Goats provide both joy and income to Christmas gifts recipients.

When Rahas walked home from a GFA Christmas gift distribution, he had no clue his gift—a hairy, bleating creature—would one day help him and his wife in one of their most desperate moments.

Rahas, his wife, Keva, and their two young daughters lived in poverty in a jungle village with no electricity. But the gift of a goat gave them hope for economic stability. Rahas and Keva watered this seed of hope as they diligently cared for their goat, and hope budded when the goat gave birth to a kid. Eventually, this once-impoverished family had a herd of five goats.

But sudden disaster tarnished the family’s newfound joy. Keva grew severely ill with a viral fever, and Rahas had no cash for medical treatment. He despaired—but God provided a solution.

Rahas realized he could sell one of his goats, which supplied him enough money to rush Keva to the hospital. A wave of relief and gratitude washed over Rahas when Keva recovered. He thanked God for saving her life—and for providing the goat that made medical treatment possible.

“Because of the gift [of a] goat, my wife is alive today,” Rahas says.

Gift distributions hosted by GFA workers provide life-changing gifts to those who need them most, demonstrating the honor and love Christ has for the recipients.

Pastor Sachin’s heart broke for the many people in his village who lacked education and lived in poverty. Worse, most didn’t know Jesus, even though they came from families that professed faith in Him. Pastor Sachin wanted them to experience the joy of knowing the God who offers abundant life.

Pastor Sachin treated everyone with respect—even Lahar, who was so poor the other villagers despised him. Lahar and his wife labored daily in rice fields to earn wages too small to meet all the needs of their three children.

While others wouldn’t befriend Lahar, Pastor Sachin often visited him and his family and invited them to church. Lahar, who had grown up in a Christian home, wasn’t interested in attending church, but he often encouraged his wife and kids to go.

Pastor Sachin prayed earnestly for a way to help Lahar’s family practically. When it came time to organize a Christmas gift distribution event, Pastor Sachin requested that Lahar receive a gift.

The day of the event arrived, and Lahar was called up to receive a cow. Tears filled the man’s eyes as he accepted this gift, which could provide milk and income for years to come. Overwhelmed, Lahar asked Pastor Sachin why he showed such love to his family; the cow was the most generous gift he’d ever received.

At Lahar’s invitation, Pastor Sachin visited Lahar’s home and prayed with him. He also told Lahar there was an even better gift than a cow: God’s love. Referencing John 3:16, Pastor Sachin explained how God loved the world so much that He sent His Son. Lahar listened attentively.

“I was born and brought up in a Christian family, but I did not realize the need of having fellowship with the Lord,” Lahar said.

Desiring new life, Lahar decided to follow Jesus and start attending church. Lahar and his family continued to rejoice over God’s provision of the cow—a much-needed source of income—and for the pastor’s friendship.

“Truly, God is great to love me so much and to honor me with this gift,” Lahar told his wife. “Now I believe our hard life will be stable soon.”

Aamaal (pictured) was on the edge of despair as she labored alone to provide for her family. When she received a piglet through a GFA-supported gift distribution, her financial burden was lifted.

Exhaustion hung over Aamaal like a dark cloud. The 35-year-old woman felt nothing but fatigue, frustration and disappointment in herself and her beliefs. Aamaal’s husband, Rajkumar, regularly fell sick. As he was unable to work their farm, Aamaal took on the duty of providing for their two children.

The Worries of a Wife and Mother

Aamaal and Rajkumar sought a cure for Rajkumar’s illnesses, but the family quickly ran out of money. The rituals Aamaal observed failed to protect Rajkumar’s health, and every time her husband became ill, Aamaal’s worry increased. The labor work took a heavy toll on Aamaal, both physically and emotionally. She felt like a failure in trying to find healing for her husband—but she needed to be strong.

A Turn for the Better

One day, the family heard a knock at their door. At their threshold stood GFA-supported pastor Delmar. As the pastor talked with the family, he saw the poverty they lived in and felt the utter despair surrounding the household.

