Ethiopia Prayer Itinerary, Part II

Teams: Medical..Dr. Rick, Lynette, Dale & Becky

            Nedele Villages.. Jon, Matthea, Humphries family/Nicole&Kaleigh

            Mountain Villages.. Cindi, Kevin, JasonH, Kimberly

             Gomeda.. Dave, Ben, Jamie, Nicole, Kaleigh

            Construction.. Ed, JasonE, Danny, Humphries family

            Guji.. Dave, Ben, Dr. Rick, Jamie, Becky

Sun, July 4…Hopefully, we had a good night’s sleep, and are ready to get in position for our ministries.  We’ll divide into our teams. The 9 people on two of the village teams (Nedele & Mountain, led by Jon & Cindi) and the 4 people on the Medical Team will go to their villages to join the churches for their morning service; the rest of us will stay in Soyama getting our supplies in order.  Pray for us as we split up; already we’re well-bonded & it’s hard to say good-bye; pray for good working relationships with our translators, the youth corps helping us & the church leaders.  Pray for Jon & Cindi as they guide their teams, to rest in the wisdom the Lord provides to His people. Pray for Demissie as he returns to Alaba with the bus.

  Mon, July 5…Today the 5 people on the Gomeda Village team (led by Dave) will get into position; it is a 6-hour drive over rugged roads on the back of an open truck to get there.  En route they will drop off the 3 men on the Construction Team at a rural church to install their solar powered loudspeaker & lights.  Please pray for safe, uncomplicated travel & that the truck will get back in time to collect the Construction Team & bring them back to Soyama for the night.  Pray for the Lord’s hand to be upon the Construction Team in their work.  The Nedele & Mountain Teams will start their ministries in their villages; each church will be a 3-ring circus with men’s, women’s & children’s classes happening simultaneously, and with eyeglass distribution.  One of the great highlights is the distribution of Bibles to those who have completed the memory program. This year we are trying sunshades at the churches, since there are no trees for shade from the hot African sun; pray that these work well. Pray for there to be no rain during the daytime.    

 The Medical Team have a very high learning curve today, as they adjust to doing medicine in a third-world setting; pray for good relationships & communication with the clinic staff.  Dale will travel with the clinic chaplain to visit patients; pray for ease & comfort as he works apart from the team.  The last person on the team is Becky, who will start recording Bible classes in the local language, using some great veteran believers; pray that she will remember all the practice she has done.

Tue-Thurs, July 5-8…Ministry in place.  The Construction Team, the Nedele Team and the Mountain Team will be moving about, from place to place for their respective ministries.  Continue to pray for them, as they “gel” in their work.  Pray for health, for wisdom, for grace, for Spirit-filling, for good communication, for good response to their work, for relationships with translators, etc.  In some ways, these are the “high” days of the trip, before fatigue sets in. Also, pray for the translators and the  Youth Corp that is working with our team members in the villages.  This work requires not only the sacrifice of our Team, but also of many Ethiopian believers who sacrifice to make it happen.  Pray that the bonding of the team with the helpers will produce spiritual fruit. Continue to pray for the Medical Team; we will have TONS of patients, because this is malaria season, and because word has gone out that a doctor is here.  Pray for stamina as they see patients all day & then do in-service training for the staff in the evenings. Pray the staff will absorb the instructions. Pray for health in the midst of infectious diseases & for wisdom in coping with serious illnesses.