Hello everyone!
I am currently reporting to you LIVE from my 5th country, Kenya. But, I still have to tell you guys about my time in Ethiopia! My teams time in Ethiopia was so fruitful, filled with so much joy, and so many smiles. When we initially found out that we were going to Ethiopia, as some of you may know, I was filled with hesitation. I was so scared of what that would hold for me, and I was certain that it’s not a place that I should go. Aren’t we so quick to forget Gods protection and provision?
When my team arrived in Ethiopia we were immediately greeted with hugs from our host Gadisa, and bananas for the ride home from Addis Ababa to Lege-Tafo. We pulled up to the volunteer house, which was quite possibly the nicest accommodation I’ve had so far on the race. It was such a beautiful home, in a very nice and safe neighborhood. We were also greeted by the house manager Worke, who was an incredible blessing to us the entire time we were there. The people that we worked most closely with in Ethiopia were some of the most hospitable, and caring humans I have ever gotten to work with. I remember one day, sitting outside on our balcony, looking over the city, and hearing God remind me that I never had anything to worry about. One of the things that I was reminded of in Ethiopia, was just how much of a loving Father our God is. He does not send us in to harms way, He has plans to prosper us and not to harm us.
Upon arriving to our home for the next 6 weeks, our host, Gadisa, sat us down and shared his testimony with us and shared how his ministry came to be. Gadisa’s testimony is incredible. He was once an orphan, who watched his own mother die in front of his eyes. After a childhood filled with self-hatred, depression, fear, and resentment, Gadisa was met by the relentless love of Jesus. His encounter with the Lord radically changed his heart, and his life. He ultimately ended up opening a children’s home to care for kids who are in situations similar to where he found himself as a child. His organization is called Testimony 25:40, which is based on the verse Matthew 25:40. This verse says “And the King will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’”
Testimony was home to 29 of the sweetest kids I have ever met. All of the kids ranged from 5 to 17 years old, and came from a variety of different backgrounds. Gadisa shared with us a lot of their backstory’s. A lot of them have come out of pretty difficult situations. Over the last 6 weeks we spent about half of our time with these kiddos. Our team organized different teachings daily to bring to the kids. One of my favorites was one day where I was feeling very led by the Spirit to teach the kids about prayer. We talked with the kids about prayer for almost 2 hours. They had so many questions and we were able to work through so many different misconceptions the kids had. When we weren’t teaching the kids we spent a lot of quality time with them, in groups and one on one. We also played different games with them at a soccer field in the afternoons, and had the little ones over for movies when it was raining. Each of us connected more with certain kids. There were a few who were just my best buddies in the whole world. Leaving the kids was incredibly hard, and they asked me to pray that God would let me come back to Ethiopia.
In addition to working with the kids at Testimony, we also had the opportunity to work with a local Muslim refugee camp. We would go to the camp and visit different families, we got to hear their stories and encourage them. At times, the crowds of children were overwhelming. We found ourselves swarmed by lots of little kids the moment we arrived to the camp each day. They would all clamor to grab one of our hands, I remember the first day we visited feeling sad that I only had room to let 8 kids latch on to my arms at one time. We also were able to teach those kids in the mornings for one week. Working at the refugee camp was honestly pretty tough. The living conditions there are so difficult, and the way of life is so different from what any of us are used to. The kids and adults communicate with a lot more aggression, and violent. Although it was a difficult environment, it was so important for us to show the love of Jesus in a place like that. We made sure to pray as we walked through the camp, as well as before and after we left.
The last type of ministry that we did in Ethiopia was working with a couple of different churches. We had the opportunity to share sermons, spend time with the church body, and put on children’s ministry. I had the opportunity to preach a message to a congregation of almost 200 people one Sunday morning, which was definitely a highlight for me. I have found on this trip that I really enjoy preaching, and speaking in front of people, and I’m excited to see where the Lord will use that passion in the future!
And of course, as always, the Lord taught me SO much in Ethiopia. More than I could have ever anticipated. One of the biggest lessons I learned in Ethiopia had to do with the fruits of the Spirit, which is very fitting as my team’s name in Ethiopia was “Fruit Salad” based on these fruits. The fruits of the Spirit come to us from Galatians 5:22 – “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” During my time I found myself feeling really frustrated at my incapability to produce these fruits. I found that at this point in the race, I am ready to have my own space and the ability to be alone when I want to. And when I didn’t have that ability I would find that kindness, gentleness, or patience may have not always been my initial reaction. As frustrating as this was at times, there was also ample opportunity for me to learn in these moments. About halfway through Ethiopia I called a friend from home, and she reminded me to be grateful for the refining that I am walking through. A person wouldn’t walk up to a tree and pick off a banana that is not yet ripe, and in the same way God will continue to keep me in this situation while the fruit is growing. But in that, it is also true that God is a gracious and patient Father, and so even as I stumbled, I found myself swallowed up by His grace. I learned to press in to the frustration and thank God for the refinement that I was walking through. Although it is certainly not done growing, I can say without a doubt that God was growing the fruits of my Spirit in Ethiopia.
I am so thankful for every opportunity that we had to share the love of Jesus, every person we encountered, every lesson learned, and every moment spent in beautiful God-ordained community. I will never forget Ethiopia, and I am grateful the Lord brought me there!
Some other sweet memories/moments I wanted to share!
This is a photo of me with some of the girls on our last day together.
Here we are skipping back from the soccer field to the house to watch a movie!
Our team also had the opportunity to put our hands up on the wall at testimony, the kids said they will remember us forever.
My team and the sweet kids threw me a wonderful 24th birthday party!
As always, I am so grateful for every single one of you. Thank you for continuing to follow along with my journey and for supporting me every step of the way. I truly feel like I have a village behind me, and I could not do it without each one of you.
As we step in to a new season, on new teams, and in a new country there are a few things I would love continued prayer over.
- Pray for Testimony 25:40, that Jesus continues to move in the heart of the kids. They are also trying to expand so prayer that approval would go through for a plot of land they are after would be great.
- Pray for team unity, and love and communication on our new team.
- 2 of my new teammates, and 4 squad mates are still raising support for this trip. I would be so grateful if you would continue to pray for full funding for them, or if you feel led to support them financially I would love to put you in contact!
- Pray for continued growth, lessons, and revelation of what the Lord is doing through me and my team.
- Lastly continued prayer that me and my team would just continue to usher in the kingdom of God to the nations. I am praying that our priorities, plans, and actions would be in line with God’s will and that we would be faithful stewards of this opportunity.
Hugs and Prayers,
Amanda
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