Feature Stories
Pandemic Threatens Family’s Survival
January 2022 • Article
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, GFA pastor Yaphet and other GFA missionaries have marched to the fringes of society to bring help and hope to people in despair, people such as Callon and Sada. Their most demanding adversary? Hunger.
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A Burden Slides Off Preteen Girl's Back
January 2022 • Article
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.
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Goat Shatters Mother’s Cycle of Poverty
December 2021 • Article
Raina sat counting the money sent from her husband, Ander. Like his last paycheck, it wasn’t much, perhaps barely enough to cover their expenses for that month. She looked up from the meager earnings and out to her field. Perhaps if she imagined hard enough, the field would be full of growing crops to sell. But, try as she might, Raina’s imagination alone wouldn’t bring in the money she desperately needed.
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Woman Exchanges Drops of Misery for Sounds of Peace
December 2021 • Article
Another hard day’s work. Another argument with her husband. Another night Dahiana’s five children would go to bed hungry.
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A Trek for Her In-laws
November 2021 • Article
With an hour’s walk through hilly terrain, Raiza had ample time to think. She had been hesitant to make the journey. Would it be worth it for a blanket? Would it just be a thin, unsubstantial piece of material? Would the church even have enough?
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Keeping His Future Intact
October 2021 • Article
The surrounding countryside’s picturesque serenity warred with the turbulent thoughts churning in Neale’s mind. That morning, the 8-year-old had missed his bus to school, unable to afford the ticket. While it may seem a trivial matter, that bus was the only way Neale could make it to school on time, and he wanted nothing more than to go to school; in fact, he needed to go to school.
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Rebuilding a Widow's Life
September 2021 • Article
Medicine failed. Witch doctors failed. And Addi’s body continued to fail. Fever and body aches put him in a perpetual state of decline. Subira, his wife, looked on helplessly as Addi became weaker and weaker.
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In the Trail of Two Wheels
August 2021 • Article
GFA pastor Matai gingerly dismounted his bicycle and stretched his weary muscles as the sun lowered over the horizon. He had traveled many miles since its rising—without any food. Perhaps his stomach grumbled as he caught scent of dinner wafting from his home. He might have exhaled and pushed aside a cloud of discouragement as he at last found respite for the night.
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A Crash Course Altered
June 2021 • Article
Drunk again, Bastien spouted hate; his wife cringed at his raised hand. With agriculture being Bastien’s livelihood, another drought meant he couldn’t work. How long had it been this time? How would they survive? There wasn’t enough money for the family, but he needed another drink. Some cards and nicotine might also distract him from his woes.
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A Safe Place to Go
May 2021 • Article
Anxiety nagged at Pamalla’s mind. As usual, she had woken up, taken her daughter Aalia to the field to use the bathroom, fixed breakfast for her four children and left for work. But each day, as she labored in the fields, she couldn’t stop wondering if her 14-year-old daughter would be OK.
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Overcoming Poverty: A Dream to Feed Her Children
May 2021 • Article
Leena made her way to a nearby tailoring center, hopeful she would find an avenue to fulfill a dream and help provide for her family of four. Who knows what Leena was thinking as she walked? Maybe she was nervous. Perhaps she fortified her resolve to ask if they would be willing to teach her how to sew. Many times that desire had entered her thoughts and heart, and today she would see if it could become a reality.
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How A Mosquito Net Was A Dream Come True
April 2021 • Article
Saphyra swatted again and felt the satisfying splat of a mosquito’s demise. She turned over only to discover another mosquito buzzing over her head. Saphyra sighed. It would be another restless night. How many would this be in a row? She had lost count.
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A Family's Fight Against Contaminated Water
February 2021 • Article
The water bucket was empty—again. A child was sick—again. Another child was struggling in his studies—again. All were results of a common culprit.
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