Recently, while reading a report from Myanmar after the March earthquake, this particular quote from an elderly man jumped out to me:

“Our hearts are full of gratitude for the way you have cared for us during these painful times. When there was nothing left for us to eat or drink, your donations provided for our needs. When I fell sick and could not afford treatment, you made it possible for me to go to the clinic and receive care. What you have done means so much to me, especially when even our children are not able to support me in these difficult days. Your kindness has been like a light shining in the darkness, and we pray that God will bless you abundantly and repay you for every good deed you have done.”

The way it’s worded made me think of Matthew 25:41-46:

“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’ They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

When looking at this passage, I typically focus on the passage that comes before it, when the King is speaking to those who did obey His commands: “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” But I think the importance of this passage is felt more acutely in the negative version. A reminder that the God I worship is repulsed by those who do not care for the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the poor, the sick, and the prisoner. Caring for the physical and emotional needs of others is not secondary. It’s a serious call to action for all who claim to follow Jesus. And it’s why Harvest Bridge supports pastors and missionaries who are sharing the Gospel in word and deed.

As I reflect on all that I am thankful for in this season – you, our faithful partners in both prayer and finances, our South Asia and Myanmar leaders, and the Lord who guides this work – I am incredibly thankful for the opportunity to serve “the least of these”. I want to share some recent examples of this. Because our leaders are so consistent in serving, the only way I could narrow this down was to share one example each of serving the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, those needing clothes, the sick, and those in prison.

After the earthquake in Myanmar, our leaders fed thousands of people. One woman responded with this:

Another man said, “Today, we have a roof over our heads and food to eat because of you. We are determined to move forward with hope, and one day we wish to extend the same kindness to others in need. We are forever grateful, and we pray that God will continue to bless you abundantly.”

In Bangladesh in September, our missionaries were able to install 15 water collection tanks to serve about 100 families. Pastor Darpan*, our country director, shared this:

“There is a big village where a lot of non-believers and believers are living together. They are situated on the bank of a river. But this water is so bitter that cattle could not even drink. They struggle due to the swamp and heavy flooding, which has made life a fight to survive. In this kind of situation, it was amazing that our church planting ministry was able to stand besides a lot of communities with rain water reserve tanks. Our church members are happy with thankfulness for the great help provided through 2,000 liters of water, which will be used for the whole year for the drinking purposes. It will be a help to ease the lives of the new believers and their neighbors, for which they are grateful.”

In Myanmar, as the military bombs, burns, and takes over more villages, people are fleeing into the jungle and to safer cities. The people living in those cities are also struggling with not enough food, lack of health care, fear of forced conscription, and more. And yet, for the last five years, they’ve continued to open their homes to the refugees pouring into their communities. Many of our pastors and their church members have IDPs – Internally Displaced People – living with them. Pastor Pan*, our co-country director in Myanmar, shares just the most recent example of this from October:

“The junta army started patrolling [outside of our town] and targeting villages, and I heard there were about 300-500 troops. The jet fighter dropped bombs from the air and the troops are on the ground targeting civilians. As of today [October 15th], they have totally burned one village and the [resistance] asked the people to leave their homes immediately before they were killed. Bro. Lwin* and I am arranging for the people to come to us by tomorrow morning, before the troops enter their villages. Also, I learned that both sides are preparing for fighting and we are afraid that this may affect our city.”

A couple of days later he wrote, “The [40 families] who fled last week were safe and arrived to [our town]. Our churches in town have collected food for them and they are ok right now. At first we planned to keep them in our church, but we are told that it will be dangerous for the people if we keep so many people at one place. That is why they are living in different houses in smaller groups.”

Som*, a missionary in Nepal, shared this story last month:

A few months later, Bishnu stood up in our fellowship and shared his testimony. He said, ‘We thought the flood was the end of our lives. But now we see it was the beginning. The flood took our home, but it led us to find a real faith in Jesus.’ Today, both Bishnu and Mina are strong believers. They are active members of our church, and their testimony continues to inspire others who are facing hardship.”

Each year, Jandi*, our co-country leader in Nepal, organizes women’s health camps. She explains:

“The women living in these villages are not provided opportunities for health care treatment by the government. They are not aware about their health issues. The hospitals and health care centers are very far from them. The girls marry before 16 years [of age], so the infant mortality rate is very high. Many women either die at a very young age, or have prolapsed uterus, or suffer with different kinds of organ diseases. Nowadays, many women are found with breast cancer before they reach the age of 30. This is a very serious matter. So our health camp will help them to be aware and live a healthy life.

This April, we could provide them immediate needs for their health issues, such as doctors’ medical check-up and prescribed medicines as per their need. We did counseling about women’s health and hygiene, and especially about uterine health care. We directly served 235 women, 86 men, and 43 children through the camp. After the camp the three women diagnosed with worse uterine prolapse got the surgery, with medicine before and after the operation, which is great support for those vulnerable women and their families. We are doing the second medical camp in November 2025.”

Many of our leaders visit prisoners regularly, bringing them food and fellowship. At Christmas, one of our pastors in Odisha, India has made a tradition of bringing snacks and gifts to a local prison on Christmas day. Pastor Joshua* explains:

“During Christmas time, you sent funds for our prison ministry. We distributed around 450 sweet and snack packs for the prisoners and prison staff. And also distributed sarees and blankets for needy prisoners. We also shared Christmas greetings to all, that Jesus Christ is an eternal gift that God has given to mankind, and many new souls were converted. Many gave their lives to Jesus. After release from prison, many took water baptism and are following Jesus Christ. Many have started ministry in their homes. This year we are also planning to celebrate Christmas in the prison on 25th of December.”

Thank You

The Lord guided, you prayed and gave, and our leaders carried out the work. I am so grateful for you and this vital work we get to do together as the Body of Christ. 

Wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving!

Kate Therese,
Executive Director