GFA workers devote much of their time to praying for and sharing the message of Christ’s grace with people, especially women in their communities who face challenges they can’t overcome alone.

Sevita pressed the back of her hand to her daughter’s damp, burning forehead. The anxious mother hesitated for a moment before she moved to get help.

Burdens Pile on Sevita

Sevita, still grieving from her husband’s death nine months before, grew frightened at her 12-year-old daughter’s declining health.

One day, Dhitha, Sevita’s daughter, collapsed. Then, before three months had passed, she collapsed again.

After Dhitha’s first epileptic attack, Sevita immediately sought medical attention and received medication for her daughter, but the seizures continued.

As Sevita looked for ways to help, she thought about her neighbour, who was friends with two GFA workers. Sevita had met the women many times but had never condescended to give them attention. But the day Dhitha lay ravaged by fever, Sevita laid down her objections and begged her neighbour to call the women to come pray for her daughter.

Prayers Heal More Than Fever

Sevita opened the door to GFA workers Kuntala and Rabia as soon as they arrived. The women rushed to the child and asked Jesus to heal the girl. They rubbed oil on Dhitha’s head and gave her a glass of water to drink. Kuntala and Rabia prayed over every action, asking Jesus to have mercy on this family. Dhitha’s fever lessened before the women left, and after three days, her fever vanished. Relief flooded over Sevita.

Grateful for the women's’ help in her time of crisis, Sevita invited Kuntala and Rabia to her home every week for prayer.

As time went on, Sevita noticed Dhitha had not had a seizure since before her fever. Jesus had cured not only Dhitha’s fever, but also her epilepsy! Amazed at the miraculous healing, Sevita gave her heart to Jesus, knowing He saved her child. Now she casts all her burdens onto the Lord, who promised to carry them for her.

Women missionaries build relationships with women by regularly visiting their homes, listening to their hosts’ concerns and praying together as the Lord leads them.

Rupak opened his front door wide to let in the three brightly dressed women. Wanting to honour his guests, Rupak quickly retrieved three chairs for the visitors.

Rupak stationed himself close to his wife and asked the women about themselves. “What are your names? Where do you come from? What do you do?” As the women responded, his expression slowly changed.

“Do not sit in our chairs!” Rupak spat out, face hardened. “Do not come into our home again!”

Saesha, Rupak’s wife, looked after the women as they hurried out the door. God had healed her through these women’s prayers, and she desperately wanted to know more about this God.

Open Doors, Closed Doors

Two weeks earlier, the three GFA-supported national workers met Saesha while she was sick with typhoid and malaria. Wanting to bring Saesha comfort, the women offered to pray for her. At first, she was nervous they were going to cast a spell on her, but when the women explained they would pray in Jesus’ name, Saesha accepted their prayers.

Later, when the women came back to see how Saesha was doing, her husband was waiting with her to thank the women whose prayers had brought healing to his wife. His gratitude quickly turned to anger, though, when he found out what God they served.

After Rupak kicked the women out of his home, they continued to see Saesha, faithfully ministering to her. She invited the women to her home on Fridays while her husband was at work, and Saesha grew in her knowledge of Jesus.

But, one Friday, the women arrived at Saesha’s home to find Rupak waiting for them. He scolded and threatened the ladies and banned them from ever coming to his house again.

Change of Circumstances Causes Change of Heart

For the next two months, the three women prayed faithfully for Saesha but did not attempt to visit her again. They also prayed for Rupak.

Meanwhile, Saesha fell sick again, pain racking her abdomen. Rupak took her to the doctor, who said his wife needed an expensive surgery. Rupak didn’t know what to do: He could never afford the surgery. Saesha implored her husband to call the sisters whose prayers God had answered once before.

Rupak did not hesitate. Desperation for his wife’s healing eclipsed his prejudice toward Christians.

Rupak searched for the women whom he had once wished to never see again. When he finally found the village where they lived, he begged them for forgiveness and asked them to come pray for his wife. The three women left with Rupak, praising God in their hearts. He was already answering their prayers for this family, and they were confident He wasn’t going to stop now.

Afterward, the women missionaries came to Rupak and Saesha’s home every Friday to fast and pray. After one month, Saesha’s pain disappeared. She went back to the doctor, who gave her an ultrasound—and declared her completely healthy.

Women missionaries build relationships with women by regularly visiting their homes, listening to their hosts’ concerns and praying together as the Lord leads them.

The three women continue to meet at Saesha’s home every Friday, praying with her and a few others from the village. While Rupak does not attend the prayer meeting, he has become a fierce defender of the sisters.

“If anyone opposes you here in the village, I will stand for you,” Rupak declares.

GFA-supported workers minister to young and old alike in the villages where they serve.

Myia Win, a GFA-supported worker, grew up in a Christian home, attended Bible college, and made the bold step to share Christ’s love in a village having only a few believers. In her younger years, she also surrounded herself with people who didn’t know Jesus—but for a very different reason.

Myia’s parents imparted Christian values to her and her siblings, but as a teenager, Myia preferred to spend time with friends who didn’t share those values. Myia went to church, as her parents asked, but she didn’t have a relationship with Jesus. She was CURRENT_USERless—until the day she heard a Christian worker share the message of God’s grace. That’s when she chose to follow Jesus.

After choosing to pursue a relationship with Jesus, Myia joined a Bible college to learn more about Him and later began serving a local congregation as a GFA-supported national worker. That’s when she met Cho Yon—a young woman who desperately needed the purpose Myia had finally found.

GFA-supported workers minister to young and old alike in the villages where they serve.

Teen Gains Friendship, Hope

Cho was adrift, as Myia had once been. But while Myia had lost her way by ignoring the wisdom of her Christ-following parents, Cho and her siblings had grown up in confusion. Their father worshiped Christ, but their mother devoutly followed a different religion. Cho and her siblings never knew what to believe.

Then tragedy struck. When Cho was in seventh grade, her father died, throwing the already-impoverished family into greater hardship. A year later, Cho’s mother remarried and abandoned her children.

Cho’s aunt took in the newly abandoned children. This aunt, a believer who attended the church where Myia ministered, encouraged Cho and her siblings to join her for worship services. The children also started going to the Youth Fellowship and Sunday school meetings Myia organized.

As Cho heard Myia share about Jesus and His grace, the cloud of confusion lifted from Cho’s heart. She realized God was showing His love to her through her aunt, and she thanked Him. Wanting to know Him more, Cho sought counsel from Myia. Cho eventually decided to trust in the Lord, who would never leave or forsake her.

Because Myia chose to tell others about the anchor she found in Jesus, Cho discovered lasting hope. Now, amidst life’s uncertainties, Cho can stand firmly with Christ as her solid rock and sure foundation.

Many women in remote places work manual labour jobs since their childhood to provide for their families.

Saci’s life was not easy. As a girl, she forwent an education in order to work alongside her parents as a labourer in the tea gardens. With the little money she earned, she helped ease the financial burden of her parents.

Saci eventually married and had four daughters, but her struggles just increased. Her husband abused her, often coming home drunk and picking fights with Saci. Then, one day, he left the village to start a new life with another woman, abandoning Saci and their four children.

After her husband left, Saci lived with the shame widows often bear in her region. Many women in remote places are seen as the cause of their own misfortune, and they are ostracized from society. The added responsibility of caring for their four daughters by herself rested heavily on her shoulders. She worked hard in the tea gardens to provide for her and her daughters because there was no one else to take care of them. The community did not show any compassion for her difficult situation.

