So far, every single bit of the trip has been a complete blessing to me. Even before I got on the plane, I had experienced God's hand walking along with me through this process. I have got to say that I am full of joy. Today was the day that I got to teach my lesson, which was on Devotional Time with The Lord. Even though I was well prepared, I did feel a little bit nervous because I did not know if I would be as respected because of my age. I was afraid I would miss a point or even say what I did not want to say. My time came, and as I taught, I wanted to interact with them, so I got them to read Bible references and asked open-ended questions for them to answer and comment on. By doing this, the atmosphere changed completely. By listening to their comments and questions, I could tell they were thirsty for more. At the beginning, I got to share my testimony briefly with them, and they were encouraged by how, at such a young age, the power of the gospel made me a useful tool to share with them what they needed to hear.
Our time together ended up being powerful and edifying. They had a lot of questions and wanted to dig deeper in some aspects. It is hard to know if they are understanding everything you are saying, because you do not know the language, but by the questions they asked and how they responded to my questions, I knew that they were completely engaged. It was very gratifying. Between sessions, the children would come to play with us, out of which most of them were the attendees' children. It was a very fun time to take pictures with them, teach them songs, and laugh with them.
It is crazy to imagine that we only have one more day with them before we return to Addis. It is exciting to see how God has been moving among the brothers in Christ in Ethiopia.
My prayer is that they may store all that they have been hearing in their hearts and reproduce what they have learned.
"... and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."
-- Philippians 2:11
Juan Felipe Avila
Mekele, Ethiopia
April 1, 2014
Our time together ended up being powerful and edifying. They had a lot of questions and wanted to dig deeper in some aspects. It is hard to know if they are understanding everything you are saying, because you do not know the language, but by the questions they asked and how they responded to my questions, I knew that they were completely engaged. It was very gratifying. Between sessions, the children would come to play with us, out of which most of them were the attendees' children. It was a very fun time to take pictures with them, teach them songs, and laugh with them.
It is crazy to imagine that we only have one more day with them before we return to Addis. It is exciting to see how God has been moving among the brothers in Christ in Ethiopia.
My prayer is that they may store all that they have been hearing in their hearts and reproduce what they have learned.
"... and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."
-- Philippians 2:11
Juan Felipe Avila
Mekele, Ethiopia
April 1, 2014
