Meet Mrs. Ellie....

I will have a picture to share with you soon.....I can hardly wait! However, for now, I want to paint a picture with words. Mrs. Ellie, 50+ year servant of the High King in one of the hottest places on earth (105 degrees yesterday and humidity capable of knocking a person down) has a medium build and sports grayish white hair. Along with her deceased husband, Paul, over the years Ellie has helped plant several churches in the Tonga where there are many tribes and 37 different dialects/tongues. She can speak them all. The people she serves are dying of AIDS. Many believe if they rape a virgin child, they will be healed from the deadly disease; as a result, most of the children have AIDS as well. The children are either born with the disease or given the disease in a most cruel way. In spite of their death sentence, Chappy says the children are a delight to be around and are happy, "typical acting", children. Ellie ran an orphanage in the Tonga for many years, but now runs a feeding station where hundreds of hungry men, women, and children gather to be fed.

Aside from loving the unlovely, Ellie's chief mission has been to teach her people that God loves them and thinks they are incredibly valuable. In her region, the caste system is very prominent. (Class (distinction) based on birth). Since she deals with those who are considered the lowest of the low, the churches spend much time teaching that all God's creation is special in His sight.....and the lowest of the lows will be the greatest in the Kingdom that is to come! Once the people grasp this truth, they can be helped.....life becomes something that is worth living.

After leaving the jungle late last night, Ellie drove the men to their hotel and stopped at a large mud hut that housed a restaurant for dinner. When they walked in, there was a piano in the center of the room. While the others found their places around a table, Mrs. Ellie found her place at the piano. She began to play a beautiful African spiritual.....and then, the most amazing thing happened. The workers of the restaurant, even those who were cooking in the kitchen, gathered around her, and in Zulu, they all sang. Chappy said it was an incredible sight to see the natives Africans gathered around little Mrs. Ellie singing. He captured it on tape, so I will share it with you when he returns.

When leaving the restaurant, Mrs. Ellie announced she would return to pick the guys up at 5am to take them on a jaunt through the jungle to spot some lions. She has guaranteed they will see incredible wild life. Oh, did I mention she is in her seventies???? Don't you love her????

Have a wonderful day today----serve the Lord with gladness!!! Be reminded that YOU are so very special in His sight!!!

Good news: I mentioned yesterday that I had published Hope's story in book form.....40 books have already sold. Every single penny of profit will go toward either Reece's Rainbow Waiting Children OR Amazima Ministry! Thank you for giving. For anyone else who may be interested in purchasing the book, just go to the blog's sidebar and click on Hope's face; this will take you to the "Blurb" site to order.