May 8, 2019

Greetings to all our family and friends who support us and follow us on our journey. I am sorry to say that our journey has had a change, in that Doc and I are not going on Fri May 10 as planned. Last weekend Doc had 3 TIA-type incidents and the doctor deemed it unsafe for him to travel , especially to Ethiopia where the altitude is 8500 feet. He is fine now and has no residuals from them, but we are praying that God will make it clear if and when Doc can go back.

However, Helen is going to be traveling to Ethiopia May 31 - June 10 with daughter-in-law Kristin and son Abraham and 2 other friends from their area. They will be visiting and serving at most of the same ministries, just not traveling to the water projects. Excited to see what God has planned for this trip.

Our friends whom we were traveling with, Scott and Laura Shores and friend Abby are still going this Friday and are planning to do most of our planned itinerary, to include visiting several of our water projects and report back, serving at A Hope for Korah at their Berta breakfast feeding program and other activities, serving at Hope Enterprises homeless feeding program in the heart of Addis, distributing mattresses, sheets and blankets to our 110 sponsored families of A Heart for Korah, and sharing activities with the 90 girls at Children's Heaven on Sat. So, they will be busy. Please keep them in  your prayers for health and safety and for God to be at work in everything.

Please continue to follow our blog. I will try to update as I hear from Scott and Laura and also give you more details on Helen and Kristin's trip.

Please pray for both trips as it is apparent that the enemy is trying to dissuade all, but we will not be. He has called us and He has arranged it so we will go forth in the Might Name of Jesus.

Ethiopia Bound May 2019

May 1, 2019

We are almost ready to head off to Ethiopia again for a 12-day trip to visit the water projects and to work in the various ministries we support. We are traveling with Scott and Laura Shores of Towanda who work with Out of the Ashes, as well as our ministries. Their friend, Abby is also going with us. I thought you might find it interesting to see our basic itinerary.

Friday, May 10 : We leave Washington Dulles at 11 am. 

Saturday, May 11:  Arrive in Addis Ababa at 7:30 am.  Go to the guesthouse and meet with Dessalegn, church elder in charge of our water projects. Go to Hope for Korah (HFK) and play soccer with the girls, and drive by the bridge/dump area on our way back to guesthouse.

Sunday, May 12:  Church at IEC with Jake Boner (HFK) and then to lunch with him and his parents.

Monday, May 13:  Leave at 7am on our trip south to visit our water projects. Visit the Langano Medical Clinic and some of the projects.

Tuesday, May 14:  Visit the new projects at Shurmo and location for our next project (for which we are ready to fund at this time. We may also see another site for a future project.

Wednesday, May 15:  Arsi Negelle water projects and Shashemene Boarding School. Return to Addis.

Thursday, May 16: Hope for Korah where we women will teach feminine hygiene product class and the men will meet with the boys.  Also visit Carry 117 and Embracing Hope.

Friday, May 17:  7 am HFK Berta Feeding Program, Hope Enterprise Homeless Lunch Feeding program, Sabahara Silk Worm Farm (women make scarves), Embracing Hope.

Saturday, May 18:  We will spend the day at Children's Heaven where we will present the 100 girls with a new outfit, underwear and shoes and jewelry. We will do Bible and art activities as well as play various games and do crafts.

Sunday, May 19:  Church, lunch out and afternoon with director of Embracing Hope, Alayu and his family. Possible visit an orphanage.

Monday, May 20:  A Heart for Korah (AHFK) where we will distribute a mattress, sheets and blanket to each of our 110 sponsor families.

Tuesday, May 21: AHFK - continue distribution and visiting our families and check in with the families involved with our income generation program. Late afternoon back to guesthouse to shower, eat, pack and head to the airport for a 10:45 pm flight home.

Wednesday, May 22:  Arrive at Dulles at 8:45 am. Then home,

Our plans may change once we're there, but this is our plan at this time.

We really appreciate your prayers, especially for Doc that he will not get sick with anything (altitude sickness, respiratory issues or whatever). We want him to be perfectly well the whole trip, as well as the rest of our team. It is very unpleasant being sick in Ethiopia. Also pray that we will have many opportunities to share Jesus with the people of our ministries and elsewhere. We have such a great chance to share Jesus when we visit the water projects at the RURAL schools where the children entertain us and share with us. Remember, that at some of our schools, the children have never seen white people, so it is quite an experience. They just love to have us there and express their thanks for clean water. We tell them we do this because of Jesus and how He loves us and them. Pray for safety as we travel; the roads or lack thereof are very treacherous and there has been some unrest in the country but not where we are traveling.

