One/Two Can Make a Difference

Well, we are back home in PA and missing our Ethiopian family just as we missed our American family when we were there. Kristin and I both asked each other how we could leave our heart so strongly in 2 such totally different places over 8000 miles apart. It has to be a God thing.

He has placed this love in our hearts for so many people on both sides of the globe and hopefully, with His help, we will be able to continue His love to all and to do His will.

Our week was so full of adventures and encounters that it is hard to express in words what transpired.

We began our week with the mattress/sheets/blanket distribution on Sat to 50 families. It was AMAZING!!  To see the smiles on their faces and the appreciation in their voices - incredible. This was followed by distribution on Sun to 120 families.  There just aren't words to express what it is like to be a part of such a needed/appreciated ministry.  One of the women who received a mattress on Sat returned for distribution on Sunday and told us the mattress was bigger than her house. What?? Imagine that.  The mattresses are a double size, so that means her house is tinier than that.

And, on Sunday, I got to meet Simegn, our sponsor lady and then to go to her house. WOW!! Her house is about 6 x 8 ft with only her mattress and 2 tiny stools and 3 plastic bowls for food prep.  She would just say over and over again, "Ameuseugenalo (thank you)" and keep hugging me and kissing me and saying that God has always been with her even before she met me and that God will be with her and with me.  She was so blessed and did everything possible to express it. The truth is, I am the one who was blessed and humbled by seeing someone so very poor and needy who shared that she had everything.

Mon and Tues found us travelling to Arsi Negelle to visit water project #2 which is located in the most remote area ever (17 km).  As we drove over fields and through creekbeds and around boulders, we arrived at a school compound for 700 children. There were no homes in site nor any villages, just this school compound of about 6 buildings and our water trough. Where do they all come from?  They walk miles everyday just to attend school to get an education. When we arrived, they were all around yelling and singing and saying "Thank you" in English and Amharic and hugging us and shaking our hands and saying "Seulam" and waiting to turn on the water. When we did that, they were ecstatic in their expressions of love and appreciation.  To see them so excited for something as basic and simple as water was most humbling.

The rest of the week found us visiting a ministry for street boys, whose director found Jesus in a prison cell reading a Gideon Bible. So, for those of us who saw the placement of Gideon Bibles in hotels and jails as immaterial, think again.  God uses all ways to reach the unsaved.

We toured the Hamlin Fistula Hospital and once again were humbled by the love and care of a doctor couple who have ministered to the most dejected sector of the population (besides lepers) for over 60 years.  Dr. Catherine Hamlin, who is 91, still lives there on the grounds and visits the women every morning. She and her husband have truly lived a life of total sacrifice to share Jesus' love with these precious women.

We were able to bless women and girls who had formerly carried HUGE bundles of wood on their backs from on Entoto Mountain daily and other women who had been beggars or prostitutes just to earn enough Birr to buy tiny amounts of food for their families. Through the Scarf Factory and Embracing Hope coffee sales and jewelry businesses, we were able to bless these precious women.

I went to Ethiopia to visit old friends and various ministries and to actively participate in the distribution at Korah particularly, but God had other plans. He planned for us to rekindle old relationships and establish new ones.  He reinforced this by the fact that even though we could only say a few simple words in Amharic, we could express His love by the "light" on our faces and the Amharic arm/hand shake of "Seulam" and just hugging them or holding their hands.

"Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me or seen in me -- put it into practice.  And the God of peace be with you."  Phil 4:9

Since my very first visit in Aug 2010, God has shown me that One can make a Difference.  That the "Power of One is the difference one person can make in a community."

"When your need for food, shelter and clothing is fulfilled -- not just temporarily or infrequently, then you have time to believe in something.  When you begin to know generosity, you start to believe in God."

As our days progressed, we almost felt more like "Habesha" (locals) than "Firengi" (foreigners). I think that is a good sign. We recognized places we drove by, we could walk down the street and not have people stare at us, we could go in a store and buy food and into a restaurant and buy a meal. We began to understand that "Love is being fully present in the moment."

