Team Ethiopia 2014 Day Nine

Team Ethiopia, a short-term missions group from Central Church in Collierville, TN, is now on the ground in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and ready to serve! Here is an update from Cathy on Saturday, the ninth and final day of the trip. Today is our last day here!! I can’t even believe how quickly the time has gone, but, at the same time, it seems like forever ago since we saw that first soccer match the day we got here.

Today was another day of sports and recreation! It was also another beautiful morning full of sunshine and breezes! God is good. We have had overcast days everyday until yesterday, and today was just more blessing with the beautiful sunshine.

We started the day intending to do a street race with the kids, but the traffic police wouldn’t allow us to close the streets for the hour or so that it would take to do the race. But, never fear, we improvised and did the race at the soccer field.

Before we started the race, Joe told all of the kids about the people in America that did the Run Your Street 5K in honor of this race. Then our race began. Four laps around the soccer field was enough to get my lungs burning!! Meme, Lana, Liz, and I all did the race with the kids. I finished 2^nd to last and Liz finished last. But hey, we did our first race in Ethiopia!!

Following the race, we did the “real” soccer match of the staff against the kids (apparently, yesterday was practice). Candice and I played, and Candice scored a goal! I was on defense and just followed one of the staff member's lead because I don’t know anything about soccer! But I will say they did not score on me! Liz was back up for the goalie, but Fikadu did a good job as our goalie, so Liz was never subbed in (credit elaine). The staff won 2-1! The sniper that Kelly McGugan sent fulfilled their duty and doused Candice with water after the game. They also got me with one bottle, but I was definitely not soaked like Candice!

After that the kids played their soccer match. We were all yelling like crazy as each team scored points. Lauren got her hair done by a couple of the girls during the game, and it looked really cute. The game with the kids was wild!! The teams were tied 5-5, and then they went into a sudden death shootout! Each team scored 2 goals. The last player to shoot was an Onesimus player, and he SCORED!!

Ben, Kelly and Joyce were excellent fans of the soccer games and, of course, went WILD every time Onesimus scored. The whole crowd went wild when Onesimus won the game!

Katie took some fantastic pictures during the game today, and Natalie spent her time on the sidelines with the kids. We have all really grown to love these children in the short time we have been with them.

Unfortunately, Howard wasn’t feeling that great today, so he rested on the sidelines and in the car for a little while. But so far so good with him. Pray he is completely healed during the flight home.

A few of us tried our hand at bargaining at the shops to buy a few gifts and souvenirs. It is always a joy to haggle with the locals. Luckily, we had our trusty translator and driver with us to help us!

Pray for safe travels, no delays, no bag misplacements on our trip home. Also pray for our connection in Germany to go smoothly, customs to go quickly and easily, and that everyone stays well on the flights home!

We are all exhausted after this wonderful week. Thank you ALL for reading, supporting, commenting and praying for us during this journey of ours! You are all a part of it with us!

We are loading up the van as I type this, so I will sign off. We will see you Sunday night!!

Love from Team Ethiopia and Cathy

Impact - A Conversation with Farm Hands

It is so exciting to see how the Kota Ganate Hatchery is impacting lives even before the first chick has been sold! This is exactly what the “Chicks for Change" campaign was all about.

Recently, we sat down and talked with the farm’s two hatchery technicians, Markos and Yacob, and asked them a bit about their lives and work. Both 22, their stories are common throughout the rural areas of Ethiopia.

Yacob, as the eldest child, quit school to help his family financially. He spent years doing strenuous farm labor for just 5 birr per day (5 birr equals a quarter in American money) before coming to Kota Ganate. He has worked with the farm for three years and is enthusiastic about his new position as hatchery technician.

However, it isn’t all about the money for Yacob. He is seeing his spiritual life changed as well. In his own words Yacob said, “Now I believe this will change my life. Not only the money, we (the staff) also do bible study and pray together, which will also change my life. It makes me closer with God.”

Markos also worked in agriculture before coming to Kota Ganate, and he prefers the atmosphere at this farm. He commented that because the work isn’t as laborious as what he has done before at other farms, he has strength for other activities and isn’t worn out at the end of the day. He enjoys this because it allows him time to read, both his Bible and other subjects of interest. Markos is excited about the impact the farm can have on the community. He sees the farm as a way to show God at work in the community. He commented, “Because the staff believes in God and pray, people who don’t know God from the community will come to know Him.”

