Spring Break in Texas

December 8, 2011 was a full day. 

The day began with breakfast at the luxurious Sheraton Hotel in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.  Then there was a 2 car accident involving the taxi I was riding in on the way to the airport.  We arrived in Mekelle, Ethiopia only to learn that our hotel reservation was cancelled with the government coming to town.  Next, the three of us traveling together along with our driver/guide were in a massive car accident in a busy intersection.  The SUV was totaled and, after some time waiting, we found a ride to take us to a Guest House.  Upon arriving at the Guest House we learn that our reservations were made for the following day.  We had no place to go.

The locals surround our SUV after a memorable crash (note: no stop signs or lights)

The lovely woman that ran the guest house motioned for the three of us to throw our suitcases in the trunk of her car.  We had no other options and she seemed very trustworthy.  So we did.  We hopped into her car and headed down a bumpy road to a gated home.

As we pulled up to the gate, a small service door swung open and a little boy popped out with a big smile on his face.  He helped us with our luggage and ushered us into the home.

We were greeted with incredible hospitality.  Sheets were changed and the woman that had taken us in insisted that we sleep in their beds.  She and her two children were going to sleep downstairs for the time we were in town.  As we later discovered, her husband was out of town on business. It’s hard to imagine any woman in an America home alone with her kids would willingly take in three strangers. 

A pretty young girl walked in from a day at school and spoke perfect English.  She became our interpreter and communication improved instantly.  She told us that she learned English in grade school in Texas. Her father, an architect, left Ethiopia briefly to study abroad at Texas Tech University in Lubbock.  She told us how everyone that we met at her house fit together.

Her mother, the wonderful woman that ran the guest house, was named Atsede.

Her father, the architect that was out of town on business, was named Girmay.

The little boy running around the house was her little brother.  His name was Gideon.

Her name was Deborah.

The boy that met us with the big smile was a cousin.  Deborah told us that he lost his parents when he was younger and lived on the other side of town.  He was at their home that day because he missed the gate closing on his orphanage school.  He had a younger sister, Liya, that was adopted to a family in the US the year before.  His name was Sofani.

Gideon and Sofani checking out pictures on my laptop

That brings us to today.

Girmay, Atsede, Deborah and Gideon are currently living in Lubbock, Texas temporarily while Girmay finishes his PhD at Texas Tech.   They will return to Mekelle this summer.

Liya, Sofani’s biological sister, lives with her new family in Brownwood, Texas.  She's been with them over 2 years.  We were connected to her parents during the adoption process with Sofani.  This was an amazing turn of events.  We had no idea how we were ever going to help Sofani reconnect with Liya.  Sofani’s adoption enabled us to find Liya’s family and form a very special, lifelong connection with them.

Why am I writing this?  Good question.

Tonight, Staci and I are jumping on a plane to Dallas/Ft Worth with our four kids on Spring Break.  We will be driving tomorrow morning to Lubbock to spend a couple of days with Girmay, Atsede and their family.

On Sunday, we jump in the car and head to Brownwood for what should be an amazing reunion between Liya and Sofani.  When Liya left Ethiopia and was adopted to a family in the US, the chance of them ever seeing each other – much less having an opportunity to forge a relationship – was an incredible longshot.

This should be an awesome week for reunions in Texas.  What a thrill to be a part of it.  I'm sure there will be some pictures in the next post!

BIBLE COLLEGE UPDATE:

The site for the temporary Bible Training Center (2nd and 3rd Floor)

Funds continue to flow!  We are awaiting a check that will put us near the $7500 mark to solidify the furnishing of the temporary school.

The website is nearing completion and should be ready to roll within the next week.  I’m very excited to get this out as it will be a much better place to explain the initiative than my blog.

Keep praying, researching, sharing, following and donating.

More updates very soon!

The Plan is Coming Together

Since I’m sharing this blog via my Facebook account for the first time, I’m going to give a quick rundown on the past 3 years of my life (all of this is detailed in previous blog entries).  Here’s the Readers Digest version:

God called me to go on a mission trip to Ethiopia in December of 2011.  During that trip I met a then 10 year old boy that is now my son and our fourth child Sofani.  I also met a dentist, Dr. John Balikowski that has dedicated his life to mission work.  Dr. John lives in Sofani’s hometown of Mekelle, Ethiopia, and is working to get the news of Jesus Christ to the people of this country.  In this area, religion is dominated by the Ethiopian Orthodox church (96%).  There is also a growing Muslim movement (4%) and a small contingent of an evangelical Christians (<1%).   Mekelle is a rapidly growing city with a population of 700,000.  Ethiopia is one of the only remaining non-Muslim countries in northern Africa; however, this continues to shift more towards Islam.  Dr. John has the cooperation and support of local evangelical leaders that desperately want a place to teach and train new pastors – something nonexistent in that part of the country today.

Ethiopian Orthodox - Muslim - Protestant (Geography of Religion in Ethiopia)

God has called me to help Dr. John spread the word, raise funds and amplify the news of Jesus Christ through a harvest of Pastors and future leaders in northern Ethiopia.  We are channeling funds through New Life Christian Fellowship in Michigan that is led by one of Dr. John’s friends from the mission field, Pastor Bob Roberts.  This has all come together over the past month and I’m fired up to be a part of this.

Here are some updates since the last blog entry.

Dr. John has begun renting a temporary site for the Bible Training Center where the evangelical leaders can begin their work.  We have 90 students that are anxious to begin their studies.  We do, however, need tables (24) and chairs (90).  Considering that Home Depot and Lowe’s don’t have distribution in this part of the world, we’re looking at about $4,200 ($20 per chair and $100 per table).   This is the most immediate financial need that we have.

After speaking about this calling at church 2 weeks ago I had a friend, Dwayne Lott, offer to help me build a website.  This is an area of the project that I needed some help and Dwayne stepped up without hesitation.  I purchased a domain name and we’re currently constructing a site that I’ll reveal in the next entry.  We’re developing content, playing around with the layout, adding graphics, plug-ins, etc. to allow the site to tell the story and call people to act.  We should have this ready to launch very soon. 

The next phase of fundraising – money for a permanent site and facility – will require presentations and speaking engagements.  I’m excited about getting people stirred up to realize that we can do something to introduce Christianity in a rapidly growing part of the world yet to know the truth of the son of God, Jesus Christ.   I’ve seen the need first hand; however, now it’s just a matter of getting the message into a power point and a website.

People often ask me, “What can I do to help?” I try to always give them something to do.  If you’re wondering the same thing here are a few options:

1)      Help. Pray for this project.

2)      Research. Read about the religious history of Ethiopia, the Muslim plan to take Africa – anything that you find of interest on topics such as this and send it my way.

3)      Share.  I could use the help of my friends to introduce me to new contacts that would provide me opportunities to share this project at churches, conferences, etc.  Social media makes this so easy to do.

4)      Follow.  Sign up to follow my blog and stay tuned for the new website!

5)      Donate.  I’m not asking any of you to scratch out huge checks. At this point we need money for tables, chairs and rent.  (We have $1400 raised through 3/8/14)

New Life Christian Fellowship

MEMO: Ethiopia Bible School

Mailing Address:
New Life Christian Fellowship
2237 E Reid Rd
Grand Blanc, MI 49439

or go to:

New Life Christian Christian Fellowship and click the "Donate" tab at the bottom right of the page.  When we get to the "Review Your Donation" page, click on "List Designations" and type in "Ethiopia Bible School.”

Working together for the harvest in Ethiopia,

JB