Home  |  About Us  |  Travel Requests  |  Mission Stories  |  Travel Info   |  Links   |   Contact Us

 

© 2007 Butler Travel     PO Box 40     Grand Ronde, OR 97347

 

503-879-5005

 

 

Ethiopia From One Campaigner’s Perspective

...Back
Text Box: Ethiopia Feb. 2007 It was early on a Sunday morning that God clearly opened my eyes and my heart to His call.  I had given every excuse to myself, my husband, and my friends, as to why, clearly, God could not use me in the mission field.  But, on this day, after praying with a group of former Ethiopia team members, my husband came to me and said, “You are coming with me to Ethiopia!”  It was clear to Kirk that, after seeking God’s will, I was to join him, Rick and Brenda, and the rest of Northpoint’s team to share the Good News in Africa.   The memories of our trip are so vivid in my mind and in my heart.  I can still feel the dust on my face, the anxious excitement in my belly, and the overwhelming gratitude I felt as we journeyed about an hour outside of Zieway, Ethiopia.  Speaking through two translators, an evangelist, and with the help of the Evangecube, God used our team to share the Gospel with many, many villagers, over 200 of whom prayed to accept Jesus.  I could share story after story with you.  Stories big enough to make a movie out of and stories so minute you might wonder how I remember them.  I could tell you of an entire village, young and old, accepting the Lord.  A story that captures everyone’s attention is that of a young witch doctor proclaiming, “People will still come to me to be healed, but now when they come to me I will share the truth about Jesus with them.”  (I can’t wait until Murcha hears the stories of the Great Physician!)  We prayed and sang African praise songs in his hut, asking God to protect him and his family from the evil one and forgive them for their generational sin.  I can tell you of a young girl, intelligent beyond belief, who asked question after question and insisted that leaving Islam and believing in Jesus was just too important of a decision to make quickly.  We reassured her that she was correct, this was an incredibly important decision. Then, before she had even made a profession, God used her to translate for us.  She shared the Gospel message a couple of times, asked more questions, and then finally I said to her, “I can see that in your heart you know the truth, but in your mind you are just coming up with questions.   I will pray that you will follow the truth of your heart.”  A few minutes she prayed to accept the Lord.   God grew me much while I was in Ethiopia.  He continues to grow and challenge me even now after I am home processing everything that He allowed me to see and do in the village of Gogulla.  Most importantly, I think, I have been given a deeper insight into how “big”our God really is.  He is  big enough to use a sinner like me to draw others to Him.  He is big enough to begin working in the hearts of villagers on the other side of the world long before I, or anybody else, stepped foot on the continent.  He is big enough to give eternal hope to those whose daily life seems to be an insurmountable struggle.  Our God is good.  Our God is BIG.  And, our God is using His people in Zieway, Ethiopia, to draw every tribe and every people unto Him.  Sola Deo Gloria!