From a Heap of Ashes to Songs of Praise!

Susan’s Testimony

I was born into a small family deep in the village. It was a quiet place until one day, rebels attacked . . . and in a scramble, I was torn away from my parents. I was taken to a refugee camp with my grandmother, where we waited for answers about my family that never came.

When we returned home many years later, everything was burned to the ground and so many were dead. So I drifted from place to place, trying to survive by working in other people’s gardens and asking for assistance. I knew that a lifestyle of begging was not good, but hunger and poverty were daily knocking at my door. I had no hope and thought that nothing good could happen to me.

Finally, my body broke down from an illness and I became almost mad. I couldn’t talk and people would laugh at me, and tell me I was useless. Because I did not yet know God, I believed what they said. Never did I know there was any worth in me.

Then one day I joined a discipleship group and heard the Word of God. I was so happy when people loved me and told me about Jesus. I had never held a Bible in my hands, and I received it with so much joy. I would be the first to arrive for every Bible study—and afterwards, I would meditate on what I had learned. I found out what an important person I am to God, and I began to heal. The truth that I mattered to God undid the lies that I had believed.

Then one day, my discipleship leader told me that I had been chosen for a year of tailoring training at the EWT Center. I didn’t know then how much that year would mean to me. I learned how to sew and run a business, and I had so many friends. But more important than anything else—I was surrounded by so much love. That was my number one need and it filled me with so much confidence.

When I graduated at the end of 2024, I opened a workshop with Sarah—a close friend who trained with me. At first, people thought I was too young to be a good businesswoman, but I always worked hard. I came early and cared about every detail for my customers. Word soon spread, and a nearby school gave me its uniform contract, and another school followed. I invested in a new machine and invited students to learn beside me—because I wanted the same door that opened for me to be open for others. I thank God that my shop is already known as the best place for tailoring in the area. I also want it to be a place that shines for Jesus!

I want to give my biggest praise to God for all He has done for me, and thank Him for the donors who have made so many things possible. I lift my voice in song every morning, thanking Him that I am no longer the Susan I used to be. He has taken a girl who thought she was nothing to knowing that she is a daughter of the King.