Two Widows’ Lives Intersect

In Saci’s village lived another widow, Latha, a GFA-supported worker. Latha would often visit Saci to support and encourage the abandoned woman. Although Saci welcomed Latha into her home, she was not interested in hearing about the One Latha served. Saci was devout in her traditional religious practices. But one day, something changed.

Saci’s sister-in-law was afflicted by an evil spirit. She heard strange whispers in her ears and became very distraught. Latha heard about the girl’s distress and went to pray for her relief. After Latha prayed in Jesus’ name, the troubled girl was delivered from the evil spirit. Saci knew that it was the power of Jesus that helped her sister-in-law—and something shifted inside her.

Shortly after that, Saci got sick, and she immediately went to Sister Latha to share about her illness. Latha encouraged her friend to trust Jesus to heal her. Saci’s faith grew little by little. As the believers prayed for Saci’s health, she felt a peace that had never been there before. Her heart was comforted as she experienced the care and concern of these followers of Jesus. She was blessed even further at a gift distribution organized by the local church where she received a cow, which eased her financial burden.

Many women in remote places work manual labour jobs since their childhood to provide for their families.

Love Relieves the Burdens of the Heart

Saci, now healed in body and spirit, attends services regularly at the local church and tithes a portion of the milk she receives from her cow. She has embraced the love of Jesus and publicly testified of her faith. The love of Jesus, which was so tangibly displayed through the prayers of Sister Latha and the local church, has given Saci’s life new hope and purpose.

Because Hansini chose to protect the life of her ill son, her husband abandoned her. Now providing for her family alone, she found great comfort when she learned Jesus values her and her son.

Hansini looked incredulously at her husband. How could he want to kill their infant son? She refused to support his decision, which only caused more tension in the house and in their marriage.

Joy Turned to Sorrow

Hansini married Gautam when she was only 14, and their family grew to include two daughters. Hansini and Gautam both worked as labourers, but income was scarce, especially when Gautam squandered all his earnings on alcohol. His addiction caused many problems at home, and he abused Hansini.

Finally, Hansini found some relief after she bore Gautam a son. The delighted family named him Alhad, which means “joy”. Gautam’s behaviour changed substantially, and he began to care for his wife and children.

But that joy was soon endangered—and so was Alhad. A year passed, and their beloved baby had not grown properly or learned even to sit. A doctor visit produced a shocking diagnosis: Alhad had a hole in his heart. Unable to afford the needed surgery, the family returned home.

The Cost of Love

Soon, Gautam announced he wanted to kill Alhad because there was no way to heal him. Hansini courageously opposed him. The tension in the home built. Finally, Gautam gave her an ultimatum: “You have to throw your son somewhere; otherwise I am not going to stay with you.”

Hansini sternly told her husband that at any cost, she would not kill her son.

After that, Gautam disappeared. Abandoned, Hansini struggled to care for her children. Each day, she faced the consequences of her decision to protect her son. But God, rich in mercy, sent some women missionaries to her to affirm His love for her and her son.

Jesus Loves the Little Children

One day, two GFA-supported Sisters of Compassion came to Hansini’s home. Hansini sensed she could trust these new friends, and she shared openly about her problems. Alhad was now 4 years old, and he still had not grown stronger.

The sisters comforted Hansini and reassured her of Jesus’ love for her and her child. Words from Scripture brought Hansini hope that one day, her son would be healed by Christ.

She asked the women to come to her home regularly to pray for Alhad, and she joined them in faith.

The Sisters of Compassion continued investing in Hansini’s life and in the lives of many others in her area. They visited Hansini every week to keep encouraging her and to worship Jesus together.

Although she is still without her husband, Hansini has discovered the One who never leaves us nor forsakes us. She has hope for her son and holds the knowledge that her Maker loves her.

Tragically, many women are abandoned by their husbands. These women endure many hardships and live much like widows. Thank you for enabling women missionaries to minister to women like Hansini!

Frigid temperatures and harsh climates can’t stop Jesus’ love from flowing out of national pastors. But a simple gift of a blanket helps the “hands and feet of Christ” stay warm and protected so they can minister to people around them!

Following are a couple of stories highlighting various tools given to GFA-supported workers, which equip them for ministry where God has called them to serve. Tools like winter clothing and film equipment are crucial for thriving ministries in bringing the hope of Christ to people. Through faithful donors, these stories are made possible.

More than Winter Comfort

It was Christmas in 2008. Pastor Etash shivered as he stood underneath the roof of a cow shed. A group of Sunday School children was about to arrive. This was his first Christmas in the village where God had called him to serve.

The cold weather didn’t stop Etash from doing the work the Lord had given him to do. In this region, where even the summertime nights call for a blanket to keep warm, the winters can become fierce and harsh.

But over the years, as Etash has served faithfully in this frigid village, he has been blessed with a simple gift that keeps him effective in serving the Lord: a blanket. Because of giving donors like you, Etash has been able to be the hands and feet of Christ to those around him all year round.

Today, Pastor Etash has a beautiful church building replacing the humble cow shed he used for worship gatherings. The Lord has blessed his endurance, and fruit has come from his committed labour.

Some Receive, Others Reject

Frigid temperatures and harsh climates can’t stop Jesus’ love from flowing out of national pastors. But a simple gift of a blanket helps the “hands and feet of Christ” stay warm and protected so they can minister to people around them!

Film teams are far more than simple projectors, screens and labourers. Film teams are all about demonstrating the hope of Jesus to the hopeless through tools that help bring the reality of Christ to life.

Often a simple film about Jesus can impact an entire village. After a film showing, teams are able to direct the crowd to the local pastor, which helps open the door for him to build new relationships in his area of ministry.

One film team, led by GFA-supported worker Citrya, has experienced a lot in its members’ years of ministry. Here is a peak at what happened in two villages they visited over the span of one month.

Welcomed and Received

In one village the film team was welcomed with open arms as a group of 160 villagers gathered to watch the movies they had brought. After the show, three youth asked the local pastor, who had invited the film team to come to his village, to tell them more about Jesus. As a result of this showing, the pastor was able to conduct a prayer meeting, and many seeds of hope were planted in the villagers’ hearts.

Drunken Disruptions

In another village a few days after this event, the film team began a screening that was kindly hosted in a villager’s home. However, as the film was still going on, a few intoxicated men disrupted the gathering of 50 people. They shouted and told the national team to stop the film.

In faith, the brothers continued the film, but the drunken men responded by throwing stones at them from a distance. The owner of the house told the agitators to stop.

“This film show is conducted according to my will,” he said. “If you are not willing to watch, then go. Why are you disturbing others?”

The men quit opposing the film team, but they had caused enough distraction to keep people from openly receiving the truth of Christ.

Citrya and the other film team members know that even when things don’t go as hoped, God is still at work! And they, too, will continue their work.

Thank you for being part of seeing more people come to understand the love of Jesus, the risen Lord, in villages such as these.

Fulmala’s young hands swept floors, laundered clothes and washed dishes.

Young hands of a child that should have been playing. Young hands that should have been learning. Young hands that carried home meager wages day after day, night after night, year after year—wages Fulmala couldn’t even count.

As darkness fell once more, she made her way home through the twisted maze of shanties to the one she called home, slipping past piles of rubbish and streams of refuse along her way.

She didn’t know how to hope for a better future.

Teen Struggles in Silence

Through the years, Fulmala, now late in her teens, slowly grew accustomed to the monotonous rhythms of poverty.

