Surely, we are tasting and seeing that the Lord is good! We have made such precious friendships in Ethiopia and have loved getting to know the stories and hearts of the men and women here. We pray they will continue to be encouraged in heart as these conferences come to an end.
One last note, the day before we left Addis, we hiked Entoto, a mountain from which you can see almost all of Addis. It was beautiful!! (see picture!) A fun time to be together as a team! We are thankful for everyone's health and safety. We are thankful to be here!!
We moved yesterday from Addis Ababa to Hawassa. The drive was 4 beautiful hours of Ethiopian countrside, with small villages scattered along the way. Our team of 11 jumped straight into the second discipleship conference upon arrival in Hawassa, and we have been moving non-stop since then! We are eager to continue sharing with these men and women throughout the day tomorrow, with the hope and prayer that they will leave the conference to re-teach others. Discipleship is the transference of Truth and life in the context of relationship. Our prayer is that this, the model and command of Jesus as He invested in his disciples, would consume the church in Ethiopia. These people have such a hunger for the Word of God! This harvest is plentiful, and it is ready!
The girls (and guys!) have been LOVING (there is no other way to put it!) our time with the children. Today, we met with three different classrooms at the church/school where the conference is held, then again with a new group of 50 this afternoon. Today's lesson was about the 7 days of creation, and they learned so quickly! The last group shared a song with us in Amharic about creation. They hug our necks and kiss our cheeks and giggle when we try to speak in Amharic, and we just can't get enough!
Each morning and afternoon, we stop for a tea/coffee break. This is a sweet time to talk to the men and women and to get to know them a little better, in a more relaxed setting. Our time with them both as a whole group and as the men's and women's groups, divided for certain sessions, has been rich and filled with edifying and challenging conversation.
One last note, the day before we left Addis, we hiked Entoto, a mountain from which you can see almost all of Addis. It was beautiful!! (see picture!) A fun time to be together as a team! We are thankful for everyone's health and safety. We are thankful to be here!! 