A Woman In Gutu

We got an early start Wednesday morning, Emanuel met us at the gate and we were off to the countryside. Backpacks filled with food, water, gifts, everything we would need for the long hike to the village of Gutu.

Our mission, to find and meet with a  widow from the village of Gutu and to verify the information she had given to Emanuel and I a few days earlier. First things first, we would need transport atleast part of the way there. After a few calls on the Mobile, Emanuel assured us that a ride was on the way.  Soon we were bouncing up the steep and rutted road , Sandy and I in the cab with the driver and Pastor Emauel in the bed of the pickup wearing my sunglasses.

We drove past many donkeys laden with packs and people on foot and horseback heading towards Burayu. As we climbed up higher into the mountains we were able to see a deep gorge to the west and beyond that miles of open land dotted with small farms. After a short , steep and fast descent we crossed a small stream and  pulled off the road into a field and parked. We had arrived at a construction site for a new road that would connect the remote villages in the mountains with the town of Burayu.

It would be all on foot the rest of the way to Gutu. Up the trail we go, its almost a road, wide in most places but suitable only for foot, donkey, or horseback due to many deep ruts gouged out by torrential rains.We hiked for about an hour and met some young men chopping trees down that were in the way of the road under construction further down the mountain.  Pastor Emanuel took up the axe and began to chop away at the tree trunk, all the while sharing about Jesus Christ with these young men. I was amazed at the easy way he just became one of them and spoke to them as though they were treasured friends. Then as just easily as he began the conversation he handed back the axe ,we said our goodbyes and once again we were climbing the steep terrain.

Another hour of climbing and the land began to level off, we had reached a high plain. Time to take a short break and visit a chapel in the area. Basically it was a mud and stick house in a large compound set aside for use as a church. Only a young girl was at home so it was back to the trail. Now we  were hiking along a smooth path stretching out to the west with vast rolling hills and small clusters of trees and huts scattered here and there. We continued hiking til noon and that’s when we saw a small hut along the trail and a huge fenced compound just beyond. We were at a school and a pleasant young man came up to greet us. Emanuel told us the man was an evangelist serving this area. We were graciously invited to tour the school which caused all sorts of excitement. It’s not very often that ferengi come up to this remote area. With a promise to return with books for the library we were back on the trail again.

The evangelist would be accompanying us for this leg of the trek. In the distance we could see some large stands of trees and Abate told us that one of those was the home of an influential witch doctor. It is very common for them to hold a powerful position in these areas. This man had gained his influence through his wifes ability to foretell the future so we were told.  He was one of the reasons the widow had come to Burayu, he had persuaded her oldest son to leave home and Jesus and to serve him instead.

Further on we could see more clusters of trees and farms and we were told that we would stop there for lunch, it was One  o’ clock now and we were about 40 minutes away from those trees. Lunch was sounding really good by now. After a nice break in Gutu ,sharing our lunch and believe it or not a pepsi bought in the village we were on the trail again . It was only a short way to her home, passing by small compounds with curious children and sheep, cows, donkeys and dogs.

The widows home was in a very sad state of disrepair, rotting  timber poles supporting  even more rotten thatch roofing. Inside it was spacious but the air had the acrid smell of sheep urine. She sheltered sheep in her house at night to earn a small wage from the owner of the animals. Inspite of the air and the animals and the dirt floor this woman was clean and bright looking. Emanuel and Abate discussed with her the materials needed to build her a new house and she told them she had enough timber poles and thatching but she would need nails and also she had no money or food to pay the laborers  with. Soon we had a plan in place to return with the necessary tools, materials, laborers and food to raise a proper home for her and the 3 children still at home. We prayed for the safe return of her oldest son and gave her an Afaan Oromo bible and some money to help her  gather the supplies needed for the house. Now it was just a matter of hiking another 2 hours out to the main road  and hopefully catching a bajaj to take us the last few kilometers to Burayu.