Tears still slipped down her cheeks at night because of her loneliness. Her mother, brother and father all worked as hard as she, but they still couldn’t escape their poor condition. They hadn’t even been able to send Fulmala to school. Her father took to drinking at nights in an effort to relieve his own pain, adding yet another burden to their already difficult lives.

The familiarity of poverty, perpetuated by the lack of education, continued unabated, until the day a few women dressed in white quietly slipped into Fulmala’s slum. Like the first flowers of spring, a soothing balm of peace in the midst of a world of pain and shame, the Sisters of Compassion came.

Compassionate Sisters Start Literacy Class

When the sisters showed up at Fulmala’s front door and invited her to attend literacy classes, joy blossomed within her heart. Fulmala eagerly gathered with others in her community, women who, like her, couldn’t even write their own names, read warnings on labels or verify their wages.

One night out of every week, Fulmala’s hands—hands that were not as young as most first-time students’ but were just as eager—raced from her labour to grasp the stub of chalk and learn the skill she had been denied in her childhood.

As the indecipherable characters of her mother tongue expanded to take on meaning in her mind, Fulmala’s joy expanded with them. A new kind of joy also grew in her heart, one that couldn’t be explained in so many words.

Witnessing the conduct of the GFA-supported Sisters of Compassion, the kind women who had brought the aroma of grace into her life, Fulmala realized there was yet still more joy to be grasped, a joy she observed in these sisters and was eager to learn more about.

Learning of the One Who Loves Her

Fulmala’s heart learned to hope before her classes ever finished. Tears don’t fall down her cheeks nearly as often as they once did. Every day, her eyes search out the Scriptures, deciphering one character, one word at a time, a daily verse to sustain her.

“As an uneducated person,” Fulmala shares, “I was ashamed of myself. I never imagined that I would be able to read and even to write my own name. But these classes help me to think positively, and I am sure that I will become a real blessing to my family.”

Fulmala found that Jesus loves her and hears her prayers. One of the first prayers He answered was her plea for a better job.

Fulmala’s heart has been swept clean. New clothes are waiting for her, radiant and white in the kingdom to come. All this has been done by the One with the nail-scarred hands—Jesus.

Sadly, suicide rates are extremely high among women in some parts of Asia. But as women like Saneh (not pictured) discover their worth in Christ, they find a reason to keep living.

Saneh had endured her stepmother’s scoldings and her father’s punishment every day for many years. The harsh treatment at home made it difficult for her to function at school and around others. She had no friends. Bitterness, loneliness and disappointment filled her life. She didn’t want to live anymore and thought about suicide. When her aunt saw Saneh’s miserable state, she brought her home to live with her, but still Saneh felt hopeless.

Two years later, Saneh had unexpected visitors: a group of women from the local Women’s Fellowship. Saneh heard joyous news from them. As Saneh heard about the love of Jesus, she began to open up about her troubled life. She was encouraged from God’s Word, and the team prayed with her.

Saneh had never heard words like these before. She wanted to hear more and gladly took some of the literature they had with them. As Saneh read about this love she had long been lacking and contemplated what the women had shared, Christ touched her heart.

A week later the women visited her again, and they could see the change on Saneh’s face. She is now smiling and filled with hope—all because she knows that Jesus loves her!

In many Asian cultures, it is considered shameful for a woman to talk to a man whom she is not related to, but a woman can visit with another woman in her home without anyone being called “indecent.” GFA-supported women missionaries are able to minister to women in need and help carry their heavy emotional and spiritual burdens by pointing them to the source of hope: Jesus. Your prayers play a vital part in strengthening these women for the tasks God has given them. We hope you enjoy these short stories.

A Young Girl’s Questions

Fourteen-year-old Naija had heard the name of Jesus, but she didn’t understand who He was; she thought He was just a God for the poor. Naija, along with most people in her family and community, worshipped other gods. That’s why she was confused when she saw people from her own community worshipping Jesus instead.

She wanted to ask someone about Jesus, but she didn’t know whom to talk to. There was no one her age or any one she was familiar with to give her answers.

So Naija was thrilled to meet two GFA-supported women missionaries who answered her questions and explained Christ’s undying love for her. Because of the love of Christ she saw in these two women, Naija now believes in the mercy of the Living God and has the desire to see her family also sitting at the feet of Jesus.

Body and Heart Restored

The first seizure struck sometime after Keva’s wedding day, but more came. They grew more frequent five months into her first pregnancy, and neither medication nor doctors’ instruction did anything to improve her condition. Then Keva met a GFA-supported Women’s Fellowship group, led by a woman named Tapti.

These women conducted a special time of fasting within the local church body, specifically asking God to heal Keva from epilepsy. They visited the young woman regularly to encourage her from the Word of God, and Keva and her husband began to trust in and pray to Jesus.

And God answered their prayers! Keva delivered a healthy baby girl, her body is completely restored, and so is her heart, thanks to the healing love of Jesus and a few women who ministered to her needs.

For the Downcast

Jasu could tell the GFA-supported women missionaries, Riya and Deborah, were different. For two years, she watched their character and was deeply impacted by the loving way they treated the people around them. They spoke often of God’s love when they visited, and sometimes Jasu attended the local worship services.

One day, Jasu told Riya and Deborah how they had encouraged her so much through the years and impacted her life. She told them how their concern and regular visits lifted her when she felt discouraged. They’d helped her know how a woman should be kind and caring toward her family, and they had helped her draw closer to God and seek His blessings for her family. Today, Jasu is sharing in the same love Riya and Deborah first shared with her.

Cancer Gloom Spin

In a matter of months, Sinjini spent all of her money on cancer treatments—there was nothing left. She, her husband and four children didn’t know what to do until they met a GFA-supported woman missionary named Hinda.

When Hinda shared with them from the Bible about the miracles Jesus performed, the family began to hope Sinjini might be healed.

As Hinda visited them, encouraging them with the Word of God and praying fervently for their situation, the Lord healed Sinjini completely! Witnessing this miracle opened their eyes to God’s love, power and grace. Before long, the whole family came to know the Lord personally.

Old Life Off, New Life On

Every morning, Aadita went to temples to offer sacrifices to her gods so they would keep her in good health. But she always found herself sick in bed. When not even the sacrifices of a local religious authority could bring healing to her body, Aadita gave up on the deities she had worshipped for so long.

Then she met a GFA-supported woman missionary named Induja. Filled with Christ’s love for the sick woman, Induja encouraged Aadita often and prayed for her even more. Aadita heard about Jesus, the God who died to rescue people and give them life. When the Lord healed Aadita a few days later, she and her family couldn’t help but love the One who gave her life anew.

Sisters of Compassion in Asia stretch out loving hands to the helpless and downtrodden, ministering to their everyday needs.

Most of 12-year-old Mareechi’s neighbours were poor and uneducated, like him. Many adults worked as labourers, street cleaners or garbage pickers, and some of the children did too. Although some kids could go to school, the majority spent their time roaming the narrow, refuse-filled alleyways, often picking pockets, swiping food and even sneaking into other people’s homes to take from their meagre possessions.

Life in the slum was never easy, never safe and never clean.

Entering the Slum

Many people find themselves in slums when they move to cities in hopes of better wages. Others, like Mareechi, are born into them.

But Sabita, Kala and Kuntal, three Gospel for Asia-supported Sisters of Compassion, travelled to Mareechi’s slum for another reason: They wanted to display the love of their Creator.

