It’s difficult to pinpoint when a calling takes place.  For Elizabeth Trautman, the Voice that called her to Zambia was the same one that she had followed for many years and into many callings.  The seed for The Lighthouse was interspersed with others that God had sown in her heart.   How long did it lie dormant, waiting for the conditions to be right?  Years of preparation serving in the church, large-family life, and practicing medicine all created space for it. Life experiences fed and nourished it, the warmth of fellowship and community fostered a good place for it to grow, until at last it took hold, pushed to the surface, and she became aware that God had been growing something in her that would spread farther than she had planned.  To Zambia, in fact.

In the spring of 2018 she was invited to come to Zambia to teach at a newly formed college. After a time of fellowship and consideration, with an ever-growing certainty, she felt compelled to go. In late 2018, with the trip planned but not yet executed, the news came that the college had dissolved and there was no need for teachers. Elizabeth recognized a compelling sense of purpose behind the urge to go to Zambia (though she didn’t know what it was), and so she continued with her preparations trusting God to reveal His plan in His time.

On arrival, Elizabeth’s love for children led her to visit several orphanages in Lusaka, the capital and largest city in Zambia. After a week of enjoying babies and children without any sense of purpose, she went on one last trip with a neighbor who was an officer in the government.  He didn’t explain the destination, but when they pulled up to a home (shanty) for children (85!) with disabilities in one of most impoverished areas of town, she knew immediately that this group was the reason that she had come to Zambia.

From that moment, all the plans that God already had in place began to roll: securing necessities and medical devices for the home and the children, locating and purchasing property on which to build housing for the children and their caregivers, drawing up plans with an architect, finding a contractor, and the founding of a non-profit organization (SHF) for purchase of the property.

Excerpt from Elizabeth’s journal, March 2019:

“As we drove back across town, Ysu and I marveled at how God orchestrates His provision so creatively, wisely and omnipotently. He brought Ysu down from the Congo and put Him at Simon’s house. Simon, who has a position in the government, has knowledge of the law and workings of Zambia,… And then He connected me with Ysu and brought me all the way from Washington State. He sent money and supplies with me, for which I wouldn’t have known to ask, and gave me the drive to get some momentum behind this project.  He gave all of us a big heart for these people, workers and children alike. “

Quickly, there formed a partnership of believers with boots on the ground both in the US and in Zambia, so moving forward with property purchase and a dream of a safe place for the children was a natural progression.  The year 2019 saw Elizabeth in  Zambia on two separate trips – the first visit in March and then, again, in December.  The time on the second trip was, again, spent working on the urgent physical needs of the children, while also working on land development.

The ball had momentum. Then the ‘pandemic’ arrived and the scheduled trip in mid-2020 was postponed. Nevertheless, Elizabeth continued to work from afar with Simon and Ysu, who were in Lusaka. The plans progressed, albeit slowly.  An excerpt from February 2020 journal entry reads:

 “And we, suddenly, find ourselves ready to begin building!  After waiting, and working, and calling, and visiting, and praying much, Zesco suddenly came out and in 2 days had the transformer and all the lines moved!  We hardly know what to do with ourselves.  Also, the original title to the farm has been corrected and released (after 10 months for us and 10 years waiting for Dorothy!)”

The postponed trip was rescheduled for December 2020. This third trip to Zambia was more challenging; the pandemic made travel difficult and uncertain, and after having had a wonderful companion on the second trip, she found herself making this trip alone, again.  Journal entry, December 5, 2020:

….. “And so begins the third chapter of this Zambian story that usually has plenty of swerves and bumps along the way.  I have had the song, ‘my God is able to carry me through’ in my heart and my mind for the past couple of weeks.  It has kept my gaze steady; I sang it through all the security lines and through the long hours on the plane.  (One benefit of masks is that no one sees my lips moving all the time…)”

She was soon to find out that this renewed need to trust in God was going to be for a much larger faith-step than a solo trip to Zambia.  When she arrived at the home where the children were, she found things in disarray and,  one-by-one, issues of fraud and exploitation of the children began to be revealed. Journal entry of December 7, 2020:

