Journeying with God

“And it's been such an incredible, awesome life that the Lord has given me. Ups and downs and trials for sure, but his ideas for my life have been phenomenally fun.”—Ellie Graves

After being a missionary in Ukraine for years, Ellie came back to the United States in 1998, wondering what was next. The Lord guided and directed her to volunteer with Operation Christmas Child in one of Samaritan’s Purse processing centers. Shortly after, she was approached about becoming a volunteer leader for her area. Ellie had her church community pray for her, as she continually sought the Lord, discerning if this was His will for her life. She asked herself, “Is my name on this plate?” because ultimately, we cannot do it all.

“Once you decide that you are going to be a Christian, then you are offered 8 million opportunities to go anywhere to do anything. But is your name on this plate?”—Ellie Graves

Ellie took the step of faith to lead with Operation Christmas Child, and eventually got to witness children receive shoebox gifts at outreach events in Uganda and Rwanda. Seeing the ways this ministry blesses children firsthand encouraged Ellie to keep going. Each day, she keeps the mission of Operation Christmas Child at the forefront of her mind, which is to share the Good News of Jesus Christ all around the world.

Mission work taught Ellie how to depend on God. And when she took a team of women on a mission trip to Siberia, she learned even more about trusting in the Lord. The month leading up to their trip, Ellie prayed specific prayers, and God showed up, providing exactly what she had hoped for.

What are you filling your time with? Ellie challenges listeners to take a second look at their schedule, to see if they are attending Bible study, going to church and gathering with fellow believers. The only way you are going to get the life you always wanted is by serving Him.

“You've got to make your decisions based on what [God] would have you do because you know that as long as you're in His perfect will, He's going to take care of you.”—Ellie Graves

Please lift up our Operation Christmas Child volunteers as they faithfully serve year-round. If you’d like to keep up to date with more stories from On the Ground, please visit SamaritansPurse.org.