Rejoice!

If there is a god, she thought, Why does he not care for me? Why did he let me face such a sorrowful life?

The civil war changed everything for Gargi. It took away her husband and her two sons. It took away her home, her bed, her food.

For more than five years, the widow passed her days in desolation, idleness and sadness.

If there is a god, she thought, Why does he not care for me? Why did he let me face such a sorrowful life?

Angry about her circumstances, Gargi chose to turn her back on all the gods and goddesses she had ever heard of. She didn’t know about Jesus, though.

Jesus, however, knew Gargi. He saw her plight, and He loved her.

Moving to a Pastor’s Town

After spending half a decade in the refugee camp, Gargi moved out. The government provided her with a small hut in a nearby town, but she didn’t have any means to make an income. She would beg from neighbors and strangers, but still she often found her stomach empty at the end of the night.

Seeing her, Jesus sent His servant, a Gospel for Asia-supported pastor named Sadiva, to minister to Gargi. Every couple of weeks, Pastor Sadiva would come to Gargi’s home. He encouraged her from the Word of God, prayed for her and told her about the God of love. He also aided her by providing practical gifts of food and clothing. Life was still a struggle for Gargi, but these gifts helped her survive.

It gradually dawned on Gargi that Sadiva’s God cared for her.

Widow Experiences God’s Love

For almost six months, Pastor Sadiva prayed for Gargi, visited her, encouraged her and helped provide for her needs. One day he told her, “Jesus will not forsake anyone who is lonely in life.” These words touched her heart, and through them she understood the depth of Christ’s love. As Jesus poured out His love on her, Gargi decided to entrust her heart to Him.

Soon, one of her relatives started providing her with a daily meal—a miracle Gargi could hardly believe. What’s more, she received a ration card from the government, enabling her to purchase everyday items for her daily use.

She started attending the church led by Pastor Sadiva—a church where a few other widows from the surrounding area had also come to understand the love of God.

Loved for Eternity

Today, Gargi has a job she is able to do, and she has even become self-supporting. Her heart is filled with joy now that she knows her God loves her. And someday, she will be able to spend eternity with the One who loved her so much He died to bring her new life in Him.

Praise the Lord we get to be a part of seeing this love story unfold again and again as people in Asia, including widows, are coming to understand and experience the great love of the Savior.

When the prayers of a GFA-supported pastor and the local congregation freed Mirgakshi’s father from his strange behavior and inexplicable health issues, Mirgakshi and her family fell in love with Christ. They began attending the church Pastor Paras led so they could learn more about their Savior and what it meant to follow Him.

Soon, she found out the Sunday school teacher at Pastor Paras’ church would be hosting a literacy class three days a week. Mirgakshi eagerly jumped at the opportunity.

Like almost half the women in her village, Mirgakshi didn’t know how to read. She was 25 years old and had never stepped foot inside a classroom. Knowing God’s power, she asked for His help to learn how to read and write. Within a year’s time, she saw that prayer answered. Today, Mirgakshi can read the Bible, and she shares what she reads with her children. Her joy knows no bounds.

Rujul grew up following the traditional religion of his ancestors. He believed that every village, tribe and community had their own personal gods, but they all led to the same destiny in the end. Christians would worship their God, and he would worship his gods—it made no difference in the end.

But then Rujul met Deenbabdhu. Deenbabdhu came from the same ancestral background as Rujul, but he worshipped the God of the Christians. What’s more, he was a pastor—one of many supported by Gospel for Asia.

Understanding a Different God

As Rujul and Pastor Deenbabdhu talked that day, Rujul couldn’t help asking why the pastor worshipped the God of the Christians even though he came from the same ancestral background as Rujul.

“What difference did it make?” Rujul inquired.

Pastor Deenbabdhu said a silent prayer to God and began to explain. At the end of their conversation, Rujul gladly received a few pieces of literature about Jesus and considered accepting the pastor’s invitation to join him at worship services someday.

Over time, as Rujul read the literature and thought about what Pastor Deenbabdhu shared, God worked in his heart. He realized following Jesus really would be different from following his gods and goddesses, and he wanted to make that change.

Parents Notice a Difference

It didn’t take long for Rujul’s parents to realize something had changed. At first they were very upset their son would even consider leaving their ancestral faith and told him not to do it. But after Rujul became a Christian and they witnessed the positive difference Jesus made in his life, they stopped opposing him.

