Project Ethiopia Benevolence

Faithful friends welcome us back!

2015-02-04T12:31:00.000-08:00

When we returned to our home in Arba Minch, we were overwhelmed by the faithfulness of some of our friends in our absence.
One of them is a young man named Kibru. We had asked Kibru to kind of keep an eye out and watch our house and property while we were gone. But we did not know the extent to which he did this job. Every night he slept on a mattress on our front porch so he could hear if anyone was trying to steal anything. During the daytime, he carried that mattress out to the back yard along the thorn hedge so he could keep watch during the heat of the day. This he did for over three months. He also kept everything in the garden watered-even though it was the dry season. He hand carried buckets of water to all the mango trees and my flower beds. He planted half of the garden in sweet potatoes. He also walked several miles out of town to pick ripe mangos from our trees on Mello Farms and then sold them in the market. He gave us all the money he earned.(196 birr) He proudly told us not one person came on our property-all was safe because he watched over it.

Rebekah is our housekeeper. She is a quiet woman, but has a great faith in God. While we were gone for three months, she faithfully came and kept our house clean. She was harassed at the entrance to our compound by the guards who were trying to prevent her from coming in and doing her job. They expected her to cower down and go back to her house- leaving our house uncared for. But Rebekah drew herself up to her full height of 5'2" and marched down to the local police station and lodged a complaint. The police came out to the compound and reprimanded the guards and told them NOT to prevent her any longer!
She beamed when she told me all this--and said "Teresa, you know I am not a bold woman" And I said, "yes- but with Gods help you are a very brave and bold woman!" She also had a wonderful welcome home gift for us: 2 cokes, 2 bottles of water, 4 fresh eggs and some bread. Also she and Kibru had made some stew for us to eat. It maybe doesnt sound like a lot to some of you back home, but for them this was an amazing sacrifice of their precious and few birr. We were humbled by their kindness.

Another amazing friend is named Melkias. He had heard we were back in Arba Minch, and so he tried calling us several times. Finally, we talked with him on the phone and made plans to go to his house the following day to meet his new baby son who had been born while we were in America. A few hours later there was a knock on our front door. We had just settled down to eat popcorn and watch a DVD.
We both were a little annoyed that someone was knocking on our door at that late hour-it was already dark. There stood Melkias. We asked him why he was here when we were going to see him tomorrow. He said "once I hear your voice I cannot wait." He was covered in dirt, tired and sweaty from working all day. He must have walked several miles from across town, past his own house to come see us. How is it we can have such friends?

Our first day back home and already I am 'pressed into service'. I went to check on a friend who lives down the street from us. He has tongue cancer and is dying. There is no treatment available for him, and so he is slowly starving to death while the cancer eats away at his tongue and jaw. We give him medicine to try and ease the pain somewhat. He has 5 children under the age of 10. They live in a one room mud house. I had left money in an envelope for the family in case he died while we were in America. It was to pay his burial costs. But- he was still alive. However, his wife was in great pain from an infected leg! Apparently a piece of wood got jammed into her leg several weeks ago. Now it was so swollen she could not walk. She had no money to go see a doctor, and as is the case for many of these poor families-she simply suffered with it. I immediately took her to a clinic where she now has to go twice a day to receive injections to combat the infection. Of course, I will be the one to take her each time. This is my privilege- its not a burden. To share the pain of another human being and then to receive their heartfelt thanks- for them to look me in the eye and know there is absolutely NOTHING they can give me in return other than their prayers of thanks- what more could I want? I go to bed at night tired but happy. What I did today mattered. My Savior is pleased and that is enough.

Zaks story...continued

2014-07-25T02:39:00.000-07:00

Update to Zaks story: ( I wrote his story from the beginning in an earlier post which you can still read )

As you know, Zak has been walking to my house daily now for 2 years where he would sit on a bucket in my bathtub while I poured water over his wound and changed the bandages. We both came to enjoy our ‘bucket talks’ as we discussed a variety of subjects over the years--from homework to his education dreams of the future, GIRLS, and of course, God’s love and care for Zak. We have forged a close friendship.

The plan was to seek skin graft surgery in July when Dr. V, a foreign plastic surgeon, volunteers at Soddo Hospital in another town about 4 hours drive from Arba Minch.

So all year we waited and looked forward for July to come. Then I got an email that Dr. V would not be coming this year. What was I going to tell Zak? He would be crushed! I prayed that God would send someone else to help Zak. Sure enough, God had Plan A ready. (I’m sure that what I thought MY plan was, was actually plan B.....)

Our friend and surgeon, Dr. Barry had gone home to Austrailia to get a double knee and hip replacement last winter. We assumed he would stay there and retire for good this time (he is 80-something years old!). But no way can you keep this old warhouse down!

He returned (to our surprise) in July to Arba Minch-one week after I got the disappointing email from Dr. V.

So- Dr. Barry calls up an old friend in Addis who now works at Korean Hospital.

Dr S personally meets with Zak and I and refers us to Dr. Y who is a plastic surgeon at Korean Hospital. Zak was admitted to Korean Hosp and after 4 days was prepped for skin graft surgery.

Dr. Y looked at Zaks wound and decided NOT to do surgery and instead he recommended a consultation by a dermatologist at Alert Hospital. He wanted to get another opinion on the best course of action. He actually went even farther by telephoning this Dermatology doctor and getting us an appointment the next day.( Later we were told that it takes months to get an appointment with him.) And then several days later, he called us just to see how Zak was doing! How many doctors who are no longer taking care of you will call to see how you are??

Then, Dr. D the derm doc was late for our appointment, but he sent a nurse ahead of him to personally walk us through the whole registering process. The nurse was named “Captain” and he had worked there for over 30 years. He knew EVERYBODY.

He marched us right to the head of the line (we tried not to look at the many people we past in front off) and got us checked in and then left us sitting inside the docs office waiting. Out in the hallway were at least 30 people waiting to see him too........

The doctor decided to admit Zak for 2 months for treatment. But when Captain and I went to admit him, there were no beds available. We would have to return home and come back in 3 weeks.

So after I pleaded with ‘the Captain’ and asked isn’t there anywhere he can stay-maybe even the pediatric ward??? he winked at me and went to work. We went to the Pediatric ward and spoke to the doctor there. Dr M did not want to admit a 17 yr old boy into a Pediatric ward--but after some very smooth manuevering by Captain, she finally agreed. When we both closed the door to her office I hugged Captain and we both did the happy dance!!

I was so happy to get Zak admitted, I didnt care where he went. But Zak did.

He was not very thrilled about the idea of sharing a room with a bunch of little children and babies. And he DEFINATELY wasn’t going to wear the snoopy pajama tops.

So we all compromised and he wore his own tshirts, but the hospital jammie pants.

After a couple days Zak admitted that he really did like being in the babies ward-’no bad smells’ he said. But the foam earplugs I offered him did come in handy!!

What I see is that God is ALWAYS out in front of us-preparing the way. We never have to fear the future or what will happen because if we are living within His will, we are never alone. God puts certain people in our path (Dr. V and Dr. Barry) and that connection leads to another person (Dr. S and Dr. Y) and another connection (Dr. D, Dr. M and ‘Captain”) ---and before we know it the solution presents itself.

My friend LeAnn calls them ‘God winks’ and I know they are true. Sometimes I feel that God is ‘winking’ at me all day long! What a great way to live-with the eye of the Father continually on you.

Today is Friday and I was astonished to see the progress that Zaks’ wound has made in one week!

I am so thrilled. The combination of drugs and medicines are working.

I have to leave him here in the hospital and return home to Arba Minch and my sweet husband Tom for a few weeks. Then I will return back to stay with Zak- I can’t wait to see his progress then!! Keep this guy in your prayers, please!

Zak outside Korean Hospital in Addis.

This is Ashu. He was the taxi driver that picked us up at the airport and
and drove us around Addis a few days. He became friends with Zak
and has visited him at both hospitals. He even brought his wife and child to
meet Zak. The kindness of 'strangers'.........

Zak did NOT want to wear the Snoopy jammies!

Monument outside Korean Hospital.

Teenage boy complaining about the small size of his dinner plate!

Zaks veins are very small and difficult to find. He endured numerous stickings
by several nurses trying to get in his IV.

Zak and his smile of triumph! He gets to wear his own shirts.

You better behave, boy!! (yeah, he is really scared..)

Bearing Basha's Burden

2014-07-15T13:11:00.001-07:00

Basha Banto is a man who suffered from osteoporosis for many years. For me and most women, osteoporosis is only a condition that doctors scare us about so we take our Boniva pills. At least for me, it was.....
I didn’t know men could get it. And I sure didn’t know the devastation it could wreck in a body.
Basha’s friends told me that he used to be quite tall- almost 6 feet. This is considered very unusual for Ethiopians. He was a by all accounts a good father (6 children) and husband-a regular church goer.
For the past year, he has been confined to a hospital bed. His body had wasted down over the years from this disease until he was a twisted torso with bent and crippled hands. His once long legs were now almost childlike in size. He was on oxygen 24/7 His faithful wife and family came every day and stayed throughout the day to help take care of him.
He was dying, the family knew that. There was nothing the hospital could do for him as far as treatment goes. But the problem is that morally, the hospital could not release him to his home because of the almost daily power outages in our town. There is no way to predict when the electricity will go out- no pattern at all. Without the oxygen on, Basha would only live 12-15 mins.
Now here is where Tom and I come into the story. While I was visiting a friend who was in the hospital, Bashas’ wife also visits my friend. They have gone to church together for many years.
She asked me if I would come meet her husband and pray with him.
Of course I went and my buddy Liul, (my 15 yr old sunday morning Bible story translator) came with me. I was moved by the cheerful personality of this woman who was named Mestewat-and this poor little man who was determined to live ‘ for his children to have a father’

Later when we were driving home, Liul remarked that the family wanted Basha to be able to come home and live the remainder of his days in his own bed surrounded by family and neighbors and friends. But they have no generator-and without that- no mahbrat (electricity) I talked to Tom about maybe buying a generator to give them and he immediately said “lets give him ours.” (What a sweet guy, huh?) Our generator was a super duper industrial strength gas generator and would be more than enough to power the oxygen machine when the power goes out. So we talked to the doctor and nurses to make sure Basha could take the oxygen machine home with him. They immediately said yes and rejoiced! Some of the nurses even cried at this good news.

