina often turned to radio programs. One day, she heard something that brought comfort to her restless heart, something about a man named Jesus who cared for people and could heal them. She didn’t understand everything, but as the speaker on the GFA-supported radio program closed his message with a prayer, she felt peace. After that prayer, Bina wanted to hear more.

The more Bina listened to the program and prayed along with the speaker, the more God moved in her life. She gradually realized that the days she prayed to Jesus were her happiest and most peaceful days. She even started praying to Jesus for the well-being of her family, and He brought His healing touch to their lives. What’s more, the entire atmosphere of their home became peaceful.

Woman Shares Life-changing Radio with Family

As Bina witnessed the changes Jesus made, she shared the radio program with her husband and other family members. A desire grew in her heart to give Jesus first place in her life. After she and her husband moved to a new city, they met a GFA-supported pastor and started attending church. Although Bina’s physical eyes remain dim, the eyes of her heart have been opened to hear the voice of Jesus through the radio program.

Dhanya wasn’t the only girl in her area who struggled in school. Most of the families around her worked in carpet factories, and they couldn’t afford to send their children to good schools, provide materials for their education or give them enough food every night. Parents didn’t have much time to help their children in their studies. They all struggled. But there was something that made school more difficult for young Dhanya.

New Start Hinders Studies

When Dhanya was in fourth grade, her father’s job had brought them from their remote village to this new place, a village on the outskirts of a bustling, ancient city. Dhanya’s new school had higher requirements for English than her old one, so little Dhanya wound up placed in second grade. Her parents were unable to help her with her studies, and Dhanya’s performance dropped. She became an average student with little hope of escaping the poverty that held her family in its grip.

But then a GFA-supported Bridge of Hope centre opened in her new city. Dhanya found herself, along with 89 other children from the area, with a new opportunity.

Young Girl Learns English Through Bridge of Hope

Through the help of her tutors, Dhanya soon grew to understand English better, as well as many other subjects in school. A year after joining the Bridge of Hope centre, Dhanya passed her sixth-grade exams with one of the highest grades in her class!

GFA-supported Bridge of Hope centres provide safe places for children like these to learn and grow.

“If I had not joined Bridge of Hope, I would not pass the exams with high percentage,” Dhanya shares. “I give thanks to all the teachers here, who helped me to do well this far. They love me and care for me.”

For the past few years, Dhanya has continued her education, aided by her Bridge of Hope tutors and the prayers of her sponsor. She wants to be a teacher after she graduates so she can help poor students who don’t have the opportunity to read and write.

Your prayers are part of changing the lives of girls like Dhanya. Thank you!

Tilak and his wife were happy again; no one could deny that. But some people in the village were anything but happy about the transformation in their lives.

Villagers blamed the GFA-supported pastor for the couple’s new life in Christ. They wanted to attack Barasaat, so they began looking for an opportunity to do so.

That came one night as the pastor gathered with 20 youth to worship Jesus.

Silent Before His Accusers

The sound of voices lifted to Jesus was interrupted by the sudden appearance of a crowd of angry men. Ten villagers rushed on Pastor Barasaat and grabbed him by the neck. They began to beat him and dragged him to an impromptu village meeting.

Two hundred angry villagers pressed in on the pastor. They hurled accusations at him. They questioned him. They harassed him. But Pastor Barasaat did not respond. He remembered how Jesus had stood silent before His accusers, and he chose to walk in his Master’s footsteps.

Two hours passed as Pastor Barasaat stood silent before the mob, while the 20 youth he had been worshipping with prayed earnestly for the pastor’s protection.

And God answered.

The crowd couldn’t decide what to do with him. One by one, they grew frustrated and left the scene. God delivered Pastor Barasaat that night, but this was only the beginning of the pastor’s troubles.

Five Years Without Water

Pastor Barasaat continued to meet with men and women in the village who knew Jesus or were eager to learn more about Him. But about a month after the impromptu meeting, several villagers decided to ban his family from the village well, forcing them to gather water from the local river.

But Pastor Barasaat and his family weren’t the only ones drinking this polluted water—the village well didn’t provide enough for everyone, and some people even got sick with jaundice, malaria or dysentery because of the water they drank.

As time passed, things grew more difficult: It was decreed that anyone caught talking to Pastor Barasaat would have to pay an exorbitant fine. People even damaged his home.

Love in the Face of Hatred

It was difficult for Pastor Barasaat and his wife not to feel discouraged through these years. But God gave them strength, and they remembered how anyone who follows Jesus will face troubles in this life. Despite the struggles they faced, Pastor Barasaat and his family continued gathering with other believers for prayer and praise. As a body, they found great comfort in the words of Psalm 91.

And then God showed Pastor Barasaat a way he could “bless those who persecute you,” as God instructs us to do in Romans 12:14. Pastor Barasaat applied for a Jesus Well to be drilled in his village, which was made possible through the generous donations of GFA friends. Within a few months, a new well poured out pure water for all to use.

Fresh Water, Fresh Start

Pastor Barasaat continued to love on the people in his village as he had done for the last 13 years, praying for the sick and ministering to those in need, but now things were different. Even those who had once been angry with him went to him for prayer when their families were sick.

