Elizabeth Groff felt completely forgotten during her time in a Ukrainian orphanage until a simple gift changed her life.
She was given a shoebox full of toys from people she did not know and “through this act of unconditional love, I was washed suddenly in a bright hope,” she recently told Fox News.
“God wasn’t going to abandon me. He was meeting me right there at rock bottom,” the now 28-year-old, who is working to let others know they are not alone, said.
Now, the humanitarian aid group called Samaritan’s Purse is preparing to collect and distribute its 200 millionth Operation Christmas Child shoebox.
According to its website, the operation’s mission is to “demonstrate God’s love in a tangible way to children in need around the world.”
After Groff was placed in the orphanage in Ukraine, she joined the choir and traveled to the United States when she was 11 years old.
A family in Williamsburg, Virginia, hosted her during the trip and the father felt God telling him she was their child.
Groff explained, “My host father could not believe that God was calling him back to Ukraine. At this time they had one biological daughter — and three years prior to hosting me, they adopted a little girl from Ukraine and the process was very difficult. They had no plans to return to Ukraine, but God had other plans.”
On her final day in the states, the family asked if she wanted to be adopted and she did not hesitate to say yes.
She has recently traveled to several states to help prepare shoeboxes for other children and will personally deliver the 200 millionth shoebox to one of them in Ukraine.
“I pray that this child realizes and understands that they aren’t alone. With everything going on Ukraine, it must be so difficult for them. I want them to know that there is the hope of Jesus,” Groff said.
In a video posted last week, Samaritan’s Purse CEO and President Rev. Franklin Graham said the organization wants children to know they are loved:
“Every shoebox is an opportunity for us to share God’s love with children around the world,” he said while showing the box that will be presented to the little girl in Ukraine.