Wosene’s husband left her when she was 6-months pregnant with their son. He sold their property and took all the money, leaving her and their 4-year-old daughter to live on the street and earn her living by begging. Her son was born on the street. Two years ago, a guard told her to go to our child sponsorship program. An American visitor there convinced her mom to sponsor the little boy, and the staff introduced Wosene to Jesus. In time she got baptized and became a member of the church.
She also began to attend the required small group, as all of our sponsored children’s parents or guardians do. The small group gave her much emotional support and counseling. With much persistent effort, she was finally able to find a room she could rent and get off the street. In the group she also learned to manage money and to save $.25/week. Eventually she took a loan from the group of $25 with which she began to sell coffee and tea. She paid back that loan, and then took a second loan of $50, with which she has expanded her business to selling potatoes, tomatoes, and onions. She is now taking a literacy class on Mondays and a math class on Wednesdays.
With head held high she is now telling others how they can improve their lives with God’s help. She glowed as she told us, “One woman said to me she didn’t have the money to start a little business. So I loaned her 50 birr of my own money. She has started the business and paid back the loan.”
THIS is the power of the gospel to transform-the gospel of healing not only of our relationship with God, but of our relationships with ourselves, other people, and the world around us.