trust.

"For I know the plans I have for you," 

declares the LORD, 

"plans to prosper you and not to harm you, 

plans to give you hope and a future. "

Jeremiah 29:11

"Who am I ... and what is my people?"

Humbled.
Privileged.

Those have to be the two words that I use most often when I talk about a trip to Ethiopia.

I often find myself wondering why God has chosen to include me in the work He is doing in Ethiopia. It is very humbling to stand shoulder to shoulder with the ministry leaders we have partnered with in Ethiopia...amazingly gifted servants who are truly giving their lives to show impoverished children the love of Jesus Christ. Sometimes I feel like a "spiritual midget" when I hear their stories and see their faith (despite often difficult circumstances!)

I also find myself feeling so very, very privileged.....to go, to serve, to deliver donations, to put shoes on those little feet, to hug those sweet children, to encourage those beautiful women, to pray over those street children, to share Jesus all along the way.

In the course of my reading this week, I came across a passage that has grown to mean so much to me.

Its at the end of 1 Chronicles. When the people had brought their offerings for the soon-to-be-built temple. David begins to pray....and its the prayer of my heart when I think about offering myself to serve in Ethiopia.

"But who am I,

and what is my people,

that we should be able thus to offer willingly?

For all things come from you,

and of your own have we given you."

1 Chronicles 29:14

When I think about how the Lord has so graciously allowed me to play THIS role in His Kingdom. to meet THESE people. to serve THESE children.....I ask myself that question "Who am I?" And when I see my daughter and my brother and my friends...I ask myself that question "and what is my people?"....that we could offer to the Lord what has come from Him.

He has given us the opportunity.

He has provided the means.

He has introduced us to the children.

He has orchestrated the journey.

He has given so freely.....and we only give back what has come from His hand in the first place.

Humbled. Privileged.

Blessed.

Onesimus

In the past, I have returned from Ethiopia and failed miserably at sharing my experiences. I am not sure why that is. Except that maybe my attempts to share seem so inadequate.

I want this year to be different. I want to use my voice.

I almost titled this post "In No Particular Order" because this year I have decided not to try to recap our week in Ethiopia chronologically. I have decided to talk about what is on my heart at the moment.

And today....its these children. Its this moment.

We had the privilege of meeting these boys on their first day at Onesimus Child Development Center. The name Onesimus comes from the book of Philemon. Onesimus was an escaped slave that came to know Christ and in Philemon 11 it says "formerly he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful." You can read more about Onesimus CDA here. One of the ministries Onesimus has is a drop-in center to street children in Addis Ababa (the capital of Ethiopia). There are an estimated 100,000 street children in Addis. Many of them are children who have either escaped slavery (eg. the textile mills) or escaped horrible home situations. They survive on the streets. Society does not see them as useful. Onesimus does.

On Tuesday afternoon, we were allowed the privilege of meeting a group of street children who were new to the drop-in center. If they continue to come to the drop-in center, they will receive food, counseling, support, clothing, opportunity....and, most importantly, the transforming love of Jesus Christ.

There are so many things about the picture above that bring tears to my eyes. I will just share a couple.

-Nega Meaza. Nega is the man standing beside me. He is translating my inadequate attempt to share the gospel message with this group of boys. Nega is the director of the drop-in center...and one of the most humble servants I have ever met in my life. To stand elbow to elbow with him, serving the same Savior, is an honor.

-The children. When I think about the stories. the lives. the trauma. the struggle. the roads that these boys have walked. [Lord, forgive me for ever complaining about anything.] They have a long road of recovery ahead. Nega shared with us that in each new group, over the months ahead, some will turn back to the streets. "Its all they know. Unless they receive Jesus Christ as their Savior, the addiction of the streets is too strong. They don't know how to receive love." Pray with me that EVERY one of the boys in this picture would receive Jesus Christ. Want to know what happens when they do? Go read about Desse!

-The team. I will share more about this team later. Suffice it to say here that this year's team was absolutely wonderful. So gifted. So loving. So kind. So flexible. So Christ-like. We prayed from the beginning that God would design this team. I believe with all my heart that He did just that. I am so grateful for this team.

Before we left Onesimus for the day, the staff prayed over these boys.

This photo moves me. To see the different postures. To wonder what paths brought them here. To want a rescue for ALL of them....every. single. one.

After we prayed, these boys walked out the gate and returned to the street for the night. To a child's world that I cannot fathom. Hopefully they will keep coming back until the day when their lives are forever transformed. Please join me in praying for that day.

"...that you might have him (Onesimus) back forever,

no longer as a slave but more than a slave,

as a beloved brother -

especially to me, but how much more to you,

both in the flesh and in the Lord."

Philemon 15-16

....Ethiopia....

I am excited (and a little frazzled!!) to be packing for another trip to Ethiopia! Erica and I (and 17 others) leave on Friday morning, with Hope for His Children. Chad and the boys will be staying back this time to handle things on the homefront.

The most common question I get is:

"What will you be doing there?"

The answer: showing (and telling, too) the love of Jesus Christ to orphaned, abandoned and impoverished children. We are partnered with some amazing Ethiopian organizations that are already using their many God-given gifts and skills to do just that....we will be coming alongside them to do whatever we can in the short time we are there. In the process, we will hopefully learn a bit more about what it means to live out the gospel.

Yes, we are taking a ton of much-needed supplies (school supplies, blankets, medical supplies, shoes, hygiene supplies, etc.)....but those things are all very secondary to the most important "things" we will be bringing: encouragement, hope, relationship, friendship, and the good news of Jesus Christ!

If you would like to follow along.....just click one of these links:

1) Our team blog "Changed 2012 - Ethiopia"

OR

2) Hope For His Children's Facebook page

I would SO appreciate your prayers as the team makes final preparations...as we serve in Ethiopia....and as Chad, Brock, Micah and Derek live 10 days with no woman in the house!!