We then told Basha and his wife and you can imagine the joy that beamed across their faces! Basha was finally going home!!! wow- you wouldn’t believe all the hugs and kisses and “Hallelujahs” we got then! But then the hospital financial dept. started to hit them with the bill-a whole year of hospital residence. This would have crushed them- they could never hope to pay for all that. Through the efforts of Dr. Yappo, we convinced the administration to waive the charges-since we were ‘relieving them of a moral quandry’. The next day Tom and some family members loaded up the generator and took it to Bashas house to make sure it would work there. We even made several trial

runs of how to start it up quickly while one of us pretended to be Basha gasping for air when the mahbrat goes out. Everyone was laughing good naturedly and joking while the eldest son who had the responsibility of starting the generator, paid close attention to Toms’ instructions.
The whole family was so happy. We were too. They planned the next day to invite us for a special coffee ceremony after Basha was brought home- it would be a real celebration!
Tom and I went to bed excited at being a part of something special.

Mestewat grieving over the sudden change in events.

The next morning around 11:00am Tom and I arrived at the hospital to bring Basha home. Tom had put a mattress in the back of the truck and brought along a small battery and converter to power the oxygen during transport.
When we got to the hospital and went to Bashas room-it was empty.
Basha had died that morning only a few hours earlier. We stood there in shock.
The doctor was tearing up as he told us the news. The body had already been taken home and the funeral was being held at 2:00 that afternoon.
There are no refrigeration morgue facilities, so this is the necessary way things are done here. I don’t know how the word gets around so quickly- I really don’t. But by the time we arrived at the home, a tent had been erected in the road beside their tiny house. Mourners had already filled up the yard and tent with an overflow crowd along the road.
One of the unusual customs (at least to us) is that everyone openly weeps-even the men. As they wait in line to give their condolences they are straight faced but as soon as they start touching the widow they break down crying. I had seen this behavior once before in our first year in Ethiopia when a man was murdered. Tom and I knew his father and he called us when he first discovered the body of his son. We got there before the police- but when they arrived, the first thing the policemen did was look into the room at the crime scene and then they all started weeping. It was startling to see professional policemen show emotion like that. Back to Bashas funeral....... So many people came, bearing the grief of the family with them.Dr. Yappo and some of the nurses even came, weeping.....
I sat and watched the faces of the people- the widow who was completely devastated by this sudden reversal of events. I just couldn’t grasp it- this was supposed to be a day of rejoicing! Instead, we had a funeral.
When it was over, several men made their way through the crowd toward me. I knew what was coming. They wanted me to drive my truck with the coffin in the back to the cemetery. It was several miles away and although the mourners would walk it was a long way to carry the body.....and so I became the hearse driver.

Basha’s mother was frail and was wearing no shoes-she could barely walk- and so she rode in the cab with me-her son in a wooden box covered in a flowered sheet from a bed.
Several hundred mourners walked behind me as we slowly made our way to the cemetery-just a patch of raw, wild land. The hole had already been dug. The coffin was lowered into the ground. It was quickly covered over with cement. This was done while the crowd and family stood off a ways and listened to a preacher. Then the mourning really got intense. The widow began wailing and slapping her face. She threw herself backwards relying on friends to catch her before she hit the ground.The eldest son tore

Basha's mother

off his shirt and fell to the ground weeping as his friends consoled him. This is their traditional way of mourning but it really made me so sad. They mourned as if they had no hope.
I’m not really sure why Tom and I played a part in all this. Maybe to give a family hope- short- lived as it was. Maybe to show that we really are all brothers in this life together. Jesus taught that we should each bear one anothers’ burdens......and for a short time, Tom and I were privileged to be a part of the burden-bearing process.

2014-07-15T12:39:00.001-07:00

Prisoners and a Pregnant lady

2014-06-02T02:03:00.004-07:00

typical house of the highland people

This is the view of the prison.

A few weeks ago, Tom and I drove up the mountain with Father Philippe-a brother from the local Catholic mission near us. We went to a village high up in the mountains near us called Chencha. It was a welcome relief from the heat we are now experiencing in Arba Minch-so the invitation to go up to the cool mountain air of Chencha was appealing! Also, Chencha is known for their apple trees. Many years ago, missionaries from England and Scotland brought apple seedlings from their home countries and planted them in Chencha. A very successful fruit growing industry resulted from the early missionaries (thank you Malcolm Hunter, among others.)
While there, it was decided to go visit the local prison. This is a prison unlike any I have ever seen. It looked more like a wilderness campground-no barbed wire or guard towers, only a sheet metal fence all around the compound. The whole area was no larger than a football field, and over 700 prisoners live there. It was a strange feeling to walk among the inmates- only one guard giving us the tour. (no gun either.) Everyone smiled and welcomed us to their prison! No angry, scary looking guys at all. No shaved heads or tattoos---definitely not a “ dead man walking” type of atmosphere.
There were several dormitory rooms with 50 bunk beds to each room. The beds are all around the perimeter of the room. In the center area is a floormatt where the men can sit and play checkers, cards, etc.. There are 2 churches that all are welcomed to attend. A small schoolroom where grades 1-4 are taught. Many of these men have never had an opportunity to attend school. There are several old foosball tables, a couple of handmade pingpong tables and a tattered old volleyball net. The prison has a woodworking shop to teach men some skills that they can use when they finish up their sentence. Also, a small electronic shop.

Very intricate designs must be carefully threaded into the gabi.

A lot of the men are busily at work in a weaving textile shop that is being successfully run on prison ground. They make all kinds of beautiful, intricately woven cotton blankets called gabi. They are then able to sell these gabi in the local market and with the money they earn they can deposit into their own bank account kept at the prison. Many of these men then are able to send some money home to their families. The prison also grows many fresh vegetables. It was quite impressive.

inside one of the weaving buildings.

Then we came to the small area where the women are kept. There are 23 women serving prison terms-some for as long as 10 years.
But what shocked me was that there are 15 children living in the prison with their mothers. Because no one else would take them in, the mothers were forced to bring their children to prison with them. Whew. That stunned me. Fifteen children under the age of 5. There are 5 newborn babies.......
I immediately decided that this would be a new area of ministry for Project Ethiopia!
So 2 weeks later, I returned to the prison with my friend Rebekah. She is not only my best friend here, but she is also a wonderful translator for me. We brought some small toys-wooden blocks for the toddlers, jump ropes, playground ball, tetherball, color books and crayons, etc... The excitement on the faces of all of them-moms included-was priceless. We had also brought some onesies, receiving blankets and hats and booties

my mom and her friends knitted (thanks Laura Ingalls and friends) The moms were ecstatic! They were dancing and laughing and holding their babies up to show them off! Such a wonderful time for us all. I took pictures of each woman (and her children, if she had any) and wrote down ages and sizes of the children. I promised that next month when I come I would bring new clothes for each child. One little boy was completely naked except for a shirt and rubber boots. Another child was “very poor” (in the words of the guard--and I’m thinking, aren’t they ALL poor???) Anyway, he had no clothes at all so one of the other children loaned him a shirt.
There will be celebrating BIG TIME when they get their new clothes! I cant wait!
We also brought some practice hoops and embroidery thread for the women to practice edj sera (handiwork) on. My idea is to give them some kind of a craft that they can make money at. Then they could pool their money together and maybe have enough to pay the salary of a schoolteacher for the children! There is no school for these children who are growing up in prison. No playground. No library. Nothing. No hope for their future........
I am hoping that some of you reading this blog will want to help out in this special ministry to the women and children of Chencha prison.
The immediate need is donations of money with which I will be able to purchase locally some basic clothing and shoes for the children.
When I return to USA in Sept- I will be wanting to collect some of the following items: Jumbo crayons (thanks Lyndie Rogers, but they are all gone now!)
Rubber playground balls, pumps and needles
Children sizes rubber boots (they live in a sea of mud during rainy season)
Warm Hooded sweatshirts- they all have coughs and runny noses from the cold air
If you want to help, please send your check made out to:
Overseas Christian Ministries
(be sure and write Project Ethiopia on memo line)
Mail your tax-deductible gift to: Overseas Christian Ministries
1504 Flowers Dr. Carrollton Texas 75007 USA
but WAIT! There’s more!! (remember all those TV infomercials with the ‘special offers’???
more of the story, that is. When we were leaving the prison to go home (about a one hour drive down the mountain) the Commander (warden) asked us to stay and have some bread and sodas with him. He expressed his deep amazement and appreciation that we wanted to return to help the women and children. He gave us a parting gift of two red, ripe apples grown there. It was a real treat to get those.
But the Commanders visit delayed us and now it was getting late and we really needed to get going.
Rebekah and I were smiling and talking about what a wonderful time we had with the women. Suddenly, as we rounded a curve, there was a crowd of people standing in the road waving us down. They were pointing to a VERY PREGNANT woman who was by the look on her face obviously in labor! They had been carrying her down on a homemade stretcher but obviously weren’t going to make it to the hospital in time!

