Friday, July 20, 2007

Plunk July 07 Update

Dear Supporters,



All of the children and orphans came last Saturday to receive school fees, uniforms sizes, and a de-worming pill.

I can still hear the cries of mourning. Hagernish died a few weeks ago after suffering through the end stages of AIDS. She had many medical complications as well as hearing loss. I went to her likso (visitation) and was forced to realize that her brother, who was sitting next to me, no longer had his sister.
The day I returned to Addis in June, I was also told that Asnagich and Girma Mamo had died. Asnagich was also in a lot of pain from her ARV’s and had been struggling all year. Girma Mamo’s death has been one of the first to deeply affect me. This is mostly due to the fact that I continually visited him in the TB hospital and had the opportunity to show Christ’s love through grooming him. It’s odd to think that he is no longer here. I went to Asnagich’s likso and visited Girma’s wife. Sometimes there are tears, but sometimes there are only blank stares, as death is all too common here.
The kids here are out of school for a few months, and my boss Teddy wants me to initiate an English program for children and orphans that will start soon. So, I have been going to their homes to invite them to come. This has also been very hard to handle as I see orphans living together with no adult, or teenagers forced into early adulthood and take care of their younger siblings. Of course none of their homes are bigger than my bathroom in the states.
Based on these first two stories, you can tell that things are hard here. It’s also rainy season, which means winter here. It rains almost everyday and will not stop until late September. But, despite all this, I am encouraged because we have started our third project site in Kolfe Kuranyo. The need there is very extreme, as it is all over Addis, a city of four million. We are currently looking for office space and are slowly recruiting beneficiaries. Most have desperate housing situations and many go without food.
The graduate program is also moving along. Once we send them to the churches, our project in Lideta will be able to take on 75 more of the sickest people in our area. I have been working on a document to send to the three churches who will receive our beneficiaries concerning our responsibilities as well as theirs in this transition.
I am actually no longer teaching the graduates now. I have taken a few men’s support groups in our Bole project as well as am starting to do more spiritual/emotional counseling there. I have also started teaching the Westminster Confession to the staff on Mondays. It’s nice to do before seminary. Derek and I have planned the boys program through November, which is nice to have done. Thanks for keeping up!

Prayer Requests
1. Many friends have left, which makes things harder to deal with.
2. Pray for an office and for beneficiaries in Kolfe Kuranyo.
3. Prayer for my different work transitions.
4. For perseverance through rainy season, which lasts until mid-September.

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