Elaine Danielson, the youngest of six children, was born in Monroe, North Carolina. As a young girl Elaine constantly found herself in the midst of family turmoil. By the age of 13 Elaine quickly found herself in the midst of what was to become 15 years of suicidal depression.
At the age of 14 Elaine heard Zig Ziglar give his testimony at First Baptist Church of Dallas. It was during his testimony that she realized she had never accepted the gift of eternal life. The next night, in an empty house, Elaine cried out to God and transferred her trust to Him alone for her salvation. After receiving eternal life, Elaine hungered after God’s Word and strived to live a life for Him. But it was not long before she started slipping back into her old life of sin.
After graduating from high school Elaine moved away from her Christian roots and stopped attending church and reading her Bible. Through decisions she made she lost everything. It was then that God released her and allowed her to enter into the deepest depression she would ever endure. Thoughts of suicide quickly developed into plans of suicide, leading to a failed attempt of suicide. After Elaine realized that she was not capable of killing herself, she discovered an alternative way to divert her internal pain through cutting (or self-mutilation).
Finally, Elaine hit rock bottom and cried out for God’s deliverance. She longed to have a relationship with Him like she did before. She found herself taking two steps towards Him and one step back repeatedly until finally in 2001 she began to run to Him. She soon discovered that, like Peter, when you take your eyes off God, you begin to sink. She never wanted to drown in her sins again and began reading and applying God’s Word to her life daily. Through daily walking with God and no medication, Elaine was healed of her depression and her suicidal thoughts became a thing of the past.
Then, in December of 2001, God placed a burden on Elaine’s heart for the lost. She felt that He was calling her to share the gospel to a multitude of people and to teach them to do the same. This was a strange calling to Elaine because she did not know how to share the gospel herself. However, the calling was strong and she began to seek out God’s plan.
In October of 2004, Elaine found herself driving to an Evangelism Explosion “prison geared” Clinic to be certified as an Evangelism Explosion Lay Teacher/Trainer. She had reservations about attending a “prison-geared” clinic, but told God that she would go wherever He led her. By the end of the clinic, God had defined Elaine’s calling and after much counsel and prayer, Seed Sowers was born in December 2004.