Watermark in Africa

Day three on the mission field started unlike other days with all four teams being able to meet together in a church to sing and dance with our fellow Ethiopian brothers and sisters and pray for the Lord to guide our steps. From there our team did not load back into the bus, instead we walked to a nearby village where we got to share the gospel with a few Ethiopian Orthodox & even met some Christians & got to pray with them.    Overall this was a very sweet time for our team as yesterday was an emotionally and spiritually heavy day for us. But after lunch we decided to head into the nearby market to speak to people from other villages who gather to buy & sell. Leading up to this I was having a rough day and was being bombarded with insecurities and lies all day that I could not shake for some reason. However, once we got to the market that all began to change as I got to interact and play with some of the children that came up to us. While Brady was sharing, an Ethiopian ma

Today, God moved in a powerful way. First, God’s Word alone is powerful and sufficient. Second, it only takes one small act of faith for others to follow and believe. My group and I were walking on the mountainside in a village. We came along a group of men, the guys began to share the gospel with them. I was lingering in the back and noticed a group of women and children (around 20 or so). I was with translator Abburah. I started sharing the evange-cube with these women and children which is a cube that tells a picture story of God’s redemptive love. As I explained the free gift of salvation through Christ alone I told them that we have a choice to either accept or reject this free gift.    If they accept the free gift of salvation through Christ that they can be forgiven, saved, and have eternal life. If they reject this free gift, they would suffer for eternity separated from God. I told them that I had accepted this free gift and that I had an assurance of salvation & a peace t

Today was our first day out in the mission field of Ethiopia. We went out into the beautiful countryside, with a cool breeze, a little rain and a lot of mud. We saw God at work in the hearts of the Ethiopian people and encountered some Christians, and some Muslims. Taylor, Autumn and I (Melissa) got to meet a Muslim woman that had a 2-year-old daughter who said she used to be Christian but married a Muslim man and converted to Islam. She wanted to give her life back to Christ but was worried her Husband would abandon her and her daughter. In the Ethiopian culture this is a big deal as women do not have many rights without a man or husband in their life and it can cause much hardship. We shared the Gospel with her and Taylor encouraged her with a personal testimony of how Christ changed her life and reminded her that Jesus loves deeply and He is a God who provides. After some time, she confessed she wanted to surrender her life back to Christ. We prayed for her and the joy on her face w

 I dropped the 1st July team off at the airport & they are on their way home.  The 2nd July team arrived & just got to the hotel.  Everyone on both teams feels great but the 2nd team is understandably tired.  All the people are healthy & all the bags arrived so praise the Lord.  Tomorrow is our travel day as we have a 7 hour van ride ahead of us.  Please pray for: unity with our Ethiopian partners safety as we travel on the Ethiopian roads open hearts for the gospel this week  Check back regularly for updates. 

On our last ministry day, our small team had the opportunity to encourage an incredible woman of faith. This woman a few years ago was married to a Muslim man when she heard the good news of Jesus and accepted Christ as her savior.    She was pregnant with their 10 th  child at the time but her Muslim husband still divorced her putting her in hardship.    As one of the only Christians in her whole village, she is suffering immensely for her faith while and caring for her many children. The hope and joy in the Lord she had shined brightly on her face as we shared scripture with her and encouraged her as best as we could. What a beautiful testament of faith. Needless to say, her strength challenged and inspired us more than anything we could say to her.    Story by Cory    Psalm 40 says that the works of the Lord are so numerous that they’re impossible to count. Today (and this week more generally) was a reminder of this. Our team went to a village which has recently been marked by tensi

The third ministry day was an AMAZING one. My team walked to a Muslim village where people were not open to hearing the gospel. We encountered an elderly Muslim man and I shared the gospel with him. He responded by reciting the Quran and rejecting Jesus. I shared my testimony of how Christ has changed my life and asked him if he had an assurance of salvation.    The Quran does not promise an assurance of salvation so he responded that he was unsure if he would go to heaven because of his good works. One of the disciple makers’ wives then shared her testimony of how her Muslim family came to believe in Jesus and how that had changed their lives.    The older man eventually said he would think about becoming a Christian but needed to talk to his family first. He turned his back and walked away and then stopped and said, “come to my house, I am ready to accept Jesus Christ now!”. In his home he prayed and proclaimed his faith in Jesus. He told me that God had softened his heart today afte