Bio

Betty Loudermilk faithfully cared for Japanese children through Ebenezer Children’s Home for over 50 years. Even though she officially “retired” several years ago, she was still actively involved in training and ministering to these children and babies and has traveled to Japan on numerous trips.

Betty was born near Atlanta, Georgia. She was privileged to grow up in a Christian home and consistently attended church. While in high school, Betty publicly professed Christ as her personal Savior. She began to desire to study God’s Word and share the Gospel with others. During her years at Bob Jones University, the Lord used Chapel sermons and Mission Prayer Band to impress Betty with a burden to reach the lost. Mission Prayer Band prayed for missionaries all around the world, but Japan always seemed to have a special place in her heart. 

In 1955 Betty was en route to Japan for full-time ministry. After two years in language study, she was asked by two fellow missionaries if she would like to oversee an orphanage while the missionaries returned to America. She had always loved working with children, so she was delighted to accept! This was originally intended to be a temporary change, but it turned out to be permanent. Because Japanese families by tradition do not adopt children outside their bloodlines, there were few people who helped the young orphans. Most of these children were born in small clinics or abortion mills. When the clinics were not busy, Betty would drop in and let the doctors know that she wanted to help. They began to call her. Since the Japanese families wanted all ties to these children cut off, she had no legal opposition adopting these children. Betty adopted 15 children herself, and she placed over 250 others into Christian homes.

One of her children, Amy, said in a testimony. “My mother adopted me along with 14 others. She came to Japan as a single missionary when she was 24 and raised us as a single parent; she taught us about God at an early age in our lives. She has been a constant example of what it really means to have faith in God…. Had [she] not obeyed God’s call to come to Japan, I would not be where I am today, and most likely would have never known anything about God.”

Betty Loudermilk went to be with the Lord on December 16, 2022.