A Report from Ethiopia

Just in case any of you wanted to hear the audio from church the week we got back here's the link:

http://www.newhopechurch.com/sermonmp3s/sermonpod.html

Click on Mission Reporting dated 12-16-07. It's filled with testimonies and vision for the future of New Hope's involvement with the Oromo Arsi.

Enjoy!

Ethiopia: Day 3

We woke up early Sunday morning in Addis Ababa to the sounds of the morning call to prayer echoing across the city. The chanting was monotone, drawn out with an occasional shrill. It was definitely a different alarm clock. We went down to breakfast, and afterwards the team piled into three 14-passenger vans for the 150 mile drive to Shashamene, which took only about 5 hours.

The Ethiopian countryside was beautiful. We passed by some many mud huts, which surprised me. I wasn't expecting to see so many huts, but there they were! One of the funny things was all the animals! There were mules, cows, and goats that crossed the highway just about any time they pleased. Sometimes we'd see the young boys herding their animals and the girls carrying water. Everything was fascinating. Seeing it all for the first time.




Once we arrived in Shashamene we unloaded our bags in our hotel room and went up to the dining hall for our first Ethiopian meal. The food was really good. Here's what it looked like:

Something Tibs (Lamb)

Kewot with injera

After our meal, we packed back into the vans and went to the local Kale Hewet church for our orientation with Yoseph and to meet our translators and disciplemakers. It was a different church experience. All concrete with wooden benches and dark in the church, because it was turning to night. The worship was so much fun, even though we couldn't understand what was being said. We introduced ourselves and met our translators and disciplemakers. My translator was Kufa and my disciplemaker was Warkinnea (in the video he's on the far left in the row in front of me.)

Ethiopia: Day 1 & Day 2

Our alarm went off at 2:45am. We got up, showered, dressed, and off to the airport. Our flight left around 6-something where we headed to Chicago for a five-hour layover. Once we got on board in Chicago we were off to Germany. My first time to Europe and I didn't even get to see it. One day though, one day...

Our flight to Chicago was definitely the longest at 11 hours. We enjoyed some good German bratwurst at an airport restaurant and hung around our terminal for a few hours, before boarding for the last leg of our flight to Addis Ababa. One of the weird things about Germany this time of year was the sun didn't come up until after 8am or 9am. It was weird. When it finally did come up all you could see were clouds.




It's hard to say exactly when Day 1 ended and Day 2 began, so I'm clumping them together. Our flight from Frankfurt to Addis Ababa was about 8 hours (or at least I think) with a pitstop in Khartoum, Sudan to gas up. Flying over the Sudan we were actually able to see the Nile River--and that was pretty cool!

Finally we got into Addis Ababa in the evening, went through customs, and met up with Yoseph and Ripkah (Rebecca) and some of their team. We headed to our hotel for the night pretty tired and ready to stretch out.

"Missions is not the ultimate goal of the church. Worship is. Missions exists because worship doesn't. Worship is ultimate, not missions, because God is ultimate, not man. When this age is over, and the countless of millions of the redeemed fall on their faces before the throne of God, missions will be no more. It is a temporary necessity. But worship abides forever."
John Piper, Let the Nations Be Glad!

11/30/07 - Gathering worshipers. I like that way of putting missions. It seems more a joy, than of fear or uncertainty.

So...we're back!

We're back!

You know that verse that says,

How beautiful on the mountains
are the feet of the messenger
who brings good news,
the good news of peace and salvation,
the news that the God of Israel reigns! (Isaiah 52:7)

Well...these beautiful feet are back.
Tired, but recovering.
Thankful, still in awe.

We've been home for a week now and to sum it up for me its been a sleepy week. We got back Sunday afternoon and tried to stay up until a normal bedtime hour, but we were gone by 7pm. Which means on Monday we woke up about 3:45am! Quite early. We settled in. Unpacked and washed laundry. But by 11:30am I was so wiped out that picking out clothes to wear was such a challenge I just went back to bed--and slept until 4:30pm! We settled in for the night at a normal bedtime to be ready for work the next day. Most of the week was pretty much the same. Go to work, be sleepy after 4pm, go to bed early, wake up early.

I had hoped to already have posted and sent out a few e-mails about our trip, but obviously that didn't happen. It was a busy week coming back for me. At work we had our children's Christmas celebration to rehearse and perform Saturday morning, and then I had a girls overnighter Saturday night (I was the first to go to bed! Though I did wake up at 4:30am too!). Needless to say we're still getting back into the swing of things.

My goal is that this week I'll start sharing what happened day-by-day on the trip, post pictures, and share some of what God revealed of Himself (maybe I'll even have Joe write something!). So, take this as the first installment. :)

I'll leave you with this...

I have seen the blind see,
the crippled walk,
the demonized freed,
and the lost redeemed.

So...we're off!

These feet are ready!
(This one's for you Ann! Oh, and Mom thanks for my Ethiopia shoes!)

It's 8:01am on Friday in Addis Ababa. It's still Thursday as I write this. 9:02pm to be exact. It's crazy that it's finally here! This time tomorrow we'll be in Ethiopia or at least almost there. It's exciting, but I also don't know what to expect. Few really do, I think. Africa will be a first--even Europe will be a first! That is if you count our layover in Frankfurt really being in Europe. But I once had a friend who said if you've left your mark (ie, used the restroom) it counts.

I'm doing some last minute double checking of our suitcases before I shower and head off to bed. Joe's getting some "funds" and Benadryl so he can sleep on the plane. He's still toying with the idea of staying up all night and just sleeping on the plane.

Pray for us all as we go. It will be new, interesting, excited, sometimes scary, faith-building, stretching, and God--what else can you say? With Him you never really know what to expect. Just that it will be good.

I was reading this passage this morning and found it fitting as we're off to declare the Gospel:
It was revealed to them [the prophets] that they were not serving themselves, but you, in these things [the Gospel, Christ crucified] which now have been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven--things into which angels long to look.
1 Peter 1:12

We are not doing this to serve ourselves, but the Lord and the people He is sending us to. May we remember that and be humbled.

Here's one last thing to leave you with...this thingy is called a Proclaimer. It's pretty neat. If I remember correctly this passage is John 1. (Please excuse the poor video quality.)