Starting an Orphanage Was All Part of God’s Plan!

After three years of working for my grandparents, I began to sense a shift.

It was time to step out in ministry. I had gone from craving the spotlight to really being comfortable behind the scenes. I was okay with never going and standing on a platform, just always in the background. Well, I have found it’s in those times when we get comfortable and have peace where God has brought us that He asks us to step out again into the unknown.

God was asking me to step out into my own ministry. As much as I wanted to wholeheartedly follow God and what He asked me to do, I remember there being a sense of pain and disappointment that I had to work through. I was single. And my dream of being in ministry never involved me going alone preaching the Gospel. But time passed and I was in a place of decision. As disappointed as I was, I had gotten to a place that, no matter how I felt or what I wanted, I wasn’t here to do my will; I was here to do the will of God. Nothing else mattered.

 So in obedience to what I believed God was asking me to do, I left my position as a cook and set out to begin Love to the Nations. As soon as I set out, people began inviting me to speak at conferences and churches. Thankfully, the Lord had done a work of humility in me, which is something that is not a one-and-done kind of thing. It’s a perpetual lowness. Even as I would speak, my heart would still have that desire to touch the untouchable, be surrounded with people who didn’t look like me. The Lord answered my prayer in a way that would change the entire course of my life.

 At the start of Love to the Nations, I wrote a book called Abba: Finding Comfort in the Father after Your Parents’ Divorce, which took the reader through the concept of a father’s love and walking victoriously through such a trial. As I was writing this book, I began to really, really see the heart of God the Father. He took us in. We were in darkness—a kingdom of darkness, if you will—and He brought us to the Kingdom of Light. We were spiritual orphans without a father, and in His compassionate love He sent Jesus to die on the cross to bring us in as family. We don’t have to live the same way we used to live. We don’t have to exist in sin and darkness. Romans 8:15 says, “The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’”

But His heart doesn’t stop there. I saw that not only did He want to bring spiritual orphans back to sonship, but He had a desire to bring physical orphans into a place of safety and love.

The orphan and the widow are the cry of God’s heart, and therefore the call of the Christian church. As we were once spiritual orphans, now, by the blood of Jesus, we have a seat at God’s family table. God wants the church to bring the widows and orphans to their table.

Just as we saw in the parable of the Good Samaritan, our fullness is not merely shown spiritually but is exemplified by our physical actions. What is pure and undefiled religion? What does it really mean to live the life of a follower of Christ? James 1:27 says, “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” I am convinced that the more you know the heart of the Father, the louder you hear the cry of the orphan. We no longer just think about them and say, “Bless you.” We do something about it. This is the call of the children of God.

 It’s hard to explain in words what was taking place as I was writing Abba: Finding Comfort in the Father after Your Parents’ Divorce. God began putting a supernatural love in my heart for the fatherless. I would begin just weeping and praying over those precious ones. Anytime I saw anything about the fatherless or adoption, my heart would come alive. I pored over every scripture about the orphan and the widow. I even looked into how to adopt. Before this time, caring for the orphan and missions were just things other people did. It never really came across my mind. But after learning more about God’s heart for the orphan, it was something that would never leave. I knew it was His heartbeat and I knew I had to do something about it.

 Every time I was invited to go and speak at a church or conference, before I would go I would ask the pastor if there were any orphanages nearby. I would ask them the state of the orphan crisis in their area. I didn’t know how to play a part in helping the orphan, I just knew I needed to do it. Every time I would come in contact with a leader of a children’s home or children’s work, I would ask God, “Do You want me to support them?”

 I remember going to Mexico and being with Ronnie and Anna Sherman, now dear friends, who own a home in Acuña. I was standing in that room full of fatherless children and I began to weep. I could feel the heart of God in that room. I could feel His love. I was inspired by every caretaker and worker in that place. The kids were full of joy because they were loved. The situations they had been in were unimaginable, but they had come to a place of safety and love. That trip changed me.

Shortly after, I was invited to Greece and Bulgaria to speak at a couple youth conferences. I was invited by a girl named Melina Stamati. I met Melina in Australia while I was working with my grandparents. She was there at Hillsong College in Sydney and introduced herself. We kept in touch and she invited me to come and speak.

 I remember thinking before I went to Greece, Well, I don’t really have much of a love for Greece. I just am going to go because I love her. That’s funny to think about now, in my fifth year of living in Greece and married to my Greek husband. It’s safe to say I now have an enormous love for Greece and an even more enormous love for a certain Greek man named Elias.

Well, I got to Greece and we had a wonderful youth conference. We were driving to Bulgaria and I was in the car with Melina’s parents, Maria and Dimitris. I begin asking the same questions as I always do about the fatherless and orphanages.

 “How many orphanages are there?”

 “Not that many, and many are closing down because of the financial crisis.”

 “Are there a lot of abandoned children in Greece?”

“There are so many abandoned children, again, because of the financial crisis.”

 “Well, what if we started an orphanage?”

