Caring for Widows

Aselefech Wakjira worked hard all her life doing menial labor to bring in a few birr to help buy food for her children. Her husband was a hard worker, finding jobs here and there as a manual laborer. The hard physical work soon broke his health due to too heavy loads, long hours and poor nutrition, and he died. Their daughters found homes of their own and Aselefech’s moved in with her nearby married daughter. Tragically, her daughter also died, and soon afterwards her son-in-law turned her out of his house.

Aselefech was old, had no education and no way at all to earn a living.  She eventually found an abandoned chicken coop to shelter under. The walls had no mud, just sticks loosely stacked together, but there was, at least, a tin roof and a rusty tin door.


Mark Wolbert, our Mission Director, was introduced to Aselefech when he was setting up projects for an upcoming mission team. He planned to hang thick mats on her walls so the chilly wind and rain could not as easily disturb her during the rainy season. As she watched the people from America led by a workman from her church put up the wall mats, she was beside herself with excitement and unimaginably grateful for the kindness shown to her.
 


You, too, can make a difference in a person’s life!  You can make a donation from our YWAM Gift Catalog for a child or a widow that will bless them immeasurably.  There you'll find ways to give something as simple as clothes or shoes or as big as a house or a needed surgery.

You can also “adopt” an elderly widow like Aselefech or a family in Ethiopia that is high risk for disruption due to death, disease or sheer poverty through our Adoption Ministry 1:27 program.  A family like Etabez and her daughter need immediate help…  **Thanks to a generous donor, this little family has been 'adopted'.
 

Etabez and Hana

Here is another widow who needs to be adopted:

Tewach Kassa is an elderly widow who lives alone in one small room.  She attends church, and in her own words, she has “No one. Only God.”  Tewach does have a daughter, but receives no support from her.  She has great need for food and clothing.  That’s what this ministry is all about: “…to look after widows and orphans in their distress.”  As a sponsor, you can ease one widow’s hunger and provide her with clothing.  Maybe just as important is the fact that she will know that someone, besides God, really cares.  Thanks for caring about this special lady. 

Visit our Adoption Ministry 1:27 website to select a family to ‘adopt’.

---

If you are interested in your church putting together a trip to Ethiopia, visit our Missions webpages for more information. Summer 2013 trips are full but we have openings for teams over Spring break or Christmas vacation. We’ll also be taking an ‘Extreme Team’ trip in January 2014 which will be made up of adventurers who will serve a local church in the remote town of Dembidollo.  This trip will involve tent camping, no water, electricity or plumbing and it will be the trip of a lifetime!