Pastor Delmar began to understand the family’s circumstances. Compassion filled his heart as he listened to the struggles facing the family. There must be some way he could help them.

A Weight Lifted Off Their Shoulders

After multiple visits from Pastor Delmar, along with prayer and encouragement, Aamaal and Rajkumar received an answer. They had been chosen to receive a piglet at a gift distribution!

When Aamaal received her piglet, she was overjoyed and speechless! The piglet would soon provide an income to help take care of Aamaal’s family—a solution to the financial problems facing her and her husband. In the future, Aamaal and Rajkumar could sell the piglet, providing themselves some security in their circumstances.

Because Aamaal’s heart was so touched by the love she and her family had been shown, she wanted to learn more about Jesus, whom she had never heard of before. Aamaal began attending worship services at the church, and as time passed, she began to understand more about Jesus and His incredible love. Soon, Aamaal fully embraced that love—all through the simple gift of a piglet.

Imagine growing up without a father and being belittled and jeered at for it. Imagine growing up knowing nothing but hard, backbreaking work just to eat. Imagine never escaping the choking cycle of poverty from childhood to adulthood. Tavish doesn’t have to imagine—he lived this life.

Bereft of a Father

Tavish’s father passed away when he was only 3 years old, leaving his mother and older sister to fend for the family.

“I have absolutely no memories of my father,” Tavish says. “I don’t know what he looked like, and even my mother hasn’t told me much about him.”

The role of breadwinner fell to Tavish’s mother, Jamini, who took cleaning and daily labor jobs to earn what little money she could. When he was old enough, Tavish also helped, laboring alongside his mother and sister in the fields. From morning till evening, they worked, making only $1 (USD) a day.

The years passed, and Tavish married and had two children. He wanted to give his children a future of their own—one he never had—but he didn’t know how. Tavish’s father hadn’t been around to guide him, and Tavish hadn’t gone to school, which would have provided some direction.

A Meeting of Providence

GFA-supported pastor Naimish served in Tavish’s village for several years. During his ministry, Pastor Naimish saw God’s love touch many lives, and oversaw the small congregation that gathered.

One day, Pastor Naimish was walking in the village when he passed Tavish’s worn house made of bamboo. After striking up a conversation, Pastor Naimish learned of Tavish’s struggles. Every year just to provide, Tavish took his family to another state in hopes of finding a decent income. For four to six months out of the year, Tavish and his family joined hundreds of others harvesting sugarcane. Even his children, Pavitra and Danvir, helped in the fields, instead of attending school as Tavish wanted.

However, they only earned the equivalent of $100 (USD) in those months—barely enough for the family to survive.

Tavish told the pastor about his childhood, about the tragedy and turmoil surrounding his early years. He worried for his children’s future; if they couldn’t go to school, they would remain trapped in the same cycle of poverty he was in. As Pastor Naimish listened, sadness filled his heart—this was a family that desperately needed help.

A Changed Family

Pastor Naimish invited Tavish and his family to attend worship services for encouragement and prayer. Tavish accepted, and for the next few months, Tavish and his family sat with the other believers every Sunday.

For many months, the pastor and believers prayed asking the Lord for guidance on how to bless Tavish and his family. The answer came in the form of a cow.

Tavish wasn’t the only one in the village who received a life-changing gift. Naimish and the believers also helped provide income-generating gifts to four other families.

“We, as a church, are trying to address the problem of unemployment by giving away these gifts,” Pastor Naimish says. “We are trying to transform the lives of those individuals and help them find a source of income.”

The cow Tavish and his family received provides milk every day, which Tavish sells. With his earnings, he has enough money to send his children to school with every book and supply they need—which he has always wanted to do.

“I don’t need to worry about their future,” Tavish says. “I can be settled here, and I can be with my family.”

Unstable finances, malnutrition and lack of health care can all be resolved with an unusual gift: a pair of goats.

