Tracy Opra: Planting Roots and Sowing the Seeds of Faith
By: Genevieve Rogers
spiritnewspapers@gmail.com
Michigan native Tracy Opra knew that God had something big planned for her this year, but she never would've guessed how fast His plan would be implemented and how it was going to change her life. His plan was the Elizabeth House for Women, a Christ Centered living environment for women in need, a vision that came from nowhere and has lead to something very remarkable.
Growing up, Tracy says that she had two wonderful parents who she loved dearly. Her mother was instrumental in Tracy's faith and her love for God's word. After she passed away, Tracy decided it was time to make a change and move. She didn't like the cold and knew that she wanted to go somewhere warm. So she prayed about it and eventually she found her way to Savannah, where's she lived for the past six years with her beloved pets, including two cats called "Blessed" and "Putty-Tat". She says that she loves it here and plans to stay and is thankful for the warm weather, even the dreaded South Georgia humidity!
In six years, Tracy's planted roots, making friends and gaining a second family within her church, buying a home, and becoming involved with several ministries within the church. She feels that her mission is to help others and bring others into the word of the Lord.
"You know, I love people and I want people to know Jesus Christ. I know what He's done in my life through a lot of the things I've gone through. Without my Lord Jesus, I know I couldn't have gotten through these things. I just want to give people that little bit of hope. I know how I feel inside and I wish I could give just a little bit of that to everybody. I want to share with them and give them just that little bit of hope and let them know that there are others out there that really do care."
She also believes strongly in the idea that we are all on a planned path and that if we just believe, God will get us to where we're supposed to be.
"I like to explain it this way to the girls I minister to. The Lord knows the day you're born and He knows the day you die. He knows everything in between and He has a plan. And it's almost like a video game. The creator of the video game has a destination for you and if you follow the directions, you're going to get there. But if you go off and do your own thing, He still knows every move you make and what's going to happen, and you'll get to your destination eventually. That's just like our Lord. He knows the choices we make."
And God's plan for Tracy and the ElizaBeth House began in October 2008 and is a true testimony of His will.
She says that it all began as she was walking out of church one day in October. She was telling a friend that she didn't know what the Lord had planned for her in 2009, but she was absolutely certain that it was something really awesome and that she just couldn't wait to see what it was. She also knew that it would involve leaving her current job and going to another.
In November, she was at working with a customer who had a lady come in with him. As they were leaving, she looked at Tracy and told her that if she ever needed a job she should call her. Tracy filed it away mentally and didn't think of it again until March of this year when she lost her job due to the economy.
"I lost my job and that's always rough, but I knew that this was in God's plan and I was so excited about it. In fact, I was the happiest person who had ever lost their job! I went to my pastor and told him that I was ready for whatever assignment God was going to put in my hands next and I knew it was going to be great. I was ready for a little break and knew that when God wanted me to go back to work, then I would."
She says that she was sitting at her computer one day, submitting resumes, when a little voice inside her head said, "Call this person". So she sat back and thought about who she was supposed to call when she remembered the lady back in November who offered her a job. So she made the call and discovered that the lady was in fact hiring and said that she would train her to be a loan modification specialist. So she was hired on and this is where the Elizabeth House comes in.
"I was coming out of church on May 6th and I ran into somebody that knew another friend of mine and they were telling me that this person was thinking about doing loan modification. So I went home and called this lady and we talked and set up a time to get together. We agreed to meet the next day and discuss it with the lady who was training me. The next day I got to the owner's house and she had pulled in just behind me and I told her to go on up and that I needed to pray, as it was National Day of Prayer, and I would be up after. I finished praying and went up to the house and while we were talking about the loan modification this thought came into my head and without thinking I asked her if she had ever thought of turning the home into a sober living environment for women. We were all surprised, because it literally came out of nowhere, so we all looked at each other and I pointed up to the sky and said, 'It's all God'. There was no thought beforehand of what I said, it was all Him. The owner said she had bought the house for an investment to begin with and that she would like to give back to the community. I told her to take the weekend and pray about it, as would I because I had never done anything like this. She called me the following Monday and said this was something she wanted to do and the idea for the ElizaBeth House was born."
The name itself is another one of God's visions. Tracy says that even though the owner of the house is named "Elizabeth", the house is not named after her. She said that she woke up one morning and the Lord impressed upon her 'The Elizabeth House for Women'.
"It was what the Lord put upon my heart and there isn't a rhyme or reason to it."
Settled upon the idea and a name, Tracy dove in and started getting her ducks in order. She went online to find the rules and regulations for sober living environment. She called the IRS to find out about tax forms and spent over an hour discussing the ins and outs of what was needed and she printed out pages upon pages of forms to fill out.
The next step was to call the gentleman who prepared her taxes, who suggested an attorney to help get the paperwork together. Not wanting to go to the phone book for just any attorney, Tracy prayed about it and asked God to lead her to the right person. So she went online and found a directory with one number listed. She called the firm and found out that the attorney specialized in forming corporations, which was exactly what she needed. On top of that, the attorney agreed to help, free of charge, because he believed in the mission behind the house. After having his assistant call Tracy and get the pertinent information. she had all the paperwork together in five hours time.
The next step was donations to fund the house, something Tracy had no experience in. But first, she needed a business account. She talked to her pastor and set up appointment with a large organization about how to go about fundraising. She says that as she was coming out of the meeting, someone in lobby who heard what she was trying to do said they wanted to donate money towards the house and donated the exact amount needed to open a business account. Tracy ran to the bank and opened the account with the help of a bank employee who offered her services with whatever was needed. This same lady would soon come on as one of the board members for the Elizabeth House.
Deciding to hold a raffle to raise money towards the house, Tracy talked to the manager of the Rental Superstore in Garden City, who kindly donated a 40 inch flat screen television towards the raffle. The tickets sold for $25 a piece and at the end of two week, $3,951.23 was raised.
Tracy says that in the two weeks it took from the idea of the house to now, that so many people have stepped up to help her and that God has placed these people in front of her for this purpose.
"I've had so much support from my pastor and members of the church. I'm a team player and I like to work with people and get ideas from other people. I don't believe in doing everything on your own and that's why I made this a corporation so that no one person has control and that it's a team effort. All the people on the board are Godly people. Everyone involved believes that this is from God for God. Our board of directors consists of a pastor, a doctor, a lawyer, a banker, a realtor, and a police officer. The Lord put them all in my path."
Tracy stresses that even though God used her as the instrument for the house, that it really isn't about her.
"This is not about me at all. It's from God and for Him. There's no part of this that's about me. All the glory for this goes to the Lord because He's the one that put this together in two weeks, not me. I was just the instrument. In the last week and a half, I've had goose-bumps from my head to my toes. When people hear how this came about, they won't be able to deny the hand of God in every step. I'm just an average person just like everybody else, walking on this earth, except that my faith is so strong and I do trust and believe in my Lord."
Tracy says that the Elizabeth House is still in the planning stages and that she hopes to secure the house soon, assuming that they get enough donations. Those who want to donate can go to any Bank of America and donate in the name of The Elizabeth House for Women.