Rujul says he has experienced real freedom in Jesus. He can see just how unique Christ is, which is something he wants his parents, friends and family to understand too.

This transformation is possible because somewhere around the world, there are people praying for Pastor Deenbadhu and supporting the work of national missions—and that has made all the difference.

As the Gospel for Asia-supported Bridge of Hope administrative staff walked through the area, they saw many crude shanties lining dirty streets where hungry children roamed. They talked to poor mothers and sick fathers, people who expressed their needs and hopes for themselves and their children. Wanting to start a new Bridge of Hope centre, the staff had asked a local official for his suggestion.

“If you can bring goodness to this area,” he told them, “the children will have a future.”

Sometime later, with the lighting of a lamp and the cutting of a ribbon, a new Bridge of Hope center opened its doors for 100 boys and girls in this community of downtrodden slum dwellers.

A Girl Without a Mother

Vela 2013

Among those 100 faces was 9-year-old Vela. Vela’s mother had abandoned the family some time before, fleeing the abuse of her alcoholic husband. A few days after his wife left, he fell ill and couldn’t leave his bed. So Vela’s grandmother, Paramita, became the family’s sole provider.

Despite their abject poverty, Paramita wanted her grandchildren to get an education—and through Bridge of Hope, Vela had a chance.

A Boy Acting as a Father

Tamal 2013

Elsewhere in the crowd sat 9-year-old Tamal, a boy with a heavy burden. While his parents worked, Tamal ran the home and cared for his younger siblings, including a 1-year-old. After feeding them breakfast, Tamal would leave the children in a room so he could go to school for a few hours. Returning at noon, he would feed them again. When he could, Tamal collected glass and plastic bottles from the roadside to sell.

“Thank you so much for the special care toward me from Bridge of Hope,” he shared on opening day. “This will really be a hope to my life.”

A Light Through Three Years of Challenges

Tamal 2016

Three years since opening, Bridge of Hope has been one of the few consistent things in Tamal’s life. In 2014, Tamal’s father divorced his mother. She moved the family out of the slum, only to return some months later, at which point Tamal re-enrolled in Bridge of Hope. Since then, he continues to receive steady love and care through the Bridge of Hope staff.

Through the staff’s tutoring, Tamal’s grades are improving in school, and he is receiving a meal every day.

Vela 2016

Vela’s life has not come without challenges either. Her dad often needed to be taken to the hospital for medical treatments, so she wasn’t always able to go to school or to the center. But in the midst of this, God showed His grace through the prayers of the Bridge of Hope staff.

As is customary with all Bridge of Hope students, the staff regularly visited Vela’s home to encourage her family, talk about her education and even pray for the family’s needs. Vela saw God’s power and love when He answered the prayers of the Bridge of Hope staff and restored her father to full health. Vela’s grandmother wants to know more about the Jesus who healed her son.

Through the Love of the Staff

From early on, Vela and Tamal’s lives have been full of responsibility as caregivers for their families. Even so, the staff at their Bridge of Hope centre has helped them succeed through tutoring, prayer and encouragement.

Vela continues to attend Bridge of Hope to this day, and now that her father is better, she is able to come consistently. She is in 8th grade, where she enjoys studying her native language and has developed a special talent for public speaking.

“I never thought that there are people who really think about life in the slums, but now I understand Christians have caring and compassionate hearts,” Vela’s grandmother shared. “There are many children who were wandering around without meaning in this slum, and now we will see a bright future in their lives. I am really thankful to all those [who] are supportive of this center.”

That gratitude is for you. No matter what ministries of Gospel for Asia you pray for and support, God is using you to make a difference in the lives of boys and girls like Tamal and Vela and their families. Thank you for working with us to help give the children of Asia a brighter future.

At 6 years old, Vairat has already faced intense hatred. He knows hunger, loneliness, pain, abuse and hardship. He knows what it means to fend for himself. He knows what life is like for an abandoned and runaway child.

Vairat was 4 years old when his father died of tuberculosis. His mother remarried almost immediately, and his stepfather made life horrible for the little boy. Many times he put Vairat in a room, closed the door and beat him without provocation.

“My mother made me leave the house for no reason,” Vairat recalls. “Many times I went out and wandered, and when I returned back, they beat me with the stick.”

Unable to cope with his stepfather’s brutality and his mother’s rejection, Vairat ran away from home and started wandering the streets of a big city. His parents never contacted the authorities or filed a missing-child report.

