Watermark in Africa

Sorry for the lack of blog updates the last couple days but internet has been lacking.    Team 2 is back in Addis Ababa after our ministry days in Hosaena.    We had some team members get a little sick on Weds & Thursday but that is not uncommon for Ethiopia.    At this point most everyone is close to 100%.    Today, Saturday, is our off day where we will spend some time shopping, eating some good food, getting some rest & training on bringing the mission field back home to Dallas.    The training at the end of the trip is as important as the training at the beginning so pray that the team processes this time well.    Late tonight we will get on an airplane for the long ride home & are excited about seeing family & friends      Please pray for: ·        Refreshed & renewed hearts  ·        Good health for the North Americans...

Our team arrived in the village where we immediately walked up on a water well where the women and children of the village were gathering water for the day. We were able to share the gospel with the group of 20-30 girls. After we shared, 2 teenage Muslim girls began asking questions about why did God let Jesus die, and who killed Jesus. Although they weren’t ready to accept the gospel, it was encouraging to see how they all stayed for the entire story.    Later on, we were trying to find a place to eat lunch. On our way, we saw this gigantic tree that was HUGE, nothing like the trees in Dallas. We decided to stop and take pictures by the tree. As we were taking pictures, a Muslim man named Adega walked up to us and started sharing the history of the tree along with his story. He shared with us that his son had gotten sick many years ago. They had taken him to a Christian church to be prayed over and he was healed. Tim asked him why he wouldn’t want to worship a God who is able...

Our team arrived at the village this morning and were greeted by a large group of locals on motorcycles as they were on their way into the city. They stopped and we began to share the Gospel story with them. While they all listened politely, they eventually responded that they appreciated our story but they were Muslims and did not want to change their religion. They thought our story was nice, but simply that, a story. This was indicative of most of our day. We would share and many would listen, however many responded that they could not believe in Jesus because they followed Islam. It was obvious by the expression in their faces that many of them were struggling with what we were telling them. An internal, spiritual wrestling as they heard the truth of the Gospel, yet they were afraid of the community’s response and the persecution of leaving their faith.  It felt as if much of the village was fearful of what might happen if they made the decision to follow Christ. It was as if t...

What an incredible day.    This is the 1 st  day in the 2 week forecast where they did not have rain.    We were told last night there would be a funeral in the village that was the mission site & that I was to share the gospel during the funeral service.    Honestly, I was not real excited as starting the 2 nd  week of ministry my body is kind of run down & I wasn’t feeling the best plus my throat was sore & I woke up feeling like I was starting to get sick.    I prayed last night & this morning for God’s discernment on what to say at the funeral & I felt like he pointed me to Romans 3 & 4 & to talk on Abraham being justified by faith.    We got to the town (mission site) in the morning & our small team walked ot the funeral site.    I was shocked when I saw all the people waiting for the service.    Funerals are a community affair in Ethiopia so it seemed like EVERYONE in th...

 Ethiopia trip #2 just arrived in Addis Ababa healthy & safe.   Please pray for: * rest for the team as we head to the hotel for couple hours sleep * safety as we travel the roads tomorrow to our mission site * unity with our Ethiopian partners  * open hearts to the gospel 

Team 1 is at the airport & just passed through customs so they are on the 1st leg of the trip home.  Everyone is in good spirits but sad to leave Ethiopia.  There is 1 individual who is having some stomach issues but other than that everyone feel great.   Team 2 is in the air on their way to Addis Ababa & should arrive at 11:40PM Ethiopia time.  We are 8 hours ahead of Dallas time.  I'll try to post when they arrive but the wifi in the hotel in Addis has been unreliable.  Team 1 has so many awesome stories & I can't wait to see what God has in store for Team 2. Please pray for: *  good health for Team 1 individuals  *  luggage for Team 2 would make it to Addis & luggage for Team 1 would make it to DFW

Today was such an unbelievable day. God continuously opened doors and opened hearts in ways we couldn’t have imagined. Throughout the week there has been different types of spiritual warfare and today with our group that started right when we left for the village. We had only driven about 10 minutes when our van popped a tire on the main road. We all got out of the van so the driver could change the tire, and Autumn and I began to interact with the kids who were standing there. We started playing with bubbles and soon the group went from five to around forty to fifty. We taught the kids head shoulders knees and toes in English and their faces lit up, so fun! One of our Ethiopian leaders told us, “this isn’t our ministry site today, but it’s okay we share here”. So we went through the evangecube, meanwhile the group was continuing to grow. At the end one of the disciple makers took over which was so cool as the ministry will soon pass to them once we leave. Several kids accepted Christ ...

Today simply left me in awe of God. We began the day with the intention of going to a certain village, and then got stuck in the mud twice. After getting stuck, our disciple makers saw it fit to go back to the area we went to yesterday. We walked for a while along the dirt path on our way to a church that was expecting us, when we came across mud too deep to walk through. We decided to hop over a fence and walk through a field, when we came across the backside of a house. The woman invited one of our disciple makers and our team into her home, through the back door, which is never done in their culture. We were chatting with two women and three little girls and then walked in a man that we watched accept Christ yesterday. We then found out that he had shared what he learned about Jesus with his mother just last night, but she did not believe him because of all the things he had done in the past. She said us finding our way to her house (only because we got stuck in the mud & couldn...

Today was such a great and encouraging day! We climbed up a mountainside to a village. We were invited into the home of an Ethiopian Orthodox family and shared the gospel with them. The mother and daughter of the family asked for us to continue to pray that they may have faith to accept Jesus as their savior. There is an incredible cost of following Christ in Ethiopian culture.    Many people lose their homes or small farms if they follow Christ & they are kicked out of the community.    It was so encouraging seeing our Ethiopian disciple makers follow up with the family members. Shortly after, we went to a home of a woman whose husband recently died. The woman said that someone shared the gospel with her in the past and she wanted to believe but her husband would not allow her or her children to accept Christ as their savior. This is common in Ethiopia as it is a male dominated culture.    We shared the gospel with her and she and several of her childr...