Rejoice!

As one of six children, 8-year-old Gailya was familiar with poverty. Her father, Rainald, worked hard, providing for Gailya and her siblings as best he could. But his meagre earnings could not meet every need. Hunger and destitution followed Gailya, slowly blotting out her hopes and dreams for the future.

A Wish for Something Better

Many women in Gailya’s village had dropped out of school when their family’s funds could no longer support their education. They became labourers, working hard to earn what little money they could to feed themselves and their families. Would that be Gailya’s fate too?

Gailya’s father, Rainald, worked as a driver. Gailya’s mother was blind, typhoid having claimed her sight and left her unable to work since Gailya was 8. Rainald was left to shoulder the burden of providing for the family.

With limited funds, Gailya was the only one from her family who went to school. Her school supplies were old, and Gailya had worn the same clothes and shoes for years. She didn’t even have a backpack; she carried her books in a small plastic bag.

Gailya mainly kept to herself, and her grades were on a nosedive. It grew ever more likely that Gailya would, like many other girls in her village, drop out of school and become a labourer.

Where Change Occurs

Then, Gailya got the chance to enroll in GFA World’s child sponsorship program. The shy girl joined other children and began a journey that would change her life.

Upon her enrollment, the staff provided Gailya with proper school supplies and clothes, ensuring she was sufficiently equipped. She also received much needed food, which she may not have gotten otherwise. GFA workers provided tutoring for her lessons—decreasing the chances of the young girl becoming a drop-out.

After six years in the program, Gailya grew from a fearful, uncertain young girl into a teenager sure of herself and her future. Her grades drastically improved. The care Gailya received through the child sponsorship program chased away the hopelessness that had once haunted her—and the likelihood that a life of a labourer was all she had to look forward to. Now, Gailya possesses hope for her future, the opportunity for a better life well within reach, made possible thanks to the child sponsorship program and generous supporters of GFA World.

A few years after the church blessed Benecia and Danyn (pictured) with a much-needed blanket, they sought the pastor’s help when Danyn got sick with a fever.

Winter had fallen on Benecia and Danyn’s village. The young couple struggled to stay warm in their home, its mud walls doing little to shield them from the cold winds. As a farmer, Danyn made just enough to sustain himself and Benecia; he couldn’t afford to buy sufficient winter clothes. They lived with no hope for tomorrow.

GFA pastor Pattin had taken notice of their plight and gave blankets to Benecia, Danyn and many of their fellow villagers. The warmth the blankets provide would help protect the couple from winter’s low temperatures.

A couple of years passed, and Benecia watched as a fever took hold of her husband. Remembering Pastor Pattin’s kindness and compassion, she sought him for prayer. Once again experiencing warmth and love, the couple decided to attend prayer meetings at Pastor Pattin’s house. Eventually, faith in Jesus grew in their hearts, and they began to have family prayer in the mornings and evenings. What was a gift to help in their time of need turned into a gift that gave them hope for eternity.

Kees (pictured), now a national worker, serves Jesus in a cold region with his wife and children.

In GFA worker Kees’ remote village, everyone traveled by foot. With winter upon them, nighttime temperatures dipped below freezing; Kees was ill-equipped to travel in the cold, but he was willing. People needed the warmth of God’s love.

Stumbling Through Tragedy

As a child, Kees had experienced a devastating inner chill. When he was 12, his whole family became seriously ill—his parents, five siblings and himself. With no hospital and no transportation, Kees’ father brought home witch doctors in hope of relief. Instead, things grew worse. Six family members died, leaving only Kees and his father, Gavan.

Sorrow, pain and bitterness flooded their hearts. Traumatized, Gavan took Kees to a foreign land, running away from the inner turmoil. But the ordeal continued to haunt them. Unable to escape, they soon returned to their native land but not to their home village. How could they return to the place that had caused so much pain? Instead, they settled in a neighboring village.

Calamity Returns

Years passed. Gavan remarried. Kees grew, completed school, married and found work. They were finally happy again.

Then the past haunted them once more: Kees became sick.

