Our God is mighty to save

Team B (nicknamed Billygoat for how far we hiked up the mountain) had a week of ups & downs. Our team consists of Erica Penick, Erin Donner, Vicky Nguyen, Joel Sherman & myself (Tim Coblentz). Our mission site required us to park the van & walk one hour up the mountain outside of Assela. I have included below a day by day account of how we & Christ were received in the village.
MONDAY- Our first day in the village went well as the people were surprised to see us. We played soccer & volleyball with the kids & blew bubbles which they had never seen before. Our plan the 1st day was just to build a foundation of trust so they would feel comfortable with us. The people in the village are either Orthodox or Muslim with one family who are Christians & they are the ones who are the “disciple-makers” & have committed to do follow-up with new believers. Later in the afternoon we shared Christ with the group of young men & women who joined us on the soccer fields. None professed Christ but they asked some great questions.
TUESDAY- We shared Christ many times with groups of young people & adults. Several people accepted Christ but the mood of the village had changed significantly. People in general were not as open to talking with us & we even found one of our bibles we had given out torn up & scattered in the main street almost as if they wanted us to see what they had done. We met with the “chief” of the village who is Muslim & he made it clear that he was upset that we had not come to see him on Monday. He made a veiled threat that he could have us arrested but admitted that he wouldn’t know what to do with us if he did that. He asked us questions about why we were there & we made the decision to make an appointment with him on Thursday since he could thwart our efforts to share Christ if he wanted to. We also met with a very influential man named Fecadu who is the doctor in the village. He is Orthodox & felt that in order to get into heaven he would have to do “good things”. We shared with him for over an hour about God’s free gift of salvation & he admitted that he thought this message was true but he was not ready to make a decision. We made an appointment to come back tomorrow to talk with Fecadu more.
WEDNESDAY- The attitude in the village changed completely. Fecadu, whom we made an appointment to talk with today said he was too busy to meet with us. The kids stole our soccer ball & volley ball. The people walking on the street wouldn’t even greet us & several people yelled at us & told us to leave or that we would be beaten. We obviously were disappointed by the response but were encouraged that hearts in the village must be open to Christ if Satan was stirring up such opposition.
THURSDAY- Another dramatic turn of events. We met with the muslim chief of the village 1st thing. He was excited to meet with us & I shared my testimony about how a personal relationship with Christ had changed my heart. He was moved as men in this culture don’t share their weaknesses. Our meeting was cut short as they had a village meeting that he needed to be involved in. We spent the rest of the morning sharing Christ with several groups & 1 man & 2 women accepted Christ, what an answer to prayer! We then had a 1 hour walk to the top of the mountain where we had lunch with a Christian family. The young girl of the house took off our shoes & washed our feet in what was a very humbling experience. We then walked down the mountain & had a follow-up meeting with the Muslim chief of the village. Because there were other men in the room & the chief had to maintain his “reputation” we decided not to share Christ with him at that time but to wait until our disciplemakers could talk with him one on one. We gave him several gifts for the village & his face lit up & he begged us to come back & share with him & his village in the future. Our team was so excited to see how our reception in the village changed each day & how Christ had moved in the hearts of 8 people.
Our plan for the rest of the week is to work ½ day on Friday & then start the 4 hour drive back to Addis Abbaba. Saturday morning we will get up & visit an orphanage & then spend a little time shopping before we do our trip debrief & re-entry message. Pray for the hearts of the 145 people who accepted Christ this week & for the disciplemakers who will shepherd & encourage them.

Pray for the local witch doctor

I am blown away by the Lord’s saving grace and power! He alone is worthy of all praise. Today one of our disciple makers Diriiba invited us into his beautiful home for refuge from the pouring rain. They blessed us with a wonderful lunch of yummy bread with eggs and boiled potatoes and served us coffee. Diriiba then shared his testimony with us.

He was raised in a family that served a local witch doctor. There are many people in Docia the area where we have been this week that go to a local witch doctor. There is much demonic oppression in this area. Diriiba’s parents serve this witch doctor. As a young boy he took care of his family’s cattle by their home in the fields and he slept by them. At night an evil spirit would come over him and make him mute and it would not leave him. When Diriiba told his parents about this they did not believe him.