Update April 5, 2016

We are happy to report that Doc has received a good report from the doctor.  His kidney function  numbers  are almost back to normal and  he is feeling more like his old self.  We believe  we know what happened  and plan to get our typhoid  boosters in the near future so that we are prepared  to return  to  Ethiopia.

We had  a  fantastic  trip and were so  blessed  by all the people  we worked with  there.

The plans  for our next trip are not known at this time but we will return  to do His work when He makes it  known to us.

Update Sunday March 27

Sorry that I haven't posted sooner, but it has been a busy time and poor or no internet.

After we visited the water projects, we traveled on to Awassa to visit another ministry where Galen's family/sponsors  2 children.  What a beautiful village where they live and such sweet families.  We visited each of their homes and prayed with their families. They are so precious. We were given bananas while there and they are delicious.

On Wednesday, we visited a monkey preserve where we fed the monkeys and even held them on our shoulders as they ate peanuts off our heads.  Really neat experience.  In the afternoon, we went on a rather rickety boat out onto Lake Awassa to see hippos.  We saw one very large hippo which was an incredible experience. The environment is so green and plush in this region as compared to the terrible dry, arid area of our water projects.

Thursday found us traveling back to Addis after stoppng in Arsi Negelle to see our first water project and interact with the children at the schoool once again.  They sang and counted with us as well as did fist bumps with Galen and his kids. Such a wonderful time.

Doc is still very sick and weak, but perseveres to visit the projects and love on the kids.  He says the only time he feels great is when he sees the children enjoying the water and hugging and playing with him. We drove back to Addis and packed up after dinner and Doc went to bed, exhausted and weak.  Praying to be well enough for the trip home on Fi night.

Saturday we did  couple of errands and went back to Children's Heaven to visit Hanna and share our final Ethiopian meal of injerra, chirro, lentils and potato/carrot dish.  When we finished lunch, Hanna presented Camryn with a special card from all the girls thanking her for the 120 headbands she made for them. Then, Hanna gave all the guys and children with bead necklaces with a cross made by the girls and she presented Kristin and I with a basket she had made during the week.  We celebrated with 1 final Buna ceremony and then had to say goodbye for this visit as it was time to move Galen's family from the guesthouse to Make Your Mark where they are staying and ministering for their final week. Doc rested there after the move until it was time to go to the airport.

Our wonderful driver, Tesfaye drove us to the airport and helped us get our bags to the entrance.  Doc was so tired and weak that I thought he would not make it to the gate, but we had lots of time and traveled slowly through the airport and he was able to rest in the gate area. We left Addis about 11pm for our 16-hour flight home to Toronto. When we arrived inToronto, it was very apparent that Doc needed medical attention so we drove directly to the ER in Wellsboro.  You should have seen the reactions of the medical personnel when we told them Doc was just in from Ethiopia and needed treatment for typhoid?  They said, "typhoid?  We have never seen that here in Tioga County.  Hang on while we research it."  They were wonderful and checked all possible infectious disease resources.  They discovered that he had received the appropriate treatment in Ethiopia, but was still quite ill due to dehydration.  So they have hospitalized him and are treating him with IV fluids and meds. He is improving slowly, but will be in the hospital till his kidney function numbers are adequate.

We had a fantastic trip to Ethiopia and trust that God will have us return again to minister to the needs of these precious people and to visit all our wonderful friends there. We believe the enemy tried to thwart all our efforts to work for God, but we are determined that he will not win.  God did wonderful things for the people and opened our eyes to even more needs.  So, God willing, we will go back again to serve Him. 

Thank you all for your prayers and support and I will try to post a final report after Doc gets home.

Water projects

Well, a lot of excitement  since I last  wrote . We have been busy working  with various ministries .  Friday  we went back  to Korah  to help with  distribution  to our 40 new families .  Galen  and  Kristin  and  family  met our new mom, Meron that we are sponsoring.  We also got to deliver the food to one of our new moms that is paralyzed .  She was so happy to see us and we sat and shared and held her beautiful  baby (pictures  on Facebook ). 