Yacob and Markos have learned new skills in their new positions that will serve them both now and in the future. They understand and are excited about the impact that Kota Ganate can have on the community both financially and spiritually. Here are a few responses they gave to the question, “How will Kota Ganate benefit the community?”

• Direct support of beneficiaries – especially giving them access to education. (Something he missed out on)
• Increased job opportunities.
• People will learn about God through the example and witness of the staff.
• Provision of better, cheaper supply of poultry products – Chicks to raise, as well as, eggs and meat.
• Supply of other farm products – apples and seedlings, grass (used as hay for milk cows), electricity (we allow neighbors to tap into our electrical lines).

We are so thankful for the opportunity Kota Ganate affords us to invest in the spiritual and material lives of our farm hands as well as the community. And we couldn't do it without the support of people like you! Thank you for donating, and please pray for us as we share the Word and the love of Christ at Kota Ganate.

Nega Shares Desse's Story

In this video Nega Meaza shares Desse's amazing story of leaving the streets forever.

Visit the Permanently His page to learn how Nega's visit to the U.S. will impact many more children after he returns to Ethiopia.

Only One Thing is Needed

By Rachael Burnett. I wish everyone could get to know Nega.

Nega is the director of TFC’s on the ground efforts in Ethiopia. Honestly, I’ve only “known” him for a short while— the only time I've been around him and seen him in action was for a short week this summer while on my first trip to Ethiopia. But, wow. This man never seems to get tired. He never seems to run out of energy, smiles, time, or hugs.

Lately, I, myself, have been way short on all of those elements. I’ve felt drained, like I can’t keep up with the list of to-do’s and be-here’s spiraling to infinity. Maybe you have felt this busyness-to-the-max, too?

As I was thinking and praying about what God would have me write in this post, struggling to come up with something, He reminded me of a beautiful scene I witnessed this summer and the phrase “only one thing is needed” from a story in the book of Luke...

While we were in Ethiopia, each morning our team worked with street children at the drop-in center, and every afternoon we went to a nearby soccer field and played with the kids there. I remember feeling absolutely shocked one afternoon as I looked up to see Nega jogging out to join the match with the boys who were already whipping up and down the field. What in the world was he doing? Was he really running out enthusiastically to join the kids?

With all of his other responsibilities, how does he have time to play? How does he have the energy?

Obviously, Nega knows something I didn’t know—or at least didn’t grasp down deep in my heart. He knows the truth of Jesus’ statement in Luke 10:42, “But only one thing is needed.” Jesus spoke this gentle admonition to a woman named Martha—who I think may be my long-lost twin—after she was a bit perturbed at her sister Mary’s lack of assistance in the kitchen.

You see, Jesus had come to visit Mary and Martha and their brother Lazarus. Martha was busy, “distracted with much serving” (vs. 40), flitting around the house making preparations for the meal, fluffing the sofa pillows, and swishing the last stubborn cobwebs from the corners. All the while Mary was sitting at Jesus’ feet simply listening to his teaching and enjoying Him (vs. 39).

Exasperated over being the only one concerned about the chores, Martha approached Jesus and boldly asked Him, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me” (vs. 40). And Jesus responded ever so gently, but pointedly, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her” (vs. 41-42). I can just see Martha shrinking back in conviction—maybe a little stung by the reprimand, but humbled with the reminder of what-or rather who-really matters.

Nega gets it. He recognizes that Jesus places a premium on relationship—both with Him and with others. Nega recognizes that, more than organized programs and neat facilities, the street kids need love. And kids (and big people, too) spell love T-I-M-E.

Is there anything wrong with being a doer? Was Martha wrong for desiring to serve Jesus? Of course not! However, like Joanna Weaver states in her book, “In her eagerness to serve Jesus, [Mary] almost missed the opportunity to know Jesus.”

I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to miss knowing Jesus. Maybe it’s time for us to take a lesson from Nega and from Mary. Maybe we need to re-evaluate our busyness, our “service,” our to-do’s and be-here’s. Rather than play soccer, I’m sure there were a thousand other things Nega could have chosen to do, a thousand other things that were seemingly demanding his attention right then. But, in my opinion, he, like Mary, chose the “good part”—the eternal part.

