Heartbreak and Hope

We had an incredible time in Ethiopia. We spent the week hanging out with street kids, walking alongside prostitutes and meeting people that rely on trash at the city dump as a means of sustenance in Addis.

On Thursday we walked into an open prison courtyard in Mekelle with 2,500 inmates accompanied only by a pastor - no guards - and had a worship service in the brand new building that is the first extension of the Bible Training Center. It was mind blowing.

There are so many hurting people living in despair. But with every meeting it was impossible for us not to think, "What if this was our son, our wife or our daughter?"

Whether it was circumstances beyond their control or poor decisions they made that played a role in their current situation, everyone we encountered wanted the same things - to be noticed, to be loved, to have hope and to be redeemed.

That's why the end of our week is so awesome. No, not the fact that we're hopping on a 787 Dreamliner to return to a life we take for granted in America, but because the first group of students just graduated from the Bible Training Center in Mekelle, Ethiopia (The first of its kind in the history of Northern Ethiopia). I was humbled to give the keynote speech and challenged the students to put their education to use by serving, leading, discipling and multiplying.

What do students graduating from a Bible Training Center have to do with street kids, prostitutes, prisoners and all of the other hopeless sinners out there? Everything. They represent relationships, love, hope and redemption.

These students will start small groups, then churches and, if they do it right, they will have their followers pointed outward into the margins of society meeting people right where they are. They will teach their followers to love and care for people just like Jesus intended.

This, my friends, makes getting on the plane a lot easier. I know these new leaders have been trained to do this very thing. They may not fix the entire situation but they're going to do something.

Thank God for all of the hearts that were changed and checks that were written to fund the school in such an awesome facility and location. It's been said all along, God had a plan for this school. We were so fortunate to be apart of today's celebration.

Please join me in keeping these students and the other ministries we partnered with this week in your prayers and if you feel led by some of the stories and images that were shared, jump in and support them financially. 

Special thanks to our wives, families and friends for holding us up this week in prayer and letting us soak up this experience. We love you.  We're heading home!

www.aheartforkorah.com
www.mymministries.com
www.harvestinethiopia.com

Making a Mark in Ethiopia

One of the best things of the work I’ve done on the Bible Training Center over the past 2 years is meeting other people that have ministries and a love for the people of Ethiopia.  When I began lining up a trip to visit the school in Mekelle, I knew I had to stop for a couple of days and connect with some of my new contacts in Addis.

Our first few days have been spent with Trent and Carmen Post with their street children ministry in Addis.  They are some of the most radical, counter-cultural, Jesus loving people you’ll ever meet.  They moved to Ethiopia full-time 4 years ago after several mission trips beginning in 2006.  Trent and Carmen have an incredible family – if you count their biological, adopted and other kids that they provide for - 11 children all them “mom and dad.”  They seem totally fine with that. 

I became acquainted with Trent and Carmen through Facebook and began following their stories with amazement.  I knew that the next time I visited Ethiopia I had to meet them face to face and spend some time with them in their ministry.  It’s been an incredible experience.

Their ministry is centered on three core principles – “love, serve, build.”  They also carry the motto “I defend.”   They defend the Gospel, justice, poor and the orphans.  They care for those in the margins and show them the love of Jesus. 

The program begins with them finding kids living on the streets and forming relationships with them.  They build trust and eventually invite them to visit their day program.  At the center they don’t have to worry about predators and survival – they can just be kids.  They play checkers, soccer and do arts and crafts.  They eat good meals and learn what it’s like to have someone care about them and love them.  The children do this for 6 months.  The goal at the end of the 6 months is to get them back with their families.  If that’s not possible, they utilize a “PLF” (Placing Lonely in Families) home which is a transitional home until they can be placed in a safe home.

In just a few days we’ve been able to see kids at various stages in their program first hand and I’m in awe of what God is doing through their work. 

This morning we were on the streets of Addis in one of the seedier parts of town long before the sun came up.  The music from the clubs was thumping, prostitutes were out in full force, and people lined the streets sleeping under anything that would provide basic shelter.  We spoke with a young girl sleeping on a cardboard box with her 1 and 3 year old on the corner of a busy intersection. 

A group of boys between 9 and 15 were hanging out getting high from huffing glue (the newest, cheapest drug in Addis).  Carmen and two of her girls were out with us knew the group well.  They were kids that they had tried to introduce to their program in the past but couldn’t stop getting high.  They told us this morning that they were addicted.  They walked around dazed, ruining their young minds with every huff in an effort to escape their reality.  Carmen let them know that she still cared for them, that she wanted to see them back at the day center, and bought them breakfast.

We met another group of 8 young boys piled on top of one another along with 3 dogs sleeping in a median on a very busy intersection with cars and buses whipping by all night long.  It’s an image burned in my mind forever.  They were covered in dust in tattered clothing.  They were gathered together for warmth.  You couldn’t tell where one boy started and another one stopped.  Dogs were wedged in between them.  The dogs were part of the group.  They meant no harm to the boys.  They were as dependent on the boys as the boys were to the dogs.  They had a lot in common.  They are the downcast and nuisances of society.

I wondered why they would pick such a busy place to sleep but Carmen let me know that it was safer for the boys to be in a highly visible, busy place to escape the predators that take advantage of these vulnerable, desperate young boys.

We took them to a restaurant down the street and they each made short work of a plate of tibs and injera.  They laughed and joked with one another while they coughed up all of the dust they took in the night before.  We learned their stories.  They were all orphans or not wanted at home.  They all lack hope.

Last night the Posts took us to a transitional home for 4 boys that have graduated from the 6 month day program and are now living with a house mother while Trent and Carmen work to reunite these kids with their families. 

We were honored to be a part of a surprise 14^th birthday party for one of the boys who was on the streets just one year ago.  The boy’s name was Asu and I promise that this was the first time he had ever celebrated his birthday.  As we sang “Happy Birthday” to him in English and Amharic he stood in front of us with a smile beaming from one ear to another.  He wanted to speak to all of us that were there for this occasion.  He told us that he was so happy to be a part of the Make Your Mark program and how Jesus had transformed his life.  He was full of confidence and hope.  He knows he is loved by the Posts and all of the staff.  More importantly, he knows God loves him.

Trent, Carmen, all of their children and the staff of 14 at Make Your Mark are doing incredible work.  They are working with the poorest of the poor, the most broken of the broken and loving them right where they are.  Learn more about their ministry and how you can support them at www.mymministries.org.