They gave people practical advice about health and hygiene. They visited the sick and downtrodden. They held literacy classes to help women who never had a chance to be educated. And they started “Sunday school” classes on Wednesdays and Saturdays to help children like Mareechi discover a better way to spend their idle time. Above all, they prayed for God to touch hearts.

Love and Prayers Heal Mother, Son

During Sunday school, Mareechi didn’t interact with the other students. When Sabita, Kala and Kuntal asked him why, he told them about his health problems. An inexplicable dizziness and nausea often caused him to lose his balance and collapse. The same condition affected his mother, Pehr. Though the family often prayed to their gods and goddesses, and Mareechi’s hard-working father spent far more than the family could afford on doctors’ visits and treatments, neither mother nor son found healing, and their lives remained miserable.

When the Sisters of Compassion found out about Mareechi’s condition, they responded with love and prayer.

After a few months, Mareechi’s mother suddenly realized her son was better. She asked him about it, and he responded, “The sisters prayed to Jesus, and He healed me.”

Overjoyed, Pehr found the three women at church that Sunday and told them what God had done. She came back week after week and started learning more about Jesus. It didn’t take long for Pehr to experience His grace, joy, peace and healing in her life, and she received the gift of becoming a child of the Living God. Her husband, witnessing God’s power in his family’s life, made the same choice.

All this is made possible because God hears the prayers of His children—whether those prayers come from three Sisters of Compassion serving in an Asian slum or from your very own home. Thank you for your prayers for the people of Asia.

Christians and non-Christians alike often seek out a pastor or a national worker to pray for friends and family who have fallen sick.

Every day, our brothers and sisters in Asia are crying out to God on behalf of needy people around them. Interceding for those who have various physical ailments is just one of their prayers. We receive countless stories about God touching people’s lives through prayer, and when He brings healing, it’s often the catalyst for an individual, a family and sometimes an entire community to understand who He is.

Praying from 1–3 a.m.

Haimi couldn’t move the left side of her body. Frequent seizures left her exhausted, and she gradually lost her ability to see. When she took a sudden turn for the worse, her son took her to a hospital, but to no avail. Desperate, he called Gospel for Asia-supported pastor Tapas, who lived in the village.

Pastor Tapas visited Haimi and prayed for her. After his visit, he set a regular time of prayer for her every morning from 1–3 a.m. In answer to these prayers, God healed Haimi of her paralysis and restored her eyesight.

Through this miracle, Haimi and her family found eternal healing in the Great Physician.

Escaping Epilepsy

As a child, Navin, now 24, had wanted to go to school with his friends, but epilepsy and physical weakness often confined him to his bed. His mother decided to borrow money for his treatment, yet his condition only grew worse.

“I . . . prayed to my gods to heal me, but my prayers were never answered,” Navin shares.

Then a Gospel for Asia-supported woman missionary named Heera encouraged the family from the Word of God, prayed for Navin and told them about Jesus’ great love and power to heal. When the Lord healed Navin completely, Navin and his entire family also received everlasting joy and eternal security.

What Money Couldn’t Fix

Ritu and her wealthy husband thought their son was going to die. He couldn’t speak and could barely move. They paid for expensive treatments—money was no object— yet nothing helped 4-year-old Janu. He was slowly wasting away. When a Gospel for Asia-supported pastor named Nilay heard about Ritu’s son, he went to their home to pray for Janu. The hopeful family brought him to Nilay’s church the next morning, where believers were eager to pray for the little boy. The congregation prayed for Janu twice a day for two months, until God answered their pleas. Today, Janu is healthy, and the whole family has found true riches in Christ—something money can’t buy.

Pregnancy Brings Abundant Life

Christians and non-Christians alike often seek out a pastor or a national worker to pray for friends and family who have fallen sick.

Shway Khin and Mya Htet had been married for 13 years, but they still had no children. The treatments doctors prescribed did nothing, so the couple turned to their gods in desperation. Still, nothing happened.

When they asked a Gospel for Asia-supported woman missionary named Hla Shein to pray for a child, however, things began to change. A week later, Mya Htet became pregnant, and the couple asked Hla Shein to tell them more about her Saviour. As a result, today this happy family knows and loves Jesus—the God of mercy who answered their cry.

6-Year-Old Couldn’t Walk

Christians and non-Christians alike often seek out a pastor or a national worker to pray for friends and family who have fallen sick.

Stuck suddenly with paralysis, little Babita hadn’t walked for five months. Every day, her mother sacrificed hens, money, fruit—anything the witch doctors asked—seeking healing from her gods, but Babita never improved. Then one day, the distraught mother contacted a local Gospel for Asia-supported pastor named Pratap and told him about their situation. He came to her home and prayed for her little girl, and three days later, Babita began to show improvement. The congregation Pastor Pratap led also prayed for her. Seeing her daughter’s health progress, her mother began to pray, too. When God healed Babita completely in a single week, Babita’s entire family found hope in Jesus.

Missionaries care deeply for the sick and suffering around them, ministering to them through prayer and encouragement.

One evening as Gospel for Asia-supported women missionaries Pakhi, Heerkani and Sabeena stood on the terrace of their house overlooking their city neighbourhood, they saw an old man lying down on a cot outside his home. The man looked very sick as his family members hovered around him, taking care of his needs.

The three women missionaries went to their room and began to pray for the man. There they asked the Lord for His help to minister to their neighbours.

A Doctor’s Plight

The man’s name was Bilva—and he couldn’t move. A doctor by trade, he was usually the one to look into the faces of the ill as they rested on their sickbeds. But now he rested on his. Paralysis had taken him by surprise months before, leaving him completely helpless.

The medicines he took did nothing to improve his condition, and Bilva lived the same routine over and over again, until a visit from three unfamiliar women changed things.

A Change of Mind

When Pakhi, Heerkani and Sabeena introduced themselves to Bilva and his family, they learned about his paralysis. Pakhi shared hope from God’s Word and told them about the One who heals. At first, Bilva’s family didn’t respond very positively—they didn’t know anyone named Jesus. But as the women patiently explained the healing power of the Son of God and offered to pray for Bilva, the family changed their minds.

The sisters prayed for and visited the family regularly. As time passed, Bilva’s body began to improve, and he started to move his hands and legs. The family rejoiced at his improved health, and Bilva’s daughter chose to love Jesus. Now she prays with the missionaries and spends time reading God’s Word.

Thanks for being a part of stories like this through your prayers.

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!

For 15 years, a goitre had been swelling on Preeti’s neck. Her family took her to doctors and local religious establishments and spent large amounts of money on treatments, but her ailment only became worse.

One day, Preeti’s family met a group of Gospel for Asia Sisters of Compassion who told them about the hope of Jesus. The family was impressed by the women’s lifestyle and their kindness. Because of their love, Preeti felt at ease to share her struggles with the Sisters of Compassion.

With passion and steadfastness, Sister Mary prays for the sick and suffering in her community.

They prayed for Preeti’s healing on a regular basis, and Preeti chose to go to a prayer meeting at the local church building. The swelling in Preeti’s neck gradually decreased until it healed completely. When her family saw she was healed, they all chose to trust Jesus with their lives.

With the support of partners like you, our Sisters of Compassion were able to reach Preeti and her family with Christ’s love. Thank you for your generosity!

Ridhima couldn’t escape the pain of losing her child. Her in-laws blamed her for the baby’s death, pouring salt on Ridhima’s wounds.

