Rejoice!

Many congregations, such as the one pictured, suffer for lack of a church building. This one has to meet under a large tree.

Pastor Syon clapped his hands and kept on singing. The room he worshiped in was filled with people—despite how small it was—yet his voice was the only one he heard. He tried not to let the lack of participation discourage him, but it did.

He didn’t blame his congregation for their silence. They had no musical instruments, and the cramped room hampered their ability to express their devotion to the Lord.

No Place Else to Worship

For five years, Gospel for Asia-supported pastor Syon and the believers gathered in the small, narrow bamboo structure they had built for worshiping the Lord. They knew it wasn’t a proper place of worship, especially because every six months they had to repair it.

The lack of space caused problems. It deterred the children from attending Sunday School because there wasn’t enough room to comfortably sing and dance. During the rainy season, flies would buzz around inside the bamboo hut, and worms would crawl up from the mud floor.

Three Years of Prayers

Pastor Syon and the believers prayed fervently for a permanent building. They needed a place where they could worship freely, a place where children could enjoy attending Sunday School, a place where people could know: This is a holy place where you can find God.

Finally, after three years of praying, Pastor Syon and his congregation rejoiced when the Lord blessed them with a permanent building they could worship Him in!

“The loving Lord heard our prayers,” Pastor Syon says. “[The community is] very happy that such a beautiful church is standing in the middle of the village.”

No flies buzz around inside; no worms crawl on the ground. The children—even those whose parents haven’t yet experienced God’s love—happily attend Sunday School.

The church has become a place of blessing for God’s people and for those who enter the sanctuary knowing that inside, they can find prayer, love and healing.

Pastor Syon’s congregation was extremely crowded in their old place of worship. Now they have a permanent place of worship, with enough room for everyone!

Worship Without Restrictions

Now, Pastor Syon and his congregation worship freely, loudly, boldly. They join in unison, praising the God who is faithful to hear and answer their prayers. Their worship even draws people to the church. Suvali, a Christian widow who had stopped going to a different church because it was too far away, remembers the day she joined Pastor Syon’s church.

“I saw a cross on top of the building, and I thought, This is a church,” Suvali recalls. “Hearing the worship songs, I could not control myself: I stepped back and entered into the church.”

Thank you for your prayers and gifts that give our family in Asia the chance to live fully for God.

Ohas and his family are so thankful for a waterproof home, made possible by a gift of tin sheets.

Ohas had taken on extra work in the coal mines to take care of his family. He had a job in cultivation, but he needed to earn more to buy the tin sheets his bamboo house desperately needed.

The hay roof it currently had didn’t protect him and his family. When it rained, the roof leaked. When it was windy, the hay blew away. It seemed Ohas had to repair the roof every year, so he and his wife agreed: They needed sturdy tin sheets to protect their home and their children from further hardships.

But working in the coal mines didn’t provide as much as Ohas had hoped. Even with all of his hard labor, the tin sheets were never within reach.

One year, during an exceptionally windy season, a storm demolished Ohas’ bamboo house. It was irreparable. He and his wife quickly made a temporary shelter of plastic coverings and prayed God would provide—and He did!

Through donors’ generous giving, a Gospel for Asia-supported pastor was able to provide Ohas’ family with tin sheets to make a beautiful, sturdy home. For the first time in a long time, Ohas, his wife and their children could sleep peacefully, not fearing what any rain or wind could do to their new home.

Even with young children, Gospel For Asia-supported pastors, such as Chetan and the one pictured here, are willing to go wherever the Lord leads them in order to share His love where no one else has.

As Chetan, his wife and their two children settled into their new home, he wondered how the Lord was going to use them in this village. There was no one familiar here—no relatives, no close friends. Still, the Gospel for Asia-supported pastor knew God hadn’t left them alone, even when there seemed to be no answer at first. Chetan and his wife began fasting every Friday, seeking the Lord together and praying for open doors.

