A Heart Changed by Jesus

A loving smile was all Ethel wanted from her mother.

But each time she looked to her mother for approval she felt a distance between them. A distance that existed because Ethel’s mother believed her daughter’s disability was a punishment. She believed that Ethel’s clubfeet were the result of some past wrongdoing, and she felt shame every time Ethel looked at her.

Ethel receiving care from disability ministry volunteers for her clubfeet.

This belief is common among many people in Malawi, and it’s a stereotype that isolates children like Ethel. It’s a barrier that Satan uses to separate families from their communities, parents from their children, people from the truth Jesus has for them.

Separation makes people believe they are unworthy of God's love.  

While the distance between mother and daughter remained, God blessed Ethel with a best friend and a caring grandmother who would drop everything to take Ethel to the Worship at the Cross services so she could hear about Jesus. God also blessed Ethel by connecting her with the caring volunteers from the disability ministry.

Volunteers worked with Ethel to practice walking, build strength, and improve coordination. They also talked about the acceptance and love that Jesus has for all people, no matter their history, ability, or life circumstances. Over time Ethel grew stronger. Her community came around her in support of her progress.

“Ethel's life is an example of God’s power showing through this ministry.”

Ethel and her best friend Veronica.

Then one day Ethel saw the one thing she had been longing for—a smile on her mother’s face. A smile that existed because of a heart changed by Jesus, a heart that no longer believed Satan's lies.

A heart now filled with love, Ethel rested in the arms of her mother and in the comfort of her Savior. Ethel’s mother told us this was possible because, “The disability ministry helped me to start loving Ethel—before, I was isolating her. Now our relationship has grown so much closer.”

Oftentimes God’s love not only draws us closer to Him, but also closer to those around us. His love cuts through the barriers made by Satan, something Ethel’s grandmother echoed when she told us, “Ethel’s life is an example of God’s power showing through this ministry.” A ministry that is possible thanks to your support.

Ethel with her mother and grandmother.

Your gift shares God’s truth with people and combats the separation caused by Satan’s lies, creating lasting spiritual healing. Your gift also changes someone’s life by bringing lasting physical healing to their bodies. Stereotypes surrounding disabilities are still prevalent in Malawi, but your gifts are changing that by introducing people all around the world to the loving, caring, and accepting arms of Jesus.

Learn more about the disability ministry in Malawi here.