Singing Halleluia!

by Joy Casey
reposted from March 2013

What a day! Abebe and I picked up four visitors from Texas this morning. They were pretty tired from their long trip, but I know from experience that it is best to keep pushing forward and not give in to sleep until a little closer to bedtime. After a nice breakfast and some strong Ethiopian coffee, we headed to one of our partner churches, Nefas Silk Meseret Kristos.



On Saturday mornings a group of men and women meet for prayer, and we tiptoed into the room and dropped to our knees alongside them. For some reason, I always feel honored to join in prayer with my sisters and brothers in Ethiopia and today was no different. After a time in prayer, the group from Texas brought their greetings and several in the prayer band expressed their appreciation to us for praying with them. We then invited them to join us on Mt. Entoto that overlooks Addis Ababa for prayer, and they eagerly accepted our invitation.



The air was fresh and the sun hot as we hiked to a rock outcrop overlooking the sprawling metropolis of Addis Ababa. Our prayers were for the church in Ethiopia … strength and energy and resources to push back the encroaching push of Islam that is systematically trying to take over Ethiopia. We also prayed for the government and for peace and prosperity. One person prayed that not only would Ethiopia become a strong Christian nation, but that Ethiopia would bring the gospel to their neighbors in Somalia, North Sudan and Djibouti. The prayers, both in Amharic and English, were powerful. Afterwards, our Ethiopian hosts began to sing and rejoice. Even though we Americans didn’t know the words they were singing, we were caught up in the exuberance and spirit of the worship!