But this time something was different. Gavan had become a believer and called GFA pastor Baden to pray. After two hours, Kees was healed! Amazed, Kees and his wife put their trust in Jesus.

Overcoming the Cold

God eventually stirred Kees’ heart to enter full-time ministry, and after graduating from Bible college, he served under Pastor Baden. But the cold still hindered him. How was he to share Christ’s love through chattering teeth?

The answer came unexpectedly through the gift of a warm jacket.

“I thank [the church] for this essential gift,” Kees said. “I was really in need of it. … I [can now] experience warmness.”

With armor against the cold, Kees can overcome the frigid obstacles to share God’s love in every season.

Sabin (pictured alongside his wife and children) suffered from a debilitating and mysterious illness for months, and he was skeptical that prayer would help.

Sabin accepted another morsel from his wife’s hand. He had been bedridden for five months, with no explanation as to the cause of his sickness. Miserable and helpless, Sabin couldn’t even eat or drink without assistance. His condition was pathetic, but what else could he do? Hadn’t they already exhausted their resources?

Trying Every Alternative

After Sabin suddenly fell ill, he sought medical help. Doctors ordered an MRI and a CT scan, but the reports appeared normal. The family poured money into treatment for Sabin, but nothing explained his erratic behavior or sudden paralysis. Not only did they fail in finding a cure, but Sabin’s costly medical treatment propelled the family into financial crisis.

Some relatives suggested Sabin’s wife, Phebe, sacrifice to their local deity. Such religious traditions were prevalent in their village, and they had attempted to appease the gods in this way previously for other things, yet their family lacked true peace or happiness. Willing to try anything to help her husband, Phebe bought and sacrificed an animal—but Sabin’s condition did not improve. It only worsened. Hope for Sabin’s survival dissipated.

Carriers of Hope

Not all hope was lost, however. A local believer learned of Sabin’s condition and suggested they meet a team of GFA women missionaries serving in the area. These GFA workers carried hope to children and adults in the community, offering it generously in the form of children’s programs, encouraging words and caring acts. More importantly, these workers were women of prayer.

“If the sisters pray, surely, you will get healing,” the believer told Sabin.

Sabin was skeptical. After everything he had been through, everything he and his family had tried, he doubted anything would help.

Then the sisters happened to visit Sabin’s house and shared encouragement from Scripture. One verse—“The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want” (Psalm 23:1)—became a salve to Sabin’s heart, bringing comfort and courage.

Earnest Prayer for Deliverance

The sisters returned regularly and recognized a demonic force at work in Sabin’s oppression. They fasted for eight days, earnestly praying for hours each day for Sabin’s deliverance.

“While we were praying, the evil spirit used to shout and stare at us,” the sisters recalled. “Yet we courageously prayed.”

Sabin (pictured alongside his wife and children) suffered from a debilitating and mysterious illness for months, and he was skeptical that prayer would help.

Sabin and his family also visited the local church, led by GFA pastor Darek. Finally, Sabin gained peace and freedom from the bondage of the evil spirit. Slowly, to the family’s surprise, Sabin regained his health. Then, to the family’s joy, he began behaving normally. Their neighbors also were amazed by the transformation. Sabin and Phebe praised God for His mercy on Sabin’s life.

“I was having fear in my heart, and I felt weak in my body,” Sabin says. “I was wandering like a mad person. … I had no hope of healing and was completely helpless. I thank Jesus for delivering me, and also thank these three sisters who spent their time in prayer for my deliverance.”

Sabin’s life has been transformed in Christ because of the compassionate, fervent faith of these women missionaries. They offered hope when Sabin believed all hope was gone. Thanks to donors like you, national workers are bringing God’s hope and freedom to people like Sabin, changing their lives forever.

GFA workers living on a boat brought much-needed relief to families living in impoverished islands. They gifted chicks to families to help them raise income.

In 2006, GFA workers started a ministry to bring God’s love to a group of jungle islands, 54 of which are inhabited, where people live in poverty and hardship. The remoteness of the islands made it very challenging for GFA workers to get to this area, but they were able to visit the communities using local boats.

GFA workers living on a boat brought much-needed relief to families living in impoverished islands. They gifted chicks to families to help them raise income.

