Category Archives: Poverty

March 28, 2014 · 7:30 am

Friday’s Prayers for Prisoners (3/28/2014)

Limited Theatrical Release – This gripping new documentary film tells the untold story of millions of women in Asia who are culturally persecuted for no other reason than the fact that they are women. From birth until death, their life is a vicious cycle of poverty and oppression; from the mass epidemic of female suicides, dowry deaths, forced abortion to the high rate of illiteracy among the women and even how more than 46 MILLION widows are being cast aside and ostracized by society simply because their husband died.

However, despite more than a millennia of hardships, the Gospel is being spread into the remote villages as Christian women are now rising up across the entire nation of India; bringing cultural change in every area of life through the hope of Jesus Christ.

These are the faces of true survivors. Those who have withstood a lifetime of adversity in the face of a culture stacked against them. Take a heartfelt journey through the eyes of these women, and others… (Full Movie Review can be seen here.)

What Others Are Saying About Veil of Tears:

“When I saw it, I knew I would never—could never—be the same. ‘Veil of Tears’ has taught me how to pray, to give, and to make a difference for Christ.”
– Joni Eareckson Tada

“‘Veil of Tears’ was so moving and informative. I want everyone to watch it and join us in making a difference in the lives of these women.”
– Francis Chan

“A well-produced, powerful and shocking exposé. ‘Veil of Tears’ will have you in tears.”
– Ray Comfort, Living Waters

“‘Veil of Tears’ asks the question, ‘Do we care?’ Now it’s up to us to answer.”
– John Schlitt, PETRA (Lead Vocalist)

“This factual account of the oppression of millions of women in Asia must be told. Though the story begins with tears, the Good News is that help is on the way through the ministry of compassion seen here.”
– Robert Coleman

Check the listing of theaters here or free simulcast here.

I prayed today:

Lord, I pray that the Spirit of the Lord rests on Veil of Tears so that liberty may be proclaimed to female captives in India, our blind American eyes may be opened, and oppressed women may be set free. (Based on Luke 4:18)

What do you think and has the Lord spoken to you?

Join with me on Fridays to fast and pray for prisoners, according to Hebrews 13:3.

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Tagged as Christianity, Church, Gospel For Asia, India, Poverty, Prayer, Prisoners, Prophecy

March 22, 2014 · 7:33 am

How High’s the Water, Mama?

We Americans generally take good water for granted because all we have to do is turn on a faucet. Then, almost immediately, clean water flows out into our glasses, pots, sinks, showers, or wherever.

This is not true for the rest of the world.

Each day, women in foreign nations spend 200 million hours carrying water for their families, livestock, and crops. Many travel miles to collect water from filthy ponds or lakes which may be contaminated with waterborne disease. They may have no other options.

Did you know 3.4 million people die each year from water related diseases? This number is larger than all the people killed each year by war and violence. Did you also know one in nine in the world do not have access to clean water? A great majority of these live in South Asia.

Today is World Water Day.

I am a blogger for Gospel For Asia because I believe in their ministry. Preaching the gospel to unreached people is their number one goal which they achieve by sponsoring native missionaries, helping children, radio, and countless other ways.

But they also dig Jesus Wells and provide clean water for whole villages. The water is offered to all and many choose to follow Jesus because of these wells.

Gospel For Asia is praying and believing God to provide the finances for 5,000 Jesus Wells this year. Each one costs $1,000.

So, if you want to know how you can help Gospel For Asia reach their goal, please click here.

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February 28, 2014 · 9:30 am

Friday’s Prayers for Prisoners (2/28/2014)

“Get the stuff you don’t need here and give it to someone you don’t like,” said a street beggar, selling trinkets to American tourists in Los Algodones, Mexico. The city of 5,500 people is known for its inexpensive medical care and prescription medicines, which draws senior citizens to the city.

But not only are there hundreds of dentists, opticians, and pharmacies, there are thousands of street beggars peddling trinkets, with most of them being women. Many held babies in one arm and their wares in the other one.

How brutal it must be to awaken each morning, realizing they must beg on the streets all day long, dependent on other people’s charity. Their faces reflect the pain they feel at their stations in life. Few offered smiles, especially the older women who have been on the streets for decades.

