It’s been such an encouraging summer around Agape Asia – thanks to both God and our amazing supporters! Before August even ended, you already helped us send 700 children Back to School. Thank you so much!
We’ve also had several friends ask us, “What’s next?” Over dinner, by email, and on the phone people want to know if our work goes beyond education and how else they can get involved. If you’re one of those people who wants to grow a bit and make an even bigger impact, we have two simple suggestions.
First, we suggest you spend some time on our Learning & Resources page. This growing page exists to help you understand more about the 60 million children in Asia who need help and the 1 billion people there who have never heard of Jesus. The videos, books, prayer guides, and other resources on that page can help you grow in our shared mission to share the Father’s love in Asia. It’s such a blessing to see people become passionate about this mission and eager to learn more!
Our prayer is that all of us will grow in knowledge and love that leads us to serve those for whom God deeply cares.
Second, you can help us change lives and transform an entire community. Our goal has always been to change the lives of abandoned and at-risk children in Asia. We do this by placing children in loving family environments, ensuring they can get an education, caring for their physical needs, and more. But our hopes have never been limited to the physical. We want to change children’s eternal future through the power of Jesus. In fact, we want entire communities around these children to experience that as well!
Decades of experience have shown us that the most effective way to both change a child’s life AND to transform an entire group with the power of the Gospel is by focusing on the community. Kiva, a tiny village in India, is a perfect example.
Kiva* is a remote and unreached village in the Telangana state of India. Because it is so remote, children and adults in Kiva struggle every day and have little hope of improving their lives. Adults work as day laborers while children are unable to go to school. Many people suffer from basic health problems because of poor hygiene and difficult living conditions. The combination of low living standards, few opportunities, and spiritual darkness make Kiva a place of urgent need.
Agape’s hope is to dramatically improve the children’s lives and begin to transform Kiva with the Good News.
Because it difficult to focus on just a few children in a place like Kiva, Agape’s local leaders are leading Children’s Clubs that will meet each week to provide basic needs for 40 children, teach hygiene, encourage education, bring joy, and start introducing the Good News. As our partners care for these children and build relationships in the village, they will share their faith and begin studying with families. Their hope is that some in the village will come to faith and they will be able to plant a new church within three years.
Children in Kiva need the opportunity to receive an education. And they need much more. Empowering children through education is an important step towards changing their entire future. It also opens the door for Agape partners to serve the entire community, heal families, and share the Gospel.
Again – thank you to everyone who helped send 700 children to school this summer! And to those who are looking for a next step in their giving, we invite you sponsor our work in Kiva or explore other opportunities as well.
* village name changed for security purposes
Love this blogpost! It is great to learn new ways to be involved.