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