We had started our trek heading north then turned west towards Gutu and now we would be heading south eastward down hill to the main road. We hadn’t gotten very far when we came across some men taking a break from threshing grain. They were drinking a yellow colored beverage which they offered to share with us. Emauel took a sip and asked Sandy to try it, Oh my that’s very fermented she told him. Once again we watched Emanuel gracefully lead these men to a discussion about Jesus. They were Orthodox and believed they must follow the priests  instructions to fast from meat  but that it was alright to drink alcohol. He encouraged one of them to ask the priest about Grace and Law and to meet with him.I would love to hear that conversation. I am always amazed at Pastor Emanuels way with people , he challenges them with the Gospel and the truth and yet they always have a smile and kind word for us when we move on. Well down the road we traveled finally reaching the paved road just a half hour before dark. Sisay arrived with a bajaj and we were soon back to Burayu.

I think we must have covered about 12 miles on foot above 8000 ft elevation, not bad for a couple of  ferengi. I look forward to returning with a crew of cooks and carpenters to build her home and mostly to build a witness for our Saviour in a community under the shadow of  sorcery and witchcraft.      your sisters in Christ, Carole and Sandy

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New Challenges

 Well I had every intention of writing a lengthy blog about the wonderful visit I had from the  Scott family, but the power was off for the better part of 2 days and now we are faced with a new set of challenges.

  On Tuesday Pastor Emanuel informed Sandy and I that  the owner of the land and buildings  we are using for our GGI program will soon return from America to build a new house on her land. The Church has been leasing that land adjacent to the sanctuary for several years and when we came here with a new program they were gracious enough to give us the space for a kitchen and also one classroom for use on Saturday, not to mention a large play area. The kitchen is kept locked when we aren’t using it during the week so it is really exclusively ours.

   So the new challenge we face is where to have our kitchen and what will we use for a classroom and play area  The office and one other classroom are dedicated spaces and are always in use and there is nowhere else to set up a kitchen.  I am therefore urgently requesting all of our blog readers to turn to our heavenly Father and ask for his provision. We will do the earthly work of searching the area for a suitable location but I am asking you to help support us in the spiritual work of praying for a clear path from the Lord.

    There are many vacant buildings in the area so hopefully one of them will become the new home for our GGI program and the Teen club that  we hope to start soon. I am still seeking a tutor for me  in afaan Oromo and also an interpreter for us who speaks fluent english and Oromo.  So I am asking all of you to partner with us and pray for the needs of this little program still in its infancy.

   I just finished reading the book ‘Fresh Wind Fresh Fire’ and it has left me both ashamed and inspired towards my prayer life. If you haven’t read it get it. Thank you Scott Family for bringing it to Ethiopia with you. I have so much hope for what we can do here but we are so often met with obstacles, I know that the Lord will use these not to stumble us but to strengthen our faith and to draw us ever closer to Him. I am reminded of Guy’s sermon last Sunday about not getting ahead of God’s leading but earnestly seeking His will and His timing.  Call upon the Lord, trust in the Lord, wait on the Lord  and see what great and mighty things He will do.

   Again I ask you to turn to prayer in these matters and let’s see what our awesome God will do. Your sister in Christ,  Carole

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God's Hand at Work

It is late Sunday evening and it has been an incredible day for me and my Guests. Guy , Debbie and Zapata are here visiting me from America. We had a lot of fun with our GGI kids yesterday and spent the rest of the day pretty quietly but today being Sunday we were up early getting ready for the service. Guy was polishing his sermon and us girls were busy with preparing breakfast and getting dressed. We had just finished our meal when the electricity went out. No matter that happens here all the time. We all had been concerned about how loud the service would be , that it might cause Guy considerable discomfort . We were faithful to give our concerns to our Lord and now needed to move on to the church. Pastor Emanuel graciously met us at the compound here and walked the rest of the way with us. It had been a little inconvenient to get dressed without the power but you learn to go with these things when you ‘re in Burayu.

When we arrived at church the power was still out and it occurs to us that God’s hand is already at work . No power… no speakers….No speakers …no problem for Guy’s ear. Pastor Emanuel had me introduce them and then Guy delivered an amazing talk on Abraham and Isaac with Emanuel translating. It was so quiet in the sanctuary , people were really listening to the message. When he had closed Emanuel gave a very convicting exhortation to his congregation. At that time the worship leader came up and just began to sing a capella and the whole congregation joined him in lifting up praise to our Saviour. It is an awesome sound when the Holy Spirit is moving through people , through their prayers and voices in worship.

