Back Online Again

Well, after days of trying to diagnose our internet troubles we are finally online again. It seems that someone at the Gullele house thought they needed our sim card more than we did. After a long and confusing visit to the TeleCom office we were able to purchase a new one and we are off and blogging again.

The good news is that we have been given an absolutely beautiful house in Burayu to live in free of rent until we leave for America. Our landlord, Keefley, is a very gracious pensioner who has let us move into the ground floor apt. of his lovely home. It seems he has a heart for missions and has his own vision of building a youth center and library in Burayu.

God indeed has blessed us beyond what we could have imagined. We are learning our way around the town and meeting new shop keepers. On Tuesday Sandy and I and P. Emanuel took a scenic trip by pony cart to the countryside. We met two young girls in beautiful dresses sitting under a tree. I can imagine them planning their futures as they sat there in the shady grove of trees.

We should be all settled in by Friday. Then I hope to start teaching a Christmas Carol to our kids during the program on Saturday. If all goes well we can sing it at Church on the Sunday before Christmas. I’ll ask Sandy to video the performance for the blog. So be sure to stay tuned in!

Thank You for your prayers, Carole

Medical Surplus Saving Lives in Ethiopia

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jumprope to numbers

On Saturday we played jump rope with our Burayu kids  between class and lunch. We have successfully fed our children breakfast and lunch  for our second time. We have so much still to learn and to teach. Sandy and I decided to divide and conquer.  She agreed to take our littlest ones and walk with them and teach the words for the things they saw. I  found the older kids in my English class  already know there English alphabet and numbers.  It was the first time I have ever taught children our English language.  The kids are so bright and we laughed a lot as I drew pictures on the board and had them say the English word. We have a bit of work to do on pronunciations but it was an excellent beginning.  This video of  the kids was taken by Sandy.  She is much better at the photos than I am.  I’m beat!  Playing with kids and teaching is hard work.  That’s all for now.   CW

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Our First Meal

Praise the Lord we made it through our first two weeks.

The first project from GGI was setting up a kitchen to feed a group of children breakfast and lunch on Saturdays. Last Saturday was our first. Carole and I thought, this is great…we can do this. How hard  could it be. As we set out to make our plan, we got out our pads of paper and started making a list. We got it on good authority that most everyone around here eats bread, or biscuits and tea for breakfast. For lunch, injera with wat, and tea. – we were ready to tackle the job.

First, we needed to set up the kitchen – then feed the kids and hand out their school uniforms and books. We’ll have a wonderful day, we thought, even have candy to hand out, and stay within our budget. Heroes!

OK.. things didn’t go quite as planned.

You see, we live in Addis Ababa, and our mission is at a church in Brayeu – about 45 minutes away.   In Addis, they speak Amharic. In Brayeu, they speak Oromo. Our driver and interpreter speaks Amharic. Do you see how this could be a problem? Now… our pastor, Emanuel, speaks pretty good English if you can get past his thick Oromo accent…

We all sat down with our lists and went over everything. You think you understand a person is saying, and that person thinks they understand what you are saying. Everyone on the same page…But no one was on the same page. Not even in the same book. Carole and I with pastor Emanuel arranged for a simple but sturdy table to be built to cook on. We needed a shelf to hold pots and pans, and door for the kitchen with a lock, which needed to be installed before any supplies could go in.

Not knowing how to cook Wat, we decided to hire Buse (a young women who also knows no English) to cook for the first month and teach us.

To save time and stress, we sent her out to buy the food, and some pots. She came back with some really big pots, and what looked like a lot of food. OK Lord, I’m thinking. I’m learning to trust You in all things. Carole and I were the only ones here feeling a little uptight. Everyone else was good and wanted to go get coffee. So, we went to get coffee.

Saturday came. Twenty seven beautiful children were fed the most delicious and satisfying breakfast of macaroni, cooked with lentils in an array of vegetables and bread. We handed out uniforms and schoolbooks. They had their pictures taken. We all played ball until lunch was served. Buse, and a handful of dear sweet women served Wat with meat, injera, beats, cabbage sauteed with potatoes and bread. Carole and I didn’t get to learn how the Wat was made….Because of some confusion, we got there an hour late.

The table and the door is being painted, not to worry. We were over budget. We will do better next time. This is Africa.

Learning to trust Jesus, Sandy and Carole

“My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart and my portion for ever” - Psalm 73:26

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Malaria Outbreak in Uganda

Please take a moment and pray for our Ugandan team in Bukeeka and the Fountain of Hope teachers and students as they are currently experiencing a malaria outbreak in the area.  Over 150 students are currently staying home, one teacher came close to passing away but is doing better, Pastor Robert is also currently sick, and the 7th grade class has been hit hard 2 weeks before their national exam.  On top of this poor weather conditions have hurt many of the families' food crops and they are faced with having to purchase food at increasingly higher prices.

GGI recently distributed 200 mosquito nets but the need is still large.  We thank all of you for your continued support of the work in Uganda and appreciate your prayers and additional giving that you provide.  While we do not have any additional information on our website at this time you can contribute to the Uganda work and designate your donation to mosquito nets or humanitarian outreach via the donation comment section and we will immediate disperse funds to Bukeeka to assist with medicines and food.  Thank you for considering this request.

Together For Adoption Conference 2009

Together For Adoption has posted the audio sermons on their site from this year's conference.  These are some of the sharpest minds on the Gospel's collision with orphan care and adoption.  They are definitely worth a listen...or two.

T4A Conference Audios

Carole and Sandy Go to Burayu

GGI is very excited to send Carole Wilson and Sandy Weiler to Burayu, Ethiopia this month.  They will be blogging their experiences over the next year and we get the blessing of following along.  Come along for an incredible journey!

Carole and Sandy Go to Burayu