It has been a good trip. Right now I am in Addis for the night,
catching an early flight tomorrow (Friday) to start home. For those who
follow along on Facebook some of this may be a repeat – but I am also
going to share some details I couldn’t publicly post.
The Gondor Region is populated by an estimated 500,000 people yet there are only about 1000 known followers of Jesus. Persecution – both from Orthodox and Family is a reality in Gondor. So much so, that our third Training Session was to be held in Chilga – about 20 kilometers away from Gondor – but it was deemed unsafe for us to be there. So we paid to have the church leaders in Chilga come to Gondor for training.
The first training in Azezo – about 10 kilometers from Gondar was attended by 60-65 people. They were very very reserved. Part of this is cultural for the Amhara people – but I think part was because of recent persecution. In the last year the persecution has intensified as a group have pushed for a “One Ethiopia: One People – One Language – One Religion.” It is a political movement in the North, but has found footing in the Younger Orthodox Church. The Government is working on providing solutions, but they usually show up after a church has been burned or pastors house destroyed.
The Gondor Region is populated by an estimated 500,000 people yet there are only about 1000 known followers of Jesus. Persecution – both from Orthodox and Family is a reality in Gondor. So much so, that our third Training Session was to be held in Chilga – about 20 kilometers away from Gondor – but it was deemed unsafe for us to be there. So we paid to have the church leaders in Chilga come to Gondor for training.
The first training in Azezo – about 10 kilometers from Gondar was attended by 60-65 people. They were very very reserved. Part of this is cultural for the Amhara people – but I think part was because of recent persecution. In the last year the persecution has intensified as a group have pushed for a “One Ethiopia: One People – One Language – One Religion.” It is a political movement in the North, but has found footing in the Younger Orthodox Church. The Government is working on providing solutions, but they usually show up after a church has been burned or pastors house destroyed.
The second day of training, I was encouraging them to stand firm in the
face of persecution. In my mind, I felt so uneasy relaying this message
to them. Here it was in a few days I would go home to Texas where we
freedom is so taken for granted, yet these people would be likely
persecuted in the next few months! That night I asked God for
guidance … as best I understood God – He said, “My People – My Message –
My Messenger.” A humble – “Yes Sir” was lifted in prayer.
The second group was the pastors/church leaders in Gondar. There were about 85-90 there. They responded well to the training and were hungry to be able to take God’s Word to their people in a fresh way. Some relayed stories of how their family had disavowed them for following Jesus.
The second group was the pastors/church leaders in Gondar. There were about 85-90 there. They responded well to the training and were hungry to be able to take God’s Word to their people in a fresh way. Some relayed stories of how their family had disavowed them for following Jesus.
The third group was some of the leadership from Chilga, but also many
youth. The strategy for evangelism is not to overtly try and
evangelize anyone – rather it comes through conversation and home
study. Leading the way in this effort is the youth. They are
reaching their schoolmates. Many of them are from Christian families,
while some ore the signs of Orthodox Tattoos on their heads. They were
extremely receptive. I encouraged them to start home or small group
study and share both the method of study as well as what they were
learning with their friends. Off all I experienced, these young men and
women gave me the most hope for the future.
One other thing – while in Gondor I met with a couple from Texas who are there intentionally trying to reach the illiterate in the countryside through Storying. This is where followers of Jesus tell the stories and share exclusively through story. Why? 98% of those in the country are illiterate and wouldn’t know what to do with a bible if you gave it to them! They are slowly making inroads and have baptized a significant number in the past few months – but work is excruciatingly slow. Additionally, three of the families working with them have left Gondar either for the US or Addis because of the danger in the region. We spent significant time with them and will be making some connections to aid in their work when I get home.
I did find out we were being “monitored” while we were in Gondor. Who we talked with, if we were saying derogatory things about Ethiopia or the Orthodox Church. It was that kind of trip.
But I think we are making a difference. It seems we are. We hear reports of areas that have begun to have a new dedication of preaching God’s Word in an understandable way. Will it change the face of Ethiopia? I have no idea – but I do know that it has changed lives of some Pastors and Church Leaders. To God Be the Glory.
One other thing – while in Gondor I met with a couple from Texas who are there intentionally trying to reach the illiterate in the countryside through Storying. This is where followers of Jesus tell the stories and share exclusively through story. Why? 98% of those in the country are illiterate and wouldn’t know what to do with a bible if you gave it to them! They are slowly making inroads and have baptized a significant number in the past few months – but work is excruciatingly slow. Additionally, three of the families working with them have left Gondar either for the US or Addis because of the danger in the region. We spent significant time with them and will be making some connections to aid in their work when I get home.
I did find out we were being “monitored” while we were in Gondor. Who we talked with, if we were saying derogatory things about Ethiopia or the Orthodox Church. It was that kind of trip.
But I think we are making a difference. It seems we are. We hear reports of areas that have begun to have a new dedication of preaching God’s Word in an understandable way. Will it change the face of Ethiopia? I have no idea – but I do know that it has changed lives of some Pastors and Church Leaders. To God Be the Glory.
Please ... Will You?
Pray – There is a good chance some of these churches
and leaders will undergo persecution for taking part in this training.
Please pray for them.
Pray – Next trip in August is in a heavily Muslim
populated area. While I don’t know all the details – we will have three
training sessions starting the last week in August. We have been told
to expect 250-300 Leaders … but that is Pastor Number Talk …. You know
how evangelastically numbers are! (grin)
Give – If you can, please give to support this work.
We have stripped out every unnecessary expense from these trips and
solely rely on gifts from people like you and a few churches. Money is
tight – please pray and give if God leads you to do so. There is a
link to click below for online giving or contact me and we will make
other arrangements.
One last quick story … the last day we were teaching
James 1:2-8 about how to handle persecution. After explaining the
passage, I asked, “How does that make you feel to know that God is at
work even through persecution?” I was expecting responses such as, “At
Peace – Confident” but one responded “Grateful.” He went on – “I am grateful that God counted me worthy to suffer for Him.”
And I was supposed to be teaching them.
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