Go Beyond

Posted by: Omar C. Garcia | May 15, 2014

It’s A Small World After All

Fifty years ago, Disney introduced “It’s A Small World” — a now-famous ride offered at five Disney theme parks around the world. The ride features at least 240 figures representing children around the world. The song “It’s A Small World” is played roughly 1,200 times per day at this popular Disney attraction. The lyrics to the catchy tune remind us, “There’s so much that we share / that it’s time we’re aware / it’s a small world after all.”

The lyrics to Disney’s song are even more true today than they were fifty years ago. It is indeed a smaller and ever-shrinking world. Faster modes of transportation have made it easier than ever before for people to travel beyond familiar horizons. And, advancements in technology have made it easier for people around the planet to connect, regardless of whether they ever leave their own borders.

One thing is certain, the movement of people from place to place is greater today than at any other time in the history of the world. In 1914, Edward Judson, the son of pioneer missionary Adoniram Judson, remarked, “Our Heavenly Father deemed it wise to put in the hearts of the heathen to come from all parts of the world to our shores, paying their own expenses.” Judson was aware of the presence of nations among us in his day.

In the hundred years since Judson spoke those words, immigrants from the least-evangelized parts of the world are now coming to America. Technology enables these immigrants to maintain close ties to their countries of origin — something not possible in Judson’s day. Technology has also paved new roads for the gospel to make its way through those who are reached on our shores back to their countries of origin. With the nations among us, Christ-followers today have unprecedented and strategic opportunities to be a part of God’s plan of redeeming the nations to Himself.

The nations are migrating to urban areas all over the United States, including Houston. Every week, 2,300 new people move into the greater Houston area. And, more than one-million people who call Houston home are born outside of the United States, represent more than 300 people groups, and speak more than 200 languages. We must be aware of the fact that the nations are in our own communities. Having that awareness ought to awaken our sense of responsibility for the nations.

Reaching the nations among us means that as Christ-followers we must learn to think and live as foreign missionaries at home. The immigrant has one foot in their country of origin and the other foot planted in America. As Christ-followers, we must have one foot in America and learn to plant the other foot in the diaspora — the nations among us. We must take the initiative to think like a missionary and to look for ways to build bridges of love with our global neighbors.

As I was writing this blog today, a couple from Eritrea stopped by the church. They were driving by and felt compelled to come in. A coincidence? Not at all. A divine appointment? Yes. I shared with them that I had just returned from Ethiopia where we are engaging with refugees from Eritrea. This shared concern has now connected us. We have agreed to stay in touch. As a Christ-follower, I must have a dual citizenship that includes being a citizen of the diaspora. God reminded me again this afternoon, that it is indeed a small world after all.

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Posted in Missions Musings, United States

Posted by: Omar C. Garcia | May 14, 2014

Wordless Wednesday

Ethiopian man. | 27 April 2014 | Shire, Ethiopia

Ethiopian man with toothpick. | 27 April 2014 | Shire, Ethiopia

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Posted in Ethiopia, Wordless Wednesday | Tags: Photography

Posted by: Omar C. Garcia | May 12, 2014

A More Friender Friend

I often tell kids at Kingsland that they don’t have to wait until they are all grown up to make a difference in the world. They just have to care and then be willing to do something to help others.

Our missions ministry takes seriously that part of Kingsland’s purpose statement that says we are committed to equipping the next generation one home at a time. We want to do our part to help raise a generation of kids who love God and love people — who understand the importance of not merely looking out for their own personal interests, but for the interests of others as well.

Last year, I had the privilege of meeting Reid Pierson, the grandson of Kingsland members Jack and Marti Pierson. Reid attended our Vacation Bible School while he was in town to visit his grandparents. At VBS, Reid learned about what life is like for the Zabbaleen, Cairo’s garbage people. Our kids raised almost fifteen-thousand dollars during VBS to help build a school for the Zabbaleen.

Reid was especially moved by the plight of the Zabbaleen kids and stopped by my office to talk with me about his concerns and to ask questions about how he could help them. I saw Reid again a few weeks ago when he was visiting his grandparents. He once again gave some of his own money to help the Zabbaleen.

This past weekend, Jack and Marti traveled to north Texas to visit with Reid and his family. They gave Reid a copy of a story about me that was featured in last week’s Katy section of the Houston Chronicle. Reid then decided to produce a video message about our Vacation Bible School. Marti sent me the video this morning. I am so proud of Reid and his continuing concern for helping kids who are less fortunate and living in difficult places.

