Twas the Season

Well friends, tis a glorious week in Ethiopia. Blogspot is working! I'm so overwhelmed with it all that I'm not quite sure what to write about. I suppose there's no harm in reencountering the last month of life on the Horn. Would you join me on the ride??

O Christmas.. my THIRD Christmas in Ethiopia! No snow, no fireplaces, no eggnog, sledding or hams... but we did surely have a tree, lights, gifts, Grinch and Elf marathon nights and cookies!

Sarah and I started a new tradition... African-themed hippo and elephant gingerbread cookies!

Sam and I got an amazing package from Hilo, Hawaii!! Mom and Dad! Well.. no.. they weren't in the package, but cute beachy dresses, flavored coffee and Converse were!

Me and the tree!

Our Ethiopian family!!!

My stocking surprise on Christmas Eve! "God Jul" = Merry Christmas in Swedish!

(Okay you must know....

Swedish Christmas = Dec 24,

American Christmas = Dec 25,

Ethiopian Christmas = January 6)

The absolute love of my life. Going to pack him up in a suitcase and bring him with me everywhere for the rest of my life!

Cutest thing you ever did see?

Then it was time for New Years. I must confess, we have quite a hard time staying up past 9:30 around here. But after a few pots of coffee, constellation gazing from our balcony and attacking our guard with oranges (don't ask)... 2011 rolled in over the mountains to the East. Happy 2011! Our New Years day was spent outreaching in a village. Bringing souls into the Kingdom of God is truly the best way to usher in a New Year!

Samuel and Ashagre... New Years dance in the village...

Upon more village adventures, we've discovered that boys are much better jumpers than girls...

...enough said...

This last week has been rough for the people of my city. The busiest area of Harar... full of markets with everything from second-hand clothing, chickens, tea sets and avocados... was burned down. Thousands of people have been displaced and lost their livelihood for years to come. Thankfully though, the fire which was started in the middle of the night, burned out directly before it touched our Harar Church of Joy! Since then, riots, fighting and even gun shots have broken out in this area.. please continue to pray for Harar with us!

That's all folks... have a blessed Wednesday wherever you are in the world!

Land that I Love

A fire has begun illuminating the horizons of the Horn of Africa, blanketing the deserts, sweeping over mountains, setting villages, cities and people groups aflame. It’s fierce and untamable, it’s changing the course of history. I’m speaking of a pioneer fire. A fire fueled upon souls.

Mission SOS carries an incredible evangelistic vision around the world. That is to plant a mother church among the unreached people groups of the earth, pioneer a native Bible school, plant daughter churches and pass the baton to local leaders.

One week ago at our mission base in Ethiopia, we celebrated reaching the curve in the race where we pass the baton to our local leaders. After 5 intense years of outreaches, festivals, church plants, pioneering a native Bible school and of course seeing our own skin become a bit more black and our speech thick with the African accent, Samuel and I handed over our lead pastors role to our dear friend and brother Ashagre and the position of Assistant pastors to Mohammed and his wife Sinabwa. What a joyous day in heaven! These three radical evangelists shake the foundations of the earth when they walk. They live and breathe evangelism and church plants among the lost on the Horn of Africa. They dream especially of reaching Somalia with future daughter churches and local missionaries. They are my heroes. Here inside the fourth holiest Islamic city of the world, dozens are finding Jesus each week. Some come and stand at our alter in shredded rags with no shoes, no hope, no life, and then walk away with eyes full of tears and the sweet love of God. It’s the greatest thing I know.

Let me share with you the vision of Harar Church of Joy so you may continue to pray...

Among the People. For all people.

To Liberate, transform and equip a generation with the Gospel of Jesus Christ... in Ethiopia, on the Horn of Africa, and to the ends of the earth.

For the sake of the unreached.

Pray that this vision from God will be fulfilled. Pray for favor upon the pastors. Pray that God will provide finances, land and a good church building within the next year so they may continue to grow and graduate many more missionary students. Pray that the religious, the Muslims and the animist tribes will meet the one and only God and creator of the universe.

As for Samuel and I, we have found ourselves standing before the last line in Harar Church of Joy’s vision... and to the ends of the earth. In two weeks, we will be leaving our beloved Harar for Sweden. That will be home for a few months of practical planning before heading out to new unreached and untouched areas of the world.

And thus I aspired to preach the gospel, not where Christ was already named,

so that I would not build on another man’s foundation; but as it is written,

“They who had no news of His shall see, and they who have not heard shall understand.”

Romans 15:2

With the blessing of our spiritual papa Johannes Amritzer, we will step out from under the banner of Mission SOS. Many lands will be discovered in our future, many souls saved, demons cast out and diseased healed. Our spirits have heard the cries of people living without Jesus, our dreams are filled with their faces.

So friends, I shall not be writing from Ethiopia much longer. Here's a few photos from the land and the people I love so...