Pictures would not load so I will post when we get home. I am so sorry for the long text without any photos.
Monday April 22, 2013 1:00 PM Texas 9:00 PM Ethiopia
Sleep came quickly Sunday night but we were all wide awake by 4 AM. Our body clocks are still adjusting to the 8 hour time difference. We left our living quarters at 7 AM knowing that a 90 minutes drive to Guncherie would be on what is known by anyone who has been here as “the road from hell.” There is no other description for 30 mile journey. Little did we know there would be a new dimension to this bone rattling journey.
A thunderstorm roared through around 2 AM dropping inches of rain in a matter of minutes. The rain pelted the metal roof and the open window, the only form of air conditioning, allowed the cool fresh air to make sleep even more welcome. Thunder rolled and lightening lit up the sky. It was majestic, powerful and would soon birth once again the evidence that God shows up when you least expect it.
Three miles into “the road from hell,” drivers ahead of us were turning around and shouting to all behind them, “Turn around! The roads are too slick. It is dangerous. Turn back.” We pulled over, thought, prayed and concluded to press on as this was the only access to Guncherie . More than that, we had promised pastors and their wives we would be there. The decision was made to press on.
I do not have the space to adequately explain what happened in the next 45 minutes but picture an old fashion demolition derby comprised of Frac Trucks, busses of all sizes , mini vans and a car or two, all stuck, racing their engines to get out of the mud on the side of a very steep mountain. It was comical, unnerving and in the end a tribute to the power of community, perseverance and the presence of God. I captured much of the experience on video; we will post it on the website after we get home and are able to produce a finished product from my amateur recording.
Miraculously we weaved and slid through the collection of stuck vehicles without slamming into anything or any person. When it came time to make the perilous ‘u’ turn up a steep grade our driver and friend Solomon pressed the gas pedal to the floor. Half way up the speedometer showed 70 plus kmph but we were literally spinning our wheels. Slowly we began to slide backwards and then suddenly we were thrust forward. Out of nowhere 10 or 12 men surrounded the van and pushed it to the top of the grade. They were covered in mud from the spinning tires but they were smiling from ear to ear. God showed up!
When we arrived at our destination we were greeted by 22 different churches comprised of 22 women, 34 men, representing all total 5,500 church members. That is what I call sharing the love and grace of Jesus Christ with as many people as we can!
It is now raining again and the power went off for the third time this evening. Thank goodness for battery power but I will proceed to sign off and finalize my studies for tomorrow.
Everyone is feeling well and though we are enjoying the beauty of Ethiopia we miss Texas and the good ol USA. Ten days and counting Dallas, I miss you!
We are praying for you. Please pray for us.
Tuesday April 23, 2013 2:05 PM Texas 10:05 PM Ethiopia
It rained off and on all day long and it is raining again. The temperatures have been mild but the travel has been grueling. Every day it is a rough unpaved 90 minutes to our location and 90 minutes back to a Hotel that is satisfactory for our purpose but several steps below the lowest rating we would give to one of our own. It is clean and the staff are very nice, but there is no air conditioning, barely any running water, few edible food offerings and the power randomly goes off and on. I woke up last night at 2:30 AM because the lights came back on after a seven hour hiatus. Ethiopia is always an adventure and to be truthful, I love it.
The unreliable power source is a great reminder that God is always reliable. He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. The rain falls on the just and the unjust. Some people are born in wealth, some in poverty but God is always reliable, not to take care of all our wants but our needs. Thanks be to God for all of the simple, daily blessings of life. We are a favored people.
We saw the girls’ Hostel today and it is awesome! 64 girls will have a chance to complete their high school education and move on to college because of your generous Birthday Gift to Jesus offering. It is a 3 building complex, living and dining, laundry and kitchen, toilets and showers. Construction should be finished in time for the girls to move in for the Fall 2013 semester.
We also visited the library, kindergarten, soccer field, and water stations. One of the water stations gave birth to an economic boom in the form of 200 plus new houses. When we arrived the new mayor was excited to see is and very grateful for our continued work. Again, God showed up.
Tomorrow we begin our second round of training in Endemir. By the time we get to our third round, Claudia and I might step back and let your young interpreters take over. They are incredible! Selamawit (28) and Flagot (23) are highly educated professionals who are sold out to Jesus. This sister brother team has been a huge blessing to us and the conference participants.
The rain has decided to take a break and the power is still on but I think I will quit while I am ahead. Last night I battled a swarm of mosquitoes all night long so I need to gear up in case the battle comes to me again. We love you and appreciate your constant prayers. Tomorrow I will tell you a God story or two.
We are praying for you. Please pray for us.
