Busy

I received an email from Joy and from Jeff- hooray!  (Can you tell I've been anxiously waiting to hear something??)  They were in Nekemte and planning to make the long trip to Adama from there on Friday.  They were bringing back a little six-week old baby and a toddler to our Adama Widows & Orphans Home.  I know that once they have a minute to spare, they will send me some good stories about their time in the west.  I do know that they faced some significant spiritual resistance there so your prayers for them are so appreciated and needed!

Part of their cargo for this trip was to deliver this:

A huge blessing to our orphanages has been all of the formula that our families traveling for their first court dates have filled their suitcases with!  We are so grateful to all who have donated, to the Monahans and the Portillas who have been raising funds for formula and to these families, willing to take less of their own personal items in order to bring cans of powdered gold to Ethiopia.  You probably know that many of the babies that we take into our orphanages are extremely malnourished.  We've seen miraculous weight gain after a steady diet of this nutrient-rich formula they so desperately need.

On Saturday, Kara Portilla from Into the Streets of Ethiopia, is arriving in Addis Ababa.  She and her mom will go with the team to visit several different outreaches YWAM supports - from YWAM's Mercy Development and the ministry to street children...

to the Koshe Project where there is ministry to young adults living at the huge landfill (dump) in this city...

photo credit:  Ordinary Hero

to the Maternity Home that Mike and Dinah Monahan have opened in Adama...

This team has been going non-stop ever since their feet hit African soil.  Joy has shared with me what a blessing Mark and Jeff have been to travel with - they pray together daily and have needed that in so many ways.  And I've heard that there's a lot of laughter going on too.  Neither of those two pieces of news surprise me one bit.  I'm so proud of these servants of Christ!  Together with Tezera and Abebe, they are accomplishing so much for this ministry, for our families here and for God's kingdom.

Please pray that they stay healthy, get enough sleep and have the stamina they'll need to finish strong.  Pray also for great favor wherever they go.  It will be a busy week.  We have three families in Ethiopia this week for their court dates!