 | | | |  Latest News | | | |  | A Life Poured Out for Jesus - 05/17/04
 Last week 20-year-old Lakhi, a GFA Bible college student, was found lying unconscious in the bathroom. Staff members rushed her to the hospital where doctors gave her glucose and some injections, indicating she passed out due to weakness from her anemia.
Two days later the young woman felt severe pain in her stomach. Again, leaders rushed her to the hospital. But this time she died before they could get there. "Her commitment to the Lord was great," writes a GFA field leader. "It is a great loss for our family here."
At the age of 16, Lakhi came to know Christ through the witness of kind women who brought the Gospel to her family. Once she gave her life to Jesus through the kindness of a Christian, Lakhi always knew there was no turning back--even when relatives tried to throw her out of the house. "Not willing to give up my faith in Christ," she said, "I left my house and found shelter with the missionaries who had led me to the living God."
Lakhi would have graduated in June. By God's grace, the sisters outreach team she served with helped to plant four churches of new believers last year. May God shower His comfort upon Lakhi's family and move in their hearts that they may turn from worshipping idols to singing His praises.
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| | Miracle Elections in India - 05/14/04
The eyes of the world are on India, as anti-Christian parties in this large democracy's government have slowly been trying to squelch the spread of the Gospel. Already, several states have passed anti-conversion legislation. One of these parties, the BJP (under Prime Minister Vajpayee) had plans to pass a universal anti-conversion bill, as well as other legislation intended to hinder the extension of the Gospel message. Had the BJP received a single majority in the recent elections, this likely would have happened.
Going into the election, newspaper reports indicated a likelihood of the BJP party's victory. Joined by Christians all over the world, Gospel for Asia staff and missionaries prayed, believing for a miracle. And the unexpected happened: The BJP party did not get single majority. This means incredible potential for India's downtrodden masses to hear of the love of Christ.
While the Congress party (under political figure Sonia Ghandhi) is in the lead, it has failed to achieve a complete majority and thus must depend on the alliance of smaller groups. This renders value to the votes of minorities such as Dalits and backward castes. For centuries, India's "untouchable" Dalits have been given little or no voice in Indian politics, yet now they have a viable platform to stand up for their rights. "This is incredibly significant," said K.P. Yohannan, president of Gospel for Asia, "when you think about the 300 million Dalits who are crying out for freedom from the caste system and slavery they've been living in for 3,000 years."
As elections draw to an end and a new government is starting to form, Christians around the world can continue to pray on behalf of the 1.2 billion people of India. The coming days and weeks will be crucial to the future of both Christians and the millions of unreached in the nation. "With India being the largest democracy in the world," Yohannan said, "we believe God is giving us an open door to continue sharing the love of Christ in this generation."
Established in 1979, Gospel for Asia shares the Good News of Christ and plants churches among the unreached. More than 13,500 indigenous missionaries minister in seven Asian nations: India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Myanmar, Nepal and Sri Lanka. During the past decade, they have established 10,000 churches and more than 11,000 mission stations. GFA also has 54 Bible colleges on the Indian subcontinent, where 8,000 students are preparing for pioneer ministry.
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| | A Long Day - 05/14/04
At 5:30 one evening, after a long day of studying and working, a GFA team of Bible college students climbed in a van and left their campus. They had finished their normal day's work: Now began their night ministry.
Riding down a bumpy highway, the students kept an eye on the equipment they had packed. Soon they left the city, turning onto a dirt road--even rougher. Tracts and booklets flew about as the brothers struggled to keep the equipment intact.
About an hour after starting out, the team reached the secluded village--their destination for the night. Arusd, pastor of a church of 35 new believers, warmly greeted them. The Lord had blessed his ministry, yet there remained many people in the village with whom Pastor Arusd had not been able to speak.
As the students unloaded the van, a large group of curious onlookers gathered around. An elderly woman who could not walk alone leaned on a neighbor's arm so she could come see. Excited about the opportunity to practice what they were learning, the students sang praise choruses and shared Christ with the eager crowd. As darkness fell they set up a projector and assembled a large sheet as a screen. The villagers watched as the Man of Mercy film played.
When the movie ended, some of the team packed the film equipment while other members walked among the crowd, distributing tracts and talking with people. They planted many seeds for Pastor Arusd's outreach: Two people even received Christ.
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