Patricia's Home Girls Say YES to Jesus!
Written by: Kayla Stine
Sydney with girls from Patricia's Home
Prior to going to Malawi, myself and two other team members had prepared to lead a Bible study with the girls at Patricia’s Home. We had prayed about this and were excited for the opportunity to share our faith with these girls we love so dearly. Once we got to Malawi it felt like obstacle after obstacle was preventing us from getting started. Whether it was other projects getting in the way, not having a translator, and so on, it just kept getting pushed back.
But one beautiful Thursday afternoon, we were finally able to start our Bible study.
The Bible study began with the 13 Patricia’s Home girls, 4 of us American girls, and Clara, our Malawian translator sitting in a circle on the floor in one of the preschool classrooms. It was quite hot in the room with very little breeze, and there was a lot of noise from the Grace Center flooding the room. Some of the younger ones were trying to come in, laughing hysterically knowing they were interrupting. I moved so I could sit in front of the door to help keep some of the distractions out, but inside I was becoming worried that this wasn’t going to go as planned.
Kayla with Gladys from Patricia's Home
The girls began by singing Malawian praise and worship songs. It was so beautiful; I didn’t want it to end. When they were finished singing, we opened up our time together by asking if any of the girls had a favorite Bible story or verse they wanted to share with us. Right off the bat one of the girls, Gladys, told us one of her favorite verses. She then asked us to explain another verse to her, a verse that led us right into the gospel message. We taught the girls about the good news of the gospel and of Jesus’ love for them. We taught them that Jesus died on the cross to pay the price for their sins. And we taught them that if they confess with their mouth and believe in their heart that God raised Him from the dead, they will be saved.
These girls live in a Christian orphanage. They have heard the gospel message before and I assumed many of them already had a personal relationship with Christ. So at the end of our first Bible study I asked if anyone who had not yet accepted Christ into her life wanted to receive him today. I did not expect every single girl to raise her hand. We even had Clara ask a second time to make sure it was translated right. Every single girl made the decision to accept Christ. And there was no hesitation. They raised their hands in unison, there was no looking around to see who else was raising their hand, each girl made that decision on her own.
We were blown away.
We then prayed with the girls and they all together accepted Christ into their lives. There were tears, hugs, laughter, and celebration. Trying to put it into words will never do it justice, but knowing 13 girls get to have a personal relationship with Jesus AND get to spend eternity with Him is such a miracle.
Mickenzie with some of the girls from Patricia's Home
“While praying with each of the girls the presence of the Holy Spirit was so evident in the room. I could personally see the genuine desire and hunger on each of the girls’ faces. They wanted to know Christ personally.”
In the days following their decision, we noticed a change in the girls. They were seeking Him, they were asking questions, they were reading their Bibles… they showed a true desire to know Him more. Their attitudes and the way they treated one another was different. One of the girls, Karolini, confessed the next day that she had stolen a pencil at school the day before. After giving her heart to Jesus, she was convicted of her sin and returned the pencil to her classmate.
Other team members continued the Bible studies with the girls after I left and I am so thankful there were team members willing to pour into these girl’s lives like that. I am so excited to see how God is going to use these girls to bring Him glory. Having the opportunity to pray with 13 girls whom I love deeply as they made the decision to accept Christ was hands down the best part of my summer.
“ As we followed up with them the next day they were already sharing of testimonies and breakthroughs that they had experienced within the last 24 hours. They wanted to change and become all that God has created them to be, and it all happened with 13 hungry hearts and souls, seeking love that can only be fulfilled through Christ.”