Saturday  we had a fantastic  day at Children's  Heaven  with Hanna and her girls. We played volleyball and Galen's  girls  taught them how to make bracelets with rainbow looms.  Kristin  and  I had the privilege  of  giving the teen girls their Girls  Day kits.  After a delicious  Ethiopian lunch, each of the 105 girls chose a new outfit from our store of new outfits as well as a headband made by Canryn (yes she made 125 headbands). As soon as they left our store they put on their new outfits. The smiles and laughter  were  overwhelming.

Somewhere, Doc contracted something  and become very ill. Sat when we returned  from Children's  Heaven,  Galen and  Abraham  and Temesgan  our interpreter took Doc to the  Bethel Hospital  ER.  They did blood work  and discovered that he has typhoid.  They gave him a shot and medicine and said it would  take a few days. Well, that it has. He rested  Sunday and then came with us to Awassa. We saw 2 of our new projects that provide over 3000 children  with clean water. There is a terrible  drought here and they are so thankful  for this water. We learned that we were the first white people  many  of  them had seen and they kept touching us and holding our hands. They sang for us and we were overwhelmed  with  their  joy and gratitude .  Nothing like knowing  you're  the instrument  by which these precious  souls  have water .  Thank you to everyone  of you back home that has donated . It is lifesaving .

We are in Awassa for 3 days to visit  another  ministry and also see hippos  and monkeys. We saw a lot of camels  today  and even had to stop on the road while a herd  of camels moseyed down the road.

This will  give Doc  a couple  of  days  to rest and recoup and be well  hopefully  before we fly home Friday  night .  If he's  not better in morning, Zalelam and Tesfaye will take him to hospital  here in Awassa.  Prayers appreciated.

Please check Facebook  for photos .

Thursday Morning

Greetings  from  Ethiopia .  Galen and  Kristin  and  family  arrived safe and sound yesterday  morning .  They were tired after their 20 hours of travel but ready  to visit Embracing  Hope in the afternoon. We came back to the guesthouse  for a delicious dinner  of spaghetti  and salad and watermelon .  Then they all played soccer with Batcha and Temesgan.  Fun end to a long day. Everyone  in bed asleep by 8.

Everyone slept soundly until we woke them for breakfast .  At 10 am today,  Galen, Kristin  and Doc went to tour the Fistula  Hospital and  Nanny stayed  with the children  while they did some school  work .

I am not able to send photos on my blog so please  follow Facebook  where I will post  photos and other  people's posts and photos.

The trip is going great. The kids have traveled  great. Today we are going to visit A Hope  for Korah and play some soccer. Tomorrow  we are going to participate  in distribution  for our 40 new families  at A Heart for Korah. That will be so exciting  for Galen's  family to meet these wonderful souls who are so needy but also very grateful .

Tonight our guesthouse  cook is making traditional  Ethiopian  food for dinner. Yeah. Even Doc is excited  as he has started to really like Tibbs and injerra.

Friday  night  we are taking Galen's  family  to Yod Abyssinia  for an  evening  of  traditional  Ethiopian  food  and cultural song and dance.

Saturday ,  Kristin  and the girls  are spending  the  whole  day with me at Children's  Heaven painting  nails and making  bracelets and playing games. Then we are giving the older girls the beautiful  Girls  Day kits made by the wonderful  people  back home and allowing  each girl to choose a new outfit ,  probably  their first ever, from the outfits  furnished  by a all of you back home. Also, I am going to be helping Hanna teach 4 or 5 mom's how to make  the sanitary  pads.  The men are going with us in morning for short time and then spending  rest of the day back at A Hope for Korah  doing Bible  study and playing  soccer.

Sunday we are  eating  lunch at a new restaurant  run by Almaz, the Orphanage  director when they adopted Markos.  She has since adopted  twins and started  a restaurant.

Monday  we leave very early in the morning  to drive south to Arsi Negelle  to visit our water projects  and then on to Awassa for a couple days. So thrilled  to have this fantastic  opportunity  with our famiky. Thank you Lord for all your blessings  and the opportunity  to serve You!!!!

Please continue to pray for safety  and  health . We are all doing great right now and hope to remain  so.  Thanks  for  all your prayers .

Monday

The view from out guesthouse .