November 2012
1 post
I'm back!!!!!
Yes, the hiatus is over! Be prepared for frequent updates and prayer requests.
So why such a long absence? I suppose it would be safe to say that I have found myself in a quandary. What am I doing? Where am I going? What is my purpose?? Have you ever found yourself in that place? I’m not even waiting for an answer on that one. Well, let’s just say it can be paralyzing....
August 2012
3 posts
WatchAs promised….Lantu and the gang singing.
pa·tience [pey-shuhns] noun
1. the quality of being patient, as the bearing of provocation, annoyance, misfortune, or pain, without complaint, loss of temper, irritation, or the like.
2. an ability or willingness to suppress restlessness or annoyance when confronted with delay: to have patience with a slow learner named Elle Belle
3. quiet, steady perseverance; even-tempered care; diligence: to work with patience.
...
The rest of the story....
I feel the need to expound on my journey over the last week and ask you to continue to seek the Lord’s divine direction for me and the ministries of Ebenezer Grace Children’s Home. I hope you can bear with me and my long-winded blog to follow. If you don’t have a good cup of coffee (preferrably Ethiopian) and a little extra time, you may want to revisit this when you do. A few hours should be...
July 2012
10 posts
We may throw the dice, but the Lord determines how...
I was just certain that I would be staying in Ethiopia - one way or another - for the next 2 months. However, the Lord has other plans for me and I trust his sovereignty.
So here I am, back in Indiana waiting to see what God has planned.
Still processing it all…..so many tears in such a short time. God did not give me a lot of time to say goodbye.
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares...
Will I stay or will I go???
Rachel and I will travel to Addis on Thursday to request an extension on my Business Visa for 2 more months so that I can stay until the end of September and return with the Ayeles to America on September 27th. Please pray that we find favor with the Immigration Office and they extend my visa accordingly. Of course, we are trusting the Lord with the outcome.
On...
I just wanted to share with those of you who are not on Facebook a little more about our Binyam. He was only with us at Ebenezer Grace for two weeks, but his memory will last an eternity. Rachel and I spent a fair amount of time on the “what if’s” of his short life - but in the end we acknowledge that this was God’s plan and we have chosen not to question it but to trust in it. And to be...
He will lead them to streams of Living Water......
Last Sunday I got to go to my first well-drilling site in Kalo Ethiopia. It was amazing. I went with my friend Steph, David & Merrie Harding and their daughter Merrie Grace. David Harding is connected to the ministry “Water is Life International” organization. The well will be 120 meters deep when completed. That’s a long way to go to hit water - but sure beats the other options.
“It...
For the Lord is good, his love endures forever.
Thank you all for your prayers and compassion over the loss of Binyam. God in his infinite mercy has blessed us with the comfort of knowing that he is in the arms of Jesus!
So many of you have inquired about ways you can help support and provide for the children and workers at Ebenezer Grace Children’s Home. Rachel & Argaw have compiled a list of needs with the cost for each item to give...
Today little Binyam is Safe in the Arms of Jesus
Safe in the arms of Jesus,
Safe on His gentle breast,
There by His love o’ershaded,
Sweetly my soul doth rest.
Hark! ‘tis a song of heaven
Borne in the sweetest voice,
Echoed by saints in spirit,
Making my heart rejoice.
I can think of no better place I would rather he be……..
Oh so many tears….how I long for God’s promise fulfilled;...
Father to the fatherless, defender of widows -...
And Naomi is her name…..”Beautiful, pleasant and delightful.”
Yes, God has placed another one of His own in Ebenezer Grace. Little Naomi arrived yesterday. She is approximately one week old and was found abandoned in a local hospital compound here in Hawassa.
singing a song of thanksgiving and telling of all...
Praise report:
Binyam has gained ONE POUND!!!! Keep praying - we need the rest of him to catch up with the size of those eyeballs! He looked at me through those precious eyes all throughout our Sunday morning service. I am blessed.
Rahel is just like part of the gang. She is doing so well.
Ruth is smiling more and more, helping out with chores and feeling like she belongs. She loves...
"Let the little children come to me. Don't stop...
Wow…..more news to report and more prayer requests to share.
Good News - Mekdes has been released from the hospital and is at home with her mother and twin sister, Meron. God in his faithfulness has answered our prayers. Thank you, Ameseginalehu!
And now allow me to introduce you to Binyam. He arrived 2 days ago with his mother Marishet who is 18 years old. As you can see Binyam is...
