The Ministry of Jesus is humbling and encouraging.

This is one of the most truest statements in history. It is very humbling to think that we have been swept up into what Jesus has been doing in Ethiopia. It is also very humbling to think that we are doing is just a drop in the bucket. There are so many issues that need to be tackled. There are so many lives that are ravaged by drought, by AIDS, by war, by poverty and injustice. What can we do in our human ability? Nothing. At the same time it is encouraging to know that Jesus has been working in this country before we could even pronounce the name of it. Ethiopia is one of the oldest places where Christianity in some form has been embraced. The people are ripe and ready to hear the gospel of Christ.

I think about the time we were there to do a concert in the Merkato (the largest open air market in africa) and preach the gospel to the community. We had been forbidden to do so because it would have not gone well for the ngo we were partnering with. My first gut reaction was to go ahead and preach the gospel and deal with the ramifications later. I wanted to show that we weren't ashamed-if we had to be martyrs-so be it. After about an hour of heated discussion... we chose not to preach. We did not want to destroy the work that was going on for so many orphans and streetkids. It would not have been a good thing for the organization or the gospel. It was very humbling but it was what needed to be done. It was also encouraging to know that our very presence there emboldened the christians who worked with the organization to share their faith. We hadn't done anything great but at the end of the trip about sixty kids made a decision to follow Christ. No there wasn't any glory clouds or fire from heaven but some kids and some teachers experienced God's love for them. Very humbling. Very encouraging.