Evangelists and their Wives

by Joy Casey in Ethiopia


We left Addis early in the morning heading down the road to visit the evangelists working out of Gutumuma. We were to meet up with my friend Dinah Monahan and her crew from Living Hope who planned on having a nice program with the wives of the evangelists while I conducted update interviews with them. By the time we hit Ziway … it was pouring rain. No, it was pounding rain and the fields and roads were swamped. We knew there was no way we would be able to drive into Gutumuma. So, Plan B was hatched: the evangelists and their wives would come to the church in Bulbula and we would still get to meet with them, just not in Gutumuma. They arranged donkey carts to carry them, and while we stopped and had a bite to eat and wait out the deluge, they headed to Bulbula. As so often happens in Africa, the rain stopped, the sun came out, and things dried up quickly.
 

Dinah had a great time with the ten women… sharing with them the Father’s love through stories. She also had some treats for each lady, and they had a great time sharing and laughing.
 

It is good to honor and include these women who are quietly behind the scenes making it possible for their husbands to spend their days in the demanding and sometimes dangerous work of evangelism.
 

I have known these wonderful missionaries working out of Gutumuma for years, but today I had some good one-on-one time with each of them and got to know their stories in more detail and listen to some of their challenges. It was great to see them with their wives and some of their children, too. Abebe and I along with Wario (a YWAM missionary who is helping with agriculture projects) strategized ways the missionaries could grow their own food along with Moringa trees whose leaves can be a cash crop.
 

Each of the evangelists in Gutumuma has a sponsor/prayer partner, and they will be getting updated prayer cards for their evangelist. We appreciate the dedicated people serving in Ethiopia and equally are indebted to those in the U.S. who make it possible for them to preach the gospel. It illustrates well how the body works… each doing his part so the purposes of God are accomplished. These men face a multitude of challenges, and a huge THANK YOU is extended to each and every partner in the U.S. who faithfully prays for the evangelism work done by these men of God.