Kisses for Jamie - this is my real life.

My heart is so full, full to overflowing.  Don't misunderstand me - I miss my family and friends in the States while I am away serving Jesus among the Habesha, but good grief...  Its moments like these that I am beyond words.

Perhaps you've read previous posts about my buddies Dawit and Mulugeta, the boys with medical needs and in need of clothing and Dawit's need for schooling. 

If not, you may read it by clicking this link:  Will you provide for Dawit and Mulugeta?

While taking care of medical needs and the boys healing from severe allergies/colds, I got to spend an afternoon shopping for clothes for these two families!

Share with me the joy of seeing these transformations.

Thanks for giving so these kiddos can have the things they need.  We are still praying for doors to open so that Dawit can attend school.  But, God's light has been shining brightly on these families, and when I told them this all happened because of Yesus Kristos (Jesus Christ), they are coming to the church (MKC) where I teach Sunday School this coming Sunday. 

I asked them if they were believers, if they had Jesus inside their hearts, but translation at the time of delivery of these items was difficult because our Bajaj driver, (the only one with me at the time) who is still learning English, had difficulty understanding me.  (I'm finding out as I write this from Kelkias and showing him pictures of the clothes he helped me pick out that they are not believers, so be praying with me that before they leave this property that is MKC, that they run to Jesus and enter a relationship with Him).  Oh my goodness. 

After surprising them with these clothes, I received so many kisses on the cheek, so many "I love you, we love you" and the mom even kissed my feet.  Kisses for Jamie - this is my real life.  So, thanks for giving to Jesus, as there are many without, and ultimately searching for something, searching for someone, searching for Jesus and they do not even know He is the answer.

HE is the answer.

     

Missionary Funnies

Are you ready for this?  I'm telling on myself, and us.  I wanted to share with you some funny things that have happened since I've been back in Ethiopia...  :) 

1.  "Don't light my hair."  When the lights went out and I was trying to light a match to light a candle, Kelkias says, "Don't light my hair."

2.  Flooding the guest house kitchen doing laundry.  Somehow the plumbing was loose.  Floor's clean.  After teaching Noah's Ark in Sunday School, "I think we have a leak."

3.  Smelling pot at the doctor's office.  Here, this will make you feel better...  Wow.  (That's bad, and that is not how they treat the sick by the way...)

4.  Being asked for my phone number, email, and if I'm married or single by a Mormon wearing shades.  China, ferengi, I love you.  Oy... 

5.  Trying to sew a baby's blanket with a sewing machine made more for man power than electricity (as electricity is not always stable here).  Niguse got on the floor to push the pedal to make the bobbin.  Ha, oh - fun times.  We laughed together.  Oh and the needle broke.  Oops.

6.  Two words:  donkey stampede.

That's all I can come up with for now but I'm sure more will happen.  Ciao!  (Bye!)

Remember the Persecuted Church

A man I know shared his story with me tonight.  This man...

We talked about the persecuted church - the World Watch List - and how it can be a hot interest.

I feel like I have nothing to say when it comes to hearing their stories.  Jesus, thanks for this gift.

He shared with me how his school persecuted him in high school.  If he went to a protestant church, he could not attend school.  School or Jesus was his choice.

The police nearly arrested him and the only reason they didn't keep him was because they didn't have room.  They called their parents - over 50 of them - to come get them instead.

He's been hit with stones for Jesus and dodged more than what hit him.

In Debre Zeyit, persecution currently does not exist to the extent it once did in his time of the 1960s.

In the northern parts of Ethiopia today, where bibles are needed, you will be kicked and threatened with death if not die, he told me.  But here in Debre Zeyit right now, you will be safe.

His father was clever, he said.  "You are under my control," he told him.  He went to school and came to Christ later. 

Hearing him speak of these things of the persecuted church gave me chills at times.  It's just so evil.  And, did I mention we had this talk over candlelight as the power went out lol?

I think of His cross.

If he didn't finish school, he would be a farmer unable to better himself, he said.

I asked him if he had told his father no, would he have lost his family - would things be different, what would happen?

He said you respected your parents and were not indirect so you did what they said or you were beaten as well.

In the 1960s, years before I was born, to be here and be a Christian perhaps meant death and the church was more underground.  It does not mean that sometimes you may be looked at with hate now, but the chances of you being stoned or in prison here are lower than it used to be. 

Remember the persecuted church.  Remember the ones who have died for Jesus.  Remember Jesus.  Remember Jesus, remember Him, and proclaim it loud.  Shout it, from the mountaintops, for God's glory. 


 

My Name is Love

"My name is Love."

After Sunday School at MKC (this week we studied Noah's Ark), I had a kid come up to me wanting to hold my hand and swing our arms. She showed me her family. She told me I was beautiful. (I was a hot sweaty mess). "Amesiginalehu," I replied. 