The words of Psalm 91 encouraged the believers in GFA-supported Pastor Barasaat’s congregation through many years of hardship. God provides His children, like the GFA-supported pastor shown, with His words to encourage and uplift believers every day.

A 22-year-old man named Dinpal, whose father had died of a waterborne illness, was particularly touched by the new well. The tangible expression of God’s love inspired Dinpal’s heart to know Jesus, so he talked to Pastor Barasaat. Now Dinpal can hardly keep Christ’s love to himself—he joyfully goes around telling others of the God who provides.

Truly, God heard the prayers of His servants and touched the hearts of the people in this village. Praise the Lord!

“We are too poor to afford a new blanket, and the ones that we have are not sufficient, as the winters are deadly cold,” explains Sarita, a 29-year-old woman from a poor family. “Because of our poverty, we stay content with our limited blankets. Buying blankets was beyond our capacity. Every year, I could only wish to own a new one, but that could never happen.”

A Pointless Existence

Sarita and her six siblings grew up without many comforts. Her father worked as a farmer, and Sarita helped him however she could. As a child, she learned to be a faithful follower of her ancestral religion, but as Sarita grew up, she found that her practices brought her no joy or peace of mind. The more she worshipped, the emptier she felt. She grew frustrated with her life and felt everything was meaningless. Then God sent one of His servants, GFA-supported pastor Suraj, to show her His eternal grace.

As Sarita listened to the pastor’s testimony and the testimonies of many others in her village, she believed the Word of God to be true. She found in Jesus the peace and joy she had been longing for. Although many people in the village mocked her, her family didn’t. In fact, as she prayed for them and lived out the example of her new life, they too found lasting peace in Christ.

Although the family still struggled financially, Jesus filled their hearts with true riches.

The Gift of Warmth

But God wasn’t done showing His love. He showed Pastor Suraj a way to bless Sarita in a tangible way. Through a Christmas gift distribution, Sarita and several others in the village received blankets.

“The Lord had mercy on us, and because of His grace, I received this gift,” Sarita shares, hardly able to speak for joy. “I am so happy and excited. Before the word of prayer was on my lips, He read my thoughts and knew my heart’s desire. Truly, the Lord loves me so much to this extent that He does not want me to suffer again.”

Kamna had spent a great amount of money on hospital bills, doctor visits, traditional medicines and home remedies, but nothing could cure her. Her body still bled. It was embarrassing, and there was nothing she could do to fix it.

But after 10 years of torment, help arrived in the form of a piece of paper and the prayers of the woman who carried it.

The Woman Who Was Scorned

Not far from Kamna there lived a woman named Disha, whom few in the village liked. Disha had been abandoned by her husband years before and had become a GFA-supported missionary a few years later. She and her son lived in Kamna’s village, where they regularly gathered with a small group of men and women to worship Jesus.

Although many mocked Disha, Kamna felt comfortable around her from the first day they met. The two talked about Jesus, a conversation sparked by some literature Disha had with her that day. Kamna listened, then told the missionary about her bleeding problem. Comforted by Disha’s words and compassion, Kamna decided to visit Disha’s church.

Finding Healing Among Believers

Kamna didn’t attend just the weekly worship services; she also came to Women’s Fellowship meetings and any other times of prayer. The believers earnestly prayed for Kamna’s well-being with each visit. Disha even visited and prayed for the ailing woman twice a week. And God answered their prayers and healed her of her bleeding!

As Kamna and her husband witnessed God’s hand of power in her life, they decided they wanted to follow Him all their days. Now Kamna and her husband joyfully attend the worship services every week, where they meet with the other believers in their village.

Though Kamna never found a cure on her own, the One with the cure found her—and her life has never been the same.

Being banned from the local well was difficult for Pastor Barasaat and his wife. For their obedience to God and their kindness to others, they suffered.

We knew how their story ended after a few minutes of reading, but they lived with the simultaneous realities of their own hardship and the promise of God’s goodness for years. Even as they prayed and stayed faithful, they faced tremendous discouragement.

Did you know that one of the top reasons for discouragement is our inability to understand God’s providence? God sees everything— past, present and future—and our life is just a tiny span within that. He can see the beginning and the end, but we can’t. We only see what’s right in front of us.

Sometimes we think that, because we gave our life to serve God, we will not face problems or discouragement, and everything will be wonderful. But from experience, we know this is not true. I know I’ve faced struggles many times in my own life throughout this journey. Though we want an escape from discouragement and troubles, that is not offered in Scripture. Even Jesus was not spared.

The thing is, even though God may be silent at times, we can know He is always working behind the scenes. Romans 8:28–29 tells us He works all things for the good of those who love Him—and that is true. For years, God moved behind the scenes in Joseph’s life, in David’s life, and He brought good through their suffering. It is good for us to remember He is working in our lives as well.

God is watching over us. He is with you and for you, even when you can’t see it. We have every reason to trust Him for the future, and we are destined not to fail, but to succeed. The methods God uses may be difficult for us to understand at times, but they are always for the best.

Dr. KP Yohannan