Child Bride Faces Abuse, Guilt

Ridhima married at age 12. A few months later, she became pregnant. Ridhima’s in-laws told her a pregnant lady should work to be healthy and forced her to perform difficult chores around the house, including heavy lifting. Whenever she would rest because she didn’t feel well, they accused her of being dramatic to get out of work.

On top of this, Ridhima faced verbal abuse from her mother-in-law and physical abuse from her alcoholic husband.

During Ridhima’s seventh month of pregnancy, her doctor said she needed to rest because there was a complication. But Ridhima’s mother-in-law dismissed the doctor’s advice. When the birth approached, Ridhima didn’t get to the hospital on time. The doctor had to perform a C-section to deliver the baby, but the child was dead.

Instead of comforting her, Ridhima’s in-laws blamed the young teenager for the baby’s death.

Finding Comfort and Closure

Before long, Ridhima had two children. But nothing could heal the scars of losing her fist baby—except the Comforter, Jesus Christ. After seeing Him deliver her father from the clutches of an evil spirit, Ridhima chose to trust in Him and began attending the local Gospel for Asia-supported church.

Years later, when Gospel for Asia hosted a women’s health seminar, Ridhima experienced further healing.

At the seminar, Ridhima learned many things about how women should take care of their bodies, especially during pregnancy, and why it was dangerous for women to get married too young. She realized, after so many years, why her fist baby had died.

Future Generations Impacted

Unfortunately, Ridhima isn't an isolated case. Learn about the plight of South Asia's “Broken Daughters”.

Although she couldn’t bring that child back, Ridhima was grateful to learn more about health. She shared the new knowledge with her growing children and taught them how to take care of their bodies. She also made a firm decision to let her daughter attend school instead of marrying her off at a young age.

Now, with her knowledge about women’s health, Ridhima can help save future generations from the heartache she suffered.

Thank you for supporting Gospel for Asia’s Women’s Health Project. God is using your generosity and prayers to bring hope to the lives of women and girls in Asia.

“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.”

The words of Psalm 23 have comforted Shweta, who recently walked through the valley of the shadow of death. Scriptures like this one echo in Shweta’s mind throughout the day. Hungry for more life-giving words, she reads the Bible in the morning, when she gets time during the afternoon, and at nighttime. But just a few years ago, Shweta couldn’t read Scripture during challenging times—she couldn’t read at all.

Wanting to Grow, Facing a Hindrance

More than 10 years ago, the Lord healed Shweta through the faithful prayers of a pastor after she fell into a coma. Shweta and her husband believed in Christ, but they didn’t grow in their faith.

About four years later, Jesus reached out to Shweta and her family yet again when Gospel for Asia pastor Gupta met them and shared more about Christ. Shweta started to attend Pastor Gupta’s church, and she and her husband decided to walk with Jesus wholeheartedly.

There are over 250 million women in Asia who are illiterate.

This time, Shweta didn’t stay the same. She grew in the knowledge of her Saviour, and longing to introduce others to this patient God, Shweta served people in her community and prayed for them. But Shweta couldn’t read passages from the Bible to them—she was illiterate. Raised in a slum, Shweta never went to school.

“I always longed and desired for when I could read the Bible and write and share from it,” she remembers.

Woman Shares the Gift of Literacy

One day, Pastor Gupta invited Shweta to join the literacy class hosted by the church’s Women’s Fellowship. For three and a half years, she soaked up lessons on reading and writing alongside more than 20 other women.

Now Shweta knows how to read and write, and she’s even started teaching other women! She helped two ladies learn to read and write, and they eventually decided to start attending church too. Shweta’s new ability to read and write has also allowed her to tutor her children and encourage them in their education.

Most important, Shweta can now read, memorize and meditate on the promises found in God’s Word— promises that she desperately needs each day, especially since tragedy struck her family.

New Skill Brings New Confidence

In April 2014, after a three-year battle with tuberculosis, Shweta’s husband passed away. Shweta started working to provide for her three children, so Gospel for Asia assisted her by giving her stationery to open a stationery shop. When she doesn’t have customers, she can continue soaking up the words of Scripture even on the job.

Now, when Shweta joins her pastor’s wife to tell others about Jesus and pray for the sick, she can confidently encourage them with the life-giving words from Bible verses she has memorized.

Thank you for supporting Gospel for Asia’s women’s literacy program. Through your generosity and prayers, many more women like Shweta have not only gained confidence by learning a much-needed skill but have also received the gift of being able to read God’s powerful Word for themselves.

With her usual messy hair and dirty clothes, Tulasi approached her neighbour’s home to ask a favour.

The widow’s poor hygiene and unkempt appearance repulsed most of her fellow villagers, but Tulasi was in for a surprise: Inside her neighbour’s house, eyes of compassion, not disgust, waited for her.

Widow Suffers Poverty, Pain

People typically didn’t want to spend time with Tulasi, but at least some would let her work for them. She earned meagre wages by cleaning homes and washing people’s dishes. Her son, who lived in another city, sent what money he could to help, but still Tulasi and her two daughters survived with very little food. At times, Tulasi was so hungry for meat that when she saw chickens roaming about, the famished widow fantasized about grabbing them and devouring them raw.

On top of all this, Tulasi had lived with constant physical pain for three years. Her stomach burned, and her body ached.

Widow Makes New Friends

When Tulasi went to a neighbour’s home one day to ask if she could borrow an axe, she didn’t know a Women’s Fellowship group had gathered there for a prayer meeting. When the group, led by Gospel for Asia missionary Eila, saw Tulasi’s unkempt appearance, they wanted to know her story. The hostess introduced them and told the team about Tulasi’s health struggles.

Hearing of this widow’s desperate situation, Eila and some of the women decided to begin visiting Tulasi. They told her Jesus cared for her and prayed earnestly for God to heal her. After four days, Tulasi’s pain vanished! Through the healing, Tulasi realized how much God loved her. Soon, she and her older daughter started worshipping Him with the local congregation.

In addition to receiving spiritual encouragement from the local church, Tulasi also received practical help. The believers collected money, clothing and food items to help her family amidst their hardships.

Finding Dignity, Hope

Although Tulasi still labours each day for meagre wages, she keeps a tidy appearance and a clean lifestyle. She has a new identity in Christ that gives her dignity, and she has a new family in Christ that comes alongside her in times of need. This widow, who once seemed destined only for disgrace, has now experienced love and hope.

Thank you for partnering with Gospel for Asia’s ministry to widows. Through your generosity and prayers, congregations can continue to support widows in practical ways, showing them how much Jesus cares.

Ever since Reshika saw a film about Jesus in 2012, she wanted to know more about Him. Who was this man who bore so much pain for other people’s sins?

When two women handed her a booklet one day, excitement filled Reshika’s heart as she saw that the literature was about Jesus and that the two women, Gospel for Asia missionaries Aasha and Chandira, were Christians. Reshika seized the chance to find out more about Jesus.

“How can I know more about Jesus?” she asked. “How did Jesus come to this earth?”

Aasha and Chandira told her more about Christ and His mission to give new life to the world. Reshika listened attentively.

Seeing how interested Reshika was in learning about Jesus, Aasha and Chandira began visiting and chatting with her and answering her questions.

‘I Took a Step of Faith’

One day in 2013, the Gospel for Asia film team came to Reshika’s village again to show a movie about Christ, and Aasha and Chandira invited Reshika to come watch. Excited, Reshika brought her sister with her.