I thought you might enjoy Reid’s video, a great reminder of how God can touch the heart of a child to want to help less-fortunate kids in other nations. I am especially blessed to be called “a more friender friend” by Reid. I can think of no greater honor or privilege than to equip the generations to love God and love people and to be known as a friend of kids like Reid.

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Posted in Egypt, Ethiopia, Home and Family, Kids on Mission

Posted by: Omar C. Garcia | May 11, 2014

She Must Be Watching Yet

An old family photo recently surfaced — one that I had never seen before and that has become one of my favorites. The photo was taken sometime in 1960 at a family reunion at my grandparent’s new home in Mission, Texas. I have a couple of other photos taken on that same occasion, one inside and another on the back porch. Just looking at these pics warms my heart and brings back a flood of wonderful childhood memories.

Because my Aunt was married to a Navy officer, my older cousins lived far from our little South Texas town. They lived in various cities both at home and abroad. So, it was always a special occasion whenever they came to town for a visit. Although we did not see each other as often as we would have liked, we did keep in touch by writing letters, something that has become a lost art in our day of texting and email.

After my aunt and her husband passed away, one of my cousins found the old photo among his mother’s things. He sent a copy to my youngest sister who then forwarded me a copy. I love this photo because my beautiful mother made it into the shot. As my cousins and I posed for a photo with my grandmother, my mother was off to the side, smiling and looking at her little boy. When I received the photo I just stared at my Mom’s face for the longest time.

Maybe it’s just me, but I can sense my mother’s joy in her little family when I look at this photo. Like most kids, I always wanted to make my mother proud — something that I didn’t always do as well as I would have liked. But regardless, my mother always loved, encouraged, affirmed, and watched out for me. She continued to do so until the day of her death five years ago.

I still miss the sound of my mother’s voice. I miss her laughter and her tears. I miss our conversations about loving and serving God. I miss seeing her whenever I return home for a visit and I miss waving goodbye to her when I back out of the driveway to return home.

On the day after Mom died, I sat in a chair looking down the hallway, wishing for one more opportunity to see her walk down that hall to greet me and to talk. I was so overcome by emotion that I excused myself and went to her reading area next to Dad’s office. I stood there alone and wept, telling God that I just wanted to hear Mom’s voice again.

At that moment I looked over at a stack of books that Mom had been reading and noticed one book in particular that had a page book-marked. I picked it up and when I read what was on the page my jaw dropped. It was, without question, a God-wink and a divine hug! Here is what Mom had marked on the page of that book. It was a poem entitled…

The Watcher
by Margaret Widdemer

She always leaned to watch for us,
Anxious if we were late,
In winter by the window,
In summer by the gate;

And though we mocked her tenderly,
Who had such foolish care,
The long way home would seem more safe
Because she waited there.

Her thoughts were all so full of us,
She never could forget!
And so I think that where she is
She must be watching yet,

Waiting till we come home to her,
Anxious if we are late —
Watching from Heaven’s window,
Leaning from Heaven’s gate.

So, the old photo of my beautiful mother watching me from the side will always be a favorite. I’m glad that when Dad took the photo of me and my cousins, he unwittingly captured Mom watching her little boy. And I am thankful that she never stopped watching out for me or for my sisters and brother. I am comforted by the photo on this Mother’s Day. And, I am also comforted by the poem that Mom had marked in her book, never realizing what it would mean to me to find it the day after her death. I believe that heaven is for real and that “she must be watching yet.”

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Posted in Home and Family | Tags: family, home, Mother's Day

Posted by: Omar C. Garcia | May 9, 2014

# Bring Back Our Girls

Until recent weeks, not many of us had heard the name Abubakar Shekau — leader of Boko Haram, the terrorist group that has claimed responsibility for the abduction of 284 Nigerian schoolgirls. In a move that stunned the world on April 14, Shekau and his minions kidnapped 276 girls from a school in Chibok and, shortly thereafter, another 8 girls. This is but one of the latest evils perpetrated against children by this Nigeria-based Islamic terrorist group.

As if fools and idiots were lacking on the world stage, Shekau forced his way onto the pages of the Playbill and assumed his position in front of a global audience. And he could care less about rotten tomatoes. A Boko Haram intermediary said that Shekau “is the craziest of all the commanders. He really believes it is OK to kill anyone who disagrees with him.” For an encore performance, Boko Haram slaughtered more than 300 people in a Nigerian village near the Cameroon border. No wonder the words Boko Haram have become a synonym for fear in Nigeria.

