God Is Changing the Lives of these Women

Katie was at the water well dedication. She stood out with with her bright yellow dress and big smile . . . and that’s a hard thing to do, as all the women capture your heart with their joyful words and exuberant expressions. You fall in love a hundred times and feel your own heart grow because of what you see in them.

Katie stepped forward at the dedication. She couldn’t contain herself as she described how much her life had changed over the past few years. She was becoming a different woman because of Jesus. His love was changing everything about her life, even in ways she never expected.

We all listened as Katie vividly told about the day our discipleship program came to her village three years ago. She said, “When I heard about it, I wondered what I would do. Would I go? I had never been to school, not even the first grade. I didn’t know how I would flow with the other people, but I had this feeling in me that said ‘you go,’ and so I did. When they gave me a paper for my lesson, I couldn’t read it, but I could master the Bible story in my brain."

From that day on, Katie never stopped going to Bible study, and over time an amazing thing happened . . . Katie learned to read! Katie’s smile grew bigger as she told us, “If you send me a letter, I can read it!” Katie went on to tell us that it was receiving her Bible that motivated her to read.

Katie takes her Bible with her everywhere she goes, even to the market. Sometimes she wakes up in the middle of the night to read Scripture under the light of her torch. She says she can never put too much of God’s Word in her heart.

Learning God’s Word has built courage in Katie. She said, “Now when someone asks me a question, I can answer it. I am no longer weak and can stay firm when difficult times come because I remember God is with me. Most of the people in my community are being exposed to God’s Word, and it is changing all of us. And now God has given us water and farming. I never knew so much love!”