Africa Update #1

Since this is my first post about my upcoming mission trip to Africa, I should probably start with a few details. I'm heading to Ethiopia Africa on July 23rd through August 1st. I'm part of a team of about 20 people from Watermark who is partnering with e3 Partners Ministries (for more information see http://www.e3partners.org/). We will be working with Ethiopian Christians as we do children's VBS, men's and women's outreach, AIDS awareness training and other things to build relationships so that we can share Christ. The cost of this trip is about $4,000 per person and so support raising has been a huge focus over the last few months. But I have to share God's goodness in this! I have been truly humbled by the way He has provided financially. We were required to have at least half of this amount raised by March 1st so that our airfare could be purchased. The remaining amount is due by June 4th. Well, by the middle of February God had provided ALL of my money! WOW! Not only that, but by the overflow of His blessings, I am now able to help my team with their support raising as well. Isn't God so good?? To those of you that have supported me, THANK YOU for being the hands and feet of God!!

So, I think that brings us up to date and to what's going on now. This past Saturday was our "Shot Party"...and let me just say, it was not nearly as much fun as it sounds. HA! In addition to receiving our vaccinations (I got 4 in the same arm!) we got to learn some really neat things about the Ethiopian culture. (Click on this link to view the document we received at our meeting...http://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B0AUr_ht_6b6ZTMxOWNkODQtZTBlNi00OGRiLTk0ZDMtYzM0Y2Q1MmI3NDA0&hl=en.) We will be flying into the capital city of Adis Ababa and then we will be traveling to Asela (about a 4-5 hour drive) where we will be staying for most of our time. The majority of the people we will be working with are Ethiopian Orthodox. While it is similar to other Orthodox religions, there are some differences which I'm not completely familiar with yet. We are learning how to respond to certain argments such as "We have to go through suffering like fasting for many days and go on pilgrimages as a punishment for our sin and to escape judgement." I can't wait to share with them the good news...that Christ has already done that for us!

1 Peter 3:18 - "For Christ also dies for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit."
2 Corinthians 5:21 - "For our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."

Please pray for our team and the spiritual battles that I know we will face. Please pray that God would prepare our hearts as well as the hearts of those whom we will be ministering.

I will keep you "posted"! ;)