For current reports from the mission field, visit the GFA World Reports blog.
In November 2012, as GFA pastor Talon and Keziah said their wedding vows, neither could have guessed just how mightily God would use their marriage—their partnership—in the village of Saron . Nor could they have known the team of believers God would raise up to partner with them as they shared Christ’s love with their community.
Tucked into the Nepali hills, Samara’s village could be described in one word: isolated. Surrounded by forests, the remote village lacked electricity, safe drinking water, schools, hospitals and even markets. Samara’s two-story home was isolated too, with no neighbor in sight. Here, she and her husband, Keenan, had raised their four daughters and three sons, making an income through farming and animal husbandry.
What had gone wrong? The field stretched before Sarina, but her mind was not on the familiar work. She and her husband had labored for a daily wage in the fields near their home for years—it was how they had raised their son and two daughters and how they had managed to arrange good marriages for their girls. But now, their hard work was not enough. In fact, it seemed nothing Sarina did was enough to relieve the suffering of her family.
In the hills of Nepal, where the main sources of income are farming and animal husbandry, Gideon owned no land and no animals. The husband and father, a daily wage laborer, worked in others’ paddy fields for the income he and his family needed to survive. It was hard, grueling work—when he could find it. Daily wage labor wasn’t reliable employment. Sometimes, he couldn’t find anyone in need of extra hands. On those days, Gideon had nothing to bring home for his wife and two sons.
Who was this Jesus the pamphlet talked about? Rivka had carefully read the Gospel tract she had received, poring over the pages, but she still had so many questions. There was no church nearby, though. Would Rivka ever be able to learn more about Jesus?
What had happened to Shmuel? He had been a healthy boy, but that suddenly changed when, at age 11, he fell seriously ill. Headaches and fevers became constant in his life. It seemed that nothing—no hospital, medical doctor or witch doctor—could heal him. His condition grew even worse following injections from a local hospital. Shmuel grew skinnier and weaker.
A chill slowly settled and night skies lingered longer over the steep Himalayan foothills where Samzun lived. The changing season meant he and his family had work to do. At winter’s advent, while most of us prepare for the holidays, they would have to focus on survival, on getting through each day. To prepare, they needed to chop firewood, gather hay for their animals and, if they needed any supplies, hike a few hours to the market.
What was Beula to do? She, a widow, had worked as a domestic helper for many years, but now with her health declining, she couldn’t continue with the same number of hours. How could she take care of herself and her only son? As life’s burdens continually increased, would Beula ever find rest?
You’ll start seeing a new name for our Sisters of Compassion: Sisters of the Cross. As their number and reach expands, this change will more immediately identify them as ministers of the Gospel in service of Jesus Christ. Thank you for helping them in their important mission!
Kai and his wife, Eira, had lived well in their village for many years. Kai worked as a farmer, while Eira took care of their home and the five children they had been blessed with, four sons and a daughter. But their life was eventually disrupted by their youngest son’s drinking and the introduction of a new neighbor: Pastor Iwan.
Like many GFA missionaries, Pastor Rahn experiences challenges in his ministry. Although more than 20 people attend weekly worship services at the church he pastors, the town he serves in is very opposed to his work. People in the town hold fast to a traditional religion and typically reject any other teaching.
“I felt grieved that I came to know such Great Love so belatedly,” GFA woman missionary Alina shared. She had spent her entire life practicing her family’s traditional religion, seeking favor and peace through its rituals. But when her father died unexpectedly, the shock threw Alina and her family into depression. There was no peace.
“Ministry doesn’t exist without people,” shares Mike, GFA staff member of 15 years. Mike is just one of the dedicated people who makes the ministry of GFA World possible. Serving as behind-the-scenes missionaries, Mike and other members of GFA’s Mission Support Team (MST) link partners here and national missionaries on the field so that more people can hear Jesus’s name for the first time.
Radko wandered through his house, looking for anything he could sell. The table, chairs, stove and electric kettle were already gone, sold for a couple of dollars to buy alcohol. Maybe the pictures on the wall were worth something. Supporting a family of six was difficult under the best circumstances, and he was usually too hungover to go to work. Half the time, he couldn’t even remember who he was. And his wife … what was her name? Margret? Maija? Maude? No—Magali. Her name was Magali. Since his nervous breakdown, he had trouble recognizing his wife and kids.
This was not the future his parents had imagined for him. The scenery, all too familiar, rolled by as Jonathan rode the bus home from work. If he was honest, this probably wasn’t the future he’d dreamed of for himself, either. The 19-year-old had received medals and awards for athletics, he’d played in the school band, and when the time had come to take his final exams for 12th grade, he had passed with flying colors. He’d done so well, in fact, that he had received the coveted invitation to continue with higher studies.
Loneliness. Abandonment. Rejection. These had been frequent milestones on the trail of Pima’s life, even though she was only 29 years old. Now, she had a daughter to raise with little support from her husband. How could Pima help her daughter navigate life when she herself felt alone and abandoned?
