Beyond’s South Asia team has received hundreds of photos and videos from various movement leaders expressing their great appreciation for your generous giving to the COVID-19 relief fund. On their behalf, we’d like to thank you for your generosity. Thousands have been provided with food and several communities received wells for much-needed access to water. Your generosity has also provided medical help for many who were sick but, due to the lockdown, unable to earn money to pay for needed medicines. These relief funds even helped a few families rebuild their homes after Cyclone Amphan struck in May.

With your help, thousands of people have been blessed. 

We want you to hear directly from our partner Sanjay about the spiritual impact your giving has had. Below is a translation of one of his recent messages: 

I am sure that in these days thousands of people (many hundreds of families) . . . have started Bible studies in their homes . . . across nine states, including [a new state that opened to us during the lockdown]. Because of [the ration distributions], new Discovery Bible Studies have started . . .. Because we gave food to so many, all those people were able to see the work of…(the Kingdom). Our leaders (distributing rations) were met with astonished faces and people saying, “The Indian government doesn’t care for us or send us help, but you care for the poor.” They want to know more. Everyone is giving thanks to Jesus for the food (including many who don’t know anything about Him yet). They are ready to come to the Father through Jesus. I hope to get a real number of how many Bible studies have started since lockdown, how many have been baptized, and how many churches have been birthed out of these Bible studies. This report will not be about how many groups we leaders were able to start, but how much . . . (fruit came) . . . because of this Covid Relief effort (and how much work God did as we all simply obeyed His command to care for the poor and needy).

So many people are taking baptism these days. They are so joyful. They were concerned about not having food to eat, and now they take baptism, now they have the words of Jesus. I still have faith we will achieve the goal of 60,000 new churches birthed this year. God is our very present help.

We continue to accept donations toward this effort, as the lockdown is still in place, and rations are still being distributed. 

Most importantly, though, movement leaders are planning systematic follow-up in households and communities where God has opened doors through this relief effort. They are returning and spending time discipling the new families. By discipling whole families, followers of Jesus from an established movement can see new movements birthed in new regions and among previously unreached people groups! 

These new discipling efforts require finances that go beyond their own capacity, particularly in this season.  

*pseudonym

As *YouLin and *Amy greeted one another and sat down, YouLin said excitedly, “Thank God I’ve had the opportunity to spend more time with my grandmother recently. I’ve been following up on what I told you I wanted to obey from our Bible discussion two weeks ago.” 

Previously, the women had read Luke 2:1-20, and YouLin had been impacted by the fact that, after the angels told the shepherds about Jesus, the shepherds hurried to find him. Then, upon seeing Him, they actively spread the news while glorifying and praising God for all they had seen and heard. In response to this story, YouLin’s obedience commitment was to make haste to share the Word of God with her grandmother and to openly praise God in her presence.

While her grandmother feels more comfortable using the local dialect, YouLin learned almost all she knows about God’s Word in the official language. She considered how to do what she felt God leading her to do. Amy mentioned that videos are available online that tell God’s stories in the local dialect. YouLin prayed, and the Holy Spirit led her to a YouTube channel containing stories from God’s Word in her grandmother’s dialect. 

The next challenge was to break the ice and share the stories in a way that wouldn’t seem like she was imposing them on her grandmother. God orchestrated an opportunity one morning as YouLin prayed and prepared her grandmother’s breakfast. The television was showing a depressing news report, and YouLin’s grandmother asked her to change the channel. Flipping through the channels, YouLin paused on a man telling a Bible story in her grandmother’s dialect. The grandmother’s eyes brightened, and she listened intently. After all, who doesn’t love a story — especially one in their own heart language? 

Afterward, YouLin asked her grandmother if she liked the story. She said she did, especially the compassion of the God in the story. She wanted to hear more! YouLin has since found a phone app that allows her to play Bible story videos through her grandmother’s TV. 

Give thanks for God’s creative answer to prayer and for YouLin’s persistence to obediently follow His promptings. Pray for this grandmother and others like her to receive Jesus with an open heart and become his follower, even in her 80s.

*pseudonym