What if God told you to marry a man outside your race? And outside your nationality?! What if He told you that you would move to another country to serve children and you would never see that place until you were married? What if he told you to sell your car and use the money for a flight back to your homeland to see your family? Would you birth your child in a place where you brought your own medicine? What if He told you to downsize from your three bedroom house to live in a house the size of a two car garage, with two kids and a live-in missionary? Would you obey God if this was your story? Would you trust Him for what you couldn’t see, for the plan He had for you around the bend?
Jeanette Phiri, director of the Kwathu Children’s Home, with her husband and co-director, Agrippa Phiri, answered “yes” to all the above scenarios. She abandoned everything to follow Jesus, not knowing what her obedience might cost her. How could she do such a thing?
Jeanette trusts Jesus. Jesus has radically changed her life and her hope and her salvation is found in Him. She does not fear what is around the bend, because she knows the One who is preparing her path. She does not want to go waste time on some side road excursion, when she can trust God and stay straight on the path He has for her right now.
Maybe today that means she woke up at 4am to help make breakfast for the children that live at Kwathu Children’s Home. Maybe she left at 7am to get them to school. She may have found herself at Shoprite or the bread factory purchasing the food needed for another week. Maybe she was meeting with social services to accept another abandoned child into their program. She may have read Bible stories after meal time or pushed a swing for thirty minutes so a little girl could squeal. She may have answered emails from volunteers around the world or been on a walk around the property praying for the brokenness she sees every day. She may go to sleep late tonight because a child’s uniform needs washed, or that math homework is super complicated, or her husband needs to talk.
Every day looks different for Jeanette, always full of hard work, patient endurance and boundless energy, even though the needs of the day constantly change. Maybe she goes a week or two weeks without someone thinking to ask her “how are you?” or a few months without an invite to meet for a cup of coffee. She keeps surrendering her days to Jesus, trusting for enough of Him for every day. She fills up with Jesus to pour Him all out again, knowing that holding fast to Jesus, she will never run dry.
Her life is a fragrant offering, beautiful, pleasant and full of worship. She knows it matters if that eight year old boy knows he has a future. She knows it matters that her live in house mama gets a foot massage for the first time ever. She knows her sacrifice of temporary pleasures, household indulgences, and lost sleep are worth invaluably more to her investment in the Kingdom.
“Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” – Ephesians 5:1-2
Every day she loves, she represents Jesus. Every day she takes a child to the clinic for HIV medication, she represents Jesus. Every day she makes sure a growing child has a new set of clothing or the right size shoes, she ushers in Jesus. Every day she throws another child’s birthday, she reminds them of Jesus. Every day she stretches resources, she feeds more people, her hands show Jesus. Every day she prays for funding to send another child to school, she lives out Jesus. Every day she deals with struggles, difficulty, sicknesses, heartbreak and sadness… and in those moments she shares in the sufferings of Jesus. Every day she sees miracles, hearts healed, daily provision, forgiveness, trust and she shares in God’s glory.
Jeanette has been a member of Grace Klein Community before people could really be members. By the time Grace Klein Community incorporated as a 501(c)3 non-profit, our hearts were so intertwined that Agrippa and Jeanette were some of our first members. The first day we were legit, they were a part of us, and they have continued ever since. She prays for all of the Grace Klein Community partners all around the world from Birmingham, AL, to other places in Africa, to Belize, to India. Wherever a Grace Klein Community member is… Jeanette’s prayers are there, because she values unity in the body of Christ. She understands that we are more effective together than we could ever be apart.
When Grace Klein Community teams travel from the United States to serve with Kwathu Children’s Home, Jeannette and Agrippa open their home and their hearts to us, receiving us as family. They share what God is teaching them, allow community members to serve alongside them, sit and eat meals with us, ask heart level questions, share blankets and coffee mugs, take us to their favorite places, invite us into their dreams, and expose their vulnerability and weaknesses. Jeanette is our sister. Agrippa is our brother. Kwathu Children’s Home is our place, our home, which is what Kwathu means in the Njanja language.
We are better together for having Jeanette Phiri in our lives. Her huge heart for God and people, her dependency on Jesus, her trust in Jesus for everything she cannot see, her devotion to investment in relationships, and her genuine “what you see is what you get” personality encourages us whether we are with her in Zambia or serving Jesus in Birmingham, AL.
As she continues to grow her faith and trust in Jesus, may her life inspire us to grow our faith and trust in Jesus wherever we are! Pray for Jeanette, Agrippa and Kwathu Children’s Home and know that they are praying for all the people of Grace Klein, no matter where we are in the world.
What if God told you to marry a man outside your race? And outside your nationality?! What if He told you that you would move to another country to serve children and you would never see that place until you were married? What if he told you to sell your car and use the money for a flight back to your homeland to see your family? Would you birth your child in a place where you brought your own medicine? What if He told you to downsize from your three bedroom house to live in a house the size of a two car garage, with two kids and a live-in missionary? Would you obey God if this was your story? Would you trust Him for what you couldn’t see, for the plan He had for you around the bend?
Jeanette Phiri, director of the Kwathu Children’s Home, with her husband and co-director, Agrippa Phiri, answered “yes” to all the above scenarios. She abandoned everything to follow Jesus, not knowing what her obedience might cost her. How could she do such a thing?
Jeanette trusts Jesus. Jesus has radically changed her life and her hope and her salvation is found in Him. She does not fear what is around the bend, because she knows the One who is preparing her path. She does not want to go waste time on some side road excursion, when she can trust God and stay straight on the path He has for her right now.