He told a friend who told him to go into the market and buy a necklace with the angel Gabriel on it. His friend said wearing this necklace would make the spirit leave him. Diriiba followed his friend’s advice, but he become mute again that night. Another friend told him to say the name “Jesus” and that the spirit would leave him. That evening when the evil spirit came and said the name of Jesus and the spirit left him! Praise God there is power in the name of Jesus! That evening he became a follower of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Diriiba is now a disciple maker for his village! He comes alongside baby new believers and prays with them, gets them plugged into church, and teaches them the word of God. He has such a humble heart and he aches for those who are still trapped in the bondage that he was once in. Please pray for the village of Docia, Diribba’s family, and those who worship Satan and see the witch doctor.

On Monday were we able to share the Gospel with Dida, a first year university student and he came to the Lord! We identified him as a person of peace, a future leader of the believers here. He is a natural leader and has great charisma. He told us that he was going to meet us today and bring many friends to hear of his Jesus. We were so happy to be with him again and see his joy in the Lord. We shared the Gospel with four of his friends and after hearing the story of grace, the men loved our story, but said that they wanted to think the message over and that they were not ready to accept.

Diriiba is related to some of these men and he went onto share that their beliefs are a blend of Ethiopian Orthodox and that they also believe in some demonic things. We then prayed for them and Allen Hankins shared his testimony and Dida, our new friend, went onto share his testimony. He again and again talked about “my Jesus” and the peace and joy that Jesus Christ has given him! He said that last night he prayed to Christ and that the Lord heard his prayer. He said he has been reading the Bible that we gave him. I was moved to tears. We shared scripture with him to encourage and build him up. (Philippians 4:4-6)

Three of the men who were not believers left during this time, but one man remained, Zerion. After hearing more truth and Allen and Dida’s testimony Zerion said he wanted to accept Jesus Christ! It was so beautiful! We were filled with joy. Demeka, our translator, and Allen prayed with him to receive Christ. This is just a small taste of what the Lord has been doing this week! All glory, honor, and praise to Him alone who is worthy!

“Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him.” Psalm 34:8

Our team went to see the witch doctor this afternoon. Please pray for his salvation that he and his family would give their lives to Christ! Please also pray for the new believers that they would pour into the word, seek their Savior, and to surround themselves with a cloud of witnesses. Also please pray for Team B as their village is very resistant to the Gospel. Pray for our doors and open hearts to hear and receive Jesus Christ!
Story by Lauren Lawson

God's mercy at work in Assela

From the moment I woke this morning I knew this day was going to be special. The Holy Spirit had given me such a peace. As we sat in church this morning before we went out into the field the Lord laid on my heart John 3:30 “He must become greater; I must become less.” Then my mind was taken to 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 where Paul reminds us that it is in our weakness that God makes us strong. This was such comfort to me as I knew that this was a promise from God. It didn’t matter how nervous I was or how much I fumbled in sharing with the Ethiopians, God would be there. And He was!!

I met a man today who told me that He wanted to believe in God but he couldn’t because of so many difficulties in his life. He went on to say he was a bad man and that he was afraid to die. My heart broke. But as I shared the Gospel with him, you could almost see the weight being lifted from his shoulders. The Holy Spirit was working. The moment that I finished sharing he said that he wanted what I had told him. So He accepted Jesus Christ as His Savior. YES!! I had to turn around to hide the tears that were forming in my eyes. God had used ME…a sinner, so unworthy. This broken man left with a new confidence that he would enter the Kingdom of God despite his past. He now has the comfort that God promises us even in life’s most difficult circumstances.

I wasn’t prepared for what we would encounter next. One of the Ethiopian women that we had spoken with said that her daughter was very sick. We asked if we could go to her home and pray for her daughter. So three of us followed this woman to her home. Inside this dark, tiny (maybe 12 X 7SF) mud home, we found a beautiful girl in her 20s lying on a mat on the floor. She spoke to our translator to explain that her kidneys had failed and the doctors told her to go home to her mother because she only had days to live. We had an incredible opportunity to pray intimately with her and her mother. I was overcome with emotion. As we got into our van to leave all I could do was sob. We are so blessed in America with the privileges (i.e. healthcare, medicine, even a bed) that we have. Even the poorest in our country have infinitely more than this girl. But I have to praise God in the fact that she is now a Believer in Christ. And even though her life is likely coming to an end so soon, the life she will have in heaven will be far better than anything on this earth. It's difficult to understand why things like this happen but we were able to see God use the sickness of this young girl to bring her mother to a relationship with Christ. Chances are her mother would not know the Savior if that had not happened.

