Some burdens are simply too heavy for one family to carry alone. That is not our idea. It is written plainly in Scripture: “Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2). Today we want to place one such burden gently before you, and ask you to help us carry it.
The family is the family of Yousaf Babu Masih, a Christian brother from Garden Town, Lahore — a husband and father, living with his wife, their two daughters and their young son.
Yousaf’s troubles began through no fault of his own. A dispute arose around a relative’s interfaith marriage, and powerful anger fell on the whole family. In April 2013 their home in Lahore was attacked and set on fire because of their Christian faith. The family escaped, but they lost the life they had built. In January 2014 they fled to Thailand, hoping to find safety and a way to start again.
They are still there. More than a decade later, Yousaf and his family live in Thailand as asylum seekers. They are not allowed to work legally, so even daily bread is a struggle. They live with the constant fear of arrest and detention, never knowing what tomorrow holds. What they hope for is simple and human: resettlement to a safe country, where the children can grow up without fear and the family can stand on its own feet again.
Here is how you can help, today, in a real and direct way. A brother in Christ, Arshad Masih of Louisville, Kentucky, has opened a fundraiser for this family on GoGetFunding, hoping to raise $35,000 so they can start a new life. You can give here: https://gogetfunding.com/help-yousef-babu-masih-and-family-start-new-life/
We want to be honest with you about where things stand, because honesty is how this mission has always spoken. When we checked the campaign, only $10 had been raised — one donor, out of a $35,000 goal. That is a hard number to read. But it also means the door is wide open for anyone who wants to be part of the answer to this family’s prayers.
A word of clarity, in the same honest spirit: Rising Stone Mission did not start this fundraiser, and gifts do not come to us. The campaign is Arshad Masih’s, and every gift goes through it directly to this family’s need. Our part — the part the Lord has put in our hands — is to share our brother’s appeal with our friends and with churches near and far, and to pray. We are glad to do it. A family we have never met is still our family in Christ.
Scripture also tells us that “God loveth a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7). If you can give, give cheerfully, whatever the amount — small gifts, given by many hearts, have carried heavy families before. And if you cannot give, you can still carry this burden: share this appeal with your church, your family and your friends, and keep Yousaf, his wife and their children in your prayers.
Give or share here: https://gogetfunding.com/help-yousef-babu-masih-and-family-start-new-life/
Lord, we lift up Yousaf Babu Masih and his family to You. You saw them in Lahore, You saw them on the road, and You see them in Thailand today. Open the door they have been waiting for — a safe home, honest work, and a future for their children. Move the hearts of Your people to carry this burden together, and let this family know they have not been forgotten. In Jesus’ name, Amen.