This little Church has a dirt floor, plastic tarp walls and poles holding up the tin roof. No fancy technology, no overhead, no upholstered padded chairs. To hear worship in this place unaided by speakers and microphones ,just the pure sound of convicted hearts, WOW! Several people came up to the altar and received the prayers of the entire congregation, we later found out that they all had confessed a life of backsliding. Oh and I forgot to mention how every Sunday all the children are called to the altar to receive the blessings of all who are gathered in the sanctuary. Hands are raised and stretched out towards the children while the Pastor prays over them. I can hear many people speaking softly in their prayer languages during these moments.

I do miss the wonderful wealth of deep teaching I can get from my home church and in home bible studies but I have seen nothing in America that even begins to resemble the moving of the Holy Spirit on the hearts of those convicted by Gods word. The Ethiopian people live lives focused on the simple basics. It keeps their hearts soft and obedient to God because they know how greatly they depend on him. There are no distractions to stop up their ears or to cloud their vision .

This week the Burayu Full Gospel church was having a 3 day fast and prayer session . Several leaders and many prayer warriors gathered at the church and prayed from 8 am til 1 pm and then went home to rest until about 3 pm at which time they return to church to pray until 12. They go home and rest a few hours and return to pray . This whole time they are fasting on water and liquids only. I am almost ashamed of our own churches where we are excited to have a few loyal prayer warriors gather for an hour once a week to lift up the needs of the community. I am one of those people and I used to have a sence of pride in my committment to our prayer meetings now I am just in awe of what real committment is.

Oh I know the reasoning, people are busy, they have families and jobs and other activities to attend to and its America not Ethiopia. We have become accustomed to our little luxuries and conveniences and have no shame about it. I hope you can receive this with out resenting the messenger after all I am one of you. I have not joined in on a 3 day fast , My flesh will use the excuse that I come from a different culture or I have low blood sugar or whatever. I pray that one day soon I can summon up the Spiritual courage to atleast try. God speaks to these people and they hear him. The gifts of the spirit are strong here. I do not doubt it is because of their committed prayer lives. I hope to encourage and exhort all of you who log on to read this blog, not to condemn. Our enemy would love to have us read this and give up because we could just never be that dedicated. Please be uplifted by the knowledge that our God is an awesome God and he hears ours prayers . I just want you to know that we can always grow Spiritually if we are willing to be obedient servants of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

Faithfully yours in Christ ,Carole

Fish Tale

Sunday early in the evening Sandy was at the computer and I was in the kitchen busy preparing dinner. I heard Sandy making a fuss about something ‘Carole come see!’

At the front door was Sambata, Kifleys gateman.In his hand was a bag with 3 fish, fresh from the Gefarsa river, still flopping. Oh, are these for us? Yes, he says. Can we pay you for them? Yes he says. How much? 50 birr he says. OK, we just want one. Yes he says.

Sandy goes to get her wallet and Sambata is out the door with the bag of fish and up the stairs to Kifleys. When he comes back by our door Sandy takes him 50 birr but now he doesn’t have any fish with him. Sambata, can we have one fish ? Yes he says.

Well, he takes Sandy’s 50 birr and off he goes out the gate. Where do you think he’s going in such a hurry? Sandy asks me. Uh Oh! I’ll bet he’s going for more fish. No way ! Do you really think so?

About 2 hours later our friends Samson and Enat stop by and we have temporaily forgotten about the fish. Next thing we know, here comes Sambata to the front door and what does he have? A bag of fish, fresh from the Gefarsa river still flopping. What to do with 2 fish? We really only wanted one.

Naturally we decided to follow Ethiopian custom on this one and happily entreat our dear friends to take one of the fish, and we will not take no for an answer . I’m pretty sure Enat did not want the fish, but so much gets lost in translation , I could be wrong.

As for the fish, he never quite made it to the table for dinner. By the time our friends had left it was late and we just stuck the fish, fresh from the Gefarsa river, still flopping into the fridge for the night.