There were lots of tears today…tears of humility, joy, sorrow, and gratitude. But in the end, God worked in the hearts of the Ethiopians and even our hearts in a way that I pray I’ll never forget.
Story by Claressa Norrell

The health of our team is great. Everyone is healthy & feeling well. God is opening up doors to share of his mercy & grace. PLEASE PRAY FOR:

• Continued good health
• Unity with north Americans & Ethiopian team
• Muslim hearts open to the message of Christ
• Discipleship & follow-up visits as we start to spend more time with people who have professed Christ

1st day of week 2

We couldn’t be more grateful for how the Lord has provided for us and our team and has gone before us and answered many, many prayers already! We will try and summarize a few:

- For protection and team unity. Praise God that our entire 2nd team and those that stayed from the 1st team are all free from illness. Yesterday we split up into four teams of five people each, and partnered up with two Christian Ethiopian translators and two Ethiopian Disciple Makers, who will follow up and visit with those that want to know more about Jesus Christ and His Word once we leave Friday. Yesterday and this morning we worshipped all together, Americans and Ethiopians, praising God for His love and asking Him to move the hearts of the people of Ethiopia. We sang all together, first in Amharic song, “Del-bah-del, en-nah ned-da-len…” then an American song, “You are Lord of Lords, you are King of Kings, You are Mighty God, Lord of everything…” Praise God for the oneness He has allowed to form so quickly!

- For God to prepare the hearts of those we will meet. Prepare the hearts of the people in first house, the young man Debale who came to know the Lord today. Debale possesses many leadership qualities and can be a great influence for many others. We are going back to the people of this first house as well as to see Debale and the people he wants us to meet. Gamarehu had a dream the night before that God was sending white people to come visit him! At this house were immediately received with great kindness. We were invited into the home of the community leader chief’s house and were served spicy hot bread which had been prepared for a celebration that happens every 8th year. As we left the house the Lord stirred many people to continue to follow us to which we were able to share the Good News to which it was received.

- For God’s mercy to help them hear His call on their life (Romans 11:29). After lunch we went to a second house which we were able to have the opportunity to share our faith with a young man and his sister and brother Birkay and Tesfah, whose names mean “wonderful” and “hope” in English. Four people in this house prayed to receive Jesus Christ as their savior.

- For God to send someone to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light. At our third and final house for the day our team shared the gospel and numerous stories from God’s word with a women whose husband is a witch doctor. By the end of this meeting, she said that the house that was formally used for the worship of snakes and other things would be used to worship Jesus.

The Lord continues to amaze us with how He can use sinful people l to bring people to know the Creator of the Universe. Today was truly a humbling experience, but one that does not surprise us. God can move mountains, He can soften hearts in a matter of seconds with a simple smile and break chains of bondage in an instant as the Word is proclaimed.

One of the most powerful moments of the day was listening to our Christian Ethiopian brother, our translator Demeka, pray over a house that was very demonic (the witch doctor’s). Demeka comes to the Lord with boldness we have never heard. He truly beckoned and confidently pleaded with the Lord to destroy the strongholds of this household. Woe to us for our weak prayers. May we be challenged to ask God to truly unleash His power. Hebrews 4:16 “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

WHAT A 2ND ANNIVERSARY, AMEN!
Elizabeth and Andrew Johnson

PRAYER REQUESTS
• Continued good health for North Americans & Ethiopian team members
• Good weather that will allow us to maximize our time here
• Open hearts to the Gospel of Jesus Christ

TRIP 1 ENDS AND TRIP 2 BEGINS

Quick update from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Our first team’s time here in Ethiopia has ended. They were an amazing team and God accomplished some extraordinary things through them. Continue to pray for them as they make the long journey back home.