Why school girls? The answer may lie, in part, in the meaning of the words Boko Haram. This Arabic-Hausa compound phrase conveys a range of ideas from “books are forbidden” to “Western education is forbidden” or “is a sin.” A man claiming to be Shekau said in a recently released video that girls should be married by age 12, not go to school. “I abducted your girls,” he boasted. “I will sell them in the market, by Allah. There is a market for selling humans. Allah says I should sell. He commands me to sell. I will sell women. I sell women.”

As if to add insult to injury, the thickset bearded psychopath said, “Why is everybody making noise just because I took some girls who were in western education anyway?” In the mind of Shekau, it’s a sin for Muslim girls to get an education but it’s ok for him to kidnap and sell these young girls into forced marriages or slavery where they will lose their innocence and be repeatedly overpowered and raped. This is the reasoning of a man whose impoverished worldview has no regard for the sanctity of human life.

Acts of violence like those committed by Boko Haram in Nigeria are no longer just some unfortunate regional problem. The kidnapping of the schoolgirls has stirred global outrage. Parents, women, and girls around the planet are standing in solidarity with the kidnapped Nigerian students. Using the hashtag Bring Back Our Girls, people around the globe have let their voices be heard. Among them, Malala Yousafzai, the young Pakistani girl who was shot at point-blank range by the Taliban and survived.

Let’s pray that Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan indeed has some good luck in finding “our” girls. Perhaps he will finally deal decisively with Shekau and Boko Haram with the assistance of other nations who have offered their expertise and intelligence. No evil that seeks to destroy children, a nation’s most precious resource and hope for the future, should be allowed to commit acts of terror with impunity. #BringBackOurGirls

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Posted in Current Events, Justice | Tags: Abubakar Shekau, Boko Haram, Bring Back Our Girls, Nigeria, Nigerian Schoolgirls

Posted by: Omar C. Garcia | May 6, 2014

Connecting the Dots

Steve Jobs said, “You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards.” I had an opportunity to do just that on my recent trip to Ethiopia with my long-time friend Dr. Jerry Squyres.

Jerry and I met at Hobby Airport in 1994. We had both been hired by LifeWay Christian Resources to write biblical exposition for what was then known as the Bible Book Study curriculum, later renamed Explore the Bible. We flew to Alabama together to meet with our editors at a retreat center and returned home as friends.

Little did I realize how God would use Jerry to turn my heart toward unreached people groups.

Jerry and his wife Fran had served as the International Mission Board’s first journeyman couple to Taiwan in their early years of marriage. At the time we met, Jerry was serving as Education Pastor at a large church but was sensing God’s call to return to the nations. Within a year of our meeting, he left his position and turned his attention to mobilizing volunteers to engage with the world’s least reached peoples.

The thing that intrigued me most about Jerry was that, like Paul in Romans 15:20, he did not want to build on anyone else’s foundation. He truly wanted to engage with unengaged people groups living in difficult and even hostile places. He was interested in reaching out to those who had never had their first serving of Jesus.

Within a short time I joined Jerry on mission to hard places in the 10/40 Window. The last trip we took together was to Darfur shortly after Colin Powell, then US Secretary of State, had visited this region and declared that Sudan was guilty of a terrible genocide there.

Jerry sharing good news. | 2004 | Al-Fashir in Darfur region of Sudan

Hanging out with a guy like Jerry was exactly what I needed as a younger man interested in engaging strategically with the nations. I learned a lot from him through our conversations and by observation.

God used Jerry in those early years to shape my own ministry and to challenge me to consider the needs of those who are kept in darkness by hostile cultures and are in greatest need of the gospel. Jerry forced me to think deeply about the hard places.

A visit to the village barbershop. | 1999 | Bangladesh

In 1999, while traveling by train from Ulan Bator to Beijing across the Gobi Desert, I made a commitment to give my life to engaging with the people of the 10/40 Window as much as possible. Looking back on it all, I can easily connect the dots and see how God used Jerry to lead me to that commitment. Over the years, I have continued to learn from Jerry and his work of mobilizing multiplied hundreds to serve the least reached.

A few months ago Jerry and I met for lunch where he shared with me about the plight of unaccompanied Eritrean refugee kids in northern Ethiopia. As we sat and talked I could hear his familiar heartbeat for reaching out to those in difficult places.

Because of the magnitude of the need, Jerry asked if Kingsland would join him in helping to change the world for these kids. He asked just at the time when I had been seeking God about the next challenge for our VBS kids. Over the next days God confirmed that we should join Jerry in this strategic initiative.