This morning when Sandy put it on the counter to clean, we thought it looked a little bloated. I did my best to sharpen a knife for the delicate process of disemboweling it. Bravely, Sandy makes the first cut. OOOPS! That incision was a little deep. Is it supposed to look like that? I don’t think so. She tells me how her dad always insisted that the fish be gutted and cleaned as soon as they were caught. Well, in retrospect that is excellent advise. Sandy just couldn’t quite bring herself to do that while it was fresh from the Gefarsa river still flopping in the bag.

And where was I during all this? Standing at a safe distance offering lots of encouragement and moral support of course. Well the neighborhood cats will love us tonite, we’re just waiting for dark to sneak the fish out the gate . We dont want to face the embarrassment of paying 50 birr to the feed the cats a fish fresh from the Gefarsa river no longer flopping in the bag. CW with collaberation from Sandy

Kids at Play

Hello all you faithful readers. I have just recently managed to share some new videos with my technical advisor/blog administrater. Boy is she great. I hope to learn some new computer skills while she and Guy and Zapata visit us this month. In the mean time I continue to rely on her for our technical support regarding the blog. Oh Yeah the Blog.

These are just two of the games the kids often play on Saturdays during our free time between breakfast and english class. I have yet to translate what they are saying but I’m working on it. They are really fun to watch especially our little girls like Biqiltu and Lydia and Aster. I never fail to feel my heart lifted when I watch them at their simple games. Our kids at home have pretty well forgotten the art of imagination in their play. The toys do all that for them. Here a simple piece of paper becomes a propeller on a plane and Hunde’s Imagination takes off in full flight . Sandy and I are astounded at the resourcefulness of some of our kids like Biza and his brother Hunde. If I had a ton of money I would by 2 bijas for those boys when when they grow up and start them up with a taxi service . I can just see them darting about town in three wheeled taxis.

Well the power just went out and I’m typing in the dark. I have enough trouble pecking at the keys in the light. I will close this episode of our blog praying for grace and peace to all of you. <>< CW

GGI Kids Playing

Slide Show

Bus ride to Piassa, another intrepid adventure with Sandy and Carole

On Monday Sandy and I decided to take the bus to Piassa as we are accustomed to doing but just for fun we thought we should also find our way home by bus also instead of having Trusty Dawiit drive us . The adventure begins, we climb aboard the Higer bus and off we go . When we get to the area that has many butcher shops we see a dead hyena on the road. We have been told that they are rarely seen near town but this is the second one we have seen dead in the road in this same place. I’m not sure “rare” means the same thing in oromo that it means in english.


Next we come to the detour around the new road construction, We’ve been stuck on this hill before. Our fearless bus driver determines not to wait for the the traffic jam on the hill to disperse and instead he turns down a narrow side street. Ok this doesnt look so good, it is so tight that only about a foot of space was between the bus and the walls of the compounds lining the street. The bus rounds a tighter corner and comes to a stop. We are caught between a rock and a hard place quite literally. Some men get off the bus and I decide to try to get some film of the problem.

I climb up to the front of the bus and shoot some film, now there is a large group of men in the street and they are chanting what sounds like an old work chant. I managed to squeeze out the door just in time to catch a few frames of the crowd and the road is cleared. Back on the bus , a few more tight squeezes and our bus is back on route for Piassa.

We arrive at our destination without further troubles and disembark the bus to wander happily about the charming treets of Piassa. We tried a new cafe for lunch and were pleasantly surprised by the quality of the food and the the cleanliness of the establishment. We even found our way to the Blue Supermarket and Shoa Store for our much needed supplies .

Only one challenge left, where do we catch the bus back to burayu? Well ask a total stranger of course. Wasn’t it Scarlet O’Hara who said ” I have always depended on the kindness of strangers”. A nice gentleman in line with us at the Shoa store gave us excellent directions. Just go straight up that really steep hill and cross over to the corner. No problemo! Have I mentioned the elevation here is over 8000 ft. Huffing a little we crest the hill, find our bus and off we go for home with all our delightful purchases in hand. We have been cautioned about the buses but I must say that we always meet very friendly people on them and have adventures we would not want to miss. I encourage any intrepid traveler to take full advantage of the inexpensive Higer Buses. Just dont be in a hurry to get anywhere. And pray. happily serving our LORD and SAVIOUR in Burayu, Carole and Sandy.

