Category: February 2023

Written By: Zoe Wong

Today we had our first field day in the villages! I was feeling a little nervous, especially since we had to switch up all of our teams last minute. I ended up getting to go out with my mom, and we visited five homes with our disciplemaker and translator. This was an Oromo village, so we had to double translate everything from English to Amharic to Oromo because we didn’t have anyone who spoke both English and Oromo. I really enjoyed all the exposure to new languages, but it did make communication very slow. It was also hard to know exactly what to do since this was both my mom and I’s first time. Still, we were able to share the Priceless Cube and Evangecube with five households!

One of my favorite illustrations of how God calls us to serve (I’ve heard variations of it over the years, but most recently I think it was at a conference for my campus ministry) is that of a father whose young child wants to “help” with a task like cooking or fixing a car. The child won’t truly make any significant contributions, and might even make the job harder. Yet the father is delighted because he’s getting to spend time with his child—that’s how God feels about us! He invites us into the work He is already doing because He takes joy in us as His children.

I think I really felt this truth today. Our translator for the day has been a pastor here for 30 years and obviously speaks Amharic fluently, so I felt like he was much more equipped to share the gospel than I was. Often after we finished presenting, he would continue to speak to the families in their language. Our disciplemaker was born in the village we visited and came to know Jesus after being miraculously healed; his community knows his story and respects him as someone they can take their problems to, so he is really well placed to make disciples there. Learning all of this, I felt like we weren’t even needed, and that it was really a privilege that we got to participate. I was so encouraged to see how God is at work here in Ethiopia and humbled that I get to take part in it.

Please pray for strength for us to continue serving well in the villages and for health for all the members of the team! Thank you for your love and support.

Written By: Arya Adhami

Man. what an incredible experience. Today was so so full of joy, bliss and even some sweat. We started the day with breakfast as always, then we moved to Dans church where we packed 175 bags of Salt(iodized), chicken food, hats, 2 pencils with books, and also some hair oil. We then began the process of moving the 175 bags of supplies for the Ethiopians to the hotel which was quite stressful and kinda exhausting but still fun. We then went back to the church we met our translators! they will be helping us in the village so they are important. After that we went outside and after some talking with the crew and asking Mesfin how to say “epic gamer moment” in Amharic, we participated in a coffee ceremony, (btw the coffee is mad bussin) and even had some really good bread. Before ending the ceremony, the team and me got the most beautiful chance to get gifted a handmade ethiopian scarf, and I can Confidently say that was the most honoring experience of the entire trip. After the ceremony, we got the chance to meet the director of the school/church, he looked decently young and when asked to describe the school in one word, he said “The school itself is always improving” (David). After the tour, the real fun began. Fun fact, when i was younger, (around grade 7 or so) i got the chance to play on a older soccer club team, The Poway Vergos, this is important. We got the chance after the tour to play soccer with the Ethiopian kids, and man. 2 things, one, i got to redeem and renew my old soccer skills that were around 4 years old or so, and 2, That was the most fun soccer game i’ve ever played, even if we lost by 3. I genuinely have never had that much fun playing soccer and I firmly believe that was the most fun I’ve ever had playing soccer. We finally finished the day by eating food with Mesfin’s family and Tigist’s family. So far, Ethiopia has been such a experience, it has already made life long memories, and is so amazing that I can’t even find words to describe it. Although I miss everyone back home, I am looking forward to the next 6 days to see what god has for me.

Written by: Jody Reifenberger

After a more restful night of sleep we started out our day with breakfast and then our team meeting and devotional time. Rick reminded us to be seeds planted in fertile soil and not be among the thorns. Erin shared a verse from Psalm 118 This is a Day the Lord has Made. This helped us prepare our hearts and minds for all that God would have in store for us today.

Our first stop after leaving the hotel was to go to Dan’s school. Dan is Mesfin’s son and has been such a valuable resource to the team translating and answering our million questions. He needed to ask permission from his director in order to be allowed to miss school to join us. While Erin went inside with Mesfin and Dan, we stayed back in the van to pray. Praise God our prayers were answered and Dan was given permission and BONUS we were invited into the school for a tour. It was a vibrant atmosphere and we all so enjoyed getting an “inside view” of another aspect of Ethiopian culture.

Next up we went to visit Women At Risk Ministries and got to hear from from both their former director, Cherry and their new director, Ababa about their ministry to help women leave a life of prostitution. Cherry’s story is truly an inspiration of how God can use our lives when we seek His will and trust him.

Our final cultural stops today were at the National Museum of Ethiopia and Unity Park.

Our time so far has been focused on learning and understanding more about Ethiopian culture so that our time of active ministry may be more impactful.

Please pray that God would continue to prepare our hearts and minds as we get ready to go out “on assignment” in the villages.

Lastly, we were invited to Mesfin and Tigist’s home for dinner tonight. It was a special time for our team to share a meal with our Ethiopian brothers and sisters in Christ. I love how God knits together families even across the globe through our faith in Him.

Written by: Aaron Simms

We have a very diverse group of people on the team. There are a variety of age groups and genders. Numerous different occupations and education backgrounds. I could go on and on describing our differences. 

I always find it interesting to observe teams in the forming stage. People get to know each other a bit. Learn things we didn’t know about each other because we never took the time to ask We’re interacting with people we may not typically interact with. It’s fun observing and participating in team building.  

Obviously, we are united by a common purpose – serving God by spreading the Gospel message and warning people about human trafficking. The verse 1 Corinthians 12:18 comes to mind.

“But now God has placed the members,. Each one of them, in the body, just as He desired.”

I can’t help but feel God will in some way use our diversity for His greater purpose. God has a wonderful habit of using our strengths and our weaknesses. We each bring some special to the team; something God prepared us for.  

Thank you for keeping us in your prayers. They truly strengthen us.

WELCOME!!

There are 15 days left until we leave for Ethiopia! I note that I cannot find adequate words to express my excitement and delight that God is allowing us to return! There have been lots of smiling and tears of joy as we prepare 😊

We were days from travelling to Ethiopia in April of 2020 when the world was shut down due to COVID, so it has been four whole years since we have been in this country that we love and with the people who are family to us.

Our team of 16 people will be leaving for Ethiopia on February 14th and will be in Ethiopia for just under two weeks where we will educate about the sex trafficking industry and share the love of Jesus. The chickens are already on their way!

I am super excited about this team 😊 We are all SO different and united in our love for Jesus and others. It is our hope that you will hear from each team member on this blog as they share their experiences of God and others.

We would be so grateful for your prayers! Please pray for the many preparations that are happening among our American team and our Ethiopian friends. Please pray that anxiety and nerves will be calmed as this is the first time many of our team members have ever been to Africa. Please pray for unity and humility among us as we are all on a faith journey and need God and each other. Please pray that God’s will will be done among his people!

We’ll chat with you soon…

Erin