Our team. | April 2014 | Shire, Ethiopia

God reminded me this past week in Ethiopia that even though I am a seasoned traveler and mobilizer of volunteer teams, I can still learn from mentors like Jerry.

I found myself taking lots of mental notes as I once again watched Jerry, now 70 years-old, in action — among the kids, in meetings with the UN and Ethiopian authorities responsible for refugees, and with team members. And I found myself thanking God that our paths had crossed in 1994. That “dot” played an important role in my life and ministry.

The truth of the matter is that none of us become who we are or get where we are solely because of our own efforts. God does indeed use others to provide us with opportunities for growth that we might otherwise have never experienced or to open doors that might otherwise have remained shut. To fail to recognize, acknowledge, or to give thanks for those “dots” is nothing short of arrogance and ingratitude.

I am grateful for how God used Jerry to influence the course of my life and ministry. I look forward to how God will use us as we labor together in the coming months to help change the world for some of the most vulnerable kids on the planet.

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Posted in Ethiopia, Missions Musings

Posted by: Omar C. Garcia | May 2, 2014

A Deeper Awareness

Adi Haroush and Mai-Ayni Refugee Camps in northern Ethiopia

Walking slowly among people who are struggling to survive in difficult places can change you. Prior to coming to Ethiopia, I had read about the plight of Eritrean refugees — especially the unaccompanied minors living in the refugee camps. Caring for unaccompanied children presents special challenges for the agencies that aid refugees. Those challenges certainly came into sharper focus for me this week.

The first stop for Eritrean children who have fled to Ethiopia without their parents is the transition center in Endabaguna. While adults and families are processed quickly and then transferred to one of four refugee camps, unaccompanied children tend to stay much longer — often months longer. This waiting period is tough because the children have nothing to do all day. No school. No sports equipment. No planned activities apart from meals. Nothing.

After spending two days with the unaccompanied kids in Endabaguna, we drove on winding mountain roads to visit the kids in the two refugee camps that accept unaccompanied minors. Our first stop was at the Adi Haroush Refugee Camp located at the outskirts of the small town of Mytsebri. Unaccompanied kids at this camp live in group homes under the watchful eye of house parents who are also Eritrean refugees. The kids at this camp have some structure to their day. They are expected to attend either school or one of several vocational training programs.

A short distance down the road from Adi Haroush is Mai-Ayni. Of the 18,500 Eritrean refugees in this camp, 468 of them are unaccompanied minors. The downside to this camp is that there is no school, only a large soccer field where the kids can pass the time. The kids at both camps have little more than the clothes on their backs. We were given permission to distribute clothing at both camps. I have never seen a more organized distribution or more polite and grateful children.

Our partnership with Innovative Humanitarian Solutions includes helping to fund a secure dormitory for girls at Endabaguna and providing bunk beds for both the girls and the boys. In addition to that, we would like to hire a teacher(s) so that the kids at this transition center can at least continue whatever education they may have started in Eritrea. We agree that adding some structure to the daily schedule can make a big difference in the morale of the kids who are waiting to be transferred to one of the other refugee camps.

The stream of unaccompanied minors from Eritrea will likely continue for some time. As this particular segment of the refugee population grows, aid agencies will continue to face even greater challenges. As Christ-followers, we should be concerned about the welfare of children like these, who through no fault of their own have become the victims of an oppressive government. We can and should work to change their world, to help them experience the love of the God, and to teach them that they are valued by God.

There is a responsibility that comes with having a deeper awareness about the plight of those who are hurting and in desperate need. Once you know, looking the other way is no longer an option. Like the good Samaritan, we must instead respond in a compassionate way. This summer, we will once again challenge the kids who attend Kingsland’s Vacation Bible School to make a difference in the lives of children they have never met.

Leslee McWhirter, Kingsland’s Interim Children’s Minister, and I have videotaped the story of the unaccompanied minors. We will share their story every morning at VBS and challenge our kids to help make a difference in the lives of the hundreds of kids who come through the Endabaguna Transition Center. We will also tell the story of these children in the next issue of our Go Beyond Just for Kids magazine. I can hardly wait to see how God will once again use our kids to bring glory to His name among the nations.

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Posted in Ethiopia | Tags: Eritrean Refugees

Posted by: Omar C. Garcia | April 30, 2014

Variations on a Theme

Endabaguna Refugee Transition Center, Northern Ethiopia

Our lives are, essentially, a collection of stories — the personal accounts, however mundane or exciting, of our days. If you want to get to know someone well, then listen carefully to their stories. Ask questions that prompt the telling of stories. Stories are the keys that give us access to the innermost parts of a person’s heart. They bring clarity and promote understanding about the people we would like to know.

