|
restoring our biblical and constitutional foundations
|
Prayer Itinerary (March 2010)
We're praising the Lord that He is allowing us to return to Ethiopia again! He has given us a measure of strength and health, and has provided the finances. As we look to the next 22 days, our goals are three-fold. First, we just want to be with the people whom we love so much! This will be our first reunion since Becky's diagnosis; they have been diligent prayer warriors. Our reunion will be sweet as we praise our Lord together, just hugging on each other.... what PURE JOY that will be!!!
Second, we will have intense meetings with the church leaders. Together we will evaluate past ministry and look to the future, asking the Lord to guide our thoughts, bring unity, and show us His perfect will for His church.
Third, we will be laying some serious ground-work for the 23 people coming in July. This involves buying supplies, solidifying ministry plans and arranging logistics.
Will you pray with us that these things will be accomplished according to His will? Pray for continued strength, for wisdom, for protection (physically, spiritually, and emotionally), and for His blessing. The days, as usual, will be packed full. We want to squeeze every ounce of blessing from this time! To help you join in the fun, here is our prayer itinerary. You will never know how your particular prayers, given at your specific time, may change the course of our day in Ethiopia. So, please be faithful to respond as the Spirit moves you!
Wednesday, March 17....BeckyLynn departs for Ethiopia, flying Ethiopian Airlines via Dulles in Washington DC. Pray for God's special Hand upon her as she travels with her wonderful broken toe :)
Thursday, March 18.... Dave departs for Ethiopia, flying United and Lufthansa via Frankfurt. (Yes, we are flying separately to save money.) Pray for Dave to make his flights; he is going stand-by status on United to Frankfurt. After 30 hours of travel, BeckyLynn arrives in the capital city, Addis Ababa, in the evening; she is met by Oshe, a leader of the Burji church, with the "refugee truck." Pray for things to get through Customs without difficulty.
Friday, March 19...This will be a wild day, with BeckyLynn and Oshe running here and there all over Addis collecting solar panels, chargers, batteries, Thru-the-Bible CDs, etc., etc.; by the end of the day the Refugee Truck will be loaded to the brim! Pray for our Lord to make our way straight and efficient. It will be a full day on little sleep, still coping with jet lag. There are two things that we especially need at the clinic: autoclave and oxygen; these can only be obtained in the capital. Please pray for His guidance in these items. Dave arrives at the airport in the evening; pray for easy passage through Customs.
Saturday, March 20...We load up in the cab of the refugee truck at about 3:30am, headed south to Burji. Driving with only one meal stop, we'll arrive in Soyama about 8pm. Pray for safe travel and a good operation of the truck. Can you already hear the singing as we pull into the church compound! Such a happy reunion!
Sunday, March 21...We'll spend the day in Soyama, joining the Soyama Town congregation for their services. Both of us will speak. Maybe in the afternoon we'll get a little nap, but I doubt it; folk will be ready to see us...and we'll be ready to see them!
Monday thru Thursday, March 22-25....We'll be taken to a different village each day, and folk will come from miles around. We'll share in the Lord's joy. We're share testimonies. We'll challenge each other for live for Christ and His Kingdom. These will be glorious days! In between these visiting times, we've got a list a mile long of things that need to be done....measure this, check that, visit soandso.... Pray for strength and wisdom. I've tried to organize things as much as possible, but it's still a challenge to keep thoughts straight and operations effective. :)....While in Africa, we just have to FLOW!
Friday, March 26...We'll have some in-depth, prolonged meetings with the clinic staff, with the church leaders, and probably with the government officials. Please pray for His unusual wisdom and a clear sense of His Spirit's guidance during these meetings. One government official that we met with 2 years ago was very antagonistic against any Christian work, even a medical clinic. He especially mocked our vision to have an ultrasound machine at the clinic; I'm hoping that God will give me time with this man. We're told that the ultrasound machine at our clinic is the only one in the lower 1/3rd of Ethiopia! This is God's work; only let us always keep before us the purpose of the clinic to heal souls as well as bodies.
Saturday, March 27...We will travel up to Alaba, stopping en route to visit Aberash, Tilahun, and Baby Nathan (who is now 2 years old!). Again, pray for safe travel, good mechanics, and a blessed visit with this precious family. We will probably leave about 6am and arrive in Alaba that evening.
Sunday, March 28... Church service will be in Alaba Town church. We will both speak to the congregation. This congregation has out-grown their building...on a Sunday morning people are sitting everywhere on the compound listening to the service over a loudspeaker. We'll get to see our son Mohammed, as well as Nigussie, Demissie, and many others!
Monday-Wednesday or Thursday, March 29-31/April 1...We'll be visiting the wonderful believers in Alaba....Hajji Mohammed, Kidir, Tessema, Melesse, and many others. Most of these are the evangelists who struggle so much for the Gospel....how blessed we are to be allowed to work with them! Pray for good communications and sweet fellowship. Also, pray for God's protection from malaria; it is rampant in Alaba.
Thursday or Friday, April 1 or 2....We'll travel back to Addis; this is a mere 6-hour drive, but is still along a road full of animals, people and potholes; pray for safety. Especially coming into Addis, huge lorry trucks are added to the blend, everyone's in a rush to get there, and it can be quite hair-raising. I'm sure that by this time we'll be exhausted; pray for special strength to finish the work. We'll stop at Yohannes and Wube's home for supper; although they left Alaba 2 years ago, they have kept a room available for us in Alaba, foregoing the rental income it would have brought. Such love!
Friday and Saturday, April 2-3...We'll be meeting with lots of precious people in Addis...our daughter Emebet and the Williams, "Emebet of Burji," and many others. Pray for spiritually-profitable times together. Saturday evening Dave boards the Lufthansa flight to Frankfurt while BeckyLynn remains at the Guesthouse in Addis. Pray for safe travel, good connections, etc.
Sunday, April 4...While Dave continues his flight to Dulles and Raleigh, BeckyLynn will rest in Addis before boarding the Ethiopian Airlines flight in the evening. Again, pray for good rest and safe travel
Monday, April 5...BeckyLynn arrives back at Raleigh airport in the afternoon. Praise the Lord with us at His wonderful blessing and the privilege of doing His work!
If God is willing, we'll be back on the farm late Monday, April 5th. We'll have 4 days of recooperation before the next Orientation for the July Team; this 6-hour meeting on Saturday will be a great time, but it does require work on our part :) Sunday, April 11, we'll spend the day with Amelia Baptist Church, in Amelia, VA. Chemo #4 is early Monday morning, April 12. So you can see that we hit the ground running upon our return. We'll *rest* after Chemo #4 :) It is SUCH a joy to be in the Lord's service!!!
March 17, 2010