Rejoice!

“I received great kindness.” Landin is grateful for the tricycle you provided that has changed his life.

Your support of GFA World helps us bring the healing message of God’s Word to those who would otherwise not know Him. Our missionaries regularly help to meet a person’s physical needs while also sharing the Good News of Jesus with them. This is especially the case in places that are ravaged by poverty and disease.

You make the work of the Sisters of Compassion possible. These women help meet the physical needs of those who cannot care for themselves, such as those in leprosy colonies. They visit families to perform household chores, like cooking and cleaning, and provide kindness and company to individuals who are affected by this devastating disease.

In one leprosy colony, a man named Landin lives with his wife and young son. Both of Landin’s legs had to be amputated due to the complications of leprosy. Without his two legs, Landin was unable to perform even the most basic tasks for himself and spent his days in bed. His wife also suffers from leprosy, which has affected her eyes, ears and legs. 

You helped make this possible. You are truly a blessing!

Their teenage son, Isaac, does not have leprosy. He helps his parents as much as he can when he is not at school; however, the burden of caring for both parents and managing the home is too much for a child. Thankfully, a group of Sisters of Compassion are able to assist the family. 

The relationship the Sisters of Compassion developed with Landin and his family laid the foundation for a life-changing gift: a hand-pedaled tricycle.

The Sisters of Compassion and local GFA pastor Pieter rejoiced when Landin was presented with the tricycle. A few boys from the colony lifted him into it, helping him get his bearings. Landin’s eyes filled with tears as he said, “I received great kindness.”

Pastor Pieter prayed with and for Landin’s family that day, and he and the Sisters of Compassion continue to build a relationship with the family and pray for them. Today, Landin is grateful for his mobility and the chance to do more for himself and his family—and, most of all, that Jesus has changed his life. Meanwhile, the Sisters of Compassion continue their life-sustaining work in this colony and nearly three dozen others.

“I received great kindness.” Landin is grateful for the tricycle you provided that has changed his life.

All of this has been made possible because of you: a life-changing gift, a chance at a better tomorrow and an introduction to a Savior.

Please pray for Landin and his family that they will continue to grow in the Lord and that their lives will become a channel of blessing for others who are affected by leprosy.

Thank you for your support of the Sisters of Compassion and for helping us reach precious families like this one!

“I was living in darkness, but the Lord is so good to me. I want to live for Jesus and follow Him.” —Reuben

Along the basin of one of the largest rivers in the world, wells tap into layers of sand or rock that hold water deep underground. These wells are often the only source of water for entire communities.

Unfortunately, the water drawn from these wells is often bitter and dirty and can even be contaminated by toxins. One villager, Reuben, watched helplessly as his eldest daughter, Shania, became ill from drinking this water.

A friend introduced Reuben to GFA pastor Laszlo, who visited Reuben’s home, shared the Gospel and prayed with the family, especially for Shania.

Over time, Reuben and his family came to call Jesus their Savior. And eventually, the Lord answered their prayers and restored Shania to health!

But Reuben and his family still struggled to find clean water. A standard water filter is far too expensive for most families to afford. But GFA has a practical, sustainable solution. Pastor Laszlo was able to give a BioSand water filter to the family. The filter, which costs just around $30, has changed their lives.

Reuben’s family still fetches water from their nearby well. But now they are able to filter it through the BioSand water filter, which makes it safe to drink. They gladly tell their neighbors about the Lord who changed their lives and the news of hope in Him. Now, three more families from their village regularly attend Pastor Laszlo’s church.

“I was living in darkness, but the Lord is so good to me,” Reuben says. “As I believed in Him, He blessed me a lot. I want to live for Jesus and follow Him.”

Thank you for making this possible for Reuben and others in his village!

“I want to live my life for Him and tell about His good works!” —Kelani

On her first Sunday at church, Kelani was in a wheelchair. A married mother of four, Kelani had suffered a head injury after falling from a vehicle on her way home from getting groceries for her family some miles from their home. The driver of the vehicle had left her for dead.

Kelani required extensive therapy to help her regain her strength and ability to speak; however, her family could not afford these treatments. Her husband, Takoda, sought help from several different doctors, but Kelani’s health did not improve.