One day, a woman named Maghi came to them with sadness in her eyes. She poured out her heart with bitter tears as she described the daily beatings she received from her alcoholic husband. She had no peace and no place to find refuge. Chetan and his wife talked with Maghi and comforted her in her pain. They told her about the Deliverer—the One who heals the deepest scars and redeems the worst of circumstances.

Freed from Alcoholism in Three Days

Then for three days, Chetan and his wife prayed and fasted, asking the Lord to deliver Maghi’s family. On the third day, God worked a miracle: Maghi’s husband stopped drinking alcohol! The family started attending church and found joy in the truth of God’s redemption.

When other people heard about Maghi’s testimony, they started to attend worship services in Pastor Chetan’s home. Many who came in search of healing and deliverance found it in the name of Jesus, like Jasveer, a man who suffered from severe asthma for years until God healed him in response to Chetan’s prayers.

Ten years after Chetan’s family moved to the unfamiliar village, the pastor leads a growing fellowship that prays and sings praises to the Lord together. Time and time again, Chetan and his family have seen God’s faithfulness, even through small beginnings.

The following testimony is given by a 2014 Bridge of Hope graduate named Advik.

Many impoverished parents grieve that they are unable to supply their children with the necessary supplies to go to school—and to gain a brighter future. Bridge of Hope meets these needs for thousands of children.

When I was at the right age to begin schooling, my parents could not get an admission for me into a good school due to financial problems. Though I was the only son in the family, my father was unable to send me to a government school because I did not have a uniform, schoolbag or any of the other things necessary for my schooling. We don’t have a good house. The house we live in is made of bamboo and has a thatched roof. When any guest comes to our house, we have to [borrow] chairs from our neighbors. When the rainfall comes, we have to go to my grandparents’ house. …

Advik, 2009

My mother was so worried about my schooling and was praying to God for my good schooling. God answered her prayers, and the news came to my father that there was going to be an [educational] center in our village. My father wanted me to enroll in the center, but I was not willing to join. I wanted to help my parents, but my father enrolled my name in Bridge of Hope on August 1, 2005.

Beyond His Expectations

Like the other schoolgoing children, I thought Bridge of Hope [would be] like the other schools and would be a boring school. Soon, after two to three days, I began to have an interest in attending the classes every day. I liked the classes because the teachers taught us from books, but they also taught us songs, stories and discipline. Apart from this, I received a schoolbag, notebooks, a pencil and hygiene supplies, which my father couldn’t afford. All of these things helped me a lot in my schooling. When I saw other children with good clothes and schoolbags, I would cry inside because my father couldn’t afford those things, but Bridge of Hope gave me all of those things.

As children begin to attend Bridge of Hope, they discover that learning and participating can be great fun, inspiring them to listen and invest in their studies.

A God-given Opportunity

When I see my past, I know I wouldn’t have been able to continue my studies without the help of Bridge of Hope. I am really thankful to God for giving me an opportunity to enroll my name in the Bridge of Hope center. My teachers worked hard for us students to be able to build lives. … I passed [high school] and joined studies for a Bachelor of Arts degree. It’s only because of Bridge of Hope that I am able to continue my studies. I am sincerely thankful to my teachers, parents and friends for their support and prayers.

Even though I and [other] children like me have already graduated from Bridge of Hope, I can’t forget the good things Bridge of Hope has done in my life. I will always remember all that my teachers and Bridge of Hope have done [for me]. If I get an opportunity in my life to serve, I will definitely join the Bridge of Hope so I can help many other Adviks—those who are like me. I am so very thankful to my sponsor.

Advik, 2012

Advik is just one of thousands of children in Asia who have been blessed by Bridge of Hope since it began in 2004. Thank you for helping others find real, eternal joy through your prayers and donations to different Gospel for Asia-supported ministries. You are a blessing!

Ujendra and his family

Ujendra rounded up the goats and cows after they had grazed, leading them back to their homes with a wooden stick. Villagers hired him to care for their livestock, even though he didn’t have any of his own.

