When I was able to visit India, one of the places we went to was Mumbai and it was really hard seeing all the beggars. The stuff that you see in the Slumdog Millionaire movie is real and accurate. I am so thankful to God for allowing me to serve a ministry (Gospel for Asia) that ministers in India's slums. Below is the video that the GFA video team made about one missionary who went into the slum to minister and love the people. Be encouraged to know that there is hope for India's slums and street children!
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Monday, May 18, 2009
Serving at Gospel for Asia
I first started serving with Gospel for Asia doing the 1 year intern discipleship program on January 26th, 2008. I served at the GFA US home office in Carrollton, TX, a suburb of Dallas. The picture above is of me in front of the office.
My first job at GFA was in the incoming call center. I took on average 50-70 calls a day. Can you imagine what all of those calls were about? We would receive calls from people needing prayer, people wanting to sponsor a missionary or child, someone wanting to make a donation to the ministry, someone having a question about GFA or whats going on in the mission field, etc...that is just to name a few of the calls I received. Serving in the call center was the one job I prayed and hoped for not getting. Well, you gotta be careful what you pray for? I know God answers prayers but he seemed to answer this one not according to my plans since He ended up putting me in the call center. Talking to people on the phone was a big fear I had and I DREADED DOING IT! But after being in the call center for a couple weeks and seeing how much grace that God, my trainer and GFA had on me I grew to love the call center. I became more and more comfortable with each call and I absoutely loved it and thanks God for giving me that opportunity. I was able to trust God more, my faith grew and I learned so much about GFA while being in the call center! God is good!
The picture above is of me with my fellow call center crew!
The second half of my year in the internship there was an urgent need for someone in the print room so I got moved into there and loved my job here as well. I printed different GFA material such as receipts, missionary updates, Bridge of Hope correspondance forms, appeals and just many other different letters and material.
The print room I was worked in was a part of a larger department known as the Fulfillment Center. This is me with the crew!
This is me with Uncle Butch. Butch and his wife Mary Lou were an awesome couple I got to know very well during my year in the internship at GFA. They are GFA volunteers from Oregon and they serve 6 months out of the year at GFA's home office in Texas. I love these guys!I am currently raising support to go on staff at Gospel for Asia
The Lord has called me to serve Him at Gospel for Asia full-time on staff at the US Home office in Carrollton, TX, a suburb of Dallas. I had been serving the Lord here for 1 year in an intern discipleship program. It was the best year of my life, but also the hardest year of my life!
Through much prayer, thought, and counting the cost, I sensed the Lord calling me to serve at GFA's home office. The Lord has shown me countless reasons why He'd have me serve at GFA. Along with this, there is a huge need for staff; the need for me to get back to GFA as soon as possible is vital, Lord willing!
About Gospel for Asia
GFA is a native mission organization committed to reaching the lost in the most unreached villages in Asia. GFA's trained native missionaries work full-time in some of the most fruitful mission fields in the world. These national workers are reaching people who have never even once heard the name of Jesus, in many countries that are completely closed to Western missionaries. Many countries in Asia are completely closed to Western missionaries, but the native missionaries are already there and even know the language, culture, and people to whom they are witnessing! Currently, GFA supports more than 16,500 native missionaries who are sharing the Gospel all over the Indian subcontinent and other surrounding Asian countries, and last year thousands of lives were dramatically transformed by the liberating message of the Gospel. They are now faithfully attending local churches, being discipled, and freely worshipping the one true God! Actually, last year there were more people to come to know the Lord in the first few months than the whole year previous to that. God is moving!
Since native missionaries live the lifestyle of their home country, it only costs about $1,000 to $2,000 a year to support each one. That is many thousands less than it would cost to send a Western missionary.
GFA’s goal is to reach all of Asia with the love of Jesus in this generation! Significant progress has already been made, yet there are still millions to be reached.