So they loaded her up in the back of the truck (we have a bench seat there) and away we all went down the mountain. To make this even more of an adventure, at the next curve of the road I felt the brakes going out. I pumped them and pumped them and still my foot went almost all the way to the floor. Yikes!! Not a good sign......
But the Lord obviously had set up that ‘divine appointment’ (by delaying our departure with the bread and cokes) and so I was pretty sure He intended us to get safely to the hospital with my special passenger.

An hour and many bumps later we reached the asphalt and sped away to the hospital. I had one little baby onesie left with a blanket and hat and socks which I quickly shoved in her hands as she waddled away. Now THATS special delivery service, I think!!! haha What a wonderful day that was!

This soldier was trying to help this girl try her first jumprope.

She could jump like nobody's business!

one of two churches on prison grounds.

This little guy wasn't sure what to do-first time for him too!

The 23 women live in this dorm room with 12 beds in each room.

These were some happy moms with new clothes for their babies!

Looking out at the prison yard.

My best friend and translator, Rebekah.

laundry day in prison

I hope this cow didnt fall in......

one of the many textile shops along the road down the mountain

A beautiful view of Lake Chamo in the background.

our special delivery!!!

Looks like we made it just in time!
I went back a day later to find this woman but she had already left the hospital. I hope all went well with her and baby........

The 'Hebrew Hostel'- shalom and sabbaba

2014-05-28T13:51:00.000-07:00

Tsofia- the first of many Israelis to visit us.

About three years ago, we picked up an Israeli girl who was hitchhiking her way around Ethiopia. Her name was Tsofia, and we had such a nice drive together that we invited her to stay with us in Turmi for a few days.
She was visiting the southern tribes before she went back to northern Ethiopia to teach Hebrew at a settlement of Jewish Ethiopians. They are called the ‘fallujah’- a remnant of Jews who migrated from Israel long ago in ancient times.
We said our goodbyes and went our separate ways. Then a week later she came to our town of Arba Minch. Wanting to contact us and come to our house to say hello, she went into an internet cafe. As she was typing an email (the only contact info she had)

This is peanut butter tea. It tastes as bad as it looks. Supposedly it gives you energy when hiking but seems like a waste of good peanut butter, to me!

Shakshuka did'nt last long!

Hadas and Shachar

and looking out the window, outside on the sidewalk Tom walked by! So we had another few days together at our house. Tsofia told all her friends if they are ever in Ethiopia they should call Tom and Teresa. And they did! Then thanks to Facebook, it seems we become the unofficial ‘Hebrew Hostel‘.

Miriam was quite the artist and left me a chalk drawing of a Mursi woman complete with lip plate and ear gages!

Now we have had at least 6 different groups of Israelis visit us since then.
It has been a wonderful experience-learning some of their cultural ways and we have had many interesting talks about God AND Jesus. We have had some guests that kept a kosher diet. The hebrew word ‘kosher’ means ‘fit’ or ‘appropriate’. That means they only eat certain foods, and when preparing those foods they must bring their own pans and utensils to use. My pots and pans are ‘unclean’ by their religious views because I have cooked meat, pork, eggs and milk products in the same pans.
Many of our jewish guests simply follow a vegetarian diet in this modern world today.
In supermarkets, foods that are deemed kosher have a symbol on the package Ou (Orthodox Union). Examples of kosher foods are meat from animals with cloven hooves that chew their cud. (No pork) Fish must have scales and gills (no crab or lobster)
In the Bible New Testament (Acts 10:9-33) the ban on pork and shellfish was released as was the separation of Jews and Gentiles- all were now deemed to be acceptable and good and there was to be no more distinction between people groups.
However, since our Jewish friends don’t believe the New Testament-this restriction still stands.
Some are orthodox and follow their traditions even when they travel. We have been privileged to watch a few of them celebrate shabbat--their holy day of the week
with candles and singing. Shabbat is from sundown on friday until sundown on saturday. It is a reminder of the culmination of Gods creative work done in Genesis-the day He rested from His labors. Also, its a reminder to the Jews how God long ago rescued them from their harsh lives of slavery in Egypt, by setting aside a day of personal freedom from the harsh demands of their labor. So the same for todays Jews- they work during the week, but then on sat. they rest and reflect on Gods goodness. Since there is a ban on travel-they can only walk. They often share the shabbat meal with family and friends. Lighting candles, eating a wonderful meal, laughing and singing--this is a precious part of their lives according to some of our guests. Then since there is also a ban on electronic devices, they pass the day reading, playing board games, taking walks, visiting shut-ins, etc...
And then, some of our guests have been atheists-agnostic-not sure what they believe about this whole God thing. It must be very confusing living in a country like Israel.

Crowded with so many religions-all laying claim to the same small piece of land. (only 8,000 sq miles-about same size as New Jersey-takes less than an hour to drive across the whole country!) We have learned that there are Jewish citizens by nationality, and Jews by religious convictions.

One group I met for the first time at night at the bus station. They had been hitchhiking near Addis and our friend Ben picked them up. When he found out they were headed south to see the tribes, he said “Call Tom and Teresa”--and they did! So I go to the bus station where some pretty sketchy looking guys hang out--and picked up 4 pretty scruffy looking kids with huge backpacks. They were a laughing, good-natured bunch and even cooked a couple of traditional Israeli meals like shakshuba (eggs pouched in tomato sauce) They were only going to stay overnight with us, but we kind of begged them to stay with us a few more days! (we like english speaking company any way we can get it!) They went with us to see the zebras and crocs by the lake near our house.
One of the guys was an excellent guitar player and one night when we had no electricity, we lit a bunch of candles and sang around the ‘campfire’. Hearing those rich, haunting melodies of their traditional music was such a treat-it was a night we will never forget.
So--our lives are the better for opening our house to scruffy strangers who then become friends. And we have a standing invitation to come to Israel and visit them. Maybe someday we will !! Yala bye ! Shalom.

Sharing in Joy of the Prodigal...

2014-05-28T11:32:00.001-07:00

Last week in church I was privileged to witness a special joy that needed no translation. Normally I sit in church up front in a wooden chair by the pastors and guests bench.
Not that I like to sit in the front row-but as a ferenji, that is their custom. Also, they know about my back problems so they provide a chair with a back on it. Everyone else sits on crude wooden benches. One advantage though to sitting up front- I am just barely out of the direct path of their new mega watt jumbotron speakers turned up full blast. (A few rows back and I would have had to put in my earplugs!)

Since I don’t know any of the words they are singing, I just make up my own and clap and try to sway in rhythm with them (it ain’t easy being a white girl with no rhythm!) But while we were all singing, suddenly a woman came up to the front, smiling ear to ear. She was singing and pointing up to heaven and then over at someone. She was dancing (not unusual over here) and the joy on her face was unmistakable. She was then joined by her husband and two sons. Now EVERYONE was up on their feet singing and dancing, like I said, JOY. My friend leaned over and whispered to me “This son was lost for a year-now he comes back”
Now he comes back. My mind immediately went back over the years to when I had my own prodigal son. Nothing wounds a mothers heart more than rejection by her child. During my own sons’ ‘wandering in a far away land’ I experienced such depths of anguish over him. We all did. It affects the whole family. Christmas with the empty place around the table. His birthday when we didn’t know where he was-or even if he was alive. Then the darkest day of all- the phone call saying he was in jail.

But like so many times in our lives- what we think are terrible things happening, oftentimes God will make something good come out of it. I am reminded of the story of Joseph from the Bible. He was sold into slavery by his jealous brothers for 20 pieces of silver. Years later, after he has risen to power in Egypt because of his God-given ability to explain dreams- he was able to feed his brothers and save them from starvation. The brothers were expecting death from Joseph for their misdeeds to him years earlier-but Joseph forgave them. And in one of the most astounding verses from the Bible-Genesis 50:20 “You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people.”

Now, here my son was in jail. No doubt about it- that was bad. But guess what? Here is the good that God made it into. While in jail he started attending a prisoner-led Bible study, and the Father’s kindness and grace brought him back to repentance.
In his prison cell, he gave control of his life back to Jesus!! And he was a changed man after that. He went on to graduate from Seminary, became a youth pastor, got married to a beautiful redhead, gave me one beautiful red haired grandson and a baby grandaughter on the way-and they are moving to Colorado next year to start up a church in Lakewood Colorado. Hows THAT for a ‘prodigal story’? God’s amazing grace.....
And now, I was witnessing another mothers broken heart being healed. The father spoke about his son’s ‘wandering’ while the little brother cried next to him..........
I have no idea of the details, but my heart was cheering- another prodigal was found! “Bring him a new robe (or in this case, a brand new Ethiopia tshirt) put a ring on his finger and kill the fatted calf for a feast. For my son who was lost has now been found”. (Luke 15:22......)
Hallelujah!

Mixed emotions and surprises!

2014-02-24T00:28:00.000-08:00

We are back now in Arba Minch, after a 2 month visit home to America for the Christmas holiday. As we prepared to pack and begin the ardurous 2 day journey, our emotions were mixed. On one hand we had enjoyed the comforts of home-and even started getting used to them again. The smooth asphalt roads, electricity that never went out-water that came from the tap every single time we turned it on. Amazing! We kind of did not want to leave this easy life.

