Gospel for Asia: Waiting for the Sun to Rise

Joel Vergara
2 min readJul 17, 2020

--

WILLS POINT, TX — Gospel for Asia (GFA) — Discussing the plight of missionaries come wintertime, who live barely protected from the elements, and the immeasurable blessing the gift of winter clothing brings.

Pastor Babar shivered under his thin jacket. He walked up to a group of villagers huddled around a blazing fire in the early morning hours. Warming his hands, the GFA-supported pastor shared a story about Jesus to the chilled figures gathered around the heat of the flames. This joyful story constantly burned in his heart, no matter how cold the weather was outside.

Waiting for the Sun to Rise — Gospel for Asia — KP Yohannan
Villagers in cold regions in Asia often can be found warming themselves by fires outdoors, as many do not have indoor heating.

Battling Winter Struggles

As the sun rose, villagers in the area where Pastor Babar served would gaze out their windows waiting for the sun’s rays to warm the outdoors. For those with meager winter clothing, it often wouldn’t heat up enough to travel until nearly 10 a.m.

Every morning, Pastor Babar opened his sleepy eyes in the early hours to pray over the day before him. In the wintertime, he read Scripture and prayed while tucked underneath layers of blankets to keep himself from becoming too cold.

“It is very difficult to get up in my house early in the morning because of the cold weather,” Pastor Babar shared. “And unless I have warm water, I cannot brush my teeth, nor can I take a bath or wash myself with cold water. So I have to heat water…”

Even though there were days when the temperature would drop below freezing, Pastor Babar never stopped his ministry. During those days, he would pull on nearly every piece of warm clothing he owned to face the outdoors. He endured splitting headaches; dry, cracking skin; and the common cold to visit the men and women he pastored.

Click here, to read more blogs on Patheos from Gospel for Asia.

Learn more about Gospel for Asia: Facebook | YouTube | Instagram | SourceWatch | Integrity | Lawsuit Update | 5 Distinctives | 6 Remarkable Facts | Media Room | Poverty Solutions | Endorsements | 40th Anniversary | Lawsuit Response | Francis Chan Support

--

--

Joel Vergara
Joel Vergara

Written by Joel Vergara

I’m a computer engineering professional with a passion for excellence and success.

No responses yet