Today, I had the opportunity to listen to the personal stories of Eritrean kids who live in the Endabaguna Transition Center in northern Ethiopia. Like the other members of our team, I have waited anxiously for this day and the opportunity to spend time with these unaccompanied minors. Although I have read the statistics on Eritrean refugees, I am more interested in knowing a few personal stories of how these kids ended up so far from their homes.

As I sat and talked with some of the kids, I noticed that each story I listened to was a variation on the same theme. Every kid I talked to expressed the belief that life had to be better for them outside of their own country and away from everything familiar to them. This belief became the driving motivation that led them to risk a hard journey toward the unknown. Only one young girl that I talked to actually regretted leaving her home. The other kids were convinced that things will be better for them in Ethiopia.

Things are not good in Eritrea. President Isaias Afwerki’s authoritarian regime has created a toxic climate for his own people. Human rights violations in this small country that borders the Red Sea are a matter of record. If God were to part the waters of the Red Sea once again, there is little doubt that a vast number of Eritreans would take this route to a better life. Whether life will actually be better for them in the long-term remains to be seen. For the present, however, it is relatively better. Many are hoping and praying that their land will be healed in a post-Afwerki future.

Today, our team distributed clothing and hygiene items to each kid. We also purchased four goats to supplement their daily diet. The goats were slaughtered and cooked before noon. Watching the activity in the outdoor kitchen was amazing. The ladies who prepared the meal for the kids worked non-stop to ensure everything would be ready by lunchtime. We enjoyed seeing the kids smile and enjoy their special meal.

There is still much to be done to provide a safer, more secure environment for the unaccompanied minors at the transition center. We concluded the day by meeting with the UN High Commission for Refugees and the Ethiopian Administration for Refugee and Returnee Affairs. Addressing the ongoing needs of the unaccompanied Eritrean minors will require the cooperation of everyone involved. We are thankful to be a part of the solution to a big problem and pray that our involvement will truly change the world for kids searching for a better life.

Mother Teresa understood the importance of being a part of God’s story. She said, “I am a little pencil in the hand of a writing God who is sending a love letter to the world.” What an amazing opportunity we have to be a part of that love story. Our own lives are enriched in proportion to how much we allow God to write His love story through us. May we willingly submit to His hand and allow Him to guide our movements so that what is left when we are gone is a beautiful story that will continue to inspire others.

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Posted in Ethiopia | Tags: Endabaguna Transition Center, Eritrea, Ethiopia

Posted by: Omar C. Garcia | April 29, 2014

A Day of Open Doors

Endabaguna Refugee Transition Center, Northern Ethiopia

Permission granted! Those are the words we waited all day to hear. Finally at about mid-afternoon, we received word that we had been granted permission to proceed with our visit and work at the Endabaguna Transition Center for Eritrean refugees. The moment we received the phone call from the Ethiopian Administration for Refugee and Returnee Affairs, the authorizing agency, we sprang into action and headed to our vehicles. And, as if to protest our long-awaited opportunity, a thunderstorm blew in and flooded the streets in minutes. The rain slowed us down a bit but did not keep us from pressing on.

As we drove down the flooded streets of Shire toward Endabaguna, I thought about the open door before us. As Christ-followers, we live in a day of open doors and unprecedented access to the nations. That’s why we must not be passive but instead act intentionally by stepping across thresholds to engage those who live on the other side of those open doors. And that’s why we must pray that God will open even more doors to give us access to people in need and those who have never had an opportunity to hear about or experience the great love of God.

When Ethiopian authorities pick up Eritrean refugees, they bring them to the Endabaguna Transition Center where the Ethiopian Administration for Refugee and Returnee Affairs establishes their identity. These individuals are then temporarily housed at the center until they are assigned to one of four refugee camps. Adults and families are generally assigned quickly to one of four displacement camps. Unaccompanied minors, however, can spend months at the transition center.

The accommodations and latrines at the transition center are less than adequate to serve the needs of so many refugees. Those who fled Eritrea with nothing but the clothes on their backs sleep in crowded rooms on hard concrete floors. Any unaccompanied girls are assigned to the general population of women and children. The unaccompanied boys are assigned to a boys dormitory. These children have nothing to do all day. The center does not make provision for the education or entertainment of these children. These poor kids have a dismal existence.

