ETHIOPIA UPDATE: Greetings from Ethiopia! We have spent the past few days in Addis (capital city), but have had very limited access to the internet. Plus, only moments of water for showers or toilets. Welcome to Africa! Today Jeremy and the four others arrived in Addis and we took an evening flight to Bahir Dar. Just a quick recap: Tuesday we arrived Addis, Wednesday and Thursday Rick was training the national Christian leaders in the Church Planting Movement strategy. We learned so much from these great men of God! Many of these Pastors and Evangelists have planted 10+ churches. One young man (18 yrs) from an area near the Sudan border has planted 18 churches. Wow, I am humbled by their commitment and passion to reach their people. Please pray for these men as they go back to all corners of Ethiopia and continue to share the gospel so that churches will be planted. The past two afternoons we had the privilege of serving in a village near Addis. The first day I met a woman who is a seamstress, she prayed to receive Christ and when we asked if we could come back tomorrow, she said yes, because she wanted us to share with her husband. The next day we arrived in their home that couldnt have been any larger than 8 feet by 12 feet. The five of us, plus the two of them squeezed into this small space that was mostly taken up by a double bed. The husband was sitting at the bottom of the bed and when I shared the gospel, he prayed to receive Christ. When I asked how could we pray for him and his wife, he said we need to be freed from the demons that torment us. I asked Terekua (e3 Ethiopia staff), if she would tell the story of the demon possessed man (Mark 5:1-20). She shared and then the man said, well if that man can be freed from demons, so can I. So, we asked him if we could pray for him. Taklu (Leader form the village church), began to pray the most powerful prayer in Amharic (native language), while the rest of us also prayed out loud (softly). We could feel the Holy Spirit beginning to work - it was so cool to sense God moving on behalf of these precious new believers. Then all of a sudden the man began to jerk into the middle of the bed, and we could sense the presence of evil. As the evil came crashing into the room, it also went crashing out as the man, jerked backwards to the top of the bed and laid there in a daze. We continued to pray. He started saying, Im so tired. As we finished praying, he said, he and his wife both said, I have been freed, God is good, I am now at peace! Praise God for what He did! The demons had been cast out! Terekua and the other 2 Christian ladies in the room agreed to come back and disciple both Alemwerk (Abijeran her son) and her husband, Terekuan. I have never witnessed anything like this, such a powerful testimony of Gods healing power. Later that day we learned that over the ridge the majority of the people are demon possessed, and beyond that, is a large community of Satan worshipers. Please pray for the 13 new believers that prayed to receive Christ with our team in that village and pray for the small village church leaders who will disciple these new believers. Wednesday I was overjoyed to learn that Pastor Tilahun from Sirinka was in Addis for a few days. You may recall, hes the only Pastor in that village we visited in March where 14 Muslim Background Believers have been shunned from their families and community so they are living in the church. We invited him to join us for dinner. He greeted me with tears in his eyes, thanking God for this unexpected blessing. I asked him about the 14 and what we might do to help them. We discussed a possible community development project to give these new believers a life skill that would help them provide for themselves. He was also invited by the e3 staff to join the next CPM training in his region. Please pray for Pastor Tilahun, the needs are great! Sirinka is 60% Muslim and 40% Orthodox - both groups are persecuting Christians. I am looking forward to visiting Pastor Tilahun again in October. This unexpected blessing was such an encouragement to him and a privilege for me to hear what God has done since we had visited in March. The young 26 year old woman (Himatu) who I had an immediate bond with (her mother was the Muslim person of peace that lead me around the village), she has secretly come to faith in Jesus and is being disciples by Pastor Tilahun. He also said that every time they meet she cries asking him when I am coming back. Hearing that brought tears to my eyes. Isnt God amazing - I dont even speak her language, couldnt share the gospel & we had an immediate bond. So precious! Please pray for Himatu (see photo below) and her Mom, Hayimanot. Today we are training the national Christian leaders in Bahir Dar about the Church Planting strategy and the five that flew in yesterday will get some much needed rest. Tomorrow we will worship in the local church with our Ethiopian brothers and sisters. (Weve never been here on a Sunday when we had an opportunity to do that.) So looking forward to it! Please continue to pray for hearts and minds to be open to the gospel here in Bahir Dar as we begin working in the villages on Monday. Thank you for your prayers, God is caring for our every need and what a privilege it is to serve Him in this place. We are mindful that these are Gods children and this is His strategy, straight from the early church in Acts - may His plans and His purposes be accomplished through us this week. Partnering with you, Andrea
Posted on: Sat, 17 May 2014 23:29:30 +0000