Between peanut butter and tortillas for lunch, seeing the kiddos along the street yelling, “Ferenge! Ferenge!”, meaning “white people,” and the mystery dinners that are different recipes for the same meals each evening, this is one unbelievable experience. En route to a village on a rainy day, our van could go no further because of the mud, which left us with quite a hike ahead. As we began to walk through the sticky mud, the Lord divinely appointed three horse carriages for the remaining trek! Two carts almost tipped over, the girls were screaming and our horse obviously had a high fiber diet! Laughter is a good medicine.
Holly, Kathy, Lindsey and Troy, along with our Ethiopian crew, made up Team #3. On our first day, the girls played “lamb, lamb, chicken,” instead of “duck, duck, goose,” with the kids, while the guys played soccer with adults. After playing “futbol” for a while, our translator asked everyone to sit with us and hear the story of how Jesus Christ has changed our lives. All but two of the guys picked up their coats and simply walked away. Vicado and Abebe were the two stayed and listened. After Troy shared his testimony and the gospel using the Evangecube, Vicado paused, had a big smile and said, “This is marvelous! I recently had a dream that someone would come and explain what happens to us after we die. I can’t believe it.” We were stunned and thrilled simultaneously. Neither of them trusted Christ, but they both asked for bibles to see if what we said was true. What a “heart” lesson learned…the Father will go beyond our human means to share the glory and hope of His Son.
In our short 4 days, our team had the opportunity to share the gospel with 214 people & 56 confessed Christ as their Savior…how incredibly powerful is the gospel when we dare to declare it. Our hearts have been so dramatically stirred, hopefully to the point of carrying the gospel as a way of life with even greater boldness, intentionality and kindness with the lost, lonely and ‘least of these’ in Dallas. May we be more than just “bought-in” to the gospel, but entirely sold-out. What a blast and blessing this trip has been for all of us. (Story by Troy Dandrea)
Thursday has been our last full day of ministry. We will work a ½ day tomorrow & then head back to Addis Ababa. The entire team is feeling well but emotionally, spiritually & physically tired. Pray for safe travel on the long road back to Addis & rest for the North American team.