What is Project Ethiopia?

Sunday, December 22, 2013

video of "The Great Adventure"

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!




Saturday, December 21, 2013

Is something missing???

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

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

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

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

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.

Monday, December 16, 2013

Galetos new life.......

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

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