Then she said, "My name is Love."

"Your name is what?" I asked, not sure I understood her.

"My name is Love. In Amharic it is Fiker but in English it is Love."

I thought she was playing with me. After confirming the translation is true with Eshetu, and back at the guest house, I thought - if the Lord God were to introduce Himself, this is what He would say.

"My name is Love."

Scripture tells us "God is love" in 1 John 4.

Have you been introduced to Love?  :)

"If anyone acknowledges Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God." 1 John 4:15.

It is only by His Spirit we can say Jesus is Lord.

If you find yourself confused about your moment - don't stay there.  Go back to this verse. Always go back to Scripture and ask Him, for therein lies the truth.  

"My name is Love."

Paper Bead Training

It's paper bead training time! BCDO did the work of getting some of our neediest families together to learn and continue practicing making paper beads. Some of these ladies currently make paper beads and do not need my help, but we are learning new ways to make them as our God is a creative God.

I started my own paper bead sole proprietorship business back in the States after my first trip with BCI in October 2013 as a means of extra mission support. Now I get to work with these ladies watching creative juices flow in hopes of it becoming a trade they can use in creating more income for their families. Our latest fun: learning how to use a crayon to make colorful designs. Here's Dembulit sporting her work!

 

These classes started with me on Thursday, September 25, 2014 and continue every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon. To continue these classes, we will need more supplies. Will you ask the Lord if you get to mail us items that aren't readily available in Debre Zeyit to continue these classes with these women?

 

Items requested:

- Plain white copy paper
- Elmer's glue
- Toothpicks
- Gloss glaze (for sealing) or clear nail polish
- Beading string (both regular and stretchy)
- Permanent markers and/or crayons (for designs)

 

If you can provide any or all of these items, please mail them to:

 

BCDO, P.O. Box 1410
Debre Zeyit, East Shoa
Ethiopia, Africa 

 

Take a look at some of our work so far!

 



 

 

 
 

Will you provide for Dawit and Mulugeta?

 

We have an urgent need. I met Dawit playing in the streets near BCI Academy on my way to teach Spoken English. From the Amharic I knew, I got to learn his name. He was dressed in very old clothing. His shirt had holes and tears through the shoulder and into the sleeve. His pants were the same. He had shoes on, but barely as he had outgrown them and his toes were sticking out the ends. I also noticed there was something wrong with his eye but I wasn't sure what. I didn't think he was enrolled in school given that he was outside most of the time that I saw him. He would be playing football (or soccer) with his friends or after it had rained, the boys would play in the mud puddles. How else do you play when this is your life?

I knew God did not place Dawit in my path without a reason.

Daily I would take their hand as these impoverished boys (like many we have met in Debre Zeyit) smiled from ear to ear just happy to see me and so wanting to be known, so hungry for love and affection and care.

Immediately, I wanted to get him checked out for medical treatment on his eye and I wanted to buy them clothes. I wanted him in the program at BCI and to find him sponsors. I came back to the guest house and told Kelkias and Eshetu about him. I showed them the pictures he so willingly let me take. The pictures you see here:

In the next days, Kelkias sent Eshetu with me to assess and evaluate their situation. The mom was not home at the time but we did find out more about Dawit and his family. He is seven years old and the friends I saw him play with were not just friends but his brothers. Dawit is a twin to Israel and they both have an older brother named Wandimage. The fourth boy I saw with them is their friend, Mulugeta who also lives near them. They live near the Academy with their mother and father. The mother is currently stay-at-home and the father is a plumber who sometimes finds work and sometimes doesn't. Due to prayers for this boy, his eye was healing the next time we saw him. He could open it fully. I could have sworn I saw ringworm on his forehead as well, but it was not there.

Because BCI focuses on serving the poorest of the poor with children who either have one or both parents deceased or they have been abandoned, while poor, Dawit did not meet the criteria to be placed in BCI's program. However, due to the special circumstances given a medical problem and the inability to be enrolled in school at Bole downtown where his brothers attend due to disbelief that he is a twin to Israel and they are the same age, we are taking on Dawit's case and asking for sponsorship to enroll him in school and asking for donors to help provide for his medical needs for further treatment of his eye. While it is healing, it's not completely healed.

Because the Lord drew me to them, after my class on Thursday the kids were waiting for me with their mom who I find out is named Wendishet. When I left BCI Academy and shut the door behind me, Dawit came running to me barefoot along with Wandimage. They were wearing the same clothes they had worn the days before. I was henceforth "kidnapped" by these kids in the street and given a tour of their home. Their home is small like most I've met here in Ethiopia but they seem to have a lot of things they need like a bed to sleep on at night and a dresser and they even have a tv. These are things not many here have. They told me more about their medical needs and their lack of food.