Bridge of Hope
Bridge of Hope (BOH) is another vital part of GFA. BOH is GFA's children out reach ministry reaching out to India's Untouchable children and other low caste children. Currently there are over 48,000 children enrolled. BOH children learn English which can open doors to better jobs and higher education since being an untouchable that is only a dream! BOH also provides education, well-balanced nutritional daily meal, school uniforms, medical care, lessons on hygiene (many of these children have never used soap or a tooth brush before) and are taught the bible and Gospel and share that bible to their proud parents! The children are loved and cared for by their teachers and are for the first time treated like real people and not like animals. This opens the doors for parents and whole communities to be transformed by the Gospel and this is a Bridge of Hope to reaching India's Dalits...reaching the children to reach all of India's Dalits! I am so thankful to be apart of this!
Why I am needed
To accomplish the work on the field, GFA needs a large full-time staff to serve in its Dallas home office, the lifeline for the missionaries on the field. The task of providing financial support for these thousands of missionaries in an area the size of Asia is immense, not to mention the communications and record keeping that are involved. The need is great! In many ways we home team workers are no less important than the native missionaries on the field. It is the native missionaries that are spreading the Gospel, but it is the work of the US home team that shares with the West here, raises up funds and sponsorships for the missionaries and Bridge of Hope (for info on Bridge of Hope, check out www.gfa.org/bridgeofhope), and raises Western funds for numerous other outreach projects, and sends 100% of it to the field. Everyone's job at the US home office is important, and through God working, makes it possible for the native missionaries to reach the lost!
I have been invited to join the home staff to serve in the work the Lord is doing. I am very excited about this opportunity, and I am very eager to go as we are in the days where the harvest is plenty but the workers are few, and 80,000 people are dying each day in Asia and going to Hell. However, because GFA sends 100% of all missionary support donations to the mission field, the home office staff must raise their own financial support, so before I can go I need $1900 in monthly commitments from fellow believers who want to partner with me in reaching the lost world. I am delighted to invite you to be on my support team as we work together to reach Asia with the Gospel! What a blessing it is to have our hearts and minds set above on eternal things! I would love to have you prayerfully consider supporting me through finances, prayers, or both! I thank God for you and the blessing you are in my life! I need your help because I can't serve at GFA on my own. I pray for the Lord's blessings on you as you make the decision to come on my team.
If you would like to talk to me more about this, please catch me on facebook! I would love to contact you or talk to you about this awesome opportunity in serving the Lord, reaching Asia in this generation!
I will be sending updates through this group! If you would like to receive my updates and monthly newsletters, please send me a message on my facebook with your email address, and I'll add you to my list! I'm delighted to share with you monthly what God is doing in my life as I serve with GFA!
Please pray about joining my support team. I need several who will support me monthly, quarterly, or yearly. One time gifts are also a huge blessing, as they'll help get me to GFA soon! All gifts made to Gospel for Asia are tax deductible. Please make any checks out to Gospel for Asia, and include a note that it is for home team staff member Alex Pruckler. My account number is 6260, which should be included in the memo line of any checks sent to:
Gospel for Asia
1800 Golden Trail Court
Carrollton, TX 75010
Through much prayer, thought, and counting the cost, I sensed the Lord calling me to serve at GFA's home office. The Lord has shown me countless reasons why He'd have me serve at GFA. Along with this, there is a huge need for staff; the need for me to get back to GFA as soon as possible is vital, Lord willing!
About Gospel for Asia
GFA is a native mission organization committed to reaching the lost in the most unreached villages in Asia. GFA's trained native missionaries work full-time in some of the most fruitful mission fields in the world. These national workers are reaching people who have never even once heard the name of Jesus, in many countries that are completely closed to Western missionaries. Many countries in Asia are completely closed to Western missionaries, but the native missionaries are already there and even know the language, culture, and people to whom they are witnessing! Currently, GFA supports more than 16,500 native missionaries who are sharing the Gospel all over the Indian subcontinent and other surrounding Asian countries, and last year thousands of lives were dramatically transformed by the liberating message of the Gospel. They are now faithfully attending local churches, being discipled, and freely worshipping the one true God! Actually, last year there were more people to come to know the Lord in the first few months than the whole year previous to that. God is moving!
