Her name is Eliana, which means “God answered” or “answered prayer.”
She is 6 years old, and we call her Ellie. This beautiful little girl of the Most High King has moved me to tears and been the most sincere example of unselfish generosity that I have encountered in these crazy, awesome, unbelievable months of fundraising.
Four months ago, I was staring in disbelief at my World Race profile, the existence of which meant I had accepted a position on the January 2012 route 3. $15,500. Plus gear. And insurance. And car payments. And student loans. And immunizations. Was I delusional? There was no way this amount of money could come in from unknown sources in this amount of time.
Trying to just pray my way through it, I started trying to take one day at a time to raise support. God was about to just smile, shake His head, and tell me to sit back and enjoy the ride. I had no idea what all He had up His sleeve.
A good friend and member of my LifeGroup at church, Lauren, is an amazing writer and wrote an article in the Charlotte Observer for me about my trip and an upcoming fundraiser.
A young Christian mother down near Fort Mill in Lake Wylie, SC was straightening up the house, about to throw out the paper that was only there in the first place because her father-in-law was in town; Holly never had the paper in her house normally. It fell open to my story which caught her eye, and she felt an immediate pull on her heart from God to reach out to me.
Holly emailed me to see if I would be interested in coming and speaking to her kids and several other home-schooled children. She wanted for the children to follow my blog and my journey, learning lessons about geography, culture, and most of all, modern-day missions. Thrilled and touched, of course I agreed.
I drove down to Fort Mill and spent an afternoon telling a room full of parents and their children about my trip and purpose. Ellie had decorated a collection bin, and the children were all going to bring their spare coins in each week to help support my trip. Holly and her husband were also incredibly generous and supportive.
Yesterday I drove back down to see the children again, and to celebrate in the Happy Birthday Jesus party they were having. I was so thrilled to see how many coins that they had been collecting in the bin, that they had thought of me even in my absence.
Then little Ellie came up to me with a little tin of money she personally had saved for my trip. She smiled shyly, and I listened in awe as she told me where the money came from. As the afternoon unfolded, her mom filled me in further. Led completely by the Holy Spirit, Ellie did an incredible thing.
It started with her allowance. When before she would save her allowance, usually for a toy or treat, she was now putting ALL of her allowance aside for me.
She had been saving for months to buy an American Girl doll. She donated this money to me.
Then when her grandparents would offer her a quarter to help with a little chore, she would say “Ok, but you have to give me two.” And then she would BOTH in my collection jar.
But further still, God was working in this little girls heart. She wanted to give more.
With her parents help and guidance, she started selling her toys.
Her beloved doll house.
Her brand new birthday presents, and many others.
And putting all of the money in the little tin to give to me.
Although the number itself doesn’t matter, I just want to share it because it shows how much this little girl can teach us all to give of our bounty.
All in all, there was $237 in the little tin. And she is six years old. I can actually, truthfully say that this little girl has given me more than the vast majority of the adult donors who are supporting me. I appreciate each dollar and each donor with every fiber of my being, but you have to agree that this is one special story and one unique child of God. How many of us would be willing to give God every single spare dollar of our income AND all the money we have been saving for that new car AND every gift we receive AND sell our most beloved possessions to allow money to be used for His purposes?
Holly, her husband Kevin, and their three beautiful children thank me for what I am doing and for coming to share with them. I wish their were some way to tell them that there are no words to express in actuality how much I am blessed by them.
Her name is Eliana. I think God has a really soft, poignant side that He chose to answer those anxious prayers from months ago through a truly remarkable little girl whose name means “answered prayer.”
Its official. I no longer believe in coincidence. Divine appointment or bust.
“Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven.” Matthew 18:3
This is what Ellie wrote in her journal that afternoon; her mother shared it with me and said I could share it with you all as well. It shows the simple, uncomplicated love of a child to share her Savior with others:
"Today we gave Ms. Bethany her money. I felt happy about giving her the money. I want her to go to all the countries she has to to tell everyone about Jesus. I would like to go with her if I was old enough. I would want to tell everyone about Jesus because I want everyone to know about Jesus."
Ellie with her two little brothers, Sammy and Ben.
