Faces of Asia
Take a glimpse into the heart of the mission field of South Asia and look into the Faces of Asia.
Women's Ministry "For the first time in my life, I felt someone actually cared for me." The Gospel message Jaishri heard on the radio changed her life—she had grown up unwanted and unloved. But today, Jaishri serves the Lord with her husband, and her parents have given their lives to Christ. Millions of women in Asia face the same hopelessness Jaishri once felt. Families have to pay large dowries when their daughters marry, so female children are not welcomed. In some areas, female abortion is rampant. Those who survive grow up knowing their brothers are preferred. Many women end their own life out of desperation, but Jesus' love is reaching many like Jaishri. Special GFA Bible colleges train women to reach other women, which is something men can't do in their culture. These women missionaries are eager to share the joy they've found in Jesus Christ. |
Dalits
Innumerable expressions of contempt fill the daily lives of Asia's Dalits ("Untouchables"). Every day, 300 million of them suffer under an ancient and outlawed caste system, a social code that considers these Dalits less valuable than animals. They are forced to work degrading jobs, live in confined areas of the village and draw water from a well separate from the ones upper caste villagers use. But they are seeking freedom in Christ, and today thousands of Dalits are Christian! Leaders of entire Dalit communities have approached Gospel for Asia leaders, allowing all their people to hear about Jesus. In an effort to reach out to them, GFA currently has more than 59,000 children enrolled in the Bridge of Hope program, providing them with basic needs, an education and the love of Jesus. The door is open-but for how long? |
Children South Asia has the world's largest number of malnourished children. And with more than 162 million boys and girls working long hours for little pay, India has the world's largest child labor force. Bombay alone is home to 5,000 child prostitutes and 100,000 street children. Disease, hunger, loneliness ... these things stalk the innocence of childhood in Asia. Gospel for Asia missionaries know that these little ones need the message of Jesus' love just as much as their parents. They are obeying Jesus' command to care for them through Sunday schools and vacation Bible schools. Seven-year-old Remy's family lives in poverty. When two GFA missionaries began working with her and other village children, teaching things as simple as washing their hands before meals, she soaked up every bit—as well as all the songs and Bible verses they taught her. Remy's family was amazed and told the missionaries, "You have shown Remy a path to live by with dignity and success, and we as a family are grateful." |
Radio Most of the Asian population lives in rural villages with a lifestyle considered primitive by those in the West. Education is widely inaccessible, and most depend on agriculture for sustenance. Many, however, struggle to earn a living this way. Suicides among farmers are common—when crops fail or sell for too low a price, they have nowhere to turn for assistance. GFA missionaries are working to reach these remote communities with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They have a big job ahead of them. In India alone, there are 500,000 villages where a missionary has never gone. While this may seem like too big of a task, the message of salvation also sometimes reaches villages through television, radio or Gospel tracts long before any missionary has a chance to visit, softening hearts and sparking interest in the previously unknown story of salvation. |
Muslim Ministry The sound of a crying baby filled the bus in between horns blowing and people talking. Sunita kept glancing at a distraught young Muslim woman trying to calm her little one. Sunita approached the young mother, who poured out her despair. Her baby hadn't eaten for several days. She was just returning home from a doctor who told her there was nothing he could do and that her child would probably die soon. Sunita responded with news of Jesus' love and power to heal. The young mother allowed Sunita to pray for her, and immediately the baby stopped crying and began to eat. Today this young woman tells everyone who will listen how Jesus healed her baby. God is moving to reach the more than one billion Muslims in Asia. Even through dreams and miracles, He is making Himself known to this group of people for whom Jesus shed His blood. |
Myanmar It is said there are more than one million Buddhist pagodas in Myanmar (Burma). Yet peace is not characteristic of this country. Tens of thousands of people have been displaced by civil warfare and ethnic fighting. Myanmar was known as the 'graveyard of missions' when American missionaries Adoniram and Ann Judson labored there in the 19th century. They eventually gave their lives in Myanmar—but left a Burmese translation of the Bible and a foundation of Christianity that still lives today. Gospel for Asia's more than 675 native missionaries in Myanmar serve with the same dedication, offering the hope found in Jesus Christ to their countrymen. They share the Gospel through literature, radio programs, films on the life of Jesus and personal evangelism, and churches are springing up in this once dark land. "The Lord is leading ... beyond my dream, beyond my vision, beyond my intentions all the time," says GFA's leader in Myanmar. |
