“Let justice flow down like a river” has never been so personal and meaningful to our team members than it has been this week as we prepare for our departure to Ethiopia. The proposed well project to help bring water to Roggie Village was set into action last week and the work began to see if the well would strike water or come up dry (as is the case in 1 out of 21 wells drilled in Ethiopia). Simultaneously, the entire MPPC congregation was given small pieces of blue glass as a reminder to pray that the crew would hit water in the designated well site. God hears the prayers of his people and just days ago it was confirmed that approximately 10 times the amount of water expected was struck at the site of the well! God is SO good and we rejoice with our entire church family in this answered prayer.

Often we may struggle to see God at work in our own lives, when he seems so evident in the lives of others. This is a firsthand account of how God is hearing the prayers of our congregation and consequently, an entire village of our brothers and sisters lives in Ethiopia have been gifted lasting change! Let us celebrate together!

We ask for your prayers as we go forward into Addis Ababa, Roggie Village and Nazaret to bring back more updates on such encouraging work that God is doing through our partnering ministries in Ethiopia. This is a unique kind of mission trip and we’ve identified ourselves on the ground here in the U.S. as the Justice Team simply as an identification tool to distinguish our projects from the Education and HIV/AIDS teams of the MPPC Ethiopia Initiative.

As you can imagine, when we arrive in Ethiopia, we will not be designating ourselves as the “Justice Team,” which sounds like we have arrived with capes on our back and with superhuman powers. Instead, we arrive in the posture of students, eager to learn from our Ethiopian partners about their ingenuity and passion for pursuing long-term projects that work towards Kingdom change in the areas where injustice, oppression, abuse and instability are plaguing Ethiopia society. We are working with and financially supporting groups that are helping street children have homes, warm food and the opportunity for schooling. MPPC supports Ellilta, a ministry to ex-commercial sex workers in Addis Ababa and Nazaret where over 100,000 women in these two cities combined have turned to the streets for work in desperation. And this is just a glimpse….there is so much more that we will share with you about on our return!

In short, pursuing justice in Ethiopia has to do less with building “things,” and more to do with investing in people who are helping shift the large cultural rutter that God desires to steer away from oppression and move it in the direction of freedom—freedom for Ethiopians to pursue all that they are created to be as children of the King. Join with us in this journey of prayer for social and personal transformation that brings glory and honor to God.

Our team is incredibly blessed and strengthened by your support. Thank you for your prayers.