Wednesday April 24th 2013 1:10 PM Texas 9:10 PM Ethiopia
It was a long, hard, trying day but I am wired, wide awake ready to go again. We got back to our quarters at 6 PM. I laid down and went into a deep sleep waking up just in time for our 7:00 dinner gathering. In the middle of the meal our international phone rang and I got to speak with Dallas and Jacob. Our conversations were brief but enough to recharge my batteries.
Today was especially difficult because our group in Endibir was compromised of the poorest of the poor. 25% of Claudia’s group could not read or write. Five of the women brought their infant children and tended to them, including breast feeding while participating in the training. They were obviously oppressed and only present because they had been told by their husbands to attend. Claudia did a masterful job adapting.
At one point she stopped and started praying because she sensed the oppression of the women in our class. Little did she know at the precise time she was praying, I felt led to leave my lesson plan to address the subject of pastors honoring and loving their wives. I told the men, “I don’t know why I am doing this, but God is leading me to steer us in a different direction. Let’s visit for a while about what it means to love your wife like Christ loved the Church.”
Claudia and I were both weary at lunch because our group dynamics were less than stellar but when we learned what God did during her prayer we were inspired and encouraged. And though the afternoon session was just as challenging, the presence of the Holy Spirit emboldened us both and the group dynamics began to shift.
These pastors may not be able to retain, much less apply, one point from the training but that is more than okay. God has made it clear that we are here with this particular group to sow seeds and more importantly to encourage them with the love of Jesus. Hmm, sounds like a good line for a purpose statement. We are looking forward tomorrow fully believing that again God will show up.
We are praying for you. Please pray for us.
Thursday April 25th 2013 10:30 AM Texas 6:30 PM Ethiopia
We our completed our second round of training a little early so I was able to squeeze in a short work out. For some reason a white man exercising in the open spaces is s entertaining because my simple routine of pull ups, air squats, box jumps, pushups and running up and down the stairs drew quite a crowd. Some intermittingly clapped and others cheered. Though I am sure their expressions were offered for the most part in light hearted humor and out of curiosity, their encouragement spurred me to push myself beyond what I had intended.
As I continued my routine I thought of the writing in Hebrews 10 “Let us not give up meeting together as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another.”
We can tell you are praying for us because we have felt encouraged in the most trying of circumstances. Many of our participants in the past two days could not read or write. Several only came for the chance to receive a free meal and a free trip out of town. Older pastors who obviously carried great influence in their region were less than welcoming. I senses they were threatened by our presence and the infusing new ideas in their people. Some became belligerent, expecting to receive more financial assistance than what was offered. For a moment we were discouraged but then came answered prayer.
One of the young pastors pulled us Joe Robertson aside and apologized for the greedy behavior of his elder peers. He said he has been up all night praying we would forgive them and show up this morning anyway. A woman who had being abused decided to do something about her situation because of Claudia’s wise counsel. Late this morning a light switch went off in some of the pastors because the energy and the participation went through the roof. Closing worship was amazing. God showed up again and we were encouraged.
To top it all off, we are distributing to each attending church a means to purify water in small quantities as a mission outreach program. We had 17 buckets for 18 churches, dilemma. Joe decided to give them their transportation money at the morning break as a test to see who was present for the training and who was there for the money. As expected 5 leaders left but when the time arrived to hand out the 17 buckets, guess how many churches remained? You got it, 17. God showed up, pruned the tree and a harvest was claimed. We are encouraged.
In 15 minutes we will convene for dinner and have a surprise birthday party for Selamawit, our now 29 year old pregnant university professor interpreter. She is dearly loved by her brother Flagot, my interpreter, so he asked us to help him surprise her. We have all been deeply moved by the affection of Selamawit and Flagot. Our whole team is forming a strong bond and that in itself is encouraging. Still, I am eager to return to my family, biological and church because there is no encouragement like that from those who really know you and still love you.
We are praying for you. Please continue to pray for us.
Friday April 26, 2013 1:34 PM Texas 9:34 PM Ethiopia
Our last training event in Agena did not start off very well. Ethiopians have little concept of time so we were not concerned when no one was present at our starting time, but when 30 minutes passed and no one was present we felt like a bride left at the altar with no groom. Needless to say there was a lot of tension and anxiety by the local coordinators of the event. Emotions got a little testy. The suggestion was even made that we might as well pack up and head back for the hotel.
Thank goodness I was in James chapter 1 for my morning devotion or I might have fed the smoldering, building drama. “Be slow to speak….Quick to listen….Slow to get angry.” As a result the Holy Spirit urged to me to say…..”We can sit around the hotel and pass time or we can sit around here and pass time. I would just as soon sit around here for at least an hour.”