I shared with the mom how I wanted to buy her kids clothes and wanted Dawit to be treated for his eye. I took pictures of the kids shoes in hopes of creating awareness, and perhaps they would help in guessing a shoe size for these kids given the fact that the size had worn off the inside. The tongue of the shoe was not even there anymore.




















It was in these moments the kids went and grabbed a BCI teacher who knew more English and he could translate what I was saying to them. In these moments of talking about treating Dawit's eye, I learn Mulugeta, the boys' friend is perhaps worse. He has been having headaches and a nosebleed for two months. I took pictures of this beautiful family and went back to find Kelkias. As you can see here, Dawit's eye looks much better. (From left to right: Wandimage, Dawit, Israel, and in front their mom, Wendishet. The father was not present at the time).

 

While Dawit's eye was concerning, Mulugeta's symptoms are more so. We thought Dawit may need an eye specialist in Addis, but given that it is healing, the two boys are currently seeking treatment in Debre Zeyit, but given Mulugeta's symptoms, Mulugeta needs to be seen by head specialists in Addis Ababa, where they may order a catscan of his head to find out an exact diagnosis. If that is the case, this could cost nearly (or over) 3,000 ETB, or $150.10 USD.

Here is a photo of Mulugeta:

 



 

Will you consider giving toward these families medical needs and starting Dawit in school? If you can contribute, please donate via www.blessingthechildren.org/donate and write which you are giving for; either type "Dawit" or "Mulugeta" and our accountants will be able to process it more efficiently. 

 

The boys and I thank you for your generosity!



UPDATE:  After taking the two boys to the local clinic over the weekend, Dawit could not be seen until the next week for his eye because that doctor was not in house at the time.  Mulugeta was seen and after some blood work and a head xray, he was given the diagnosis of a severe sinus infection and a prescription to help clear that up quicker.  If he does not get better soon, then he will need to see an ears/nose/throat specialist in Addis Ababa.  Thanks for your continued prayers!
 

 



Teach a man to fish - Current Ministry Needs

 

 

 



We are certainly into making fishers of men; this is why we are here, and to the best we know how we will do for God's glory.  So far, I know at least 25 people have made a decision to receive Jesus in the two weeks that I've been back here.  Hear me well.  It is not about this messenger.  The Lord has sent others here before me who have fed and built into these moments of clear decision.  I'm so excited that it is happening and that I got the chance to lead some of them as I fully plan on dying (when I die) falling forward for His mission.  While decisions to follow Christ are major wins, miraculous nonetheless, there's more to be done. 

The poverty you see in Ethiopia can be of the extreme, and the servants at Blessing the Children International are certainly filled with joy to meet the needs we can of the many needy in the surrounding community, but we also believe the bible teaches us in order to eat we put our hands to work.  That said, we are training the women of the sponsorship program in learning a trade with the effort of teaching them to fish for a lifetime. 

This part of the ministry includes paper bead making.  Since my first trip to Debre Zeyit, I taught myself how to make paper bead jewelry and opened my own sole proprietorship business back home as a means for extra mission support.  Now, I get to train these women two times a week in paper bead making in hopes of providing extra income for their families.

Here's where you come in. 

We need supplies.  We are in need of things not readily available in Ethiopia and we are depending on the generosity of others to help me begin and continue this ministry with these women.  We need plain copy paper, Elmer's glue, toothpicks, beading string both regular and stretchy (stretchy for bracelets), permanent markers for making designs, and I have a preference for a gloss glaze sealer and/or clear nail polish to both seal the bead and make it shine.

Would you be praying and asking Jesus if you get to give toward this ministry?

All supplies may be mailed via FedEx to BCDO, P.O. Box 1410, Debre Zeyit, East Shoa, Ethiopia, Africa.  You may place my full name on the inside of the box to let us know who it is for if you like: Jamie Wallin.

While this is not a welfare ministry, generosity does things.  I've seen it myself with my own eyes.  I am also asking for any spare clothing you may have.  Instead of gifting it to Goodwill where it may or may not sit on a rack for a year, will you consider shipping it here where I've literally seen children, held their hand, on my way to/from BCI Academy without shoes and very, very old clothing with holes and tears in them?  Sponsorships matter, but what if we went above and beyond the sponsor kids?  What if, because of your giving, we got to go throughout these alleys giving free clothes, proclaiming the love of God?  How amazing would it be if we got to give a child an outfit, and this child, because we gave, made a decision for Christ?  I only ask one thing.  If the article of clothing is not something you would wear yourself (maybe it has a hole or is stained), would you please not send it.  We are grateful for your donations, but let's let genuine generosity flow from our hearts.

If the Lord taps your shoulder, calls you out on the challenge, you may send those things to the above address as well.  Thanks for reading and be blessed!!