Since native missionaries live the lifestyle of their home country, it only costs about $1,000 to $2,000 a year to support each one. That is many thousands less than it would cost to send a Western missionary.
GFA’s goal is to reach all of Asia with the love of Jesus in this generation! Significant progress has already been made, yet there are still millions to be reached.
Bridge of Hope
Bridge of Hope (BOH) is another vital part of GFA. BOH is GFA's children out reach ministry reaching out to India's Untouchable children and other low caste children. Currently there are over 48,000 children enrolled. BOH children learn English which can open doors to better jobs and higher education since being an untouchable that is only a dream! BOH also provides education, well-balanced nutritional daily meal, school uniforms, medical care, lessons on hygiene (many of these children have never used soap or a tooth brush before) and are taught the bible and Gospel and share that bible to their proud parents! The children are loved and cared for by their teachers and are for the first time treated like real people and not like animals. This opens the doors for parents and whole communities to be transformed by the Gospel and this is a Bridge of Hope to reaching India's Dalits...reaching the children to reach all of India's Dalits! I am so thankful to be apart of this!
Why I am needed
To accomplish the work on the field, GFA needs a large full-time staff to serve in its Dallas home office, the lifeline for the missionaries on the field. The task of providing financial support for these thousands of missionaries in an area the size of Asia is immense, not to mention the communications and record keeping that are involved. The need is great! In many ways we home team workers are no less important than the native missionaries on the field. It is the native missionaries that are spreading the Gospel, but it is the work of the US home team that shares with the West here, raises up funds and sponsorships for the missionaries and Bridge of Hope (for info on Bridge of Hope, check out www.gfa.org/bridgeofhope), and raises Western funds for numerous other outreach projects, and sends 100% of it to the field. Everyone's job at the US home office is important, and through God working, makes it possible for the native missionaries to reach the lost!
I have been invited to join the home staff to serve in the work the Lord is doing. I am very excited about this opportunity, and I am very eager to go as we are in the days where the harvest is plenty but the workers are few, and 80,000 people are dying each day in Asia and going to Hell. However, because GFA sends 100% of all missionary support donations to the mission field, the home office staff must raise their own financial support, so before I can go I need $1900 in monthly commitments from fellow believers who want to partner with me in reaching the lost world. I am delighted to invite you to be on my support team as we work together to reach Asia with the Gospel! What a blessing it is to have our hearts and minds set above on eternal things! I would love to have you prayerfully consider supporting me through finances, prayers, or both! I thank God for you and the blessing you are in my life! I need your help because I can't serve at GFA on my own. I pray for the Lord's blessings on you as you make the decision to come on my team.
If you would like to talk to me more about this, please catch me on facebook! I would love to contact you or talk to you about this awesome opportunity in serving the Lord, reaching Asia in this generation!
I will be sending updates through this group! If you would like to receive my updates and monthly newsletters, please send me a message on my facebook with your email address, and I'll add you to my list! I'm delighted to share with you monthly what God is doing in my life as I serve with GFA!
