GERMANY — Crossworld workers Samuel and Bonita often saw their neighbor Ralf walking the dog of another neighbor, Greta, an elderly woman who has been housebound for the last few years.

One day Ralf asked Samuel if he would walk Greta’s dog while Ralf was on vacation, and Samuel agreed.

A few days later Samuel and Bonita went to meet Greta. As soon as they opened the door, a stench hit them. They were shocked to see the conditions Greta had been living in. Smells of leftover food, garbage, and animal waste matched Greta’s unkempt appearance and soiled clothes.

“It looks like life has been difficult for you,” Bonita said. “Can we help you?”

Greta accepted Bonita’s offer, and two days later Samuel and Bonita started to clean. They worked from room to room, taking a break from cleaning each day to talk with Greta and hear her story.

“Why did you come?” Greta asked.

“Because Jesus loves you so much,” Bonita replied.

On day four, Samuel asked, “Would you like to hear Scripture read aloud?” Greta said yes, and he read passages to her from Ephesians and Philippians.

On day seven, she said, “It really is all about Jesus. I knew about God, but I didn’t know this was all about Jesus.”

“Would you like to pray and give your life to Jesus?” Samuel asked. And again, she said yes.

Just one week after they met, Greta put her faith in Jesus. This 72-year-old woman is now a child of God.

“I was done with life and I asked God to end it,” Greta said to Bonita. “The next day, you came.”

A few days later, Ralf came back from vacation and picked up his dog-walking duties.

“Greta is a changed woman!” he said to Samuel.

And it’s true. Greta now puts on beautiful clothing and fixes herself up. She even lets people take her out of the house to go to coffee or to the park. But more than that, she’s changed on the inside. She wears a huge smile and radiates joy. She’s alive, truly living, for the first time in years.

And now that Greta has found new life in Jesus, she wants Ralf to know him, too.

Pray that Greta’s transformed life will be a testimony to Ralf and the whole neighborhood.

The people in this story are real, but some names have been changed to protect their privacy.