Stefania Leão came to America as a single mother with a little child, no English, no family here, no ex-husband in the picture, no safety net, and rent due every month with no one to catch her if she couldn’t make it. For most people that is a dire situation, and she was stuck in the middle of it. She wrote a devotional called “The Prayer: Rise with Jesus” from that place, in the privacy of her home, to help herself get through the days. She wrote it for herself. She never imagined anyone else would read it.
Then this happened, in the span of about a year, without an agent, without a publisher, without any outside marketing money: the book became a #1 Amazon bestseller in three languages (English, Portuguese, Italian), and has been published in seven, including a free Chichewa edition for Malawi. It won three international book awards in 2025. It was covered by more than 20 outlets across seven countries. It became the book that players on Brazil’s national team would read before their matches at the World Cup, and the book that churchgoers in Malawi and Mozambique now read as well.
This book was born in the darkest period of Stefania’s life and has now become a global sensation.
After all this, Stefania’s only hope is to help others. She uses her royalties to fund food and book drives in the Tenderloin, and to fund free copies in Malawi through Pastor Edward Mikwamba’s ministry in Blantyre, which has now distributed more than 1,000 free Chichewa copies alongside food assistance, a community farm called Jesus Farm, women’s empowerment programs, elder care, and support for children.
We’re not a nonprofit. We’re not an NGO. We’re two people using our own funds, our own time, and our own hearts to help our neighbors, and we believe anyone who reads about it can do the same in their own community.
Full Malawi mission page, with photos and ministry context: https://readtheprayer.com/malawi
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