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

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


                                           

The Healing of Hope

Hey hey someone caring! Today's post is on Ruth's story.


Where Ruth grew up,
women are generally despised
for being women.

They are thought to be a little on the expensive side
due to what a daughter's marriage dowry can cost
her family.

Ruth's family already had 3 daughters when
she was born,
and her father was less than pleased with the arrival of Ruth.

He openly seemed to resent her,
and made it quite clear that he had been anticipating a son...not another daughter.

Fortunately,
Ruth was introduced to a local church via some women missionaries and thus discovered the love of God... 2 years later she decided to go to Bible College.

Ruth went to her father to touch his feet in what is considered a "cultural sign of respect" but he didn't let her touch his feet. As she bowed down to touch his feet, her father didn't let her,
but rather, 
"he kicked her in the face.
With that, Ruth left behind the only life she'd known
and went to Bible College."


 Ruth kept in touch with the women missionaries and the pastor from her church;
while she was attending the Bible College. At one point,
she got a call from the pastor who informed her that her father
was "following Jesus now."And was asking how Ruth was doing.

Ruth went home,
after 3 years of not seeing her father.

"As the bus pulled up to the stop,
she saw him again. 
And she didn't know how to feel,
as she came off the bus.
She again knelt down to touch her father's feet. This 
time instead of kicking her...
her father took her by the hands,
lifted her up
(and for the first time in her life)
he hugged her."

After that,
Ruth journeyed from village
to village with the women missionaries
to spread the love of God.

Later down the road, (8 months later)
Ruth received a request from the Bible College
asking her to help oversee the Girl's dormitory.

"If those first women missionaries hadn't come to her village,
she doesn't know where she would be today. But because they
did, she can now bring hope to thousands of other women 
across South Asia.


What a beautiful and heart breaking story.
It amazes me to note the change that happened
not only for Ruth and her salvation
but also for her Dad's
and now for the women that Ruth is sharing this hope with.

Thanks for the taking the time to read.


Video can be watched here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vzrste0b0GE&feature=youtu.be


-Jenna-out

The Flame of Shame

Hello compassionate, kind, and caring people.

Today's post is on the topic of shame and a beautiful woman named Saachi's experience with such a terrible thing.



Saachi had a family with her husband Udit,
and everything seemed to be going a-okay.

However,
she began to observe a difference in
her husband's manner. Saachi wasn't sure what was up.

Udit stopped giving Saachi money,
and would beat her when she asked.

Eventually came a day when
Udit vanished.

The word came out that he had been having an affair.

Saachi was submerged in sorrow
and wept.

She was unsure of how she would now provide for her family.

Thankfully,
she did find work...and started on at a factory.

Saachi knew that the income would help keep her family alive.

However,
she was harassed at work by several men
and eventually accepted one.

Yet Saachi quickly became ashamed of herself
and decided to light herself on fire.


As she began to do so,
the neighbours heard her piercing cries
and she was taken to the hospital with some serious burns.

Yet the story doesn't end here.

Meet Jabeen.  A woman missionary supported by Gospel for Asia
who had also been through the overwhelming heartache of discovering her husband had been having an affair.

Yet God led Jabeen to a pastor who shared with her the love of Jesus.
She decided to make her faith from childhood
officially her own.

Later down the road,
God called Jabeen to serve Him full-time 
and Jabeen answered the call!

Jabeen knew that Saachi needed to hear her testimony
so she shared the story!

She also told Saachi the most important story of all.

  Jabeen told Saachi of Jesus,
and how precious her life is to Him...and that Saachi doesn't
have to pay for her sins because Jesus already did.

  Saachi wept at these words of healing
as she learned that God would 
"never be unfaithful to her or abuse her. 
He loved her perfectly."


Three weeks later,
Saachi was freed from the hospital
and decided to go to Church. 

It was there that she decided to accept the love of Jesus.

Though the scars on her body still remain,
"God is healing the scars on her heart."

On top of this,
Saachi has found a job that helps support her and her family,
and also maintains a close friendship with Jabeen.

Saachi knows in her heart that God sent Jabeen at just the right time...when the need was greatest.

In the words of the original article,

"Gospel for Asia women missionaries like Jabeen can minister in ways men can't.
Understanding the struggles of other women in Asia as they visit homes and hospitals,
they are able to share the Gospel with those in need of hope."

Speaking of hope,
I hope this article has sparked something deep inside of you.



Please remember that God loves you.
Have a wonderful evening,

-Jenna-out


http://www.gfa.org/news/articles/engulfed-by-shame/

heysomeonecares: Mega Monsoons=Furious Floods

Hey caring people,

As you may already know....there have been some mega monsoons lately.
Some severe flooding has flooded several countries as a result.

  Here ^ is a rather intense photo that demonstrates the water depth and damage.

     ^And another.

According to a Gospel For Asia article here 
http://www.gfa.ca/flood/myanmar-india/?cm_mmc=GFA-_-Email-_-2903891-_-150812%20CA%20Digest%20283%20WB58-G200%20(1)#cta

The floods have caused some of the most awful destruction that Myanmar (Burma) has seen since the year of Cyclone Nargis in 2008.

  Approximately 1 million people have been directly affected by this recent catastrophe. Crucial crops have been destroyed in what is known as the "Rice Bowl of the Far East." The majority of Myanmar now lies submerged in water and there are also 4 areas/regions in Myanmar which have been officially described as...wait for it...

"designated disaster zones."

  Fortunately,
Gospel for Asia workers have been getting themselves out there.  They have sought
to demonstrate the awe-inspiring love of God by reaching out with hands of compassion,
love, and marvellous mercy; to the flood victims who are made in the image of God! (Just like you and I.) How amazing is that!

They've provided these people with clean water as well as food to eat.

Other countries such as India, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Vietnam,
have been heavily impacted by sudden floods as well.

 In Manipur, India...some of the floods have actually gone so far as to sweep homes away
and shut down a Bible College.  I think that the photo below gives a fairly accurate portrayal 
of the anguish (and just all around sense of lost) that these people might be feeling. 

Yet hope is not lost! 

Gospel for Asia workers are planning ways to further reach these people.

and you can play a part.

Thank-you very much for taking the time to read this post.

Have an impactful rest of the day and evening,

-Jenna-out

heysomeonecares: an illiterate life?!

     Good evening folks!                 

   Did you know,
 that there are over 250 million women in Asia
   who can't read or write?

This is quite tragic indeed (despite what her radiant smile might tell you.)
However, there still is a reason to smile! They don't have to stay in the dark.
They can be taught how to read and write.

And then tickety boom! One day they can be reading & writing up a storm. 
One of the greatest challenges they face is not being able to read the bible
due to illiteracy! Surely we can help change that!

Act today! Give now if you so desire! It only takes a mere $1 to help one of these
women. They're waiting! Go and give! It's not too late!
http://www.gfa.org/women/literacy/

Have a super great evening
and don't let me pressure you...but I hope you keep this in mind.

Adios amigos.

                                                                                                -Jenna-out

Spread The Love

Hey caring people!

Welcome back! Today's post is centred on prayer.

Did you know that out of India's mind-boggling population of 1 billion... that 40% of the people
are under 18 years old? Crazy right?! Which is also similar in other countries such as Bhutan, Bangladesh, and Nepal.

These young people face many hazardous circumstances in their day-to-day lives.
Such as disease, hunger, and loneliness.

Please remember to keep them in your prayers...that they would come to know
just how deeply, madly, and richly they are loved by Jesus.

http://www.gfa.org/pray/youth/