How Did H4L Begin?
In 2019, I led a team of four women to Liberia to serve at an orphanage. It was during that trip that God opened my eyes to the overwhelming poverty and hopelessness etched in the faces of these precious people. Liberia’s long history of suffering—two brutal civil wars and the devastation of the Ebola outbreak from 2014 to 2016—left behind more than 100,000 orphans. The needs were everywhere. For many, survival itself was a full-time job: standing in long lines at the well for water, wondering if there would be food for the day… or not. Life was hard.
But the Lord had been preparing my heart for this long before Liberia ever entered the picture. Back in 1998, God began stirring this calling when we cared for the baby of a woman incarcerated in a Philadelphia prison. In 2000, we adopted three children with various needs. Later, in 2008, after returning from missionary work in Australia, we adopted two more children with significant challenges. Each of these steps was part of the journey, equipping my heart and hands for what was to come.
So when I left Liberia in March 2019, I knew. I knew this wasn’t just a one-time trip—it was the beginning of a God-given mission. The passion, the calling, the skills… everything aligned.
The next question was… what would my husband think? Little did I know, while I was overseas, the Lord was preparing Jim’s heart too. Just before I returned home, Jim had traveled from Pennsylvania to Nebraska. On the way, his van’s transmission broke down in Missouri. “Coincidentally,” a pastor friend from Colorado was filling in at a church nearby and came to his rescue. During their drive, Pastor Phil shared about his three mission trips to Liberia with World Vision. By the time Jim picked me up from the airport, it was clear—God had already been at work, preparing both of our hearts for what would become Hope 4 Liberia.
Jim is every bit as invested in this ministry as I am. He is the backbone of Hope 4 Liberia! He helps share the vision, keeps life running smoothly at home with our special needs kids while I’m in Liberia, and will soon be leading the effort to spiritually prepare future mission teams. We truly are a team—and I couldn’t do this without him.
Since that first trip, God has allowed us to help several orphanages, and now, with His help, we are building our own orphanage campus in Careysburg, Liberia.
My calling has never been clearer. God has provided in ways beyond my wildest expectations. With all my heart, I want to spend every ounce of life left in me bringing glory to the Lord by loving my family and offering hope to Liberia’s orphans.
The words of missionary John Keith Falconer sum it up well:
“I have but one candle of life to burn, and I would rather burn it out in a land filled with darkness than in a land flooded with light.”
Oh, that my faith and dependence on Christ would grow deeper still.
Because of His grace,
~ Kelly Wagner
Founder & CEO
Our Mission
Hope 4 Liberia is a registered NGO that exists to meet the spiritual, physical, emotional, educational, and economic needs of orphaned, abandoned, and vulnerable children in Liberia.
Foundational Scriptures
Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; please the case of the widow.
Isaiah 1:17
Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
James 1:27
Our Vision
Hope 4 Liberia’s vision is to nurture and raise orphaned and vulnerable children to become godly, responsible, and productive men and women who will positively influence their families, communities, and nation.
Our campus includes separate homes for boys and girls, a school, a medical clinic, and farmland used to help provide nutritious food for the children and staff. We are continuing to expand our educational, medical, and agricultural programs to meet the children’s needs while preparing them for lives of purpose, responsibility, and service.
Through food production and long-term crops, including cocoa and oil palm, our goal is to build an increasingly self-sustaining orphanage community that wisely stewards the resources God has entrusted to us.
Everything we teach is grounded in a biblical worldview. Our teachers and caregivers do more than provide instruction—they model a godly way of life and help the children understand that faith should shape every part of who they are and how they live. Through daily devotions, biblical teaching, prayer, education, and practical life experiences, the children are encouraged to love God’s Word, hide it in their hearts, and grow in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
Our Leadership
Kelly Wagner- CEO & Founder
Ashley Wagner
Assistant CEO
Abba Blah
Farm & Transportation Manager
Alvin Freeman
Program Manager