Iva May, the author of the chronological Bible study I use, puts it this way:

There are only three things that are eternal:

1. The Word of God
2. The Souls of Men
3. Prayer

So I’m learning the importance of filtering the ways I’m spending my time, even if under the banner of “serving” or “necessary busyness”, through the lens of those three eternal things.

Let’s reject distractions and wake up to choosing the best—choosing to intimately know and love our Savior and other people, especially those on the fringes, both the ones right across the street and those all around the world.

Pray for Jonathan

For this month's prayer post, I only have one request - TFC Sustainability Coordinator, Jonathan Bridges', knee. As I sit here in America and hear of Jonathan's knee injury and the difficulties it is causing him in Ethiopia, my powerlessness to do anything drives me to one thing... prayer. Will you join me and pray for Jonathan? While you're at it, you can lift up his wife, Jess, and their two precious children as well.

Here's a recent update from Jonathan concerning his knee:

"My injury baffled the docs. There was no obvious event which triggered it, there was little to no pain, and the x-ray showed nothing. So they invited me to the hospital for a thorough examination. At the hospital one of the doctors drained the fluid off and gave me a shot of cortisone. Immediately I was able to walk without crutches, and within a couple of days, my knee was back to normal... or so I thought. We packed up and headed home to Chencha.

The next few weeks were great, and on June 23rd, Aregahegn (the farm manager) and I traveled to Addis Ababa to pick up chicks for the Kota Ganate Hatchery. The trip was successful, and we brought 332 chicks to the farm.

About a week later, however, the cortisone apparently wore off, and my knee started swelling again. It swelled more slowly this time, but within five days I was on crutches again. We went back to the hospital on July 6th. The orthopedic surgeon took a quick look at my knee and scheduled me for arthroscopic surgery a few days later.

I had surgery on July 10th. To our surprise, there was very little damage inside my knee - only a little damaged cartilage under the knee-cap. The rest of the knee was in perfect shape. The doctor was actually surprised that my knee swelled with that little amount of damage.

This was both good and bad news. It was great news to find out that my knee is actually in pretty good condition. The bad news is there is no good explanation for why my knee is acting as it is, and they don't know what to do to fix it... I'm trying to stay positive, but I'll admit to you that it's starting to wear on me."

Thank you for your prayers!

On the Farm Update #3 - Chickens

Although apples were the idea that sparked the project initially, poultry has now taken a leading role in our plans for the farm. It is actually a dual strategy, a one-two punch, if you will. Apples are a long-term sustainability strategy, requiring about 5 years to produce significant income. Chickens, on the other hand, are our short-term strategy. Poultry production is the only thing that promises sufficient profit to make sustainability in the near future a possibility.

This is why the Chicks for Change Campaign was so important over the past year. Due to the funds generated through that campaign, we have the potential to generate enough income within the coming year to make the farm itself self-sustained.

Shortly thereafter, the farm will realize the goal of pumping money into the larger organization in support of all of Onesimus' projects. The Chicks for Change designation will remain open on our website for those who wish to continue to give. So don't put those change jars away just yet! Additional funds that are designated to Chicks for Change will go toward much needed operating expenses.

To learn more about the farm, read On the Farm Update #1 – Welcome to the Farm and On the Farm Update #2 - Apples.

To support the farmers, donate here.

On the Farm Update #2 - Apples

Since the idea of growing apples was the first thing that brought us to Ethiopia, I thought it fitting to share this aspect of the farm next in this series of updates. Apple production started in Chencha 10-15 years ago and has since become a very important part of the economy in that area. Many of our friends and some of our staff were sent to college on "apple money". Today Chencha is famous in Ethiopia for it's apples.

When the leaders of TFC and Onesimus envisioned a farm, apples were the first thing on their mind. Although poultry is starting to take more of a leading role on the farm, apples are still (and probably always will be) an important part of it.

We have a small orchard of a few hundred trees that is a couple of years old (we are awaiting permission from the government to plant more).

We also have a fairly large nursery where we are propagating several thousand seedlings for sale or planting. The nursery has apple trees in many stages, from newly planted root-stocks, to newly grafted seedlings, to year-old seedlings. The month of Nehase (August) was a busy time in the nursery. I learned a lot about apple propagation from our technicians as I snapped pictures while they busily worked and eagerly shared their knowledge with me. I hope that you enjoy the pictures below.

