Spirit of Giving

Hey caring folks,

Would you like to help buy a Christmas gift that could change someone's life for the better?
http://www.gfa.ca/gift/

and read up on someone's story?

http://www.gfa.ca/news/articles/sewing-machine-and-widows-dignity/?cm_mmc=GFA-_-Email-_-2903891-_-151125%20CA%20Digest%20298%20WB5B-G400%20(1)

I hope so :)

-Jenna-out

    Hey caring people,

   So a whole lot!
Here's a link to a video that will tell you more.

http://www.gfa.org/ministries/abandoned-children/

Have a life changing evening.
Shalom sent your way.

-Jenna-out

Just a Friendly Reminder

Hey there.

Just wanted to remind you of something.

First of all,

I don't know how your day has been going.

But I figure that even if it's the best day ever this still might be of some usefulness.

God loves you very, very, much.
Always has, loves you still, and always will.

This can be a tricky thing to understand sometimes (lol, and most of the time.)

Yet I thought this might be a good reminder.

Have a great day.
Shalom sent your way.

-Jenna-out

Spread the Love!

    Hello there! Can we please take a moment to marvel at the beauty of this photo? ^
   See that lady there? A prized possession of God!

  If you'd like to play a part in telling "the women of Asia of their worth in Christ" then please do!
   http://www.gfa.org/women/sponsor/

Thank you greatly!
Shalom sent your way.

-Jenna-out

Stay Encouraged(true that) Book Review

The book "Stay Encouraged" by K.P. Yohannan is one that I highly recommend reading.
Not only is it short and sweet; but also jammed packed with the kind of encouragement that can keep one alive and rollin'.

There are relevant pieces of scripture and stories that go nicely along with the encouragement theme; and all in all I'd give the book about a 9.5 out of 10.

So what are you waiting for?!

-Jenna-out

GUESSSSS WHAT

Hey caring souls,

Shoutout of appreciation to Gospel for Asia for providing two free copies
of the book "Stay Encouraged" by K.P Yohannan. 
I love the book title! Don't you?

Gave one away to an amigo
and the other book I am currently reading.

Planning on staying true to my
word
and writing some reviews sometime soon.

I'll keep you posted.

In the meantime
have a super awesome evening.


-Jenna-out

Worth a Read!

Hey folks,

Today's post is on the life of Jigyansh.  

A boy who sat sobbing on a rickshaw
in the middle of a storm.


He was lost from his family when the help came.


A lady named Shamani came to the rescue and took
Jigyansh under her wing.


Soon he was enrolled in school at a Bridge of Hope Centre with Gospel for Asia.

For three months the staff members prayed faithfully for Jigyansh
and that he would be reunited with his family.

One day on his walk home with Shamani
he recognizing the woman walking towards them.

His mother!

She took him in his arms and walked him home.

However,
when Jigyansh was a no-show at Shamani's place...
both the Bridge of Hope staff AND Shamani got concerned
and soon started a search and rescue mission.

They even went so far as to go to the police station 
"to file a missing person report. For three days they searched and waited anxiously to hear what had happened to Jigyansh."

 (Wowzers!)

If you'd like to hear what happens next... and find out how to get involved with Gospel for Asia
please visit this link.
http://www.gfa.ca/news/articles/not-unnoticed/?cm_mmc=GFA-_-Email-_-2903891-_-150923%20CA%20Digest%20289%20WB59%20G400%20(1)

Thank you very much
and I hope you're having an excellent evening!

-Jenna-out

Sweet Slum Dreams!

Hey everyone,

It's been a while since my last post. Since that post,
I have moved into Bible College life!

Yet don't fear,
I still plan on posting here!


Today's post is a video about a heroic man named Nitya Balji
and his dream come to life.

http://www.gfa.org/videos/real-life-hero/


Enjoy!

-Jenna-out

An Amazing Answer to Prayer!

Hey caring souls,

For today's assignment: I'd like for you to watch a short video on
the life of Lalita and her answer to prayer.

http://www.gfa.org/videos/one-widows-answered-prayer/

This link will also take you to a place
where you can watch the video AND you can choose to donate  $ towards a sewing machine for
a family in need.


Thanks a billion!
Have a generous afternoon.

-Jenna-out

Waterbuffalo To The Rescue: Watermelon Fest

Hey amigos!

Would you like to help spread God's love
and help me do so by purchasing a waterbuffalo
for a family in need?

You could also attend the Watermelon Fest where
we will be eating lots of watermelon,
playing Pin the Tail on the Waterbuffalo,
and MORE.