Sometimes, God decides to answer prayer supernaturally. Other times, He uses a natural solution, such as a goat. For Nand and his family, the gift of a pair of goats was the single answer to several prayers.

For Nand and his wife, day-to-day life proved difficult. They sought work each day, putting in long hours for just enough wages to buy the food they shared with their two children. If anyone in the family fell ill, which happened often, their meager earnings had to stretch even further to pay for medicine. They sought financial relief and peace from their deities, but those prayers went unanswered.

Prayers to God Who Hears

Amid this dire situation, the family met GFA-supported pastor Dayal. Pastor Dayal told Nand and his family of God’s love for them. He also shared that God was strong enough to handle the family’s illnesses, and he prayed for their healing.

When Pastor Dayal ran into them a few days later, they looked like a new family. Their faces shone with happiness, joy and good health.

The family began attending Pastor Dayal’s church. The more they learned about God, the more attracted to Him they became and the more peace they experienced. They each decided to begin a personal relationship with God.

While the family was better equipped with God’s love, joy and peace to handle the curveballs life threw at them, their finances were still strained, and their health often suffered from lack of nutrition.

A Generous Gift

Sometime later, the church organized a Christmas gift distribution program. Thanks to generous donations, Pastor Dayal was able to present Nand’s family with a pair of goats.

The family gratefully accepted the gift, immediately benefitting from the nutritious goats’ milk. In one year, their flock of two goats grew to four, and the money they earned helped provide a more stable income and food for a nutritious diet.

Nand and his wife were thankful for the life-changing gift, saying, “We don’t have any problems now because we are getting a good amount when we sell the goats. And we are providing the goat milk for our children. Our situation has changed a lot after we received the gift.”

Who knew prayers for a stable income, food for a balanced diet and fewer sick days could be answered through the gift of a couple goats? God did.

The gift of a single cow can drastically improve a family’s financial situation. Some families decide to share their animal’s offspring with others, spreading the blessing even further.

When a church led by a GFA-supported pastor had the opportunity to bless several families with Christmas gifts, Pulak’s family received a much-needed cow. The family was so grateful for the gift that when their cow birthed a calf, they felt compelled to give the calf back to the Lord.

As the calf grew, believers in the church decided to use the calf to bless another family in need.

Some of the believers had recently met a man named Yash. He and his wife struggled to care for themselves. Without any oxen, it was difficult for Yash to work and earn a living. The church decided to bless Yash and his wife with Pulak’s donated calf and another calf that had been given to the church by another family.

With the gift of the two cows, Yash was able to work plowing paddy fields, providing the funds necessary to purchase food, clothes and other essentials.

From the generosity of supporters providing Pulak’s community with Christmas gifts, Yash later received the double blessing. More than a means to work, the cows were a testament to God’s provision for Yash and his wife. Though they don’t know Him personally yet, they have experienced His love.

Through GFA-supported gift distributions, many people have been blessed with water buffalo, which provide milk, labor and income.

What is the greatest burden a family in Asia can face? For Lajvati’s family, it was sickness—and the resulting starvation.

Lajvati and Teman attended a church led by GFA-supported pastor Kevan. Teman worked as a construction laborer to provide for his family, but they fell upon hard times when he grew ill. Their savings quickly disappeared as they struggled to feed themselves.

Pastor Kevan, seeing their plight, submitted Lajvati’s name for the Christmas gift distribution that year. The beleaguered family’s hearts soared when they received a water buffalo! This buffalo provided Lajvati and her family milk that could be sold for extra income.

“This is God’s gift, and I’m a medium to take care [of it],” Lajvati said. “First, God has blessed my family that we can get milk and save [money] by drinking some milk. Before, we worried ... but worry has gone, because there is milk.”

Gifts like this buffalo are possible because of brothers and sisters like you! Due to your faithfulness, families like Teman and Lajvati’s are experiencing God’s love.

Countless people find freedom from severe torments and sicknesses through the prayers of believers.

