This past Sunday, the Ethiopia mission team had the honor and privilege of packing and praying over all the gifts, letters, and pictures you put together for your sponsored child.  Our hearts were so touched by the love and generosity that so obviously went into each one of these packages!

We are so excited to hand deliver these wonderful blessings!
We look forward to sharing pictures and experiences with you.

Learn to do good. Seek justice. Help the oppressed. Defend the cause of orphans. Fight for the rights of widows.

Isaiah 1:17

The Flamingo Restaurant!

 Here is the team! I am so blessed and amazed by each and everyone of them. Our team meeting last week was at this quaint restaurant ran by two amazing women who have a story to tell like most women of Ethiopia. It was a fun night as the girls were able to experience something new, and talk about details of our trip. I love this team, and the love each one has for each other. Each brings something different to the team. I think we all feel blessed. :)

We have our first Mission Trip Team planned for November 6th to the 16th. I am so excited about this team and how God has placed the very people together He desired to make an impact on our women and Sponsored Children. :)

We have a team of 12 women!! Funny really, how this was open to all, but God led 12 of the most amazing strong, and gifted women to our team. This confirmed that God wanted to focus on the Women and children this trip. We are already seeing His hearts desire for us as a team and for these women and Children. It is fun to see the team bonding already and know this is going to be a powerful dynamic team of Women.

We will be doing a two day Women's Conference and two days with the Orphans doing a mini VBS. We also are being blessed with the Police Officers that went last year to do the Police Conference. (see earlier posts) They will be doing a 2nd Conference and so we will also have a focus on the Police Department. The focus for the Police Department will be to do a follow up of the Ethics classes they gave in February as well as a First Aide course. Most importantly to continue relationships with Commander Adise and the Police Department as they seek to make a continued impact themselves on other communities bringing the passion and love of Jesus to other Police Departments. Wow!! It is seriously amazing seeing God change the way these Police Officers do what the do in the name and love of Jesus. Lives are changing.

We will be going into the Mens and Women's Prison as well and possibly speaking in the Sunday Worship Service in the Prison. We will also just be blessing and loving on the women and children of those who are in Prison with their mothers.

Please keep us in your prayers and we continue to plan the conferences and that we would be listening to all the Lord has for them. We desire for Jesus to be the center and for us to not get in the way.

We will also be doing some assessing on our next trips. What the needs will be and how we can best create a Kingdom Culture in Hosanna!

Our next trips will be the end of April with an emphasis on a building team to build a kitchen for the children's meals, and a second team focusing on basic medical needs and assess possible further needs.

Our Itinerary is as follows:

Itinerary

November 6 Leave Minneapolis

Wednesday 7^th arrive Addis Ababa, get settled into Guest House, and set out to do Ministry to sick in Homes.

Thursday 8^th Leave for Hosanna Ethiopia Check into Hotel and have dinner with Worship/Prayer and prep time to follow.

Friday 9^th Women’s Retreat (see attached)

Saturday 10^th Women’s Retreat

Sunday 11th  Worship Service at Addis Kadan Baptist Church, Prison Visit, Police Conference

Monday 12^th Police First Aide Conference/Orphans

Tuesday 13^th Orphans

Wednesday 14^th Leave for Awassa check into Haile Salasse Hotel

Thursday 15^th Leave for Addis Airport

For the last year we have been working with Childrens HopeChest and Hosanna Lutheran Church in Lakeville to build a partnership with Hosanna Ethiopia and Hosanna Church. It has been fun to watch the church get excited about these precious children and the possibility of having our church building a bridge with this community. "From Hosanna to Hosanna!"

It has taken sometime to get to where we wanted, but God did so much in the process. We went from 180 children to 300!! This was exciting. We have been extreemly blessed to be working with the staff from Children's HopeChest. www.hopechest.org  HopeChest, works all over the world taking churches in the US and helping them Build a Bridge from a community overseas to their church.  They start with assisting with a SPonsorship Program and the goal is to work with the community as a whole not just the orphan. The goal for us and for HopeChest is to help these communities get them the start they need, training and the knowledge of the power and love of Jesus. We then help them to thrive and be sustainable on their own so that dependance on us is not needed long term but a life long relationship will be key.

August 25th and 26th was the weekend of our launch. Wow! What a beautiful and awesome time it was. The team from HopeChest came down to do the launch. Wil Crooks, Teresa Brockway and Juree Wilson. We had many volunteers to help with signing up the sponsors! Pastor Bill gave a powerful heartfelt message. Hearts were stirred, Jesus was present and miracles were happening.

I will never forget the excitement that was felt by all when the last child was held up and Wil announced "here is the last child, who wants him?" and a lady yelled, "I'll take him"!! What a tremendous feeling to know that all 300 children will have a sponsor and these families are forever blessed by doing so. A beginning to a beautiful relationship between a church and a community. Many lives will be changed and hearts touched as together we obey a calling only God could orchestrate. Thank you Jesus!!