When we arrived ‘home’ to Arba Minch-we had a wonderful welcome waiting for us. Many of our friends had gathered to greet us. They had made a welcome home poster, flowers were strewn about the front veranda, and a coffee ceremony was prepared. Our housekeeper, Rebekah, had also prepared an evening meal for us-so I didnt have to worry about cooking when we were so tired from traveling. We were so happy to see all of them too.

Many wonderful things were waiting for us!

Yakob, Tom’s right hand man had done something that very few Ethiopians can accomplish. He got his drivers license. We had started him in driving school before we left for USA in Dec. While we were gone, he continued with his classroom training and his practical training and proudly presented us with his Ethiopian Drivers License!

We are so very proud of Yakob. This is the same19 yr.old young man who also has started up his own solar powered mobile charging shop in the Highlands-a mountainous area near Arba Minch. You can read about him in earlier posts in our blog.

Galeto, the boy who was severely burned over 50% of his body, has now healed almost completely. Only a small area on his shoulder remains. He was giddy with joy to see us- I think he really believed we were never coming back. To our amazement and joy he is walking and running with no lasting ill effects. He is a very good soccer player!

He is so much better than we ever could have hoped or imagined! We were just amazed to see the completeness of his physical healing. God is good!

He is eager to help us- we already have him washing the dishes and doing some other household chores. Galeto surprised us both with his strength that has returned-as he lifted heavy cement blocks and helped Yakob and Tom build an outbuilding for our water tank and generator. To think that when we first brought him into our home he was so broken we had to carry him into the house on a sheet. Now he is laughing and dancing to “Sweet Home Alabama”--a song he plays over and over and over......(we are kinda sick of it by now! haha)

We have a new addition to our Ethiopian family. While Tom and I were in America, the mother of Eskadar, our little 3 yr old unofficial granddaughter- had a baby boy.

So now Eskadar has a baby brother- named Euel. His name means “God is Lord”

He is a beautiful little boy with a mass of curly black hair. What fun to have another baby around to cuddle with.

Our friend, Asfaw Anko-who used to be the guard for the compound where we live-is preparing to be married this weekend. He is a gentle, somewhat naive man-and even just talk of marriage makes him blush and giggle. Such an innocent. We are very happy for Asfaw and his soon to be wife, Abaresh. They waited until we returned from the USA to have their wedding. They will live in a one room apt--it actually is just a single room. It has a small full sized bed, a couple of rickety chairs, and a single lightbulb. They really are going to ‘live on love’........because they don’t have much of anything else.

A big surprise to us was the completion of the widow Amarech’s rent rooms. We had contracted with Melkias to build two rooms for Amarech. She could then rent them out and thus have a sustainable source of income for herself and her 5 children. Melkias is the young man that Tom has mentored to over the past 3 years and guided him into a career as a carpenter/contractor. His first job was to build a small guard house at our compound. From there he started getting other jobs in the community and now is a respected contractor in great demand. What a wonderful sucess story he is.

Anyway- the rooms are finished, painted a beautiful green and pink, and each room has electrical wiring with a lightbulb in it. These are first class rental rooms.

To our surprise, not only was the construction completed-but also both are rented out and have 2 new tenants already. And the surprise just keeps going-the two new tenants? Asfaw the newlywed and Yakob the entrepeneur!!

So now it is already three weeks since we returned from USA. Already it seems like a another life and another world to us. Although we miss our family and friends very much-we are happy here.

It’s good to be ‘home’ !

Overseas Christian Ministries

2014-01-20T19:12:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends,
Your financial contributions to Project Ethiopia Benevolence are now, Tax Deductable!
Effective January 9, 2014, Project Ethiopia Benevolence, the missions banner of Teresa & Tom Rieder, was enrolled as an approved ministry of the evangelical organization OVERSEAS CHRISTIAN MINISTRIES, INC (OCM) of Carrollton, Texas. OCM was established in June 2009 in obedience to the Great Commission and partners with 14 separate mission agencies, Project Ethiopia included, who support God’s work overseas and particularly in South Asia and East Africa. OCM’s core value is to demonstrate diligence, integrity, and accountability in cultivating and using the resources God provides.

A significant service benefit provided by OCM on behalf of Project Ethiopia is it’s accountability for directing financial contributions from you our donors. The benefit is achieved in the following way:
a) Make a donation to Overseas Christian Missions, and designate it to Project Ethiopia Benevolence
ministry.
1) Simply make out your check (or via your bank’s online Bill Pay) to:
OVERSEAS CHRISTIAN MINISTRIES, INC
2) Designate our ministry: (make sure you indicate on the check’s Memo)
PROJECT ETHIOPIA BENEVOLENCE
3) Mail to:
Overseas Christian Ministries, Inc.
1504 Flowers Drive
Carrollton, TX 75007-1201
Attn: Project Ethiopia Benevolence
b) Subject to a nominal administrative deduction, OCM receives your check then transmits it’s balance directly into the bank account of Project Ethiopia Benevolence.
c) Your contributions are tax deductible under section 170 of 501 (c) 3 U.S. Internal Revenue Service code. OCM provides each donor with an individualized end-of-year statement of his/her giving.

Thank you so much for your continued support. Praise God.

Teresa and Tom Rieder
Project Ethiopia Benevolence
“Give, Pray, Go”

video of "The Great Adventure"

2013-12-22T18:28:00.001-08:00

Living in Ethiopia has many challenges and struggles. It's not all happy success stories. Sometimes, we just want to close our doors and pull the curtains over the windows and hide from the constant stream of people coming to our house with their problems. But we love this life. We wouldn't change anything

(well....maybe the roads and lack of BlueBell ice cream!!)

We love this song by Steven Curtis Chapman, "The Great Adventure" and thought that it really sums up what this life is all about. Not just the life of a missionary living in Africa, but the life of any believer who truly wants to to be obedient to God.

You know, whatever it is that God has called you to do-He has already gone before you and prepared the way--you don't have to be scared. He has already set the people in place, the actions that need to be taken, the purpose for your very life!!

So come on- follow our Leader into the glorious unknown- it's a life like no other- it really is a great adventure!

Is something missing???

2013-12-21T21:38:00.000-08:00

We have just finished three years of living full-time in Ethiopia. This is something I never in my wildest dreams thought I might be doing-yet here we are.
I never had even the slightest secret thought about being a missionary in Africa-ever!
And yet-when God called us- we KNEW this was what He wanted us to do. There was absolutely no doubt in our minds. And so---we said yes. We sold our cars- sold our furniture-we put our house on the market.....and we went.
Saying 'yes' to God was the best thing we've ever done. This really has been the greatest adventure of our lives! Of course it's not all fun and games-there are many frustrations, and cultural misunderstandings-and a few betrayals......and yet there has been even more joy and contentment that we have found serving amongst the people here.
We live an uncluttered life here in Ethiopia-there is nothing to distract us from dependence on God.
There is no Walmart or fast food drive thrus when we are hungry. There is no Home Depot when we need nails or lumber to build things. There is no cable TV or recliners to nightly while away the last remaining hours of the day. No hospitals- no 911 service......no Starbucks! (gasp)
We really have to rely on God to come through for us. And He has-many, many times.
I think it is more difficult to live a life that reflects the love and compassion of Jesus in the western world than it is in Third world countries. You have so many more distractions. Choices.
Over-commitments. Before you know it, you have rushed through the day without a thought as to how you can show love to the hurting of this world. In Third World countries as soon as you set foot outside your door you see the poor, the widows and orphans. It's almost a no-brainer with all the ways you can help them.
You don't have to move to a foreign land in order to demonstrate the compassion and love of Christ
You DO have to be more deliberate, however-and seek out those opportunities where you are.

Some of you reading this blog may be thinking that something is missing in your spiritual life.
You may be wondering if this is all there is-just warming a pew on sunday mornings, being on a few committees, going through the motions.....I assure you there is DEFINATELY more that God has in mind for you. Listen for His voice! Don't be afraid!
Answer His call- and say "Yes-I'm willing to do whatever it is You ask of me, Lord".
You will be so glad you did !

Suggested Reading List
(Books that have highly impacted our lives)

"The Hole in our Gospel" by Richard Stearns
"Follow Me" by Francis Chan

Drip irrigation project-Turmi compound

2013-12-21T20:47:00.000-08:00

One of the constant hardships in southern Ethiopia is a lack of rain. It is dry and dusty there. Because of this lack of rain, food is scarce. Project Ethiopia wants to set up a drip irrigation project to grow fruit trees and vegetables in the Turmi compound where Matteos lives.
Approximately 15 children live there now so that they can attend the local school. These are the children of the few evangelists who are still living in the bush. Growing fruits and vegetables would be a self-sustainable venture that would not only provide food for the children but also raise money for other needs.
We need your help to fund this project. Please contact us for more information or make your donation through PayPal.

Matteos

Tom and some of the Turmi kids

pilot drip irrigation project in Arba Minch

staking up the tomatoes

holes are poked in plastic tubing at set intervals. Tomato seedlings are planted by each drip hole.

Yakob staking the plants in test garden

Water pumped through plastic PVC into individual drip lines

Solar panels will be used in Turmi to pump the water

Several hundred yards of tubing have already been trenched in Turmi compound

Workers trenching main water line into compound

erosion diversion wall and well head

First time for running water in Turmi compound!!

Matteos- from snake gods to salvation

2013-12-21T19:45:00.000-08:00

Matteos tells the story of his grandfather who was a tribal leader. They worshipped the snake god and offered yearly sacrifices of a black sheep. If one wasn't available, then a child was sacrificed.
Eventually, all the children in his family were sacrificed until only one remained. Then the grandfather heard about a missionary in a far off land who talked about a God of love. Hear this dramatic true story of how one man changed the destiny of his people and set them on the path of Light.