Okay, they live painful lives and then what? They die and go to Hell.

Yes, that’s right!

You see, only 5% of Mexicans are born again Christians.

Today, I prayed for the prisoners held hostage by the kingdom of darkness in Mexico:

“Lord, help us Americans to love our Mexican neighbors as we love ourselves and to loose the oppressed prisoners in Mexico with our fasts.” (Based on Mark 12:31 and Isaiah 58:6)

Join with me on Fridays to fast and pray for prisoners, according to Hebrews 13:3.

Behind the Veil of Tears

My life was forever changed in 2011 when I read No Longer a Slumdog by K. P. Yohannan.

The stories about 9.9 million little girls between the ages of 4 and 11 years of age being homeless and walking the streets of India attempting to survive, the stories about 300 million downtrodden Indian people who are considered untouchable because they were born to the wrong parents, and the stories about the degradation of women in India crushed my heart.

My poor heart has never recovered nor do I ever want it to revert back to before reading Yohannan’s book.

The above video was produced by the Saylor Brothers and the quality is A+++, but it is 17 minutes and 22 seconds long. If you have the time, watch it. You won’t regret doing so.

Just so you know: I wept all the way through it, thinking about the six children my wife and I sponsor through GFA’s Bridge of Hope program and asking the Lord to show me how we can do more.

Friday’s Prayers for Prisoners (2/7/2014)

Jesus sat in His home in Capernaum, teaching a crowd of people. Four men carried a paralytic on a stretcher to His home, but they could not move through the throng. They carried the paralytic up the stairs to the roof and proceeded to rip apart the roof tiles. Then, they lowered the stretcher, with the paralytic on it, down through the hole in the roof to the floor below.

Because of the noise and the falling debris from the roof tiles, every eye focused on the paralytic as he was lowered down in front of Jesus. The Lord recognized the men’s faith and said, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”

The scribes and Pharisees got all bent out of shape because Jesus forgave the paralytic’s sins, but then Jesus said something amazing:

“Which is easier to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk?'” (Luke 5:23)

Most of us probably believe that it’s easier to be forgiven by God than to be healed by Him, but Jesus did not answer like that. He forgave and healed the paralytic.

Because of this story in Matthew 9, Mark 2, and Luke 5, I am convinced that if we have enough faith to believe the Father will forgive our sins then we have enough faith to believe God will heal us or others when we pray for them.

Okay, if this is true, then why aren’t more people being healed in America? And why are people being healed in Third World nations?

Sadly, we Americans have so complicated the gospel with teachings, books, seminars, and religious rigamorole that we can no longer see the simplicity of Jesus’ message. But the people in Third World countries are not burdened by all of this and simply believe His Word.

We need to change!

Today, I prayed for us American believers:

“Lord, open the blind eyes of us Americans to bring us out of our prisons of unbelief.” (Based on Isaiah 42:7)

What do you think and has the Lord spoken to you?

Join with me on Fridays to fast and pray for prisoners, according to Hebrews 13:3.

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Tagged as Christianity, Church, Gifts of the Spirit, Kingdom of God, Poverty, Prisoners, Spiritual warfare

January 31, 2014 · 3:57 pm

Friday’s Prayers for Prisoners (1/31/2014)

C. S. Lewis, that great British defender of the faith, wrote, “There is no doctrine which I would willingly remove from Christianity than that of hell. I would pay any price to be able to say truthfully, ‘All will be saved.'” (Revolution in World Missions by K. P. Yohannan)

How many people in the above photo would you estimate to be saved?

I would guess only 20 to 25.

What do I base my guess on? Approximately 5% of the people in India, the world’s largest democracy, are Christians.

How heartbreaking, huh?

Today I prayed:

Lord, You told us the harvest was plentiful and the laborers were few. Therefore, I pray to the Lord of the harvest, to send out thousands and thousands of laborers into India. (Based on Luke 10:2)

What do you think and has the Lord spoken to you about prisoners?

Join with me on Fridays to fast and pray for prisoners, according to Hebrews 13:3.

If you are interested in helping to send laborers into the harvest fields of India, consider sponsoring a national missionary for Gospel For Asia. See more info here.