It’s been said that only those who escape the limitations of tea estate schools have any chance of succeeding in the sphere of education, and Nadette was fighting to escape.
Ariana perceived a reluctant look on her neighbor’s face. Had she pushed their generosity too far? But she needed clean water for herself and her children to drink. For Ariana, asking neighbors for drinking water was uncomfortable, especially during the dry season when she knew they also struggled to attain pure water. As a single mother, though, she didn’t have another option. Would she forever have to depend on others’ kindness? Was there Someone whose compassion could never be overextended?
When Pastor Talon first stepped foot in a distant village nearly 15 years ago, he hauled film equipment on his head. He and the other members of his GFA film ministry team had trekked across a river and into a remote, mountainous region to share Jesus with people who had not yet heard of His love.
Sadzi sobbed. What had happened to her? She had once worked hard to help provide for her family. Now, she couldn’t even get out of bed. She had chronic fever, leg pain and little appetite.
“Life is all about suffering,” Bulah once said. At least, it seemed that way for her and her son, Emil.
As frigid winds sliced through the cracks and holes of Mael and Ulla’s stone-and-wood cottage, the sound of their daughters’ voices alerted the GFA pastor and his wife. The girls couldn’t sleep because they were cold.
The Rwandan sun shone outside the open door of Idalene’s home as she watched her little grandson and her three youngest children. They eagerly devoured the beans, veggies and rice she’d finally managed to scrape together, after a day and a night of nothing.
Radu knew he must return home. His wife, Sadia, was severely ill. Perhaps it brought back memories of another time when the threat of death loomed over a loved one while he was far away, spurring him to rush home. That trip had ended in tragedy. Would this one the same outcome? If it did, it would be yet another entry in a long timeline of hardship for Radu.
Few people know the details, processes and inner workings of GFA World’s U.S. office better than Shareen. Except for three departments or so, the 38-year-old has worked in every sphere of the office.
Once again, Gunda pleaded with her son to let her live with him, but once again, he turned her down. Once again, the widow saw a lonely life of toil ahead, a life with little support from others. It seemed that sorrow, disappointment and rejection stretched before her. Would she always be alone, struggling to survive?
Petrina didn’t know which was worse, the constant itching that covered her body or the pain in her stomach. Both plagued her as she struggled to complete her everyday tasks. When her stomach pains became severe, she was forced to immediately leave her work and lay down.
Donatus had many children and a wife to provide for, so he did his best to lead them. An old man, he had been faithful to his traditional religion all his life. His wife and eldest son, Jedrek, were also very devout. One of his other sons, Byurak, chose to follow Christ, became a national missionary and spoke often with his father about his faith, but Donatus stood firm.
Before Pastor Pesach stood Sima, a young man with swollen eyes. Sima’s mother, who attended Pesach’s church, wanted Pesach to pray for him. It probably wasn’t the first time someone would ask Pesach to pray for their family member, and it wouldn’t be the last. Regardless, Pesach couldn’t have known that praying for this one man would be one more link in a chain reaction, a chain reaction that had started many years earlier when Pesach was a young man himself.
Once again, Saadet measured out her single ration of rice. Once again, she placed it in an isolated vessel. Once again, she cooked alone. In perpetual mourning and separation, Saadet was one widow among 258 million worldwide, and she was helpless and alone. Would her plight ever change? Or was she destined to live out the rest of her days trapped in loneliness and want?
Nantai’s mother looked on, her heart heavy, as her son lay comatose in the hospital. He had suffered from severe dizzy spells for some time, but now his life hung in the balance, as did his soul. His parents had come to know Jesus when Nantai was a child and had taken Nantai to church regularly, but as a teenager, he had stopped going to church, preferring to hang out with his friends. He had ignored their advice and lived recklessly. What would become of him now?
GFA World pastor Oisin and the volunteers kept digging. Other members of the village, however, had their doubts about the project the pastor and the believers had undertaken. It wasn’t possible, they said. But Pastor Oisin and his team kept digging. They shoveled and excavated, going deeper and deeper. It seemed an impossible project—but Pastor Oisin and the believers didn’t give up; they had faith.
Remote. Rugged. These two words perfectly described the village GFA pastor Birkley visited. Two years prior, there had been no roads leading into the village. Nestled among a mountain range, the only way to reach the village had been by foot, traveling along paths that snaked up the mountainside. Now, there was a simple dirt road—but the trek was still difficult. So, why would Pastor Birkley lead a dozen men and women to this particular village, so out of the way and removed from everything?
Against an angular backdrop of steep hillsides and spacious valleys, Sahlma waged an uphill battle. A load bore down on her small frame as the girl pressed onward. The preteen shouldn’t have been working as a porter, a physically demanding job that required transporting groceries, sand and firewood up and down the mountainside to people. She didn’t like being a porter. But how else could she provide for her siblings? Sahlma’s life, like her work, was a struggle.
Kaila and Sabinna, two teenagers, live in a region where angular mountain slopes give way to vast valleys. Houses and buildings perch against steep hillsides.