As Reshika watched the scene of Jesus suffering on the cross in agony, she began weeping, filled with remorse that He had endured pain and death for her. Reshika realized she needed His mercy.

The next day, when Aasha, Chandira and the film team paid her a visit, Reshika told them she wanted to live for Christ.

“I am delighted because the Lord has filled my life with His peace,” she later declared. There was no joy, no peace and no assurance of salvation before I knew Christ. I often wondered what I was living for, and I felt as if my life had no meaning at all. But as I took a step of faith, . . . my life was transformed. I am glad that the Lord is working on me. I have understood the secret of finding joy, which comes from knowing the Lord intimately.”

Finding the Secret

Now Reshika is growing in the Lord and is actively involved in the local church and Women’s Fellowship, and she tells many others the secret of finding joy. She found this joy because God sent two women missionaries to answer her questions and invite her to a film show. Through your support of national missionaries, the Lord is continuing to change the lives of men and women like Reshika throughout South Asia.

Smita immediately recognized the booklet two women handed her. Did these ladies have answers to her questions?

Smita had been searching for someone to tell her about the God who had changed her life, but she didn’t know where to look.

Healed but Wondering

Within a three-year span, Smita had needed three operations: a hysterectomy, kidney stone surgery and an appendectomy. These surgeries had left her in a state of constant pain, to the extent that she couldn’t care for her husband and two young sons. Every part of her body ached, and although she spent money buying medicine and offering sacrifices to her gods, her health didn’t improve—until the day a neighbour suggested she visit a nearby pastor. When Smita and her husband visited the pastor, he prayed for her.

Within a month, God healed Smita. But when she and her husband went to share this good news with the pastor, they couldn’t find him. The only thing they had that could tell them more about the Great Physician was some Christian literature the pastor had given them, including a booklet called “The Way to God.”

A Key to Answers

Staring at the booklet in her hands—the same one she had received from the pastor—she knew these women might be the key to finding out more about the God who’d healed her. Smita began opening up to them.

“I have a tract of the same kind at my home, and I have read that many times,” she said. “It was a great encouragement for me.”

Smita shared her story with the women, Raveena and Lekisha, unaware that Raveena had a similar story of desperation, hope and waiting.

Woman Finds Healing and Purpose

Raveena had also known the agonizing pain of an illness—and the crisis it could create in a family. At age 17, after giving birth to her daughter, Raveena was diagnosed with a chronic heart condition. Her family spent hours taking her to hospitals and large amounts of money on treatments. Meanwhile, Raveena’s husband left her for another woman, and she fell into a pit of despair.

Like Smita, the woman missionary had also found hope through the healing hands of God. One day, Raveena happened to hear a radio broadcast that shared how Jesus could heal any kind of disease. Her heart swelled with hope, and she joined with the radio broadcaster as he prayed for the sick, believing for her own healing. Then a burning sensation filled her entire body as God healed her—a fact later proven when she could get out of bed and work around the house.

But like Smita, Raveena didn’t have any way of knowing more about the Healer, Jesus.

It wasn’t until years later that Raveena met a GFA pastor and some believers who reached out to her and told her more about the God who had healed her body and would soon heal her soul.

After growing closer to Christ, she decided to spend three years at a GFA Bible college learning how to reach other women, like Smita, with the same love that had changed her life.

As Raveena neared the completion of her studies, she shared, “After graduation, I want to go and share my testimony with so many people. There are so many people just like me! They are in a broken condition. I just want to . . . encourage them through my testimony.”

So when Raveena and Smita met in the marketplace, God fulfilled both of their desires. Smita found someone who could tell her about Jesus, and Raveena got to encourage a woman in the same place she’d once been—a place of desperation for a deeper relationship with the One who had healed her.

Friendship Leads to New Life

Overjoyed to meet the women missionaries, Smita asked Raveena and Lekisha to come to her home. There, they spent time telling Smita more about Jesus and praying for her family.

Because Smita’s interest in the Lord continued to grow, Raveena and Lekisha regularly visited her, praying that she would come to know Jesus.

Now Smita, her husband and her children are following Him. They are growing closer to Christ as they join worship services with the local GFA congregation and as Raveena and Lekisha continue to encourage them in their spiritual journey.

Because God brought these two missionaries to answer Smita’s questions at the right time, an entire family is now worshipping Jesus. Thank you for partnering with women missionaries like Raveena and Lekisha. God is using you to help our sisters in Christ to fulfill their calling, sharing His love with their fellow women in a time of need.

To learn more about Raveena’s story, you can read the story “Prepared to Be a Powerful Witness” from the March 2013 issue of SEND! magazine (now known as GFA World) at gfa.ca/raveena.

The flesh in his legs began to decay, and although doctors said his leprosy was curable, he couldn’t afford the necessary treatment.

Manpreet thought it was just a sting from a caterpillar, but the small, white spot on his body soon became like a boil. Although Manpreet took medicine, the spot spread all over his legs. When Manpreet couldn’t feel pain in his legs, a chilling question entered his mind: Did he have leprosy?

Diagnosed and Shunned

Manpreet’s fears were soon confirmed. The flesh in his legs began to decay, and although doctors said his leprosy was curable, he couldn’t afford the necessary treatment.

Upon hearing of the diagnosis, Manpreet’s children were frightened. Others then began looking down on him, scolding him harshly if he accidentally touched them.

As Manpreet faced a deteriorating body and painful social stigma, despair overwhelmed him. Then his grown children put the last nail in the coffin: They sent him away.

Deeply hurt by this rejection, Manpreet and his wife left their home for a small hut in a leprosy colony.

Hands of Healing and Acceptance

One day, four women came to the village with words of encouragement for Manpreet and the other leprosy victims.

“You still have hope,” they said, declaring that healing was possible.

These women were Gospel for Asia Sisters of Compassion, women missionaries specially trained and commissioned for hands-on ministry among the poor and neglected. They continued to visit the colony, and as the residents experienced the women’s love and acceptance, they began opening up to them. Hearing about the people’s sorrows, the women prayed for them and comforted them with God’s Word.

The Sisters of Compassion not only shared love and hope; they also brought medicine and dressed wounds. They regularly treated Manpreet’s wounds, and within two months, God healed him! Knowing this happened through the women’s prayers, Manpreet and his wife joyfully decided to follow Christ.

Through the sisters’ sacrificial love and concern, Manpreet and his wife have found healing—physically, emotionally and spiritually—and have even been able to share this good news with their children.

By supporting GFA missionaries, you are helping many more people to find new life and acceptance in the Body of Christ.

The four girls, ages 6, 10, 12 and 14, looked dirty and malnourished as they accompanied their mother to the women’s health seminar.

With 12 children, Ranjana and her husband struggled to provide adequate nutrition or proper clothes for their daughters. Saddened by the girls’ appearance, the believers teaching the seminar shared with Ranjana about the importance of giving her daughters proper nutrition, encouraged her to send them to school and gave a dress to the oldest daughter.

No one had ever taught her things like this before, Ranjana told them.

“From now on, I will try my best to give good food to my children,” she said.

Because of the seminar, GFA workers had the opportunity to continue blessing this needy family—and many others. Soon, Ranjana welcomed some women missionaries and the local pastor’s wife to start a literacy class in her home. Through this class, she, her children and some of their neighbors are learning to read and write, in addition to hearing Bible stories and gaining basic math skills.

Through your support of Gospel for Asia’s Women’s Ministry, women like Ranjana—and their children—are receiving vital knowledge about health and nutrition and, more important, experiencing Christ’s love.

