| The Salt Company Returns to Ethiopia July 28th, 2002 to August 11th, 2002 |
| Selam Be Yesus Christo Seam! (Peace be with you in the name of Jesus Christ!) Life has been fast paced since returning from our over-seas trip to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia . . . but I am finally adjusting to life in the States and getting back to a normal routine again. Anyway, I know many of you have been anxious to hear about the details of our trip, so without further ado . . . In order to truly understand the significance of this recent trip, please allow me to share a brief history lesson first. As most of you already know, last summer I had the incredible privilege of leading a group of ten college students from the Utah-Idaho area on an over-seas project to Ethiopia. For many of these students, it was their first opportunity to travel over-seas and the journey was, without a doubt, the experience of a lifetime! While planning for that project, the leaders from the Addis People Team asked me if it was possible to develop a pilot program that would combine some basic HIV/AIDS education with the True Love Waits program. Without realizing what I was getting myself into, I simply replied, �No problem . . . we can do that!� However, we were literally assuming a God-sized task and had no idea how the people would actually respond. While I�m sure that many of you are aware of the enormous HIV/AIDS problem that exists in many countries in Africa, you may not realize that until last summer, True Love Waits had never been introduced to the country of Ethiopia. Anyway, during our two weeks in Addis, the response was absolutely overwhelming. God opened up many doors for us and simply put, He did an amazing work through our team. We literally had people lining up, asking us, �Can you please stay longer? Can you teach this program in our church or community?� Immediately, the Addis People Team recognized that God was at work and they re-evaluated what they were doing, making the True Love Waits program their number one priority. Since that time, dozens of different churches and denominations in Ethiopia have been trained to lead TLW camps in their communities and thousands of young people have made the TLW commitment (a decision to wait until marriage to have sexual relations). Okay, now fast-forward to one year later. This summer, we had another opportunity to return to Addis Ababa (for the first two weeks in August) to work again with the Addis People Team and to provide leadership for several more TLW camps. During our two weeks there, we saw nearly five hundred young people make the TLW commitment. Once again, God moved in incredible ways and impacted the lives of numerous young people. While I would love to write about the details of the entire trip, that would be difficult to do without this turning into a small novel. As such, let me share with you two significant events that I experienced and what I personally learned from both of them. The first event involved a young man named Gebreselasie, whom we encountered at Immanual Baptist Church during our first week in Addis. We had just arrived at the church and began the morning with a time of prayer and worship. During this time, I looked over and noticed this young man had fallen to the ground and was experiencing what appeared to be a seizure. I asked if he was okay and needed some help, and my interpreter said, matter of factly, that he was demon-possessed. With the help of my interpreter and two of the church leaders, we quickly moved this young man to a private room, where the four of us proceeded to lay hands on him, pray for him, and cast out the demon. While this experience was definitely a first for me, please believe me when I say that spiritual warfare is something that is very real and something that we need to be prepared to face every single day. As a good friend pointed out to me, the main difference is . . . here in America we are more sophisticated and thus Satan has to be subtle in finding ways to tempt or attack us (i.e. sex, alcohol and drugs, the desire of wealth or material things); whereas, in many third world countries, the battle is more obvious and sometimes even more tangible. The second significant event actually occurred as the trip ended, on the return flight from Frankfurt to Chicago. Because the flight was booked solid, our team was unable to sit together and we were spread out all over the airplane. As such, I found myself sitting in a window seat on the last row, next to a young woman named Izlem (she was from Turkey and traveling to the U.S. for the first time as an exchange student), and also a man named Suresh (who was originally from India, but now lived in Chicago). I was extremely tired from our journey and it probably would have been very easy for me to keep to myself and sleep for the duration of the flight. Instead, I opted to initiate a friendly conversation with both of them, and as I shared with them about our recent trip and what we experienced, they both listened intently and asked lots of questions. I found out during the course of our discussion, that Suresh grew up with a Hindu background, but was now a fellow believer in Christ. As we continued to talk, we both engaged Izlem (who was from a Muslim background) into a conversation and I began to share with her the difference between religion and having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. While she did not make a decision to accept or reject Christ at that moment, I firmly believe that many seeds were planted as a result of that discussion. I have also been able to keep in touch with both of my new friends (via e-mail) since that flight and hope for an opportunity to follow up on our conversation. As I look back at that event, I am reminded of what is written in 1 Peter 3:15, �But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give a reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.� The truth is, we never know when we�ll have an opportunity to share Christ with someone and we need to always be prepared. Okay, now for the really exciting news! I have been asked to consider returning to Ethiopia once again for a short-term mission opportunity in October. Because of the sovereignty of God, the leaders of the Addis People Team have recently been asked to participate on a task force to help plan and implement a huge, citywide rally focused on HIV/AIDS education, which will be sponsored by the United Nations. The rally will be held on October 19th in Meskal Square (in the center of Addis Ababa), and initial plans already include devoting one hour of the program to sharing the True Love Waits message with the more than 400,000 people that are expected to be in attendance (and potentially millions more who will be watching on national TV)! This rally presents an extraordinary opportunity for the young people in Addis to stand up and send a positive message � not only to their family and friends, but also to their government and the entire Republic of Ethiopia � that they are committed to living according to God�s plan for their lives and remain sexually abstinent until marriage. Clearly, God is accomplishing some amazing things through True Love Waits in Ethiopia, and for those of you who have studied �Experiencing God� by Henry Blackaby, you will recognize that this is a perfect example of being able to join God where He is working. It would definitely be an incredible opportunity for me personally, and I am excited to see what God has in store for me. Please remember to keep me in your prayers as I consider this incredible mission opportunity. Thanks for your time and may God bless you abundantly! |