The GIFT of Hearing the Word

I don’t know about you but I have a LOT of bibles in my house… NIV, NLT, ESV, KJV, MSG, Thompson Chain, Phillips, study bibles, even my old Living Bible from high school brightly underlined with Flair markers.  And now I have an app on my phone where I can get all of these versions (and more!) with a swipe of my finger.

If I’m honest, all of these bibles are taken completely for granted. 

Anytime I want, I can read a passage, meditate on God’s perspective, find answers to the questions I have and redirect my wandering heart according to His Truth.  Do I often stop and think about what a gift I hold in my hands?

For new believers in Ethiopia, having God’s Word is not a given.



For those who are new to faith in Christ, it is an invaluable discipleship and teaching tool.  God’s word is the living and active means of transforming minds previously shaped by error.


A solar-powered audio bible holds hundreds of hours of Old and New Testament scripture in the native language of the listeners.  It is a sturdy little piece of technology enabling many to hear the Word for the first time.



We have the opportunity to take many audio bibles to Ethiopia in October to distribute to new believers in Christ but we need your help! 

Each audio bible costs only $50 and can be donated via our YWAM Gift Catalog here.  You can also give a hard-copy bible here.



THANK YOU for helping us share the Truth with many people hungry for God’s word!

Determination + Hard Work + Help = SUCCESS!

New Hope for the Future


Tigist is the mother of a 10-year-old girl and 2 ½-year-old boy and was one of the desperately poor in Ethiopia, with little hope for anything better. Once she was stabilized through Adoption Ministry 1:27, she began selling a few vegetables alongside the road. A year ago she received a small loan to enlarge that business. Today she sells a variety of fruits and vegetables in a rented stall in the main marketplace. Her next step is to invest in charcoal and sell that, too. We are so proud of Tigist!

 
Entrepreneur of the Year?


Bethlehem could easily compete for an “Entrepreneur of the Year” award. At the end of December 2014, Bethlehem received a no-interest loan to open a shop selling women’s items. She soon included fruits and vegetables and most recently added a coffee shop! Give this gal an inch and she’ll run a mile... maybe two!


A Broken Heart Gives to Others


Hageritu’s husband abandoned her and their four children.  She was without hope and completely destitute when Adoption Ministry 1:27 became aware of her situation and took her in. She has since adopted two orphaned children in her community! Hageritu is highly motivated to make something of herself and she works long, hard hours selling charcoal – used for cooking fuel by most people in Ethiopia. She is making a profit and paying back her small loan.  We applaud her perseverance, her heart for others, and we cheer her on!

 
From Garbage Dump to Entrepreneur


Weda used to scavenge for food at the garbage dump. What a difference the help given by Adoption Ministry 1:27 has made in her life and that of her three children! Weda highly values education so she has done her best to be sure all of her children attend school regularly and get good grades. She also values self-sufficiency.  Her sponsor fronted $388 for her to start a charcoal selling business. Weda works 12 hour days buying charcoal from wholesalers, bringing it to her home, and re-selling it to her community. This hard working mother is determined to lift herself out of poverty and give a brighter future to her children. She is doing fantastic and is a wonderful role model for her children.
 

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THANK YOU to all who have invested in the lives of women like Tigist, Bethlehem, Hageritu and Wide through financially supporting an IGA (Income-Generating Activity).  Find out how to give the gift of a new future on our website here.

Hospitality and Injustice

by Angie Allen

Angie and a team of prayer partners are just returning from a two week visit to Korah in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.  Many of you sponsor families living in Korah, this community on the outskirts of Addis next to the Koshe garbage dump.  Angie gives us a first-hand look into what it’s like to live there. 


...The story of this woman's rejection and shame runs deep and soaks her story with pain. She was left by her husband because of their difference in beliefs. She follows Jesus and he follows Mohammed. She would not change for him and so he left. After discovering that she and her son were sick with HIV they came to the city for treatment. They came to this area, Kore, to this home, carrying the secret of their illness with them. For a while, things were looking up. She began selling corn on the side of the road, her son started school and she was receiving help from a sponsorship program. But all of this came crashing down when she naively confided her story to a women she thought was a kind friend. This “kind friend” instead made the news public and because she was also the landlord of the area homes, she raised her rent to almost double. She also forbade her use of the community water pump so now she has to go outside to another area to get her daily water supply.

Now our interactions with the local women when we arrived makes more sense. No one would claim to know her. This part of her story surprises me the most. I was under the impression that because this place is known for it's HIV and TB and leprosy that the people here would not turn on each other. I thought that they came to this place because they were shunned and needed safety but now here they are shunning each other. I thought they would hold each other up but instead I found a class system among the outcasts.

Read Angie’s entire post here…

Also, don’t miss At the Dump.

He is the Defender... so we defend

"On Orphan Sunday, Christians stand for the orphan. We are a people called to defend the fatherless…to care for the child that has no family…to visit orphans in their distress. Each event is locally-led. Sermons and small groups, concerts and prayer gatherings, shared meals and youth activities—each rousing believers with God’s call to care for the orphan, and what we can do in response. From many sources, one voice. Each November, thousands of events will echo across America and around the globe, all sharing a single goal: that God’s great love for the orphan will find echo in our lives as well. Orphan Sunday is your opportunity to rouse church, community and friends to God’s call to care for the orphan."

Does your church offer practical ways to care for orphans?  We would love to partner with you in reaching orphaned children in Ethiopia - stabilizing families to prevent orphans, promoting family sustainability and linking arms with the Ethiopian church to promote adoption in strong Christian Ethiopian families.  For more information, contact us at:

support@ywamethiopia.com

The Christian Alliance for Orphans provides lots of helpful resources to help you bring Orphan Sunday to your church or small group.  Visit orphansunday.org for more information.

Orphan Sunday
November 8, 2015

What Sleep Number is This?

Engidageti and her 2nd grade son Yonas share a bed.  This is not unusual in Ethiopia and people don’t usually complain about doing so.  But when our case managers see a sleeping situation that looks as appalling as Engidageti’s, they let us know that a new bed is needed.


Thanks to a generous donation to our Gift Catalog, we were able to provide Engidageti and Yonas with a sturdy new bedframe, mattress, blanket, sheets and pillows.  What a joyful day it was for mother and son!

Shitaye and her children were sleeping on the ground before receiving a new bed and bedding last month…



Something we take for granted each night is a great blessing to Shitaye and her children.


On behalf of Engidageti, Shitaye and many others, THANK YOU to those of you who have given via our Gift Catalog to meet many basic needs – in doing so you are serving the ‘least of these’ in Jesus’ name!