Taken In and Cared For

After Vairat had been wandering the city streets with other abandoned and runaway children, he was found by the police. They helped enroll him in a Gospel for Asia-supported street children’s home, House of Hope.

In the presence of the caring staff, surrounded by dozens of other boys with their own troubled histories, 6-year-old Vairat now knows what it’s like to be loved by Christ. The staff at the children’s home feed him, clothe him, pray for him and encourage him daily. They even enrolled Vairat in school—something he had never once dreamed of. And he loves it.

The staff at the home describe Vairat as a smart and observant child who is very sweet in his conduct and respectful of others. He happily sings songs about God, recites Scripture verses and prays to Jesus—the One who showed him love through the hands and hearts of the House of Hope staff.

Thank you for standing with Gospel for Asia to see ministries like House of Hope go forward. Through your prayers and support, children who have known hatred, abuse and sorrow are now experiencing Christ’s love.

Women in situations like Prutha’s find hope when a Women’s Fellowship group tangibly demonstrates Christ’s love.

Prutha could still hardly believe her eyes. The woman, Lavangi, whom she had just met a few weeks earlier, was sweeping her floor. The woman helped Prutha with the dishes, the laundry . . . whatever Prutha needed. And Prutha didn’t pay her—Lavangi worked for free. Her kindness baffled Prutha, but she was grateful. Lavangi brought life and joy to the sorrowful woman’s heart, and they soon became fast friends.

Losing Hope in the Face of Pain

Before Prutha met Lavangi, the 26-year-old and her husband, Rutajit, lived a peaceful life with their three young children. Rutajit earned a steady and sufficient income for the family by selling vegetables. Then one day Prutha felt a sharp pain in her side that wouldn’t go away. When she made it to the hospital, Prutha discovered she had a severe kidney stone. Five visits, medication and a minor surgery quickly drained the family’s finances but didn’t bring a cure. Eventually, the doctor recommended a major surgery that the family couldn’t afford.

They needed financial help, encouragement and comfort, but no one gave it, not family, friends nor the gods they worshipped. Overwhelming sorrow and pain left Prutha unable to maintain her home or even sleep properly. What’s worse, she feared everyone hated her and her husband.

But she was wrong.

Practical Demonstrations

One Saturday, as Prutha sat at home feeling dejected and alone, Jesus sent His servants, a Women’s Fellowship group from a local church, to meet with Prutha. These women, including Gospel for Asia-supported woman missionary Lavangi, encouraged Prutha, and when she told them of her struggles, they prayed for her healing and told her of the peace and hope found in Jesus.

After that day, Lavangi started helping Prutha with her housework. As the two became friends, Prutha wanted to know more about Jesus—someone she had never heard about in her life—and even started reading about Him from the Word. Before long, she decided she wanted to commit her life to the One who sent His love to her in the form of a servant.

Thank You!

Your prayers and contributions help sustain women like Lavangi as they serve the needy in their communities, following the example of the One who “did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (see Matthew 20:28). Thank you for making a difference.

Last year, my wife and I each had the incredible opportunity to visit some special conventions hosted on the mission field in Asia.

Some of the attendees had travelled nearly a week by bus and on foot in order to attend those gatherings. There were times when I had to continually fight to keep from weeping as I met with precious believers who were so full of Jesus in their lives. It makes me imagine just how wonderful heaven will be!

One of the attendees, a 100-year-old grandmother, was a great encouragement for my wife. This woman developed leprosy early in life. Sometime later, she received help from another Christian ministry that cared for her and helped provide the necessary treatments. Today, she is completely healed and worshiping the Lord at a church led by a Gospel for Asia-supported pastor. The amazing thing is how she regularly shares about Jesus with those she meets and the ministry God has given her to pray for the sick. She wound up inspiring many of the younger women at the meeting because she was so energetic and prayerful throughout the sessions.

Think about it: This woman, just like Gargi, whom you read about earlier, was not a young woman when God called her to follow Him. His kingdom knows no barriers of age, gender, social status or ethnic background. The Lord loves all people, and as His Body, we have been given the tremendous privilege and responsibility of sharing that love with anyone we can.

John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

I was humbled as I spent time with these precious brothers and sisters who now know this everlasting truth for themselves.

When you think about the significance of what the Lord has allowed us to partake in, all the challenges of this life seem small. In the end, we shall see Jesus, surrounded by all the people He touched through us, and all our struggles on earth will be overshadowed.