Please pray about joining my support team. I need several who will support me monthly, quarterly, or yearly. One time gifts are also a huge blessing, as they'll help get me to GFA soon! All gifts made to Gospel for Asia are tax deductible. Please make any checks out to Gospel for Asia, and include a note that it is for home team staff member Alex Pruckler. My account number is 6260, which should be included in the memo line of any checks sent to:
Gospel for Asia
1800 Golden Trail Court
Carrollton, TX 75010
2 major lessons God taught me in 2008 at Gospel for Asia
Learning On Submission
Before giving my life to the Lord, during 8th grade and 9th grade, I struggled with anger as well as submission to any kind of authority. Whenever I would get in trouble for something where I was clearly guilty, I would always rebel to the authority over me. After giving my life to the Lord, my rebellion towards authority was no longer an issue since the Lord had made me a new creation. But during the first part of my internship with GFA, I found that I struggled with the authority over me. It wasn’t so much seen on the outside, but I struggled with submission to authority in my heart. During my internship we read through many books; one of the books that God used to grow me was Touching Godliness Through Submission by K.P. Yohannan. God really used this book and the Bible to show me why we should submit to the authorities over us. The work that the Lord did in my life during my year at GFA gave me more of a respect for our
leaders and an understanding that we should pray for them.
Why should I pray for my leaders and submit to them? The answer is in Hebrews 13:17, which says, “Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you.” Learning also from the life of David, we can see how King Saul hunted David and tried to kill him. But then when David had the perfect chance to kill Saul, he didn’t, because he recognized Saul as the Lord’s anointed over him. It was for God to judge Saul and not for David (1 Samuel 24:8-13)! I was encouraged by this as I read through 1 Samuel and saw how David respected the Lord’s anointed, which was Saul. During my year with GFA I had a couple house leaders (each at different times), and through God teaching me on submission I grew to love these brothers and have more of a respect for them because they were the Lord’s anointed over me for the year!
Going Through Trials
In my house’s bible study it was a blessing to have studied through the book of James as well as getting to study the life of Joseph in Genesis. I think we studied these passages because the Lord was wanting to teach me some things that I would want to know in an event that would happen in my life. In August my biological Father passed away unexpectedly and then I was in the midst of a trial. It was hard and I didn’t feel like doing anything nor did I feel like talking to anyone. I honestly just wanted to give up my faith and I was very exhausted to have to go through this trial. It’s so interesting to me how nothing bad had really happened in my life since I had been a believer but the moment I leave home to go serve the Lord and grow in the Lord, that is when bad things started happening in my life. Even though I’m sure the Devil was behind some of this to kill and destroy my life and my calling, I know the Lord had a plan for my life. The Lord was going to use this situation in my life to grow me and He had a plan He was working out for good. James 1:2-5 says, Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. I knew to have joy in this trial because God was going to mature my faith! Even though I felt like giving up I knew God still needed to be praised. God gives and takes away and our hearts should still choose to praise God. I needed lots of wisdom from God in order to get through this trial and reading through James I was encouraged to see that if any of us lacks wisdom we can just ask God for it. The beautiful thing about God giving us wisdom is that He loves to give it to us and even though we are wrong and at fault in so many things God doesn’t let that disqualify us from receiving His wisdom or understanding on things! In trials we have the promise that God will be with us, giving us His wisdom and he’ll never take us through something that is too hard for us to endure.
Think about the story of Job in the bible who lost his family, his house, his wealth and just everything! I lost my dad but I didn't lose nothing compared to what Job lost. What was Job's reponse always? Job always reponded by saying in Job 1:21, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised." Job responded with praise towards God! Tragedy will someday come in your life and I pray that your response would be to still praise God and to always look at the good this will produce: the maturing of your faith! So much of the bible gives us insight into life's problems and tragedies...stay in the Word and you'll find out that God is so good!!!
Genesis 50:9-20 says, But Joseph said to them, "Don't be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. Joseph was mistreated by his brothers, sold into slavery and went through many other trials. But in all of this Joseph responded with praise and respect towards God. After the death of Jacob, Joseph’s brothers were afraid that Joseph would repay back the evil they had done to him. But Joseph’s response was that he was not in the place of God to judge and God had a plan he was working out for good. How I was able to apply this in my own life during what I had to go through with my father passing away was being able to still praise God and give him all the respect He deserved. God had a plan he was working out for good and I could hold on to that promise. Now that I look back on it I have seen God work out that plan and it has been good!
