April 3, 2006

We awoke this morning to a breakfast of bread and butter, jam, yogurt, coffee and tea and enjoyed some time together. We were also fortunate to have many visitors during our breakfast. Some were missionaries living in Ethiopia, while others were Ethiopian people associated with Bethel Synod. After breakfast we had a wonderful time of devotion where we met as a team and talked about our call to service and the ways we wanted to model ourselves after Jesus as we served the people of Ethiopia. Following devotion time we met with Michael and Rachel Weller, missionaries in Ethiopia who are coordinating our stay and activities. We were blessed to have a long time to meet with Michael and Rachel and hear their amazing stories of living and raising their children while being missionaries in Ethiopia. We were touched by the love and dedication the Wellers have towards the people here. We were also able to learn more about the culture of Ethiopia, as well as things to be aware of while we are here.

Towards the end of our time with the Wellers, many of us were fading due to jet lag. Some of the team went to take a little nap, while the three team members who are starting the education conference tomorrow went to see the site and meet the people they would be teaching.

After about an hour, those who were napping awoke and met with Andy Warren, a coordinator working with Service In Mission (SIM). He educated us on the background of SIM and it's programs and goals in Ethiopia. We were all amazed at the way SIM was affecting HIV/AIDS through its programs to provide housing, food, shelter, and counseling to it's beneficiaries. We were shocked to learn that because of their programs, many of SIM's beneficiaries had turned from a life of commercial sex workers to that of working on Income Generating Activities (IGA's) run by SIM. Some of the IGA's included coffee production as well as the building of a community shower house where people can pay to use a nice shower with shampoo and soap.

We also learned of SIM's programs to help those who had started on the anti-retro viral medications (ARV's), medications that slow the progression of HIV and improve immune system functioning. SIM is working with its beneficiaries receiving government ARV's to help them maintain coherence to their medications. If patients taking these medications are not consistent, they can become resistant to the drugs and actually end up dying faster. All of SIM's beneficiaries that are on the ARV's are 100% compliant and the number of beneficiaries in SIM's care that are dying has been significantly reduced through this program.

Following our time with Andy, the group touring where the teaching conference would be held returned. They told of the facilities where they would be teaching, a Red Cross center on the other side of town.
We then all enjoyed a wonderful dinner together of salad, lasagna, and bread (made for us by our wonderful Ethiopia cooks). After a debriefing session we will continue to get ready for tomorrow's activities. It is our first day of work tomorrow. Three members of the team will be starting to teach at the conference where they will educate local health care workers on how to care for those with HIV/AIDS as well as other illnesses. The rest of the team will break up into smaller teams and go out into the city to do medical home visits for people infected with HIV/AIDS and their families. We are hoping that after one more night of good rest we will be energized and ready to go out and serve. We are excited about tomorrow and can't wait to meet and learn more about the Ethiopian people.