People in the village could hear the sounds of a man’s screams as the rickshaw passed. It stopped near the building where the Christians met, and a desperate and haggard-looking family stepped out. They brought the screaming one with them and went in to the Sunday morning service.

The pastor prayed. The believers prayed. They claimed Scripture and called upon the name of the Lord Jesus.

And the screaming stopped.

Three Years Later

After Jagat witnessed God free his son from a torment he, a renowned witch doctor, had been unable to stop, he fell down at the loving feet of Jesus. His wife and children, along with their spouses, did likewise, and they all came up renewed.

Jagat’s family started gathering every week with GFA-supported pastor Nirmalya, the same pastor who had prayed for Jagat’s son that Sunday. And so life continued for Jagat and his family.

For generations, Jagat’s ancestors had lived on a plot of farmland, a tradition he and his four adult children continued. His children, along with their spouses, each had homes on the same property. They all worked alongside their father to grow and harvest their crops—mostly wheat and corn. The family even owned some oxen to help them plough their land, but despite all of their hard work, the family struggled. They had wheat and corn to eat and black tea to drink, but they had little else to fill their stomachs. The foods satisfied their hunger, but the family, especially the eight grandchildren, needed nutrition.

They needed milk.

A Quart of Love

One December, Pastor Nirmalya invited Jagat to a special Christmas gift distribution where the loving father received a pair of mature goats, as well as a kid. That meant, from the very first day Jagat brought the goats home, he and his family received milk to drink—a quart every day.

Countless people find freedom from severe torments and sicknesses through the prayers of believers.

A splash of milk in their tea. A bit of buttermilk and ghee to cook with. Some curd to fill a child’s belly.

The goats have made a difference.

Jagat and his family can hardly contain their gratitude. To thank the Lord for His marvellous provision in their life, Jagat soon brought an offering to the church—a precious quart of milk to bless others in the congregation. All this has been made possible through the prayers and donations of GFA partners around the world.

Payod longed to expand his family’s small home, but he could barely afford to keep their stomachs satisfied. Although Payod had worked hard selling tea every day, he couldn’t meet all of his family’s needs.

Payod, who’d been walking with Christ for 20 years, stood strong despite this poverty and was seen as an example of faithfulness in the local church.

Last year, Payod’s pastor requested a gift for him through Gospel for Asia’s Christmas Gift Catalogue.

Payod received a cow not long afterward. With this valuable source of income, he started selling milk, and the Lord lifted his family from poverty.

“Now I have extended the corridor in my small house,” Payod says. “I am so thankful to God and the church leadership for helping me in my difficulties.”

This gift has enabled Payod to both renovate his home and build up the Body of Christ. He now supports one of his daughters financially as she attends Bible college, and he regularly gives a generous offering to the church, filled with gratitude to the God who provides.

Providing for a family can be hard enough on a normal salary, but on a daily wage labourer’s, it is nearly impossible. Add in the expenses of multiple families living together, and survival becomes a daily struggle.

Sudhira and her husband, Eshan, along with their two young daughters, live in a three-room mud house with Eshan’s brother, Orian, and his wife and two children, and Eshan’s parents. Although each family has their own living area, they share one kitchen.

Eshan and his father are daily wage labourers. They own farmland, but because of the climate and hilly terrain where they live, they don’t usually produce a large crop of grain and corn. Also, they have to rent an ox to plow the land because they do not own one.

Their combined incomes almost meet the needs of the household, but they can’t afford to buy milk. This was one cause of malnutrition in their family, especially for the children. They desired to have their own goat or cow as a source of milk, but their finances simply didn’t allow it.

Family’s Health Improved Through Gift

Eshan and Sudhira knew of no way to change their family’s situation; they had no options. Thankfully, other people had some ideas.

Eshan and Sudhira worship the Lord at Gospel for Asia pastor Hirla’s church. When it came time to distribute gifts given through Gospel for Asia’s Christmas Gift Catalogue, the church thought of Eshan and Sudhira. They graciously gave one male and one female goat to the family.