Chapter 44: No Longer A Slumdog

In 1995, Janelle told me about K. P. Yohannan and his ministry, Gospel for Asia. She loaned me a book, Revolution in World Missions by Yohannan, which I quickly forgot about until New Years Day, 1996. Since I had nowhere to go on that holiday and no TV to watch football bowl games, I hunkered down and read the book.

Yohannan wrote in one part how overwhelmed he felt by the size of India and his meager resources. He cried out to the Lord and eventually the Lord spoke the following to his heart:

“I am not in any trouble that I need someone to beg for Me. I made no promises I will not keep to you. It is not the largeness of the work that matters, but only doing what I command. All I ask of you is that you be a servant. For all who join with you in the work, it will be a privilege − a light burden for them.”

The Lord’s response so blessed me I wrote the words in my Bible. Although Carol and I began sponsoring a GFA missionary in 2006, I paid little attention to the ministry, except for a few glances at the words written in my Bible.

Fast forward until 2011 when we received a free copy in the mail of No Longer A Slumdog by K. P. Yohannan. The title caught my attention because of the movie by a similar name. I sat down and began reading it. I wept often and asked forgiveness again and again of the Lord as the book revealed my selfishness to me.

There were stories about Muttu, Asha, Lata, Vichy, Tusli, and other names of poor children I could not pronounce. I read about a mother who sold her baby for ten pounds of rice. I learned about India’s caste system and how the lowest rung, the Dalits, comprise 20% of India’s population or nearly 300 million people. The Dalits are considered subhuman, worthy of being treated like dogs.

Every word acted like a rock thrown against my plastic Western Christianity, creating cracks in it. Yet, it was this specific sentence on Page 31, which penetrated my heart:

“In India alone, there are 11 million children like Asha who have been abandoned, and 90% of them are girls.”

All I could think about were the 9.9 million abandoned little girls. If I closed my eyes, I saw little children, but their faces resembled my daughter, Susan, when she was four years old. I could not ignore my heart this time.

My wife and I now sponsor six children in Gospel For Asia’s Bridge of Hope program. I am a volunteer advocate for Bridge of Hope, a Gospel For Asia blogger, and a member of their prayer team.

In the foreword to No Longer A Slumdog, Francis Chan wrote:

“I am very thankful for the book you are about to read. It has stirred my heart once again. Living in the West with all of its influences, it is easy to forget about others…”

I recommend this book to everyone and who knows? It may change your life, too.

(From soon to be published memoir, The Hunt for Larry Who by Larry Nevenhoven.)

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December 23, 2013 · 8:12 am

Imagine If

Gospel For Asia sent me a new video entitled, Imagine If, two days ago. It is one of the most creative videos I have ever seen because it depicts what happens in India almost everyday from an American viewpoint. It touched my heart because a vision of my daughter as a little girl abandoned on the streets of India caused us to sponsor six Bridge of Hope children.

The video is 4 minutes and 13 seconds long and can be seen here. I believe everyone should see it.

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November 22, 2013 · 12:20 pm

Chickens are $11 and Goats are $70

Most of us give Christmas gifts to family and friends who will then give us gifts in return. It’s a holiday tradition, which I enjoy.

But here’s a thought: consider giving a gift to someone who will never be able to repay you and probably won’t be able to even pronounce your name. Yet, the gift may change his or her life forever.

Consider giving a gift through Gospel For Asia’s Christmas Gift Catalog. Over 100,000 people have done so…why not you?

If interested, check it out here.

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November 8, 2013 · 4:12 pm

The Picture That Still Bothers Me

The above picture of the little Dalit girl going through garbage has bothered me more than any other one I’ve ever used on my blog. If you click on the picture to enlarge it, you’ll discover the background is probably her home. The bamboo posts most likely hold up a plastic or canvas cover, which shelters her family.

If this photo bothers me, what do you think it does to my heavenly Father?

Gospel For Asia’s Bridge of Hope ministry reaches children like this with the love of Christ. So far, more than 60,000 children have been helped and thousands of families have found faith in Christ as a result.

If you’re interested, it only takes $35 a month to give a child everything they need—school supplies, a daily meal, medical checkups and more. You can check it out here.

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