in focus {How your partnership is changing lives} Photographs on these pages are GFA Stock Photos. f N AT I O N A L M I S S I O N A R I E S JESUS GOT THEIR ATTENTION Gospel for Asia-supported missionaries Adesh Chauhan and Param Singh have been serving in one South Asian village for more than three years and have established a fellowship of around 40 believers. The congregation faithfully meets to worship the Lord in a believer’s home that is located near a famous temple. A s the nearby fellowship of Christians grew, those worshiping at the temple sensed that something was not right. It felt as though their deity was losing some power. The devotees responded by offering more sacrifices and performing more rituals to try to fix the problem. They invited important priests to reinstate the deity’s power. When that didn’t work, they began fasting and praying for one week every month. After all these efforts, they only became more frustrated in the end. That’s when the Christian worship services eventually caught the attention of many locals. When the villagers learned that this gathering was near the temple, they decided to move the location of an important upcoming festival so it would be farther away from the Christians. 18 | send! | www.gfa.org As the community became more aware of Jesus, many villagers have begun questioning their deity’s power. Six members of one family abandoned the god in the temple and chose to follow Jesus instead. Now they attend the local church. All across southern Asia, thousands of faithful men and women like Adesh and Param are following the Lord’s leading to take the love of Jesus to their own people. Through their faithful service and by God’s grace, these national missionaries are establishing approximately 17 fellowships every day among unreached villages and people groups. In places where Western missionaries would encounter language, cultural and travel barriers, national missionaries have relatively easy access—sometimes just a village away! More on the Web: Visit www.gfa.org/sponsor to learn more about how you can partner with a national missionary to help bring the name of Jesus to those who have not yet heard. Did You Know? A national missionary lives at the level of the people he serves. You can help support a missionary with a monthly donation of only $30.