We're Back!

The team is back! We had a phenomenal trip. We had many house visits with orphans, we fell in love with the social workers and FH stafff, and our hearts were broken for the poor. Everyone stayed healthy, energetic, and maintained good spirits. It was a great team! We witnessed God caring for the orphans and widows in amazing ways through the hands and feet of the social workers and through the support of this partnership. We can't wait to tell you more. Keep checking in as the team will be posting their pictures and stories.

Great news on Melekete, Denebe, and Cherent!

Julie and the team reported that they had a great day today filled with visiting many orphans! They learned that Melekete and Denebe, the two young orphaned girls with whom many of us have grown so close, now have a beautiful new home, with 3 bedrooms, a kitchen, a bathroom, and a courtyard! This is pretty unheard-of in Zeway where most homes are a single mud room with no plumbing at all. The funds from Grace's partnership used to buy her land (shown in picture here from our trip last June), and another donor covered the costs of her house! Praise God for this, and may He let her use her huge home as a place of respite for the other orphans in Zeway!

We also learned that Cherent's sister Kidist who had been in a bad living situation in western Ethiopia has escaped that situation and is now living with him in Zeway. She is 16 (and Cherent, pictured here, is 17) and they had been separated for the last 6 years. This is an answer to prayer for many of us.

Please join with us in rejoicing in this amazing news!

Sweet reunifications!

The Zeway trip team made it safely to Addis Ababa last night with all luggage intact and no problems with customs or immigration! They had a good night's rest, then were at 5am by loudspeaker broadcasted prayer chants! They enjoyed a good breakfast then worshiped alongside the Ethiopians in Addis Ababa.

The team was reunified with Ephrem, the Food for the Hungry social worker who was paralyzed a couple of years ago and with whom many of us have grown very close. Dawn commented on her Facebook:

"Emotional, overwhelmed and joy filled...just visited with my brother Ephrem!!"

They had a good traditional Ethiopian lunch and then set off for Zeway. Julie reported that "The team is excited and wide-eyed and in good spirits."

Right about now they are entering Zeway and having a sweet reunification with the FH staff and probably some of the orphans.

Please pray for safe travels into the countryside, for good health as they adjust to bottled Ethiopian water and local food, and for a time of rejoicing as they rejoin their "other" children!

The team is on their way!

The 2011 Zeway trip team (Julie Kouri, Dawn Patterson, Scott and Heather Thacker, Greg and Kathy McClelland, and Will and Ellen Tuthill) left on-time from Austin headed to a stop in Houston, then another in Frankfurt, and finally after 22+ hours arrive mid-day Saturday Austin time in Addis Ababa. They were all excited to be going and enjoyed a nice last US-based meal at the Salt Lick at the airport!

The team will be joined later next week by Chris Degarmo from Grace and Wendy McMahon from Food for the Hungry in Phoenix who will be shooting a documentary video of the project.

Please keep the team and this trip in your prayers, and if you would like to receive prayer updates via email, please email Matt Kouri at kourim@greenlights.org.

If you would like to download and print a day-by-day prayer calendar, you can find it here.

Loving from afar....

It is amazing to see how God has loved on the orphans, widows and social workers of Zeway. What started as a "I think I have a project for the Bridges of Grace" has grown into an entire community of believers in Austin embracing, loving, praying for & supporting a community on the other side of the world.

Recently, the opportunity was offered for photo pages to be taken over on the upcoming trip. The response has been wonderful and the pages are delightful. In a country where possessions are so few, these pages will truly be treasures to the children. But we found ourselves wondering "will we have one for every child?"

God had that covered. He always does.

Our team received an email from a couple at Grace that included these pictures. Our hearts swelled. Not only did He have the children covered, He had the Social Workers, Grandparents, brothers & sisters covered.

There is something for everyone in the Hope in Ethiopia Partnership. What has God put on your heart? God loves these children more than any of us could ever imagine and clearly He is stirring in our hearts to love these children...even from afar.




