Tell the Whole World That I Am Real

By William Cornell, Jr.

"Elsa's dead", cried out Abebech. "Lord, why did you take my sweet granddaughter from me?" Read about the miracle that lead to Elsa hearing from Jesus to "tell the whole world that I am real" and other amazing conversion stories evidencing God's heart for reaching the lost in Ethiopia.

• Language: English
• Publisher: CrossLink Publishing
• Release date: Nov 18, 2016
• ISBN: 9781533716927

William Cornell, Jr.

William and his wife are the administrators for African Community Transformation Services (ACTS). After his first visit to Ethiopia, William sold his business and began work in this non-profit which aims at improving the spiritual, mental and physical health of those living in a broken area of the world.

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TELL THE WHOLE WORLD THAT I AM REAL

LITTLE ELSA, JESUS AND AN ETHIOPIAN MIRACLE

William Cornell, Jr.

Tell the Whole World That I Am Real: Little Elsa, Jesus and an Ethiopian Miracle Copyright © 2016 by William Cornell, Jr.

CrossLink Publishing

www.crosslinkpublishing.com

All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

Scripture quotations are taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Acknowledgements

Iwould like to thank the love of my life Karen who has joined me on an amazing journey through life. I am also thankful for our children who, after some deep breaths, have encouraged us in our decision to make ACTS our life’s work. Also thanks to our friends who have supported us in many ways, especially through prayer. I would not be where I am today without the spiritual mentoring of Pastor Chuck Shillito of Clovis Community Church and Dr. Markos Zemede, the visionary behind our ministry. Finally, I need to acknowledge Mark Shaw who pushed, prodded, and advised me through the process of fulfilling my promise to write this book.

Jeremiah 1:7-9 (NIV)

But the Lord said to me, ‘Do not say, ‘I am too young.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you, declares the Lord. Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, I have put my words in your mouth."

Chapter Titles

and Descriptions

INTRODUCTION

Prologue

Chapter 1 Ethiopia

A historical overview of Elsa’s home country of Ethiopia

Chapter 2 A Baby Named Elsa

An account of Elsa’s birth and family in the small town of Enseno

Chapter 3 Ethiopian Religion

Religion in Ethiopia with a focus on the growing Evangelical movement

Chapter 4 Reaching the Unreached in Ethiopia

A discussion of transportation throughout the country and its effect on Elsa and those trying to spread the Good News

Chapter 5 Woudineh

The biography of a man known throughout the Ethiopian Christian community and to Elsa’s family

Chapter 6 One Man’s Efforts to Spread Christianity

The story of an Ethiopian-born American doctor’s efforts to expand Evangelical Christianity throughout his homeland and the rest of the horn of Africa

Chapter 7 Little Elsa – Growing in Age, Knowledge and Faith

A picture of Elsa as she grows through her years as a toddler and embraces Christianity

Chapter 8 The Story of a Vision

An important Muslim sheik’s amazing conversion to Christianity

Chapter 9 From Healer to Healed

A local witch doctor accepts Christ and is freed

Chapter 10 Little Elsa’s Hometown

A depiction of life in the town of Enseno and other similar rural Ethiopian villages.

Chapter 11 Elsa’s Horizons Expanded

Elsa learns of life beyond the boundaries of Enseno and her family

Chapter 12 Elsa’s Miracle Tell the Whole World

Elsa’s death experience and her message from Jesus

Chapter 13 Miracles in the Bible

Resurrection stories found in the Bible

Chapter 14 The Obedience of Little Elsa

Elsa’s efforts to follow Jesus’s instructions to tell the whole world

Epilogue

The author’s knowledge that Jesus is real and the path that lead him and his wife to Elsa’s backyard to hear the Spirit’s message to share her story with the world

INTRODUCTION

What happens when you slow your life down and listen for God? For me, it lead to my standing in a front yard in a rural town in Ethiopia listening to a little girl tell a remarkable story. Me, an owner of a trucking company who had only recently been planted on the mission field, hearing a story so compelling that before I could think, found myself promising that I would write a book to help this young girl realize her desire to tell the whole world that Jesus is real. In many western cultures we spend much of our lives focused on what we are doing for ourselves and our families and ignore God’s presence all around us. Many who live in Africa, the poorest continent on the planet, rely on God for things that we take for granted, like their next meal. They know that He is the provider. If we can humble ourselves and realize that our prosperity and good fortune in this world are only because we have been blessed by our sovereign God, perhaps then we will recognize it when we brush up against him. In fact, maybe then, we will find ourselves seeking such encounters.

All over Africa, people are experiencing unique one-on-one encounters with God and three of their stories are told in the chapters which follow. You will not finish this book and any longer be skeptical that God is present and at work all around us. And, if you ever doubt that The Lord Jesus Christ is real, Little Elsa’s story will erase those doubts.