Matteos- living in fear

2013-12-21T15:55:00.000-08:00

Matteos continues his story in this next video. Here he tells of recently going to a village where there were some new believers in Christ. They were overjoyed to have someone come and teach and train them. But others were not so overjoyed.....the drums of the witchdoctors beat all night long in anger that an evangelist of Jesus Christ was in their midst.

Please pray for the believers to be bold in their communities and witness and share His light in the darkness all around them.

Matteos's great challenge

2013-12-21T15:40:00.000-08:00

Matteos is a young evangelist living in Turmi, Ethiopia. It is dry and dusty and very remote. He is responsible for a huge area from the borders of Kenya and Sudan-and over 150,000 unreached people.
There used to be more evangelists serving in the bush, but several of them were killed and many others found the living conditions too harsh and left to go live in the cities of the north.
These tribal people live under fear of witchdoctors and curses from the many gods they worship. But now, their hearts have been opened and they are crying out to Matteos to teach them about God.
The great challenge Matteos faces is a lack of transportation.
Ato Halfa- a local businessman, has offered the use of his Isuzu truck to Matteos. But first he must obtain his drivers license. The cost to take this month-long training class is 6500 ethiopian birr
(approx. $350) This is a huge amount of money to a man who barely makes $35 per month for his salary as an evangelist. Then he will need temporary support of approximately $200 per month to pay for gas and oil for the truck. He will also carry medical supplies and food to remote areas and people in need.
This is a lot of money. Is it for a good cause? Yes. Do peoples lives hang in the balance? Yes.
Can we here in America afford it? Yes.
Please help this young man and his family who are willing to reach out to these people.
Contact us if you want to help- you can also make donations through PayPal.

Galetos new life.......

2013-12-16T16:25:00.000-08:00

Things have been really busy since I last posted about Galeto- the 16 yr old burned orphan boy we have taken in to live with us.
He has made tremendous progress! I can hardly believe it is the same boy. Now I change his bandages every day and using a bleach/water/vaseline combination his wounds are rapidly healing. I feel certain they will be completely healed by March. Then later this summer we can think about contractural release surgery for his arms (both arms are drawn up because of scar tissue)
Tom and our friend Paul (visiting us from Okinawa) made him a walker out of plastic pvc pipe and he took his first few halting steps with it. From there he graduated to a cane. Now he is walking on his own power and even kicking the soccer ball!
He continues to eat everything I put in front of him and has learned to play games and puzzles.

I gave him a stuffed panda bear and he cuddles it and sleeps with it every night. Even though physically he is around 16, emotionally he is more like 10. The trauma of his ordeal by fire has left him scarred in more ways than one. But every night Tom and I tuck him in and I ruffle his hair and kiss him goodnight. I tell him I love him and he says "I love you Tu-weesa". That more than enough makes up for all the hassle and heartache.
In telling people about Galeto, we have come to realize something.
Truly, this was an awful, evil thing that someone did to this forgotten street boy. And I believe that Satan uses some people to do his evil work. But God has taken this terrible thing that happened to Galeto and brought much goodness out of it.
As he lay there in agony in the hospital bed-with no one sitting by him or caring--a concerned doctor told me about him. At the same time that Galeto cried out one night to God to let him die--I showed up the next morning. As we showed the compassion to him that Jesus commands each of us to do- others saw our example and were touched. They in turn responded with unselfish action.

celebrating Galetos first walk!

Galeto walking with his friend, Zak

People like Brenda, LeAnn and JoNell who sent me bandages and tape from America.
People like Marianne, D&D, Josh, Callie and others in AM (you know who you are) who are even now encouraging Galeto and bringing him orange sodas while Tom and I revive ourselves with family and friends here in Texas.
People who have read these blogs and seen my posts on FaceBook now pray for this boy and ask about him.
When people allow themselves to be used by God and show compassion to others- it opens up the floodgates of blessings to all involved.
Galeto's life is very different now. He once sold peanuts and lottery cards to survive on the streets of Ethiopia. He slept on a piece of cardboard at night. He had no one.
But now he is NOT alone.
And although he went through a horrible trauma and ordeal- God has been with him the whole time.
Now he has a 'family' who cares for him. He has friends who bring him orange soda and play soccer with him. He is loved and tucked in at night. And he knows now that he was NOT forgotten by God- and that his future is brighter than before.

Embroidered Tea Towels

2013-12-16T14:54:00.001-08:00

The women in my neighborhood in Ethiopia are always working hard: whether carrying heavy loads of sticks for the cooking fires, or jerry cans full of water, doing the family laundry by hand in an old wash basin-their work never stops. But in spite of all that, I would still see them working on hand-work or 'edj-sera' as they call it. It got me to thinking about how could we help these women better their lives somehow using their sewing talents. So I bought fabric, thread, hoops and showed them this pattern that I traced onto the tea towels. I don't sew myself-but thankfully they caught on real quick without my help! They worked very hard during the Fall making these beautiful towels to be sold here in the USA.
These precious women are all my friends-some are widows, some have no husband but several children. One has hands that are crippled by disease, but she still somehow manages to hold the needle with the knuckles of her hands.....
These women are poor, but not in spirit. Every day they face hardships that would
overwhelm most of us. They live in simple mud huts and go to church in the neighborhood where I live. They meet once a week under the shade of a tree and work on their ‘edj sera’ (hand work) They chatter happily about their families, and their dreams for their future.
Together we organized a co-op where these women could pool their resources to make tea towels that I then bring to America and sell for them. Then they re-invest part of the sales from the towels to purchase supplies to make more towels. Please help change the lives of these precious women and children in Ethiopia- each towel is only $15.00 Each towel is autographed on the back with the name of the woman who made the towel. Find the woman pictured below from your towel and then please pray for her!
100% of the proceeds from the sales of these towels go back to the women who crafted them.

"Children are flowers in Gods garden- tend them with prayer"

To find these towels in Tyler, Tx. go to Moss flower shop located in The Market 2210 Three Lakes Parkway (near Fresh grocery store Old Jacksonville Rd.)
903.787.8822
Because of the positive response we have already got (especially thank you to GABC sunday school class members) we will be continuing to make these towels and they will be available for sale in the spring either on-line, or locally at Moss. Stay connected for more details!

Typical mud house that these women live in

Amarech

Rebekah and her daughter

Meseret

Almaz and her son, Obama

Banchi and her son

Elfanesh

Abaresh and her fiancee, Asfaw

Selamawit and daughter, Eskadar

Bertukan and sons

Emebet

Galeto's Big Move

2013-09-18T17:58:00.001-07:00

It has been two weeks now since Galeto came home to live with us. His progress has been remarkable. There is a smile most of the time on his face and he is steadily eating us out of house and home! haha! But I don't care because I can see he is making good progress. He is much stronger now and not so feeble. Some days we carry him outdoors to get some fresh air. Sometimes we carry him out to the living room to watch a movie with us, or to join in on sunday evening Bible study. (He likes our singing, but seems to lose interest once the preaching begins. Kind of like some folks we all know! haha)

Every three days it is time to change his bandages. It is such torture, for him AND me. Please pray that he will heal quickly so that neither one of us has to do this much longer. Each day I do some sort of physical therapy on him. Stretching his bent legs, stretching his bent arms. It hurts him but it has to be done. I know how it feels since I have gone through similar experiences as a child recovering from hip surgery. I was in a full body cast for 3 months and had to learn to walk again. Now I am thankful for that experience because I can empathize with Galeto and push him through his pain toward a better life.

Some days are worse than others. He moans and cries out in his sleep, probably dreaming about when he was set on ﬁre. This happened almost 8 months ago. There is no telling what kind of emotional trauma this has had on him. He doesnt try to talk very much. A very quiet boy. But his smile lights his face up and THAT speaks volumes!

Several church members have come to see him and have prayed for him, tears streaking down his cheeks, he was visibly moved to have them there. They reminded him that God didn’t want him to die. He was burned over 50% of his body, a life threatening critical injury. Everyone at the hospital thought he would die. But he didn’t.

I asked them to tell him that God has a plan for his life, a good future, that's why he lived. That's why he is living with us right now, so that through Tom and I and other people here, Galeto can see and feel Gods love and have hope for a good future......

church women come and offer prayers and songs for Galeto

Shamaya's Joy

2013-09-02T16:09:00.003-07:00

When I first moved to Ethiopia and would tell people my name, Teresa, they usually ask me what it means. I thought that was a strange thing to ask, but soon I came to know that in They were kind of embarrassed for me too!

Ethiopia, everyones’ name means something. I was kind of embarrassed to say “umm, nothing.”

Typical ones I hear are Genet which means “Blessing” or if born near a holiday like easter Tinsai (means “Resurrection”), Ferris (means horse), and if the baby looks like the father- Hulemaya (“Seems like me”)

I have already told you about my young friend Zakarias. He is the 14 yr old boy with the terrible infection on his head. I first met him through a tragedy in his family. His father contracted malaria and it went cerebral-made him delirious and violent and one night with

his machete he killed his own 8 yr old daughter, Hannah. After a short time in the hospital and then some jail time, he was released. As horrific as this was, Shamaya(his wife) allowed him to come back into their home. When friends asked her about this decision, she told them that she is a christian and God still loved him. (although lots of this explanation was lost in the translation-basically she said she loved him.

I could not fathom reacting like that. But life went on...I continued to take Zak to the hospital 3x week for dressing changes...and then came the news that his mother was pregnant. Wow. I was stunned. But nine months later, the baby was born. It was a girl and she was named,”Asserasach”, which means “because of you my sorrow is forgotten”. Shamaya, a strong Christian woman, had prayed to the Lord to give her another child-a girl-to ease the sorrow in her heart. And so there she was! Shamaya was holding her baby and was beaming, her face was radiant with joy and peace-and a broken family was healed.

