Reaping the First Fruits: The Story of Anya
This is Anya. She is 14 years old. She lives in a small house in the tiny village of Stepove with her Mom, her Stepdad and her younger sisters Diana and Melana.
Our ministry team has been working in this village for several years. Our hearts were moved by the brokenness we witnessed in so many of these homes, and by how this has affected the children living there. Hope is important for people living in this extreme poverty. We wanted to show them not just hope, but hope in Christ.
We have been visiting the village regularly to run a Bible club with the children, visit the families in their homes, love the children, witness to the families, pray with them, counsel them and give out practical gifts like food when we can.
In 2019, our team ran a summer camp for the children in this village. Anya was at this camp. During the evening prayer time, Anya was baptized with the Holy Spirit and began to pray. Last September, a team from Mission Partners’ came and built a well for this family because they had no running water on their property. The team spent time sharing their witness in Christ with the whole family.
Throughout the last year, God has been really moving in the lives of this family. Anya was the first from her family who received Christ in her heart at our Bible club. She witnessed to her family regularly and read the New Testament every night to her parents and sisters. And then, last year, she won her family for Christ.
In July of this year, Anya and her parents were baptized in the river. They are the first fruits of our three years of ministry in that community. Now, Anya is ministering to the other children in the village on her own. She is running the Bible club in her home for children. They sing Christian songs, play games and Anya teaches a Bible lesson based on the Superbook videos.
Miraculous Healing
Recently, Anya was found to have an abscess under her arm in her sweat glands. This inflammation is accompanied by severe pain and swelling. She couldn’t even lower her arms, because of the pain. The doctors did an examination, and it was decided to do an operation to cut out the abscess. Of course, both Anya and her entire family were saddened by this situation. Our church prayed for healing for Anya, so that the Lord would touch her and she wouldn’t need surgery. The next morning we found out that the doctor had canceled the operation because the abscess had decreased. It was healing on its own. We thank God for his mercy and miracle. Anya's mom, Irene, called to let us know. In joy and with tears, they thanked the Lord for His miraculous healing!