Elizabeth Hawes

Elizabeth has been a part of Hope for the First Nations since it first began. She was part of the first group of girls that went to the reservation in 1997, and she has been spending time on the reservation over the years since then. Liz currently lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota where serves as the Dean of Students at a college preparatory middle school for city kids and is pursuing a Masters of Divinity degree at Bethel Seminary. She attends Mercy Vineyard, a church that she helped to start with some of her friends in the summer of 2004.

When Liz was seventeen, she went on her first trip to the reservation. She was part of the first group of girls that went to Pine Point in the summer of 1997. She wasn't a Christian at the time, and was hoping to meet God there and have fun working with the kids. During that first week on the reservation, Liz had a really powerful, life-changing experience with God. She felt deeply loved by Him and the other people on the trip. She saw God working in the lives of the team and the kids on the reservation. A couple months after she got back from the trip, she gave her life to following Christ. She has been a part of Hope for the First Nations since then, and has felt God calling her to a lifetime of service to the Native American people.

After high school, Liz attended the University of Illinois in Champaign and graduated with honors with a degree in English Secondary Education in 2002. After she graduated, Liz worked for two years at Cunningham Children's Home, a residential treatment center for secondary students with emotional and behavioral disorders. Liz moved from Champaign to Minneapolis in the summer of 2004 with a group of friends from her church to start a new Vineyard church in the city. She currently serves on the leadership team at their new church, Mercy Vineyard. When she moved to Minneapolis, Liz also helped to found the Minneapolis Academy, a college preparatory charter school for city kids. She taught special education there for two years, and has served as the Dean of Students since the fall of 2006.

Liz is pursuing a Masters of Divinity degree at Bethel Seminary and is the recipient of a full scholarship for her studies.  She hopes to become a pastor when she finishes school. In her free time, Liz enjoys spending time with friends and family, having cookouts, and visiting the state parks.