GFA World Newsletter

February 2016, Vol. 12, No. 2

Sameena ran a hotel, and like all hotels, this hotel had guests. People came and left, to be replaced by others who came and departed in their turn. Some faces became familiar through the years, while the rest blurred together.

Out of that sea of one-time visitors, one man stands unique in Sameena’s memory: He was the man who changed her life. He was a Christian. To this day, she still doesn’t know his name, but she has not forgotten the Name he told her about: Jesus.

Longing for Peace and Joy

Growing up, Sameena had faithfully followed all the traditions of her ancestors. She and her mother had spent much time visiting holy places together, but as Sameena became a wife and mother, she realized she felt empty inside. She and her husband often argued, leaving her in tears.

Sameena longed for something more and eventually made up her mind to give up her religion. Her family pressured her to keep worshipping with them, but she had no desire to. Many years later, Sameena’s hotel guest told her about Jesus. She discovered the peace and joy she had been longing for all of her life and started walking with Christ.

But that day also brought a newfound difficulty into her life: Her guest left, and there was no one else to tell her more about her now-precious Saviour. There was no one among her friends, her family, or even among all those who entered her hotel day by day. Sameena had found a measure of peace and joy and longed for a greater share of it, but she didn’t know where to go.

Radio Changes Her Life Forever

Six months later, as Sameena tuned her radio one evening, she happened upon a Gospel for Asia-supported radio broadcast in her native language.

The broadcaster shared from John 3:16, telling of Jesus’ great love and the eternal life found through Him.

Sameena was overjoyed to hear about Christ again, and from that day, she faithfully tuned in at 5:30 p.m. to listen to the daily broadcast. She eventually contacted the Gospel for Asia-supported team who broadcasted the program and asked them for prayer.

Although she was eventually able to find a church, it is through the radio program that Sameena finds encouragement on a day-to-day basis. And because Sameena is illiterate and cannot read a Bible, the daily broadcast helps her grow in her walk with Jesus. The more she listens, the more her life is transformed by the power of Christ.

‘Every Word Is So Precious to Me’

“The radio program has become a means of blessing to my life and family,” Sameena shares. “The messages are so powerful; every word is so precious to me because whenever I would be discouraged . . . the radio program gave me comfort, hope, joy and strength. I love to listen to the program every day. If I don’t listen to the program, I will feel spiritually dry. I really love the radio program.”

God is truly touching hearts through Gospel for Asia’s radio ministry. Thank you so much for making stories like this possible.

Satwik felt someone grab his arms and pull him away from the fight. It wasn’t the first time the authorities had arrested him, and it wouldn’t be the last. The drunken teenager struggled against the people who restrained him, but he was too drugged to defend himself.

He Started Young

Satwik had tried drugs for the first time when he was 14. Soon he was smoking, drinking and hanging out with the wrong crowd. Enslaved to his addictions, his health rapidly declined and his life began to fall apart.

He and his friends often terrorized the public without cause. Yet no matter how many times he was arrested or how his parents tried to intervene, Satwik didn’t care to change. When he started regularly failing classes, he dropped out of school and left home, roaming back and forth with no place of his own.

Stuck in His Ways

One day, a Gospel for Asia supported pastor named Pankaj met Satwik. Noticing the troubled teenager’s health, Pankaj immediately prayed for him. Slowly, Satwik told the pastor his story.

“Brother,” Pankaj said, “[Jesus] is ready to give you a new hope and a new life right now.”

“I have no hope,” Satwik mourned. “I want to live as I am living now. I have no one and no one loves me; everyone hates me.”

Sometime later, Pastor Pankaj visited with Satwik again. He prayed for the young man and encouraged him from the Word. This time, Satwik’s reaction was different.

“I want . . . to have a new life,” he told the pastor.

A Changed Man

That day, Christ’s love changed Satwik’s life completely. The boy started getting good grades in school again and began attending worship services at a local church. On top of that, the Lord put a special burden on the young man’s heart: Now Satwik tells all his old friends about the God who can give them hope and save them from their addictions, as He did for him.

Thank you for partnering with us to bring the Good News of Jesus Christ to the people of South Asia. Whether through prayer or finances, you are an encouragement and a blessing to our brothers and sisters on the field. You are enabling them to tell people like Satwik about Christ’s redemption! Thank you!

The man’s gruff words stung the hearts of Tulya and her two companions. “Why are you wasting your time in unnecessary things?” Madhuk scolded the women. “Don’t you have any [other] business?” Little did he know, those “unnecessary things” would one day mean the difference between life and death.

A Sharp Response

Madhuk faithfully worshipped the gods of his ancestors and held fast that each village should worship their own deities. At almost 60 years old, Madhuk worked as a farmer in the paddy fields near his home until health problems began to plague his body. For two years, diabetes and other ailments made it difficult for him to work the long, hard hours in the field.

Even before he met three Gospel for Asia-supported women missionaries, Madhuk had a reputation for being unfriendly. When Tulya, Hansa and Puji talked with him and spoke to him about the Word of God, Madhuk became irritated and refused to listen to them. He told them not to come back and treated them as women unworthy of respect.

