Back in Addis Ababa

The team is back in Addis Ababa now and wouldn't you know they are having Tex-Mex for dinner this evening. That should be interested!

Tuesday, they will visit a few government run orphanages in Addis. Pray that the Lord fills them with joy to visit the children, care and love them.

Before the team left Zeway, they made one last stop to Melkete and Denebe's house. You'll be reminded of their story if you watch the video on the side bar. Melkete has put her trust in Christ and is doing very well. Unlike our first visit to their house, Melkete and Denebe are joy-filled, they have their physical needs met, they are going to school and Melkete is beginning job training. The Lord has been gracious to let us be a part of this transformation!

Seeing God's Love in Nature

As Norman Furley preached today at church, one way of understanding the vastness and careful concern of God's love is to find it in nature. That is what the team is doing today. Their trip is slowly coming to a close.
There is a lake near Zeway and a retreat center there. Odd that a retreat center and hotel would be located near such poverty, but that is the dichotomy of our world. The team retreated to this hotel for the night to debrief and be close to nature as they process and rest with the Lord.
Here, the team bought Dawit, who visited Grace in February, a massage (gotta love $9 massages!). He thoroughly enjoyed it! Dawit sometimes appear to hold the world on his shoulders as the director of many programs caring for the needy. Please pray for him as he makes difficult decisions daily. God's grace is poured on him daily and may it never cease!

Joy-Filled Day of Play

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.

Making God's Blessings Available

by Scott Thacker, Contributing Blogger

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.

God is Moving!

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.

Praying for the Innocent

by Brandi Banks, Contributing Blogger

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!

Hairstylists in Training

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.

A Visit with Eden

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.

Arrival in Addis Ababa

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 Team Is Overseas!

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!