For a reason that was truly God inspired, and nowhere in the playbook that I had written for my own life, I had the opportunity to meet Little Elsa in her grandparents’ front yard in a rural village in Ethiopia. At more than 60 years of age, I chose to sell my company and follow God’s leading to become involved with African Community Transformation Services, Inc. (ACTS). Through a series events, and having been told Elsa’s remarkable story, I was now sitting on a crude wooden stool hearing Little Elsa’s firsthand account of her direct encounter with Jesus.

I have never written a book and would not ever have used the word author as a personal descriptor before this effort. (Of course, I could say the same thing about being called a missionary too.) But again, that would turn out to be my plan for me and not God’s.

Having heard Elsa’s story and asking her questions to clarify her testimony, I turned to walk out through the gate to return to our van. Before I could reach the opening, I found myself turning around and telling Elsa (through our interpreter) that I wanted to help her fulfill her desire to tell her story to the rest of the world by writing a book about it. She lit up like a Christmas tree! This was truly the Holy Spirit leading me as I was not prepared to author such a novel. My three year struggle to create this book is proof of my unpreparedness, but my perseverance driven by the promise that I made a young girl has become proof that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me, Philippians 4:14 (New King James).

I trust that you will find this book not only informative, but encouraging as you continue your walk of faith.

Prologue

It was just after five o’clock in the morning when Pastor Garuga ¹ awoke to his cell phone ringing. Not even the roosters in his small farmyard had announced the dawning of the new day.

Garuga quickly reached to answer the phone in an effort to avoid awakening his wife and three children still asleep next to him on the mat on the floor. He wondered to himself who it could be disturbing him at such an early hour. Few of his parishioners could afford the luxury of a cell phone.

As Garuga answered the phone, he heard the sobbing of an obviously distraught woman on the other end. Through the sobs, Meseret identified herself to the now wide-awake pastor. He immediately associated her with the strong Christian family who had helped him plant a church in the town of Enseno about twenty miles away from his home.

Pastor Garuga said Good morning in the warmest voice that he could muster at this early hour, hoping his tone would help to calm the distressed Meseret. Through her tears, she explained that her niece, Elsa, had taken ill the previous day and had died at about nine o’clock that night. In a voice that was more of a plea than a question, Meseret inquired about Garuga’s availability to come to their home to pray with and for the grieving family members.

I’ll be right there, he answered.

Pastor Garuga quickly dressed and mounted the small motorbike parked outside his door. He owned one of the very few motorized vehicles to be found anywhere within 50 miles and felt fortunate to have this mode of transportation available to him. It had been a gift from the Horn of Africa Evangelical Ministry,² given to facilitate his area church planting efforts.

Pastor Garuga headed out through the barbed wire gate onto the dirt road in front of his mud house. This road would take him to the two-lane paved road which would lead him to Enseno.

About 30 minutes later, the pastor walked into the main room of Little Elsa’s grandparents’ home. There on a table in front of him lay a motionless Little Elsa, dressed in the simple off-white dress that she always wore to church. She was not breathing. She was cold to the touch.

Why, Garuga wondered, would God choose to take the life of this little girl? At only eight-years-old, he knew of her love of the Lord, her Christlike spirit, and her passion for sharing the love of Jesus with her largely Muslim classmates, explaining His saving grace. Little Elsa loved prayer and spent time alone and with the help of others in the Word. Of all people, why, Garuga wondered, would it be her life which had been so prematurely taken? Despite his strong faith in the Lord, Garuga could not help but be shaken realizing that it would take a small miracle just to bring this hurting and broken family back to whole.

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¹ For several reasons, this is not his real name. To avoid the chance of increased persecution, several characters’ names have been changed.

² The Horn of Africa Mission is the catalytic force behind launching thousands of new churches in the most difficult regions on earth, including Ethiopia. A church planting movement has exploded across the nations producing over 10,000 viable, reproducible, and culturally relevant churches. Approximately 300,000 people, many never before reached or engaged, have received the good news of Jesus Christ and now have hope and a future.

Ethiopia

Little Elsa was born in the country of Ethiopia, one with a truly unique history. Population numbers almost 99,000,000, making it the thirteenth largest nation in the world. ³

Located on the part of the globe most often referred to as the Horn of Africa, what today is called the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia is the oldest independent country on the African continent and among the most ancient on earth. The tiny country of Eritrea, once a part of Ethiopia, borders it to the north. The even smaller nation of Djibouti and the near-lawless country of Somalia are its eastern neighbors. Sudan and South Sudan, at war with one another for much of the past decade, lie to the west, and Kenya to the south.

A constant amidst the ever-changing dynamic representing the continent of Africa is the fact that of all its countries, Ethiopia is the only one to