$7.13 provides food and essentials to poor families in India for a week

Dear Friends: Many have asked for details of how Asia Harvest is helping people throughout Asia affected by the Coronavirus pandemic. In this newsletter we present some opportunities for people to give, but please do not feel any pressure whatsoever to help, especially as we realize many people around the world are coming under their own financial pressure and an uncertain work future.

If you have any prayer requests for you and your family currently, please email them to us and we commit to lifting them up before God's throne of grace during our ministry prayer times in the coming days. It would be our privilege to pray with you.

Asia Harvest partners in India distributing food and essential supplies to widows in need.

In India, the government gave less than four hours' notice of a 21-day complete lockdown, during which no one can leave their homes and almost all shops and services are closed. Most people in India do not have refrigerators or supplies of food in their homes, so hundreds of millions of poor people are deeply affected, and it's feared many will starve to death without outside assistance.

Our co-workers in India quickly sprang into action. The above photo shows just one of many makeshift distribution centers that have been set up to provide immediate food and essentials to society's most vulnerable people.

We have sent $45,000 in the last few days to help efforts by believers in India, Pakistan, Indonesia and Malaysia, but much more will be needed in the coming weeks.

Below is a breakdown of the cost of items being distributed free to families in India. This initial assistance is helping 4,000 poor families and 2,500 widows. As you can see, a little goes a long way there, but the needs are vast!

Contents of Survival Packages for Poor Families and Widows in India
3 bars of soap - $1.73 per family
1 kg of dal (protein) - $2.00
1 kg of cooking oil - $1.60
1 kg of onions - $0.80
Salt and curry powder - $1.00

Total cost: $7.13 to help a family of 4 or $1.78 per person

If the Lord lays it on your heart, help can be sent via our Persecution & Relief Fund by credit or debit card or Paypal.

Distributing further aid in China, meanwhile, has proved extremely difficult, as the government now refuses to let anyone help, especially Christians. This stems from the massive Sichuan earthquake of 2008. At the time, many Chinese believers flooded to the area to help the victims, and the result was a powerful revival that saved tens of thousands of people! Some Christians who have tried to help others during this pandemic have been arrested.

As a side-note, no one with a straight face believes for a moment the Communist Party's claims that they are conquering the virus, nor do they believe the ridiculous official count of only 3,000 or so deaths in all of China, which is an insult to people's intelligence.

We believe the number of infections and deaths in China is massive and is continuing to grow daily, but will never be reported because the Communist Party can never allow itself to look weak. The UK government believes that China could have 40 times more cases than what has been reported. If accurate, that would mean 3.3 million people have been infected in China. Now, restrictions are being lifted as the Communist Party orders people back to work, so the number will go much higher.

Most people in China also do also not believe President Xi's claims, as he tries to take advantage of the crisis to promote militant Marxism as the answer to the world's problems, and to expand China's influence around the globe.

Let's pray the Lord Jesus will be glorified through these difficult times, and that millions of lost people throughout Asia and around the world will find true inner peace and salvation through the Gospel of Christ Jesus.

"Draw near to God and He will draw near to you" (James 4:8).

The team at Asia Harvest
www.asiaharvest.org