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As a 15-year-old girl in 1927, Lois Secrist promised God she'd go overseas as a missionary, perhaps to Africa or India, helping the needy. But Lois never made that trip of mercy.

At 23 she married Galon Prater, a handsome farmhand who became a heavy drinker. Her mission changed from sharing the message of Jesus in a faraway land to sharing it in her own home with her husband.

"I knew I had married out of the will of the Lord," Lois says. "But I had fallen in love. I always thought I could win him for God." Many years later, Galon did become a Christian and testify about the peace of Jesus to his drinking buddies. But by then he was almost 80 and nearing death. When he died January 9, 1988, Lois's childhood desire of becoming a missionary returned.

At first she resisted. At age 76, she felt her opportunity to serve overseas as a missionary had slipped away.

"I said, 'Lord, I'm too old to go now. I can't do this,' " Lois admits.

Her children also discouraged her, saying, "Mom, there are things you can do here." But to the astonishment of her three daughters, this great grandmother was determined to fulfill her unforgotten promise. Lois, pricked by the memory of ignoring God's calling as a teenager, would not refuse a second chance at becoming a missionary.

So at 87, Lois Prater has become the unlikely builder of an orphanage in the Philippines, a lifeline to 35 children whose lives have been rescued from neglect, begging in the streets, and parental abuse.

Called by a TV show
Lois's unlikely journey began just six months after the death of Galon, her husband of 52 years. While watching a Christian TV program from her home in Lake Stevens, a suburb of Seattle, Lois was stirred by an invitation from Nora Lam, a woman who once escaped a firing squad in her native China to become a missionary in that country. Lam asked people to accompany her to the Philippines and Taiwan for a three-week outreach. Lois decided to go.

Along with 230 others, Lois flew with Lam to the Philippines, where she took part in open-tent meetings that drew as many as 3,000 people. Inspired, Lois returned to the Philippines several weeks later with 11 other women and spoke at several churches during a month-long stay.

Lois returned a third time by herself and went from church to church on the Bataan Peninsula. During this time a ragged man, who had seven children under the age of seven, offered to sell his baby to Lois for 1,000 pesos (about $40).

"That impacted my soul so deeply I knew I had to do something," Lois declares.

She pushed 300 pesos into the man's hand and helped him get a job.

When she returned to the United States, she was determined to build an orphanage on the Bataan Peninsula. In 1990 she sold her home, her car, and her furniture and flew back to the Philippines. On her own and in a strange land, Lois began searching for land to buy. After several months, she couldn't find anything affordable. Disheartened, she got down on her knees and prayed, "God, if I'm going to do this, you're going to have to help."

Two days later, a woman offered Lois twelve and a half acres for $17,000. The land was covered with banana and mango trees just three miles outside of Orion, a small town of about 9,000. She also had to raise $10,000 to pay for an electrical hookup. Lois, whose sparkle and quick gait belie her age, plunked every penny of the $25,000 she got from selling her house into the property. However, since Lois isn't a Philippine citizen, she couldn't buy the property directly. Instead, she bought the land through a church denomination.

With the land purchased, Lois began drawing plans for the orphanage and showed them to Ed Bacani, a pastor at a nearby church who was also a contractor. Impressed by Lois's commitment, Bacani agreed to help build the orphanage.

She's named it King's Garden.

"My only regret is I didn't start earlier when I was young," Lois says. "But I won't quit now. I'll probably die in the Philippines."

Mother, 87, with 35 kids
Today the 35 orphans living in the two-story, 2,000 square-foot white stucco home call Lois Lola, which means "grandmother" in their native Tagalog language.

Lois's "children," as she calls them, range in age from eight months to 10 years. Each of their stories is heartbreaking.

Albert was brought to Lois by the police when he was just nine days old. His alcoholic father was in jail and his mother moved into the jail with him because she had no other place to stay. One at a time, Lois took in that mother's four children, keeping them out of the filth of the jail.

Another child, whom Lois named Tommy, was brought to King's Garden by the police when he was one year old. The boy's drug-addicted father had cut off his son's ear and beaten him. Heidi, another child brought to the King's Garden by the police, was infected with stomach worms and head lice. Word about this gray-haired woman from America spread quickly.

"You see the places where they live and what they have—absolutely nothing," Lois says. "And it breaks your heart." A six-foot wall was recently built around the orphanage to protect the 300 fruit trees from robbers and the children from pythons. Classrooms have also been built so the children can be taught in the orphanage, rather than being bused to a public school.

Lois has built the orphanage without taking out a loan, relying instead on individual financial support from across the United States. Because of her age, she is not supported by any church denomination and depends solely on private donations.

When asked if that makes her nervous, she says confidently, "I serve a mighty God. He's in control. I feel I'm not talented enough to do any of this. But God enables me. My responsibility is to do what I can."

Lois's hardships aren't just financial. She's broken a leg, been hospitalized with pneumonia and TB, and has been stricken with intestinal worms. The hot weather, the spicy food, and the distance from family add to her trials.

"People say to me, 'You aren't going back, are you?' You can't keep me away from King's Garden," Lois confesses. "These are my children. This is my home now. And it's right where God wants me to be at this time in my life." Lois Prater can be contacted through King's Garden at Orion Bataan, Philippines 2102 or 1914 Fifth Ave. SE, Olympia, WA 98501.

Condensed from VIRTUE(June/July 1999), © 1999 Gail Wood. Used by permission.

Copyright © 2000 by the author or Christianity Today International/Today's Christian magazine (formerly Christian Reader).
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