Going to the States for Training

I am coming to the States in May for a training.  It will be just a short, 2-week trip with only one of those weeks being in South Carolina.

I will be attending the ICAP (International Christian Alliance on Prostitution) Global Training in Wisconsin.  This is a training that I heard about and was invited to back in April of 2012 and I have been excited since then to attend this trip.  But some things came up at the beginning of the year for Mussie and me that threatened my ability to attend this training.  I had to wait to hear answers back from those things to see if I would be able to attend the training and I am happy to say that I am going!!

I was really praying that I would be able to attend the training and I was really conflicted when it seemed I wouldn’t be able to go.  But I prayed about it and God made a way!

This is going to be a great training for me so I can get the upcoming prostitution ministry up and moving from just a project proposal to an actual ministry!  Not only will this training benefit me but I will be able to take back a lot of valuable resources to the Ethiopians that will actually be running the ministry-resources that they wouldn’t normally have access to-so they will better be able to perform their jobs.

I know this training will be invaluable.  Last April I went to a training that was held in my town of Debre Zeit, Ethiopia that was geared towards ministries in Africa that do prostitute rehabilitation ministries. The speakers there were amazing and insightful and some of them will be speaking at the global conference in May.  I am super excited to be able to train amongst people from all over the world that have the same passion for these women as I do.

I will be in the States from May 15-June 1.  Please pray for me as I go on this trip and attend this training.

Change

Change

Ahh, change.  Sometimes we usher in change with open arms.  Other times we desperately hang on to our current circumstances hoping and praying that they will never change.  If I had to sum up my time in Ethiopia with a few words, “change” would definitely make the list.

It all started with change.  Leaving everything I had ever known to live in one of the poorest countries in the world that I knew little about.  When I moved, I knew that my life circumstances would change but I had no idea the change that would happen in me as a person during the next 2+ years of my journey.

God has used my time in Ethiopia to bring me through a refining process.  Change isn’t usually easy, especially when we think we don’t need to change.  We can either accept the change that God is wanting to do in our lives or we can reject it and suffer.  I can’t say that I willingly accepted the change that God challenged me to.  There may or may not have been some ugly girl crying that took place.  But I eventually wised up and realized that God was doing this for my own benefit. 

I have been in some really deep, dark places in the past 2 years.  I have had some real moments of intense struggle.  I have had some moments of doubt.  I have had some moments of worry-worry that I wasn’t accomplishing what God brought me here to do.  I have had some real moments of being lost-lost as to what I am to do next with ministry.  I have had seasons of dealing with spiritual warfare that I thought I would never come out from under.  I have had seasons of serious illnesses.  But God used all those moments and seasons to change me into the new me.

2 Corinthians 5:17 says that when we become Christians we put off our old selves and become a new creation.  I definitely felt that when I became a Christian around 6 years ago but I guess I never realized that after that time, we still had changing to do.

My process of change was painful and hideous and I was not always in a good place during that change.  I was not always a good wife, mother, and friend to those around me.  But I finally feel as if I have come out on the other side.  Recently, God has been showing Mussie and me other changes that we need to make in our marriage, family, and ministry and sometimes it is overwhelming.  Change is scary and it is painful. 

Sometimes, when God changes the course of our lives or ministry it breaks our heart but if we can just realize that He is there putting back together the pieces of our heart for our benefit and His glory then it can make the process easier. 

I know that Mussie and I are starting another season of change right now and while I don’t know what will come of it, I am confident that it is the best thing for us because it is what HE wants.

Helping a mother in need

I come across people living in dire situations everyday.  I encounter kids every single day that need more food.  I pass homeless people everyday.  Everyday I wish I was able to do more than pray.  Everyday I have the urge to round up a truckload of kids and move them in with me.  But I know that I can not help every single person that needs it.

So it makes me so excited when I am able to help someone who desperately needs it.  I recently have had such an opportunity.  There is a woman that I have grown to love over the past 3 years.  Her and her family had a huge impact on me when I came to visit Ethiopia 3 years ago.  When I was able to move here, she was one of the first women I went to visit.  I love her so and I love her children.

She has suffered with the affects of HIV for a long time and has been very sick at times.   In the past year, she was diagnosed with cancer.  She has really had some scary moments, thinking that she would die.  

Recently, I heard a rumor that she was pregnant so I asked her social worker to take me to visit her because I wanted to find out if this was true.  I didn’t want to know because I was being nosy, I wanted to know to see if I could help her.  Knowing how sick she is I am worried about her and the baby.  I see her often and she is so tiny so I was in a hurry to visit her to see what I could do to help her.

She is in fact pregnant.  She weighs 103 pounds.  We are not sure how far along she is, but our best guesstimate is 6 months.  I was floored when we calculated that.  Like I said, I see her often and the last time I saw her a month ago I thought I saw a baby bump but I never would have guessed 6 months!!

I told her that I am willing to help her in any way that I can.  I am in the process of finding a specialist in Addis Ababa that can help her.  With her having HIV and cancer, there are so many issues to overcome.  

But in the meantime, I am going to fatten her up!!  I bought her 60 eggs, a huge thing of peanut butter, lentils, oats, juice, prenatal vitamins, and other assorted items.  I will check on her each week to see what else she needs.

I think sometimes it’s easy for us to judge people and have thoughts like “You can’t properly support the kids you do have, why are you having more babies?”  But I know her personal situation (which I will not air in public) and I choose to help her because I love her and I want what’s best for her.

Thank you so much to my financial contributors.  It’s because of YOU that I am able to help people in this way.  I am the one that finds people in need, YOU are the one that makes it happen.

