Thursday, February 3

Thursday was a day of incredible variety from a ministry to destitute street youth to a meeting with the President of the country.

HIV/AIDS
One team went to a class given to Ethiopian pastors to educate them about HIV/AIDS and what they can do in their congregations. The class was run by the Evangelical Churches of Ethiopia (ECFE).

Children’s Ministry
A second group met with the ECFE Children’s coordinator to learn what was being done in the area of Children’s ministry. Forty five percent of the Ethiopian population is under the age of 14 yet focused efforts to minister to youth have been non-existent.

Business Development
A third team met focused on business development and met with the Addis Chamber of Commerce and both an NGO and a government agency focused on Micro and small enterprise creation. A highlight was the work of GTZ who has established a self sustaining program with 400 small business consultants that help start and sustain micro and small businesses.

Women’s Issues
A fourth team met with the head of Women’s ministries of ECFE to learn more about women’s issues in Ethiopia. Ethiopia is a tough place for a woman. Women’s ministry is a new focus area within the Ethiopian churches. The ministry plans to focus on bible training focusing on increasing the value of women according to scripture and forming fellowship organizations to support and encourage them in their spiritual growth.

In the afternoon some of the team visited the Fistula Hospital – a Hospital for women left incontinent after childbirth. Many may be familiar with the amazing work of this hospital from its profile on the Oprah Winfrey show.

Street Youth

Youth Impact Development Agency is a project begun by Abraham Feseha, a long time friend of Menlo Park Presbyterian Church. The project currently houses 12 boys ages 13-15. All of these boys are full orphans and were street children before coming to YIDA. We were brought to tears hearing about how their lives have been transformed from spending days/nights of crime and homeless to now living as a family where all of the boys have experienced gentle human touch and continuous acts of love and sacrifice from their house parents and mentors. Each boy also gave testimony to their hope to be future Ethiopian leaders and to be part of the solution to this country’s orphan epidemic. Psm. 89:15 speaks to the hope we saw in the eyes/souls of these children.

Meeting with the President
Thursday afternoon a group of 10 of us had the unexpected opportunity to meet for an hour with the President Girma of Ethiopia. In this meeting we had the opportunity to share our reflections on Ethiopia and promote the good work of the ministry partners we had visited through the week. The head of Hope Enterprises, Dr. Minas, was also able to join us and we were overjoyed to hear that the President was personally familiar with the work of Hope and offered to help with a pending Hope land use issue.

The President noted that his chief concerns in Ethiopia are the Elderly, the Environment, and Education. (Some issues are pretty global!)

While we all had a chance to converse with the President, Kim Taylor’s words touched us all and we share them here:

“Mr. President, we have had the pleasure to meet with and experience the vitality, beauty and unsurpassed hospitality of the Ethiopian people.

During our stay, we have been enamored with your rich culture and the beautiful city of Addis. In our travels, however, we have also encountered those who are suffering – from the effects of poverty, from homelessness, from AIDS. We have also been witness, however, to many organizations and individuals who are fighting valiantly against these ills.

It has been our honor to encounter those with such strength and compassion to meet the needs and care for people who are suffering. In these suffering peoples faces, humanity and dignity are restored. I saw this numerous times – in an orphaned girl at a Hope Enterprise school who spoke of her talents in math, in an elderly man who spoke of his role in gardening and teaching the youth about their history – in what is now a community center, a former slum renewed by Dr. Jember. I saw it in a child dying of AIDS at the Missionaries of Charity home, being treated, well fed, and cradled in a worker’s arms. We saw the hope, the light, and the strength of your people in the midst of these struggles.

We have all been touched by all we have seen here in Ethiopia – the beauty, the culture, the people, and too the suffering. We as a church hope to come alongside all that you are doing to strengthen your people and your country. I myself, will be returning to Ethiopia at the end of March with another team from our church. Our church hopes to have a long and lasting relationship with the organizations in your country over the coming years. We would like to thank you for meeting with us today and welcome your guidance and input with regard to our relationship between your country and our church.”