We are not sure about future trips, but we are sure that our purpose is to continue to love and support these beautiful people and to share the love of Jesus and His salvation with all. Their need is severe, but their joy surpasses it in many ways.  May we learn contentment from them.

Please continue to pray for the people of Ethiopia and the role we can play in leading them to Jesus and to becoming a self-sustaining people.

Brain Wrapping

We continue to soak up the moments here and whether my face is pressed up against the van window, taking it all in or lying in bed at night unable to sleep (jet lag!!!), I desperately want to understand this culture that is so different from my own.  So I try to imagine what it is like to live in a little straw hut with my entire family or what life is like for the construction workers or taxi drivers or wood carriers or beggers or mothers... Every story we have heard is an amazing one and I believe that every life story here would make for a NY Times Bestseller.  Their lives/ stories hardly seem fathomable yet alone reality.  Several hours south of Addis Ababa, driving through rural villages in our 4 wheel drive vehicle showed us a different side of African life.  Life that is untouched by western influence and generations that will never see the city or even outskirts of a town.  Again, the rush of pity and awe filled my soul.  These people are wearing rags and spend their days getting water and food while kids played unfettered in nature.  They know nothing of Pinterest, chauffeuring to kids activities, and clean eating. There are obviously many issues that the village people are faced with, and we were impressed by an organization that is attempting to make clean water, medical help, and education accessible for many of these villages.  A school with 700 children now has running CLEAN water in their compound because of funds raised through my in-laws' efforts.  Their smiles and exuberance when the water was turned on testified to the need of this simple commodity we take for granted everyday.  We saw many water kiosks where people were lined up with their big yellow jugs, some on a cart pulled by a donkey.  Others, rigging the jugs to their backs or on top of their heads.  We visited a medical clinic with a motor cycle/  side-car, "ambulance,"  that is dispersed when women go into labor.  A woman was lying curled up on a metal table in labor, and another one arrived on foot, her baby wrapped to her front.  She was concerned about her child's high fever.  The clinic was so simple-- concrete slab rooms, but it fills a great need for people who otherwise live life without ever having medical care or attention at all.  Here, where farming is the sole occupation and it only is possible 2 months of the year ("rainy season"), community development is difficult.  Family planning is not even a remote concept.  It is difficult to wrap our brains around how we can help and what we can do with these towering and systemic problems that exist for most Ethiopian people.  But we cannot do nothing.  We saw the difference a simple well makes and we experienced the impact of our "visiting" these precious children and their teachers.  We felt the gratitude of knowing that people "care" and of not being forgotten.  Their smiles, laughter, singing, and eyes are etched on my mind.  And most of all, they need to know that there is a God who loves them, who knows every detail about them, who died for them, and who will never leave them.  That is the only true Hope we ALL have in this life that isn't about our circumstances or where we live at all.  But about Him.  While the issues and needs seem large and many here, we have more in common than appears on the surface.  We are made in the same image, our hearts have the same need, and we were made for the same thing: to love God and others.  So, we will continue to walk each step this week asking the question, "How can we love God and others right NOW?"  It is an honor to get to be the ones doing that here, and our Guide is the one who created and holds the world, so we are in good hands.

              

Exuberant Exhaustion

My eyes burned from tiredness and the dry air of the airplane. But almost immediately the smells and sounds of a country I love infused my senses and awakened my spirit.  All went smoothly as we were scooped up by our faithful friend and driver, Fekadu, and delivered to our guest house where within a few hours, we had new friends from around the globe.  We reveled in sharing stories and experiences, in awe of how God works to draw people into His heart and ministry, linking our hearts together in love for Him.  Our Saturday afternoon almost feels like a dream. We drove past the trash dump that is Korah where people were digging through garbage in search of food to the headquarters of Heart for Korah where a crowd was gathered at the gate.  Little ones carrying little ones,  some on crutches, some without sight, some with leprosy.  Because of the generosity of friends in the US, we were able to give each of these Families a simple mattress, sheets, and a blanket.  Their smiles were huge, their hugs and kisses, genuine.  My heart simultaneously sunk and soared.  Something so simple as a mattress for a dirt floor lights up these people's eyes and faces.  And I sleep every night in a very comfortable bed with clean bedding in a warm and safe house.  We listened to Tesfaye, who is the director, share his testimony of growing up in the dump.  His story (which I will share later) marked our afternoon and etched on our hearts Gods grace and the power of ONE life lived in obedience and love for Christ.  In our fast paced, goal oriented, materialistic American culture, it is hard to fathom of anything different. Each time I come here, my heart is awakened to the reality that we need not live chasing manmade dreams on a treadmill that goes nowhere. We are made for more, and our hearts hunger and thirst for more.  The contentment and gratitude with which these people approach everyday is a continual education for me.  We are excited and thankful to be in this 'school of Life' this week!