Team 2 has arrived along with all of their bags (which is always an accomplishment in Africa). Many of them are bleary eyed as they had a tough time catching some sleep on the plane, so pray that they sleep well tonight in preparation for the week ahead. We will begin our journey back to Asela tomorrow after breakfast here in Addis and a short stop at Kaldi’s for some coffee. Thank you all for your continued prayers.

Team 1 Wraps Up

Good Afternoon,

Team 1 is back in Addis. All is well but the team is exhausted. Tomorrow they will go to an orphanage in the morning to play with and love on some kiddos, spend a couple hours shopping for souvenirs they might want to purchase and then they'll spend some time doing a trip de-brief and discussing re-entry.

Pray for the team as they visit the orphanage. It is tough to see so many children waiting for a home. They will cling to our folks as they soak up all the attention they can get. Pray for the children, that the Lord would provide a family for them.

Pray for the team as they prepare to come back home. It is definitely an adjustment. For some, it will be harder than for others. After what they have seen and experienced, it can be a challenge to come back to life as we know it here. While we know we are not meant to understand this world with its poverty, suffering, evil, hunger and children without parents we trust that one day the Lord will make it all right. As Team 1 may struggle with some of these thoughts, pray that the Lord will comfort them with a peace that surpasses all understanding. A peace that only he can provide.

Pray for safe travels for Team 2 and that that all of their luggage would make it. Pray for the Lord to continue working on the hearts of the people that they'll encounter and that their hearts will be open and receptive to the Good News they bring.


Thank you for your prayers and for checking in with us!

Who's In Your Path?

One of the last things someone asked me before I left for Ethiopia was, “Aren’t you tired of going back there yet?” My answer was a quickly affirmed “NO.” In the days since travelling, arriving and laboring here in Ethiopia that answer has been re-affirmed again and again. Each day has brought about life reborn as people hear of the gospel (some for the first time) or finally accept the longing in their own hearts.

In my own heart, I feel much like the disciples of Christ. I see miracles occur daily. I hear of hearts changed, and of life reborn. I can see the light of understanding dawn across people’s eyes as the gospel finally breaks through generational tradition and people begin to understand the words given to them.
But I also am like the disciples as I am so focused on the agenda rather than the mission. Like how the disciples, I think first of what I see, not as God does.

One day, after sharing, we had many join the faith. In our minds, we strive to travel through mud and water (on foot) to be able to share with a witch doctor and her husband. While on the path, we pass by several, simply saying “Salam” (which means peace be with you) which is the common greeting amongst people. We don’t stop, we don’t share, we simply move along – keeping the agenda in mind. Because of the condition of the trails, we don’t make it to the witch doctor’s, but instead to another village nearby. On our return to the vans, we discover something. One of the men that we had passed along (passed up), had died when a truck struck him when he crossed under the top of the hill. Just like a snap of a finger, a life was lost.

In the same instance, a thought comes to my mind and wrecks my heart: “Could HE have used a moment to understand of the importance of Christ?” and even more wrenching, “Did he not know Christ, because you failed to share Him?” As my mind ponders of how fleeting my agenda was, a verse comes alive to me.

2 Corinithians 7:10-11
“For Godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death. For see what earnestness this Godly grief has produced in you, but also what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what punishment!”

Through this verse, I find a measure of peace. I cannot know what will happen from my actions (or lack thereof), but I can rest that in my grief of what this man may have missed for eternity, God uses this to lead me. EVERY person along the path is important. EVERY person that we pass deserves the time to not just be acknowledged, but also to be known. This extends to more than just the Ethiopia mission, but also throughout our lives. He desires for each person along the path to fully know Him just as much as He already knows them. He desires that His love to us be extended to them. That through our actions to love others that He be known. Just like He tells us in His word:

John 13:34-35
“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Story by Scott Eckstein


Our North American team is feeling better after 5 people had some stomach issues yesterday. It is hard to believe but tomorrow (Friday) will be out last day of ministry. We will work ½ on Friday & then head back to Addis on Friday afternoon. Saturday morning we will visit an orphanage, spend some time shopping & doing a trip debrief & processing. Saturday night team 1 flies home & team 2 arrives.

