Rejoice!

For 50 years, Adrian had struggled to get safe drinking water. Although his village was located near the Sri Lankan rainforest, villagers often traveled half a mile to get water. Worse, the streams they relied on were open to dangerous contaminants—such as animal waste—and became very muddy during the rainy seasons.

“The Jesus Well has been a great relief...” — Adrian

When the rains came, Adrian had to carefully filter his water: letting it settle, straining it and boiling it to make it drinkable. With such careful measures, Adrian and his family avoided waterborne illness, but others in the area had suffered from liver problems, fevers and even cholera. And that was only half the problem.

The other half of the water problem started when the rains stopped. As the dry season progressed, streams dried up, sometimes forcing Adrian and others to dig for water.

Trying to find a solution, Adrian and some other villagers built a bamboo pipeline to bring water from higher up the mountain to an accessible place near his house. That solved the distance issue, but the water was still open to contaminants. In addition, the pipeline couldn’t reach everyone in need. Many people in his village still spent half a day fetching water—forcing them to forfeit part of their day’s wages.

With this overwhelming need in mind, Adrian started petitioning for a clean, reliable water source for his village. A government leader who was aware of GFA’s work in other communities took up Adrian’s cause and connected with a GFA pastor. Since there were no churches or believers in Adrian’s village, a group of GFA pastors traveled to the area to assess the situation and see how they could help. In the past, Adrian’s community had looked on Christians with suspicion and even hostility. But now, the pastors, government officials and villagers worked together to determine a solution. 

Thank you for helping people like Adrian (pictured) experience Christ’s compassion!

About four months later, thanks to partners like you, the church set up a safe, accessible water source for Adrian’s entire village.

“This is a very sacred thing, an act of kindness,” Adrian said about the water system. “When the [pastor] came to the village, he did not ask any of us whether [we] are Christians. … He was asking only what is the need of this village. … So, for a [church leader] to come from a far-off place and do such a thing, they have to have a real heart of compassion.”

Adrian and his village experienced that “heart of compassion” because of people like you partnering with missionaries on the ground to meet practical needs. Now, the village’s drinking water runs clear, even in the rainy season, and it is protected from contamination. Because of this Jesus Well project, Adrian’s village welcomes our brothers and sisters, providing opportunities to share more about the Living Water in the days to come!

Bishop Daniel

 I often heard my father say, “People need hope. If they just have some hope, they can find the strength to keep going.”

Do you remember the woman in the Bible who was sick for 18 years with an infirmity that prevented her from standing upright? She suffered and struggled, bent over, for nearly two decades without finding a cure. I can’t imagine, after all the pain and discouragement she went through, that she had any hope of recovery left. Yet all that changed when Jesus saw her in the synagogue. He called her over, laid His hands on her and healed her. Scripture tells us that immediately she was made straight again, and she glorified God.

 This dear woman reminds me of the millions of people who have never heard about God’s love. Like her, they have no hope in this life to find help for their struggles, sicknesses and poverty. Many have no hope for eternity because they don’t know the Savior. But all their despair and hopelessness can turn to joy when someone tells them about Jesus.

Every week, I hear or read reports from our mission fields—stories of people suffering, with no hope and no way forward. Then one of our national missionaries comes to visit, prays for their needs and shows them the love of Christ. This life-giving hope changes everything for them. Some, like Kalia’s son, experience physical healing. Others, like Adrian, learn that God loves them and sees them. Many are just hearing of Christ for the first time. All of them are receiving one thing: a reason to hope.

As this year continues, I pray that the Lord will use the things you read in Rejoice! to encourage your heart. Thank you for all the ways you partner with us to reach those suffering without Christ in Africa and Asia. Every day, lives are being changed, and people are receiving the hope that is Christ.

God be with you and bless you.

For those who still wait to hear,
Bishop Daniel

Take a Deeper Look

September 9-17, 2024
Floods devastated an area where GFA missionaries serve, affecting more than 350,000 people. Missionaries reported seeing parents walk around dazed, children in their arms, with nowhere to go. The missionaries helped more than 1,100 people by providing food, medical kits and prayer.

64 Women Receive Medical Check-Ups
GFA missionaries held a one-day medical camp for 64 women who lack access to health care. The women received education on female health issues, along with a check-up and basic medication.

Kigali, Rwanda
On September 21, 40 believers went on an outreach to bring the Gospel to people in 15 villages. After dividing into teams, they met people in markets, public places and homes, listened to their concerns, prayed and distributed Gospel tracts.

In just one day, the believers met 350 families and distributed 1,800 tracts.

September 20, 2024
At a new child sponsorship project in Rwanda, 750 parents gathered to hear about the program’s potential impact on their children’s lives and how the program works. Parents were encouraged to live lives dedicated to God’s Word and prayer. They left with renewed hope for their children.

27 Mothers Learn to Read
In a slum where hundreds of families live crammed together in unsanitary, often makeshift quarters, we started a free tutoring program for 20 children. In addition, the local Women’s Fellowship opened a literacy class for 27 of the mothers. “I thank the sisters who came and taught us to read and write,” said Sabelle.

Sharing Gospel literature is still a very effective way to communicate the Good News!

When Pastor Savion and his family arrived in their new community, there were few, if any, believers. Savion had been out of Bible college for about a year and had already served two other communities before coming to this one. Now, Pastor Savion drew on those experiences with the Lord as he shared Jesus with his new neighbors and prayed for the sick.

Within a month, a small group of new believers gathered in a home to worship every Sunday. But Pastor Savion did not limit his ministry to his own village. There were hurting people in the neighboring village, too—it had no church, and the villagers were opposed to Jesus. Pastor Savion and his wife started bringing Christ’s message of hope to the village next door. Some people argued with him, but Pastor Savion continued to talk with anyone who wanted to hear more.