To find out the details you can visit

https://www.mygfa.org/waterbuffalototherescue/

today!

Thanks a trillion!
And on a related sidenote...I'm not sure what sort of day you've been having
but hey! I believe that we can all use a little encouragement everyday. Here's
a photo I found recently on a place on the internet.

-Jenna-out

Let the Freedom Reign!

Daya was spotted on the streets,

cradled in the arms of her grandmother

while a suspicious onlooker (a Cook to be specific)

gazed on.

So you see,

Daya had come from a broken home. Her father had

started to beat her mother very, very, badly,

and neither one of her parents "had any love

for Daya."

Soon,

her father

ditched the family

and married someone else.

Her grandmother chose

to take Daya under her wing,

and from then on out they had started begging 

as a means of survival.

When a Gospel for Asia supported Cook noticed

the lady holding Daya in her arms he wondered

if this was another common case of a beggar

taking advantage of a young child in order

to 

draw passerby's pity and make more money

when it wasn't even a child related to them in any way.

Yet much to his surprise

after asking and waiting for a reply to his question...

the woman

broke down

and 

began

to 

weep.

The cook was moved at this surprising

scene and decided to invite Daya to become

a part of the Bridge of Hope family.

So she joined the Bridge of Hope centre which

was sandwiched between a railway station

on one side,

and

a 

slum

on 

the other.

Daya stood out at the school

due to poor hygiene habits.

She knew little about the art

of cleanliness after spending many

years of life in

a

slum.

Parents of other children at the school

became quite concerned and feared for their

own children's wellbeing in Daya's presence.

If Daya were to be cast out from the centre; many dangers would await her there.

(Prostitution, child labour, and street begging to name a few.)

   Yet because the Bridge of Hope staff

knew that God had brought Daya to them,

they got to work and gave her a scrub down

plus new threads. 

The crew also started teaching Daya (and other students) practical hygiene tips and tricks.

Today,

Daya has been enrolled at the Bridge of Hope center

for more than 6 years.  She wears beautiful dresses

that have been given to her & dreams of becoming a teacher.


Daya is no longer out on the streets. She is not begging her way to her next breath,
or selling her body. Nor is she in bondage to bonded labour.

Through the kindness Daya's grandmother as seen given to her granddaughter,

she too has experienced great life change as she too now lives in the beautiful love of our God.

side note: Did you know that more than 60,000 children such as Daya,

are finding hope in in Jesus through Bridge of Hope centers...yet there

are still MILLIONS out on the street who live in the despair that comes from not knowing the truth of the Gospel? And from having a pretty rough life style?

You can play a role in reaching out in love to these children through sponsorship.

http://www.gfa.org/sponsorachild/

Thank-you for taking the time to read this article.

May you have a blessed, beautiful, life changing 

& soul saving sort of day.

-Jenna-out

Home sweet home...or Slavery awaits?

Greetings,

I'd like to introduce you to Nadish Sabharwal.

After Nadish's father passed away from cancer,

he was enrolled in one of the Bridge of Hope Schools by Gospel for Asia.

The staff loved them there and he was given a place to grow and learn.

Yet one day,

his mother scolded him for not devoting enough of his energy

into his schoolwork.

Then Nadish decided to run away from home.

He soon ended up in a railway station in a big

city in India.

He met an elderly man who

"befriended him and took Nadish to his home village."

Doesn't sound too bad, right?

Wrong.

Nadish was forced into becoming a slave

who lived as this man's prisoner

and worked strenuous days 

cleaning out animal droppings.

He did this for 2 whole years.

At the end of a long days work,

Nadish was locked in a room by the animals

where he was basically thrown a few scraps

(or a very small amount of food you could say.)

Meanwhile,

Nadish's mother was in great agony at the loss of her 

husband, and now,

son as well.

Fortunately,

the Bridge of Hope center prayed incessantly to God,

 for the life of Nadish.

Two years after being taken captive,

a new boy was added on by the man,

placed in the same room as Nadish...

and 

the 

slave driver forgot to lock the door! 

In a sweet release,

the two fellows got their getaway

and ran to the nearest police station

to report their plight.

Now Nadish

is back with his family

and at the Bridge of Hope center.

Can I ask you to please ask you to join me

in prayer for Nadish?

As a result of his mistreatment

he is struggling in his mental state/

Please pray that Nadish will experience

healing and also be able to concentrate

on his school studies.