A Fragrant Aroma
Dear Family and Friends,
As I reflect on my time here in Ethiopia over these last three months; I can not begin to thank you enough for your prayers. I am continually in awe of God’s grace and mercy and how he works things out for the good of those who love him.
Let me share my daily devotional on intercessory prayer:
The Words and Wisdom of Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Intercessory prayer is also a...
June 2012
10 posts
Larvae of the Mango Fly in ME = Denial, Anger,...
Well, you haven’t heard from me for a couple days because I have been experiencing the 5 phases of grieving over the fact that I have mango worms under my skin. What I thought were flea bites, indeed turned out to be the larvae of the Mango Fly. Of course, I couldn’t have just one or even two…I have several; at least a dozen. Evidently, when I put my gardening gloves on last week they were...
The Girauds
Hey everyone! Since my camera is out of commission I thought I would post a link to a video that was put together by a very special family “The Girauds” from a Calvary Chapel near Grand Blanc, Michigan. I posted this on my Facebook Wall but also wanted to add it to my blog for the rest of you! Tony and Gina Giraud along with their three amazing children; Isaac, Ezra and Emma came to serve here...
Cornrows, Fleas and a Broken Camera
Yes, I have all of the above….I think the sight of me and cornrows might have been what broke the camera.
So I woke up this morning with a rash all around my waist. I thought “Oh no! I hope I don’t have a bunch of bott flies laying eggs in my belly.” Nope, just flea bites. That’s nice.
Later this morning I went to the orphanage and had Sarah one of the daughter’s of the Mommas fix my hair....
Skype call could land you in Ethiopian jail →
The country’s government has passed a new law that makes it a crime to engage in audio or video communications using Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services such as Skype, Google Talk and most other video chat platforms, according to Al Jazeera.
Dear Family & Friends,
I have decided to be a law-abiding visitor and follow this ridiculous law! No more skyping for me! Not risking...
Our Father's Day
They are no longer orphans - they have the perfect Father.
Did I tell you how much I love Sunday morning worship at Ebenezer Grace? : ) Let me give you a little taste….
First we have Choir “A” - the children from Ebenezer Grace.
Followed by Choir “B” - the street children from Goitum, Ashanefi and Mitiku’s house. Three college boys who have taken in twelve street children and...
Wherever you go, I will go: wherever you live I...
Let me introduce you to Ruth Ebenezer! The newest addition to EGCH.
She was found on the streets of Yirgalem (the same village where Ben was found just a few weeks ago). She is deaf and mute and was so full of lice that they had to shave her head and destroy her clothes. She is absolutely adorable and has the sweetest smile that will melt your heart in a flash. They think that she is...
My favorite day of the week = Sunday
Sunday’s here….we have our church service at the orphanage in the mornings and I love hearing the kids singing in Amharic. I don’t know what they are singing and yet I do know. (Does that make sense?) It is absolutely beautiful. If it did not take 7 days to download them singing for 2 minutes…I would do it. I suppose you will have to wait until I get back to the States for that video to post.
I...
Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between...
WOW - What an emotional day! Let me get right to it - we received another baby at Ebenezer Grace Children’s Home! The Women’s Affairs Department called and said they had an abandoned baby boy and asked if we would take him. This story is a heartbreaker so get some tissues.
An older woman was attending her daughter at a hospital in Yirgalem (a town not far from Hawassa). She heard a baby...
Ozzie and Ellen
I know, just blogged yesterday. But I just had to tell you that Oswald (the compound baboon) and I met up again. I was walking down the path when he made his usual “drop” from a tree. I happened to have my camera handy and so I snapped his picture. He turned and looked right at me and said “YOU! One birr”. Ha! That would have been funny. Rule 101 - never make eye contact with a baboon....
“Let the little children come to me, and do not...
So much has been going on that I have not had time to write it all down. I don’t even know where to begin.
We’ve had a heap of birthdays to celebrate. Eli turned 4 years old, Jakob and Yirgalem both turned one.
Little Miss Christian turned 5 years old. With all the birthdays, I’ve been getting my “cake baking” groove on and of all the cakes I’ve made I must say that “Wacky”...
May 2012
6 posts
Word of the day = BUT.........TER
I know…..it’s been a while! We’ve been a little busy here……churning our own butter, chasing monkeys out of the kitchen, applying Calamine lotion to my 10 million mosquito bites and swatting flies with our AMAZING new fly swatters.
I want you to try to imagine this…….a butter shortage! I am not talking about just one store, one town, or even one week….it has been 3 weeks and the WHOLE COUNTRY...
