Ethiopian Pastors Vision Trip
We have had an amazing trip.
The theme of our trip has been the amazing providence of God. God had gone ahead of us. God has directed us.
We arrived very late (which ended up being very early in the morning) on Friday night. I got three hours of sleep and then we were up to go teach at the Bible School. I loved getting to see my friends that I met in 2008 when I got to teach and then again last year. We taught about grace. At the end we had testimonies by the student and one was very powerful saying that they were preparing to quit, but we had restored their hope. It was fabulous. We got to worship with the students. I wish all of you could see the joy of their worship.
On Sunday we were disappointed because we had all prepared to preach. Instead we went to Bantu. The president asked us to come to the dedication of a memorial and statue to the hero of that area. He was a brave soldier and our school is named for him (the president asked if we would name it for this local hero). He was so pleased we were there and bragged on us to the huge crowd, the national television media, and the other honored guests. It was the right place to be. We then went to the school and about half of the kids came to see us. We toured the facility. It is so exciting to see the great works our churches are doing together.
Monday. We traveled to Nazaret and Debrazette. We saw the work with the community change agents. They are being trained to go back to their villages and help make a difference. As we help them we are helping so many people in the future. Then we went to meet with the vocational training staff. We saw the woodworking, plumbing, hairdressing, metal working, and building skills. We have a great idea for building kits with basic tools that we hope to bring back to graduates of the program. That night we had a great conversation while eating dinner at the Koroftu. It is a favorite place of our teams.
Tuesday. We left very early to fly to Axxum. We went to see the foster children’s program first. The children were waiting at the door singing a great song. We got to see the computer center we set up in 2008 fully functioning with dozens of students in class. It was great. Then we saw some of the sites in town. We went to the mayor’s office and then he took us around town and we looked at the 3 sites they are proposing for the new community change center being built their. We went back to the hotel. I looked out my window and saw a tall hill and a good hiking path. I proposed that we hike to the top, which the group did. When we got to the top we prayed over the city for what God was going to do.
Wednesday. We left early to fly back to Addis. We meet some people working in a refugee camp on the Eritrean border. It is very bad in that area. We arrived in Addis and went back tot he Bible school and visited the library (it was locked on Sat, but no one had the key). It is humble and needs lots of help. We had lunch. We were planning to go to the University to meet some officials. Getahunf had made some calls, but could not get anyone to meet with us. While we were having lunch the President of the University cam into the restaurant (the Blue Top). Getahun talked to him and found out that the President’s sister is a believer and goes to Getahun’s church. He set appointments with us for Thursday! We then visited the shoe/dress training center. Women are rescued from poverty and prostitution and taught skills. They are grateful people. We visited a church and saw a shallow well drilling rig that Bright Hope has and can use to dig in some areas.
Thursday we will go to the University and the Baby Home. I leave about 5:30 for London via Dubai. I will then train to Brighton and get some rest. I will meet with Pastor Lawrence on Friday night and then spend Saturday morning in prayer. I will be teaching a conference with his church on Saturday and Sunday. I will leave Sunday afternoon. I will get to London and begin the long journey home that should put me in to Athens late on Monday. I plan to sleep when I arrive.






Jesus and Mary from Japan
Jesus and Mary from Camerun, Africa
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