Galeto Update 2

2013-09-02T15:41:00.002-07:00

When I returned to Ethiopia after the summer in Texas, I was anxious to see how Galeto was doing. I hoped that the measures I had taken had proved to be helpful to him, and that he had continued to make progress.

When I saw him I cried inside. He was pitiful. Still laying in a filthy sheet, curled into a fetal position with his head completely covered, as if to shut out the world around him. Even worse, he could not walk now. No one ever made him get out of bed to walk and exercise his limbs, and so his legs had atrophied,to the point that they are now bent permanently. My heart ached for him. He had been doing so well when I left.

I guess that the absence of someone who cared for him (even me, a relative stranger to him), left him with no more hope. He simply withdrew into himself. Although Tom and a few friends of mine had gone to see him in my absence, they said that he never uncovered his head or talked to them.

After the shock of seeing him like this, I was more determined than ever to help this boy. There is a male nurse named Terefu who has always been very helpful to me. He is the one who had been teaching me how to change the dressings on Galetos’ burns.

I found him and made an appointment to change the dressings the next day. I went out and searched the entire town looking for 4x4 gauze bandages, but none were to be found. With 6-7 drugstores, none of them had gauze bandages. The hospital was completely out and they had several nurses cutting up rolls of gauze into 4” squares. (The conveniences of Walgreens and CVC Drugstores are unheard of here....be thankful if you have them where you live!).

I won't go into detail of the ordeal involved with cleaning and changing burn wounds, but it is incredibly painful. I went out and bought him some pain meds and syringes for injections to help the pain. It gave him small relief. This is a public, government run hospital. People are admitted all the time, but the burden of paying for the medicine, latex gloves worn by doctors, bandages, IV bags, etc.. all must be paid for by the patient and his family and relatives. Also the daily care of feeding, emptying bedpans, etc, all done by family members. Every patient has a small cluster of people around him all the time all day long. Except Galeto. He is all alone.

But not anymore! Tom and I are taking him home with us to care for him there.
I don’t know how long it will be for. He will need future surgeries to un-fuse his chin from his chest, but that will have to wait for now. He is too weak to survive any surgeries and too weak to survive what would be an agonizing 9 hour drive over bumpy roads to Addis. (I was told there is a burn unit in a hospital there. Who knows what the level of care is? But the beds are all filled right now.)

So, he goes home with us! Our housekeeper speaks Wolaiyta (Galetos tribal language) and so she will be a huge help in healing this boy emotionally. She will be able to tell him all the things I’ve wanted to say to encourage him. And he will be comforted and kissed every night by someone who cares for him. And together we can show him that God loves him and has not forgotten him!

I’ll keep you posted on his recovery.

In His joyful service,
Teresa

Galeto...a boy not forgotten by God

2013-09-02T15:31:00.005-07:00

I first heard of him from our friend Dr. Barry, the Australian surgeon here in Arba Minch. We were at our usual Sunday evening Bible study and he mentioned some of the cases he was currently operating on. One in particular, caught my attention. A street boy had been brought to the hospital. He was approx. 17 yrs old. He is one of those kids that have no family, no relatives, and so he must survive any way he can. He has no home, so he simply finds a place out of the way where he can curl up and sleep at night. One night while he was sleeping, a cruel, evil man doused him with gasoline and set him on fire, then left him to die. I couldn't get that poor boy out of my mind, so I went the next morning to try and find him in the hospital.

I walked through the ward, bed by bed until I saw him. He was curled up in a fetal position with his back to the room. This was Galeto.

He was horribly burned over 50% of his entire upper body-shoulders and both arms-and his chin had fused to his chest from scar tissue. He had already been in the hospital for 2 months. He has no family-no parents-no friends- no one has come to see him. He is all alone, and in great pain. There is no pain medication for him. When they change his bandages and cleanse his wounds-they used a dry sponge to scrape his raw, tender red wounds. Can you imagine his agony? Absolutely nothing is ever given to him to cope with the pain. He has no money to pay for medicine or bandages. Dr. Barry said he basically had given up living and wanted to die. Who can blame him?

So I knelt down alongside him and stroked his cheek, and told him that God loves him. He has seen your suffering and sent me to help you. Can I be your friend? He arched his eyebrows (that means yes in their culture), and with that I had a new friend!

By the time I met him, none of the nurses liked him because he soiled his bed all the time. Bedpans are available, but it is the family’s responsibility to help the patient use the pan and to clean it out. Galeto had no one to help him with this and so he would just lay in his own feces and urine all day long. All week long. I am not exaggerating.

The first time I began to help wash and cleanse his wounds, he had a soiled sheet that he had wrapped up in a pile hiding his feces. I know he was ashamed to be like that-but what could he do? No one would help him-not even the nurses. He was completely alone and naked. His only clothing was burned off him. So I bought him a couple of t-shirts and shorts and underwear and a pair of sandals. Then I got him up out of bed and started walking. I got someone to translate for me and told him that he must exercise his arms especially or he would lose the use of them. The scar tissue had already started to draw his arms up. After a few days of me coming he started to smile and seemed eager to get out of bed and walk. I knew the nurses and other patients didn’t like Galeto, mainly because he couldn’t use the bedpan and he stank. So I wondered how I could get them to rally around him-to start to like him?

I know that God planted this idea in my head to go buy some packages of cookies. I brought them to Galeto and suggested that he share them with the other men in the ward. I will never forget this image I have of him. A poor, wounded boy, wrapped only with a towel around his waist and wearing a tank top-his arms bandaged up, walking over to each man in a bed and offering them a cookie. Some of them looked confused at first, but then they all smiled at him (and me) and said thank you. Galeto was wearing one of those grins that stretch from ear to ear! It was probably the first time in his life that he was able to actually share with someone-to give a gift to someone else. It was a powerful moment. Since that day, things seemed to have changed in the ward. The men smiled at us- the nurses started calling out encouragement to Galeto when we walked. He was making some good progress.

I knew I was going to be leaving in a few weeks to go to America to visit my family. I was concerned about his continued recovery without me there. So I made arrangements with a restaurant to deliver him lunch every other day. And with another person to bring him boiled eggs every other day. I asked several of my friends to go visit him from time to time.

I was hopeful that with that support system surrounding him, he would continue to progress. And so, I left for America.

Forgiveness and Joy

2013-05-13T12:13:00.000-07:00

Two years ago, I met a young Ethiopian boy named Zekarias through some pretty traumatic circumstances. His young 7 yr old sister was brutally murdered.
By his father.

My neighbor came sobbing into my house and told me the terrible news. I had never met these people but my heart went out to this woman. Apparently, the husband had contracted malaria and as sometimes happens here, it went cerebral, caused delirium, and basically he went berserk.

He attacked his own daughter with a machete and killed her.

Fences and the Great Mango Giveaway

2013-04-13T12:37:00.001-07:00

I am aware that I am living a life that most people never experience. The things that make up my daily life here in Ethiopia are things that you only see on NatGeo.

Remote tribal peoples- bodies decorated with colorful beadwork, intricate braiding of hair into traditional tribal styles that have been the same for hundreds of years. Ethiopia is rich in culture and traditions- but it is also one of the poorest countries in the world.

When we first came to Ethiopia two and a half years ago, we had many ideas of how we could help these people. Many lofty ideals of how truth and justice and compassion would prevail. If we just loved enough....just tried hard enough...just were patient enough.....we could make a difference.

The problem of poverty here is so overwhelming that it seems insurmountable.

Time and again we have tried different ways of helping- our hearts were in the right place for sure. But the way that it works out is often complicated by the culture. Sometimes, no matter how hard we try and understand--they just view it from an entirely different viewpoint. For instance:

We have been helping a very poor family named the Bekeles for 2 years now.

This family of five lives in a mud house with 2 rooms. A father, a mother who is handicapped (walks with leg braces and crutches) a grandmother, 12 yr old Yigermal- the son who is also handicapped with the same genetic condition as the mother, and then daughter Misganye, who is (so far) unaffected by this disease.

Anyway- they are truly one of the ‘poorest of the poor’. The neighborhood where they live is pretty rough- extreme poverty, packs of small children 2 and 3 years old running loose and unattended, mothers working from dawn until dark and men drinking the local brew and neglecting their families. People see that the Bekeles have a farenji (foreigner) who helps them. They see me visiting them and sometimes bringing small gifts of sugar or coffee, etc.

I love this family and we have become very close. I take Amarech to the market every 2 weeks to get food supplies for the family and since she walks with crutches I pick her up in my bajaj. Now the neighbors are jealous. They come into the yard and steal clothing drying on the bushes. They mock them and say cruel things. Bekele has a goat that they bring into their house at night because they are afraid someone will steal it. Can you imagine sleeping in the same room with a smelly goat? And yet they do.

So-enough is enough. We had someone come and build a kokoro (corrugated sheet metal) fence all around their ‘compound’ so they will feel safe and secure at night.

We built a drainage ditch along the side of their compound so they wouldn’t keep getting flooded out of their house during the rainy season. Nothing fancy here- not talking marble floors or even flushing toilets-just a fence and a ditch. Now the neighbors are jealous. “Why does your farenji help you like this?” they say. “I am hungry same as you- I need a fence also”. I thought to myself in amazement-how could ANYONE begrudge these poor handicapped people a little bit of help? Where is their compassion?