Most of the kids have only one set of clothes. They are responsible for doing their own laundry, which means fetching water and washing their clothes in basins without any laundry detergent. Clothes are then hung out to dry on a barbed wire fence in the compound. This week we will give each kid an extra set of clothes. We will also provide soccer balls and solar-powered lights to make it safer for them at night.

The bigger picture calls for us to join hands with our partners at Innovative Humanitarian Solutions to fund the construction of a dormitory for the unaccompanied Eritrean girls. This dormitory will be housed within a walled compound with security because these girls are especially vulnerable to abuse. We will also help to provide bunk beds for both the boys and girls dormitories and make provision for education supplies. A young lady named Rachel, one of our team members, will stay for another six months to help oversee this work.

The Apostle Paul once asked the church at Colossae to specifically pray that God would open a “door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ” (Col. 4:3). We are thankful that God has opened a door of opportunity of us to join Innovative Humanitarian Solutions in meeting the needs of kids who will never know a normal childhood. Walking through this open door will give us opportunities to both show and declare the love of Christ. Please pray that this door will remain open (Rev. 3:8) and that God will use us to change the world for Eritrean kids who deserve the opportunity for a better life.

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Posted in Ethiopia | Tags: Endabaguna Transition Center, Eritrean Refugees

Posted by: Omar C. Garcia | April 28, 2014

Going Beyond Flexibility

Shire, Ethiopia

In my early years of leading short-term volunteers to serve around the planet I strongly exhorted team members to be flexible. “Plans will change and unexpected stuff will happen along the way,” I told them. “It’s just a matter of when and how often plans will change.” Sometime around seventy trips ago I stopped asking team members to be flexible. Instead, I challenged them to go beyond flexibility by being fluid. Being fluid comes much easier when we keep in mind that God is in control. He is not surprised by any changes in plans and knows exactly what to do and how to lead us.

When the apostle Paul and Silas embarked on the second missionary journey, their intent was to preach the gospel in Bithynia “but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them” (Acts 16:7). Instead, the Lord redirected them to Troas, a city on the extreme western shores of Asia Minor. It was there that Paul had a vision of a Macedonian man appealing to him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us” (Acts 16:9). The rest is history. Paul and Silas embarked for Macedonia and brought the gospel to the West.

Today was one of those be-fluid-kind-of-days for our team. After our morning devotional, we all embarked on our respective assignments. I was part of the group assigned to purchase clothes locally for more than a thousand kids at the Endabaguna Transition Center and two refugee camps. Our shopping excursion took much longer than we expected putting us more than an hour behind our schedule.

And then, the agency that was to grant us permission to go to the transit center had some kind of internal miscommunication and was unable to give us the necessary clearance. Even though the UNHCR (United Nations High Commission on Refugees) folks want us to go to the center we still have to have permission from the national agency responsible for the work with refugees. Hopefully these two agencies can resolve the problem tomorrow morning.

To add even one more challenge, we had a frog-strangling downpour this afternoon — unusual because it’s not the rainy season here. The rain produced a lot of run-off and made some local roads impassable. Thankfully our driver had covered our boxes of clothing with a tarp while we grabbed a quick bite of lunch, otherwise all of the clothing would have been completely soaked by the unexpected downpour. And, had we been distributing clothing at the transition center, the rain would have made it all the more chaotic.

But, on the bright side, we connected with an Eritrean refugee we met at church yesterday. This young man made the perilous journey from his homeland to Ethiopia nine years ago. His mother and brother remained behind. “I have not heard my mother’s sound,” he said in his broken English, “in nine years. I miss her.” He also told me that his pastor in Eritrea was arrested before he left the country and is still imprisoned. Our team pitched in and bought groceries to supplement the modest rations he receives at the displacement camp he has called home for the past nine years.

We had lots of other encounters today with people who live so close to the ragged edge — people who survive on very little. We remain committed to continue moving in the direction of people in need, just as Jesus did. We gathered together this evening for an extended time of prayer, asking God to remove the final obstacle to reaching the kids at the transit center. We trust that He will do so. If not, then like Paul and Silas we believe that He will redirect us in a new and exciting way. Thanks for following our journey and praying for our team and those we have come here to serve.

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Posted in Ethiopia | Tags: Eritrea, Eritrean Refugees, Ethiopia

Go Beyond

It’s A Small World After All

Wordless Wednesday

A More Friender Friend

She Must Be Watching Yet

# Bring Back Our Girls

Connecting the Dots

A Deeper Awareness

Variations on a Theme

A Day of Open Doors

Going Beyond Flexibility

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