And if you'd like to find out how YOU can rescue

kids who are out on the streets

here is a link

http://www.gfa.org/donation/items/abandoned-children-street-children/

Thanks again.

-Jenna-out

Girl Throws a Curveball into Plans

Mayuri had a rough family life. Her father, (Ekaling) spent his days
making some less than great decisions. He drank, gambled, chased
after women, and beat his wife.

Olimani worshipped all the goddesses she could think of to worship to,
but they could not save her.

Everyday,
Mayuri went to work with her mother, (Olimani.)

And as Gospel for Asia puts it,
she continued to do so until Mayuri
"was married off in order to escape
her father's abuse."                                                    

Pretty awful to be getting married
to escape the results of your own parent's marriage hey? Yet it seemed like a clear getaway.

Yet the story of Mayuri's married life
didn't exactly go "happily ever after."

Though there was a brief time of what could be called temporary happiness when Mayuri became pregnant and the couple eagerly awaited the arrival of their son.

Yet when Mayuri failed to produce a son for
her husband Rafat, but gave birth to a daughter instead...
he was quick  to anger.

Not only did Rafar begin to speak badly of Mayuri in front of his family,
but he also started beating her.
(Like her father had done to her mother.)

Though Rafat threatened to leave the marriage,
it was Mayuri who ended up setting sail.

Unsure where else to go,
Mayuri returned to her family's house.

Her mother was distraught over how Mayuri's life had turned,
when she had possessed high hope's and dreams  for her daughter's life and well being.

Mayuri soon learned that her father, and Olimani''s husband, Ekaling,
had married another woman.


On a quest to find work,
Mayuri was ripped off by a man
who left her in debt.

The only option she saw left,
was for her to become a prostitute
in order to prevent her children's starvation.

Mayuri was shunned by her entire community with the exception of one.
A pastor from Gospel for Asia. She also developed a tumor on her abdomen.

In a search for healing of some sort of another,
Mayuri started trekking to temples & offering up sacrifices.


Yet a day came,
when this pastor named Patakin offered Mayuri the chance to pray to the one, true,
God.

This was not the first time the two had held a conversation about Jesus.  
While the rest of the villagers did their best to keep their distance from Mayuri,
the pastor visited the home of a prostitute.

Usually,
Mayuri ignored what Pastor Patakin had to say,
but this time she listened when he invited her to a
Christmas service at a local church.

Many years of being shunned and cast to the side 
had taught Mayuri to expect the worst.

Yet when she walked through the church doors she
was met with love and acceptance.

She returned back to that Church 
and kept going back.

During one service,
a specific bible verse
jumped out at Mayuri that
Pastor Patakin read to the congregation.


"He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honour him. With long life I will satisfy him, and show him My salvation."

-Psalm 91:15-16

Pastor Patakin
told Mayuri that,

"If you pray to God, He will heal you and give long life to you."

So Mayuri chose to believe in God,
and put her trust in the one that could save her..

and she experienced the beautiful and healing touch of God as her cancer went away.

Now as Mayuri watches 
her two daughters grow,
she is overjoyed
to know that their lives can be different from the life she knew growing up.

Rafat may be gone,
but now they have an entire church family to stand behind them.

They now attend Sunday School weekly and our growing in their relationship
with God;
as they come to know of his great love for them.

After experiencing God's healing,
Mayuri found work "as a daily wage labourer"
and both her daughters are enrolled in school
as
a
result.

In Mayuri's words in regards to her life's turnaround...

Thank-you for taking the time to give this a read.

If you'd like to help send a woman missionary to assist
women in need such as Mayuri once was...
here is the place.

http://www.gfa.org/women/sponsor/


Have a marvellous Monday.

-Jenna-out

Touch the "Untouchables" with the Love of Jesus!

Hello people with caring hearts,

Today I want to talk to you about the Dalits (otherwise referred to as the "untouchables".)

   Did you know that even today in the year of 2015,
that there are approx. 300 million people worldwide
who are still known as being "untouchable"?!

These people are denied the right to choose where
they will worship,
work,
and 
live.

They also experience great hardship in getting clean water.



You can read and watch more 
here             http://www.gfa.org/dalit/#

and donate $ towards Jesus Wells for the people here   http://www.gfa.org/water/


Thank you very much for your time.
Have a significant Sunday.

-Jenna-out


                                           

Saved from the Streets

I'd like you to meet Nandi                                 and                        Manjulika.

Nandi never knew his real parents,
and the people who adopted him treated him as their personal slave. They beat him whenever he failed to live up to their expectations...and if Nandi happened to call them "mother and father" they got real mad.

