Final Thoughts from the Final Three

Well, actually, only 2 of the final 3. I didn't receive a last update from Josh. Perhaps he'll post after they return.
Here are some final thoughts from Kaite and Joe as they got ready to leave for home. Difficult to summarize such an experience succintly.

Katie’s thoughts

This past two months have been an incredible adventure. You have all heard many stories but right now I want to share with you a little of what God taught me this summer. My time in Ethiopia and with the people here have taught me more about how to be grateful and live a life of thankfulness. Seeing the poverty here has been one way in which I have grown to be more thankful for God’s blessings, but it is so much more than that. The Ethiopian people are so thankful despite their lack of resources or material possessions. The joy we have experienced here is evidence of the people’s thankfulness of God’s presence in their lives and the little that he has blessed them with.
First I think of the breakfast program and the cool experience it has been to sit with the kids, head bowed against the table, as they give thanks to God for the small amount of food they receive each day. They are genuinely grateful-so grateful that they cannot help but share the little they have with me and with each other. I cannot tell you how many pieces of dabo and moose (bread and bananas) have been offered to me by these young children who only get 2 pieces of bread and 2 bananas for food for the entire day. It has been such a blessing to see their gratitude manifested in generosity.
Another example of gratitude that I have experienced here has been going to Pastor Matteows’ church. At that church, they rejoice and give thanks to God for hours and still have more to be thankful for. While that means that their services are long, I am always struck with their ability to thank God and thank each other for everything (and sometimes it seems like they are thanking God for everything). The intensity and sincerity with which they pray and give thanks has been an example to me, as their lives demonstrate their inward gratitude to God for every blessing they receive.
One great opportunity we had was to purchase and give out new shoes to the feeding center workers and the children that help serve at the feeding center. It was a wonderful experience to bless them in such a small way, yet their gratitude was abundant. They were so joyful and thankful for the small gift we were able to give them. Their thankfulness was a blessing to me and their lives are another example of hearts full of gratitude.
In Henri Nouwen’s book, Gracias!, which is a journal of his time doing missions work in Bolivia and Peru, he comes to the realization that, “All of life is a gift, a gift to be celebrated, a gift to be shared. The poor are a people who know to say thanks to God, to life, to each other.” I have found this truth wherever I go here in Ethiopia. Whether it is the thankful children who only got bananas the day there was no bread or the girls at the girls’ home that are thankful when I give them markers to draw with or Frisbees to play with, the Ethiopians have challenged me to be more thankful. They have taught me through their actions how to live a life out of a thankful response to God.
There are many things that I am thankful for from this summer’s experience. I am thankful for the time I have been able to spend here and the relationships I have developed with God’s children. I am thankful for the lessons I have learned and the opportunities I have been given to grow and serve God in new ways. I am thankful for God’s presence in my life and his faithfulness in caring for his people. Finally, I am thankful for all of you and your support and prayers throughout this journey.
I have been challenged here to recognize that everything is a gift from God, a gift for which to be grateful. Although it is easy to take so many things for granted, I have learned that every situation provides an opportunity to respond with gratitude. My prayer for myself as I leave this amazing country and finish out my summer would be my prayer for all of you as well. It is found in Colossians 2:6-7- “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.
Goodbye and God bless from Addis!
With Love,
Katie

Joe’s thoughts

I write this with great joy, hoping that the Holy Spirit will convey His amazing
works that He chose to do through us while here in Ethiopia.
Together as a team, each of us has authentically proclaimed the Gospel of
Christ; through words, actions, encouragement, service, and challenging others
to be more like Him. Because of this, God has blessed us immensely.
I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to preach the Gospel of Christ twice a
week for the past month. The responsibility has been an amazingly humbling
one…I am continually reminded of my insufficiency, constant need for Christ, His
mercy, salvation, forgiveness and grace. After each sermon, God chose to move
the hearts of numerous people. They responded by raising their hands and
joining Pastor Matthews and I in a model prayer that confessed our sinful
nature, our need for Jesus Christ- the perfect Son of God who was sent to live
and die on the cross for our sins and who after three days rose again, so that
through belief in Christ we would be saved. What a blessing it has been to be
a part of God’s miracles. God be praised!

I have begun to understand more thoroughly why God told me to “Consider it
pure joy, that you-Joe- are seeing this heartache.” He did so because He wanted
to show me what it truly was like for evil to be overcome by good, and for His
people to be brought back home. Truthfully, this hasn’t been an easy lesson.
I’m ready for a rest. But the joy!….the Joy is unmatched!
And to see God is amazing! And totally worth it!

Let me tell you just part of the transformation that God has done:

The women and children- my arms are sore from playing airplane with the kids…but
they have had a chance to play, to be rambunctious, to be loved, to be crazy,
and to simply be children. The women have been shown that they are appreciated,
and they beam like a new mother excited to show off her kid and what God has
blessed her with! New life and meaning has been given to them!

The old men have a spring in their step! Thankful, and ever teaching me more
about humility- the 60 year old men are renewed with jovial hearts.

The men have begun to accept the challenge to be men. Some alcoholics, who’ve
actually come to the feeding center sober- this alone is a dramatic and praise
worthy change! Thieves are being challenged, convicted, and changing from their
unrighteous ways. But mostly, the men have been encouraged that they are more
than just another beggar, but a child of God! And each child of God is loved by
the Father immensely! Even the hardest of hard hearts are beginning to be
softened by the Spirit.

While the pain is still there- the goodness of God is greater. And for this, we
should be thankful!

In the last time I was able to speak to them through the translation of Pastor
Matthews, I challenged the whole community to become a community committed to
Christ, founded in love. I told them, “How great would it be if Addis Ababa was
taken back by us becoming a unified body; loving Christ Jesus and doing amazing
things for and through Him? How amazing would it be if we became so active in
their faith that mountains moved, people were saved, and lives were filled with
God’s amazing joy! And what if we wholeheartedly gave our lives to Christ and
allowed Him to truly work miracles in each of our lives? Wouldn’t that be
amazing!” And I wholeheartedly believe that it can and will happen. It is my
prayer, and hopefully you’ll join me, that God will do an amazing work at the
Hope Feeding Center in this next year. That thousands will be saved, and that a
revolution for Christ will be continued.

I want to challenge each of you who read this. Rob Bell said in his book Velvet
Elvis, “It is our turn to rediscover the beautiful, dangerous, compelling idea
that a group of people, surrendered to God and to each other, really can change
the World.” The work has been started and results have already been seen.
Hopefully you will join us and together we will all see God do the impossible.