Lost in Translation

Hello faithful blog readers. I am sorry it took me so long to write a new post.  We have had many distractions and spiritual battles on several fronts. Don't Lose Hope The Battle is The Lords.


We must always remember that our adversary never sleeps and is constantly seeking to spread chaos, after all he is the author of confusion.


This morning in my devotions I was uplifted by the words of the 27th psalm. ‘ Though an army may encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; Though war may rise against me, in this I will be confident. One thing I have desired of the Lord, that I will seek; That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in His temple. For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavillion; In the secret place of His tabernacle He shall hide me; He shall set me high upon a rock. And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me. Therefore I will offer sacrifices of joy in His tabernacle; I will sing , yes, I will sing praises to the Lord.


After my uplifting morning devotions I spent 2 hours pouring over 3 different English to Oromo books just to come up with one sentence that could be understood by an ” interpreter’ who could then explain to our friend Buse. What time , day and place we could meet her. It took about 20 minutes of broken english and my very poor pronunciations of Oromo to convey that information.


I often find myself mentally wore out and it is difficult to find the time and space I need to get spiritually recharged and ready to go back in for the next round. Praise God for the patience of those who are faithfully serving Him here.


It is not just a matter of a new language to learn, that is challenging enough. We must also use the Ethiopian calender year, month and day and even the way time is kept is different. So explaining to someone that you would like to meet them at 9 am on Friday morning Jan. 29 th at our home becomes an incredible undertaking. Up until now we have relied on ‘ interpreters ‘ for this communication but we are never where we are supposed to be when we are supposed to be there.


You see today is not Jan. 27 2010 by the Ethiopian calender.And it is not 2 pm in the afternoon. It is Amajjii 20 th 2002 at 8 o clock in the afternoon. Now if I could throw away my gregorian calender and my international time watch and live on Ethiopian time things would be somewhat simpler but our responsibilities to churches, families and GGI prevent that luxury.


I suppose that it sounds like I am whining, but I love my life and work here and wouldn’t trade it for anything. Please keep Sandy and I in your prayers , the daily challenges can quickly become overwhelming. Your sister in Christ, Carole

Tough Day

We had a tough day yesterday.  It started out great. Spent the morning cooking food for some of our poorest kids and when we got to the last delivery we found Dinka’s mom so sick we thought she might die if she didn’t get care immediately. We did not know what to do and we didn’t have an interpreter so we began to pray for God to help us and oh boy did he answer big time!

Our friend Getachew was looking for us and managed to track us down by asking if anyone saw where the two white women went.  He is a church elder and knows everyone.  He and I went to look for the doctor and left Sandy with Dinka’s mom.

We walked across town to the clinic. Not there. Then to his home. Not there. Then on the phone but there was no phone service – that happens a lot.  Back across to Dinka’s on foot of course.  Getachew left to find a taxi and I walked back across town to our house because we  were supposed to meet Samson and Enat at 4 pm.

We eventually got Sirne into a budja (taxi) and to the clinic and Dr Feyissa eventually got there also.  She is better today and they even sent her home this afternoon. She has no money to pay the medical bill so we are going to pay for her drugs and Dr Feyissa is not charging for the time in the clinic.  Praise God!

Please continue to pray our GGI families.  God can do mighty things when we pray!

This is a picture of me and Dinka taken a while back.

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Christmas in Burayu

Its Christmas eve on the Ethiopian calendar. We had an awesome time with our GGI kids. The sunday school teacher put on a great program with her kids and a song by our kids. Then we got to give our kids a gift bag for each one with all kinds of fun goodies. You would have thought the gift bags were full of gold the way their faces looked when they opened them up.

Then after all the kids’ performances the worship leader led a spirit filled time of worship that must have lasted about 45 minutes. The whole church was jumping and clapping and all the kids were on the stage dancing and jumping even Sandy got up there with our kids. It was the most fun I ever had in church.
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Teaching at Bereket School

We had hoped that we would get some training, orientation or curriculum, but we are pretty much just winging it. We bought some books to help us with ideas for lesson plans. Last week was easy I just tried to engage the kids with questions and once the ice broke I had a lot of fun learning about their favorite things and telling them some of mine.