Persevering Through the Rain

Wednesday in Ethiopia our team is experiencing some challenges. Several of the men are having some stomach issues (nothing major) with enough discomfort that they didn’t go out to do ministry today but stayed close to the hotel for rest & the toilet. The weather is also giving us some challenges as the last 2 mornings it has been raining which makes it very difficult for us to drive on the dirt roads & get out to the mission sites. If you are wondering how we can update the blog from Ethiopia, we are able to do it through the miracle of satellite technology as we have a satellite router that connects to my netbook computer. The response from the Ethiopian people has been amazing. The people in the area we are working this year are much more open than last year. Many times we are sharing with a small group of people & they say things like, “I have never heard this story” or “I believe what you are saying is true”.

Here is what our daily schedule looks like:
• Breakfast in our small hotel at 7:00 am
• Group devotion at 7:45
• Get in vans & drive 30 minutes to mission site at 8:15
• Build relationships & share Christ all morning
• Break for lunch around noon at our mission sites
• Head back to hotel around 4:00 PM
• Dinner at 6:00
• Group worship, daily debrief & team time from 8:00-9:30

Today we continued to witness what the Ethiopians call the “rainy season”. However—amongst the mud, muck, and puddles—God still amazed us with His presence. The day started off with a wonderful and lively worship service at the church in Etaya, a neighboring village to Assela; I think I can speak for all of us when I say that this is the perfect way to start our day. We get to worship as the disciple- makers praise God in their language, and they get to worship as we praise God in ours. After the worship service, my team was able to walk (well, more like slosh) to a village off of the main road. We were then welcomed into a local Christian’s home. I am amazed at how these people can make such a solid, dry, 8x8 one-room house out of mere mud and straw. As we sat down on bags of hay, the teenagers and kids of this village came piling in. We probably had at one point 30 people crammed in this house. My group had an amazing experience getting to know these villagers and their culture. Chris and I, with the help of Erin and Julie, were able to share the gospel with about 15 kids and they immediately trusted in Christ as their Savior. It was truly the best feeling in the world. Wes was able to plant some strong seeds in some of the other villagers. It’s still very challenging for us to evangelize in this area as their Orthodox and Muslim beliefs are much different from Christian beliefs. Some of them can be very stubborn.

I was also able to love on a little three year-old named Yeshi. At the end of the morning she wanted to “come to America” with us, and believe me, I would’ve taken her had that not be frowned upon. After our lunch of granola bars and packaged tuna at the church, we got to play soccer (aka football) and some type of volleyball game with the local kids. It’s really neat to see how we can have organized games with a huge language barrier (during lunch we are
without translators).

The afternoon brought more rain but we were still able to share the gospel under a porch of a random run-down medical clinic in the village. During our time there, 13 more teenagers and men came to know Christ. We are truly amazed here every day. We are what we like to call “the bait” because we are white people that they’ve never seen before. We then present the gospel through our translators and our disciple makers. It’s amazing how God is orchestrating all of this work right now. Unfathomable.
Story by Morgan Blaik

God is working in Ethiopia

Today was Day 2 of our Ethiopian journey. We woke up to a very wet and rainy morning, not what we would have hoped for today. But the Lord was sweet in giving us some really neat time with the Ethiopians, nonetheless. We started out going to a worship service with our translators and disciple makers. We were at this worship service yesterday but only for a short while. But because of the rain, we listened to our Ethiopian friends sing a number of worship songs. It was unbelievable to hear them worship as they sang & danced before the Lord! I just kept thinking that is was a great representation of what heaven will be like when all tribes and nations come together to worship the King. We also sang a few of our American worship songs as well. It was a great time!
After worship we went to our respective villages and trudged through what felt like miles of mud! We shared Christ with one of our disciple maker’s brothers and his family. They held a traditional coffee ceremony for us and offered us their bread as well. It is humbling to witness people with very little in the way of possessions be so excited to share everything they have with us. One of the older women in this meeting told us that she had 16 children but that 4 died when they were very young. Ethiopians are by far the kindest, most generous groups of people I’ve ever met. In the afternoon, we went back to visit 2 women that we met and shared Christ with yesterday. Both women had prayed to receive Christ and we wanted to bring them Bibles and teach them how to read and study the Word. When we arrived at the house, we were invited inside and began talking with the woman that lived there. We asked if she had had a chance to share with her husband and she chuckled and told us that she was waiting for us to get there to share with him. We shared the gospel using the Evangecube and the husband prayed to receive Christ too! We gave them two Bibles and showed them how to find chapters and verses. The disciple makers were able to talk with them and will continue to follow up with them in the days to come. Despite the rainy morning and the muddy roads, today was an amazing day of watching people cross over from death to life. I can only imagine what the Lord has in store for the rest of the week!
- Story by Kelly Fillingim

