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Abhaya Was 8 the First Time He Went to School, Only to Be Ridiculed, Reports Gospel for Asia

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Can you imagine, as a parent, watching your child suffer while you stand by unable to help him? You send him off to beg on the streets in order to make money for a crucial surgery that he needs, but somehow that extra money he earns is always needed for other things. The hope for healing grows dim as years pass by. That is the condition Sanjita and her husband Chatur where found in until they were blessed by a local teacher and Gospel for Asia Bridge of Hope Program. Anxiety in the Delivery Room “The size of his head is abnormally large,” the doctor explained to anxious Sanjita and Chatur shortly after their son was born. “The reason might be malnutrition during the mother’s pregnancy. We can bring it to a normal size after doing an operation. But we have to wait until he grows older.” He paused, then his voice changed to one filled with gravity, “It needs lots of money for the operation.” The birth of Abhaya caused conflicting emotions to surface in Sanjita and Chatur’s hearts. While...
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When We Can’t See the Road in Front of Us, How Do We Press Forward?

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A couple of years ago, I was at a missions conference where we came together to discuss what was happening in the missions world around the globe. One of my friends there asked me, “How are things going at Gospel for Asia? What’s going on these days?” We were going through some challenging situations on the field at the time, and I remember telling him, “It’s a good time to be alive. It’s a good opportunity to walk by faith.” Which was completely true! We don’t always have great opportunities in front of us where we get to walk by faith, trusting God day by day, but trials and difficulties allow us those opportunities. In the first chapter of James we are told, “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will b...
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It’s Crazy What a Blanket Can Do for Those Who Face the Freezing Cold in Asia

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Do you ever stop to consider how many blankets you have in your home? What kind of stockpile do you have stored up in case the heating goes out for two weeks during a severe winter storm? It’s no stretch to guess you have at least one blanket for each person in your family. If you’re like most of us, you probably have light summer blankets in addition to heavier, winter quilts. There might even be some cozy throws on your sofa and the recliner, and the afghan your grandmother made for you. Don’t forget to count the extra blankets in the guestroom, the ones in the cars, and the picnic blanket in the garage. And what about the sleeping bags you keep with your camping gear? With all the warm clothes and blankets you can find in your home, you and your family could probably survive a long winter emergency in an unheated home. But how would you fare if your home was only a makeshift hut, your family had hardly any winter clothing or blankets, and you could barely feed them with your meager ...
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Asha No Longer Picks Up Trash to Survive; Now She Picks Up Her Pencil to Learn

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What if you didn’t have the freedom to dream? Imagine rummaging through garbage all day long trying to find something to sell. How could your dreams stay alive mingled among the flies, mosquitoes and filth, while shabby clothes and dirty faces of others just like you surround your gloomy existence? You walk in their shadow. The shadow of your parents and of their parents before you. The cycle of poverty unbroken and the freedom to dream forsaken simply because of what has always been. This was the life of a little girl named Asha. Sadly, her life is just one among many other “untouchable” children like her. With little to no expectation for their future, children roam the streets, beg and wander aimlessly searching for something to fill their empty stomachs. When night falls they return to their home—a hut made from cardboard and pieces of tarp—to a discouraged, malnourished family. But so many of us hold the keys to the freedom these precious ones can own for themselves, and that is...
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Why Is Clean Water Important?

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According to National Geographic, “More than 70 percent of the earth’s surface is covered in water.” 1 Yet there is a global water crisis in which 1.1 billion people do not have access to safe drinking water. 2 How can this be? Why is clean water important? Consider the following statistics: National Geographic reports, “About 159 million around the world people collect their drinking water directly from surface water” (i.e., lakes, ponds, rivers), which is often unsafe to drink. 3 Half of them live in sub-Saharan Africa. 4 Many water sources in developing regions contain fecal matter, arsenic or other pollutants. 5 Worldwide, nearly 1 billion people practice open defecation, which is a major contributor to water contamination in these areas. 6 The World Health Organization estimates, “At least 2 billion people use a drinking water source contaminated with faeces.” 7 68 to 84 percent of water sources in South Asia are contaminated. 8 Half of rural households in Africa lack access t...
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Water Well Donation: Africa, a Land of Water Scarcity

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If you’re considering a water well donation, Africa is in critical need of clean water. Water is essential to life, yet 1 in 3 Africans suffers from water scarcity. 1 Of the millions of people worldwide who are dependent on unprotected, unsafe water sources, nearly half live in sub-Saharan Africa. 2 Without access to reliable, clean water, the people in this region face a myriad of challenges. One of the main issues is that of health. When water is contaminated, it leads to disease, including diarrhea, typhoid, cholera and dysentery. According to Global Citizen, “115 people in Africa die every hour from disease related to poor sanitation, poor hygiene, and contaminated water.” 3 That’s more than a million people per year on a single continent. Worldwide, approximately 1.8 billion people die every year from diarrheal diseases, which are often caused by unclean water. 4 Children are particularly vulnerable to waterborne diseases. Their small, growing bodies have higher metabolisms a...
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How Does My Water Well Donation Impact Lives?

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Perhaps you’ve become aware of the global water crisis, in which 40 percent of the world’s population suffers from water scarcity and a billion people lack access to clean water. 1 With some idea of the issue on a global scale, you may be wondering how a water well donation might impact lives on a personal scale. For girls and women, a nearby well could save them an hour a day. In areas like Asia and Africa, many people are forced to walk 30 minutes or more to the nearest water source, and it’s typically females who carry this burden. In one day, according to water.org, these women collectively spend some 200 million hours collecting water. 2 That’s time women could better spend earning income or caring for their families and time girls could better spend on their education. Sadly, the water they collect is often contaminated. Water in developing regions frequently contains fecal matter, arsenic or other pollutants. 3 This pollution brings a host of waterborne diseases, including ...
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