Sudhira and the family were so excited to have their first livestock. From the day they received the goats, the female was producing milk.

Now all four children are able to drink milk every morning, and there is even enough for everyone to have milk with their tea. Thanks to the added nutrients from the milk, the children’s health has greatly improved.

In addition to her housekeeping, Sudhira faithfully tends the goats, and the Lord has blessed her hard work: Two goats have become four.

As thanks to the Lord for blessing her household, Sudhira gave the first litre of milk and one of the baby goats to the church. The entire family is grateful for these goats that have brought them much joy and good health.

After having three children, Tapti faced sudden tragedy: Her husband died, leaving the four of them alone.

The young widow, a believer, couldn’t provide for her children. The family was destitute.

Neglected by Her Own Children

Laalamani also became a widow before her children were grown. She raised her son and daughter, and eventually they both got married and moved out. Sadly, neither of her children looked after her, and the people in her village didn’t have good relationships with her.

One day, Gospel for Asia pastor Baldev Das shared with Laalamani about Christ’s love for her, and she started attending services at Pastor Baldev’s church.

Touched by God’s Love

On June 23, 2013, Gospel for Asia fellowships across South Asia celebrated International Widows’ Day.

Tapti joined 120 women, 70 of them widows, for a celebration. The local pastor shared from God’s Word, telling the widows how much God loves and cares about them.

That day, through the generosity of believers around the world, Tapti received a piglet! With the profit she makes from the sale of the pig, she will be able to provide for her family and perhaps buy another piglet to continue the income.

“After a few years, [my husband] died,” Tapti shares. “I felt very sad, but through the encouragement from the speaker that God loves us and cares for us as widows . . . I am touched by this program.”

Laalamani also attended a Widows’ Day program. There the speaker distributed saris, the traditional dress of South Asian women, to 14 widows. The sari impressed Laalamani with the genuine concern the Church has for her.

“I was never given a sari anytime, not even by my own children,” she says. “But you people gave me one. I am thankful.”

In addition to the Christian widows at these programs, non-Christian widows also heard, perhaps for the first time, of God’s great love for them.

The Lord is using you to meet the desperate need of some of the most abused and abandoned people in the world. Thank you for showing them His love.

Apurva and her seven children shared a small house consisting of a common room, a kitchen and one bedroom. The family of eight lived in poverty because Apurva, a widow, earned only a meager income from selling bananas she grew in her small garden.

But one day, Apurva’s pastor, a GFA pastor, gave her a gift that would drastically change life for her and her children: a piglet.

After taking care of the piglet for one year, Apurva sold it for 6,000 rupees (almost $100), more than one month’s wages for the vast majority of people in South Asia. With her earnings from that pig, she bought another piglet for 1,200 rupees (approximately $20). After raising this second piglet for six months, she gained a handsome profit by selling it for 4,700 rupees (approximately $77).

With her earnings from these two pigs, Apurva was able to build something her family desperately needed.

“My daughters are now growing up. I did not like for them to take baths outside,” she says. “Many times I felt bad . . . when I saw my daughters taking their baths outside. But I had no option since I did not have money to make a bathroom. With the money I received from selling the piglets, I was able to build a small bathroom and a toilet.

“Now I don’t have that uneasy feeling anymore about my children bathing. I feel secure. This toilet has helped us a lot. Before, we had to go to the jungle to go to the bathroom, but now it is very easy because we have it at our own house. I am very happy and thankful to God and to the church leaders who have helped me receive [the piglet], which has become a great blessing for my family.”

The gift of a piglet, donated by someone like you through Gospel for Asia’s Christmas Gift Catalogue, has not only helped a believer give her seven children a safe place for meeting their basic hygiene needs; it also has filled her with gratitude to the Lord. Thank you for your generosity!