PRAYER REQUESTS:
• Weather would cooperate & allow us to maximize our opportunities & time here
• Continued good health for our team
• Open doors & hearts for the gospel

A Great First Day

Good Afternoon,

I'm sure you are anxious to hear how the team is doing. We apologize for the delay in posting. There is an issue with the satellite router that will hopefully get corrected soon. So this post is coming to you from Kelli Coblentz as I just spoke with Tim on the phone. Hopefully they'll get connected soon and you'll be able to hear directly from the team on some of their experiences.

The team is doing well and had a great first day sharing the Gospel. They are ministering in an area called Italia and are divided up into four teams of 5 N. Americans each. Each team is working in a different site along with 5-7 translators and disciple makers. Disciple makers are believers with the church we partner with and they are committed to following up with the new believers in the area.

Today was a great day for one team, in particular. They shared the Gospel with 114 people and 71 accepted Christ! Praise the Lord for opening up hearts to receive his message! The people in the region all of the teams are ministering are really open to the Gospel so we are hopeful that more will come to know the Lord.

There was also a lady along with her husband who said they were the local witch doctors. The lady told the team that she heard what they said, believed, accepted Christ and then she invited them to her house to pray for the evil spirits to leave. She also plans to join them tomorrow where they'll be evangelizing to hear more.

Please continue to pray for good heatlh of the team. They are all doing well but let's continue to lift them up.

Please also pray for team unity between the N. Americans and the Ethiopians. Thank the Lord for his provision of the translators and disciple makers that allow our group the ability to communicate and share the Good News.

Keep praying for opened hearts and for the people to be receptive to the Gospel. Continue to pray for boldness of the team as they share and that their words would be clear and that the Holy Spirit would move as they speak.


Thank you for checking in and for your continued prayers!

Quick Update from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Team 1 has arrived safely in Ethiopia with all of our bags. We’re just now waking up on Sunday morning here in the capital after a restful night’s sleep. We’ll eat some breakfast here at the hotel, make a couple of stops here in town (namely at Kaldi’s for coffee which is like the Ethiopian version of Starbucks. Coffee’s 10 times better and 10 times cheaper!), and then begin the 3 hour van ride to Asela where we will spend the week. Tonight we will likely be meeting with our translators and “disciple-makers” that we will be working with the rest of the week and spending some time worshipping with them.

The team is doing great and there have been no issues so far. Continue to pray for the health and safety of our team even as you continue to pray for the hearts of those we will be ministering to in the coming days. Check back tomorrow for more updates.

Team One Photo

Team 1 Arrives in Ethiopia

Team 1 arrived safely in Ethiopia, everyone is feeling good, and all of their bags made it. Thank you for your prayers for safe travel. I'm sure the team is tired and glad that they're headed to the hotel and can go to bed. Please pray for a good night's rest and a great day tomorrow as they'll meet the translators they'll be partnering with this week.

Thank you for your continued prayers.

Team 1 is Halfway There

Hello friends! We have made it to the halfway point in our journey, resting comfortably in the Amsterdam airport. We have a short 3 hour layover here and then directly to Addis Abbaba. The trip is going well so far and we are all anxious to get to our mission destination. Pray for continued safety in our journeys and for conversations that a few of us are having with people on the plane and in the airport. Fun to see the team already on mission before we even get to Ethiopia. We'll update again once we arrive in Ethiopia. Thanks for your continued prayers.