At the end of the day, the amount of pay Ujendra received for his work was insufficient to provide for the needs of his wife and five children. He had to make sure they had a home to live in, food to eat and decent clothes to wear. Two of his children were old enough to attend school, so Ujendra had to stretch his income to also provide for their tuition and the notebooks, uniforms and supplies needed to keep attending—or his children would have to drop out.

Herding the villagers’ goats and cows didn’t always take care of his family’s essential needs, but it was Ujendra’s job, and he made the most of it.

A Gift for This Life and the Next

A few years ago, Ujendra learned to trust the Good Shepherd for his and his family’s survival. He had discovered the depths of God’s love while watching a movie about Jesus, which was hosted by a Gospel for Asia-supported film team. The movie touched Ujendra’s heart, and that night he was adopted into the family of God.

The next year, when his pastor, Gospel for Asia-supported pastor Patoj, saw the family’s financial condition and their great need, he requested a pair of goats be given to Ujendra at a Christmas gift distribution.

Above: At a Christmas gift distribution, Pastor Patoj (right) arranged for Ujendra to receive a pair of goats. Now those goats have multiplied to 14! (see photo below)

Within six years, that pair of goats increased to 14! Now Ujendra is making enough to take care of his family well by herding both the villagers’ livestock and his own. Seeing God’s people care for those in need also helped the community understand the Good Shepherd’s love, and now 65 people have received hope for eternity.

Thank you for helping struggling families overcome their poverty through your prayers and support.

Raised in a hostile environment, Raashi was touched by the kindness and care of the Women’s Fellowship team.

Born into a slum, Raashi knew no other life besides the one lived in a shanty with no private rooms, electricity or toilets. Her father and mother joined the other 29 families of the slum in picking through the garbage piles, collecting trash to sell. It was their source of livelihood. As Raashi grew older, the vices of slum life clawed at her. Under a neighbor’s influence, she began drinking and pursuing worldly desires that gave her momentary joy. She did what was right in her own eyes, while her family struggled under the heavy weight of poverty.

Seeing God’s Love in Action

Then a local Gospel for Asia-supported Women’s Fellowship group began to visit Raashi’s community. The group of women spent time getting to know the ladies of the slum and loving their children. They even taught about proper hygiene so the ladies and their families could stay healthy.

Raashi, 20, was especially moved by the Women’s Fellowship’s genuine love and care for her and the people in her community.

“[People] don’t even come near to us because they feel that we are dirty and smelly,” she said. “But you people are coming to us, talking lovingly and carrying our children. Really, it impressed me a lot, and I do see that Jesus loves us through you.”

Whenever the Women’s Fellowship group came to visit, Raashi spent time with them, learning of and being comforted by God’s Word. The seeds of Christ’s love took CURRENT_USER deep in her heart, and now she experiences the joy of eternal peace.

Today, Raashi and 11 other ladies attend a small fellowship in their slum, where they can grow in the knowledge of God.

The stories in this issue of Harvest are just a tiny glimpse of the Lord’s mercy and grace as He reveals Himself to the weary and oppressed.

Time and time again we see God is faithful to those who cry out to Him in their time of need, and often He uses normal people like you and me to point others toward Himself.

Raashi once carried heavy burdens, but now finds rest in her Heavenly Father. Ujendra and Maghi know how much Jesus loves them and are choosing to walk with Him—but how would this have been possible if they had never heard about the Lamb of God before? What if no one ever told them about His love?

You know, whether you support the work of national missionaries, give gifts through our Christmas Gift Catalog or have committed a specific area of Gospel for Asia’s ministry to prayer, you are doing it for the Lord and for our brothers and sisters who have devoted their lives to bring others real joy. You are the answer to the question the apostle Paul raises in Romans 10:15: “How shall they preach unless they are sent?” You have made it possible for these men and women to bring “glad tidings of good things” to those who once didn’t know hope existed.

On behalf of our brothers and sisters in Asia, I want to say thank you—your prayers and your partnership with Gospel for Asia provide them with the ability and the opportunity to give others a reason for the hope we have in Jesus. I pray this issue of Harvest has blessed you, encouraged you and shown you the power of our mighty God. May the Lord bless you as you serve Him.