11-16-10

-Jerry Pederson 

And looking at him, Jesus felt a love for him…Mark 10:21

Our day began with a beautiful sunrise over the Ethiopian jungle with smoke rising in the distance from the numerous huts tucked away in the hillsides. We began to gather on the deck outside the dining hall. A few of us were journaling, some were in quite meditation, and others in light conversation.  It’s very peaceful with the sounds of the jungle slowly coming alive. Today fells like the beginning of the end of our journey.

After breakfast, Gebe shared with the team on Mark 14 & 16. It was about the woman who poured expensive perfume over Jesus’ head. In Chapter 16, it talked about Mary Magdalene going to Jesus’ tomb to anoint his body with spices. The take away from Gebe’s message is that we need to have our priorities straight and be discerning about timing.  

In getting to know Gebe this past week, it is apparent he is a solid man of God and a very gifted leader. Gebe is and will be one of the Ethiopia’s future leaders.

Our team then transitioned into our first debriefing sessions. The leaders of our team have realized we all need help in making sense of the physical, emotional, and spiritual experience we have just come through.  They want to prepare us, before we return to our families, friends, and jobs. Many people shared deeply and emotion from their hearts.  

We get on the road again to the Sabana Lodge on Lake Langano with a stop at Lake Awassa. After a short one hour drive, we arrived at Lake Awassa with an unplanned detour to the Haile Resort.

The Haile Resort is a luxury hotel only six months old.  It was built by Haile Gebresalassie, a NYC Marathon winner and national hero.  It just so happened that Haile was a the resort today. I couldn’t have been more excited, being that I run marathons too. When I got to meet him, have my picture taken with him, get his autograph, and personal phone number, my heart was pounding. This experience put the explanation point to my time here.

Boat rides out on Lake Awassa to see the hippos followed by macchiatos on the patio concluded our short stop at the Haile Resort.

Then we were back on road again for the final leg of our trip to Sabana Lodge. Traveling the streets and highways of Ethiopia has become one of the experiences I will remember most about this country and it’s people. Everywhere we travel there are countless people and children along the roads and standing in the doorways of their huts and houses. You can’t help but catch their eyes with yours, respond to their eager waves, or react to all the infections smiles.

As I look into the faces of all these anonymous people, I can’t help but feel a deep love for them.  For at the very basic level, when we strip all our stuff and layers away, I know they are just like me.  The have hopes and dreams, they love their wives, children and families, they laugh, they cry, and I’m sure they struggle with the questions of life too.

God, please help me to continually see others with your love.

11-13-10

-Karl Ziegler

Today we split up into groups of 3-5 people and went off to different churches. The church I attended today was the Timtichu Church which is a Kale Hewett church. It was in a very rural area and is a nice building compared to most we have seen.

Jim Van Grundy, Paul Miller and myself along with an interpreter (who is a pastor from the Kale Hewett headquarters) were introduced to the church. After some song, which is very beautiful, we were asked to share some scripture. That was really out of my comfort zone! Around 300 people were in attendance with most eyes on us during the service. Now I know how others feel coming to speak at Life Center.  Jim took many pictures while a few members took pictures of us during the service.   

We were asked later on to give certificates to the people that have met their goals in the CHE programs. There where around 20-families that did. After the service we shook hands with many and were invited for snacks in the church office. They had many charts on the walls of the office that showed the demographics of the people, who had clean water, latrines etc.  It was very evident that CHE was working for this church. We prayed for help in evangelizing the area, for the people to hear the gospel and for the children. While I did not understanding the language, it a wonderful place to be.      

Large concrete Church with metal roof. It used to be a prison. Greeted by the music leader, and then they erupted in song. There was a sound was a sound system and a keyboard. A gentleman in the congregation came forward and sang several songs. The pastor preached out of the book of Thessalonians verses 1-3. The pastor preached the sermon in three separate languages. Fortunately, he did a quick translation for out English speaking team. We were fortunate to have a place of honor up front so we could see and experience first hand their service.

The points he presented to all out of the Thessalonians were thanksgiving to all our brothers in Christ, to pray for one another, How we do our own personal ministry to further the Kingdom and to hope together for the second coming of Christ. Our new friend, Nagash, sang a beautiful song of praise and they all sang along. Then he spoke encouraging words to his people.

I marveled at the Spirit filled participation. The only way to describe it was like being at a sporting event in the U.S. and you have just won. That was the roar of praise expressed to our God.

Our fearless leader, Mike Stemm, expressed his love and fondness for the body of Christ in Ethiopia. He shared some scripture and introduced the rest of the team. Each in turn shared with the congregation.

We then had more singing to the Lord. Then another leader gave us a little history of the church we were visiting. They asked for us to pray for them. For their ministry to share the gospel and for their children’s school.  John 14:6

11-10-10

-Diane Samson

We arrive in Dilla!  After a long bus/jeep ride and one macchiato stop, we land at a beautiful, new hotel.  We expected to possibly sleep in netting, using our bug spray and not having water, let alone hot water.  Our bedding has a silk cover, hot and cold water (thought not always), windows that close and a toilet seat!  The power is a little iffy.  Lesson learned…use your electricity when the power is on.
 
We were told to go to Werku’s church and meet the church planters.  So we loaded up again, no rest, no showers.  To our surprise, we were greeted by 30 or more elders and their wives and church members.  There were two girls and two boys, dressed formally, who greeted us with flowers.  Werku saw Greg and I, the Craig, and did not know we were on this trip.  Werku hugs Craig and lifts him off the ground, leaving Craig’s legs dangling.  All the women are crying for this grand receptions and obvious affection for us, most who they have not met.  It was overwhelming.
 
We entered the church and we all sat in the middle, the place of honor, with Craig and Mike in the front.  A special sign was made in our honor: ”Welcome Our Guests from USA Via NCF - Nov. 11, 2010.” 
 