In August of 2011, I went to Ethiopia to meet with a couple organizations that specialize in orphans, sponsorship and training women in Ethiopia for us to seek partnership for the community of Hosanna. I meet teams from Children's HopeChest and Children's Home Society and we all traveled to Hosanna together. I was not sure how traveling with both teams would work as I was scoping out the idea of having help on the ground to establish sponsorship programs, feeding programs and training women in SHG Groups. (Self Help Groups)

 I was so pleasantly surprised by the excitement they both gave in seeing our vision for Hosanna.  I shared our vision of working with the orphans, the widows (ex-street women) and Pastors and how we want to have one another working and helping each other to create a sustainable way of living. We would support and send our young men and women to Seminary, they would teach and train our women, and the women would love on bless the orphans.

It was fun to see our vision start to take place in the hearts and plans of our Ethiopian friends. They have seen the effects of their work take place in other parts of Ethiopia, and now wanted to come together as two organizations and with us to help build this community.

Once again, I left Hosanna amazed at what God had done. I seem to always go in with a bit of an "idea" of what we are going to do and God blows us away. Following Gods lead is really simple when you realize your ideas and your ways just are not going to be a sliver to what yours are. He leads, we follow. I picture a daddy dancing and a child standing on his feet. Where are you going next daddy? I so trust you.

 We started working right away on getting permits to work in Hosanna, being established as an organization and profiling the 180 orphans.

In Feburary of 2011, a trip was planned to bring a Police Conference to the many men and Women Police officers in the region of Hosanna. John Bermel with Influence International has taught a Police Ethics course in the United States and in Kenya. Since developing a strong relationship with the Mayor and Police Department, it was surly where God was leading us in these next steps. John and another Police Officer Larry Lotzer were to also go down with Pastor Bill Bohline from Hosanna Church. Unfortunately Pastor Bills dad passed away. At the very last minute I decided to jump on in with them to help out with logistics of the trip.

What a great trip to see Police Officers from the US, connect with the Police Officers of Ethiopia. It was powerful to see what these Police Officers are doing for the good of the people in their community was the same in such far away places. I came away from the conference with a new respect for the Police Officers everywhere and what they do on a daily bases for their communities.

God is at work in the town of Hosanna, Commander Adise has given great efforts to bring Jesus to all the Police. Every morning at 6:00 they start the day with an 1 1/2 hours of worship and prayer before work.  Many of the nearly 500 unmates worship as well, and have come to know the Lord from the efforts of the Police bringing the Power and love of Jesus inside the prison walls. They are changing the town with how they now react to unlawfulness differently. These men and women now fight crime not out of anger but out of a love they themselves are finding in Jesus.

We were able to speak at the service in the Prison on Sunday Morning. It was an eye-opening experience and a very sweet sight to see these inmates worship.

We are very excited about the relationship that our Police Officers at Hosanna! Church now have with the Hosanna, Ethiopia Department. This will be along term relationship that will be cherished both ways.

This relationship we hope to model for other communities and regions of Ethiopia. To train these Officers to go train others.

Ethiopia in April! 7-10-2011

Ethiopia in April! 7-10-2011

We have just made another trip to Ethiopia in Mayof 2011. We were able to go this time as a family for 3 weeks.  This trip was so amazing on many different levels. It was great for us to be able to bring our three kids to show them all what God is doing and let them share in it, and feel apart of it.

We also brought another key person along with us to help us with insight in furthering our ministry to the women. Jill Hall, is a good friend from Hosanna Church, she works for the EFCA, and Global Finger Prints as a Missionary and has studied and helped with Micro-financing in other countries. It was wonderful to have her come with us as she was able to see the women and have insight into our next steps. She also helped me do a one day conference in Hosanna Ethiopia for the women. There were about 90 women who participated. It was good to connect with them as women and share with them the Fathers Love. It was fun as Jill and I both had prepared messages and we spoke back to back and with out rehearsing or preparing together had a message that flowed beautifully. God was present and we were able to demonstrate to them how much the Father Loves them and how much we loved them as well as how to love themselves. All of which were new concepts as they have lived a life of survival and have been used and mistreated. Love is simply foreign to them. We were able to hear a testimony of a women of the life she lived and how she was helped out of a life of prostitution, something she needed to do to survive. She was told, like the other women that Jesus loves her and desires much more for her. She told this as tears rolled down her face, I just wanted to hold her and realized the pain these women live in everyday. My heart was breaking and I am so thankful that we are able to continue to walk this road together with them.We ended with washing their feet, one of the biggest acts of Love in which Jesus demonstrated to His disciples. They had never experienced this before, and were extremely touched I could sense this was a very humbling experience for them. It was a blessings to look into these women's eyes as we were washing their feet and pray prayers of blessings over them. I was overcome with how much the Father loves them, and ached for them to know.

