Meet Elizabeth

The sermon at our church two weeks ago made me think of Elizabeth. Elizabeth has run Abenezer orphanage for over 15 years having over 300 children adopted internationally, one of which was my daughter Abidiya. I met Elizabeth in 2012 when I flew to Ethiopia to meet my daughter and saw first hand the care and love she provides the children that come into her care. I believe without a doubt, she saved my Abi’s life whom is now 13 and absolutely thriving.

Since January of 2018 when Ethiopia abruptly shut all international adoptions down, Elizabeth was left caring for orphans with no direct income source. She has sold land, her house and her car to keep these children alive but it hasn’t been enough and the need for homes for orphans in Ethiopia has not diminished. Since 2021, when Bill and I began fully funding Abenezer Orphanage, Elizabeth has been called and taken FIVE more babies into her care ranging from a few days old to ten month old twins. We now have eleven children living with Elizabeth ranging from 8 months old to 17 years old.

Now back to our sermon, which was about JOY and how to worship and surrender. It was all about the Magi who traveled over 500 miles to find the miracle of Jesus. They had no idea how long the journey would be. “True worship” is when we follow without any idea of how the ending looks or the amount of time it will take to reach the destiny. I immediately thought of Elizabeth. Bill and I recently woke up to pictures of ten month old twins who had been abandoned. Elizabeth got the call. She travelled to Harar (which is not an easy journey from Addis Ababa) and she brought the twins into her care immediately. There was no hesitation. There was no “how am i going to do this? Will I be able to care for them?” She STEPPED knowing God will provide. We woke up to pictures of the twins…..there was no discussion….only trust. When God places a call on your life, you have no idea what the journey looks like BUT you go anyway. This is TRUE WORSHIP/ TRUE SURRENDER/ TRUE DISCIPLESHIP. I am in awe of Elizabeth and her faith and her true discipleship. I have truly never met anyone like her in my life. She has surrendered her WHOLE life to care for orphaned children. She has never been married and has no children of her own…..these are her children. The call that was placed on her life was not an easy one. She could have easily said “no thank you. This sounds to difficult. Would if I am not enough for these children? How will I feed them? Will we be able to have a home to live in?” She doesn’t question…..she steps knowing her God is bigger than any question she may have. The miracle of Jesus doesn’t happen without the journey.

Thank you Elizabeth for showing all of us what a TRUE disciple of Jesus looks like. You are the miracle these children have prayed for and without you stepping out in faith, they would not be able to truly experience the love of Jesus through you. You are literally changing lives….changing hearts…..and changing destinies.