Kate and I had an amazing trip to Ethiopia and we’re so thankful for those that allowed us to go.  I was a far cry from last year’s inaugural scouting trip.  For one, there were more of us.  Which was good because we crammed a lot of things into a short 10 days in country.  Several nurses and a local doctor put on a free clinic for four days in the villages of Dubancho and Lissana.  While the gals were doing that, four of men held a leadership summit for nearly 200 church leaders in the region.  And again, while the clinic and leadership summit were happening, there was a small group of us at the Dubancho church helping with various construction tasks, namely putting in a concrete floor and building more benches for their newer church building.

There’s obviously more to tell, but for now, here’s some of the photos from the trip (42 of the 600+):

Dear friends and family,

Kate and I have the opportunity to return to Ethiopia, along with several friends from our church, to again invest in the lives of those living in the tiny rural village of Dubancho…

Last year, our team fell in love with the elders and people of Dubancho. The goal of our inaugural trip was to find a community that we could serve and grow in faith in God with for years to come. While there, we spoke at the church, held a basic bible school for the children, and distributed clothes, food and soccer equipment to the local school. We also had the opportunity to provide the village with their first sewing machine in addition to a small, initial micro-loan for a livestock fattening project.

During this past year, a member of our original team has had the opportunity to revisit the village on several occasions. While maintaining an ongoing relationship with the people, he reports that the sewing machine is in constant use by the women of the community to mend clothes. In addition, land for the cattle fattening project has been attained, is being prepared, and a full time manager has been appointed. It is evident that through sacrifice and faith in God, the people of Dubancho are being blessed.

While we are there this November, we will be helping the villagers undertake several construction projects to complete the local church building. Several of us will also be training church leaders from around the region. We are told over 60 churches will be represented at a first-of-its-kind regional leadership conference! Kate and two other nurses on our team are planning to provide medical care for those in Dubancho and surrounding villages with the help of an Ethiopian doctor. They also hope to further educate the community about pertinent health concerns such as HIV/AIDS, basic hygiene, and mother/baby care. Another goal of the medical mission is to recruit women to be ongoing basic medical caregivers. The aim is to equip the community with knowledge, skills, and resources to become self-sustaining and not dependent on once-a-year medical trips.

Other things we hope to accomplish while we are there:
Provide a farming micro-loan
Provide another sewing machine
Offer a Children’s Bible School
Assess the other needs of the community by organizing a meeting with the women of the community

We have just reserved our plane tickets for November 2 – 13. Please join with us in meeting the physical and spiritual needs of Dubancho by committing to faithfully pray for our trip (see kateandjoel.com for updates). Also, if you feel led to donate to any one of these projects, please send a check made payable to Fellowship Bible Church to:

Fellowship Bible Church
16900 Waverly Rd.
Gardner, KS 66030

With Love,
Joel and Kate

We had an AMAZING time in Ethiopia.  Our prayers for finding a place to focus FBC‘s ministry efforts have been answered, and it seems pretty obvious to ME that we will be returning to south-central Ethiopia for many years to come.  I’ll give a more detailed trip report soon, so in the meantime take a look at some photos from our trip.

I need your help!

A small group of us from Fellowship Bible Church are going to Ethiopia in November (10-21), for what we hope will be the first of many trips to the country.  The primary goal is to establish relationships with churches in the area so that future trips can be efficient and impactful.

We will be spending the majority of our time in and around Hosanna, a city 5 hours south of Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa.  Ministry opportunities will include visiting orphanages, gathering basic medication, passing out school supplies, and doing various maintenance tasks at a local church.

While you can’t join us on this trip in person, you can join us in prayer.  Please pray that our time there will be fruitful and that a firm foundation can be made for future trips.  Pray for the people of Ethiopia, many of whom still struggle with access to clean water, medication, and the basic necessities of life that we take for granted.

You can also join us by donating financially, which will help offset the cost of the trip, currently about $14,000 for the entire team (includes airfare, lodging, food, and medical supplies).  The trip is also being supported by the FBC mission fund, as well as money from my own pocket.  Pray about it, and if you feel led to contribute, please make a check out to “Fellowship Bible Church” and either hand it to myself, or mail it directly to the church at: 16900 Waverly Road, Gardner, KS 66030.

Lastly, so you can pray more purposefully, I’ll be posting regular updates at kateandjoel.com/ethiopia, so check in often.

Thanks!

-Joel

Here’s the legal copy about monetary donations:

Your contributions to this Short-Term Mission Trip are tax deductible.  As required by Internal Revenue Service rules, when you give to our mission efforts, you should only give if you can agree that your donation is unconditionally given to FBC.  IRS rules state your contribution’s deductibility is dependent on it being “unconditional and without personal benefit to the donor,” and that it “is made to or for the use of” a qualified charity.  Further, FBC must have “full control of the donated funds, and discretion as to their use, so as to insure that they will be used to carry out its functions and purposes”.

We will be unable to refund any portion of your donation if the Short-Term Mission Trip you donate to is over-funded, if the individuals you received a request from is unable to go on the Short-Term Mission Trip, or if unforeseen conditions cause us to cancel this Short-Term Mission Trip.  If any of these should occur, your donation will be used for other FBC Global Outreach missions.