A Divine Appointment

A few months ago I received a phone call from a man that heard about the Bible School we opened last year in Ethiopia. His name is Pastor Gabe Bainesai and it was one of those phone calls I'll never forget. He learned about the project from a friend in Seattle and made it his mission to track me down ASAP. Needless to say, he had Staci on the phone within 24 hours. My call was hours later. I don't know that I've ever talked (well, mostly listened!) to someone as excited as Pastor Gabe.

My friend Pastor Gabe Bainesai

Why was he so pumped? He grew up in the very state that the school is now located - Tigray. Years ago he moved to the U.S. and is now a Pastor in Spokane, Washington. He told me that he had been praying that an evangelical Bible School would be opened in Northern Ethiopia for the past 20 years. He knows first hand how unlikely it was for this type of school to open in a city with a protestant population less than 1%. He also knows what an opportunity this is for the people of Northern Ethiopia to come into a relationship with Jesus Christ. In the Pastor's words "this is a miracle from God."

Since that first phone call Pastor Gabe has stayed in touch with me. He reaches out about once a month. His phone calls are always well timed and filled with prayer, encouragement and blessings. He has enlisted a network of people that are praying for the school. When I hear from him it's like I'm hearing straight from God. That's the only way I can describe it.

Our company recently acquired another group of stores out west and today I am flying out to make some store visits and meet some of our new employees. Guess where I'm flying? You guessed it - Spokane. As soon as my trip was booked I contacted my new friend and arranged a meeting with him.

I am traveling with my pal Torin who does video/motion graphics work for our company. He agreed to grab a camera and shoot an interview with the Pastor this evening when we arrive. The Pastor is so fired up about the school and the possibilities for the future outreach into Sudan, Somalia, Eritrea, the Middle East and beyond - it's a powerful testimony.

I suppose the reason that I'm sharing this is because it's a great example of the power of prayer. Imagine being so faithful and passionate about something that you were willing to pray for it for two decades - it's incredible. Now, the Pastor has enlisted all of his friends to pray for the school now that it's up and running.

The permanent location of the school was purchased with money but the people that got involved and wrote the checks had their hearts changed. I firmly believe it was the prayers of people like my new friend in Spokane that has contributed greatly to changing hearts and moving people so the school could open. Today I get to thank him in person. 

Here's the video from our meeting.