The scenery was breathtaking. Agena is a clean little community nestled high in the mountains. If heaven looks half as beautiful as the landscape where this town sits we are in for a treat when our day of departure arrives. So we hunkered down to enjoy God’s creation. Within minutes of our decision, pastors, evangelists, elders, male and female began trickling in. We started over one hour late but was the best training day of this trip. I can’t yet speak for the women, but most of the men were engaged, hungry, eager to grow and learn.
God continues to teach me important lessons. I did not want to get up early and be in the Word this morning. I stayed up late last night working on our next message series and I wanted to stay in bed till the very last minute possible. But the Holy Spirit clearly spoke, “Get up and open the Word.” I forced myself out of bed and wound up reading exactly what I and our whole team needed.
Reading the Word before I begin my day is like hydrating before a long run. The legs are stronger and the body has more energy. If don’t hydrate until after the run, chances are both my time and body will suffer. If I wait to drink from the Word until after my day is finished, the chances are greater my spirit will be depleted. Post run spiritual hydrations are often more about asking for forgiveness than offering thanksgiving. Reading the Word in the morning prepares to better handle what is to come.
I know some of you are night owls and prefer to have your devotion time in the morning, but I think there is a reason Jesus snuck away early in the morning to spend time with God. He was ready for whatever the day brought before him.
Tomorrow we wind up our training and will head back to Ethiopian City life, Addis Abba. Though I am eager to get home and see all of you, I truly love the Ethiopian and people and will miss them. I will especially miss Alemayehu, Flagot, and Selam. I have known Alemayehu for 6 years and we have become very close. Flagot and Selam quickly became more than translators. In a short six days they have become family. They are extraordinary young adults and I wish we could bring them home with us. They are both going to be world changers so I suspect we will be hearing more about them in the future.
We are praying for weekend worship and change the world weekend. It is hard being away on suchy a big weekend but I know that you are in good hands and in many ways function better when I am away. I am very proud of both our church staff and you. Thank you for allowing me and Claudia to represent you in our mission effort.
I am a very proud and blessed to serve as one of your pastors.
We are praying for you. Please pray for us.
Saturday April 27, 2013 3:05 PM Texas 11:05 PM Ethiopia
We are back in Addis Abba! As far as the training goes, mission accomplished. Joe Robertson, our friend and ADERA contact gave me these stats late this afternoon.
Guncherie
Participants 56
Churches Represented 22
Church Members Represented 5400
Endibir
Participants 52
Churches Represented 18
Church Members Represented 6100
Agena
Participants 59
Churches Represented 19
Church Members Represented 2200
Totals
Participants 167
Churches Represented 58
Church Members Represented 13,700
The last two days of training were the best of the week. Not due to Claudia, Selam, Flagot or myself, but because the participants were eager, starving to learn. We closed out the training even more convinced that are mission in Ethiopia is a very important facet of our “Ends of the Earth” outreach. Great work church family. That is what I call sharing the love and grace of Jesus Christ with as many people as we can. The seeds have been sown. There is a plan in place for the seeds to be watered, fertilized, and there we are confidenct that God will provide the growth.
I am cutting this short because I MIGHT have slept two hours last night. If I wrote a book about last night it would be “The Attack of the Monster Mosquitoes.” My gosh! You would not believe how those things kept coming and coming and coming. I know I am whining so bear with me for a moment, but my room was the only room that was invaded. To top it off, I had no running water meaning no toilet or shower. It was a very interesting night and morning.
Still, God is good and it was a GREAT day. Tomorrow we will rest. I plan on spending some lengthy time in the Word and prayer before doing some more writing for upcoming messages. Monday we will visit a Mothers Day out program for endangered children and their moms, a new feeding program, the church and home of our Ethiopian friend and host Alemayehu. Tuesday will visit a progressive church attended by Selom, attend a "Goat Feast" with the Mothers and children of the day out program, debrief with Joe Robertson (ADERA) the cost and impact of the trip and then head towards the airport.
We are praying for you as you assemble for weekend worship and engage in Change the World Weekend. Thank you for praying for us. We are humbled by your loving encouragement.
Sunday April 27, 2013 11:39 PM Texas 7:39 AM Ethiopia
I tried posting my blog until 1:00 AM Ethiopia time on a dial up connection and finally said “enough is enough.” We take so much for granted including instant wi fi hook ups and clean water. To no avail I was hoping to make a connection with the body before you assembled for worship. Our living quarters are less than desirable so we are going to relocate after engaging in small group worship and breakfast. We will try and find a internet hot spot as well.
As I reread the book of James this morning an Imam chanted over the city of Addis Abba, calling people to prayer and worship. Though we are miles apart I am praying the Holy Spirit will call you out of your beds and away from the distractions of this world to engage in worship and humble service.
“You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world is an enemy of God. God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Submit yourselves then to God.” James 4:4,6-7a
I am praying for you regarding this Word from the Lord. Please pray for me.
Peace