Indigenous Missions
"Lord, please, don't take me to heaven without these people." Gospel for Asia indigenous missionary Arun had worked for five long months and seen no fruit—he was desperate. When he first reached this village, he knew it would not be easy. Forests scattered over the sides of steep hills meant difficult climbs that left him exhausted and in pain at the end of each day. But the fact that the people in this village had no idea who Jesus was drove Arun on. It seemed no one was listening, and he knew only God could open their hearts. It was then he realized that a film on the life of Jesus might be the best way to reach the villagers. He worked hard to arrange a film showing. Through it, God answered his prayer. Today, many of those villagers are part of a thriving church. |
Bibles
Asia is home to vastly different cultures, with food, dress and customs varying greatly even within its countries. And making things especially difficult is the language barrier. In India, each child has to learn both national and state languages. Varying ethnic and tribal groups each have their own dialect that people in neighboring villages may not understand. By God's grace, Gospel for Asia broadcasts the Gospel in 103 languages over radio, through television in nine languages and prints literature in dozens more. Scripture translation is being carried on by missionaries who often teach people to read with their new Bibles. In some cases, the Bible is the first book in their language. The desire of GFA is for every person in Asia to have access to the Gospel in their own "heart" language. |
Persecution Myrina was surprised to see her pastor coming down the dusty road. Her family—who are all unbelievers—normally locked her up whenever they knew the pastor was in town. Grateful for the miraculous chance to speak with him, Myrina poured out her heart to him, explaining the marks on her body. She had secretly attended a prayer meeting, but her family found out. She went home that night to beatings. Like Myrina, many others in Asia face violent opposition, rejection and humiliation just for following Jesus. But far from discouraging the church, persecution has served to strengthen and purify, and answering rage with love has opened many hearts to the Gospel. After an angry mob beat her for sharing the Gospel, GFA missionary Salina shared, "History says that wherever we have suffered for God, something happens there. So I have faith that one day, the people of this town will come to the Lord." |
About GFA
Gospel for Asia missionaries can walk into a remote village in Asia and find a shop selling Coca-Cola. But often, when they ask someone, "Do you know Jesus?" the response will be, "No, there is no one in this village by that name. But perhaps if you try the next village, you will find who you are looking for." There are still more than 2 billion people in the world who truly don't know that Jesus ever walked on this earth, died for them and longs to save them. For example, in one Asian village, a team of missionaries came to show a film on the life of Christ. The crowd watched, gripped with the story. After the show, an old woman came to the missionaries with tears streaming down her wrinkled face. She wanted to receive Jesus as her Savior. In all her 100 years, this was the first time she heard the name of Jesus. |
Slum Ministry
When Balji stepped into a slum in south India, he saw the place God had previously shown him in a dream. People were addicted to alcohol, they had no sanitation and no education. This was where Balji knew God called him, and he dedicated his life to working among the slum dwellers—starting with the children. These young ones—who called scraps of cardboard and plastic "home" and worshipped a sea goddess-started going to a school that Balji set up. For the first time in their lives, they were valued enough to be taught and cared for. God even began doing miracles of healing. Through the children, Balji brought hope to the other slum dwellers, and today a church meets there. Nearly a third of the population of Asia's major cities live in slums. Hope for a way out is usually nonexistent. But the message of Jesus' salvation is transforming. |
Frequently Asked Questions
Through God's blessing on the work of indigenous missionaries, thousands of churches have been planted in Asia, each one full of new believers. One such believer, Renu, suffered under the bondage of evil spirits for 14 years before she was saved. She even lost the ability to walk. All her family's earnings were spent on doctors and witchcraft, but it wasn't until she visited a GFA missionary's prayer meeting that she learned of Jesus and asked for prayer. Within weeks, she was completely healed. Today, she hosts a prayer meeting in her home. Her neighbor also experienced healing when he listened to a GFA radio broadcast and prayed to Jesus for the first time. Renu and her neighbor, along with hundreds of thousands of others who have received the Good News of salvation in Jesus, now worship the Lord. Just as in the book of Acts, God is adding daily those who are being saved. |