Those words came out of my mouth and I was shocked. I never, in a million years, would have thought I would say that. And they probably thought I was crazy and it was just a thought that would soon go away. But the moment those words came out of my mouth, I knew it was what God was asking me to do.

 You know, I’ve always said wanting to start an orphanage when you grow up is like the Christian girl version of wanting to be an astronaut when you grow up. Needless to say, it never really was a desire of mine. Some people grow up wanting to do that for their whole lives, but it never entered my realm of reality, because I never really thought of any picture of ministry other than standing on a stage and holding a microphone. But as soon as the statement was uttered, I knew I could not be talked out of the idea.

 I had no idea what I was doing, but I knew it was something I had to do. As I was talking to the Stamatis in that car ride, they gave me some good advice and encouraged me to talk to their daughter, Liana. So I reached out to Liana and told her my dream. She told me that her whole life, if she could do anything, she would want to work with children. At that moment, I knew the Lord had brought us together for this very purpose.

A few days later, I had to go back to the States, but this dream was consuming me. I continued e-mailing Liana back and forth as we began this journey which would soon become Abbahouse: Thessaloniki. She left her secure job at the bank because she believed in this dream God had given us. We began by finding potential homes, meeting with people, lawyers, and we even made a trip together to Mexico to El Corazon de Rey Children Home with Ronnie and Anna Sherman because we loved how they modeled their home.

We did some training together, and there we were, two girls who had no experience but faith and a dream. And we found that, really, it was all we needed. I was going to Greece for three months but then had to leave for three months because of visa issues. We quickly became a non-profit organization in Greece and set up a home. We hired theas (which means “aunts” in Greek) to be caretakers. We were ready. All we could do was wait and trust that God had really sent us here.

 While I was in Greece, I moved into this little room on the top of Abbahouse. One day, Liana came up so we could pray together. I told her I had a small picture of what Noah must have felt when he had built the ark. Here we were, everything ready— bunk beds, a ready kitchen, couches in the living room, and our willingness to follow God’s plan. The only thing missing was the children. I walked through those rooms, thinking, “Are kids going to come?” Don’t you think that’s how Noah felt after he built that ark? “Are the animals going to come?” We laughed about that and prayed together.

Literally two minutes after we said amen, Liana got a call. She told me, “Jenny, it was a social worker. There are four children, and they are wondering if we can take them in the house.”

 I started yelling, “The kids are coming! The kids are coming!” We started to laugh and have this peace in our hearts. God brought us here.

Two minutes later, another social worker called us with a request for three more children to be in our home. Quickly, our once-empty home became full of life and constantly loud. It seemed overnight, but we were sure God was planning for us to be there in a place of great need. Many children in Greece are in loving families, but because of the financial crisis, parents would take their children and drop them off at orphanages. Along with the refugee crisis, there were many children who needed a safe haven and home.

 Children came in without an understanding of safe and healthy love and were loved by the Father God through the theas and staff working at Abbahouse: Thessaloniki. We have seen dramatic change in every one of the children.

Before we officially opened the home, the Lord gave us a few prayers to pray, the first one being, “God, we want to raise these children not with the identity of an orphan, but with the identity of a child of God.” That was our goal. That’s also why we don’t call Abbahouse an orphanage—it is a children’s home. Because that is what it is.

We also began to pray, “God, restore their innocence. Give them permission to be childlike again.” So many times when children go through hard things, they have to grow up too fast. But God wants them to keep their innocence. And the innocence that the enemy tries to steal away can be restored in the wonderful love of the Father. That’s what we prayed and that’s what we began to see. We have a big yard where the kids love to play. Now every time I go to the house and see those kids dancing and laughing and playing like children again, I see God’s redemptive love. I remember that this is His beautiful answer to our prayer. He is restoring their innocence, making them children again. I could cry every time I think of His faithfulness. His love has transformed lives. Children who would have been dead or on the street are now lovers of Jesus and know what it means to be loved.

It’s one thing to love a child. It’s another thing when the child knows they are loved. And I can wholeheartedly say that every child who has come into our home isn’t just loved, but they know they are loved. And that is the difference. Only the presence of Jesus and the love of the Father can bring such change.

One of my favorite testimonies is when we asked one of the little nine-year-old boys living in our home, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” His reply: “I want to be a father.”

Here is a little boy who never knew his father, never knew a safe and steady home life. His mother was on drugs and she used to live in an orphanage, but here is a child who now lives a different reality. The generational curse of fatherlessness is broken because he has a different lineage—the lineage of a heavenly Father. The lineage of agape love.

We have seen so many miracles. If you work with the orphan, you will live a life of continual miracles. Because this, as we said before, is the heart of God. Financial miracles, miracles of healing, miracles of favor with government. You will see it all. Because I believe God does everything in His power (which is limitless) to care for the widow and the orphan. You give your heart and hands to that, and there is no question that He will prove His love.

