Team Ethiopia is a short-term missions group from Central Church in Collierville, TN. They partner with our Ethiopian Team on the ground in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia for about a week. Here is their daily update regarding their experience in 2017 and the way God moves in and through this ministry. We thank them for their service!
Written by Liz Roberts
“We come this morning from all over the world… A foretaste of what God is doing all over the world.” Vic Anderson, Visiting Pastor at International Evangelical Church (IEC) in Addis Ababa, today, Sunday, July 09, 2017.
Worship at IEC this morning was a foretaste of heaven; as it always is. God’s people, from every continent, in worship! It is always a blessing to experience what worship in heaven is going to look like… A foretaste of heaven on earth!
Everyone had a good night’s sleep; well, till the Call to Prayer at about 4:00 a.m. As usual, even if you’ve experienced it in the past, you are still caught off guard by it. From this day forward, we will consider the Call to Prayer our alarm clock, set just a little before we want to wake up.
Some of you know that it is the Rainy Season here in Ethiopia. It’s been raining on and off over the past two days, but the temperature is fabulous – in the low 60’s. We’ll send you some low 60*F temp if you ask nicely.
One of the things we do daily, as a team, is a formal debrief. Tonight’s debrief was amazing and enriching spiritually. Everyone was so transparent and just plain REAL – no pretenses. It is so wonderful serving with our team. Here are three of the questions that are asked during debrief, in no particular order:
1. What did you experience that was new and/or different?’
2. Who did you appreciate the most today and why?
3. How did you see God work today and what did He teach you?
As a result of this spirit-filled debrief tonight, along with the many times we have seen God work already, we feel ready to start our Bible School tomorrow! We are prepared physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. God is with us.
There are other members of our team who did not hop on a couple of airplanes and fly 8,000 miles. They are our Ethiopian teammates, including our tag team drivers, Tess, who picked us up from the airport; and Habti, who will be taking us around from place to place for most of this week. Then there’s Titi and Nardi, our hosts at the Guesthouse. Titi, for example, brought us tea upstairs on a bum ankle. Of course, we were only made aware of her bum ankle when we saw her walking gingerly. And yesterday, our bathroom flooded completely and Nardi called the plumber who showed up almost immediately. Another member of our team is Eskender, our translator. We may be the hands and feet of Jesus, but here in Ethiopia, we wouldn’t get much done without His mouthpiece. Of course, there are the five Bridges of Addis Ababa, our TFC missionaries. Generosity, gentleness of spirit and humility are all euphemisms when describing Joe & Karyn (and the three kids). We had lunch with them at a restaurant called Five Loaves, how fitting.
A special “Thank You” to each of our family members and our friends. We love you and we miss you all.