Madhuk’s cutting words hurt and discouraged the women. After they left, they encouraged each other with Scripture to lift their spirits before pressing on to minister to the other people in the village. With hearts still burdened by Madhuk’s response, the sisters continued visiting others, praying for them and telling them about the great love of Jesus.

Faith for Healing

Weeks passed, and Madhuk’s already failing health became worse. His family didn’t have the money to go to a doctor for help, so they called on witch doctors for treatment. Worry slowly crept into their hearts as his health continued to deteriorate.

During this time, God spoke to Sister Tulya’s heart and told her to visit Madhuk again. Although their previous encounter with the man remained clear in their memory, she and her friends went to see Madhuk in obedience to the Lord. When the women arrived, they found Madhuk confined to his bed. Madhuk’s family told Tulya and the other two women about his suffering and agreed to let the missionaries pray for healing.

That evening, Madhuk was able to stand up and walk around! Delighted at this miracle, he thanked the women and welcomed them to come back and pray for him often. Yet even as Madhuk began to believe in God’s power, his friends sowed seeds of doubt in his heart.

“Why do you allow yourself to be treated so cheap?” they ridiculed him. “How can you easily forsake the god of your ancestors?”

As he thought about it, Madhuk started to believe that time had simply healed his body. From then on, he avoided Tulya and her companions . . . until he became sick again.

Within a month of his healing, his health problems returned in full force, making him weaker with each passing day. Nothing the family tried brought relief. Madhuk fell into depression, and his wife worried he would die.

Faith in the Healer

When Madhuk’s wife ran into the women missionaries on her way to the local market, she poured out her sorrows. The sisters had compassion on her and went back to visit the family. There, Tulya and the two other women shared the Word of God and prayed for Madhuk, and they encouraged the family to trust the Lord.

When his health miraculously improved a second time, Madhuk was convicted of his unbelief in the Lord’s power. He is confident now that Jesus healed him of his burdens. Today, Madhuk is not only walking around, but he also is walking daily with the gentle Saviour and growing in his faith with fellow believers.

Thank you for standing behind women missionaries like Tulya, Puji and Hansa. Just as our sisters in Christ honoured the Lord through obedience in ministering to Madhuk’s family, you have honoured God by taking action and following what He has called you to do in His name. May the Lord bless you!

Mishti’s father was dead. She still couldn’t get over that one, solitary fact. Grief had washed over her at the dreadful news. Life, she felt, was over.

But hope was just around the corner.

When Sickness Strikes

Mishti had a brighter outlook on life just two years earlier. Her father worked as a truck driver and helped provide for the family’s needs. Her sister was in school and was receiving special help at a Gospel for Asia supported Bridge of Hope centre. She had a younger brother and another sibling on the way. Even though there were some struggles in life, Mishti was content.

But then her father became ill. He had met with a woman during his travels and came home infected with HIV. The family tried all they could to keep him healthy, but the virus quickly claimed his life.

Over time, Mishti took on more responsibilities around the home. She cared for the family while her mother laboured in the fields, trying to earn some wages to care for the four children.

But as time passed, work became difficult for Mishti’s mother. She couldn’t stand as long as she used to. Pain crept into her arms, legs and stomach, eventually clamping them in an iron grip, where there was no relief. No matter how many prayers the family offered to their ancestral deities, doctors confirmed that she, too, had been infected with AIDS.

Mishti watched as the same illness that had claimed the life of her father threatened to take the life of her mother as well.

When Hope Dawns

In the midst of these challenges, the family discovered help and hope in an unexpected place: a tutoring program. For three years, Mishti had watched her little sister go to Bridge of Hope. The year after her father died, her little brother enrolled as well. One of the tutors at the centre lived nearby, and two other staff members came to visit Mishti’s family from time to time. Mishti’s siblings had found help and hope at the centre, and that hope found its way to Mishti and her mother.

At that time, Mishti’s neighbour, the tutor, encouraged the family to go to the local church and ask for prayer for healing. Mishti’s mother, despite her devotion to her deities, was desperate for help, so she went. While there, she found more than healing—she found peace and comfort as she listened to God’s Word and began praying to Jesus. She went back to the church many times, longing for a greater measure of that peace.

Family Embraces the Source of All Hope

Mishti could tell her mother’s heart was changing, and one day she realized her mother’s strength was coming back too! Hope flowed into the teenager’s heart as she considered the power of Christ.

Years passed. Her siblings’ attitudes and grades continued to improve as they attended Bridge of Hope. Mishti’s mother, still alive and painfree despite her condition, had decided to embrace the love of Christ. Mishti did the same.

Hope had returned to her life—this time, for good.

Many Help Bring Hope

Bridge of Hope is just that—a bridge through which God can bring hope to the impoverished, downtrodden, sick, hurting and discouraged. As Mishti saw Jesus strengthen and sustain her mother, she understood His power. As she witnessed the love of the tutors and the growth of her siblings, she understood His love. Today, Mishti is studying the Word of God. She longs to tell others about the Jesus who brought hope back to her life.