Dustin and Elisse Kipe had three children. All three were their children. They didn’t distinguish between the children that Elisse carried in her tummy and the child that grew in another mommy’s tummy.
Elijah was their son.
On earth he didn’t talk or walk. He couldn’t sit up unaided. He smiled and laughed. He was loved. His mommy loved him. His daddy loved him. His sisters loved him. His grandma and grandpa loved him. His aunts and uncles loved him. Friends loved him, and I loved him.
Elijah Laughing
Elijah was born on May 19th, 2011 in Dukem, Ethiopia. He died on May 14th, 2014, and was buried on May 19th, in Boiling Springs, Pennsylvania, The United States, at Mount Zion Cemetary, on his third birthday.
Elijah officially became a Kipe on August 2, 2013. He traveled seven thousand miles to be with his mommy and daddy and two sisters, Tori and Arianna. Arriving on January 4th, 2014
I will not leave you as orphans: I am coming to you.
John 14:18
Elijah is with Jesus now, running and laughing, talking and sitting up on his own. Elijah is with Jesus, and forever in our hearts.
As hard, as unfair and as painful as the road has seemed, the gift that God gave our family in Elijah’s life is one that is beyond compare. He taught us to look past looks and diagnosis and all the things we normally see and live in the moment. He taught me that motherhood is so much more than I realized it was before.
Elisse Kipe – Angel Baby on Mommy Musings
Elijah taught his mommy, Elisse, that motherhood is more than she realized before. And Elisse taught me that all life has value. She showed me when she held her son and fed him a bottle. She showed me when she held him late at night when he screamed. She showed me she loved her son, when she advocated for him for medical care when he was in Ethiopia. She showed me how to love when she fell in love with a small boy in an orphanage who had no name and was waiting to die.
Elisse and her husband Dustin loved their son. Arianna and Tori loved their brother.
Elijah died loved. A beloved son and brother.
If my child was handicapped. I would just figure it out. They are yours. You just walk through it with them. They are family. And families stick together.
Elisse Kipe – Elijah’s mommy
Elijah is buried in a family plot at Mount Zion Cemetary in Boiling Springs, Pennsylvania. There is no headstone to mark where he lies.
Would you please consider donating to the Kipe family to help with the funeral costs, a headstone and some unexpected medical bills?
Dustin is a Pastor of a small inner city church. (They didn’t ask me to write this story. I just wanted to help. No one plans to bury their child, while they are planning on loving them forever.)
You can donate at http://www.continuetogive.com/weloveelijah.
Elijah Kipe – Funeral Video
If you would like to send the Kipe family an encouraging word, please send all correspondence to Elisse and Dustin Kipe, c/o
Morning Star Fellowship
100 Limekiln Road
Bechtelsville. PA, 19505
The Story of Elijah’s Adoption by Elisse Kipe
Thank you for reading about Elijah. If you would like to leave a comment please click here.
