The River Church Community

Gayll sent this newsletter to me the other day.  I thought it would be important to share it with you, as their family, minus Mark, head to Ethiopia over Christmas break.  Find out below how you can support them through prayer and financially.

Kyle

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Dear Friends:
 
We hope this weekend has been an enjoyable time of rest and (at least relative) relaxation for you with family and friends.  We've had a great time celebrating with new friends from around the world and we've appreciated the chance to have stop for awhile and change focus. And now, before the rush of the holidays comes upon us all in full, we wanted to let you know about a significant opportunity before our family this December.

Three weeks from now---on December 21st---- I (Gayll), Ephrem, Muhr, Yodit and Beti will be flying to Addis Ababa (along with Ephrem's very special new friend, Stephanie Payne, see attached picture) to visit Aday (our Ethiopian grandmother) and to volunteer with Hope Enterprises, a well-respected Ethiopian NGO that ministers to street children and destitute families in Addis Ababa. http://www.hopeenterprises.org/  Although he's disappointed to miss this chance to visit Ethiopia and meet Aday, because of concerns about the long journey and his health, Mark will remain at home as "Mission Control".  The six of us will be gone for about 3 ½ weeks and return on January 16th.
 
This trip comes after several years of prayer and planning.  As you might remember from last year, we had originally hoped to be able to bring Aday to the U.S. so that she could see the kids and get cataract surgery.  After several failed attempts at obtaining a visa, we realized that her only hope would be if Ephrem or I---as U.S. citizens---went and pleaded her case at the U.S. embassy in Addis.  As school and work schedules played out, it became clear that these weeks in December present a unique window of opportunity in the next several years ---and so, after almost six years of separation, we are going back, with full hearts, lots of anticipation and more than a few anxieties as well.
 
I'm writing to include you in on the adventure and to ask for your prayer.  This morning, as I walked around the block with Jesus and tried to "cast all my cares" on Him, I was comforted by Philippians 2:13, that it really is "God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose".  I am counting on this to be literally true since organizing a trip like this is way beyond me---I need God to undertake, big time!  There is much to do before we leave and lots of logistics that have yet to come together.  I feel deeply our dependence on Jesus for specific guidance, provision, connections, protection, as well as good attitudes and servant hearts.  There is literally no way, without Yahewh. J.  And this is where you come in . . .
 
Would you please join with us in prayer for these things:

• Housing in Addis Ababa-we must rely on friends in Addis to find us a house near Aday that is safe, sleeps six people at relatively low-cost.  T-minus 3 weeks and counting we have no housing, and our more expensive guest house options will require more fundraising.  So, please pray!

• Plane flights and accommodations - We would like to take one of our weeks and travel to the northern part of Ethiopia to visit a missionary friend who is involved in a ministry to children and families affected by HIV-Aids in an isolated rural community http://oasisfoundationethiopia.org/.  This is also near Aday's hometown of Adwa, and Aksum, one of Ethiopia's most important historical sites.  Buying tickets over the internet has proved cost-prohibitive.  However, we MAY be able to purchase tickets in Ethiopia at a fraction of the price.  It would just involve a lot of last-minute by-the-seat-of-your-pants travel with 7 people (including Aday) in tow.  Would you pray that God's intent for our time would be made clear and that if this side-trip is part of His agenda for us that all the logistics (flights, hotels, etc.) would come together?

• UK visa for Ephrem - Because of last-minute terminal changes at Heathrow Airport in London, we will need to stay overnight on both our journeys to and from Ethiopia. Unfortunately, Ephrem does not yet have a U.S. passport (he just passed his citizenship test last week).  He has to have a visitor's visa for the UK to be able to stay overnight in London.  These are not that easy for folks from developing countries to obtain. And yet, Ephrem is our tour guide and translator, so we would be hard pressed if his travel is held up in anyway. Yesterday, with fingers-crossed, we FedExed both his Ethiopian passport and his original U.S. green card to the British Consulate in LA.  Please pray that they would quickly grant him a visa and return these essential documents. 

• US visa for Aday - I will be meeting with the Consular General during the first week of our trip to talk with him about how Aday was treated when she applied for a visa.  This feels pretty scary to me, but I figure it's worth a shot since "The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD; He directs it like a watercourse wherever He pleases." Prov. 21:11.  We'll then try to walk through another visa appointment with Aday.  This is a little bit like facing a firing squad.  Please pray that she would be treated with respect and granted a visa so she can come visit us next summer.

• Ministry connections --- One of my hopes in visiting Ethiopia this time is to make ministry connections for future short-term missions trips for our church (The River Church Community) with reputable ministries that are serving the poor (and especially those affected by HIV-Aids).  We will be volunteering as a family with Hope Enterprises, and hopefully visiting Grace Village, but there may be other ministries that I need to observe and connect with.  Would you pray that God would open the right doors so that we could nurture an on-going commitment to service in Ethiopia?

• Health and protection - The recent attacks in Mumbai bring home that no international travel is without risk.  Added to this is the significant emotional challenge this trip represents for Muhr, Yodit and Beti as they return to a place that is home and not home---a place of many memories and much loss--while they now lack the ability to communicate effectively. Would you pray for extraordinary protection for us (at home and on the trip) from spiritual attack and discouragement of all kinds?  Please pray for strong health, safe travel and lodging, as well as protection over our hearts and minds as we work together as a team and help each other encounter all the challenges we will find there. Pray also for Mark---staying home is often much harder than going during a trip like this.

• Additional funding - By the grace of God, we were able to consider making this trip because of extra funds that we'd been able to raise in 2006, when Ephrem visited Aday.  However, skyrocketing housing and food costs in Ethiopia and the hope of being able to make the trip up north necessitate further fundraising.  I estimate that, together with Stephanie, we need to raise an additional $8,500.  We've set up an account through SixSeeds - a nonprofit focused on helping families grow in generosity and service; and, Stephanie is raising money through The River Church Community.  In the midst of our broken economy, we are counting on God to supply what we need.  Would you join with us in prayer for this provision to come in quickly?

If you would like to be a part of our financial support team, you can view our webpage at: Sixseeds: Adopted Siblings Return to Ethiopia to Serve Their Birthplace.  SixSeeds is not yet set up to make credit card donations, but gifts can be mailed to their office, and they will do the receipting for us.  Just put "Ethiopia Trip" in the memo line. All gifts are tax-deductible.  As part of our commitment to SixSeeds, we'll be blogging about our experiences, so bookmark that page and we'll keep you abreast of our adventure.

In the past, I've been a bit cynical about requests for prayer like this.  Were they really just veiled fundraising? Did anyone really pray?  But now, as I remember my last trip to Ethiopia and all the needs/fears/challenges of that trip (not to mention all the on-going needs/fears/challenges that we have faced as a family over the past six years), I realize that I am no longer cynical about prayer.  I now know, that "fervent effectual prayer" is what we need more than anything else, and that ALL things will be given as we look to God and trust Him day-by-day.  So, we really are asking you to pray and to come on this journey with us through your prayers.
 
Mark and I are so grateful for your love and partnership in the adventure that our family is/has been.  I hope that answered prayer on our behalf has encouraged your faith over the years, and that it will motivate you to pray with us and for us this month.  I'll assume that this is true and continue to send email updates along the way unless you ask to be removed from this list.  Thank you in advance for standing with us and,
 
Much love in the One Who Hears Prayer,
 
Gayll and Mark