Ria and her two friends had been walking for more than six miles when Ria noticed a woman sitting beneath a tree.

“She looked frail, as if she had been ill for a long time,” Ria remembers. “Her two big eyes looked beautiful but grim. Suddenly, the Lord’s compassion overflowed deep inside my heart for her.”

Ria and her friends decided to rest by the tree. As they sat down, the woman stood up to leave, but an inner compulsion told Ria—a GFA missionary—to seize a God-given opportunity. She asked the woman to stay.

Always a Burden?

Nishi was a burden—or at least she felt like one. Her in-laws had rejected her, and now her brothers were becoming frustrated too.

At age 6, Nishi had lost her mother, and two years later her father died. When she was only 16, her brothers arranged her wedding. Then, four months after the wedding, Nishi’s husband left to find work in another country.

Nishi soon gave birth to a daughter, but her in-laws didn’t rejoice. They said Nishi and her daughter were a burden, although Nishi worked hard to serve them. Their continued harassment eventually forced her to leave.

Nishi’s brothers took her in, but she could sense their reluctance. She toiled faithfully every day so their wives wouldn’t resent her. She performed all the household chores with her daughter strapped to her back, and she went to the forest to gather food for their cattle.

“There was no time to rest,” Nishi remembers.

At night, after spending some time with her daughter and putting her to bed, Nishi would weep bitterly. She missed her husband, and the cruel comments of her sisters-in-law proved she was a burden to them, despite all her labour.

“I was in trouble,” Nishi recalls. “But I could not share my inmost troubles with anyone. ... I kept all my worries and problems to myself.”

Strangers Listen

Then someone actually showed concern. When Ria and her friends began talking with Nishi underneath he tree, they treated her not as a burden but as an individual with value.

“When she found out that we were also ordinary women like her, . . . she gave me her full attention,” Ria recalls. “I talked with her about our Lord Jesus Christ. I told her . . . about His love and grace to ordinary people like us.”

Nishi’s eyes widened as she heard about the One who sacrificed His life for all humanity and promised to save everyone who comes to Him.

“Sister, I would like to meet you again tomorrow,” Nishi said.

Woman Finds New Shelter

Ria and her friends were surprised when Nishi found them at 5:30 the next morning. Although she seemed nervous, Nishi shared her heavy past with them. Then she surprised them once again. She told them that the night before, she realized she had finally found Someone who would love and care for her and her child, and she wanted to follow Him.

Ria prayed for the new believer. Because there was no fellowship in Nishi’s village, Ria introduced Nishi to a Christian woman who would bring her on the three-hour journey to church each weekend.

Nishi’s brothers began to oppose her new faith and eventually refused to let her stay with them. But Nishi has the shelter of Someone infinitely greater. God has now provided her with a room near the church, and her daughter attends school nearby.

Nishi hopes her husband will return one day, but thanks to the compassion of a missionary named Ria, Nishi now knows the love of the Saviour who took her burdens upon Himself and calls her His daughter.

“Right after my mother’s death, I will choose to follow Christ as my Saviour,” Amol once told his wife, Mithi.

Amol wasn’t ready to change, yet his alcoholism made life horrible for Mithi and their two children.

One day Mithi met Janisha and Saujanya, two Gospel for Asia missionaries who were visiting her village. Mithi told the women her story: She had grown up in a Christian family before marrying Amol, a non-Christian. Because he drank heavily and frequently abused her, she ended up turning from her faith.

Hearing this, the missionaries prayed for Mithi’s family and gave her a booklet titled “Man: What Are You?”

Two days later, Janisha received a call from a believer in Mithi’s village reporting a drastic transformation in Mithi’s life.

After reading the booklet, Mithi and Amol had begun thinking deeply about the significance of their lives and realized they needed to put their faith in Christ.

Through a piece of Gospel literature, God convicted Mithi’s and Amol’s hearts, and together they've decided to follow Him today and forever.

Marya, 40, wanted to help her five school-aged children in their studies, but she had one problem: She was illiterate

She used to watch her husband, Ravi, read the newspaper and wished she could read the articles too, but she had to settle for hearing Ravi’s synopsis of the news.

When Marya went to church, she listened to her pastor refer to Bible verses in his sermons, but she couldn’t look them up and read them for herself.

A Long-Awaited Opportunity

Having long known the handicap of illiteracy, Marya was excited when the Women’s Fellowship group at her church started a women’s literacy class last year. She and five other women joined the weekly literacy class to learn the alphabet and numbers in their native language. Marya faithfully attended class, spent extra time practicing at home and prayed and fasted for God to give her the wisdom to learn.

Because of God’s grace—and with her husband’s encouragement and her hard work—she is gradually realizing her dream of reading and writing. After only a few months, she learned to read and write the alphabet and numbers. She also has started reading and memorizing Scripture. She memorized John 3:16, and when she recited it before her class, she helped inspire the other women in the class to continue working hard. Since then, she has begun reading through the Psalms.

“When I was able to read by myself for the first time, I felt very excited, as if I were the only person in the world who could read. Praise the Lord!” Marya says. “I am thankful to Women’s Fellowship for helping me to read and write.”

Through your support of Gospel for Asia’s Women’s Fellowship and women’s literacy outreaches, more women like Marya are entering a new world of language, sharing that world with their children and—best of all—reading God’s Word to understand it on a deeper level.

Each time he entered the jungle, Hashmat didn’t know if it would be his last trip there. Then one day his fears became reality when a tiger pounced on him.

Like many men before him, Hashmat became a casualty of the jungle’s predators. He left behind two wives, Mutholi and Hasna, and five children.

Ten years later, these two widows still beg by the roadside to avoid starvation. Instead of going to school, their children work in tea shops to provide additional income.

Nature's Victims

Mutholi and Hasna are two of hundreds of struggling widows on the islands where they live. In this area, many people gain their livelihoods by fishing or gathering wood or honey from the dense mangrove forest that spans the islands. These occupations, however, pose the risks of drowning or being attacked by wild animals.

Despite their prayers to the forest goddess for their husbands’ safety, many women become widows. These women, usually illiterate, often resort to begging and can’t afford to send their children to school. Guilt and depression stifle their lives.

A Vision of Wholeness

As Gospel for Asia workers on these islands saw the desperate situation of the widows and their families, God inspired them to shine His light to them and their communities. Women missionaries started visiting widows to pray for them and share the Good News. As able, the missionaries provide food, clothing, basic medicine—and even shelter—to widows in need. When they met Anisha, 65, along the roadside and learned she had nowhere to stay, they brought her to live with them.

On June 23, 2011, GFA workers hosted an International Widows’ Day celebration, where 200 widows listened to a message of God’s special care for the vulnerable. Hearing the missionaries’ plans to stay with them in joy and sorrow, the women’s faces brightened. Each widow received clothing and a packet of food as well.

“It may well have been the first time they realized that there was someone who cared for them,” reports a GFA correspondent.

The missionaries’ vision for reaching the widows of these islands extends from uplifting their spirits to educating their children, teaching good hygiene, offering basic health care and providing opportunities to earn income.

They have established education centres to help widows’ children grow academically. A GFA Bridge of Hope centre opened in 2011 and is now blessing more than 100 students with education, nutritious meals and the knowledge of Jesus’ love for them.

In addition, through gifts of livestock or other income-generating tools, the missionaries give widows the opportunity to provide for their families.