At 23, Talleen could hardly have been a better son: He helped support the household, was kind to his parents and faithfully prayed to his traditional deity. Yet for all that, Talleen’s family was struggling to survive.

His parents earned a small income as farmers, and the only work Talleen could find was as a daily labourer. He asked his deity to bless his family and provide for his needs, but his prayers went unanswered.

Frustrated, Talleen would share his problems with his friend Kapil, a Gospel for Asia missionary.

Kapil had been telling Talleen about Christ’ love, but the young man firmly rejected the Good News. Every community has its own beliefs and faith, he said, and he wouldn’t betray his own. Besides, following Jesus could have dire consequences.

The village authorities would likely banish his family from the village, leaving them homeless—in addition to all their other struggles.

Still, Pastor Kapil seemed wise, so Talleen sought his advice in other matters of life and even asked for prayer. Kapil continued to encourage Talleen to trust Jesus and shared of God’s faithfulness in his own life. When Talleen explained his fears about embracing Jesus, Kapil prayed for him to be bold.

Determined to trust what he knew to be true, Talleen chose to follow Christ. His family thought for certain he’d gone mad.

The Folly of the Cross

Suddenly Talleen stopped attending religious festivals and refused to take part in any religious rituals. His father sadly thought the family’s poverty must have driven Talleen to insanity. The whole family was worried.

Talleen tried to comfort them,explaining that Jesus had opened his eyes, but they didn’t understand what he was talking about.

Once again, Talleen went to his missionary friend for counsel, and Kapil decided to visit the family. Seeing the family’s poor living conditions moved the missionary to tears. Talleen had not exaggerated their predicament, and Kapil desperately wanted to help them. He began praying wholeheartedly that God would have compassion on them. In little time,God did.

An End to Their Struggles

When it came time for the local church’s Christmas gift distribution program, Pastor Kapil chose Talleen’s family to receive pigs.

See how people like Talleen were helped by Gospel for Asia’s Christmas gift distribution program.

The family was overjoyed at the good news. Now they could earn a real living and put an end to their struggles. Through tears, Talleen thanked Kapil, who reminded him to thank God. Talleen has been telling others of Jesus’ faithfulness, desiring that everyone in the village embrace God’s love.

With new hope in their lives, Talleen’s parents could be some of the first to join their son. They’re beginning to realize that maybe the Gospel isn’t madness after all. Perhaps Talleen has led them to something better than they could imagine—just as a good son should.

Jaideep, 27, lived a lonely existence for nine years, toiling to provide for himself. He shares how God changed his life:

“I was born and brought up in a poor family. . . Though I was born and brought up in a Christian family, I did not have a personal relationship with Jesus, and I was far away from the Lord.

“I do not have parents anymore. I had two brothers, but at the age of 18, they left me and went somewhere else. From that day onward, I have been living alone. I was doing labor work near my village. I toiled hard and came home late at night. My condition was pathetic; most of the times I slept without having any dinner. Only in the morning could I afford a proper meal.

“One evening while I was sitting at my home, a Gospel for Asia pastor visited me. He shared the hope found in Christ with me and prayed for me. He invited me to attend the worship service at his church. As I listened to the Word of God, I realized my need for salvation. I repented of my sins and chose to follow Jesus as my personal Savior. Ever since then, I have been attending the church and growing in the Lord.

“Through the help of Gospel for Asia, I got a cow and a calf for my survival. Really, I am very thankful to the leadership of Gospel for Asia . . . for blessing me with this special gift.”

Jaideep no longer strives for only one meal each day; he now earns a steady income from selling his cow’s milk. Restored by God’s grace, he also continues to participate faithfully in church activities.

Gospel for Asia ministry leaders were able to give Jaideep a cow and a calf, assisting him toward a brighter future, because donors like you purchased gifts from Gospel for Asia’s Christmas Gift Catalog. Through your generosity, Jaideep and thousands of others received Christmas gifts that filled them with the joy of our Savior’s birth—the Savior who is called “God with us.”