CASA ELISABETH- A HOME OH SO FILLED WITH JOY

I hope you can feel, the sweet presence in this home, a home filled with the Lords children, who want nothing more than to know the Lord, not just as a God, but as a sweet father who loves them and cares oh so deeply for them. This is the story of casa Elisabeth, a home where the Lord has made himself known and the people inside have a deep desire to know more of him.

Casa Elizabeth is a crisis pregnancy center in Quito, Equador and is a home for young girls, who are taken out of their situations, to live here. Over 16 percent of teenage girls in Ecuador get pregnant, with eighty percent of the pregnancies unwanted and many of them do not have any support, financially or from family to help them through this difficult time. The heart is to provide a safe place where they can see and feel the love of Jesus Christ and receive the support that they need during this crisis. Here they have a home where the they can live and receive pre/post-natal care as well as training to be a mother, and also learn what it means to be a child of God.

 

Fabi our ministry host asked for a few volunteers to go up to casa Elisabeth to help them take off old couch cushions and replace them with new ones, so that the moms and young women, can be comfortable and be able to care for their young ones. So I raised my hand, so me and my friend lacy went on up and got to work. So we arrive there and as soon as you walk in you can feel the Lords presence through these young women. As someone like myself who doesn’t know much Spanish, I thought it was going to be hard to speak to them, but the funny thing was that it wasn’t, We were able to communicate through the vacuum machine breaking, we were laughing for hours about this. So, after a hour an hour of tearing off old couch pieces, and vacuuming them up, we took the chairs up to the house.

As soon as we entered the home the love of the Lord fell on us and you can tell He had been there. We were greeted with a kiss on both cheeks, and hugs straight from the Lord. As we brought in the chairs, we also brought up their lunch, ( which was our left over lunch, that we didn’t want anymore ) When they received this lunch, oh you should of seen it, it seemed like Christmas morning for them. They were so grateful for the fact that they got food, I didn’t know where from, this broke my heart. I never realized how often I take things for granted.

1. These women first taught me the importance of being grateful for any and everything in your life. So we head towards the living room and had some of the most life giving conversations in this room. We listened with love as we heard they’re stories….

2. Nothing that you face can determine your future. One women traveled a whole ten days from Venezuela to Ecuador in order to have a better chance at life. She shared with me, that it was harder to stay at home in Venezuela, then to travel for days on foot, with nothing but the clothes on her back, just to find something bigger than what she already had or knew of. Another women, who is only fifteen years of age, lost her only child. These women have been through the worst things I could possibly ever imagine, but you could never tell, not with those faces, they were so filled with the joy of the Lord, that it radiated through them and thats all you saw. 

3. You never let a language barrier stop you from having fun! I loved how even though we didn’t even speak the same language, we were still able to communicate. Wether it was through a simple smile, a hug, laughing cause its funny that I can’t speak Spanish or pointing at each other for their turn at spicy uno. I love that the Lord doesn’t need you to know every single language in order to move and be made known. All you need is love, Love needs no translation. 

 

Thank you Jesus, that we can communicate with each other through the love you gave on the cross. Thank you for Casa Elisabeth, and for all the ministry that takes place here daily. I thank you that this is a place that welcomes the joy of the Lord in, that they invite anyone and everyone, no matter what they have done in their past, into their home. Lord, I pray that I have a heart like this, to love on people, because you first call us to that Lord. That joy radiates everything I do. May we be people who welcome love and joy in.

I absolutely love the meaning of this home, Elizabeth was the mother of John the Baptist. She was known as a woman that followed the Lord but did not have any children. When she was in her old age, her prayers were answered and she became pregnant. An angel of the Lord told her husband, Zechariah the priest, that Elizabeth would have a son that would be a joy and a delight (see Luke 1:5-17). The prayer is that these girls will see their child as a joy and a delight and that they become women who follow the Lord like Elizabeth.

Thank you for taking time out of your day to read this blog and take time to see what God is doing in our world. As you take time to pray today, would you help me in praying for Casa Elisabeth, for all the ministry that happens, for all the young women who come in and out of this home. For them to not only be at a healthy place to bring a child into the world, but also that they may know God and his sweet, sweet love for them. 

 

If you feel led to give financially to Casa Elisabeth and help further what God is doing there, you can do so here https://incalink.donortools.com/. It costs approximately $380 per mother and baby each month to stay at Casa Elizabeth and receive the care and training. We provide 100% of the needs for the mother and baby and we trust that the Lord will provide 100% of our needs. 

 

Thank you again for reading this!! Until next time, KAITLYN