Hope Dawns

Women missionaries offer hope to widows like Mutholi and Hasna.

Now, Mutholi and Hasna have something to be grateful for. As the women missionaries encourage these widows with God’s Word, they are glimpsing God’s plan to bring meaning beyond sadness and poverty into their lives.

Desiring to learn about the One who inspires the missionaries’ compassion, more than 500 widows have visited six fellowship centres in the area, where they are reading the Bible and learning to pray. Now, several come to Sunday worship services regularly, and 40 have decided to follow Jesus. As His light dawns over these islands, hundreds of widows can look forward to brighter futures.

Usually Nabanipa, 65, spent her days begging. But when she didn’t leave her small hut for three days, her neighbours didn’t bother to find out why.

After the death of Nabanipa’s husband, her children stopped looking after her. When she fell severely ill with fever and diarrhea, no one was there to care for her—until members of the local Women’s Fellowship group found out. Hearing that Nabanipa lay bedridden without food, they went to help her.

The women prayed for Nabanipa, fed her and cleaned her hut. When they informed the regional Women’s Fellowship leaders of Nabanipa’s situation, the leaders came to the village for a few days to help care for this woman in desperate need.

After five days, Jesus had not only restored her body. He had also touched her soul. Overwhelmed by the love and care shown by women who weren’t even related to her, Nabanipa embraced His love when they shared the Good News.

Nabanipa now praises the Lord and no longer begs on the streets. She regularly joins the local congregation for worship services, and the Women’s Fellowship group is providing for her spiritual and physical needs.

Pavani Chopra, another missionary who was familiar with the area’s religion, spoke clearly to people’s hearts as he presented the Gospel and answered the many questions. By the end of the meeting, nearly half the group chose to embrace Jesus’ love!

Night descended on the crowd, but no one noticed. Questions about the Christians’ God were vying to be asked, and the villagers weren’t about to give up this opportunity. This diverse group staunchly followed their own deities, but many were eager to hear more about the Christian religion and beliefs.

Geeti and Bakul, two Gospel for Asia women missionaries, had served among them for some time, and they had a great burden to share the love of Christ with this community. Seeing the need, the women began to ask the Lord for His direction. He answered through this meeting.

People came slowly, but eventually, around 50 people sat ready to listen. Pavani Chopra, another missionary who was familiar with the area’s religion, spoke clearly to people’s hearts as he presented the Gospel and answered the many questions. By the end of the meeting, nearly half the group chose to embrace Jesus’ love!

When Sneha asked Rajeshri about her past life, Rajeshri’s face darkened. Sneha, a Gospel for Asia woman missionary, had reached out to Rajeshri at her lowest point, near death, but Rajeshri had faced many other difficult times too.

She Reached Her Breaking Point

Rajeshri, a mother of nine, endured a nightmarish life with her cruel husband for more than 35 years. She patiently suffered—until he brought home his mistress. The woman wouldn’t allow Rajeshri to touch anything in the house without permission and prohibited the children from attending school. Rajeshri and her children felt like prisoners in their own house.

Humiliated, Rajeshri decided to leave. Three of her adult children had already moved out, so she and her remaining six children relocated from their village in the mountains to the bustling capital city.

Through the help of a childhood friend, Rajeshri started a manual labour job at a construction site and rented a small apartment. As she and her family gradually adjusted to their new life and community, Rajeshri was able to start sending her older children to school. It was hard work to pay the rent and provide food, clothes and her children’s school fees, and to make matters worse, Rajeshri had weak health. Despite the hardships, though, Rajeshri considered her life a thousand times better than what she’d left behind. She didn’t know things would soon fall apart.

Who Would Look After Her Children?

One day, Rajeshri woke up and was unable to get out of bed. Pain engulfed her whole body, and she shivered with cold. One daughter brought her some medicine for a fever, but Rajeshri couldn’t even raise her head to swallow it.

She was no longer able to work, and though she visited many doctors, the remedies they prescribed had no effect. Her friend brought a sorcerer and then a witch doctor, but neither succeeded in healing her. Three months slipped by.

“It seems to me that I am going to die,” Rajeshri told her friend one day. “If I die, who will look after my children?”

Sorrow Erased by New Life

See how women missionaries are offering hope to desperate individuals like Rajeshri.

Rajeshri’s friend finally went to the right place for help. She brought two Christian women, including GFA missionary Sneha, to pray for Rajeshri. They told Rajeshri that Jesus loves sick people and makes them well and that when He came to earth, He healed the sick, raised the dead and died on the cross to save all humanity.

Sneha and her co-worker prayed for Rajeshri and promised to visit often. Filled with hope by their words, Rajeshri started to attend church with her friend’s help.

After a few months, she was completely healed and able to begin working again!

Today, Rajeshri has found new life in Christ. Because she experienced Jesus’ love through the miracle of healing and the care demonstrated to her by Sneha and her fellow missionary, Rajeshri chose to follow Him. Now she participates faithfully in church activities, grateful for God’s work in her life.

Thank you for helping send missionaries like Sneha to bear the light of Christ to women oppressed by darkness. As these servants lift up the name of Jesus, women like Rajeshri are finding new lives full of hope and purpose.

Grishma had seen the slum where men earned their wages by collecting trash, where children had to beg instead of attend school, where women lived in agony as they watched their children starve.

When it came time for Grishma to decide where she wanted to serve the Lord, it hardly seemed like a choice. Grishma had seen the slum where men earned their wages by collecting trash, where children had to beg instead of attend school, where women lived in agony as they watched their children starve. She knew what she had to do. The slum would be her ministry.

Grishma knew how easily she could have been one of these slum dwellers. It was only by the Lord’s grace that she was raised in a Christian home, the youngest of four children. She was allowed to attend school, and she had parents who loved her. Shortly after completing high school, she attended a Gospel for Asia-supported Bible college. She was an excellent student and was eager to obey the Lord by fulfilling His call on her life.

So, when Grishma learned that she could serve in the slums, she quickly volunteered to go where the Lord was calling her. She was ready.

Hope for the Hopeless

Watch the story of one missionary who, like Grishma, is willing to serve in the slums.

It is not hard to feel deep compassion for those who live in the slums. The poverty is shocking. Jobs are rare, which makes begging and trash-picking common vocations. Furthermore, many men waste what precious little money they earn on alcohol. Most families live without hope, without any means to escape. That is, until someone like Grishma comes along.

Knowing that she would be of no use without the Lord’s favor, Grishma prayed earnestly for wisdom. She decided to visit each house in the slum to build relationships, no small task in a community of 200 houses. She made a point to share with the families that there is a God who truly loves them, and then she would pray for their needs.

The people, so desperate and broken, listened to Grishma as she spoke of God’s love, a notion that was sometimes difficult for them to understand but often intriguing as well.

A Thriving Ministry

Grishma is already experiencing a great deal of fruit from her ministry. An adult literacy program was established, allowing some of the women from this slum the previously unthinkable opportunity for an education. In addition, Grishma has begun a ministry for children, keeping young ones off the streets and teaching them about the hope found in Jesus.

Recently, as the ministry has grown, two more young women have come to serve alongside Grishma. Now all three are teaching the women of this village about proper hygiene and distributing much-needed clothes to the residents. In the future, Grishma hopes to start a tailoring center where women can learn to make their own clothes and earn extra income for their families.

Grishma knows why her ministry has been blessed: “We three sisters are in God’s hands,” she explains. “Let God use us according to His desire for the expansion of His kingdom.”