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

We love you, Aunt Mo!

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

You might notice a new addition to the group.  That would be Abby’s super-special friend, Micah.

Yes the Blue River was cold, but ooooh so worth it.

Here Micah and Blake are making funny faces.

A brief but fun trek to one of my favorite little hiking spots in the world.

The ceremony took place on a small plantation north of Baton Rouge.  The setting idyllic and, though hotter than a june bug on a crawfish grill, we all had a great time.  Blake especially.  This was his first time cast as a ring-bearer and he did very well (likely a result from the constant practicing in the hotel that weekend).  He had a blast riding every escalator in sight, flying in the airplane (though he’s done it several times in the past… he just doesn’t remember), eating beignets at Cafe Du Monde, swimming int the hotel pool over and over again, and dancing to the countless bands and musicians around the French Quarter.  A hot time indeed.