Community transformation through the care of orphans in Zeway, Ethiopia by Grace Church, Food for the Hungry and the Zeway Evangelical Church Fellowship.
Food for the Hungry regularly organizes play days for the orphans. It is time for them to safely play and for the social workers to check in with them. The team was able to participate in this play time, and they brought along art supplies so that the children could do some painting and have a creative outlet (these paintings and photos of the children will be on display in the Grace Gallery after they return!)
Most of the updates we receive are from text messages (texting is more accessible and reliable than internet connections) so the updates are a bit choppy, but precious all the same!
From the Team
The children loved the artwork and there are some awesome pieces. They loved it and we had a sweet time interacting with all of them. We got to see and get updates from Alemetsaye, Alemayhu, Mohomed and Chala, Cherenet, Hawa and many more.
We also played soccer and we re-enacted a rematch of the U.S.A verses Ghana. This time the USA won 5-3. Matt scored 2 goals and John was a rock wall on defense.
Keep praying for the team as they are on the down hill of time on the trip. They will be spending church with the Zeway Evangelical Church Fellowship today and they will have some time of good fellowship.
This past week I began reading a book by Mae Cannon on Social Justice. The opening of the book spends time exploring God’s perspective on justice and our part in seeing it carried out within the world we live in. As I read, the following quote stuck out to me: “Comprehensive biblical justice is the scriptural mandate to manifest the kingdom of God on earth by making God’s blessing available to all humankind.” It stuck out to me because it was the answer to why my wife Heather and I believe in caring for orphans – why we believe in Zeway. Plain and simple, we want to be a part of making God’s blessing available.
So what does it look like to “make God’s blessing available”? I think it takes a couple of forms. In scripture, the blessings of God were both spiritual (Matthew 5) and physical (Matthew 25). God’s expectation is that we will respond to those who are in need (hungry, thirsty, naked, in prison) while also sharing the good news of Jesus with those who are lost. That is exactly what our friends are doing this week in Zeway. They are loving the orphans by caring for their physical needs while telling them of the love of Christ. What an amazing thing to be a part of God’s work.
Do you want to be part of making God’s blessing available this week? Easy way to do it – pray. Pray for Ethiopia. Pray for the orphans in Zeway. Pray for the team. Let’s see what God does.
Today the team visited a few of the newest additions to the Partnership and those are widows dying of HIV/AIDS and their children who will be orphans soon. These visits can be very difficult and one can leave with great burden and a sense of hopelessness for the people in that household.
God blessed the team, however, by allowing them to visit Amaloek, whose situation is bleak, but not hopeless. Please read below the update from the team about this God-fearing widow.
The final visit of the morning was a mother, Amaloek, who has 3 boys 10 years, 6 years, and 4 months. She was stoic and they had the most barren house we had ever seen-- a couple pots and a canvas sheet on the floor to sleep on, no pad at all, and she is nursing a 4 month old.
Her husband left recently because he is a polygamist and has another family and provides her no support. She said she was mentally crazy, but then she found Christ and was healed!
She attends an evangelical church when she can. She had a Bible and reads it regularly, and she spoke about God in such a mature, sold-out way! SHe said she would rather have God than food, that she wants her boys to get a good education and grow up to be Godly men. WE were so encouraged by her. She asked us to pray that the God who rose from the dead would also bring her from the grip of this deadly disease, so we prayed with more vigor and faith than we had all trip for her and her boys. Please pray for Amaloek that He would heal her and continue to use her as an example of Christ for all. Her neighbors, the clinic staff, everyone is alwasy asking her how she does what she does with her strength, and she points them to God!
Didn't have a good pic of her with me now but more later. This one is Dawn giving her a Jesus necklace.
The innocent whose innocence has been stolen. This makes my heart weep. I grew up in a very safe home. My father, who is in law enforcement, did experience many threats on our family, but I never knew about any of it. Why? Because, by the grace of God, I had my parents watching over me and protecting me.
These innocent orphans, however, because of the depravity of man, have been subject to fear, disease, and violence. Their parents have been taken from them, and they are left with the responsibility to grow up quickly, care for their young brothers and sisters, and be supernaturally courageous. I never knew this kind of fear or responsibility as a child. As an adult however, the Holy Spirit has opened my eyes and heart to God's order that we care for these orphans. I hurt for them, and it is my desire to do what I can to help them. When I can give financially, great. But, more importantly, I CAN PRAY. And, there is no circumstance that prevents me from that ability.
