GFA World Newsletter

June 2025, Vol. 22, No. 3

The nation was in lockdown. Pastor Ezra and his wife, Alina, had only been serving in their current location for four months before the COVID-19 pandemic forced the entire nation to retreat into isolation.

The beginning of their ministry had been discouraging, and now they had to shut the church’s doors.

When Pastor Ezra and Alina arrived, there were only three believers attending the church, and the building was in a sorry state. Together, they cleaned it up and prayed for more people to experience Christ’s love through their ministry.

The lockdowns, however, put all things to a halt. Pastor Ezra and Alina, who was two months pregnant, were no longer free to visit the people in their new community, which meant they had no way of building relationships. In the news, they heard of people from nations across the world suffering the ravages of this unknown virus.

“Lord, why did you bring us here to die?” Pastor Ezra had cried out to God.

Despite their own fears and anxieties, however, Pastor Ezra and Alina decided not to focus on the overwhelming circumstances around them but to turn their eyes to the Lord.

“We started asking God to reveal His glory through our lives,” Pastor Ezra says. “Though we went through lots of problems, we did not leave the ministry; rather, we grew more in the Lord.”

Their days in Bible college had trained them to persevere through difficulties and had taught them the importance of fulfilling God’s will in all circumstances. Alina, who had served as a Sister of the Cross, especially understood challenging seasons, but she knew they “can do all things through Christ who gives [them] strength” (see Phil 4:13).

“By God’s grace, we are serving God together.” — Pastor Ezra

As Pastor Ezra and Alina spent time before the Lord together, they gained strength to not lose heart. They asked God to open more avenues to share His love. Soon after Alina had given birth to their son, the Lord brought Jianna into their lives.

Jianna was afflicted with demonic possession. Even though travel was prohibited, she took the risk to visit Pastor Ezra’s church, seeking prayer and deliverance from her torment.

“She was trying to kill herself and beat others as well,” Jianna’s husband recalls. “I prayed to my gods and tried other things, but still I did not get relief from any of these troubles.”

When Pastor Ezra and Alina prayed over Jianna in Jesus’ name, it was the first time in three years the possessed woman experienced any relief. With continued prayer, she was completely delivered! News of Jianna’s healing spread, and when the lockdown was lifted, more people sought Pastor Ezra for prayer.

Today, the church is growing, and there are 50 believers from eight neighboring villages worshipping the Lord. Pastor Ezra and Alina began Sunday School classes, have a WhatsApp prayer group, and Alina teaches women the valuable skill of sewing so they can climb out of poverty.

“By God’s grace, we are serving God together,” Pastor Ezra says. “My wife is helping me so much in ministry. ... Indeed, the Lord has blessed our ministry.”

As we partner together to support and pray for national missionaries like Pastor Ezra and Alina, God gives them the strength they need to endure challenging times. Thank you for being their support from afar.

Whenever I read the Bible, I am fascinated by how often God uses “broken” things for His glory. A broken jar of alabaster, broken bread, broken branches, even broken lives.

It gives us great hope for those times in our Christian life when we go through dark valleys in our own spiritual journey or when we face severe adversities in our ministry. Suddenly, God seems distant and silent, even when we pray, read the Bible or go to church. We feel our closeness to Him is broken.

Yet, in reality, the Lord never leaves our side. He allows those times so we can learn to walk by faith instead of sight or feelings and to make our lives more fruitful.

David went through many such valleys and adversities. He testifies that they don’t last forever. He wrote, “weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning” (Psalm 30:5).

In this issue of Rejoice!, you’ll read the incredible account of Pastor Ezra and his wife, Alina, who had to endure an extremely discouraging and broken season in their ministry during the COVID-19 pandemic. The difficulties and hardships they went through caused them so much anxiety that they almost quit. Yet, after much prayer and seeking God, they finally saw God open a door, and now they are ministering even beyond their own village!

I pray that this summer you will experience God’s faithfulness in your journey with Him, just as Pastor Ezra and Alina did. Remember, no matter what broken pieces we place into His hands, He has promised to make all things new. He never fails.

May the Lord be with you and bless you,
Bishop Daniel
President

You can download the booklet “Living By Faith Not By Sight” for free here.

Ponleu’s fingers were rotting. Pus continually oozed from an open wound and a stench emanated from its opening.
For so many years, Ponleu lived as a witch doctor, performing rituals for healing for people who had come to him in search of cures. But now the elderly sorcerer felt powerless to heal himself.

Ponleu couldn’t bring himself to seek help from another witch doctor, who would only do what he should have been able to do. In desperate need, he turned to a medical doctor, who said it was just a simple wound that would dry up with some medication—but it didn’t.

Instead, the wound seemed to grow deeper and deeper, and his fingers kept slowly deteriorating. Ponleu worried he’d lose all his fingers if it didn’t heal soon.

In his field of work, he knew what evil spirits were capable of and began to believe one was keeping his festering wound from healing.

Ponleu’s granddaughter, Tala, had also experienced a mysterious illness a few years prior. He remembered how Tala would suddenly collapse unconscious for unexplainable reasons. She didn’t have previous underlying conditions or any other symptoms. For a year she suffered with fainting episodes that no healing rituals or medication could improve.

It wasn’t until Ponleu’s daughter and son-in-law had taken Tala to a church led by a GFA pastor that his granddaughter experienced true healing. The three of them now faithfully attended the church and believed in the One called the Great Physician.

Recalling Tala’s miraculous healing, faith the size of a mustard seed took root in Ponleu’s heart that he, too, could be healed. He asked his daughter and son-in-law to pray for him and expressed that he wanted to join them in believing in Jesus.

Soon after they prayed, Ponleu’s wound began to heal! There were visible signs that it was drying up and the smell diminished. Seeing this miracle, Ponleu left his profession as a witch doctor, and today, he and his wife worship the One who has true power to heal.

Thank you for helping to bring the healing touch of God to people across Africa and Asia through your partnership.