1. When they announced the route change that we would be going to Ethiopia pure excitement filled me.
2. While looking for a verse while planning chapel came across Acts 8 and found the verse that state that I am an Ethiopian queen.
3. Reading the book Crazy Love they talked about the guy that started the organization to help mossy feet people in Ethiopia
4. Reading the book Draw the Circle He talks about a trip to Ethiopia and how the worship was some of the most meaningful worship he had experienced.
All the books I am currently reading reference Ethiopia must mean that God has something big in the works in Ethiopia. I have been here for a week now and I love Ethiopia already. The people here are so friendly and you feel like you are a tourist attraction rather than a tourist. Everywhere you go people will say hi to you and they get excited when you smile and say hello back. If you are driving down the road in a taxi smile and wave at people and you will make their day. The people here are so beautiful in body and in their souls that it is easy to smile at each person with genuine joy.
The first few days were a little chaotic with trying to work out the logistics of being the first world race team here. There was a fight between taxi drivers as to who was going to take us to or accommodations on arrival. Solved by a security guard with an ak47 gun kicking one of the drivers in the shin. Our original lodging had no address and they were conveniently fully booked when we arrived. So we stay a night in the Love Ethiopia Festival office while thing could got worked out. We then moved to a place that was too expensive in both the room and in transportation to where we needed to be most days. So God showed up and found us new accommodations. He told us one day go out and look for accommodations but more importantly love people while you are walking around. We fed some people, pray for some people, hugged, laughed and spread joy with some people. Since we were willing to not get caught up in was we thought we needed to do and did those small thing for him he big a huge thing for us and found accommodations that are in our price range close to a public taxi stop.
Once we were finally settled we set to work helping Liz and Marina from the Love Ethiopia Festival. Sorting and counting and moving things around. Then we sat in on a meeting to hear our next task and heard that we had 2 days to hand out 11000 flyer for a children’s soccer clinic and another 3000 flyers for the main festival. Our task it seemed a little daunting and the guys from Ethiopia that were supposed to show us where the locations were did not seem very excited about it either.
Those 2 days are done now and all the flyers are out and man was it a blast. People in Ethiopia beg you for the flyers and kids will mob you and try to get as many as they can. We got to see a lot of the city and talk to a lot of people and even play soccer with a bunch of kids at one of the fields. And we now have 2 great Ethiopian friend Nega and Jonas!! They rock!! They taught us some different cultural things and took great care of us while were traveled though out the town and had us all laughing the whole time
Nega is actually really connected to a church that we were drawn to when we first arrived. The City Refuge Church used to be the number one night club in Addis Ababa which really reminded me of my home church the Olive branch which used to be a strip club before the church bought it by the grace of God. 9 years later some of those bouncers from the night club are now the ushers that the church. When Mark Batterson wrote in Draw the Circle that some of the most meaningful worship he had ever experienced was in Ethiopia he was not kidding. We could not understand a word of the songs but the Holy Spirit was completely welcome in that place. Each individual worshiped in their own style and the Holy Spirit flowed out of them no matter who they were on the stage and off. Nega also had us join the kids program and go to each of the different classes and sing with them. There are so many kid at this church and they were so excited that we wanted to join then. In the last class that we were in one of the little girls got up and gave a testimony. The week before they had learned about praying and her leg was hurting so she asked the teachers to pray for her and her leg was healed. Praise God! And just another reminder that we need faith like a child. Tonight is the kick off dinner for the Festival week please pray for the festival and for all the people that will attend that they will hear the word of God and be open to accepting him into their lives. Check out the Facebook — LoveEthiopiaFestival Please also pray for the 2 weeks after the festival that our team will be open to the Lords will for those weeks as we try to find more people to support in their ministry for the Lord.
