How Can I Support Indigenous Missionaries?

GFA national missionaries receive two or three years of intensive, formal training before setting off into “uncharted territory,” often serving in areas where no missions or humanitarian agency has been before. They bring clean water to remote villages through installation of Jesus Wells. They launch child sponsorship programs, and kids who never thought they’d be successful in school or even go to school are able to receive an education. They help fight poverty by providing vocational training and distributing income-generating gifts, like sewing machines and fishing nets. GFA World founder K.P. Yohannan (Metropolitan Yohan) said, “Filled to overflowing with the love of God, these national workers are passionate to share that love with everyone they meet.”^[2]

Just some examples of these national missionaries are the GFA Sisters of the Cross, who minister among those often rejected by society such as those who live in slums and people with leprosy. As locals, they fully understand the culture and customs in which they work. They appreciate and respect the traditions, speak the language and know the dialect. They’re also specially trained in leprosy wound care and family counseling. No one else could have the same impact on the people that these women have. The roots of their love go deep, and their compassion reaches into places that no one else is willing to go. One woman in the leprosy colony said, “Before the Sisters came, there was no one to help trim our hair, cut our nails or help us clean our houses and encourage us. The Sisters help us by cleaning our wounds, and they make us happy and encouraged [us] all the time.”^[3]