Kristin wrote the update and all I can say is AMEN to everything she says, it is hard to explain how we can feel so at home here in a country so poor in material things, even essential life giving things and not miss anything of our American lifestyle. We love our families and communities and desire so much to merge the two worlds.

We are off to church at IEC and then to Korah for monthly distribution. We will update tonight and send pictures that will let you share in our experiences of the day.

We are so humbled to be God's hands and feet here in this land of our second home.

Almost Ready

It is Thursday morning and I am finishing up my packing to leave for Kristin's.

I am so excited.  I received photos today of Fekadu and his team getting the 50 sets (mattress, blanket and sheets) for our families in Korah.

This is all thanks to our many wonderful family and friends.  There are not words enough to express our gratitude.  This bedding will be such a blessing.

Kristin and I leave Dulles at 10:30 am on Fri and arrive in Addis Ababa 7:30 am Saturday.  After we get settled in our guest house, we will go to Korah to deliver the mattress sets.

Sun am will find us in church, either in Korah or at IEC with Pastor Jerry Shannon and his family.

In the afternoon, we will go back to Korah for distribution. So excited to be  a part of that special day as well,

We will travel south to Arsi Negelle on Mon and Tues am to see our water projects.  YEAH!!

We head back to Addis Tues am and then visit various ministries throughout the week, to include Children's Heaven, Embracing Hope, Strong Families, Make Your Mark, Bring Love In, etc

We have an appointment to Tour the Hamlin Fistula Hospital on Thurs am.

We are going to be busy, but so excited to see what God has planned for us.

Please cover us with your prayers.  I will update once we arrive in Addis.

THANK YOU!!!!   Kristin and Helen

February 7,2015

Greetings at long last.  Sorry that we have not kept this up-to-date, but this past year was crazy busy.

But, now, Helen and Kristin are preparing to go back to Ethiopia from Feb 27-March 8.

We plan on visiting the 2 water projects for Doc's Well of Hope that are completed and possibly the location for the 3rd project.

Also, we will be working in Korah with A Heart for Korah ministry. On Sunday, March 1, we will participate in their monthly distribution. AHFK supports 114 families as of now, so this will be exciting.

The pastor for AHFK notified us of a need and many of you have participated in meeting this need. If others choose to do so, you can make your check payable to Doc's Well of Hope and mail to PO Box 21 Mansfield PA 16933 or send via Paypal.  Just sharing.  NO PRESSURE!!!  Most of all, your prayers are coveted for us to share Jesus and His love with these beautiful people.

104 families need mattress, blanket and sheets (we gave one blanket for each families on June but Tesfaye thinks families may need more as they have big families). Mattress may cost $45-50/mattress, sheets is $15-20 and blanket is $15-20.

If you would like to supply the money (they will buy the items there) for any item, please reply ASAP so I can send the money to Tesfaye and he will have the items when we arrive. We will take a picture of the family your item goes to and I will get it to you upon our return. And, if you can, we'd love to take a picture of you/your family to them. They love pictures.

We will be spending time with Hannah and her 130+ girls at Children's Heaven. This is such a great ministry.

Also, time at Embracing Hope Ethiopia with Jerry and Christy Shannon who many of you know.

Please pray for us to be safe and healthy and sensitive to the leading of the Lord to follow His will.

Updates to follow,

Helen and Kristin