This week its down to serious business. I had my plan, teach the long and short vowel sounds. I entered my class room fearlessly, knowing I was armed with a full lesson plan. That went well with my 8th grade class and surprisingly good with my very big 5th grade class and even the 6th grade went smooth. Ahhh, sigh of relief only one period left and its the 7th graders, it’s a small class only about 14 students. This will be a breeze, I’ll just sail right through and in no time I’ll be home taking a well earned nap. Hah! My class had an entirely different agenda. It became readily apparent that they had very little interest in my lesson plan. What to do, how could I regain their attention……. after some quick thinking I devised a new strategy. I know I’ll take some photos of the class. Ok, those of you who actually are trained teachers can probably see the flaw in my plan but naively I charged on. Total chaos rapidly ensued. But we sure had fun and I’m reasonably certain they did learn a few words like ’silence!’ ‘Be Quiet!’ and ‘Sit down!’

What a great time I had, and the photos I have to say are some of my favorites! I plan to resume a more structured line of teaching first thing next week. Luckily I have an extra day or two to get prepared.  p.s. if you have any helpful ideas please feel free to post a comment on the blog.     <><  CW

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Beginning Our Home Visit Ministry

Now that Sandy and I are feeling strong again we‘ve gotten right to the  business of visiting our GGI children at their homes.  Tuesday after our classes at the Bereket school we went with Pastor Emanuel to see Danye and his sister Mirat.

They live with their very elderly paternal Grandparents in an older house. It was very poorly lit and the furniture looked as tired as the grandparents.  Danye’s grandfather is a dairy farmer and their compound is big, for being in town, but he explained to Sandy and I that the city confiscated his fields for development and left him only the compound for his cattle and home.

He supports his family by selling milk from his cows. I only saw one cow and calf and a couple of sheep in the yard. His wife is very weak and suffers from a respiratory illness. I can not imagine how they manage two young and active children at their age; although it was very clear to us that they love their grandkids and make every effort to provide a loving home for them.

Danye and Mirat’s father has passed away. Their mother has a new husband who won’t let the her children live with them. That leaves them in the care of very poor and elderly grandparents.

Danye is a bright boy and well behaved at our Saturday GGI program. I enjoy his sweet smile and quiet demeanor. I don’t know much about Mirat.  She has only come to our program twice that I’m aware of. She is shy like her brother and is a very cute little girl. I am often a bit overwhelmed by the poverty of our children and yet I am amazed by the resiliency of their characters and the joy they have in the simplest of things.

It is know wonder to me that Jesus tells us to be like them and that ‘of such is the Kingdom of Heaven made.’  I am praying for sponsors for all 25 of our program kids.   Cw

A visit to Busayu’s home

Thursday afternoon we went for a drive with Emanuel and Girma (he’s an architectural engineer). After seeing one of his construction sites we headed west out of Burayu and then turned onto a main highway going south by south east towards Addis. We drove through beautiful grazing land, rolling hills and broad flat fields  with small herds of cattle, sheep and horses  scattered here and there.

After a few kilometers we started to see more homes and some businesses and an area of industrial development. Girma explained that this area was under the authority of Burayu and the Oromo people and that a large complex is being built to be a trading center for grain and other commodities from rural parts of Oromo.

We stopped the car and crossed the road to visit a small chapel planted by Pastor Emanuel and Girma, then took a short walk to some compounds nearby.  That's when Emanuel mentioned that we would visit Busayu’s home.

We entered the clean and grassy compound through a tin gate and approached a rustic stick and mud hut. A small but strong looking woman came out to greet us with a warm smile. She invited us into her modest home, just one room, a few chairs, a bed and some sacks of milled grain near the door. She makes injera from the grain and sells it to support her and Busayu. I was surprised to find out how far Busayu lives from Burayu and yet still makes it to our Saturday program. We have been giving her money for the bujas [small  3 wheeled taxis] but we really had no idea  how far she was traveling. She is one of my best students on Saturday and just has the kindest face you can imagine.

I hope you will enjoy reading about our home visits as we continue  the process of  interviewing  the families and guardians of these great kids.

Joyfully serving our Lord in Burayu, Carole