YOU can make a difference in Ethiopia

How to support the work of Mission to the World in their efforts to care for those afflicted by AIDS:

http://www.mtwact.org/

Highlights from Ethiopia

  One of the many beautiful little kids that we had the privilege of serving.

 This was one of the non-sacrificial moments of the missions trip. Starbucks needs to get a load of this - 30 cents for a Macchiato!

 Katie Barnett entertained children as they waited for care.

 This woman, Ganet, was very hospitable to four of us from the team, as we crowded into her one-room home for a time of prayer and fellowship.

 On our second home visit we were treated to authentic Ethiopian coffee. Coffee is a huge part of the culture, and they have "coffee ceremonies" where they roast the fresh beans, grind them with a pestle, boil them in water, and then pour the sieved blend into little teacups.

 This lovely muslim woman is faithful to overcome discrimination against AIDS victims, as she moves beyond bitterness and works to spread awareness of precautions designed to prevent transmission of HIV.
                                       
 This is the entrance to an "apartment building" that houses about a dozen families.

 Dr. Andy Kim,  the Pediatrician of our team.

 Don't let the bored look fool you. This little guy came alive when I tried to take his vitals. He bit my finger mid-pulse oscillation.

 Waiting for care... we saw roughly 90 patients a day.

 Natalie Beall, RN, teaching Katie Barnett something or other about nursing :)

 Our "waiting room" full of triaged patients.

 Scott Jones worked tirelessly in our makeshift pharmacy, taking breaks to pray for believers and those who were open to the gospel.

 Yes, I have got to say that I was very proud to see the Army athletics emblem all the way over in Ethiopia!

                                                             

 Saturday was our day off. We drove up to the mountains and visited Empress Titu's palace and grave, among other things.

 Our first evening in Addis was spent unloading and organizing the drugs we had brought over.

 Scott Jones, our pharmacist for the week.

 Doc Mays headed up the medical end of this missions trip marvelously.

Kakra and Andy performed minor surgeries in our substitutionary OR - a bedroom.

We have a marvelous group of people going to Ethiopia! This is only some of them, and they are gifted professionals and godly Christians. I am so grateful to be a part of this team.

My prayer as I prepare for Ethiopia

Speak, O Lord - Keith Getty

Speak, O Lord, as we come to You
To receive the food of Your Holy Word.
Take Your truth, plant it deep in us;
Shape and fashion us in Your likeness,
That the light of Christ might be seen today
In our acts of love and our deeds of faith.
Speak, O Lord, and fulfill in us
All Your purposes for Your glory.

Teach us, Lord, full obedience,
Holy reverence, true humility;
Test our thoughts and our attitudes
In the radiance of Your purity.
Cause our faith to rise; cause our eyes to see
Your majestic love and authority.
Words of pow'r that can never fail—
Let their truth prevail over unbelief.

Speak, O Lord, and renew our minds;
Help us grasp the heights of Your plans for us—
Truths unchanged from the dawn of time
That will echo down through eternity.
And by grace we'll stand on Your promises,
And by faith we'll walk as You walk with us.
Speak, O Lord, till Your church is built
And the earth is filled with Your glory.

We sang this song at church last Sunday. It says beautifully and poetically everything that I want to say to God, yet could never have articulated on my own. A love for God's word, and the faithful obedience to be a doer and not a hearer only, a pure heart that is spoken truth to from a renewed mind; this is what I want, Jesus!
It is so hard for me to focus on what is important. Its like I don't realize the awesomeness of the glory of God, the gift of salvation, the abundance of Grace. I get so caught up in little earthly pleasures and pursuits that I often miss out on Jesus.
I want a fire in my heart for the gospel, the pursuit of holiness, the love of Christ, the desire to pursue lost souls, and the passion to live irrevocably for the glory of God. Its my prayer that God will use this trip to Ethiopia to ignite a flame in my heart that will grow into this burning fire that is unquenchable by the lies of soceity, the lures of the pleasures of this world, and the calls of compromise.
"My determination is to be my utmost for His Highest."