At the beginning of this dream, I remember thinking I would mostly live in the States and just visit Greece and be part of the home. That sounded nice and comfortable, like a vacation. But the Lord swiftly began to change my heart. I wanted to stay in America because my ministry was growing; I was being asked to speak at more places. Moving across the world to Greece meant moving away from my picture of standing on stages and holding microphones. But I knew change was coming, I just didn’t understand it. I had conversations with God with a dilemma in my spirit. God, I know I am called to preach, but I also know I was called to help the orphan. Does that mean I spend my time preaching and help the orphan on the side? Or do I help the orphan and speak on the side?

 During this time of questioning, I was at a worship service one day with my friends Michael and Jess Koulianos. I could sense the wind of change from God, but I couldn’t fully explain it. The speaker did an altar call and asked people who were hungry for more of God to come up. Of course I was hungry for more. So I ran up.

 I had never met this preacher. His name was Nathan Morris. I didn’t know about him and he had no idea about me or who my family was. He began to pray for me. He was saying, “Legacy. Legacy. Inheritance.” I remember sensing the presence of Jesus so strongly I fell to my knees with my hands open wide to the Lord. After I heard Nathan say “legacy” and “inheritance,” I was thinking, “Well, Michael probably told him who my family was, so it makes sense he was saying legacy.” I have to admit, I was encouraged, but not really impressed. I mean, I had gotten words like that from people. It’s like if you are a worship leader and someone says to you, “I see you receiving songs from heaven.” It’s encouraging, yes, and you’re thankful for those words, but it’s not so impressive because you’re a worship leader.

 I thought Nathan knew my family, so I was encouraged and just kept praying on my knees. All of a sudden I heard Michael say to Nathan, “Hey, pray for Jenny. She’s the granddaughter of Kenneth and Gloria Copeland.”

Okay, now I was impressed. I thought he knew my family, but he didn’t. Maybe that really came from the Spirit of God.

 Nathan began to give me a word:

“I see nations, nations, nations. I see you going into barren lands, where people have said it’s impossible to be refreshed, coming in with the wells of the Spirit and the rivers of a living God and coming in and refreshing a people and refreshing a land. And yes, you are called to preach, but I see orphanages.”

I began to weep. God had answered my question in such a supernatural way. As I was receiving this word, I knew in my heart: It’s time to move to Greece. It’s time to be on the mission field.

This prayer, one that has stayed with me in every season, began to come out of my mouth:

Lord, I don’t care what it looks like, as long as I’m following You.

I knew leaving the comfort of my family and the comfort of America would not be easy, but it would be worth it. Leaving the status of traveling and preaching in the western world only to be hidden as a missionary in this village in Greece would not be easy, but it would be worth it. Because comfort was never the goal; surrender was.

It’s saying yes when it looks different than you thought.

There have been so many times I’ve had to remind myself of this prayer: I don’t care what it looks like as long as I’m following You.

 That’s a prayer of surrender. That’s the prayer of an open heart.

 That’s the prayer that lays down your will and takes upon you the will of God.

It’s a prayer that can take you onto stages and it’s also a prayer that can hide you in a tent.

I was willing to lay down my picture of ministry and holding microphones.

He is the one who put in my heart the dream for ministry. But I find through seasons of pruning, He takes and purifies the motives of man.

The dream was from Him, it just had some selfish motives in it. And throughout every season, even when it looked like I was going away from “my dream” or “destiny,” I knew in the way that only God could, He was weaving me intricately through the pruning process. From my dream of telling people about Jesus as a little girl to thinking I was called to conferences and churches to being behind the scenes to standing on stages holding microphones to being a missionary in Greece leading a children’s home, I saw God take His pure dream mixed with my selfish motives and purify the motives of the heart into an offering that is worthy to be given to Him.

 I believe God puts a dream and eternity in every person’s heart. Something that can only come from Him. If we try to accomplish it in our own timeline and strength, it will be weak and it will be wrapped in selfish motives. But when we give our dream to Him, even in times when we feel He is leading us into seasons that look the furthest away from our destiny, all we need to do is pray, I don’t care what it looks like as long as I’m following You.

He takes dreams and purifies them through the fire through those seasons, so it can be something that blesses not just Him but the world around us.

What is Jesus trying to do in your life? What is He shifting and stirring? Maybe it’s time our definitions of ministry and moves of God no longer are one-dimensional. We need to look in the hiddenness; we need to look in the smallness. There’s so much we don’t see that God is doing. So many moves of revival. So many saints you and I may never hear about but who are being celebrated in heaven.

 I don’t want to direct my life by what I think I should do. I want to follow the Lord. Whether it’s big and seen or unseen and goes unrewarded on earth, give me Jesus. I will have my reward.

At the end of the day, dreams are not our destiny. Jesus is our destiny. And if we always aim at loving Jesus and ministering to His heart, we will always hit the mark. But if we aim solely for our dream and miss Jesus, what have we gained?

 Friends, we want what Jesus wants for our lives. This is ultimately the goal of this book. Whether He is inviting some to hold microphones and stand on stages or some to lives of sacred smallness and holy hiddenness, both are beautiful if the goal is to simply, simply love Jesus.