Yesterday was a long full day. It began the way it ended with a two hour drive known to everyone who has ever been to Guncheri as “The Road of Hell.” Without an all terrain vehicle, it is a bone rattling, brain shaking, teeth grinding, glut bruising ride. It is exhausting. It is punishes the body, the mind and if the fruit of the visit to Guncheri wasn’t so rewardingly sweet it would also punish the soul.
But Praise Be To God the visit to Guncheri was a God inspiring visit! We participated in the dedication and ribbon cutting of the library which is now the most beautiful and functional building in the whole community. We then had a meeting with community leaders about the plans for the girls Hostel and was hosted to a typical Ethiopian lunch. After a time of feasting and fellowship, we walked the city with the community leaders and a caravan of local citizens visiting the well kept site of the Kindergarten you built, the future site of the girls Hostel and considered the future need of another city water reservoir.
Our time in Guncheri began in with a town hall meeting in what looked like an old School auditorium. As soon as we emerged from the Van regrouping after two hours on “The Road of Hell” we were ushered into a room already full of local citizens and taken to the front row. It didn’t take long to discern that the previous two hours might have been a piece of cake compared to what was potentially looming.
Many in the community have been celebrating all that St. Matthew has done in the past three years along with the Adera Foundation. The city has been revitalized, grown and the services have improved the quality of community life. The rub was all of the good work has been by a church in the name of Jesus. Some of the local Muslims had been stirring the pot using political persuasion and legal rhetoric to diminish the esteem we had gained among the community and her leaders and put an end to any future work.
They stood up in the town Hall meeting to express their views and the tension began to mount but they were efforts where quickly dashed by several local citizens and community leaders including one prominent regional leader from the juraetta who also happened to be Muslim. The crowd cheered the rebuttals and quickly the mood shifted as the meeting transitioned to ceremonial recognition of the completion of the library and appreciation to St. Matthew. Melissa spoke on behalf of St. Matthew and did a masterful job of strengthening our bond with the community.
You are not only making a difference in an impoverished community, giving hope the least and the lost, you are strengthening the cause of Christ in a land where the Muslim movement is picking up steam. Besides the community redevelopment work in a dominantly Muslim community, the area Christian pastors attended the training session and are now more equipped to build misional churches in Guncheri.
Who would have thought that a “little ol church” in Burleson Texas would make a dent in the cause to rid Ethiopia of Christianity? Again, Praise Be To God! I am so proud to be part of what you are doing in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and the Ends of the Earth. You are making a difference. You are helping God change the World.
“He who receives you receives me. And he who received me, receives the one who sent me.” Matthew 10: 40.