The couple heard about a church where God was healing people. Takoda took Kelani there, where they met GFA pastor Joshua. He prayed for Kelani and invited the family to return to church.

Takoda and Kelani arrived at church the following Sunday morning with their children, hopeful for help. During the service, Pastor Joshua and some of the church elders laid hands on Kelani and prayed for her. Miraculously, with assistance, she was able to stand up! The family joined congregants for a fellowship lunch and left with hearts so full that they decided to give their lives to the Lord Jesus.

Pastor Joshua visited their home the following day and was amazed as Kelani had the strength to try and walk and was even able to say, “Thank you.” Her recovery continued. Today, she no longer uses a wheelchair and has begun to speak again. Praise the Lord!

Your support makes it possible for local missionaries like Pastor Joshua to meet people—right where they are—and introduce them to the hope of Jesus. Thank you for giving Kelani and her family the hope and healing that can come only through Him!

Support of GFA World is a family affair for donor Marilyn, pictured left with a national missionary.

For donor Marilyn, supporting GFA World is an extension of her family’s beliefs. “We support GFA World because they are authentic, Jesus-loving and world-changing,” she explains.

Marilyn was introduced to GFA World through her brother, who spent time doing missionary work in one of the countries GFA serves. He learned about GFA World from an acquaintance and GFA World supporter, who told him, “If you are looking for a way to give meaningfully, this is the organization to do it with.”

Supporting GFA World quickly became a family affair. Marilyn’s mother took a life-changing trip to the field to see the work being done firsthand. Marilyn even got her young sons involved by sharing GFA World newsletters and Christmas catalogs with them.

“We would have the kids choose catalog items to give on Christmas Eve,” she says. “They remember it so fondly, and as they get older, I hope they will carry it on with their kids.”

Establishing a family legacy of support for national missions is just one of the many blessings Marilyn has seen during her family’s 20 years of support. She is especially enthusiastic as she discusses the plans for our hospital in Rwanda: a world-class facility that will serve neighboring countries in Africa. “It’s so exciting,” she says. “To bring modern medicine to these remote regions is incredible.”

“My spirit just responds to this work.”

Marilyn’s passion for serving through her support of GFA World has blessed countless lives. She sees her family’s involvement as a natural expression of their faith. “We have a huge responsibility to use our resources wisely and be generous to people in need,” she says. “My spirit just responds to this work.” Her thoughts echo the words of the Apostle Paul: “Christ is preached; and in this I rejoice, yes, and will rejoice” (Philippians 1:18).

Thank you for your prayers and for the generous donations that total over $150,000 for our clean water campaign. Because of your support, about 30,000 people who were drinking contaminated water or who had to travel significant distances—sometimes multiple times a day—to find water now have convenient access to clean water. When more than 1,000 children around the world die every day from preventable waterborne diseases, your gift of clean water often means the difference between life and death for the families we serve!*

In Matthew 10:42, Jesus says, “And whoever gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, assuredly, I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward.”

We are grateful for your compassion—and know that the Lord sees your good works, too.

Your support of our clean water campaign is saving lives and reaching souls for Christ!

_{*”190 Million Children at Risk from Water-Related Crises: UNICEF.” UN News. March 19, 2023. https://news.un.org/en/story/2023/03/1134772.}

K.P. Yohannan (Metropolitan Yohan)

Christianity is supposed to be intensely practical.

So often, though, Christianity is reduced to doctrines and subjective experience—more precisely, intellect and feelings, not action. Recently I read about Father Damien, who served on Molokai Island of Hawaii in a settlement where those who had leprosy were quarantined. He chose to live among the infected, understanding that he might contract the disease.

He spent the rest of his life loving, embracing, tending and living among them and eventually shared in their disease as well. Thousands were influenced through his labors.

Our faith, like his, must result in visible, practical reality. We cannot know all the right answers but then continue to live for ourselves.

This priest brought healing, restoration and the hope of eternal life to a hurting community. His faith led him to action, to choose the way of the Cross, and it transformed the world around him.

Let us take courage and live today as Jesus lived. Don’t let someone else do the good you see to do. Be the one to take action. You will not regret it.

Don’t let someone else do the good you see to do.