“Instead of the thorn bush, [the] juniper shall go up; instead of the brier, [the] myrtle shall go up, and it shall serve as a memorial to Yahweh, for an everlasting sign [that] shall not be cut off.” – Isaiah 55:13
“Meet our newest intern, Ellie Williams, from Union City, Tennessee. From the moment I first met her I thought she was so quiet and so sweet, I almost wondered how she would weather the daily dose of beautiful chaos we experience here at Grace Klein… until I watched her in action. Ellie doesn’t react to the chaos; she actually has a way of calming it. Honestly, it’s the reason that I chose this particular verse to describe her. She brings with her rest. Peace. That calming presence that I know comes from the Holy Spirit within.
You see, there are many instances in the Bible where the Israelites returned from battle, or the Arabs encamped to water and refresh their camels and even where Elijah himself slept after fleeing Jezebel before he was fed by the ravens, slept under a juniper tree. Ellie is like that tree. A refreshing place of rest and a calm place in the midst of a storm. This past two weeks, Ellie has been thrust into the flurry of activity produced by two of our major yearly fund-raising events and she has handled the preparation and attendance of both like a champ!
Ellie is an upcoming Junior at Lee University in Intercultural studies and is as passionate as she is dedicated, to becoming a full time missionary in the Middle East. Ellie came to GKC to learn more about our organization and our global partners and is looking forward to possibly interning with one of them overseas once she graduates! I know that whatever she ends up doing or wherever she ends up serving, she will be a major asset to anyone and any organization that she chooses to bless with her many talents and abilities. I know for certain that she has been a God-send to Grace Klein and we can’t wait for her to come on board with us permanently however she chooses. (Ok, the secret is out, we are praying God brings her back.) Thank you, Ellie, for your time, your love, your gifts and for just being you! We love you!” – Tracie Mark Smith
*Ellie served with us for over 100 hours in 10 days. She engaged with food outreach, prayer support, single mamas ministry, homeless care, hospital visitation, food rescue, non-profit administration, event planning and implementation, hosting, serve team coordination, youth ministry, worship, receiving financial donations, etc. all to integrate the spread of the Gospel through sharing and missional living. We are so impressed with the move of Jesus in Ellie’s life. She seeps Jesus.