Prayer Calendar

Here is our trip prayer calendar. For a printable version of this, go to http://s3.amazonaws.com/Wccmisc/EthiopiaPrayerCalendar.pdf

Will you commit to praying daily for our teams?

Meet Our Teams

Today we wanted to introduce you to our teams and let you hear from them on what their hopes and prayers are for the trip. As you pray, we would love to ask that you pray by name for these friends.

Trip Leaders (will be with both teams for the duration of the trip):
Tim Coblentz
Wes Butler
Jessica Ridout

Team 1:
Lauren Lawson, Laura Smith, Chris Wells, Kevin Gober, Scott Eckstein, Amit Nihalani, Bryan Jackson, Charran James, Julie Neis, Katrina Preston, Kelly Fillingim, Lee Batson, Shawn McClure, Erin Gauglitz, Shawna Blake, Lisa Kelsey, Morgan Blaik

Team 2:
Lauren Lawson, Laura Smith, Mo Sadjadpour, Allen Hankins, Andrew Johnson, Trac Cook, Joel Sherman, Erica Penick, Lindsey Lauderdale, Shara Michalka, Erin Donner, Angie Denton, Claressa Norrell, Elizabeth Johnson, Allison Albani, Erin Patrick, Vicky Nguyen

Here are some of the hopes and prayers of our team as we get ready to travel and serve the people of Ethiopia.


That I would personally get to see at least 30 people come to know Christ.
That I would experience God’s presence in an awe-inspiring way like never before.
That I would grow in boldness in sharing my faith.
- Kelly Fillingim

My hope and prayer is that I can trust the Lord to comfort my family in the midst of some difficult times leading up to this trip and that He would draw them near to Him. That the Lord would remove my family's anxiety about me being gone and show them that He is in control of my life and has His hand on me. I hope and pray the words of Acts 2:42-47 and Matthew 9:37-38 for our trip, knowing that God can save souls right here in Dallas and Ethiopia at the same time.
- Erin Donner

My prayers for this trip are that the travel goes smoothly, that our team stays healthy during and after the trip, that we would be able to clearly and lovingly show the people of Asela the love and story of Christ, that God will bless the translators and their families who sacrifice their lives daily for Christ, and that our friends and family back home will come to know Christ by seeing how passionate and adamant we are about Him and spreading His word. It's hard to believe this trip is finally here after beginning to prepare for it way back in November! We have such an amazing team and it's been a blessing to form friendships with everyone. I'm thrilled for us to get to work alongside one another in Ethiopia. God is so faithful and good.
- Morgan Blaik

I pray to learn from the Ethiopian believers who have forsaken everything to follow Christ and make Him known! I pray for fertile soil: for our presentation of the Gospel to be clear, for the Ethiopians to have open ears to hear the Good News, that they will fully understand what Christ has done for them on the cross, and for them to receive our precious Savior!
- Lauren Lawson

My prayers are for the people we will encounter who will sacrifice everything, including their own relationships with their families, to come to a saving knowledge of Christ. I can't imagine what that must take and I am so thankful that the majority of my family knows Christ and supports me in this trip but my heart breaks for the many people have accepted Christ and are literally disowned from their family, as Jesus indicates will happen in Luke 12:52-53, both in nations abroad and even here in the Bible belt. I pray that they would stand firm and be surrounded by a family of believers.
- Lee Batson

My hope is that God will use me to further His kingdom on Earth both in Ethiopia and back home. I am simply a sinner to whom God has chosen to reveal Himself and I can claim nothing but the cross and Him crucified on my behalf. My prayer is that the message of the gospel will tear down enemy strongholds and be a light in the darkness. Thank you Lord for an opportunity to see You work among the nations. "Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you." Ps 63:3.
- Bryan Jackson