Ako spinning cotton thread

Amarech, Teresa and Misganye

new fence goes here

both mother and son have same genetic disease

the 'papparazzi' chasing me down!

gate to my compound where I live.....more papparazzi.....

How could giving away mangos cause so much trouble?

I was disgusted by their callousness and petty jealousy.

But then an habasha friend (Ethiopian) explained to me--when you are this poor-your empty stomach aches just the same as a handicapped boy’s. Have you ever gone to bed at night truly hungry? Not because of a diet- or because you were too busy to take the time to eat all day........but because you had nothing in the house to eat?

As sad a commentary as that is, it did help me to understand the situation better.

Poverty changes the way we see things- the way we see life.

Coming from affluent USA-where I never have really gone hungry or been helpless to do anything about it- I can’t possibly understand these people.......but it does help me to have more compassion for these ‘callous and petty’ neighbors.....to not fault them too badly. After all- I can escape all this anytime I want to. All I need is my credit card and a plane ticket and I’m back in easy living. But the Bekeles and others have no safety net- no escape from the sometimes bitter and harsh life that is theirs.

So I learned something out of all this- not to judge others too harshly even when it first appears to be a slam dunk about the appropriateness of showing compassion to others.

Here is another example of problems with poverty alleviation. Mangos.

Something as simple as mangos. We have an abundance of mangos from some trees that we have. Mangos sell for 2 birr each in the market. So I asked my habasha friend if it would be a good thing to give all these mangos to a very poor person in our neighborhood. Then she could sell them in the market and earn some money for her family. After a few minutes of thought, she told me that although she knows my heart and that I just want to help people--how will we decide who indeed is the poorest of the poor? As soon as we pick someone, then another person will complain-”why did you not give these mangos to me? I am poor also and need to feed my family”.

OOps.....can’t do that......so instead we decide to give away a few mangos to several of my friends in the neighborhood. Discreetly, without attracting notice. So we walk to a few sick friends’ houses and give them each 5-6 mangos. They were very happy to receive this treat. But now the ‘paparazzi’ have spotted me, and the cry goes up “Teresa! Teresa!” and I am surrounded by children. All rubbing their tummies and asking for a mango. So we try and make them stand in an orderly line. This too is impossible. One thing that Ethiopians do not do is stand in queques or lines. Push and shove is the name of the game-even adults in government offices and banks. They simply are never taught to stand quietly in a line and wait their turn. I can’t tell you how many times someone has pushed in front of me....

Anyway, we handed them out one by one-keeping an eye out for a few rascals who tried to get back in line for another one! Soon mothers started coming out of their huts-asking for mangos for themselves or for their ‘baby’ who is in another place. I quickly ran out of mangos. Now some of them are mad because they didn’t get a mango. Or the mango they did get had a bruise on it.

What started out as a simple gesture of sharing turned into a big ordeal. I had to really get ahold of myself and not let their attitude upset me. I did not want them to rob me of my joy in simply giving. But it is hard, sometimes.

These are some of the lessons that Tom and I are learning about life in a poverty-ridden nation. Simple things are not always so simple here. Things that sound good in the beginning don’t always work out like we thought they would.

When we first came here, we had ideas of how we were going to help.

It sounded pretty simple really. But maybe after reading about ‘Fences and The Great Mango Giveaway’, you will better understand some of what we are up against.

May God bless you and keep you.........TnT

Meskerem

2013-03-10T07:42:00.001-07:00

Hirute

Meskerem and Hirute

Coming home!

I have been here over 2 years now and it seems like my role is constantly evolving in one way or another. Lately, I have become the neighborhood Baby Ambulance! There are several women pregnant and due at about the same time.

This is the story of Meskerem.

She is young, probably around 19 or so and she had her baby last week. A healthy beautiful little girl with a full head of black wavy hair. She has a brother named Ashenafi. He speaks a little English and had become a friend of mine, and so he called me and asked if I would bring her home from the hospital. I have seen the Labor and delivery ward. It breaks my heart to see how those women really do suffer through childbirth. No fancy birthing suites, no incubators or heart monitoring machines---just these crummy little beds with plastic foam mattresses-no sheets on any of them. The laboring women get out of bed and squat when having contractions-there are a few rickety broken down chairs that they hold onto---no screaming or anything. They are so stoic. There were about 15 beds in one room and the ones who already had their babies just had them laying next to them under a dirty sheet or blanket- if they could afford that. All the babies go home naked and the moms walk 1/4 mile to the nearest mini bus stand. No wheelchairs of course. I’ve always heard that childbirth is a natural thing-after all, women have been doing it for centuries without hospitals, etc...But, without the prenatal care that women now routinely get in the west- many of those women and babies die in childbirth.

Anyway, I brought her home and got them settled into the small 2 room mud house that she shared with her parents, 2 sisters and 3 brothers. Her husband was working in another town at the time. I took some pictures of the happy mother and grandmothers with their new grandchild. It was a happy day! The next day I brought her the pictures that I had took of her and the baby and grandmothers yesterday. They were so excited to get them-they squeeled and kissed each photo and then kissed me. People here are so appreciative of such small things....

Two days later I was in my jammies reading a book around 9pm when I heard a knock on my front door. "Teresa".......Teresa.......

("Now what?" I am thinking to myself......) Meskerem, the woman who I had brought home from hospital 2 days ago with a new baby is very sick. Her brother was scared and seemed very desperate so I got dressed and walked to her house. She was burning up with fever- temp was 104 and she was groaning and gasping in agony because her stomach hurt. She was shivering uncontrollably. I tried and tried calling my doctor friend but got no mobile service signal (this happens all the time-usually in emergency situations) After 30 mins of wiping her face with a damp washcloth, and unwrapping the 7 blankets she was wrapped in-I decided to take her to hospital. It took 5 guys to carry her outside and down the path through some weeds to the truck and they loaded her into the back on a thin foam mattress we had. The baby and grandmother came along as well as their neighbor Ribka who speaks pretty good English---and 5-6 men to unload her once we arrived at hospital. When we got there it was typical hospital red tape; they want their money up front and all the necessary papers must be filled out first before they will even let her inside the building. She is in agony. Thank goodness the baby stays sleeping through all this. I got very upset with the unconcern of the hospital staff-I was crying and running back and forth from one office room to another trying to get the stupid card. Finally they allowed her in the emergency room and hooked her up to an IV. There were no IV stands, so the neighbor men and brother took turns holding the IV bottle up in the air.

The doctor said she was critical and needed a sonogram before they decide whether to do surgery. She was then transferred to the OB_GYN ward. I then asked the nurse when was the sonogram scheduled for tonight. She said "No-not tonight!! in the morning". What?!!?? She could die before then! "Yes, well,

we cannot save them all." (She actually said that!!) They did give her some pain meds and with nothing else we could do until morning, some of us left the hospital. We all kneeled down in the dirt outside and prayed that God would spare her and keep her alive until morning.....then we went home. It was now 3:15am

She did survive the night-turns out the labor nurses did not expell all the placenta and she had developed an infection. It was a wonder she did not die! She responded well to the IV and antibiotics and they massaged her uterus and expelled the placenta and she did not need surgery. That was my first experience with midnight trauma runs to the hospital, and unfortunately not my last......

But there were many things to thank God for: First of all, the baby (now named Hirute) slept through the whole ordeal. I happened to have a pacifier (which my friend Sherri from Texas had given me) and Hirute contentedly sucked on it all night. At least we did not have a screaming infant to deal with. Can you imagine the pain if Meskerem would have had to nurse the baby-each suck making a contraction in her already agonized uterus??

Also, I had gone to the bank that day and so had plenty of money to pay for all the medicine and IV needles, etc..They are a poor family and I could see the weariness and fear in their eyes as the bills were mounting up-that they had no hope of paying. She would have died because they had no money to pay for her.

Also, I happened to have a package of cookies in my purse and a full bottle of water that I was able to give to the grandmother so she would have something to eat during the long night of sitting by her daughters bedside holding the infant.

wow........what a night. The next morning I went to see her and she was smiling and relieved from most of her pain. The baby was quietly nursing beside her........what a wonderful sight that was !!!! I have never been kissed as much as I was that morning. About 25 of her closest friends and relatives were there and they all greeted me with big smiles and kisses and hugs and were thanking Jesus for me and more kisses. I am soooo glad that I was able to help-and I am so lucky to be here! So we brought Meskerem and her mother and Hirute back home again. (Along with her 25 friends in the back of the truck!) Once we got her settled in, I went home and brought back the last of my cloth diapers and safety pins. I gave her a short course in how to diaper a baby, how to open a safety pin, etc... (I have to think very basic here- this was a new concept to them) I explained the importance of washing her hands with soap before holding the baby and making sure other people do also. Again, a new idea. So then I helped them make a Tippy Tap in their yard to encourage hand washing with soap......it was a full day for me!

Two days later-a phone call in the night. “Teresa, please come- Meskerem is very sicking-fever-what shall we do? I very afraid hospital we go? or something like that.....How could this be? That smiling young girl deathly ill AGAIN? I raced to her house. She was groaning and gasping, coughing and wild-eyed-pupils completely dilated.....her brother and 2 others grabbed her up and raced for the truck and away we go again. This time we left the baby behind with grandmother- I was afraid Meskerem would die before we made it to the hospital. The emergency room was filled with 8-9 men who had been injured in various activites-no empty beds. We found a wooden gurney and placed her on it. No sheets, no pillow. Her husband Abraham cradled her head in his arm the whole time. The room was filthy, a bucket of bloody bandages and discarded trash sitting on the floor. No one seems to care about maintaining any level of hygiene. No one is in a hurry either. She is gasping and wild eyed and people are just laughing and talking( the doctor and nurses)--it’s DEFINATELY not “Greys Anatomy” here! They finally gave her a pain shot and took xrays and lab tests. She needed to go to the bathroom and the nurse simply pointed to a filthy, bloody bedpan sitting on the floor. It still had urine and whatever in it. Her brother had to pick it up and bring it to her-the nurses don’t do that! I was told that those are things for relatives to do. Along with running down medicines, getting gurneys, xrays, food, water, etc....Poor Meskerem had to squat over that filthy bedpan in a room full of men and do her business. My heart ached for her. I stared up at the ceiling, trying to hold on to my emotions.....I hope I never have to go there as a patient!