During one visit, Pastor Savion and his wife met Kalia, a 60-year-old woman who was eager to talk. “Jesus Christ has shed His blood on the cross for our sins,” Pastor Savion shared, and he gave Kalia a piece of Gospel literature to read.

 Through Pastor Savion’s words and the little pamphlet, Kalia heard God speaking to her. She believed in this Jesus. That day, she asked the pastor to pray for her family. Pastor Savion obliged, and he invited Kalia and her whole family to attend worship services in his village.

The very next Sunday, Kalia came to church. During the service, she asked the congregation to pray for her eldest son, who was suffering from a high fever. The believers prayed earnestly, and that week, Pastor Savion followed up with the family continually, visiting them and praying for them. Through their prayers, Kalia’s son was completely healed!

 The next week at church, Kalia praised the Lord. “I am thankful to God for healing my son,” she said. “I believe that there is only one God, and He healed my son. I trust Him fully now. We as a family will follow Him in our life.”

Because of this healing, Kalia, her older son and his wife trusted in Jesus and began regularly attending Pastor Savion’s church. And it’s not just Kalia and her family. As you partner with and equip missionaries like Savion, God is redeeming lives like Kalia’s across Africa and Asia. Thank you for sharing Christ with the village next door!

Sylas (pictured) and his entire family are experiencing the Lord’s compassion through the child sponsorship program.

Ivone and Flore loved their nine children, and it broke their hearts to watch them growing weaker and more malnourished by the day. In their Rwandan village, the couple worked tirelessly to earn income, but they couldn’t afford everything their children needed. The kids often went to bed hungry. Was there any hope for them to escape the cycle of need?

When local GFA workers learned about the family’s suffering, they enrolled one of the children, 8-year-old Sylas, into GFA World’s Child Sponsorship Program—and the entire family benefited. Child sponsorship provided them with health insurance, so the children got needed medical care. Plus, once a month, Sylas brought home a package of food to share with the family. Soon, the nine children grew healthier and stronger.

Soon, the nine children grew healthier and stronger.

Meanwhile, Sylas is forming his character as he listens to Bible lessons at program activities, and his parents are learning and growing, too. They’ve joined the Family Forum, a program for child sponsorship families to support one another and gain practical tools, such as financial guidance and parenting tips. Ivone, Flore and their kids also receive regular visits from child sponsorship staff, who encourage and pray for them.

Not only is this family of 11 growing healthier and stronger, but they are finding hope in God’s love and provision. Thank you for sharing this hope with families like theirs!

Jessica and Scott (pictured) consider generosity a joy.

Jessica and Scott, longtime GFA partners, believe in giving openhandedly.

 “We’re not holding onto our giving as trophies that we’re proud of,” Jessica says. “We just move on to the next thing. … We’re in a hurry to be generous.”

Jessica remembers where her race to be generous started: a chicken bone. When she was 19, her pastor likened budgeting choices to eating a drumstick—one bite for rent, a chunk for utilities—until only the bone was left. “Do you think God wants that?” he asked. From then on, Jessica prioritized giving to the Lord first.

A few years later, after reading Revolution in World Missions, Jessica began sponsoring a missionary and a child. She later married Scott. Together, they’ve given faithfully through the years and even funded a church building in Asia.

“It feels amazing to realize we could contribute to building a church. … It was a top moment for me,” Jessica says.

After a 16-year career, Jessica’s main job now is caring for their two children. For a mom of young kids, routines are always changing, but one thing hasn’t.

“Giving is the one thing that’s a constant,” Jessica says, “It keeps increasing each year.”

“It feels amazing to realize we could contribute to building a church.” — Jessica

Jessica finds joy in giving, whether it’s to GFA, her church or a person on the street.

“I have never once regretted being generous,” she says, “whether that’s to a charity, to a person. … To know that you had a positive impact on someone else, it brings you so much joy.”

Each December, GFA missionaries fill their calendars with Christmas outreach programs and gift distributions, sharing the love of Christ in word and deed. And you, their partners, help provide the resources they need through your Christmas catalog gifts. Each year, your generosity provides more than 100,000 families with the means to break the cycle of poverty, provide for their children and hear about the incarnation of our Savior. The most popular Christmas catalog item is chickens! In 2024, faithful partners like you provided enough funds for more than 12,000 chickens!

Thank You! 
What a privilege we have to partner with the Almighty God of the universe in His work of redemption and reconciliation! We are so grateful to be on this journey with you. One day, we will all see the fruit of our sacrifices, prayers and faith represented by untold numbers of souls in Heaven. May the Lord bless you and fill you with faith, hope and love as you continue to walk with Him! —Your GFA Family

K.P. Yohannan (Metropolitan Yohan)

Let me ask you: Why are you doing what you do? What is it all for?

 I’ll tell you about a village. I had never heard anything like it. Someone was healed and set free—and then 50 families found hope in Christ! But after choosing to follow Him, they were rounded up and driven out of the village. Old men, old women, many who could hardly walk, little kids, pregnant women—they marched out of the village into the jungle rather than deny Christ.

In my mind’s eye, I thought about the suffering they must have gone through. These brand-new believers, with no biblical training, walking away from everything they had ever known. What gave them the strength to do something like that?

They saw Him who is invisible more visibly and tangibly than some of us with all our theological training, Bible study and missions experience.

 Our hope and our life are in seeing Jesus. Paul saw that, too. It’s why he could tell the Philippians he had renounced everything in his life for one purpose only: “that I may know Him.”

Christ’s call remains fresh and real: “Come, follow Me.” His footsteps will take us to the hopeless, the suffering, the dying millions, but it will never be a burden for us because we are simply following Jesus. It is all for Him.