Be still and know that I am God. Psalm 46:10
I took a little rest yesterday morning and spent some time just reading my bible and journaling on my little screened-in porch enjoying the scenery. An eagle flew by and a fairly nice sized “blue” lizard was trying to find a way inside my porch by the overhang (without success) - very peaceful. Then I walked to this little outdoor restaurant and had some Asa Goulash while reading Wuthering...
And the verdict is in on the radish sandwich.....
“Yummy Ellen! Yummy!”
I’m not completely convinced that they were being honest (just look at those faces - questionable, eh?) but it was loads of fun anyway! And they want to plant more….so we did!
A hearty french baguette is what we needed. I’ll get right on that for the next harvest.
: the pungent usually crisp root of a widely...
Some days a radish is worth ten thousand words…
Meltdown
Okay, not going to lie. I have been having a bit of a meltdown the last couple of days. Just ask Rachel, she will confirm this status update. Actually, I knew this would happen and I anticipated it happening much sooner than this, so I’m kind of proud that I have lasted this long. Anyway, this morning I was sitting around feeling sorry for my stinky self and trying to get motivated to tackle...
A continuation of "God is good all the time"
Some of you may have seen my post about diaper covers last week well thanks to Green Mountain Diapers our butts are covered! They are donating 19 covers and diaper pins - yes….no charge! The total of what they are sending comes to over $200!!! Thank you Jennifer Blevins for making the contact! Anyone who knows of anyone who needs diapers or covers - go to greenmountaindiapers.com! They knew...
April 2012
8 posts
You thrill me, Lord, with all you have done for...
Saturday — What a fun day! We started the day at Haile Resort “a real treat” where the kids went swimming and Rachel got sunburned. (Okay, not so much fun for Rachel). Even Gracie got in on the swimming action thanks to the floaties and life jackets from Mandy & Eric for the Ayele children.
Following this we walked to the Helimission compound which is right around the...
Social Justice = the distribution of advantages...
My biggest struggle here is the poverty and how to deal with it. I’m listening to Tim Keller’s Podcast on Social Justice for about the third time and trying to figure out how to apply it here and now. Every morning the street kids chase me down yelling “YOU” (which is what they call any one who is white) and holding out their hands for money or food. I’ve tried giving them some food - Kolo...
At just the right time we will reap a harvest of...
Here it is April 22nd and guess what? I’ve eaten all of my granola bars already. Oh well, before long I will be eating radish sandwiches - fresh from the garden. The kids at EGCH have never eaten a radish before, but I have hyped them up so much that they can hardly wait to try them. Ha…I hope they still like me after their first radish experience. One of Rachel’s friends - Teraza from Czek...
Destainya Fasika - Happy Resurrection
I can’t believe its Wednesday already - but I thought that I should update my blog and tell you about our Ethiopian Easter - which was celebrated on Sunday, April 15th. It is one of the most celebrated holidays in Ethiopia - which I think is pretty awesome. We had a huge celebration at EGCH that included another wonderful outdoor church service, a huge meal of Doro Wot prepared for 40 people...
A Time for Everything
I wish I could blog every day, but I am finding out that is not going to happen. So I think I will try to jot down a few thoughts each day and then compile them into a weekly blog….well that will be the plan anyway.
My problem is that I have a hard time keeping track of the days. So let me try, on Tuesday, we completed our very first garden box! I was overcome with such a sense of...
Will you go out without knowing?
Another fulfilling few days! We had a beautiful church service at EGCH for American Easter. Next Sunday is Ethiopian Easter. So we will be celebrating Ethiopian style. Argaw, Chuck & Claire (friends from California who have been teaching at EGCH) preached and preformed a drama on the story of Lazarus being raised from the dead. And then the children re-enacted the story. We were blessed...
Just think....you are here by God's choosing.
Well finally I am updating my blog. The time here is already flying by and I am beginning to settle into my new life. We arrived into Hawassa late on Wednesday and I spent Wednesday and Thursday night with the Ayeles and just getting acclimated with my new surroundings. The children from EGCH actually came to us before we could come to them and I cried when I first saw their little faces come...
Today is the day the Lord has made!
And I will rejoice in it! There are no words to describe the feelings I am experiencing today! I tried to make one up, but that didn’t work so well. ”Unbelazable” A combo of unbelievable and crazy - in case you were wondering. : )
Rachel, Gracie and I will leave today from Chicago to Istanbul and then onto Addis, Ethiopia, arriving on April 4th early in the morning!...
March 2012
2 posts
1 tag
“The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the...”
– Frederick Buechner