They eventually determined she has pneumonia and she is critical and is admitted to the hospital. We pushed her outside and down to the ward, Abraham still with his arm cushioning her head and trying not to step on sleeping bodies laying on sidewalks.They made a guy give up his bed and put a sheet on it for her. It is outside under the eave of the building. No pillow. No blanket. But at least she wasn’t in those stifling rooms. She was now getting IV fluids and medicine. I left her and went back for the baby and grandmother and brought them back to stay in the hospital with Meskerem. Another 2:30am hospital run.......

But today we brought her home! She had the most beautiful smile on her face and that baby is just so darn cute lying in her mothers’ arms.

As we pulled up to their house, all the neighbors came out to greet her. Then we had a celebratory cup of coffee with as many as could crowd into the small house. Prayers were offered up in thanksgiving to God for saving Meskerem-and although I didn’t understand what was all said, I heard my name mentioned a few times and know that they were also thanking me for my part in this. My thanks was seeing her family crying and smiling as they welcomed her home! I took pictures of mother and baby and then attempted one of me and baby. Just as I was about to snap the picture-she peed all over me! We all laughed together as I quickly handed her back. It was a fitting finish to this story!

For those of you reading this- I hope you appreciate the incredible standard of health care where you live- and I hope that you are moved to pray with compassion for the poor of this world and what they face each day just trying to survive..... in a world that doesn’t care.

Teresa

On the trail of 'warriors' of ethiopia

2013-02-09T11:40:00.003-08:00

I am embarrassed to see that my last post was from last year.......please forgive me. I hope you will enjoy this one though.........

We just came back from 2 weeks traveling in the bush. Tom and I went with a 4 man film crew from LA and our missionary friend Dr. Malcolm Hunter. The purpose of the trip was to film interviews and to re-create scenes of the early evangelists that first shared the Gospel with the nomadic tribes here in southern Ethiopia 20-30 years ago. The primary purpose of making this film was to first of all to give glory to God for the sometimes miraculous ways in which He orchestrated the spread of the Gospel amongst these primitive tribes-and also to pay tribute to these early men and women of the faith who endured incredible hardship and sacrifice-sometimes even unto death-for the sake of Jesus.

There were seven of us in all-we went in 2 trucks and took an enormous amount of camera and film video equipment. I was so excited to spend time with other 'camera geeks' like myself! haha These guys were so professional and have already worked many projects in Hollywood-but they are also strong, christian young men who want to make a difference with their work. So they were very excited to be making a film about this subject.

It was a very rough and challenging 2 weeks. Sleeping on matts under mosquito nets, with only the stars at night.....cooking by campfire......no water to clean up with only bottled water to drink.....(at least we all were stinky together!) ........but it was really wonderful too. We had experiences that no other person in the 'civilized' world will ever have.

One night in particular stands out for me. We drove for about an hour off the main road deep into the bush to a small village called Mino Geltie. We have been there many times before to visit an evangelist named Cheneke and his wife, Masalech, but never have spent the night. This is also the same village where we brought the wheelchair for the crippled boy named Uree. You can read about him in our blog or on Facebook. Anyway, the 7 of us spent the night in the Chenekes compound. We spread out our sleeping mats side by side in preparation for sleep later that night. But first, we shared our campfire cooking skills with each other. Kurt and Nathanael made rice and beans and we had mango flavored water to drink. Masalech shared some very fine hot bush tea and honey mixture served in gourds for us to drink. It was delicious! Then as darkness fell, a few more villagers shyly joined our circle. Dressed in animal skins and beads, some of the men and children in western type clothing-nevertheless once the music starts we are all just the same---just people. Sharing a love for music and song. On a previous trip we had brought a boombox for Masalech to play her beloved christian music tapes-and so now she brought it outside her hut and played the songs of her faith. It was a beautiful night-so many stars- and the music sounded so beautiful in the night air. Mike and Nathanael each started playing some native bongo drums and a couple of 'egg shakers' and before we knew it we were all singing and dancing under the moonlit sky---praising Jesus! After a while, Malcolm read from the Bible (using his headlamp) and gave a short teaching lesson to the people in their language. We prayed together and then everyone drifted back home to their huts and we to our mats. Then something very special happened. Cheneke, the quiet soft-spoken evangelist, kneeled down and started to wash our feet. All seven of us. In the spirit of Jesus in the Bible....it was a very humbling experience. Then we laid down on our mats. There was a full moon and it was so bright we were all joking about how we needed sunglasses in order to fall asleep. A cool breeze drifted over us and then Tom got out his ipod and played the song "How Great Thou Art"........we lay there, the seven of us, side by side, listening to that great hymn, under the twinkling stars and the full moon and truly were filled with the glorious prescence of God. It was a very special moment for us all and something I know I will never forget.

We drove many miles over very rough roads -sometimes you could not tell which way to go because it was only a path through the bush. We came to the hut of a man named Gersho.

He is a smiling, great big barrel- chested man with a great big faith as well. He and Dr Hunter were old friends and the genuineness of their reunion was evident. He invited us into his hut and served us honey coffee(complete with honeycomb AND bodies of bees.) It was served warm and in a gourd that was passed around --I found the best way to 'filter it' was to drink it through my teeth. That kept me from swallowing the bee debris floating in it. It actually tasted much better than it looks or sounds! The film crew went to work filming Gershos story as he re-told it to Dr. Hunter. He faced and endured persecution and imprisonment for his faith in Jesus. --which one of us today could actually say that we have suffered for Jesus? As we heard these many stories from Gersho and others like him, we were more and more humbled by how these men only 20-30 years ago endured such terrible persecution and yet continued to share the story of Jesus with others. What is it about Jesus that inspires such devotion--and where is that devotion in our western culture today?

My faith felt insignificant and shallow next to these people.

Many of these amazing stories have been written down in a book called "Warriors of Ethiopia" by Dick McLellan. You should read it!!

We spent 2 nights with an evangelist named Berhanu and his wife Nigist. He not only is raising his own children, but has taken in several other children who have no parents, and one young woman who was kicked out of her home and tribe for believing in Jesus. Every night this man leads his family in song and worship and teaches them from the Bible.

He does many things to assist the small church in his village and is always smiling and helping others. He also travels to other evangelists and helps them in any way that he can. He only makes $28 per month from the church and he hasn't been paid in 3 months.......

One night when we were in Turmi, a christian named Alfa and his wife had us over to their house for roasted goat. It was quite a feast! He really knew how to roast the meat stuck on a stick which was then stuck in the ground next to the fire. Somehow it wasn't burned at all and we dived in to savor this delicious meat- hoofs and all! It was a great time and we all posed for pictures each one of us eating goat ribs and hoofs! It's not everyday that you get THAT in LA !! haha They also served us a type of bread made from sweet potatoes. The moon was almost full and the night ablaze with stars. We sat around a table and shared this simple meal with only the light of the moon, the fire and a few headlamps some of us wore. Then we each had a sweet mango for dessert. His wife brought out a photo taken of her before she became a believer in JC. In this photo she wore 11 metal bracelets around each wrist and ankle and metal rings around her neck. These are permanent rings that the woman never takes off. They can only be cut off. She was a young woman when she first heard the gospel preached and immediately gave her life to Jesus. She became such a strong believer that she took off her rings and declared that she would never marry any man who was not also a believer. She was beaten by her family and others-ostracized by her tribe, but she remained strong in her stance. She would NOT marry an unbeliever. Eventually, she married outside her tribe because there were no men in her own tribe who were Christians. She married Alfa who was from a different tribe, and they have been a wonderful example of a christian marriage to everyone they come in contact with. Now they run a successful milling and trucking business and have a respected place in the church and community.

Another thing that stands out about this trip was the very first day that we started out. We had a short meeting talking about logistics, etc...Then Kurt asks for prayer that somehow we would find someone who has a little bit of acting ability and could help the crew find other 'actors' to re-create some of the stories from the book. We knew this would be difficult-how are you going to drive into a strange village and find someone who can act and speaks some english?? I myself thought that was an impossible request.

But guess what? As we were finishing with our prayer time, a young man came walking up to us and introduced himself. His name was Bereket and he had traveled from Soddo town all the way to Addis (where we were) because he had heard that a film crew was coming and so he was offering his help and assistance to us! He was an artist, and also active in his church drama group. We just stared at him with our mouths wide open.............how about that for God's perfect timing??????? ( and yes, he rounded up plenty of extras for the filming!)

I dont know how the final product will turn out--and it will take a year to do all the post production work- but we will let you know when it's finished.

I do know that Kurt, Tyson, Mike and Nathanael were not only very professional in the execution of their jobs under extreme conditions, but they were great guys too!

So- we made some new friends, and had some amazing experiences in the bush together. And we will pray that the ultimate message of this movie- God reaching out to the nomads-the forgotten people of Ethiopia- will be made, His power and glory will amaze people, and draw all people closer to Him.