At this time we have had some key meetings in Ethiopia with those we may partner with to help us start a Micro-financing program. This will allow the women to start a small business and pay it back in a year. Our hope is to get them to be mentored by our friends and young pastors whom we will be sponsoring and the women will help us with other projects such as the orphans. It will be a natural flow, and cycle in which each will pour into another. This will bring our several areas of ministry together, all helping another and becoming sustainable within each other.

While we were doing the women's conference Randy and the kids ministered to the children of the women. There were about 60 of them. They played games, soccer, parachute games and just showing them love. The kids themselves were in such great need and you could tell they lived a hard life.

Right now as we prepare to start a micro-financing program our priority is to continue to teach them Biblical values, and the knowledge of Gods love for them. I will be preparing Bible studies for the women, and children biweekly so they continue to learn and we continue to stay connected with them.  It is imperative that we continue to pour into them  the Fathers Love even before we help them out financially.

Also in Hosanna, we met with some of the 180 orphans. We saw the area in which they lived, and met some of the people who are helping to take care of them. We were able to pray with them for their future and Gods leading for us to bring help and aide to these precious little ones who were very sickly and malnourished. This was another key piece to for us to go on this trip to meet with key leaders in helping us partner to get a sponsorship program going to get them fed daily, clothing and medical help that is needed. We are very excited to watch God move in these children's lives. This was one of the most moving and gut wrenching part of the trip to see the severity of these children who have been left orphaned and hungry. But God says, " I WILL NOT LEAVE YOU AS ORPHANS, I WILL COME TO YOU". He has come and we will not stop until we see them safe secure, and knowing who they are in His eyes... they will know.

Pastor Abinet is on the right, he has been taking care of and ministering to the 180 orphans with little help. The women in the picture has been taking care of these street orphans taking the most needy into her home.

Praying a blessing over these little ones and for our future relationship with them. What precious darlings, my heart ached when we left.

Another very encouraging part of our time in Hosanna was seeing that the two churches in which we have been working with have already started working together. We saw this as something God wanted to do, and we were working towards a plan on how to get them to do this. Well, God is at work there so much that He has already done this, this is encouraging as we see this partnership key in the 5 areas we are working in. The Pastors are rallying together to help each other, as well as the Police Chief and Police department. Wow! How awesome to see us being able to be working with all these leaders and they all be working together all for one purpose, to listen to the Lord and and seek him in glorify his name in doing what He has called us all to. This tells us that Gods hand is in this and He is in the midst of bringing Pastors, leaders and Police officials together for long term sustainable impact that will change Hosanna and beyond.

The kids getting ready to lead worship with Pastor Abinet in the Adis Kadan Baptist Church.

I was asked to give a message at the church service this Sunday morning.

Solomon is on the left, he is the President of the Mekene Yesus Church in Hosanna and a very dear friend.

This is the home of Mekonen and Abebech the Pastors of the Addis Kadan Baptist Church in Hosanna. We  love them.... like family. Mekonen's brother had just died this was a solemn but precious visit. 

Police Commander Adise. What a wonderful man who has let the Lord use him to dramatically change the police department and people of the town of Hosanna.

Commander Adise after receiving his new Apple Valley Mn. Police hat given to him by Police Captain John Bermel. Police Officer John Bermel was with me on the prior trip giving a police Conference to the officers in and around the town of Hosanna. See below post for story.

Commander Adise and the Police Department at early morning prayer meeting held every day before starting work.

Commander Adise and Solomon, President Of Mekene Yesus Lutheran Church. Good friends, leading Hosanna to a better future.

The rest of our trip was spent getting to know our daughter. The kids were able to meet for the first time and it was priceless. We have been on a long journey through this adoption and trying to bring her home. There has been many obstacles that have delayed us. We have been very close several times to bringing her home to have our court dates cancelled. This has been extremely hard. We were able to go to her grandmothers home and meet the grandmother... what a precious lady who loves the Lord with her whole heart, and loves her granddaughter enough to let her go to have a life where she will be feed, nurtured and loved. We also met our daughters brothers and found the youngest one to be very sickly and starving. We found out later that the grandmother was giving him up for adoption as well as he will not make it where he is at for much longer. We then realized why the all the struggles with this adoption... we knew we were to adopt him as well. So when we finally get to bring our daughter home, we are double blessed to be able to bring him home at the same time. Wow, we always knew that there was another boy we were to adopt as between us and several others there were 4 dreams of us adopting a little boy. We just had no idea it would be her brother. :)

We believe God has had us on this journey for a bigger reason then just to adopt these two precious children. We know that this journey has taught us so much about adoption, the process in Ethiopia, and above all the desperate situation these children are in and the seeing first hand the longing in the children's faces at the orphanage each time we have been there. We believe that God is teaching us many things in this area as we will quite possibly need to know them in our ministry in Ethiopia and possibly having a deeper bigger impact in the areas of orphans and adoption.

Please keep us in your prayers in all of these areas. Our desire is that God leads in all of this that self diminishes and we resolve to letting God do in us what he needs so He can do in Ethiopia what He needs through us.

Many blessings,
Marybeth