Liz Ortiz

I love the days that I go to the school. Whenever I open the door to my truck, I hear cheering and the sounds of footsteps running towards me. I am greeted by big smiles and hugs. The students help me carry in the boxes of books and supplies from my truck. As we walk into the classroom, I am greeted by Divine, a new student this year, who is non-verbal. The first couple of times that I came, she feared me and was on the verge of tears if I came near. But now, she is the first

In August, my social media feed was flooded with back-to-school photos. Seeing these posts had me anticipating seeing my students again. However, here in Togo, the school year doesn’t start until mid-September, so I had to wait to see “my kids” again. As I waited and prepared for the first day of school, the excitement built inside me. And when the day finally arrived and I pulled up to the school, the excitement that had built up did not disappoint. The children exited the s

Seven years ago, I walked into a 2 nd  grade classroom. The students began pointing to an empty seat shouting in a mixture of French and...

The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps. Proverbs 16:9 My friend Kristin and I had been talking for nearly 4...

One of my favorite seasons as kid was VBS season. In my home, VBS wasn’t just a week, it was a season. For years, my parents led VBS at...

Ten years ago, I started my journey with ABWE. I had recently graduated from university and was spending the summer at ABWE headquarters...

Back in 2012, I did something that is not common for a granddaughter to do. I was a photographer for my grandfather’s wedding. My...

“BAWK! BAWK!” A chicken cried as it came running into the classroom chasing after a lizard. I was surprised by the visitor, but it didn’t...

We had a deaf ministry group visiting from the States. They work with another missions organization that is located about 2 hours from...

I was showing a local friend some muddy handprints that were on the side of my truck. I laughed as I told him how the children always run...