Prayer Requests for Us
• For discernment and guidance as God leads us on this exciting opportunity (Proverbs 3:5-6).
• For unity among our Watermark team (Ephesians 4:1-6, Romans 15:5-6).
• That we would not look for immediate results but trust that God is writing the story of the people we will meet. Whether it’s a seed planted on rocky or fertile soil, that we would be faithful to do the work God has called us to do.
• We acknowledge our confidence in the Lord, knowing that what is impossible with men is possible with Him (Luke 18:22-27).
• For God to be glorified by our team’s time in Ethiopia.
• Specific requests: That we would be diligent in preparing and studying the scripture we need to know. That I (Elizabeth) will not try to “perfect” learning all the parables but would allow God to release me from my perfectionism and control. That God would use our unique strengths to reach others.
Prayer Requests for the Ethiopians
• That their hearts would be open to meeting with us and allow us to share why we came to see them (Acts 26: 17-18, Colossians 4: 3-4).
• That God would help them hear His call on their life (Romans 11:29).
• That their hearts would be receptive to receive Christ and believe in His name (John 1:12).
Thank you for being in prayer for us and being such a critical part of our team.
- Elizabeth and Andrew Johnson

My hope and prayer is that the Lord would give me a greater heart to care for those that are less fortunate and for me to realize that the rest of the world does not live like we do in the US. I also pray that the Lord would use this trip to impact how we love and care for people here in America.
-Amit Nihalani

I pray for Christ to move in the hearts of this team, to be on mission when we are back in Dallas just as we are on mission in Ethiopia.
- Kevin Gober

Praying that we would see God’s glory and outpouring of his Holy Spirit and every knee would bow and every mouth proclaim that Jesus is Lord.
- Allen Hankins

My hope for the next two weeks is for the Lord to be made known, loved, glorified, and desired. May hearts be changed not only in the people we encounter, but in us as well, so that we may forever be a people that seeks to share the Good News and Truth of Christ!
- Laura Smith

An Introduction to Our Trip

For those of you just tuning into our team's journey, welcome. We are now around 48 hours away from our first team leaving for the adventure that awaits us in Ethiopia and wanted to give you all an idea of what is in front of our team and ask that you would follow along over the next few weeks and pray with us.

We are so blessed to be able to partner with a great ministry like E3 Partners and their staff here as well as their staff on the ground in Ethiopia. Our main task is to partner with them for the purpose of spreading the gospel of Christ to those who have yet to hear and to work with the local church in Asela, Ethiopia to establish new church plants among the villages around that city. Even this week, the E3 staff in Ethiopia has been training the men and women that we will be working with, called "Disciple Makers" who are Christ-followers living in and around those villages to prepare them for their partnership with us as well as the ongoing work they will have once we leave.

Once on the ground, our team of 20 will be divided into 4 teams of 5 and will travel to 4 separate mission sites, each equipped with at least 2 translators and 2 or more "Disciple Makers." Our main activities will be establishing relationships with the people of the village using soccer, hand ball (volleyball), and other games and taking advantage of opportunities to share with the people of the village our stories of God's grace in our lives and the hope that He offers to each of them. We will do this by telling stories from God's Word and using the "Evangecube" a great tool developed by E3 for sharing the gospel. We will also have opportunities to pray for the physical needs of people and be the hands and feet of Christ to people in impoverished areas of Ethiopia.

This trip is the culmination of a long journey of preparation that started back in October of 2009 and has included hours of preparation collectively and individually and the raising of thousands of dollars of support. Our work will follow to 10 hour flights and a 3 hour van ride to get to Asela and will be followed by the same on our return. We have two teams going, one traveling with us on July 16th and returning on the 25th and the second team leaving July 23rd and returning on August 1st. Five of our team will be staying for the full 17 days. The Lord has provided in amazing ways for the members of our team and has provided us with an amazing team. Tomorrow I'll let you hear from some of them and what their hopes and prayers are for the trip.

Starting today, you should find daily updates here and pictures from the field as well as stories of how God is working through our teams, so check back daily. The following is a video we shot last year of the church in Asela (Sagure is specifically the name of the village) celebrating our arrival and praising God for bringing us to partner with them (the camera work is awful thanks to yours truly, but you get the idea).

God's Continued Work in Ethiopia

Even as we gear up for our trip this week, we are reminded that God's work is in full swing already in Asela and the surrounding community. This past Sunday, we ran DK's story in the Watermark News, a story of how God used DK's faithfulness in sharing his faith with a man named Geda last year. Be encouraged by this great story and reminded of God's loving, relentless pursuit of His people.


http://watermarkblogs.org/stories/07/god-at-work/