Werku announced his delight in our arrival.  Bocu, an elder in the church, 86 years old, prays over all of us. The emotion we experience is son overwhelming…to greet Werku on Ethiopian soil.  Amazing!
 
We were ushered into another part of the building, a large room with tables and chairs and sodas on all the tables.  We notice two beautiful cakes, “Welcome our guests from the us.”  Greg and I cut one cake, Jani & Mike cut the other, while everyone was clapping.  We knew this was a great honor.
 
Though we have traveled all day and are eager to shower and change clothes, we immediately go to Werku’s house, where Hallelujah is waiting, as we want to honor Hallelujah for her efforts in preparing dinner.  After dinner we hustle back on the bus.
 
Their house is lighted by candles and the table is set for dinner.  We later find out the power has been out.  The scene is beautiful and peaceful, and no worries of no light.  We humbly accept their hospitality.  Hallelujah is excited to see us…her joy is evident by her scream as she hugs us.
 
A joy and a blessing to be so far from home, and united with our bothers and sister in Ethiopia.  God is good all the time!  All the time God is good.

11-8-10

-Mark Barnes


I was fascinated as we started the day winding through the streets of Addis.  So many sights, sounds, colors, animals, and carts.  A couple of hours into our journey we were delayed due to engine problems with our bus.  The driver stopped in a remote area near a little store and tea shop.  Almost immediately, little children with tattered clothes started coming up.  So, several people in our group started to give them life saver candy through the bus windows.  Soon we decided to get out and take photos.  They laughed gleefully as we showed them the pictures we had just taken on our digital cameras.  Paul Miller played hand ball with them.  On of the balls was made of some kind of cloth material sewn together.  Brad Green drew a picture and patiently played over 40 games of tic tac toe with the children all in a swarm around him.  Several of the small children carried their little brothers and sisters around on their backs in little wraps.  I was struck by how happy that they seemed and how quick they were to laugh at almost anything.  We taught them to  high five and bump fists to their infections grins and happy smiles.  I could not help but notice that most of their clothes were little more than rags. 

A local man showed up who could speak English and claimed to be a business broker.  He said that we were in a tribal region that spoke another language other than Amharic.  I asked if they were Christian or Muslim and he said they were Muslim but not the terrorist kind.  What a relief…Ha!  We could see a large lake in the East?  His teeth were black and in need of repair because he chewed a narcotic plant (chat).  I noticed that some of the young men were also chewing on the plant. 

After a couple of trips we were all shuttled back to a hotel that we stopped at earlier to take a coffee and bathroom break.  The bus company had dispatched a new bus from Addis, so we decided to have dinner which must have been a little overwhelming to the staff.  Angela and I and several others decided to make it safe and ordered a half chicken.  Wow was that bird was tough.  I knew that he must have been tough to live this environment 

Soon we were back on the road in a new bus.  The laughter quickly died down to the hum of the engine and most people were sleeping.  Everyone sat up with a start as the driver hit the brakes as a large hyena crossed the road in front of us and then stood on the side watching us with big eyes and round ears.  I never knew that they grew so large. 

I noticed that some of the grass and mud huts had a faint glow of oil lamps.  Some of them did obviously have electricity, but it was certainly not the norm.  At times I could see stars in the black night and wondered about those precious children that we had met just hours before.  Were they safe from the hyenas?  We continued on our journey to Soddo.  What adventure lies ahead.  What will God teach us in the coming days?

11-8-10

- Mike Mylnar

The day started with Mike’s devotion that was very uplifting.  The verse he shared was Prov. 3:5-6.  Mike reflected on how God kept straight his path.  After some closing prayer we began to load the bus and other vehicles.  Then the trip to Soddo began.

As we traveled across Addis, the poverty was overwhelming.  We saw groups of donkeys with full packs being herded down the road.  As we left Addis and travelled into the farm country the landscape was vast and beautiful.  We saw large greenhouses where they grow roses for export.  As we passed through the countryside, I was surprised at all the people that were walking on the road.  
About half way into the trip, the bus broke down.  As we pulled off the road and got out of the bus, children came running from every direction.  Their clothes were filthy rags and not many had shoes, but they all seemed to have larger than life smiles.  Some of the guys started taking pictures of the children with their digital cameras and then showed the pictures to the children.  This was a big hit!  Some of the guys played ball with the kids.

After they called for a different bus we loaded our luggage into the other two vehicles and returned back to the nearest town where we waited for the replacement bus to arrive.  While we waited for the bus we had dinner at the local restaurant.  The bus was late and by the time we loaded our luggage on the bus and left for Soddo we were all so tired.  We slept most of the way, that was until the bus driver slammed on the brakes.  We opened our eyes and saw two hyenas crossing the road.  I didn’t realize they were such large animals!  Shortly after we landed in Soddo.

It was early the next morning and we were all very tired, but very much excited for what the Lord had in store for the next day.

Quick Update

Here’s the deal. We have been way too busy to update you, so this will be brief. But I will commit to getting you more news very soon.

First, the suitcase has been redeemed! Brad is very excited to change his shirt. We have quite the stories to tell about the bus breakdown and changing our travel time from 5 hours to 15. We also have much to tell about orphanages and mitten.

But for now you can be praying for the dedication of the Wolaitta Village tomorrow. We are expecting 15 local government officials for the dedication. In the afternoon we will participate with the local churches in distributing food to the poor. 15 zonal officials are coming to witness this. 15 pastors have chosen 300 poor to receive the food. This includes Evangelicals, Catholics, Muslims and Orthodox. So it will be a busy day.

I’m collecting stories tomorrow morning and will start giving them to you shortly.

Egzebere emesagen (may God be praised)!

Craig