I spent a couple nights crying out to God about this situation, as did Simon.  Last night, the Seeking Hearts Foundation board met (there are 5 of us, 2 from the states and 3 local) and found that we were on the same page about how we need to walk forward.  We do not feel that the current administrators can come to Kasupe.  We will find administrators who have a right heart for the children and who can create order, routine, and stability for the kids with a goal of growth, development of skills, training for life function, and godliness

And then came the still, small voice,  December 10, 2020:

This morning I woke early in the AM and was praying about administrators when the ‘thought’ came that I am the one who needs to run the Home. The list of qualities that Simon, Ackwell, Elizabeth M., and I had discussed for an administrator come to mind, and it is as if God is saying, ‘I made you this way, and trained you in this, and gave you this ability….’, until all those qualities are checked off the list.   Strange how this thought of moving came in such a peaceful way without any anxiety, fear, or even sadness.  The last two years, I have not wanted to move to Zambia.  Several people have asked me if I thought I would move. The response was always solid in me that they do not need me here in Zambia in a permanent way; they just need support.  That has suddenly shifted.  

Elizabeth let this early morning experience slip from her consciousness as the busyness and obstacles of the work occupied her time and thoughts.  As the realities of school and medical care for the children became apparent, they proceeded to seek another piece of land.  It was during this process that she felt God speak clearly to her, in a stronger way, that she was to move to Zambia and take on this project.  On this second ‘call’, the actualities of what this would mean for her life and family were clear, and presented a choice: to obey or not. Journal entry from Sunday, December 20, 2020 (this excerpt is about the discussion while at Dorothy’s on the purchase of the second property and its uses):  

Simon adds that we should be sure to include some rooms for sick kids in the design so that I can have them close to me.  Simon knows that I like/need to bring the injured or sick kids home for some mothering. I am glad he thought of this idea, but in the back of my mind I am thinking that it seems like a plan for a permanent person.  Then he quiets and sits back and just looks at me for a moment, starts to speak and then stops.  Finally he says, “there is no clinic or hospital near to the Kasupe area, whether you want it or not, this will become a clinic for the area, the neighbors will be coming to you for medicine and doctoring.”  Dorothy thinks this is wonderful and says that it is what she has always wanted for that property.  But I feel a bit short of breath and panicky inside; this has suddenly become a new, big project.  How did that happen?  I am not ready for that.  It certainly means I would need to live here.  

And then I remember this morning’s prayer.  I had this sense that God wanted something more from me, and I had tearfully committed my life to His use, once again.  I told Him that I wanted my life to be consecrated to Him. I gave up another piece of myself to His stewardship.

As Simon and Dorothy continued speaking,  I realized that this was that.  This moment, God was asking me to do His work in Zambia.  This time, I realized the cost immediately. I spent the afternoon weeping as I counted the cost. It is one thing to live in Zambia for a month…..another to do it long term, maybe for life. To leave my climate. To leave my patients without a naturopath.  To leave my home and family to move across the world by myself.  To leave my aging parents.  In this time where travel is difficult and becoming more difficult.  It feels big. I am afraid.  This was the sorrow that I felt in the 6 weeks before I left; the soberness of a hard thing coming. 

….But there is nothing to do but say, ‘Yes, Lord, here I am, send me.” Even if it is through tears.  Maybe especially through tears.  If it costs me nothing, is it a worthy sacrifice?

Early 2021 was a flurry of practical decisions on the Lighthouse building, raising boys long distance, closing down one life state-side and getting another life, in another country, established. And in June of 2021, Elizabeth left her home and way of life in Washington state, carrying the precious seed of faith in her that was planted so many years before.

In Zambia, that seed is taking root. At The LIghthouse, a path, suitable for children who need assistive devices, wanders among the new fruit trees and gardens, a small group of ducks and goats roams about, new grass is coming up, and clothes flap on the line.  Relationships are being formed and the Master Gardener, Jehovah Jireh himself, tends and waters each life.

The four young people that God sent, immediately upon her arrival,  seem to be God’s way of  giving her a family, while also teaching her about life in the African community.   And as the training center (The Lighthouse) nears completion, she continues to hone in on exactly what it is that is most needed for these children of Zambia. Plans are in the works for a play area, school, and clinic, along with the necessary staff housing.

Written in collaboration with Jeanette Keating and Deborah Selby.