Before giving my life to the Lord, during 8th grade and 9th grade, I struggled with anger as well as submission to any kind of authority. Whenever I would get in trouble for something where I was clearly guilty, I would always rebel to the authority over me. After giving my life to the Lord, my rebellion towards authority was no longer an issue since the Lord had made me a new creation. But during the first part of my internship with GFA, I found that I struggled with the authority over me. It wasn’t so much seen on the outside, but I struggled with submission to authority in my heart. During my internship we read through many books; one of the books that God used to grow me was Touching Godliness Through Submission by K.P. Yohannan. God really used this book and the Bible to show me why we should submit to the authorities over us. The work that the Lord did in my life during my year at GFA gave me more of a respect for our
leaders and an understanding that we should pray for them.
Why should I pray for my leaders and submit to them? The answer is in Hebrews 13:17, which says, “Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you.” Learning also from the life of David, we can see how King Saul hunted David and tried to kill him. But then when David had the perfect chance to kill Saul, he didn’t, because he recognized Saul as the Lord’s anointed over him. It was for God to judge Saul and not for David (1 Samuel 24:8-13)! I was encouraged by this as I read through 1 Samuel and saw how David respected the Lord’s anointed, which was Saul. During my year with GFA I had a couple house leaders (each at different times), and through God teaching me on submission I grew to love these brothers and have more of a respect for them because they were the Lord’s anointed over me for the year!
Going Through Trials
In my house’s bible study it was a blessing to have studied through the book of James as well as getting to study the life of Joseph in Genesis. I think we studied these passages because the Lord was wanting to teach me some things that I would want to know in an event that would happen in my life. In August my biological Father passed away unexpectedly and then I was in the midst of a trial. It was hard and I didn’t feel like doing anything nor did I feel like talking to anyone. I honestly just wanted to give up my faith and I was very exhausted to have to go through this trial. It’s so interesting to me how nothing bad had really happened in my life since I had been a believer but the moment I leave home to go serve the Lord and grow in the Lord, that is when bad things started happening in my life. Even though I’m sure the Devil was behind some of this to kill and destroy my life and my calling, I know the Lord had a plan for my life. The Lord was going to use this situation in my life to grow me and He had a plan He was working out for good. James 1:2-5 says, Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. I knew to have joy in this trial because God was going to mature my faith! Even though I felt like giving up I knew God still needed to be praised. God gives and takes away and our hearts should still choose to praise God. I needed lots of wisdom from God in order to get through this trial and reading through James I was encouraged to see that if any of us lacks wisdom we can just ask God for it. The beautiful thing about God giving us wisdom is that He loves to give it to us and even though we are wrong and at fault in so many things God doesn’t let that disqualify us from receiving His wisdom or understanding on things! In trials we have the promise that God will be with us, giving us His wisdom and he’ll never take us through something that is too hard for us to endure.
Think about the story of Job in the bible who lost his family, his house, his wealth and just everything! I lost my dad but I didn't lose nothing compared to what Job lost. What was Job's reponse always? Job always reponded by saying in Job 1:21, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised." Job responded with praise towards God! Tragedy will someday come in your life and I pray that your response would be to still praise God and to always look at the good this will produce: the maturing of your faith! So much of the bible gives us insight into life's problems and tragedies...stay in the Word and you'll find out that God is so good!!!
Genesis 50:9-20 says, But Joseph said to them, "Don't be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. Joseph was mistreated by his brothers, sold into slavery and went through many other trials. But in all of this Joseph responded with praise and respect towards God. After the death of Jacob, Joseph’s brothers were afraid that Joseph would repay back the evil they had done to him. But Joseph’s response was that he was not in the place of God to judge and God had a plan he was working out for good. How I was able to apply this in my own life during what I had to go through with my father passing away was being able to still praise God and give him all the respect He deserved. God had a plan he was working out for good and I could hold on to that promise. Now that I look back on it I have seen God work out that plan and it has been good!
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