It's easy to see pictures of orphans and keep them two-dimensional in our minds. We must realize these are individuals that are uniquely created by God. We must be mindful of their souls and the eternal significance of their lives. I pray that these children would thirst for righteousness more than they thirst for water and that they hunger for intimacy with the Father more than they hunger for food. They need help. Let's shoulder their burden and let them be children again. To God be the glory.
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If you have been moved by the Orphans of Zeway or with other orphan care situations, and you would like to contribute to the blog and share your story, please email kouri@austin.rr.com!
The team arrived in Zeway this morning and they were able to visit a few of the girls who are in job training through the partnership. These girls are learning to style hair. Melkete, whom many have prayed for because she almost lost her home, is one of the girls in training.
The reports from Zeway can be heart-breaking. We know that the God above has placed His people exactly where He wants them to care for these children. It is not within the time frame or with all the measures that so often we would like to see. We are not always called to be rescuers of these children; we are called to pray for them, to advocate for them, to care for their physical needs, to point them to the place of an eternal banquet in which our cups will overflow: at the feet of Jesus.
Keeping all that in mind, still won't make this easy to read:
from Matt in Zeway:
Our first house visit was with Eden, a young teenage girl who is new to the partnership. She is in rough shape. She is HIV positive. Her father died last year and her mother died when she was 3. She also has epilepsy, and about 4 months ago had a seizure when she was roasting coffee and fell unconscience into the fire. She was severely burned on her left arm and leg. Because of our FH partnership and funding, they were able to get her to a hospital for treatment. She is doing better now but still has significant grief.
She opened up to us in an amazing way. Her step-mother who practically raised her refused to have anything to do with her since her father died and since she learned she had HIV. She is so desperate for a family, so much so that she called her relatives from another town and acted like she was a friend of herself and told them that Eden had died, just to see their reaction. They immediately came to Zeway and to Eden's house, but only to collect her things for their own use. When they saw her, they were angry and demanded that she pay for their transportation costs back home.
She wept with us, and when Dawn shared with her a very personal situation from her past, she immediately connected with Dawn, who got up to hug her, and they hugged for a very long time. Each time Dawn tried to pull away, Eden held her tighter. She is so in need of a mother.
We finally left and prayed for her, and we are happy that she will spend all day tomorrow with Dawn and several other girls getting trained on jewelry-making.
There is great sadness and great joy with these trips. Please pray; the Lord will remember His beloved.
Psalm 72:12-14 He will have compassion on the poor and needy. And the lives of the needy He will save. He will rescue their life from the oppression and violence. And their blood will be precious in His sight.
Isaiah 53:5 But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our sins. The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him. And by His wounds, we are healed.
Our team arrived safely in Addis this morning with no glitches with baggage claim or visas. In Ethiopian time it was evening and since only Rachael was able to manage some sleep on the plane, they went to their hotel to hopefully sleep soundly.
Soon they will be awakened to the sound of the Mosque intercom reciting morning prayers. While the population of Ethiopia is only about 32% Muslim and 61% Christian/Orthodox Christian, the morning prayers still dominate the sound in Addis.
They will awaken to this, if the sound of huge flying mosquitoes don't wake them first! (Matt reported big mosquitoes). Fortunately, malaria carrying mosquitoes don't live in the higher elevations of Addis (can't say the same about Zeway which is near the Rift Valley).
In a few hours the team will be on their way to Zeway. Pray for them as you go to bed and when you awake in the morning!
The Zeway Trip Team 2010 made it out of Austin well and they are now on the overseas segment of the flight.
God answered their prayer that the amount of luggage they were taking would be graciously approved at the ticket counter and it was. They paid a little for the humanitarian aid -- but that was over 200 pounds of books for an empty library in rural Zeway. Thanks to some very light packing the costs were minimal.
Even the $200 that was to be paid for the over-sized wheel chair was completely waived. Thank you God!
