Monday, October 17, 2011

Hope in Ethiopia has a new website!!!

Please visit the brand new website for Hope in Ethiopia!!
AND
If you will be at T4A in Phoenix, stop by and say Hello! We'd love to tell you more about this awesome partnership!



Sunday, August 21, 2011

Congratulations Dawit and Hiwot!

A year ago we had a special guest to Austin, Dawit Kassaye, who was the FH Zeway director. Dawit is from Addis Ababa and it was his first trip to the U.S. He blessed many by his prayers, wisdom, and compassion for the poor.

In August 2010, Dawit decided to attend Denver Theological Seminary and after arriving in the U.S., re-acquainted himself with an old friend, Hiwot Alayew. She lived in Minneapolis, but that certainly didn't stop them from falling in love!

Dawit and Hiwot married today in Minneapolis and Hiwot will be joining Dawit in Denver so that he can finish his graduate work. Congratulations Dawit and Hiwot! Pray for God to richly bless their marriage!



Tom Sanchez, Global Outreach Pastor of Grace spoke at the reception.

Dawit, always mindful of the poor, shared about the drought in Africa during the reception, and made a call to action to his guests to care for the poor during his wedding speech. That is Dawit.








Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Hope in Ethiopia event

We had a great event on Sunday sharing about everything God is doing in Zeway. In case you missed it, here are some pictures!


The Tesfa jewelry collection. Want to see more? Schedule a home party! Learn more here.

Beautiful artwork from the orphans of Zeway. Several pieces still available!

Baker Tuthill shares about how on his birthday, instead of gifts, he asked for donations for the orphans of Zeway. Baker collected $92.00!





Sunday, August 7, 2011

We are so excited to introduce another item that will continue to raise awareness to the Hope in Ethiopia partnership and the beautiful children of Zeway.

Ethiopian Clothing Cards
Artwork drawn by Senayet. Notecards designed by Kathy McClelland.

Designed by Senayet, this set of four clothing cards contains brilliant drawings of a dress, a pair of pants, a skirt and a sweater. Many of the colors in the note cards - red, yellow and green - represent those of the Ethiopian flag. Made by an orphan of Zeway, let this set of cards be a fun way to drop a note to a friend!

$10.00

Available here.



Flowers and Homes of Africa
Artwork drawn by children of Zeway. Notecards designed by Kathy McClelland.

Several orphan artists created this compilation of beautiful cards. The green bordered card containing neatly drawn flowers surrounding a house was done by Abyham. Gumane drew the hut and flowers in the brown border. The large vibrant and colorful flower with the blue border was the creation of Hiwot. And the delicate pink flower was designed by Samerawit. Use this diverse set of cards to send thank you notes knowing you are sharing the work of orphans.

$10.00 Available here

Sunday, July 31, 2011

Bible Listening Groups in Ethiopia



One of the amazing things that happened on our trip to Zeway this past June was being able to take a "Proclaimer" audio bible (www.faithcomesbyhearing.com), recorded in Amharic, the most widely-spoken Ethiopian dialect, as a gift for the Zeway Evangelical Church leaders. They had literally just started to tell us how they were struggling with being able to get the Gospel story out to people when we were able to give them this gift! It was a Holy Spirit moment, and as these pictures show, they are making great use of this very cool little black box. Praise God for this!

Monday, July 25, 2011

Hear More on August 7th


God is doing so many wonderful new things through The Hope in Ethiopia partnership that we can't keep them to ourselves!

Please plan to join us on Sunday, August 7 in the Children's Auditorium at Grace Covenant Church at 1:15.

We'll share the ways ophans' lives are being transformed and how the community is transforming through orphan care. We’ll also share new plans to bring water to dry places, and an exciting extension of the partnership! The people of Zeway are encountering hope in the form of Jesus Christ and His provision through local churches, loving social workers, and the outpouring of love from the people of Grace.

We suggest you pack a sack lunch or pick up food and drinks before we begin at 1:15. All children are welcome, or you can pre-register your 0-4 year old children for childcare. Children must PRE-register on the Grace website. www.grace360.org The event will end at 2:15.

We hope this gathering will be informative, fun, and inspiring for both kids and adults. Feel free to forward this invitation to your adult communities, life groups, and friends!

Monday, July 18, 2011

Ibsa's X-ray

This is a picture of Ibsa's hand. He injured his hand during a soccer game and he went to the FH offices to see if someone could help. Typically, Ibsa would not have seen that as an option, but with the support of the partnership, medical care is very much an option.

It seems simple enough to fix a sprained or broken finger, but many cases in Zeway and other parts of Ethiopia, it isn't simple at all. Many children who break a finger, arm or foot when young never get it medically treated and the bone realigns improperly and causes other related problems. It is very common to see a foot or a finger that has healed in a crooked and painful way.

We are thankful for the support of the partnership that Ibsa had his hand x-rayed and treated properly. He should be well on his way to recovery.

Monday, June 27, 2011

The Tesfa Jewelry Collection


I love how God creates beauty from ashes. I love how God has allowed what most people would consider trash....old, unwanted paper...to be used by women to create a beautiful item. The paper bead. And I love how He has used those paper beads to help feed orphans in Zeway, Ethiopia.

When we first started the Tesfa jewelry collection it was just Cathy Clark & myself stringing up as many bracelets and necklaces as we possibly could. We were seeing beads in our sleep. But more women are getting involved and we are excited to see whats happening. Recently, a group of women who are in a Life group together asked if they could string up beads as a "girls night" activity. Here's what happened:








Another lady from church asked if she could make jewelry. She was given this box of beads:












And she made these:


It's so exciting to see how God is allowing so many people to use their gifts and talents to help the orphans in Zeway. Jewelry is just one, small way to get involved. Consider having a home party or giving Tesfa jewelry as a gift. These bracelets & necklaces are not just a fashion statement...they are opportunities to share about what God is doing in Zeway.

To see more of the Tesfa jewelry collection, click here.

Interested in a home party? Send us an email!

'Tie them as symbols on your hands......be careful that you do not forget the LORD'
Deuteronomy 6:8 & 12

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Chala Update

We learned that Chala indeed took his college entrance exams during the week of June 13, but we will not know the results until September. (the month he will also enter college if he passes). His sister, Genet, who took her 10th grade exams, will also wait until September to know if she passed.

Bezawork, the CHH director in Zeway, did say that he met up with Chala after the exams to ask him how he did. Chala said that math and physics were a bit hard, but he felt good about the rest of the exam.

Hopefully there will be good news in September!

from left to right: Bezawork (CHH director) Mohammed, Chala, Genet

Adoption Conference Update

After the Zeway pastors, elders and wives came home from the Addis Seed Adoption Conference just over 3 weeks ago, they shared with Matt and John that they wanted to share what they learned about adoption and orphan care with their congregations.

They were eager to get started so they have set the dates of July 15 and 16 to have a local adoption conference in Zeway. THIS is fantastic!

Please be in prayer the weeks before and following July 15 and 16.
  • That the pastors would present a biblical based view of adoption and orphan care
  • That this biblical view would transcend any cultural biases
  • That families would be moved to care for the orphans in Zeway and even adopt them into forever families
  • That the orphans would be prepared for this!
  • For all the details to come together for transportation, facilities, schedule etc.
Thank you for praying! This is exciting times in Zeway!