Sunday afternoon we worshipped with the Ethiopian congregation, Tinsae Kristos. They are an amazing group of people. They took time to pray for us and commission us as they saw what we are doing as a great honor - us choosing to go to their homeland holds a special place in their hearts. It was so wonderful to have Pastor Berhanu and Asefa praying over us. We take them with us in so many ways. They also served us a great dinner of injera and doro wat. Yum.
Monday evening we spent saying our goodbyes to our good friends Asefa and Grace. Asefa is from Ethiopia and his wife Grace spent about 10 years there doing missions. They are such a great couple who bring a lot of joy to us. Caia has a soft spot in Asefa's heart and he keeps asking her if he shrinks down to the size of a mouse if she will carry him in her pocket. It is so sweet to watch.
Tuesday morning I spent with a group of pastors from the Western part of the county that have become great friends. These folks are the definition of Christian brotherhood and sisterhood. I've been praying with them for about the past 4 years and it is so refreshing to join together in prayer, support and encouragement with folks from a variety of denominations. These folks have a heart to see others come to know Jesus in this part of the county and there is no sense of competition or doctrinal squabbling between us. They took about 20 minutes to pray over our journey to Ethiopia. It was beautiful. God was there in the midst of it, and He took care of all of my fears as we prayed - everything from having enough finances to whether I'll be able to be relevant there. One person felt The Lord saying that I need not worry about my illustrations and stories not fitting there, rather The Lord was going to make me the story in an incarnational living sort of way. There also were a number of words about this being something our family is doing together...not just our kids going along for the ride.
Tonight we spent some time with my brother Jim, his wife Dana and their son Christian. It was good to see them one more time before we head out. It is so strange saying goodbyes without really sensing the reality that it will be 3 years until we meet again. We're going to miss Jim, Dana and Christian a lot over that time. Its crazy to think that Christian will be almost 5 by the next time I probably see him again.
Today was also spent talking with airlines, insurance companies, doctor's offices, cancelling our utilities and a whole host of other signs that this truly is right around the corner.
Thank you for your prayers.
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