Monday, January 31

One of our main goals this week is simply to learn about Ethiopia and to develop a “knowledgeable heart” for the country and its people. Monday was a very big day of outings with Hope Enterprise, a ministry to the poor in Ethiopia started in 1971 and supported by MPPC since its early days. Their main focus is on ministering to the poorest children in Ethiopia, giving them a route to a secure future called “ladders of hope.” First, physical needs are met, then education, then competence, then sufficiency, with heavy emphasis on “value maturity.” Hope’s President, Dr. Minas, summed up their motivation by saying, “People created in the image of God are entrusted to us to care for them. There is no one else.”

Hope’s feeding programs provide meals to over 500 street children and 500 adults each day in two feeding centers. Our team had the opportunity to serve breakfast to children and lunch to adults at one of the urban feeding centers. We also visited their school, the homes of two of the children who attend their school, and a pottery center (vocational training provided by Hope.)

We had dinner at another Ethiopian restaurant and are enjoying trying new (sometimes very spicy) foods. This time, we ate with members of the board of Hope Enterprises. They took time to honor MPPC’s long relationship with Hope at a coffee ceremony after dinner and presented Doug and John with a framed picture of Lalibela, a historic Ethiopian church we will be visiting this weekend