Maybe today that means she woke up at 4am to help make breakfast for the children that live at Kwathu Children’s Home. Maybe she left at 7am to get them to school. She may have found herself at Shoprite or the bread factory purchasing the food needed for another week. Maybe she was meeting with social services to accept another abandoned child into their program. She may have read Bible stories after meal time or pushed a swing for thirty minutes so a little girl could squeal. She may have answered emails from volunteers around the world or been on a walk around the property praying for the brokenness she sees every day. She may go to sleep late tonight because a child’s uniform needs washed, or that math homework is super complicated, or her husband needs to talk.
Every day looks different for Jeanette, always full of hard work, patient endurance and boundless energy, even though the needs of the day constantly change. Maybe she goes a week or two weeks without someone thinking to ask her “how are you?” or a few months without an invite to meet for a cup of coffee. She keeps surrendering her days to Jesus, trusting for enough of Him for every day. She fills up with Jesus to pour Him all out again, knowing that holding fast to Jesus, she will never run dry.
Her life is a fragrant offering, beautiful, pleasant and full of worship. She knows it matters if that eight year old boy knows he has a future. She knows it matters that her live in house mama gets a foot massage for the first time ever. She knows her sacrifice of temporary pleasures, household indulgences, and lost sleep are worth invaluably more to her investment in the Kingdom.
“Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” – Ephesians 5:1-2
Every day she loves, she represents Jesus. Every day she takes a child to the clinic for HIV medication, she represents Jesus. Every day she makes sure a growing child has a new set of clothing or the right size shoes, she ushers in Jesus. Every day she throws another child’s birthday, she reminds them of Jesus. Every day she stretches resources, she feeds more people, her hands show Jesus. Every day she prays for funding to send another child to school, she lives out Jesus. Every day she deals with struggles, difficulty, sicknesses, heartbreak and sadness… and in those moments she shares in the sufferings of Jesus. Every day she sees miracles, hearts healed, daily provision, forgiveness, trust and she shares in God’s glory.
Jeanette has been a member of Grace Klein Community before people could really be members. By the time Grace Klein Community incorporated as a 501(c)3 non-profit, our hearts were so intertwined that Agrippa and Jeanette were some of our first members. The first day we were legit, they were a part of us, and they have continued ever since. She prays for all of the Grace Klein Community partners all around the world from Birmingham, AL, to other places in Africa, to Belize, to India. Wherever a Grace Klein Community member is… Jeanette’s prayers are there, because she values unity in the body of Christ. She understands that we are more effective together than we could ever be apart.
When Grace Klein Community teams travel from the United States to serve with Kwathu Children’s Home, Jeannette and Agrippa open their home and their hearts to us, receiving us as family. They share what God is teaching them, allow community members to serve alongside them, sit and eat meals with us, ask heart level questions, share blankets and coffee mugs, take us to their favorite places, invite us into their dreams, and expose their vulnerability and weaknesses. Jeanette is our sister. Agrippa is our brother. Kwathu Children’s Home is our place, our home, which is what Kwathu means in the Njanja language.
We are better together for having Jeanette Phiri in our lives. Her huge heart for God and people, her dependency on Jesus, her trust in Jesus for everything she cannot see, her devotion to investment in relationships, and her genuine “what you see is what you get” personality encourages us whether we are with her in Zambia or serving Jesus in Birmingham, AL.
As she continues to grow her faith and trust in Jesus, may her life inspire us to grow our faith and trust in Jesus wherever we are! Pray for Jeanette, Agrippa and Kwathu Children’s Home and know that they are praying for all the people of Grace Klein, no matter where we are in the world.
What if God told you to marry a man outside your race? And outside your nationality?! What if He told you that you would move to another country to serve children and you would never see that place until you were married? What if he told you to sell your car and use the money for a flight back to your homeland to see your family? Would you birth your child in a place where you brought your own medicine? What if He told you to downsize from your three bedroom house to live in a house the size of a two car garage, with two kids and a live-in missionary? Would you obey God if this was your story? Would you trust Him for what you couldn’t see, for the plan He had for you around the bend?
Maybe today that means she woke up at 4am to help make breakfast for the children that live at Kwathu Children’s Home. Maybe she left at 7am to get them to school. She may have found herself at Shoprite or the bread factory purchasing the food needed for another week. Maybe she was meeting with social services to accept another abandoned child into their program. She may have read Bible stories after meal time or pushed a swing for thirty minutes so a little girl could squeal. She may have answered emails from volunteers around the world or been on a walk around the property praying for the brokenness she sees every day. She may go to sleep late tonight because a child’s uniform needs washed, or that math homework is super complicated, or her husband needs to talk.
Every day she loves, she represents Jesus. Every day she takes a child to the clinic for HIV medication, she represents Jesus. Every day she makes sure a growing child has a new set of clothing or the right size shoes, she ushers in Jesus. Every day she throws another child’s birthday, she reminds them of Jesus. Every day she stretches resources, she feeds more people, her hands show Jesus. Every day she prays for funding to send another child to school, she lives out Jesus. Every day she deals with struggles, difficulty, sicknesses, heartbreak and sadness… and in those moments she shares in the sufferings of Jesus. Every day she sees miracles, hearts healed, daily provision, forgiveness, trust and she shares in God’s glory.
We are better together for having Jeanette Phiri in our lives. Her huge heart for God and people, her dependency on Jesus, her trust in Jesus for everything she cannot see, her devotion to investment in relationships, and her genuine “what you see is what you get” personality encourages us whether we are with her in Zambia or serving Jesus in Birmingham, AL.