To learn more about the farm, read On the Farm Update #1 - Welcome to the Farm.

To support the farmers, donate now.

Rewards Day!

A couple of weeks ago, we were invited to attend a very special celebration honoring the academic achievements of many of our beneficiaries.  It was a Saturday morning, and, in addition to our beneficiaries, the Drop-in Center's compound was packed by the Onesimus staff, several teachers, and even some government officials. The half-way home kids put on a skit.  We heard encouraging words from one of the local government officials and several of the Onesimus staff members. Soft drinks and special cultural bread were served, and gifts were given to the top academic achievers. Fifteen boys and girls ranked in the top 10 of their classes - not bad for a bunch of former street kids. Several of the students were first in their classes. Tamrat received special honors for actually being first from his entire section.  Everyone had a good time at the celebration.

I hope that you enjoy the pictures below and will join us in celebrating the special achievements of this very special group of kids.

Off to a Good Start

What a great year this is starting out to be. To think that just a month ago I was so discouraged. We had immigration troubles which forced us to return to the US in early December. We then had more trouble from the Embassy in Washington, DC, which forced us to extend our stay. At the time I thought that this was a major setback. I was supposed to be spending the month on site at the Kota Ganate Agriculture Project coordinating with the staff to get the ball rolling on the hatchery project.

Fortunately, God doesn't know about setbacks.

We returned to Ethiopia a couple of days ago encouraged. Instead of being setback we are leaps and bounds ahead of where I thought we'd be right now.

The biggest break came from a seemingly coincidental connection. I had been trying to solve one last major problem for the hatchery for quite some time and I was getting nowhere. We needed a source of good quality breeder stock. Breeder stock is critical to a hatchery operation. They are often called parent stock because they lay the eggs which are then hatched into chicks. They are the parents of all the chicks. Without them the hatchery has no eggs to hatch and therefore cannot function and if the breeder stock is of poor quality their offspring will be also.And quality breeder stock isn't available from within Ethiopia.

If I hadn't returned to the states I would still be spinning my wheels on this problem.

While I was in the US, I met Jim Adkins. Jim is the director of the International Center for Poultry (ICFP). ICFP dedicates itself to training people about standard bred poultry and sustainable farming. They are active throughout the US and internationally. I don't have nearly enough space to share the details of how 'by chance' we crossed paths. Suffice it to say that it was something more than coincidence.

The week before Christmas Joe and I drove down to Richmond from DC to meet with Jim. Jim brought his colleague, Gary Sikes; Gary is President of the Carolina Heritage Poultry Coalition (CHPC). CHPC is a group of farmers who have pulled together to develop, produce, and maintain authentic, historic, heritage poultry breeds. Jim and Gary were truly an answer to prayer. We had a great time together at that first meeting. They imparted much sound wisdom as we discussed the possibility of sending breeder stock to Ethiopia and the possibility of them coming to Ethiopia to train our staff and local farmers.

After meeting with Jim and Gary in Virginia, I had the opportunity to meet with Gary two more times and to visit several of his coalition farms. Again, if all had gone as planned we would not have had the time to meet with Gary multiple times while in the states. I am so excited about the partnership that is developing and what it will mean to the local farmers of Chencha and even to the street children of Addis Ababa.

I am now encouraged and full of optimism for 2012.

Everything seems to be falling into place. While I was gone Nega went to Chencha and settled some issues with the land, the big breeder stock problem has been solved, and - the icing on the cake - I just found out that we have met and exceeded our goal with the Chicks-for-Change campaign. This is freeing us up to think of ways that we can make the hatchery bigger and better. On the table is the possibility of a small feed mill, per Jim and Gary's wisdom. This will be necessary for the poultry farmers in the area, and it will expand the market for grain in the area, in other words more benefits to local farmers.

Listen to me talk. More and more I am using terms like “expanding markets” and “distribution channels”. At one time terms like this were foreign to me, in fact, they bored me to death. However, it seems that we've gone past just talking about a small farm to help sustain a small organization. Now it seems that we are talking about a small farm kick-starting a new industry, which will sustain a small town and in turn sustain a rapidly growing organization.

How wonderful that God can use setbacks to move us closer to His goals.