This month we are in Ethiopia at HOPEthiopia. All I can say is WOW!
This is a Kingdom dream in real life. We had the pleasure of having Dr. Ralph one of the founders with us for the first four days. He shared his heart with us for these kids. He shared his personal testimony as well as so many faith-stories from his life.
I encourage you to check out the website (and the app!!) for more information because I don’t think a single blog will do this place justice.
But in case you want a brief synopsis: Hope stands for Home Of Prayer (or Power of God, or Providence) Ethiopia (or East Africa as they have expanded into Rwanda and have more plans!). And this truly is a home of prayer in Ethiopia.
We are about 2 and a half hours outside of Addis Ababa (the capital of Ethiopia) and the town consists of about 10,000 people. And HOPEthiopia has programs that benefit not just the orphaned residents but also the town as a whole.
They are driven by the scripture in James 1:27 “True religion is visiting the orphans and widows in their distress and remain uncorrupted by the world.”
We have in the first few days done everything from planting scripture in an orchard, to shifting dirt to make bricks, to playing soccer with kids, to physical therapy with a miracle baby who lives in the children’s village (literally a bunch of houses for orphans complete with House mothers), to praying and writing scriptures on the walls of a new house for more kids, to movie night cuddling with the 20 or more kids who live on the compound, to gardening, to meeting spiritual giants and getting to hear more of their heart. It’s astounding and we have so much more. Well water ministry, latrine building, education, reforestation planting, house visits, and more I’m probably still unaware of.
God’s voice is so clear here. The beauty of this country is knee-bending. We’ve had the perfect blend of sun and rain as it is their winter here (which really means rainy season).
What we don’t have here is WiFi. And in order to get it, I’d have a 5 hour round trip during a rest day. So this blog is being posted by leadership during their logistics day.
I know I’ll have WiFi the day we leave Ethiopia (if I don’t catch something before then). But know that I’m so good! I’m safe, warm, surrounded by comfort and the presence of God. I’ll have a blog per week posted to share the amazing events I can’t believe I’m currently living.
Pray we pour everything out this month and love with abandon the way God loves us!
Also, because I won’t have WiFi to call you: to my wonderful, amazing, dear, and precious friend Krysten, HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I hope this year brings you more joy and freedom to walk in your dreams than any other year before!
Also birthday shoutout to both her awesome sisters Brittny and Katelyn!!
Second also, the only thing better than Ethiopian coffee is Ethiopian food!!!! SO GOOD!
