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Gospel for Asia: Pastor Lost His Wife, Home, Church in One Night

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God is using Gospel for Asia- supported national workers and the prayers of people all over the world to transform communities through His love. Pastor Tamang has been serving the Lord since 2003. Throughout those years he’s experienced heartache in losing his wife, the devastation of a natural disaster and opposition from the ones he longs to serve. Yet through all this, he remains steadfast, depending on the power of prayer to help him overcome. A Widower in the Wake The earth rumbled. The ground shook. The walls rattled. Pastor Tamang and his houseguests rushed out of his home as the earthquake grew in strength. But before everyone could make it out, the walls crumbled under the intensity, crushing Tamang’s wife, Nirmala, beneath the wreckage of their home. After the earthquake’s final tremor, Pastor Tamang found his wife lying lifeless in the rubble. Many others perished in the 6.8-magnitude quake that shook parts of South Asia on September 18, 2011. Houses and churches also fell ...
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Gospel for Asia: It’s a Great Relief to Be Granted a Presidential Pardon

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It was George Washington who issued the first presidential pardon way back in 1795. His action freed two rebels, who had led what history calls the Whiskey Rebellion, from the death sentence that the courts had handed down against them. Following our Civil War, Abraham Lincoln pardoned all but the very top Southern leaders, including thousands upon thousands of Confederate troops. In 1971 Richard Nixon used his pardon powers to grant clemency to the Teamsters’ president Jimmy Hoffa, who was serving a 15-year sentence for fraud and jury tampering. Study American history and you will find any number of pardons being granted by our chief executives. The total of 213 during the eight years in office by Barack Obama was one of the lowest sums on record. To be considered for a pardon, an offender needs to make a formal request to the Office of the Pardon Attorney, who serves under the U.S. Justice Department. That petition is then evaluated and possibly passed along. It must be a great rel...
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Gospel for Asia: Their Newborn Daughter Was a Disgrace to Them. “If It’s Possible, You Kill Her,” the Father Fumed.

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Oct. 11 marks the International Day of the Girl Child . According to the United Nations, it’s a day meant to bring awareness to the “challenges girls face and to promote girls’ empowerment and the fulfillment of their human rights.” Worldwide, girls are more likely than boys to be illiterate, to experience higher levels of physical and sexual violence, and to be targeted for infanticide. Ruth, a Gospel for Asia- supported missionary , knew the struggles of being a girl since the day of her birth. Once a Beggar for Love “I don’t want this girl. If it’s possible, you kill her,” the man fumed. Before him stood his wife and, in her arms, their newborn daughter. This child was a disgrace to them —especially because she was their fourth girl. In their culture, daughters are deemed worthless, only bringing financial burden to their families. Father Devastated by Daughter’s Birth When the father realized this child was not the son they desired and had sacrificed to their gods for, he erupted. ...
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Gospel for Asia: Our Hearts Ache for Families Without Blankets

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Have you ever faced a winter emergency where the electricity in your home went out for three days and you had to wrap yourself in blankets to stay warm until the electric company restored power? Just imagine what would have happened to you if you didn’t have a blanket. Tragically, every year, millions of poor people across Asia face winter without heating, sufficient clothes or blankets to keep them warm. Mahaj, a 46-year-old man, lives in a remote farm village in a hilly area of Asia where people struggle throughout the year because of cold weather. Mahaj worked hard but was too poor to buy himself a blanket. Sadly, his grown children did not care about their father’s suffering. When Gospel for Asia ( GFA )-supported pastor Emet happened to visit the village, he found that people lived in shacks and mud huts and were far poorer than in other places. To help them through the bitterly cold winter months, Pastor Emet and his church—helped by Gospel for Asia friends around the world— dis...
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Gospel for Asia Identifies With Refugees & Migrants on the International Day of Peace

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The majority of Americans living in the U.S. today have never experienced firsthand the massive destructive power of modern-day warfare. Many of us who haven’t served in the military don’t know what it’s like to be shot at or to have to scramble to find a place of safety when enemy artillery is unleashed or bombs start falling. Fortunately for us, the recent wars in which our nation has been involved in have been fought in places far away from our homeland. Therefore, even though peace is something we value as a people, the word probably doesn’t have the same emotional feel that it has for those who have experienced the peace in their homeland being shattered by armed conflict. September 21, is International Day of Peace, as declared each year by the 193 member-states of the United Nations. The unique emphasis in 2017 is to show special support for refugees and migrants. Refugees are persons who have fled their homes and homelands to seek peace and refuge elsewhere. Last year the Inter...
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Christian Grandparenting Should Certainly Involve Praying Ahead for Your Precious Grandchildren

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Proverbs 17:6 reads, “Children’s children are a crown to the aged.” In other words, for many, grandchildren are one of the great blessings of old age. There are other benefits to living a long life, but spending quality time with a grandchild has to be right up there at the top of the list. The first Sunday following Labor Day has been officially designated as Grandparents’ Day. It’s an occasion to be reminded that grandfathers and grandmothers are important people in our society. Not only in the past did they contribute to what this nation has become; they still have a great deal to give. Most churches don’t pay all that much attention to Grandparents’ Day. It’s certainly not on par with Mother’s Day or Father’s Day. The simple reason may be that already there are just too many days for us to keep track of. But that doesn’t mean that grandparents are unimportant. In fact, in these precarious times, my contention is that Christian grandparents still have great influence. Rather than li...
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Gospel for Asia Urges Affirmation of Pastors During Clergy Appreciation Month

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What do you think the average pastor gets more of—compliments or complaints? Are you thinking about your answer? Again, does the normal man or woman in the clergy get more affirmation or criticism? Let’s make it more personal. Do you think your pastor receives more compliments or complaints? Can the scope of questioning be narrowed even more? Are your words about your minister more positive or negative? Do you recall talking recently with someone about your home church and its pastoral staff? Were your words affirming? Could it be they were not as constructive as they were destructive? America is badly in need of another sweeping revival. When the Church, nationally speaking, is in decline, it is easy for people to get discouraged and to fall into negative speech patterns. This is certainly true in settings where a congregation is shrinking for one reason or another. Negative words are especially disadvantageous in such situations. They can even bring about a congregation’s early demis...
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