"You're not our child."
Were the words they'd fire at him.

(How awful! That must've been pretty painful.)

Manjulika also faced hardship. One morning she woke up to discover that her mother had died.
Manjulika and her sisters soon found out that their mother had died while at a hospital.

From then on out,
Manjulika found herself playing a motherly role for her younger sisters.

Sadly enough,
when their father would return after a long day of working as a rickshaw driver
he'd often come home drunk and beat his daughters.

Eventually,
her father who, ~quote~
"had no love to give his children, 
let the government take them to a Gospel
for Asia home for at-risk girls."

Meanwhile back in Nandi's world, 
the boy decided to run away from his
broken and abusive home
by boarding a train 
to a bigger, and hopefully better,
city.


However,
in a matter of mere months...he ended up
in "forced begging."

(have you ever watched the movie "Slumdog Millionaire"? Might be worth giving
a watch if you haven't.)

Nandi would beg along the roadside all day long,
and in the evening a man (probably the slavedriver/his boss you could say)
took all that Nandi had earned and "gave him a little food."

Almost a generous thing to do.

Nandi came to a point
where he was simply DONE
with this infuriating
and straight up degrading
routine that he told the man
he 
would
not
beg
anymore.

Enraged,
the man gave Nandi a beating.

The next morning,
Nandi (bravely) refused
once more to beg,
and the man beat another boy in front of Nandi
to intimidate him.

Filled with fear,
his stubborn willed
determination petered
out 
and
Nandi 
obeyed
the man.

A few months later,
an accident actually led to Nandi's sweet release.

As Nandi was crossing the street one night,
a car RAN OVER HIS FOOT.

(Owch!Brutal hey?!)

Fortunately,
a police officer rushed to Nandi's rescue
and had him taken to a hospital.

Nandi stayed in that hospital for 6 whole
months as he recovered.

A lady visited him during his stay,
and asked Nandi if he'd like to go
to a "children's home."

Yet in response,
Nandi told the lady...
"No, I don't want to go anywhere."

He was terrified of meeting new people
in new (potentially dangerous) places.

He'd already been through a lot.

How much more could he take?

However,
after observing the nice ladies
friendly, and kind nature...
he thought the offer over.

He soon accepted,
and was brought to a
"Gospel for Asia's home
for abandoned and runaway boys."

~
And meanwhile
Manjulika
was introduced to 
"Gospel for Asia's home for abandoned girls".

There she received great love
and care.

She was enrolled in a solid
school,

and they even threw Manjulika her very
own birthday party...which was the first she'd ever had.

~
Yet for Nandi,
entering a new place
was more challenging.

He felt overwhelmed
by the many new faces
and the structured routine.

Yet the staff members comforted 
him and said,

"Don't worry, because we are here like your mother and father",
they told him.

Upon his arrival,
Nandi was still having difficulty moving
due to his recent injury...so in order to accommodate & care for him,
the women working there brought him both food and medicine.

In Nandi's words in regards to their excellent service,

This touched Nandi's heart in a great way.

Today,
(August 28th/2015)
the lives of both Nandi and Manjulika look wildly different than they once did.
Previously,
Nandi had been captive to an abusive home
and then hostage to a savage slavedriver.

Manjulika had been left motherless
with her sisters to be cared for,
and a drunken father to beware.

Now Nandi is receiving a good education
at a local school,
where they learn of and experience
the love of Jesus through the staff members
that work there.

In the future,
Nandi is interested in serving Jesus through his singing.

He says that he 
"can see a light in the days to come."

Manjulika also has a dream.
She longs to teach children the things 
that she had learned. Yet Manjulika
knows that the most important thing she
can teach them,
does 
not 
come
from
a 
schoolbook/textbook/whatever you want to call it.

Manjulika says that,
"The thing that makes me happy the most is that I know Jesus loves us.
I want people to know Jesus loves each one of them, no matter who they are
or what background they are from."

Thanks to the outpouring of love from Gospel for Asia
homes for children,
kids such as Nandi and Manjulika
are coming to know just how deeply
they're loved,
and it's changing lives!

Awesome right?

(you can read the GFA article here
or click on the second link...or maybe both...
to learn about GFA's ministry for Street Children.)


http://www.gfa.org/gfa-world/2015/more-than-a-mothers-love/

http://www.gfa.org/ministries/abandoned-children/

Adios Amigos! You're loved deeply by Jesus! (Please don't ever forget that.)

-Jenna-out