The workers were gripped by the suffering of hundreds of women who had lost their husbands, many of whom had died after being attacked by Bengal tigers. The workers prayed with much passion and urgency, longing to touch the widows’ lives with a message of hope. To efficiently coordinate activities on these islands, the workers needed a boat of their own. In 2014, the Lord answered their long-awaited prayers, and the workers received a sturdy, sizable boat. By God’s mercy, GFA workers continue to care for widows and children in these once-neglected islands, even amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, and today there are churches on 34 of the islands.

When winter temperatures drop, GFA workers often gift warm clothing to meet a vital need for people in their communities, especially children like Sarena and like the girls pictured.

At the tender age of 6, Sarena lost her mother to tuberculosis. Though her father was alive, she had essentially lost him to the bottle. An alcoholic, he wasted his earnings on drink and neglected to care for Sarena and her younger sister, Saskia.

Sarena’s grandparents couldn’t bear to leave their helpless granddaughters in this predicament. They took Sarena and Saskia under their care, spending their precious resources to nurture the girls. Their grandparents longed to offer more, to give them a better life, but even providing for the girls’ basic needs strained their funds.

A Breath of Relief

One day, Sarena’s grandma, Lanna, heard of GFA’s child sponsorship program and eagerly enrolled both girls. Suddenly Sarena and Saskia had practical help for their education and regular, nutritious meals for their bellies. Their grandparents could breathe a sigh of relief, knowing the girls would receive the help they needed and have hope for a brighter future.

As winter approached, however, so did another concern. The girls had only old, tattered jackets to protect them from the cold. Would these thin barriers be enough to keep them warm? They could only hope so; their grandparents could not afford new ones.

A Gift of Warmth

Then came a lovely surprise: Everyone in the girls’ local child sponsorship program received new, warm jackets!

The GFA staff had recognized the needs of their students and provided. Lanna could hardly contain her gratitude.

“We were desperately in need of new jackets for my children,” Lanna said, “but I was unable to buy one for them. I was thinking about how my children will survive during the winter season with an old, tattered jacket. But unexpectedly, [the child sponsorship program] provided a new jacket to both of them. I am so thankful.”

Thanks to donors like you, GFA’s child sponsorship program can provide Sarena, Saskia and thousands more impoverished children with loving care and practical help.

K.P. Yohannan is the founder of GFA World.

Jesus told a remarkable parable about two brothers. In the story, the younger brother takes all the money he can and runs off to some foreign land, lives a bad life and wastes everything. Then he repents and goes home.

His father is loving and gracious to him. Soon, the younger brother is back in the house having the time of his life. … But somebody is missing from the dining table: his older brother.

The father is so happy, but the older son is seething, refusing to go inside and celebrate. …

How do you explain this?

Even when the younger son was a rebel, his heart was knit with the affection of his father. So, when everything was gone, he said to himself, I can go to my father.

But for the older son, it was different. His relationship with his father was not one of father and son; rather, it was one of an employer and his employee. He was working for wages: respect, recognition and understanding. Even though he had the same possibilities as the younger son, his heart was not in a loving relationship with his father. The same thing can happen in our lives.

We can become so busy in ministry and in serving the Lord that we forget why we are doing it in the first place. In the end, we come to the place in which we are doing all the work for money, recognition, reputation, honor or whatever else. It’s all about what we get, not because of the affection of the Father, who sees us in secret.

But remember: Even when we lose our focus, or when we have failed or have become resentful in our service to Him, God in His kindness deals with us deep down in our hearts and reminds us that He is our Father. His mercies are new every morning, and He will run after us again and again. We are His beloved children, and we are safe in His hands.

Thank you so much for your support. It’s because of donors and partners like you that many others across the globe are experiencing and embracing the Father’s love. As you read the stories in this newsletter, may you be reminded of the Father’s love for you and why you love Him, why you serve Him, why you partner with GFA World to transform lives and communities through His love. God bless you.

Some of this material appeared on K.P. Yohannan’s blog on March 5, 2021. You can find the entire post and read more from K.P. at https://www.patheos.com/blogs/kpyohannan/