I have tried to write about my experience in Ethiopia, but have had problems putting it into words. Even when people ask “How was your trip?”, I struggle to find a way of describing something that brought tears, laughter, joy and sadness in just a few short days. I have to admit that I went so that I could do more and help the ‘least of these’ as instructed. I now realize that not only does this help those that are in need, it allows us to grow in our Faith in ways that can only be accomplished through service.
We stayed in Addis our first night and got much needed rest. It had taken us over 24 hrs of flights and layovers to get there. Not being able to sleep much on the plane, I was definitely ready for a little rest. Our team consisted of 16 people who, although were from different places, were all ready to work together and minister to the children.We had about a five hour drive from Addis Ababa to Hawassa and were only able to spend a few hours at Tullo Kebele the first day. The
school of is located quite a ways down a dirt road. The condition of the road forced us to travel at a fairly slow pace. Although this slow travel could be seen as a problem, it allowed God to bless us with the 1st sight of the community’s children-- His children. They came out of their houses (small stick huts covered in mud) and when they saw us huge smiles appeared.
What an impact this was to my thoughts and understanding of this country. I had been told of the hunger, the disease, the poverty, and so many other things-- but had not expected the happiness and joy that poured out of them.As we arrived at the actual school grounds, the first thing that I thought was, “This is it?”. How could more that 160 kids use this tiny space? The property was small but the classrooms were much worse, 70-80 kids in a room that was about 15’ x 17’. How can you
learn in these conditions? The children just kept pouring in from every direction while we were there. We played games with close to 150 kids that evening as we assessed the condition and the needs.
The next day we were greeted with the same smiles and joy as the day before. You could see that some had teeth that were almost black, most were without shoes and many of their clothes weren’t much more than rags. It made me think of all the material things I get upset over on a daily basis. Things that “rust and moth” will definitely destroy.
We separated the kids into multiple circles and anything that we did was a success. We passed balls around the circle, played duck-duck-goose and sang many silly songs including head-shoulders-knees-and-toes. The kids desired our time so deeply that it didn’t matter what game we chose, they were ecstatic. God was truly with our team, and although the kids had multiplied to close to 300, we worked on the school building and kept the games fun and organized. We had one more day left with these children and decided the school was in desperate need of 
school books. We collected money from our team members and were able to buy the school books for the 168 kids that were currently registered for school. God also laid on our hearts to feed the children the last day and what a blessing that was!Our last day at Tullo was a bit more than we had planned. Our group separated for the morning so that others could visit a different
location where they were sponsoring children. Unfortunately, two of our team members that had been so energetic the day before would not be with us for several hours. As we approached it was much different than the day before. A large crowd was already waiting in front of the school and dozens of children were running by the van for about the last mile. We had children running by the van each day but they had definitely multiplied. We prayed before leaving the van that God would give our group the strength and energy we would need to organize the children and once again share His love through us.
I had prayed for a long time that God would draw me closer to him. I have struggled having a daily prayer time with him and have not been faithful in reading my Bible daily. I yearned to feel the presence of the Holy Spirit and my prayers were answered on the grounds of that small schoolhouse. I felt good about what I was doing and can’t explain the impact that these kids made on me but I wanted God to reach down to me. As we finished playing games and sharing the story of Christ’s love through the evangecube, it happened. As those 
beautiful children started singing that God was enough, the presence of the Holy Spirit brought me to my knees. Although my ears could not understand, my heart knew and I was broken. Once again, I can’t find the letters on the keyboard to fully explain my trip but I am so thankful for those children and for my Lord and Savior. I pray that he will continue to give me the opportunity to share His love; locally, nationally and globally.
Also a special thanks to Children’s Hope Chest for organizing an amazing trip and such a wonderful team.So what next? So many of you have asked this and I am happy to say that we have finally gotten the profiles of our beautiful children. We will be looking for sponsors for each child. For roughly $34 a month, you can sponsor a child and provide education, minor medical needs, food, and most importantly discipleship.
We will be looking for donations and people willing to fundraise for capital projects such as 2 new buildings, access to clean water, compound fence, shoes, medication, school uniforms, teacher salary, pastor on staff, and community feeding programs.
We hope to bring some of our sponsors with us a couple times a year. What is so wonderful about this is that you have the opportunity to see and minister to the child you sponsor. Please add the community of the Tullo Kebele school to your prayers. Pray that God would use our families to minister to this community. Pray about what God would have you do in response to this.
We are planning a launch party shortly and look forward to finding sponsors for each child!!!
God Bless,
Don
No comments:
Post a Comment