For no one ever hates his own body, but he nourishes and tenderly cares for it, just as Christ does for the church ~ Ephesians 5:29

March 2011 Trip Team

We excited to share that another team will be traveling to Zeway this March. Trip preparations are well underway and we've seen God moved beforehand in finances, childcare, and many of the particulars that come with a trip like this.

Please keep checking on the blog as we'll have posts from the team as they prepare their hearts and minds to visit orphans and widows in their distress. We'll also have plenty to share when the team arrives in Zeway soon.

Celebrating the Little Things

During the July 2010 trip, team members were able to observe the orphans in income generating training. One of the trainings is in hair styling. Here is Me
lekete and Genet working on the "hair board." Before the trainees are allowed to work on a real person, they must spend a good deal of time praticing.

Just recently we reserved a few updated photos of the girls hair styling training and Melekete has been promoted to a real live person's hair!

This may seem a bit silly to celebrate here, clear across the ocean, but Melekete is doing well. She is moving forward in her skills training -- this is a great thing to celebrate as we continuing praying for her and the other orphans of Zeway.

A beautiful offering.....

On Sunday, I received the sweetest gift. The best part about it was that it wasn't for me. It was for the orphans in Zeway. A sweet friend approached me at church today and handed me a Christmas bag. She went on to tell me that her boys, Rocky & Jude (ages 3 & 5) had been saving their tithe all year for the orphans in Zeway. She asked if I would make sure it got to them. What a beautiful offering. Bless their sweet little hearts. You bet I'll make sure it gets to them. My heart felt so full of joy that these sweet boys already had a heart for children they didn't even know.

As I was driving home, I was reminded of Mark 12:42...the widow who gave her coins which equaled just a few cents. No, these boys aren't widows and as you can see, there is more than a few cents.....BUT....they gave what they had. You know, there was a whole lot of gumball or hotwheel money in that Christmas bag.

The Tanner boys blessed my heart today. Thank you Rocky & Jude. I know the orphans in Zeway are thankful too. If God allows me to return to Zeway, I think I would like to personally hand this bag....just the way it is...to the director of Food for the Hungry in Zeway. I think his heart would be touched. Just as mine was.

Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” Matthew 19:14

The Hope in Ethiopia partnership will be making ornaments this year that will feature a picture of an orphan and their beautiful artwork. When you purchase an ornament, you will be feeding a child for one month.
To purchase an ornament, simply click on the picture and it will take you to the website where you can make a purchase.

Thank you for your continued support of our Hope in Ethiopia partnership.

"Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me....." Mark 9:37


Click on the picture to purchase an ornament.

Meet Denachew

I'd like to introduce you to Denachew. He is a sweet boy we had the privelege of visiting while we were in Zeway. Our team first met him when we visited his home and we painted his house. He was so eager to help and offered to carry our paint cans as we moved around the room painting the 4 walls that comprised his home. Denachew lives with his older sister Mesaye and they are both part of the Child Head of Household program through Grace and Food for the Hungry.

We were so blessed when we found out Denachew and his sister Mesaye would be at our CHH art day. During our visit, Denachew touched our hearts in a way we weren't prepared for. Several of the children drew individual pictures but Denachew had drawn several pictures in a series. Denachew was able to share with us he had drawn out Jesus betrayal, crucifixion and his resurrection! He told us that his neighbor had been reading him the bible and that he was learning about Jesus because of her. Here is one of Denachews drawing that he explained was Peter denying Christ and the rooster crowing.

As I began working on a special project for the orphans in Zeway, I began looking through their drawings and came across this picture. It occured to me that Jesus really is a universal "love language". He can build any bridge, close any gap and cover any language barrier for us to be able to love on these children. They are precious in His sight and I hope they are precious in yours.

The Hope in Ethiopia partnership will be making ornaments this year that will feature a picture of an orphan and their beautiful artwork. When you purchase an ornament, you will be feeding a child for one month.
To purchase an ornament, simply click on the picture and it will take you to the website where you can make a purchase.

Thank you for your continued support of our Hope in Ethiopia partnership.

"Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me....." Mark 9:37