Paper Bead Jewelry Project

I am excited about what our ladies have been doing lately.  An income generating activity has been created for some of the mothers in the Blessing the Children International (BCI) program.

A visiting missionary came with the hopes of teaching some of the women how to make paper bead necklaces.  She held a training class for them and they did really well!!  A lot of our mothers have craft abilities and they proved that they can pick up new things very quickly.

After talking with the management committee of BCI we realized that this project could accomplish two things.  If we sell the necklaces for a profit, we can use that profit to raise funds for a new ministry that BCI is working on to help rehabilitate prostitutes.

This income generating project will give the “beaders” a new skill and an income while also raising money to help change the lives of other women that are trapped in prostitution.

The women make the beads at home and then once a week they turn them in for payment.  The beads are then sorted for quality and they receive payment for the quality beads.  Some of our women have been making an awesome income doing this!  It has really changed their lives.

I am happy to see that this is doing so well.  I have seen people try different things to change situations for families here and they haven’t worked.  It is difficult to figure out exactly why something does or doesn’t work and it is really frustrating when people take advantage of opportunities given to them.

This has been going on for a few months now and it has been successful in motivating the women to work for what is given to them.  There are three women that have really gone above and beyond with this and I am excited to see where this project will take them.

Of course, it is still early but we have great expectations for this based on early indicators.  I haven’t seen another project take off so well in the early stages.  Please pray that we can keep this up.

But, it doesn’t stop there.  We now have to sell the necklaces.  We plan to sell them to visiting missionaries, at markets, and in the States.  I will be bringing back quite a few necklaces, bracelets, and rings with me.  

It would help us out if you would be willing to buy a few, but if you are able to help me sell them that would be even better!  There are many different colors, sizes, and styles.  We also have some for little girls.  I have included a few pictures but it is hard to get good pictures.  The price ranges are from $5-$15.

Some of the necklaces

Close up of one.

A ring.

A bracelet.

Needs of the Family

I have a few people in my life that often email asking me what my family or myself needs.  I often post about needs of the ministry or local kids but these friends of mine are interested in what we need.  I have been told that I need to tell people when I have needs, that way they can be filled.  Well, this blog is about the things that me and my family needs:

School fees:

As a family, we have decided that it is best for our kids to go to one of the International schools in town.  Last year proved very difficult for us as a family.  Fiker was attending the school that is a part of BCI.  We support the school and think they offer a great alternative to the public education that is widely offered here.  However, this school is taught in Amharic.  They have English classes built into their schedules but even in those classes, Amharic is widely used.  

Last year was really rough for us.  I wasn’t able to really be a part of the education process.  Even though I understand a lot of conversational Amharic, I can’t read it.  Nor do I understand “educational” terms.  We also need our kids to improve their English quickly, and that didn’t happen last year.  For this reason, we thought it best for our children to attend an English-speaking school.

We are really excited about this new school.  They use a British curriculum and have tons of educational resources on-site.  As you know, most children learn best by using different varieties of teaching other than just lecture.  This school is able to accommodate that.  This is especially great for Fiker as she doesn’t learn well in a lecture type environment.  

The school is expensive for us though.  It is $50/mth per child.  So that means we need $150/mth.  That equals out to $1500 for this year.

Clothes:

I often collect clothes for the kids in the program but now it’s my kids that need clothes.  They all need pants, shorts, shirts (long & short sleeve), sweaters, socks, and underwear.  They need:

Fiker:

Size 8/10 clothes 

Size 4 undies

Size 1 & 2 shoes

Rebirra:

Size 4t & 5t clothes and undies

Size 9 & 10 shoes

Makreab:

Size 4t & 5t clothes and undies  

Size 9 & 10 shoes

Size 11 rainboots

If you would like to help us out with the clothes and shoes, I can get them from you when I am in the States.  Just let me know.

Medical Expenses:

When I come to the States next week I have some medical visits I need to attend.  I have some medical things that can’t be dealt with here so I have to do it in the States.  Between visits, tests, and prescriptions I am looking at approx $1500.

Could you please join me in prayer that these needs will be met?  If you would like to help us out financially, you can do that through PayPal.  Just click the PayPal link on the left hand side of the page.

Thank you in advance for your prayers and your financial gifts.  May God bless you in return!

July Newsletter

I have put together a newsletter for July and you can access it here. Please take a moment to read it and remember these precious little ones in your prayers.

 

Clothes, clothes, clothes!

I am so excited to post this!!  This is a dream realized for me.  It may seem small to some, but it is huge for me.

When visiting missionaries come they always bring a lot of clothes for the babies and small children.  I understand why this happens-they are cuter clothes and they are smaller so more can be packed.  Hardly ever do people bring clothes for the teenagers that I work with.  

This has weighed heavily on my mind for quite some time.  I finally felt God’s gentle voice telling me that I didn’t have to wait for someone else to remedy the problem-I could do it.  So I went online and went on a HUGE shopping spree.  Belk was having a big online sale so I took full advantage of it.  Nothing cost over $7 and most things were around $4.

I ordered 115 pieces of clothing for our teenagers-boys and girls.  My poor sister had the boxes delivered to her house but she was gracious enough to take some pictures for me.  

Some of the brand-new clothes!!

I absolutely can not wait to bring back these brand new clothes for our young adults.  Now. . .how will I get them back here?  Oh well, that is a good problem for me to work on.  :)

Because of the financial support that I receive from friends, family, and church members I am able to do projects like this.  For that I am so grateful and I am so happy that you are part of this project.  Not everyone can go to a mission field far away but everyone can give-whether in finances or prayer.  So THANK  YOU! 

I will post pictures when the distribution happens.