Rejoice!

At just 18 months old, baby Aksa was on the verge of death. She was suffering from severe lung infections that were complicating a pre-existing complex heart condition. She needed immediate and specialized care.

Dr. John Valietthu and his team of child cardiac specialists prepared to receive her at the Believers Church Medical College Hospital (BCMCH). But Aksa still had to be safely transported to BCMCH, which was a six-hour drive from her village. Putting his own life at risk, an ambulance driver made the journey to the hospital in half the time.

Upon arrival, baby Aksa was immediately wheeled into the operation room, where doctors performed a complicated, 12-hour surgery. We praise God that the surgery was successful!

A year after her operation, little Aksa came back to meet her medical team. It was a joyous reunion as she ran into the arms of the nurses who had taken care of her after her surgery.

You’re helping to bring healing to kids like Aksa!

Aksa would testify with her “healed” heart that from performing the most advanced surgery to meeting the most basic healthcare need, our medical ministry offers compassionate care to all.

The incredible distance between Aksa’s home and the care she needed is an unfortunate reality for millions of people in the areas we serve. But with your support, we are able to meet those needs and reach countless people with the compassion of Jesus, often by bringing healthcare services directly to them in the form of medical camps and health classes.

In remote areas where people do not have access to healthcare, we host medical camps by bringing doctors who conduct free diagnostic evaluations, and provide free medication.

In both the rural and urban areas we serve, health awareness programs are conducted in communities on various aspects of personal health, from basic first-aid practices to the benefits of healthy sanitation and even AIDS prevention.

The Health Education Program also teaches important healthcare lessons, concentrating on women because of the important role they play in their homes. Medical professionals train designated women—such as the wives of local missionaries or the Sisters of the Cross, who serve communities with Christ’s love—to be healthcare educators and teach other women.

Your support of our medical ministry is helping to save lives across generations.

The classes cover topics such as general health, hygiene and first aid and include subjects that are relevant to women’s health, such as pregnancy and care of a newborn. And because they are familiar with the language, culture and practices of the communities they serve, these women are uniquely positioned to address needs specific to those who attend classes.

Providing lifesaving procedures and preventative care, and empowering communities to live healthier lives—soon through our hospital under construction in Rwanda—is made possible because of your generosity. Thank you!

You help give kids like Samuel a boost toward academic success and knowledge of the Lord.

Your support of GFA World is transforming lives and communities, one child at a time. With your help, we provide food, clothing and education to help them discover who God created them to be.

One child you have helped is Samuel.

“Before joining the [child sponsorship program], life was tough,” Samuel says. “My family struggled financially, and I lacked basic educational skills. But since joining, everything [has] changed. I have improved academically, learned discipline and witnessed the power of faith. Thanks to the [program] and God’s blessings, I am now confident in my abilities and optimistic about my future.”

The GFA World Set Apart retreat hosted young believers hungry to hear from the Lord.

As a ministry, we are passionate about helping this next generation learn to hear the Lord’s still, small voice in the midst of a chaotic world. This June, we hosted our third annual Set Apart retreat for young people longing to hear from God.

Our retreat was created in opposition to the unprecedented busyness of our time. During their week here, attendees learned to truly wait on the Lord and spend time in His presence, alongside others who shared their hunger.

“The main thing that I really was impacted with was peace … and a time to be still,” says attendee Andrew. “Missions cannot happen unless it bursts out of those things: having peace and rest and being still in the presence of God.”

“Just show up and God will meet you there.” — Gabrielle, Set Apart attendee

During the week, a video message was shared from our founder, K.P. Yohannan (Metropolitan Yohan), who zealously challenged believers to come, die and live for the sake of a dying world who waits to hear Christ’s name even once. 

“I’ve never seen anyone speak like that in my entire life,” says attendee Joshua. “His fire … for reaching [those without Christ] in a place where they don’t even have any sort of context to the Scriptures and his vigor to encourage us all to deny ourselves … and follow Christ wherever He leads us.”

Thank you for making transformative experiences like these possible for the next generation!

Longtime GFA partner and child sponsor Carol with our founder, K.P. Yohannan

“I just got another letter today. I love my letters from my kids!” longtime GFA supporter and child sponsor Carol says excitedly. “I can’t wait to read it.”

Although Carol does not have any biological children (“That’s not what God had in mind for me,” she explains), her heart is full of love for kids. Her decades-long career spans various industries, all tied together by one love: education.

Carol grew up in a large Italian-American family and has many cherished memories of time spent enjoying meals together. “I remember those days, and they are still very, very much a part of me,” she says. “It’s a great heritage I have, and I am very thankful that I had such a wonderful, gracious, giving family.”

When a GFA World speaker shared at her church many years ago, Carol was immediately intrigued. The ability to feed children she would never meet remains one of the most meaningful aspects of her child sponsorship. “I really got the message, and I never looked back,” she remembers.

“This was never a tithe,” she explains. “This was giving. And I knew that God wanted me to give. And I knew He wanted me to take what He had given me and to share it with others.”

Carol gives her all in everything she does, and with her customary gusto, she enthusiastically began sponsoring GFA children. At one time, she was sponsoring 114 kids!

“I still have all their pictures,” she says proudly.

 Many years and many hundreds of child sponsorships later, Carol remains strong in her conviction that reaching across the world to help children in poverty is a calling from the Lord.

“We have a responsibility to teach the next generation, to feed the next generation. And this is our opportunity to help third-world countries,” she says. “Somebody has to be the role model. And our job is to help these children get to the point where they can be a role model.”

Carol knows that reaching just one child can have a generational impact for eternity. “I’ve read letters that parents are surprised at the changed behavior in their children. They see what GFA is doing: giving children food, clothes, the ability to learn. And then they see the turnabout or the brightness, the shining light in their children.”

“We are to be the light of the world, and these children are the light of the world in their communities.” —Carol

Please pray for these precious children, that God may continue to keep His angels before them and bless them—and their families—as they grow in Him. Thank you for transforming families by supporting their children!

K.P. Yohannan (Metropolitan Yohan)

To build up others must be our fundamental attitude in ministry. Without this mindset, no fulfillment of the Great Commission is possible.

One of the first things Jesus did when He started His ministry on earth was to choose 12 men to give His time and energy to disciple. He lived with them, laughed with them and taught them day by day through the various situations of life. He intentionally invested His life in them, knowing that one day, they would have to go and do the very same thing—teach what He had taught and bear witness to the truth.

And when the day came that He ascended to the Father and left the work in their hands, they went out and fulfilled His command.

And so it must be among us. Every mature believer must be a disciple maker, aiding in the spiritual growth of those younger in the Lord, for this is the way the Church is built and sustained.

May we recognize the great privilege the Lord gives us to raise up a new generation of believers who will do the will of God and invest our lives in brothers and sisters around us.

Make a difference. Be a disciple maker.