On Sunday, our Zeway trip team had a conference call to discuss trip logistics as we prepare to leave on July 5. As we discussed luggage, Matt Kouri briefly mentioned we might have the opportunity to fly over a wheelchair for Ephrem, who several from our team met and prayed with last summer while in Ethiopia. Ephrem is on staff with Food for the Hungry (FH) and was severely injured in an automobile accident in Ethiopia a couple years ago.
God reminded me of an acquaintance I met through the adoption blogging community a few years ago while we were in process to adopt our son, Zane, from Ethiopia. Knowing it was a long shot, especially given our very short timeframe (2 weeks!), I emailed Drew and Carey in California. On Monday I heard back from Drew who graciously agreed to help and get in touch with a couple different organizations. By Tuesday Drew emailed saying an organization offered to give Ephrem a wheelchair. We were hoping to find a wheelchair with arms that lowered, making it easier for Ephrem to get in/out of bed from his chair and this particular wheelchair did not have this functionality. However, we felt like anything would be an improvement.
And then came Wednesday. Drew shared Ephrem's story with UCP Wheels for Humanity and they agreed to CUSTOM BUILD a wheelchair for Ephrem, with arms that lowered!! They felt like if we could move quickly, providing photos of Ephrem and various measurements, they could get the wheelchair to me in time. WOW!
God is good, abundantly good!
John Connelly, the FH country director in Ethiopia and his wife, Janice, worked quickly to gather the needed information and on Thursday it was emailed to Drew. Yesterday morning I received an email from Drew asking if we had been able to get the requested info yet. I frantically looked back through my email, knowing I had seen the information zip through my Inbox on Thursday....only to find Drew's email address had a typo. Ugh. My heart sank. I quickly forwarded the info to Drew, explaining the glitch and praying God would provide abundant time to the generous person who would need to build Ephrem's wheelchair.
Monday afternoon - that's right, I typed MONDAY afternoon, the very same day...I received an email from Drew with photos of a gleaming, beautiful, made-for- Ephrem wheelchair completed! Amazingly, UCP Wheels for Humanity had the exact parts needed in stock, and was very kind to quickly put it together. Drew had it packed and mailed the same day.
I awoke this morning to this photo of Ephrem below, minutes after being told about his wheelchair and seeing photos. I think the smile on his face speaks for itself.
God's love is abundant. He has knit together friends, strangers, and acquaintances to bring Ephrem a wheelchair. God did not need me, or any of us, to show His love in this tangible way to Ephrem - but He generously allowed us to play a very tiny part so He could share His joy with us and to bring Him glory.
I can't wait to see what God has in store for us in Ethiopia next week!
We have received our quarterly report from Dawit and his team in Zeway, and we needed to share some of the highlights with you. Please read them to see how God is moving mightily and how you can specifically pray to Him for these orphans.
Important Updates and Praises:
47 orphans are currently fully covered by the program and more are being added, with a broad census of the region to occur next quarter.
Housing was provided to 10 of them including Ibsa and Cherenet.
5 new missionaries (called “holistic transformational development agents”!) we are funding received 15 days of training and were sent into rural areas around Zeway.
46 local community leaders (see picture below) were trained on the needs of the orphan-led household, after which participants pledged to help identify and support these orphans.
The Zeway social workers held a special day of prayer for Grace Covenant Church after Dawit returned from Austin.
Our mission team of 5 (John and Dawn Patterson, Heather Bauer, Matt Kouri, and Rachael Moise from Austin Stone) is almost ready to go to Zeway for 10 days on July 5th. Praise God for providing the funds we needed! Please pray for our continued preparation.
CBO Orphan Training
Specific Prayer Requests:
Lidia, a 12-year old, recently got very sick and when FH went to take her to the hospital, she refused and said she wanted to stay home and die. She has become hopeless and needs the hope only Christ can provide.
7 of the 47 children are regularly attending a Christian church (praise God for that); please pray for the other 40, most of whom are Muslim.
Ibsa is still lonely and somewhat hopeless in that he lives alone still.
Cherenet’s sister Kidist lives in the country as a laborer and he is concerned with her and wants to be reunited.
Amanu and Muktar both need new homes.
Pray for the oldergirls in the program who seem to be seeking unhealthy relationships as their way out.
